Viga’s mind was entirely focused on one thing—eavesdropping.
She doubted the Grand Elder would openly discuss anything crucial with Cruello, but understanding the enemy was always important.
Just as she finished cleaning Cruello’s room and was about to leave—
Bang!
The door swung open.
It was the room’s owner. Again.
"Good afternoon, Young Lord."
She greeted him without even making eye contact and tried to slip past him, head lowered.
But the boy stood in the doorway, blocking her path.
"You. Your na is Viga, right?"
He hadn't even known her na until now?
Suppressing the urge to pout, she answered obediently.
"Yes, Young Lord."
She had only given a simple response, but he crossed his arms and stared at her for a long mont, as if dissatisfied.
The silence stretched.
Eventually, her lips began to jut out—milliter by milliter—
Until, at last, they stuck out so far they could only be called a pout.
That was when Cruello finally spoke.
"What... do you like?"
"...Excuse ? Are you flirting with ?"
"Wha—shut up! Don’t spout nonsense!"
At her automatic response, Cruello flustered and raised his voice.
Viga tilted her head and stared.
He reminded her of Roy.
"...Can I ask why you're asking this?"
"You're already asking, aren’t you? ...About last ti—I apologize."
Viga’s eyes widened in surprise.
Avoiding her gaze, Cruello continued.
"I knew it was just a joke between colleagues, but I overreacted. The idea of soone pretending to be Amy was... unpleasant for . But I suppose the things I’ve done must have felt just as disturbing to you all."
"Uh..."
"Yeah. If Amy were alive, she probably would have told to get a grip."
"Mmm. She really would have."
"But just so you know, I never intended to cut your friend down that day. Not that you’d believe —I'm sure you all think I'm insane anyway."
"I believe you."
"...You do?"
"When I threw that cushion, I fully expected to die. I was stunned when you only fired ."
Viga chuckled awkwardly.
"Rumors tend to blow things out of proportion."
"It’s not like all of them are wrong, though. You should be more careful."
"What do you an?"
At her innocent question, Cruello let out a hollow laugh.
"Do you know what I was just thinking?"
"...That I was too correct and it caught you off guard?"
"No. That everything—your eyes, your tone, your words—resembles Amy far too much. That it's as if she ca back, wearing soone /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ else's skin."
Viga froze, inhaling sharply.
To Cruello, it must have looked like fear.
His smile turned self-deprecating.
"They say you’re the only blonde left in this estate. I must have finally lost my mind."
"......"
"From now on, don’t act so bold. And don’t throw your life away over trivial things."
With that, the boy turned and left.
***
"He's still Roy, after all."
Viga felt sadness, guilt—
But also, relief.
For a fleeting mont, she thought about rehabilitating him again.
But she quickly shook her head.
She wouldn’t live long either.
If she wanted to spare Cruello from more pain, she had to find another way.
As planned, she eavesdropped on the Grand Elder’s conversation with him.
And as the old man was leaving—
Their eyes t.
For just a mont.
"There's... sothing in his eyes."
Viga saw it.
A condensed, ominous black mana lurking behind the Grand Elder’s gaze.
She had sensed dark magic many tis in this estate—
But this was sothing else entirely.
She thought about it for a long ti, but she couldn’t figure it out on her own.
"Nothing can be solved without taking risks."
So she bought herself ti.
"I feel terribly sick!"
She shoved so pillows under her blanket to fake a body and escaped through the window.
Dressed in a discarded maid uniform and a face-covering cloth, Viga set off on a secret mission.
Her destination—
The Grand Elder’s estate.
It wasn’t hard to find—she had enough contacts for that.
And thanks to Pebula’s divine energy, sneaking in was easy.
Luckily, the owner was away.
The Grand Elder’s ho was filled with powerful dark mages—
But between her current body’s reflexes and her divine energy, she picked the place clean without trouble.
And the greatest reward of all—
Was hidden in his office.
A section of the wall was locked with mana.
It seed to require a specific thod to open, but—
"That’s why I’ve been saving my divine power."
—Ninth Order. Modification.
The spell was overkill for breaking an encryption—
But sotis, risks had to be taken.
Her instincts scread that this was one of those monts.
The wall shifted.
A hidden passage was revealed.
And inside—
"No way..."
The space beyond was a temple.
Her gamble had paid off.
***
"Ahchoo!"
"Are you okay? You said you were resting, but you look even worse now."
"I do feel a bit chilly, sniff—but I’m fine!"
With a bright smile, Viga waved off her coworker’s concerns and headed back to work.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Viga’s head ached, and chills ran down her body, but considering the sheer amount of divine power she had burned through the previous night, this was manageable.
