Chapter 167: She Saw a Scene in the Rain

The snow was fluttering outside the car window.

It was already March, but snow was still falling in some parts of the Cateline Kingdom.

Himan looked at the scene in her view and thought so.

Three years ago, when Hall’s reputation had collapsed, she had been distraught and had traveled to the Cateline Kingdom alone.

It was the January holiday, and the snow was heavy.

The entire world of Cateline was white.

She remembered that the weather was very cold, but not as cold as her heart.

Now, she was back in the hinterland of the Cateline Kingdom, taking the Holy Train to Saint Catherinesburg, and she was still thinking about the same person.

She had the same worries and irritations.

At that time, she was worried about why Hall had become like that.

Now, she was worried about whether Hall was safe and what kind of person Christine had fooled him into becoming.

“Miss Himan, we will be arriving at Saint Catherinesburg soon. Will Lady Christine and His Highness Hall really appear in Saint Catherinesburg?”

“If they are still alive, they will surely come here. This is the original final destination…”

Himan was very sure.

No matter how long Hall and Christine wandered outside, they would surely come to this place.

There would be absolutely no exception.

What’s more, a few more days had passed, and the international public opinion on the Cateline Kingdom was already very bad.

Just yesterday, there were rumors that a large army of the dead had appeared near Fort Saint Elizabeth, and Her Majesty Cateline had to personally go and solve the trouble, so there was some time freed up.

But today, the Empress of Cateline had basically quelled the small-scale unrest on the border.

Her maternal grandmother—Lord Russell—and the newly arrived Papal envoys were all on this Holy Train and would arrive at Saint Catherinesburg soon.

As long as the Empress of Cateline also returned to Saint Catherinesburg.

The next meeting was inevitable.

If Hall and Christine were still in a missing state.

The pressure on the Cateline side would be greater, right?

She couldn’t help but think so.

The cold, towering city wall appeared in her view.

The Holy Train, which was speeding along, slowly began to slow down before the dedicated Holy Train archway beneath the city wall.

They were about to arrive.

“Your Majesty Yerona, your mission this time doesn’t seem to have been completed very well. We don’t have many level ninety and above powerhouses in the Cult of the Living and Dead. The failure of the assassination has already caused damage to our forces.”

Inside the Noss Mountains, the headquarters of the Cult of the Living and Dead.

The cult leader of the Cult of the Living and Dead was talking to Yerona Cateline, who had just returned not long ago.

Yerona did not care too much.

Facing the questioning, she just leaned against the somewhat purple ice pillar and said in a calm voice.

“It’s not my fault. I warned you and the priest that you could come along and personally supervise me, but you didn’t. Now that you can’t beat the Cateline royal guard and Hall Faxtius, you can’t blame me.”

“Is Hall Faxtius that strong?”

“You’ll know if you try. As for Christine’s sword, you should have already learned about it from the Executor’s report before he died. That thing is very restraining to the undead, and I dare not get close to it.”

Yerona seemed to be talking calmly.

In reality, it was just mutual trash talk.

The cult leader couldn’t get any useful information from her.

But he still said.

“Christine might be the dead Angel of the Salvation Church. The sword she has is very similar to the sword the Holy Son had seven years ago.”

“Oh, speaking of the Salvation Church, you didn’t tell me much about them. Aren’t they a cult too?”

Yerona shook her long hair.

Because it was contaminated by necromancy, her hair was a cloudy grayish-white, unlike the pure white of Sophia and Elizabeth’s hair.

“Actually, there was a big change in the Cult of the Living and Dead six years ago.”

The purple-robed cult leader turned his back.

He was still haunted by what had happened six years ago.

From Hall’s perspective, the overall strength of the Cult of the Living and Dead was stronger than it was at the same time in the game.

But in reality, it wasn’t.

Six years ago, the Cult of the Living and Dead had almost been wiped out by the combined forces of the Salvation Church and the Cateline Kingdom.

