Chapter 83: It Seems He Can’t Withdraw From This Marriage

Ye Wangxue was still in a daze. She didn’t understand what was happening. The sudden kiss and the intense reaction of her body had her mind in a state of conflict.

But Hall did briefly explain the situation—it was a mana replenishment.

A temporary mana replenishment, which also existed in the game.

It involved having a female character kiss Hall, but it had to be a demanding kiss. A simple lip-to-lip kiss like the one with Leticia wouldn’t work. It had to be a deep kiss where the tongue entered the other’s mouth.

In short, the man and woman exchanged saliva.

Under this kind of mana replenishment, a female character’s combat power could be greatly enhanced and her condition restored for a short period.

At the same time, this method of mana replenishment could also be used on the spot during a battle.

It was one of the player’s cheats, but players generally didn’t use this kind of mana replenishment because the risk was also extremely high.

After this kind of mana replenishment, Hall had a high probability of being stabbed, and the more female characters participated in the battle, the greater the probability of being stabbed.

It was too much of a loss. For the sake of winning a single battle, to have Hall temporarily replenish a female character’s mana, it would be better to have Hall frantically replenish the heroines’ mana at night to raise their levels, and then be stabbed.

After all, the level and attribute increases from replenishing mana in bed were permanent.

This kind of mana replenishment could only last for a period of time. If the battle dragged on, it might not even last until the end.

But Hall had no choice now. Although Christine, Ye Wangxue, and Himan were present, if he and Christine were captured by the Red Queen, then it would be certain death.

Between a probability and certain death, he chose to take a gamble on his luck.

At least in a certain game, there was a chance to draw a gold card with a six-in-a-thousand probability.

But after Hall finished speaking, he found that Ye Wangxue hadn’t moved.

Ye Wangxue just stood there, looking at him with an incredulous expression, her cheeks slightly red.

This was Ye Wangxue’s first kiss. In the time since Ye Wangxue had learned about the matters between men and women until now.

She had always had high expectations and fantasies about her first kiss.

She had imagined a kiss where the lights were dim, or a kiss while drinking wine with a childhood friend, or a kiss while admiring the snow in deep winter.

And then there were scenes under the flowers and the moon, by the bright moon bridge, and so on.

She just never expected that before she had time to prepare, she would be kissed by the man.

So her brain shut down, and she didn’t move for a long time, just standing there.

Now Hall thought, ‘This is bad. Could it be that because I kissed her too early, I’ve stunned Ye Wangxue?’

Ye Wangxue had shut down, but the Red Queen hadn’t.

‘Damn it, should I go kiss Himan now?’

Considering Himan’s temper, it was very likely he would be stabbed on the spot, so he dismissed this idea.

‘Then Christine?’

His gaze shifted to the saintess candidate, and he found that she was also looking at him, her expression somewhat complicated.

But Christine’s condition was indeed very bad. She was still being supported by Maria, and even because her domain had been shattered by the Red Queen, blood could be seen at the corner of her mouth.

But this situation confused Hall, because in the game, he had never seen Christine’s domain being shattered.

This was because of Christine’s exclusive weapon, the [Starfall Feather].

As a red-named, mythic-grade weapon, it not only had super high self-regeneration, balanced stats that were not low, all-attribute bonuses, absolute immunity to most negative statuses, and ridiculously high [Holy] damage against monsters and heretics.

There was also a line of small text at the bottom.

When this sword is equipped, the [Star Angel’s Holy Domain] will definitely not be shattered during its duration.

“The situation in the game and the situation in the world after my reincarnation seem to be somewhat different. For example, the protection of that holy domain just now didn’t seem to have the effect of附加 [Holy] brilliance damage, and the enhancement was far less powerful than in the game.”

Hall could only come to this conclusion. He felt that only this could temporarily resolve his doubts.

But when he looked at Christine, he found that her condition had not improved at all, even though Maria was also using holy arts to heal Christine.

