[Vol. 5] Chapter 180: Malice
Violet finally understood.
Awen wasn’t wrong.
These people… were probably indeed looking for trouble.
It was hard to say who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. It could be a personal feud or sothing similar, but there was no doubt that their real target was not the white fox shrine maiden but aid directly at Edwina.
This guy probably not only knew her but was also quite familiar with her. He was just putting on an act.
Thinking about this brought to mind so things ntioned by the young lady of the Cecilia family, Frederica, when she encountered the Judgnt Saintess in the Azure Sky Kingdom. Naturally, these thoughts floated to the surface of Miss White Fox’s mind.
Jealousy? Or perhaps fear that this Holy Knight was too outstanding, that her fa and status had ballooned to a level that so people could not control, prompting them to seize the opportunity to suppress her…
Upon reflection, Arlin’s concerns were not without rit.
Edwina not only returned to the academy to have fun during the critical period of holy war preparations but also acted recklessly, drawing her sword in front of the students. Any one of these incidents, if slightly pushed and manipulated, could easily beco a huge blemish on her religious career.
Thus, the arbitration officers’ earlier attitude was deliberately rude. If a further conflict erupted between the two sides at this mont, it would undoubtedly serve the interests of those behind the scenes who wanted to escalate the situation.
It could even create an opportunity to further attack this Cecilia family’s second young lady, who was the acting head of the ?Scales of Judgnt?.
And… it was precisely because she realized this that Awen stepped up to attract as much of the conflict as possible onto herself. The intention of that arbitration officer earlier was actually a subtle warning to this ?Bamboo Lodge? owner not to ddle in affairs… or sothing like that.
They were playing a deep ga… each and every one of them.
However, even though it was rely an excuse for the other party to make a move, in the end, it all stemd from that white fox lady.
If she hadn’t actively requested to co to the Holy Academy, Edwina wouldn’t have had to rush over in person due to the access restrictions. Although being a tour guide was a demand made by the Holy Knight herself, as a friend, Violet could not simply ignore the situation to this extent.
“Alright, alright, you want to play this ga with , huh? I want to see…”
Just as Awen’s brows furrowed in anger, seemingly planning to respond to the provocation and warning from the other party, Edwina also frowned, preparing to speak again. Suddenly, a girl’s voice, light and airy like the wind, broke through.
“Even the gods’ punishnts need justification… You just co right out and say I’m a spy sent by hostile forces. I wonder what evidence you, as representatives of the goddess and enforcers of justice, have for this? Is it rely baseless slander?”
Seeing that Miss White Fox had finally spoken up, the arbitration officer captain, who had been sowhat hesitant due to Awen’s aggressive attitude, imdiately perked up. He deliberately ignored the ?Bamboo Lodge? owner and the Holy Knight, shifting the topic to Violet.
“Just your strange attire is already enough to indicate the issue, isn’t it? Please understand that in this situation, you need to prove that you are not a spy or troublemaker, rather than expecting us to find evidence of your cris. Do you understand?”
“Since when has the arbitration departnt been filled with fools? What evidence is…!”
Miss White Fox raised her hand, cutting off Edwina’s almost instinctive explanation. Beneath her mask, a slightly sarcastic and teasing laugh erged from the girl.
Her delicate, pale hand waved in the air, producing a bright, echoing applause.
“Oh my, what a criminal trying to prove her innocence! You arbitration officers are even more confident than the gods themselves~ May I ask, if I prove my innocence, will you have to pay so price for your slander?”
“That will depend on whether you first co with us…”
Before the words could finish, an object had already appeared in Miss White Fox’s hand.
It was an emblem carved from an unknown tal, gleaming with radiant light.
On the front of the emblem was a girl draped in a holy robe, bathed in light. When Miss White Fox lightly flipped it over, it revealed an engraving of a bracelet, as if it were a supre piece of art. The two sides complented each other, seemingly conveying an ancient, inherited na to the surroundings.
“The Redemption Saintess…?!”
The mont he instinctively murmured this title, the arbitration officer captain’s expression shifted with surprise and a slight frown.
“Impossible. Her Highness, the Redemption Saintess, is still on her way to the Holy City. How could she possibly be here? You… wait, you’re…”
It seed that only now did he finally shift his focus, previously directed at Edwina, to Miss White Fox. His gaze scanned her up and down, and his expression changed again.
“A fox mask, strange outfit… and this emblem… You—you’re Miss Dawn from the side of the Bright Light Saintess?”
“Hah…”
With a sigh of exasperation, seeing the look of genuine shock on the captain’s face, Violet didn’t know what to say.
“Edwina seems to have ntioned my na from the beginning, didn’t she? Or were you so focused on finding fault with her that you completely missed such a detail?”
“Tsk…”
The captain exchanged glances with soone beside him, who had remained silent the entire ti, seemingly the vice-captain. After a few monts of grim contemplation, the captain finally waved his sleeve with a dramatic flourish.
“We’re leaving!”
They ca quickly and left just as fast. One had to admit that these arbitration officers were indeed efficient in their movents. Within re seconds, they had all withdrawn from the ?Bamboo Lodge? without hesitation, and soon after, the sound of their footsteps faded completely from Violet’s hearing.
“Hmph… they sure ran off quickly. What a bunch of cowards! Are we really going to just let them walk away like that?”
Miss White Fox glanced at the still disgruntled green-haired shopkeeper and shrugged, adopting a nonchalant attitude.
“What else do you want to do, really fight those guys? In the end, they’re just pawns, and as enforcers of this academy, starting an actual conflict here wouldn’t benefit either you or Edwina. Of course, it wouldn’t bother at all~.”
“Tch…”
Though the green-haired woman clicked her tongue in frustration, her lack of further argunt suggested that she agreed with Violet. Despite her tough exterior, she likely wasn’t as unconcerned about fighting the arbitrators as she appeared.
“Sorry, Miss Dawn. I was too reckless earlier, and gave them a reason to act like this…”
The fox lady chuckled and waved dismissively.
“Alright, alright, no need for all these apologies. We’re friends, no need to be so formal. But Edwina, those people… they don’t seem to belong to any of the three divine families, right? Can you recognize or guess where they’re from?”
It was a simple deduction.
The emblem representing the honorary title of the Redemption Saintess was obviously given to Dawn by the upper ranks of the Lambert family as a gesture of goodwill, the first step in building a relationship.
In other words, at least the Lambert family had no intention of offending Dawn, this mysterious powerhouse, at present.
If those people had been sent by one of the divine families or the rulers of the Angel City, they would have recognized Dawn’s identity and never caused such a scene.
So, it was likely that this was the work of certain individuals within the academy acting on their own.
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