But the cult leader had not died.

He had been seriously injured and had his body transformed by Samigina’s necromancy, becoming even more formidable.

But compared to the definition of a pure human necromancer in the game, he was more like an undead.

The cult leader, whose body was transformed by necromancy, had gained more trust and resources, which was why the current Cult of the Living and Dead looked stronger than in the game.

“Oh? Speaking of which, I’ve read the history of the sect. There was indeed a big gap six years ago.”

Yerona said nonchalantly.

“That’s because the Angel and the Holy Son of the Salvation Church attacked the Cult of the Living and Dead. The Holy Son used my disciple, Rhys, to feed us false information, which led to the secret forces of the Cateline Kingdom being able to successfully combine and attack our base in Fort Saint Yerona.”

The cult leader said slowly.

He didn’t mind telling Yerona these things.

Yerona was not someone who could be manipulated casually.

There was only one way to make Yerona lean towards them.

To prove that they could win in the next game.

“Oh, so the Holy Son and the Angel have some skill.”

Yerona was only half-informed about the history, but since the cult leader was willing to talk, she was naturally willing to listen.

She was bored anyway.

“The holy weapon summoned by the Angel restrains us greatly. Although the Holy Son is young, he is also very formidable. However, even after suffering such a blow, our Cult of the Living and Dead is stronger than it was six years ago. Do you know why, Yerona?”

This was what he really wanted to say.

“Why? You’re not going to tell me that your Cult of the Living and Dead is an immortal cockroach, are you?”

Yerona did not completely follow the cult leader’s line of thinking.

She subtly changed the subject.

“That’s of course not it, Your Majesty Yerona. Your political ability is far superior to mine. You should understand that with Sophia and Elizabeth existing in the Cateline Kingdom at the same time, what would the Pope and our throne think? Besides, don’t you want to continue to be the Empress of Cateline?”

The implication was that if Yerona allowed Sophia and Elizabeth to survive, it would be impossible for her to continue to hold power.

Three Winter Saintesses.

Unprecedented in history.

If Yerona did not help them kill Sophia and Elizabeth, Yerona would become a political sacrifice.

The Papal State would pursue balance.

That is, to have one Winter Saintess help the human race control the threat of the northwestern Demon Lords, but at the same time, restrict the development of the Cateline Kingdom.

“It seems I have no choice?”

Yerona’s tone was still calm.

“The power of one person, no matter how strong, cannot change the world. Your Majesty, you are older than me, so you should understand this better. If the Cateline Kingdom has two or more Winter Saintesses, the throne will cooperate with the Papal State. At that time, even if Cateline has three Winter Saintesses, they will not be able to resist…”

“So, for the sake of Your Majesty’s survival, we hope that Your Majesty will make a very cautious choice.”

It sounded like a respectful request.

But it carried a coercive threat.

If Yerona were in her prime, she would have sent this cult leader to Samigina as good material on the spot.

But no, she couldn’t.

Yerona understood the current situation.

If Sophia and Elizabeth couldn’t do it, then she had to.

Of course, Hall and Christine were also a huge variable in her heart.

Unfortunately, the two sisters, Sophia and Elizabeth, did not have a good relationship with Christine.

This was a bit troublesome.

After ten minutes of silence, she finally spoke.

“When do you plan to have me open the Ice Imperial Tomb and let the people from the Papal State enter?”

“First, go to Saint Catherinesburg and wait for the opportunity. The border matter will be entirely handled by the priest next.”

The cult leader said so.

Yerona frowned.

“Are you also coming with me?”

“The new three Sages of the Salvation Church made me what I am now. I can’t let this grudge go unsettled.”

“Sigh, alright…”

A mysterious smile appeared on Yerona’s face.

She knew that this cult leader also had his own ulterior motives.

“Phew… it’s cold. Why is Hall always distracted? Is it because Her Majesty Cateline has left and there are no beauties to look at?”