Christine’s condition still hadn’t improved. On the contrary, she coughed a few times, and new bloodstains could be seen on her snow-white fingers.

Indeed, according to the game’s setting, for the sake of balance, the higher the talent of a race, the lower their numbers, and the higher a person’s holiness, the worse the effect of holy arts on them.

In other words, she couldn’t be healed by others, and even less could she heal herself.

Christine’s holy talent was [S], so the effect of protection on her was basically zero.

The reason she could become a strong character and solo some routes was entirely because her exclusive weapon was strong enough to replace the crucial position of a “healer.”

In the game, this setting was understandable for the players. If Christine could heal herself, plus the effect of her exclusive weapon, she would be completely overpowered.

But Hall now felt it was very strange.

Christine’s exclusive weapon, when not liberated, was a feather that accompanied her. In this state, it still had a recovery effect.

But it seemed that she, although she had no expression, her beautiful eyebrows were already twisted into a thin black rope, as if she was enduring pain.

Hall also didn’t doubt that she was in some pain now.

Christine’s persona in the game was like this. She was very calculating and was usually joking with the heroines, but when something happened, she would take action to solve it. If she was injured, she would endure it.

She was very good at enduring. Even in some routes where she had already established the outline of rebelling against the Church, she would endure until the late game before revealing her goal.

Her performance towards others in the Church was all as usual.

“Oh my, what is Lord Hall looking at? Are you concerned about me?”

Christine had been looking at Hall for a long time, and then she smiled at him, but her smile was a bit forced.

The Red Queen had directly broken her domain, which had shaken her heart.

And when she heard that the Red Queen was going to take Hall away, she was very calm. If it could buy others a chance to survive, it was fine.

Christine’s thinking was very simple.

It wasn’t that she was really that selfless and great, but since the Red Queen’s strength was far superior to theirs, it was better for two people to be taken away than for five people to die together.

Besides, with Hall accompanying her, it wasn’t so bad.

“How are you?”

He was still quite worried. Not to mention that Christine was indeed injured because she was protecting them, just the fact that Christine was a heroine.

If the heroine was seriously injured, he wouldn’t be able to escape either.

“I’m fine. As long as you can defeat this aunt in red, I should be fine. Otherwise, let this aunt take us away early. Your fiancée and cousin are not injured yet.”

“Lady Christine, what are you saying? If you hold on a little longer, a knight commander will come to save us.”

Maria was anxious.

“Forget it, Maria. Besides, even if we are taken away, we will only be used as bargaining chips to trade with the College of Cardinals. At most, Lord Rohn and Old Master Faxtius will have to spend some money, and we will be able to come back safely.”

Christine said lightly.

After hearing this, Hall also knew that she was speaking the truth. This girl was incredibly calm.

It seemed that her persona was not much different from the one in the game. When it was time to make a sacrifice, Christine would choose to make a sacrifice.

But he still didn’t understand why Christine was flirting with him.

“Miss Christine, are you questioning my way of the knight?”

Himan couldn’t allow it. As the daughter of the Von Braun family, her pride would not allow a heretical sect like the Salvation Church to take away a saintess candidate in front of her.

The Oath of Purity was also a sword blessed by a saintess, and it had a special bonus against heretical sects and enemies who mastered magic.

After coming out of her surprise at Hall and Ye Wangxue’s kiss, she held her sword with both hands and looked at the Red Queen in front of her.

But she also felt that the Red Queen’s state was strange. From just now, this person had also stopped.

She felt that the Red Queen might be preparing some big magic to wipe them all out.

But the Red Queen really didn’t think that much. She was just simply shocked by the scene of Hall deeply kissing Ye Wangxue.

This was the first time she had seen the Holy Son in three years, and this was the scene she saw.

She had only done it with him once before…

And Christine even called her aunt…

She was very angry. She wanted to cut Ye Wangxue down.

She had never wanted to cut someone down so much before.

In the past, when Mandosha Flower and Angel were flirting with the Holy Son, it was already enough for her.