She could still work as usual.
Though it was obvious she wasn’t in top shape.
Cruello, who had been reading in his room, narrowed his eyes.
“You should rest. You’re going to get people sick.”
“Don’t... sniff... worry about .”
“Who said I was worried?”
“I-I won’t spread it, I won’t spread it.”
It’s just side effects from overusing divine power. Why is he making a fuss?
“You’re speaking informally.”
“No, I’m not—if I talk too long, my throat hurts... sniff... so I’m keeping it short, sir.”
“...Fine. Do what you want.”
Even so, he kept glancing at her whenever she coughed.
Feeling awkward, Viga worked faster than usual and quickly finished her chores.
As she bowed and turned to leave, Cruello hesitated—then grabbed her wrist.
“There’s a tea that’s good for colds. Ask the kitchen to make it for you. Tell them I sent you.”
“......”
“...Why are you looking at like that?”
“I’m touched. Thank you, Young Lord.”
With a wide grin, Viga left the room.
***
She had discovered the location of the temple—
But there was another problem.
There weren’t many places to hide, and everyone wore the sa uniform, making infiltration nearly impossible.
Could I steal a robe?
She thought of the dark mages lurking around the estate in secret.
But trying to threaten them was risky—one wrong move, and they’d alert the wrong people.
Maybe I should bribe them instead...?
After much deliberation, Viga decided to use her own money.
She sighed at least a hundred tis before resigning herself to the loss.
On her rare day off, she rented a carriage and headed straight for Coltish Bank.
To drain Pebula’s remaining temple funds.
She had worried that the older believers had lied to her about the account—
But thankfully, the bank employee handed her an absurd amount of money without issue.
Her hands were heavy with wealth.
She was giddy.
Even though she knew she had to spend all of it.
As she turned to leave, she hesitated—then walked back to the counter.
The original account na was "Pebula’s Blessing".
Even though Coltish Bank was known for its strict confidentiality, the na still bothered her.
"I want to change the account na. If I do that, the old records get erased, right?"
"Yes, that’s correct. What would you like to rena it?"
"Hmm... Overwork Death."
The employee nodded, unfazed.
"It appears to be a joint account. Please leave a ssage in case the original owners attempt to recover it."
"That won’t happen."
"It’s standard procedure. We ask for your understanding."
"Ugh... Fine. Just tell them the account was inactive for too long and got automatically erased."
Viga answered without a care.
She had no idea how much trouble that decision would cause her in the future.
***
Using a mix of carrots and sticks, she successfully bribed a dark mage into getting her a temple robe.
He clearly wanted more money in exchange for the temple’s location—
But she already knew where it was.
And so, her infiltration began.
Since she couldn’t keep faking being sick, she worked as a maid by day and snuck into the temple by night.
Balancing both was hell,
But the information she gathered made it worth it.
Even so—
No matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find any leads on Morion.
Eventually, she made a decision.
She would hunt down the Elders for answers.
I need to check what’s in the Grand Elder’s eyes.
If anyone knew about Morion, it would be him.
She prepared a trap in the Grand Elder’s personal prayer room and waited for him to arrive.
And not long after—
“...Grandfather, are you really the Grand Elder?”
She had been tense, preparing all sorts of spells just in case—
But it was too easy.
One spell.
That was all it took for him to collapse.
Was this a trick?
A trap?
Doubtful, Viga cautiously nudged his unconscious body with her foot.
But his face looked the sa as ever.
Still suspicious, she pried open his eyelids—
And finally got a clear look at the mana lump that had been bothering her.
She stared at it.
But even up close, she couldn’t figure it out.
So she summoned divine power—
And the mont she did—
"Huh?"
Sothing long and thin began unraveling from the old man’s sky-blue eyes.
It slithered out—
And landed in her palm.
A golden object.
She grimaced at its unnatural shape—
But upon closer inspection, she realized what it was.
"A... key?"
Why on earth was it inside his eye?
She had no idea what it was for.
Or where it led.
But considering how strongly it reeked of dark magic—
She carefully stored it away.
She had planned to interrogate the Grand Elder next—
But just then, she sensed multiple people approaching the prayer room.
She quickly escaped.
There was no need to kill the old man.
He undoubtedly held far too much information to dispose of recklessly.
And he never saw my face, so I should be fine.
With that, Viga hurried back to the Duke’s estate.
She slipped into her room and was just about to crawl under the blanket pile she had stuffed with pillows when—
BANG!
The door swung open.
Standing in the doorway—
Was Cruello.
Viga let out a silent scream and froze.
The boy stared at her.
Then asked—
"You. What have you been doing at night?"
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