Four in the afternoon, outside the west station of Saint Catherinesburg.

Christine was breathing on the palms of her hands, which she had rubbed together.

Yesterday, Sophia had arranged the defense of Fort Saint Elizabeth.

Early this morning, they had ridden horses to Fort Yerona, and then took the Holy Train directly back to Saint Catherinesburg without stopping.

Because they had learned on the way that Hall and other important Papal State figures had arrived in Cateline, they did not dare to delay any longer.

A formal meeting would be held tomorrow.

As for whether Hall and Christine should show their faces, after Sophia had thought about it, the decision was left to Hall and Christine.

“Young Master Hall, why are you ignoring me? By the way, why is she still following us?”

Christine, who was rubbing her small hands to warm herself, saw that Hall was ignoring her and frowned slightly.

Then she looked at a certain big-breasted vampire beside her.

That’s right, Parousia had also come to Saint Catherinesburg.

“Prince Charles sent me to Saint Catherinesburg to gather information. Why can’t I come?”

“Just let her follow us. She might be useful eventually.”

Hall answered this time.

To directly give a magic boost to a heroine involved different degrees of risk, but letting Parousia suck his blood would not.

“Then why have you been distracted ever since you left the station?”

Christine did not let go of the original question.

She was very concerned.

Hall couldn’t answer her.

Because it was a lot of hallucinations.

From the moment he had gotten off the train, he had felt that he had been to that station many times, and had done the action of getting off the train many times.

The scene outside the station was even more familiar…

And in that sense of familiarity, whenever he came here, Christine also seemed to be by his side.

No, Christine was not by his side every time.

It was very strange.

He had thought that he would come to Saint Catherinesburg, but he hadn’t expected to be so familiar with it.

This meant that he had definitely interacted with Elizabeth many, many times.

But considering that he was still studying in Saint Louis at that age, he could only come out during holidays and special Black Knights missions.

He had basically managed all his time well.

Hall could foresee how his former self had managed his time.

He would go to school on weekdays, and after school, he would practice swordsmanship and read theological books at home.

And on short holidays, he would go to the Demon God’s Labyrinth to dig for treasure.

When there was a special mission, he would go out with Christine, Mandosha, and the other heroines to advance the heroines’ plots.

He would occasionally clear some dungeons, and set up some schemes to eliminate the threats to the heroines in advance.

Thinking about it, he also felt very busy.

It must have been enough to exhaust a person to death.

But Hall also thought, the first time he had come into contact with this highly free game, it seemed to be like this.

He had been grinding day and night, very obsessed.

He just wanted to advance the plot more, solve some puzzles, level up a bit, and was afraid of missing the opportunity with a certain heroine.

He sought to do his best, to clear the game in the best state.

But often, it was because of being overtime or being forced to end the game that he had not succeeded.

“My former self, my self when I first played this game, is so similar…”

Hall muttered to himself.

Then he considered finding a relatively secluded hotel in a corner of the city with Christine and Sophia.

Lest his and Christine’s identity be recognized.

But a handsome man and two beautiful women of different styles on the street were still quite eye-catching.

During that time, Hall had also found a newspaper stand and bought a large pile of newspapers to learn about the current situation.

Then he was numb.

Because the story of the trio of him, Christine, and Parousia repelling the undead army and saving the various villages and citizens outside Fort Saint Elizabeth had already spread.

The nuns and priests of Fort Saint Elizabeth had even publicly searched for the girl who had provided the blessing at that time.

They had determined that the other party was a Saintess Candidate.

This was basically an indirect way of increasing Christine’s support in the Cateline Kingdom.

With such a big fanfare, anyone with a discerning eye would know who this Saintess Candidate was.

Coupled with the fact that the trio had their own characteristics.

If Himan saw it…

Hall dared not imagine.

On the Holy Train, when Sophia had received the list of the Papal State’s mission from her subordinate, the other party had also given him a copy.

Although Himan was on the list, Himan was not stupid.