But at least they were one of their own. This Ye Wangxue…

And the Red Queen was mainly observing Christine’s expression. She felt that if Christine was… now, how could she be so weak.

The self-healing ability of… was simply monstrous.

That special domain was also…

She had just shattered it with a single blood palm. When the two of them had fought before, she had called it a white mobile turtle shell, and it was basically unbreakable.

Compared to that, the current Christine was like an infant.

“Hall, Christine, I’ll give you thirty more seconds to consider. Either you come with me, or I’ll kill everyone and take you with me by force.”

The Red Queen finally spoke.

She raised her right hand, and a blood-red mist began to fill the air, with a large amount of magic power flowing through it.

But just at this moment, Ye Wangxue, who had been kissed by Hall and had been given Moonbound, finally reconnected.

She learned from Hall’s previous actions and held Moonbound flat with her right hand, her left fingertips brushing over the body of Moonbound.

The entire blade burst into a brilliant moonlight, and then she slashed at the Red Queen with a single stroke.

The Red Queen dodged and looked at Ye Wangxue’s suddenly soaring strength, and then glanced at Hall.

“It’s you indeed.”

She was completely sure that the other party was the Holy Son who had been declared dead for three years. This special ability was impossible for other men to possess.

But just as she was about to seriously defeat Ye Wangxue, she suddenly heard Mandosha Flower’s voice in her mind.

“Do you think that guy from the College of Cardinals really didn’t take precautions? He’s just fishing. If you really take her away, the pursuers will follow. Stupid woman!”

“, So you’re the smart one, are you? Didn’t you say you were going to the Kingdom of Cateline? You just wait. I’ll settle the score with you when we meet!”

The Red Queen ignored Mandosha Flower’s warning.

But she still gave Hall and Christine a hateful look before turning into a red mist and leaving.

…

The Red Queen had come quickly and had also retreated quickly.

The black shadows surrounding the garden also disappeared.

Those black shadows, as Hall had expected, were actually members of the Salvation Church. They could only show that appearance in the formation because of the Red Queen’s formation.

Seeing that the abnormality had disappeared, Maria was relieved. She had wanted to continue supporting Christine, but she found that her saintess candidate’s condition was still bad.

Holy arts were useless on a person with high holiness like a saintess candidate. She had to go and inform the archbishop who was using this cathedral to have them call a doctor.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it, Maria.”

Christine stopped Maria’s actions.

She thought that if it was really as the Queen had said, and from the outside, it looked like nothing abnormal had happened inside, then that would be good.

Pretend nothing had happened.

“But, Lady Christine…”

Facing Maria’s worried expression, this saintess candidate just looked at Hall.

“Baron Hall, can you take me to your home?”

“?”

“?”

“?”

Hearing this, Himan, Ye Wangxue, and Hall were all puzzled.

“If you don’t want to make a big deal out of this, then you naturally have to find a private clinic to treat my injuries. Your Faxtius family should have a private doctor, right?”

“What’s the point of you doing this? The person who just attacked you was from the Salvation Church, and their target was you. If this matter is not reported or brought to the attention of the public, you will only be in more danger in the future, Saintess Christine.”

Himan found it absurd.

Ye Wangxue also objected.

“Although I’m a saintess candidate, I still need some private space. Besides, this is my request to Baron Hall. As long as he agrees, it’s fine.”

Hall was very conflicted about this.

Because in the game, if the player controlled Christine and wanted to go out, they also needed various opportunities or reasons.

If their luck was bad or they missed the key point for triggering a chance or a plot, it was easy to just repeat the previous day’s plot. In this situation, Christine couldn’t move freely.

It was very easy.

So once she was attacked by the Salvation Church, her personal freedom would be further restricted.

It was the same in the game. After repelling this wave of attacks, the player could choose to report it or not.

Reporting it would certainly ensure that they would not be attacked by the Salvation Church in the future, but their level-up speed and actions would be greatly reduced. And the whole route was not just about the Salvation Church as an enemy. It would be a fantasy to recruit other heroines.

