Her Highness, the Pure and Noble Saint

Cecilia exuded a gentleness from the depths of her being that made people want to lie in her arms and fall asleep.

Durandal's face, however, was filled with the gallantry of a young girl, striving to make herself shine brilliantly.

Clearly the moon, yet she had grown into the sun, Otto thought.

"Today, you're the heroine too, Cecilia."

The blond man stroked the white-haired woman's head.

"How about putting on a mask and going down to have some fun? You're dressed so beautifully; it would be a shame not to attend the ball."

Cecilia wore a gown personally designed by Otto that day. The navy-blue dress outlined her slender waist, while her slightly exposed bosom formed lush curves beneath the moonlight. Her long legs were tucked together beneath the front hem, and the butterfly wings at her ankles added a touch of lightness.

The dress drifted elegantly, faint orchids flowing across its surface as diamond fragments glittered. Its layered skirts rose and fell with the wind, blooming with dreamlike colors beneath the lights overhead.

A dark-blue ribbon wound around her carefully arranged bun and, together with the curls hanging beside her ears, fell over her exposed, graceful shoulders and neck. Delicate buds swayed upon the velvet ribbon as well.

Her crescent eyes shone with a warm, pearlescent radiance beneath the starlight. A confident smile rested on her tender red lips, their perfect shape coated with a thin layer of gloss that made them appear ever more crystalline under the lights, tempting one to steal a kiss.

"Mm..."

Cecilia tilted her head and imagined what it would be like if she went downstairs. Then she shook her head with a laugh.

"I'm already this old. How could I steal the spotlight from the children?"

"Do you think everyone down there is just Little Goose's fake fan?"

Otto pointed at the Valkyries in the corner, who were staring at Durandal like infatuated fools.

"What if the fans who admire me are all rather influential?"

Cecilia took a small sip of red wine and said with a smile,

"Those who regarded me as their idol back then should all be in high positions by now, right? Look—my cousin Maria is the head of the Schariac family! She'll definitely support me!"

Otto glanced at the woman watching from the edge of the ballroom, then noticed the chestnut-haired, pink-eyed girl beside her and raised an eyebrow.

"You think they'd use their influence to draw attention to you?"

"That's why I won't compete with our Little Goose for the spotlight," Cecilia nodded, but then abruptly changed the subject. "Though, if Brother would enter the ballroom with me..."

She took several deep breaths, drained the wine Otto had handed her, then leaned toward the blond man with a faint blush on her face and breathed into his ear.

"I'll hold your waist~ I won't touch your back~ My right hand will cradle your heartbeat, no matter—eek!!!"

"Stop messing around."

Otto withdrew the hand he had used to knock the woman pretending to be drunk, glanced at Cecilia expressionlessly, and pointed behind him.

"This isn't exactly private—Miss Rita is still here."

"Ah... ah???"

The Pure and Noble White Saintess

"Ah, well..."

Cecilia guiltily glanced behind her. The chestnut-haired girl stood in a maid's dignified posture and gave her an elegant smile.

"Rita knows nothing."

"Mm." The white-haired woman nodded as well, and the two tacitly stopped mentioning what had just happened.

"That won't do..."

"Brother, you're changing the subject." The blond man still wanted to tease her, but Cecilia decided to bury her head in the sand. "Do you not want to dance with Cecilia?"

"You, honestly." Otto tapped the white-haired woman's forehead. "You just said you didn't want to steal Little Goose's spotlight. And now? If I went down there, it would be impossible not to become the center of attention."

Cecilia laughed awkwardly. "That's true."

"But judging by the time, it seems it's about time to prepare for the next step."

The blond man looked at the clock and said,

"Come on. Let's confer Durandal's honor."

Otto pressed his communicator. Amber, who was in charge of the controls, understood and gradually lowered the music. At the same time, every terminal displayed a reminder for the investiture ceremony.

Before long, the chatter quieted, and the cheers from Durandal's ardent fans gradually subsided as well. Everyone began heading toward the second floor to await the ceremony.

"Valkyries of Schicksal."

Right on time, Otto appeared on the stage at the center of the banquet hall.

"I am very pleased that you have come here to attend Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie investiture ceremony."

He paused, then continued simply.

"I do not intend to waste words here. After all, this is an unprecedented and magnificent celebration, a ball belonging to our S-rank Valkyries. As Lord Bishop, there is no need for me to overshadow the main event or disrupt everyone's enjoyment with a lengthy speech."

"So he finally realizes how long-winded he..."

A hot-blooded young Kaslana muttered, but he quickly shuddered. Turning his head, he saw Maria Schariac, the current head of the Schariac family, shooting him a cold, blade-sharp glance.

"Alright, let today's investiture ceremony begin—"

"Bianca Durandal Atagina," Otto announced solemnly, "please come forward and stand at the center of Schicksal."

As he spoke, the blond man took a step to the right.

Thunderous applause erupted. Several elders who had served Schicksal for many years raised their brows when they heard the words "center of Schicksal," casting knowing looks at Durandal.

The center of Schicksal... Otto had yielded the center of Schicksal to Durandal...

Could there be some other meaning behind this?

The blond-haired girl climbed the steps and soon arrived at Otto's side. She calmly looked over the noisy crowd, her eyes filled with confidence and poise, without the slightest trace of timidity.

Of course, she had no reason to be timid. This honor was earned through her accumulated efforts and won through her outstanding record. She accepted it with pride and fulfillment.

Standing here, Durandal was not exactly carried away by success, but she still possessed the pride of someone who had achieved a milestone.

She met the pairs of eyes below the stage, eyes filled with envy and longing, and radiated magnanimity and composure from the depths of her being.