As soon as she saw this, she would easily analyze that it was him, Christine, and Parousia, based on the trio’s characteristics.

Although he had explained to Himan the last time in Saint Louis that he was on a top-secret mission for the Black Knights to infiltrate the vampires, being mixed up with Christine’s actions again would inevitably lead to Himan’s suspicion.

Himan was very disgusted with the vampires, a race that was designated as a major heretic by the church in the game’s setting.

“…”

“Are you afraid that Miss Himan will see it?”

Christine leaned her small head against the newspaper Hall had spread open.

“It’s not that I’m afraid of her, but I’m afraid that Parousia will be discovered. Himan knows Parousia is a vampire. What if Parousia is arrested?”

“Tsk tsk, you’re so worried about Viscountess Parousia?”

Hall, you are so worried about me.

Parousia also leaned over.

She of course knew Himan.

Himan had drawn her sword and chased her for half of West Town.

“You don’t want Young Master Hall to worry, yet you’re still following us to Saint Catherinesburg?”

Christine refuted.

“I came here because of Prince Vier’s mission, and it has nothing to do with him. Besides, his concern for me is none of your business.”

Parousia said righteously.

She truly felt that way.

What was wrong with Hall worrying about her?

She and Hall had a good relationship, and she also felt that Hall was a good person who could be trusted!

If he had only threatened her less and given her blood every day, that would be even better.

“…”

Christine was too lazy to talk to Parousia anymore.

If it were anyone else who said that, it would be a bit suggestive.

But Parousia’s words were as clear as water.

So she asked Hall, “Then what should we do? If we are exposed, Miss Himan will surely ask where Viscountess Parousia is.”

“Then Parousia, you should stay away from me for a few days. What did Prince Vier tell you to do in Saint Catherinesburg?”

“She didn’t say.”

Parousia answered very honestly.

“…You must report anything to Prince Vier. Don’t take matters into your own hands.”

Saint Catherinesburg was now like the [stage] in West Town.

Hall could feel that a large number of key figures and heroines were present in this city.

A conflict could break out at any time due to a certain fuse.

Parousia’s brain, without the guidance of a vampire prince, could indeed be doomed.

He could only entrust this to her.

“Mm, of course I will report to Prince Vier. You don’t have to remind me, Hall.”

Hall was too lazy to say anything more.

Christine slowly looked up at the dim sky.

The snow was getting heavier.

“…”

“Is the person invited by the Cult of the Living and Dead from the Ice Palace coming soon?”

“He’s coming. Ambassador Yabolun, the other party is leaving today and will arrive before tomorrow night. And tomorrow is the first meeting between Lord Russell and the Queen of Cateline, and there will surely be a grand banquet. At that time, all the guards of Saint Catherinesburg will be concentrated in the core of the royal city and the four main gates.”

“Indeed, tomorrow night will be a good time to act. But I feel it’s a bit too hasty.”

Yabolun and the elites of the Black Knights’ Cateline branch had already sneaked into Saint Catherinesburg as a foreign caravan by forging their identities through the Black Knights’ authority when Sophia was not in Saint Catherinesburg yesterday.

At this moment, Yabolun and the deputy commander of the Black Knights’ Cateline branch were still plotting in secret.

But Yabolun, who was known for his aggressive diplomatic methods, was very anxious.

Because the Judgment Section still couldn’t be contacted.

He was so angry he wanted to curse.

Those people from the Judgment Bureau were simply arrogant.

Besides the cardinal’s cardinal, they would basically not listen to anyone’s orders or suggestions.

“Ambassador Yabolun, are you still going to wait for the Judgment Section’s reply?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t miss the golden opportunity. Maybe we can take a gamble and not rely on the Judgment Section’s power. Let’s check our manpower again.”

The deputy commander had one name.

“One captain of level eighty-nine, three small team captains of about level eighty, and the remaining seventeen elite members of level seven and above. Anything below that level is not worth deploying.”