So the guide clearly wrote—do not report.

“Alright then.”

“Hall?”

Seeing Hall nod, Himan thought she had misheard.

She thought that if Hall brought Christine back to the Faxtius residence and was photographed by reporters, the public opinion in Saint Louis and even the entire Papal State would explode that day.

No, absolutely not.

“How about this, Miss Christine goes to my house to treat her injuries. As a saintess candidate, going to Hall’s house will inevitably cause a scandal.”

“That’s good too.”

Seeing Himan say this, Hall didn’t object. This was indeed more stable.

Ye Wangxue also accepted.

Christine didn’t speak, just nodded.

…

The Von Braun family’s manor was a bit far from Hall’s house.

Compared to the Faxtius family, the Himan family had become famous earlier and also occupied a larger area.

At this moment, Hall and Ye Wangxue were drinking the red tea served by the servants in the pavilion of the Himan family’s back garden.

As for Himan, she had taken Christine and Maria to find their family’s private doctor.

It was a rare moment for the two of them alone in the sunset.

Ye Wangxue, who couldn’t hold it in any longer, stood up with both hands on the table after the servant had left and approached Hall with a somewhat oppressive aura.

“What did you mean by that earlier?”

“What?”

The black-haired young man feigned ignorance.

“You…”

Ye Wangxue had wanted to kiss him forcefully, but the words wouldn’t come out.

That was her first kiss. She was not even eighteen this year. Although it was not uncommon for girls to get married at fourteen or fifteen in the East, but…

But she was still very pure!

After all, after her coming-of-age ceremony, she had gone to study under the Thousand Blade Ghost.

Hall looked at her. The Eastern princess was still wearing that wine-red formal dress, but compared to the tea party, at this moment, she was standing in the afterglow of the setting sun. Her flushed cheeks were a bit puffy from anger, which was quite cute.

“Oh, you mean what I did to repel the Queen?”

“What do you mean, what you did to repel the Queen… Hall, you better make it clear!”

So angry.

Ye Wangxue didn’t expect him to be so disrespectful of her first kiss. She kind of wanted to cut him.

But she suddenly found that before leaving the Hero’s Cathedral, Hall had said that her way of liberating the Enchanting Moon was a bit flawed, and he would help her adjust it.

So the sword was with Hall now.

Could it be that he had deliberately tricked the sword away?

The answer was yes. Hall was afraid that Ye Wangxue’s emotions would be unstable after being forcefully kissed by him, so he had put away the murder weapon for her in advance.

“In our West, it’s actually very common, you know? And I used a secret art that I had never revealed to the world on you to help you defeat the Queen…”

Hall began to bluff. He had to stabilize Ye Wangxue, and continued, “You’re reacting so strongly. Could it be that that was your first kiss?”

He was asking the obvious, but it was this obvious question that stumped Ye Wangxue.

After a long while, her cheeks, whether dyed red by the sunset or because the blood had completely rushed to her face, became like ripe apples.

“Th-that’s for sure. Although the customs of your Western Continent are relatively open, a f-first kiss is still very precious, right…”

She stammered. Anyway, it was very difficult for her to admit that her first kiss had been taken so easily and suddenly by Hall.

But seeing his sincere attitude, she was not as angry as before.

“Oh, then I’m sorry.”

He gave a brief apology, not too formal.

Too formal would be counterproductive and would only add to the awkwardness.

Then Ye Wangxue sat down with a plop, took a few sips of tea, and looked at Hall, just watching him in silence.

Being stared at by her like this, Hall actually felt a bit unnatural. After all, Ye Wangxue was a beauty, and now she was a red-faced beauty. Plus, there seemed to be a lingering fragrance of her on the corner of his mouth…

But he tried to act natural and decided to change the subject.

“By the way, do you believe me now?”

“What?”

Faced with this nonsensical topic, it was Ye Wangxue’s turn to be stunned.