What a fine milestone. If only... if only she were watching, it would be even better...

Even now, she did not quite understand where that sense of closeness came from... But if that woman were here, she would surely be able to lift her head even more proudly.

It was like how, if a mother's warm embrace lay ahead, an infant not yet a year old would crawl with all its strength, stumbling through mountains of blades and seas of fire to reach her.

Durandal swept her gaze across the crowd, instinctively searching for the face she cared about, but she could not find it. A trace of worry rose in her eyes.

Had she been sent on some mission—hm???

Her expression quickly changed. With shock and helplessness written across her face, she looked toward Otto. Amid the restless crowd, a white-haired woman was walking along the path Durandal had just taken, her beautiful eyes carrying both pride and a smile.

—It was Cecilia Schariac!

Durandal froze. Even after the white-haired woman reached her side, she had yet to recover, staring blankly into those gentle, saintly blue-green eyes.

"Oh my god!!!"

A scream rang out from below the stage.

"That is...???!!!"

"That's Cecilia! It's actually Lady Cecilia!!!"

Cecilia Schariac.

Anyone with even a little knowledge of Honkai history knew what that name meant.

Schicksal's Saintess, the former head of the Schariac family, an S-rank Valkyrie, the former wielder of Black Abyss White Flower, the Savior of Siberia...

Countless glories shone upon the woman. Even though she had disappeared from public view for ten years, she could still be recognized at a glance.

"Lady Cecilia, is it really you?"

"My god, Lady Cecilia is actually still alive?!"

"But wasn't Lady Cecilia caught up in the Second Honkai Outbreak..."

"Lord Otto must have saved her! Don't you know? Lady Cecilia used to be Lord Bishop's personal guard!"

"Hah, it was clearly Schicksal's medical staff who did the work, yet the credit is being given to Otto again..."

"Tsk tsk, Lady Cecilia and Lord Otto... I suddenly kind of want to ship them..."

"Come ship them! Welcome to the Otto-Cecilia pairing fandom!"

"Let me tell you a secret. Before Lady Cecilia got married, Lord Otto and Cecilia would disappear together once every year..."

"Hehe, I knew the pairing I supported couldn't be wrong... How could Bishop Otto possibly give up his Saintess little sister..."

"Yes, that's right, everyone present."

Otto swept his gaze across the room with a smile before finally meeting Cecilia's eyes.

"Thirteen years ago, Schicksal rescued our beloved Saintess from the Herrscher of the Void and a Honkai Energy Fission Bomb. However, she was then gravely injured and on the verge of death. She only recovered recently."

"So that's how it was!!!"

"As expected of Lord Bishop!!!"

Exclamations and praise rose from below the stage. Everyone marveled at Schicksal's immense power.

Most people who could enter this venue were not ignorant. They understood how insignificant humanity was before a Herrscher, and how terrifying a Honkai Energy Fission Bomb could be.

Siberia after the outbreak of the Second Honkai Outbreak remained a frozen wasteland saturated with Honkai Energy even now.

Yet at that time, amid ruins resembling hell itself, Schicksal had directly rescued someone like Cecilia, who had practically stood at the center of the battlefield. They could not imagine just how powerful Schicksal's hidden methods had become.

Some quick-witted Valkyries had even begun to wonder whether the Valkyries who had seemingly died over the years had truly left them forever.

Could they, like Lady Cecilia, have been rescued by Schicksal through some mysterious technology that could not yet be revealed, serving Schicksal in secret?

Then... if they became stronger and worked even harder to prove themselves before Lord Otto, might the people they missed return to their sides one day, just like Lady Cecilia had?

It had to be said that this was an immensely tempting source of motivation.

The maid-clad girl standing in the corner listened to the Valkyries' speculation, an indescribable light flickering in her ruby-like eyes.

Meanwhile, the blond Valkyrie on stage seemed to belatedly realize something because of those idle remarks and looked solemnly toward a certain man.

At that moment, both of them thought of the same person.

She... if possible, they both truly wanted to see her once...

"This is truly a joyous moment—Schicksal has displayed incomparable technological power. Standing upon the shoulders of giants from the Previous Civilization, I bear witness to this miracle together with all of you."

Otto continued after the crowd had settled down.

"Hereby, I announce that Miss Bianca Durandal Atagina shall be promoted to Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie and inherit the Black Abyss White Flower currently held by Cecilia Schariac."

"Ah? This..." Durandal instinctively wanted to refuse. She felt that Black Abyss White Flower could better serve in the fight against Honkai in the hands of the woman before her.

"There is no need to refuse, Durandal." The blond man saw through her thoughts. "Schicksal now possesses the ability to create Divine Keys."

Cecilia stepped forward, a silver-purple lance appearing in her flawless white hand. "This is yours now, my dear little Bianca."

She handed Black Abyss White Flower to the blond-haired girl. At the same time, Otto moved his arm, and an identical lance lay across his chest.

"The former Black Abyss White Flower originated from an ancient civilization and accompanied generations of Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries as they fought for all that is beautiful in this world."

"It symbolizes inheritance. From the hands of the former Saintess, it shall be passed to the new leader of the Valkyries—Bianca Durandal Atagina."

"And this Black Abyss White Flower was newly developed by Schicksal, a weapon against Herrschers forged by borrowing the power of gods."

"It symbolizes blessing. It shall be presented by me, Schicksal's Bishop Otto Apocalypse, to our pure and noble Saintess—Cecilia Schariac."

"Thank you, Lord Bishop."

Cecilia curtsied, solemnly accepting the familiar yet unfamiliar lance before slowly putting it away.

"Very good."

Otto smiled and looked at Durandal, who held Black Abyss White Flower in contemplation.

"Next comes the final matter."