The deputy commander himself was at level ninety-one.

It was actually quite dangerous to act now.

If they were discovered, they would almost certainly lose members to escape.

“The situation looks a bit bad. It’s a bit difficult to deal with the Cateline royal guard.”

Yabolun said, “But what we have to do is sneak in smoothly and take Elizabeth Cateline away or kill her.”

“But Elizabeth’s body will fall into the hands of Samigina, that Demon Lord, right?”

“This is a transaction. Without this transaction, how could there be cooperation?”

Yabolun said slowly, “Of course, if we can accidentally destroy Elizabeth’s body, that would be even better.”

Late at night, Christine lay in bed.

Tossing and turning.

She sensed that the door had been opened once again.

And now that she was in Saint Catherinesburg, her perception of the inside of the door was even clearer.

The white feather was calling her.

She seemed to be able to reach out and touch that white feather in a semi-dream state.

Memories surged.

She finally remembered that heavy rain.

In that rain, she had first come to Saint Catherinesburg.

That was after she had become [Angel].

It was her first time coming to Saint Catherinesburg.

She knew that she had come secretly that year.

In the picture, she was walking with an umbrella on the outskirts of Saint Catherinesburg.

The torrential rain washed over her small feet in red sandals, and the water flowed like a stream over her rosy ankles.

Christine was thirteen, or perhaps fourteen, that year.

She couldn’t tell, but she only knew that she was thinner than she was now.

But she was not as weak as she was now.

In the memory, her perspective followed the golden-haired girl.

It took a long time for her to enter the city.

Now, Christine was completely immersed.

She remembered why she was walking alone with an umbrella in the heavy rain in Saint Catherinesburg.

“Hall did not come to see me and my sister this summer vacation. Is he that busy in the Cateline Kingdom? If I come here, can I help him and make things easier for him?”

Yes, that’s what she had thought back then.

As [Angel], her original jurisdiction was the Bal Empire.

But because of the early contact with Frida, she had nothing to do in the Bal Empire, as [Witch Evil] and [Subtle Evil] were helping her deal with things.

What’s more, she was a newly appointed Sage, and did not need to manage all the affairs of her jurisdiction.

So she had secretly come to the Cateline Kingdom, without telling Hall.

And because she didn’t have enough private savings, she hadn’t been able to buy a direct train ticket to Saint Catherinesburg.

She had chosen to walk the last hundred miles.

But she was still coming to find Hall.

She could determine Hall’s approximate position through the Starfall Feather he carried.

And the closer the distance, the more accurately she could sense his position.

He was now in Saint Catherinesburg, and she had come to find him.

As the distance closed, Christine gradually and completely confirmed Hall’s position.

She ran directly.

She hadn’t seen him for a long time.

Her heart was filled with longing for him.

Christine ran on the flooded street.

In her memory, she could hear the shouts of the passersby advising this cute little girl, “Walk slower, be careful not to get your clothes wet.”

But she didn’t hear that.

She just ran, looking forward to meeting him, looking forward to rushing into his arms and having him stroke her.

For this, Christine ran faster and faster.

She even threw away the umbrella, which was heavily affected by the wind resistance.

She was in the heavy rain, but she wasn’t worried about getting wet.

Because Hall would bathe her later, help her change her clothes, and blow dry her hair.

If she caught a cold.

He would also gently sit by her bed and take care of her.

This was Christine’s reason for being so reckless.

But soon, the half-dreaming Christine was startled awake.

Because she remembered.

In that midsummer, in the heavy rain of Saint Catherinesburg.

The sight she had seen when she had run to the end of the street was.

The mysterious and familiar black-haired youth and the elegant and noble white-haired girl were sitting by the window of an inconspicuous cold drink shop at the corner of the street.

The former was feeding the latter ice cream with a silver spoon, and the latter was smiling happily at the former.

So that day, she had stood in the heavy rain, lost in thought.

As if she couldn’t hear any sound.