Chapter 64: What Are You Hesitating For?

Life after becoming a Senior Priest was far easier than Peleti had imagined. She didn’t have to perform daily prayers, nor was she assigned any official duties.

Qiao Suna often came to see her. Compared to before, she had become much more normal, and under Peleti’s guidance, Feiye had gradually grown more obedient as well.

The café’s daily customers were increasing. Many of them looked like monks from the church, seemingly coming specifically for her.

Although Peleti didn’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of a Senior Priest, she was still one in name. Her name was written in the church registry, and anyone paying even a little attention knew that the church had gained a nominal Senior Priest.

Nominal priests weren’t unheard of in the church. Most were simply meaningless positions given to relatives by insiders with a bit of power.

This wasn’t exactly a secret within the church. Many people knew about it, and everyone tacitly kept quiet about it.

As long as these people weren’t assigned to important posts and didn’t cause trouble, no one really cared.

But now a nominal Senior Priest had suddenly appeared—and her badge had been personally engraved by the Pope himself.

That made it hard not to wonder who exactly this mysterious Senior Priest was.

People tried investigating, but all they found was the word classified. They couldn’t even see her.

It wasn’t until a believer went out to relax one day that he discovered the nominal Senior Priest working as a maid in a tiny café on an obscure street.

The news spread quickly.

The once unattainable Senior Priest—perhaps the most mysterious person in the church—was now in a hidden alley calling a group of miserable monks “Master” one after another.

Soon, many people came specifically to see her.

Peleti’s workload increased uncontrollably. The once quiet café suddenly became packed, even forming waiting lines.

Helpless, Ailberna raised her salary. Together with tips from customers, Peleti was now actually quite well-off.

Before long, Ailberna—who had originally opened the café expecting to lose money—was shocked to discover that the café was actually making a profit.

What terrifying motivation.

With such a major event happening inside the church, those old figures who rarely appeared began to take action as well.

Only then did Peleti realize that the supposedly united church was actually filled with various factions and groups, far more chaotic than she had imagined.

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“Why do I have to wear a dress too? My maid outfit can’t go in?” Peleti complained lifelessly as Ailberna used her like a mannequin, repeatedly forcing dresses onto her.

“No!” Ailberna immediately shut down the idea.

“You think you can just go there, take a look around, and leave like nothing happened?! Banquets are extremely important in noble circles. You absolutely cannot be careless.”

Not long ago, Peleti had received an invitation from a count. The count was hosting a banquet at the Garden of Fantasy and invited her to attend.

The wording in the letter was extremely polite, giving Peleti plenty of respect.

From Peleti’s experience, someone who spoke like that was usually a very ceremonious person—especially since the location was the Garden of Fantasy.

When the waiter first handed her the invitation card, Peleti already felt the place wasn’t good—at least not for ordinary people.

Originally, Peleti didn’t want to go. She wouldn’t stay in Falisa for long anyway. Even if the count wanted to make trouble for her later, she wouldn’t be around.

But in the end she still decided to go and take a look.

Ailberna’s reasoning was that nobles held grudges strongly. They wouldn’t care when Peleti left. And Peleti’s identity itself was suspicious—someone might easily discover her extremely high affinity with light elements.

If that happened, Peleti would become a prized target among the nobles.

In short, refusing would cause huge trouble, so she had no choice but to go.

Compared with Peleti, who knew nothing about such matters, Ailberna was clearly much more experienced.

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“But this dress… shows way too much,” Peleti said awkwardly, pointing at the large exposed area on her chest.

Even the maid outfit, no matter how suggestive, still had some fabric covering it.

But this dress—from the arms to the chest, almost nothing was covered. When a cold breeze blew past, Peleti couldn’t help shivering.

The maid outfit was a bit sexy but revealed little.

This dress, however, wasn’t particularly sexy. When worn by Peleti, it gave off an aura of noble cold elegance.

But it exposed a lot—which was exactly what Peleti disliked most.

“Most formal dresses are like this. You’ll get used to it.”

“Then why is hers completely covered?!” Peleti pointed angrily at Feiye.

Feiye sat quietly. Suddenly being pointed at, she looked a little confused.

“Huh? Feiye? Feiye used to wear clothes like this often.”

“She’s a child. Are you one too?”

“If we calculate by witch age, I’m still a child, okay? Besides, Feiye is thousands of years old.”

“Get lost. Now you’re telling me that? Back then—when you were acting all mighty—why didn’t you say that?” Ailberna pulled hard on the laces of Peleti’s dress. The tighter she pulled, the more miserable Peleti looked.

“Ow! Stop, stop, stop! Gently! It doesn’t need to be this tight!”

“If you want your dress to fall to the ground in public, then don’t tie it.”

“Actually… I think these laces really highlight my figure. Yeah, it’s pretty nice.”

“Then endure it.”

Finally finished, Ailberna looked at Peleti in her white-and-gold gown and nodded with satisfaction.

“That’s more like it. Come here—I’ll fix your hair and add some decorations, then you’ll be ready to go.”

“Why doesn’t Feiye need any of that?!”

“She’s a child. Besides, you’ve never taken care of your hair, have you? It’s a mess. Feiye’s hair is so long yet still perfect—can you manage that?”

Ailberna pressed Peleti down in front of the dressing table, brushing her white hair repeatedly.

Watching the two bickering and looking so close together, Feiye’s shadow slowly revealed a dark, sinister smile.

“Their relationship is getting closer and closer…”

“And you’re still just standing here watching…”

“I’m happy as long as Sister is happy.”

“Stop joking. You can fool others, but not me. I am you. How could I not know how much pain you’re in?”

“Why make things so difficult? Just pull her into the shadows. All your problems will disappear.”

“No. Sister would get angry if I did that.”

“Angry? Do you really need to give yourself such excuses?”

“You could simply alter her memories. No matter what you do, she wouldn’t be angry. So why not do it?”

“You know everything—I know you do. If I can think of these things, how could you not?”

“So tell me… what exactly are you hesitating about?”