“I’m a high-ranking member of the Salvation Church. The Salvation Church did attack Christine today.”

“Hah, maybe you’re just a rat.”

She began to be stubborn.

Because as a princess who had done intelligence work, she understood how low the probability of relying on guesswork was.

“That woman in red’s codename is the Red Queen. You should have heard of her from Mandosha Flower.”

“…That’s not wrong, but she’s supposed to be the sage in charge of the Eire Park area.”

Ye Wangxue said.

“Didn’t I say before that Mandosha Flower is not in Saint Louis for the time being, so I can’t contact her directly? And her temporary departure led to the Red Queen’s arrival.”

The logic was all correct.

Now Ye Wangxue completely believed Hall, but she didn’t want to admit it so quickly. It was too embarrassing.

So she continued, “Hmph, I still can’t believe it. She just attacked you.”

“Yes. If she didn’t attack me, how could she help me hide my identity? If she only attacked you and not me, and the College of Cardinals found out later, would they not suspect my identity? Before you came to Saint Louis, you should have heard that I was being investigated by the Judgment Bureau, right?”

“Ah, that’s right…”

Ye Wangxue couldn’t find any loopholes. Her thoughts and logic were all following Hall’s words.

She could only nod.

“At that time, she wanted to take me and Christine away. It was actually a cover-up. I was a bonus. What she really wanted was Christine. Otherwise, if she simply wanted two people with high status, she would have chosen you and Christine.”

After Hall finished speaking, he took a light sip of red tea, looking like he had everything under control.

He knew that Ye Wangxue could no longer doubt him in the slightest.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this. What about you forcefully kissing me just now?”

“Didn’t you feel yourself get stronger during that time?”

“That’s true… but I didn’t feel it that much, because you didn’t even remind me. I wasn’t mentally prepared…”

Ye Wangxue was completely stunned by the kiss at that time. The moment their tongues touched, she felt her body want to melt into a pool of water and lie soft in Hall’s arms.

It wasn’t intense, but her body’s reaction was like being electrocuted. A tingling sensation ran from head to toe. If it weren’t for her good self-control cultivated over the past three years.

She almost wanted to let out a few comfortable moans.

As for the increase in her internal strength, she only had a real sense of it later when she had slightly sobered up and was about to draw her sword to cut down the Red Queen.

Plus, at that time, she still felt that she was no match for the Red Queen.

So the feeling of this increase was far less impressive than the feeling of the electric current that had run through her entire body when Hall had… her.

She even kind of wanted…

To be… by him again…

“…”

Feeling that she might have some thoughts that were not in line with etiquette and propriety, Ye Wangxue fell silent. She stared at Hall, staring at him fiercely.

Hall, on the other hand, didn’t understand. He looked back at her and wondered why he had provoked Ye Wangxue again.

“Next time… next time don’t be so sudden like that again!”

“Oh, I didn’t plan to. It’s just that it happened suddenly. Although I’m also a high-ranking member of the Salvation Church, I couldn’t just watch Christine be taken away by the Red Queen. That might have triggered a full-scale purge of the order by the Church.”

“Hah, you’re just concerned about that saintess candidate. When she was injured and coughing up blood, that look in your eyes… and you even agreed to let her recuperate at our house later.”

The more Ye Wangxue thought about it, the angrier she got!

So angry!

“Hah, our house?”

Hall thought, ‘You haven’t even married into the family yet. And are you really not going to break off the engagement?’

“Then is it your house with that saintess candidate?”

Ye Wangxue stood up again. She said word by word in the sunset.

“Listen up, Hall Faxtius. This princess knows you intend to fool around with that Leticia or this Christine, so you’ve been wanting to break off the engagement all this time. But you deliberately stole this princess’s first kiss today. This princess is telling you…”

“This engagement can’t be broken off!”

Then this Eastern princess took out a rolled-up piece of parchment from her purse.

There was no need to unroll it. Hall knew what was inside.

Because this thing, he had seen it before.