Catherine hesitated to speak. Anne covered her face with both hands again, as though too embarrassed to face anyone, and whimpered through her rosy lips, "He definitely saw it, definitely! I saw his, so he must have seen mine too... Goddess above, how could something so embarrassing happen?"
Catherine's lips curled upward. This was the Anne she knew. Miss Anne, who had been strange all day, had finally returned to normal.
"Miss Anne, what are you talking about?" Catherine tried to look at the paper in her hands, but Anne hurriedly moved it away and refused to let her see it.
"Listen, Catherine!"
Anne grabbed her shoulders with both hands, her little face grave. "Something very, very strange happened to me today!"
When she said "very, very," Anne's expression was so vivid and amusing that her personal maid nearly laughed. Holding it in, she asked, "Dear Anne, you've already been strange all day. Could you please stop saying strange things too?"
Anne hurriedly asked, "He... no, how was I strange today?"
Catherine first asked, "Why did you suddenly lose the ability to use magic?"
"Lose the ability to use magic? Oh, he couldn't use magic!"
Anne looked smug. "His world seemed to have no magic. At least, he couldn't use any. I nearly fell when I got out of bed. My body was all weak and limp, and even walking made me tired! Oh, right, he didn't have any maids to take care of him. I got dressed by myself today, Catherine. Hurry and praise me!"
Catherine looked at her in confusion. Anne quickly shut her little mouth, gave a mischievous chuckle, and urged her to continue explaining how "she" had been strange today.
Catherine confirmed that the person before her really was Anne. After roughly describing Anne's unusual behavior today, she solemnly asked, "Miss Anne, have you spoken with an unknown evil spirit?"
"He closed his eyes while you changed clothes for him? Hehe."
Anne was focused on something else entirely. She let out a giggle, and the expression on her delicate little face became even more adorable.
But then she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly told her maid, "Don't tell my father or mother about what I did today, or what I just said!"
"Hm?"
"I'm going to the church!"
"Now?" Catherine glanced out the window and shook her head. "The evening prayer hour has already passed."
"Now. Hurry and prepare the carriage for me. Ah, I need to bathe and change clothes too. I'm going to the church later to pray to the Goddess!"
Once Anne had made up her mind, Catherine could not refuse. She waved over several maids and had them prepare hot water, perfume, clothing, and other things for Anne's bath, then informed the Duchess that Miss Anne wished to go to the church.
After the castle fell into a flurry of activity.
Anne boarded a luxurious carriage, escorted by a squad of knights. Under the watchful gaze of High Tower Mage Phyllis's Magic Eye, she headed to the largest Holy Light Goddess Temple in the northern region, near the castle, and met Bishop Fergus.
"Good evening, Miss Anne."
Fergus greeted her with a smile. Anne returned the courtesy, then impatiently said, "Uncle Fergus, I want to pray to the Goddess!"
Before Fergus could ask anything, Anne added in a half-coquettish tone, "Something incredibly unbelievable happened to me today. I need to pray to the Goddess and beg for her response. Uncle Fergus, please help me!"
Anne had come to the church late at night, escorted by the family knights. She must have received permission from either the Duke or the Duchess.
Fergus studied her carefully. Only after a long while did he nod. "It seems our Anne truly encountered something extraordinary, enough for her to come to the temple at night and beg for the Goddess's mercy. Very well. Come with me. I'll take you into the sanctuary and prepare the ritual for you."
"Thank you, Uncle Fergus!"
Anne happily followed him.
At Bishop Fergus's command, numerous clergy members of the Holy Light Goddess Temple gathered in the sanctuary. Their gazes fell upon Miss Anne Weisz Swinton, kneeling beneath the Goddess Statue, curious as to why she had come to pray to the Goddess in the middle of the night.
Praying through a ritual was completely different from ordinary daily prayer. The former required a bishop to conduct a ceremony for the worshipper in the church. It was how believers begged the Goddess to respond, bestow blessings, or dispel curses.
Even Anne, the Duke's daughter, had only received the Goddess's blessing once, at her birth.
The Holy Light Church of the northern region had not held a formal prayer ritual in the past two years. Yet tonight, after nightfall, Anne, daughter of Duke Swinton, had come to the temple to pray to the Goddess and seek her response.
Under everyone's gaze, including Catherine's, Anne knelt before the Goddess Statue and recited her prayer:
"Great Goddess, your radiance shines upon the northern region, driving away the cold and banishing evil...
Your believer, Anne Weisz Swinton, offers you her faithful belief and tells you of something, begging for your response.
This is what happened: today, I went to a magical place called Earth, a world with eight billion people. My soul exchanged places with a man named Lu Xing..."
After reciting the prayer, Anne began chattering on about the incredible things that had happened to her today. Without realizing it, she even mentioned how she had pulled open Lu Xing's trousers for a look, then stared in utter shock.
Inside the sanctuary, before the Goddess Statue.
A group of fathers, priests, nuns, and the maids from Swinton Castle were all praying softly. None of them heard what Anne was saying.
After a long time, Anne finally finished.
Yet the Goddess Statue gave no response.
Anne turned back to look. Fergus shook his head and said, "The Goddess heard your prayer tonight, but the Goddess does not always answer her believers' requests."
Anne was filled with disappointment, but she quickly came to terms with it and smiled. "It's enough that the Goddess heard me. Even if she doesn't respond, I—"
Before she could finish, the sacred Goddess Statue burst forth with radiance. Two illusory angels appeared before it, jointly holding a ball of light. Under the shocked gazes of Fergus and the others, the angels sang an ethereal song and sent the orb into Anne's forehead, where it merged into her body.
Everyone was stunned by the sight.
Bishop Fergus was the first to recover. In an excited, resounding voice, he shouted, "The Goddess is watching over Anne!"
Only then did everyone understand. They excitedly knelt toward the glowing Goddess Statue, sang hymns of praise, saw the angels off, and offered their faith to the Goddess.
The entire northern temple was stirred. The radiance emanating from the church drew the attention of countless people in the city. High Tower Mage Phyllis climbed her tower for the first time in a long while and watched the Holy Light Goddess Church from afar.
When Anne emerged from the sanctuary, countless church knights and ascetics who had rushed over upon hearing the news bowed to her and watched her leave with reverence.
The Goddess was watching over Miss Anne!
Lu Xing returned to Earth.
The first thing he did was search the table until he found the sheet of paper on which he had written, "My name is Lu Xing."
Sure enough, there was another sheet of paper now. She had seen it and left her own information behind.
Lu Xing raised an eyebrow. This was his first time conversing with a transmigrator from another world. The writing on it actually came in two versions: one in Chinese characters, and one in the language of the Magic World.
Using his body, she had learned Chinese characters too!
Lu Xing could not help smiling as he lowered his head to read:
"Hello, Mr. Lu Xing. My name is Anne Weisz Swinton, and I come from the Continent Blessed by Gods—an ancient name the elves used for our world."
Before you continue