Lavinia Juniper Kand—the name was no longer unfamiliar to Hao Ren. She was Count Willie's younger sister. During the journey through the Barren Wilderness, that freckled female Knight had taken the initiative to approach him, the "Ancient Guardian." At the time, she had shown the fervor of an ardent admirer who worshiped the Sanctuary People, leaving such a distinctive and profound impression on Hao Ren.
Count Willie had been confirmed as an Annihilation Cultist lurking within the Order Kingdom, and the Kand family behind him would likely find it difficult to escape blame from top to bottom. As his younger sister, Lavinia naturally could not avoid suspicion either.
Therefore, after the incident at Kand Manor, that "Guardian Knight" had been taken into custody by Rudolf III's Inner Court Knights at the first opportunity. His Majesty the King had clearly underestimated the scale of the Annihilation Cult's operation, as well as Lavinia's position within the secret cult. While being escorted to a secret prison outside the city, she had been rescued by a large group of cultists. Not only that, she had taken advantage of the Kingdom Knights' lack of preparation to return and attack the Flag Bearer she had guarded for years, seizing the "ancient holy artifact" from her.
Hao Ren had not been particularly surprised when he heard the news. In fact, part of this had been within his plans. After learning Count Willie's identity, he had immediately suspected that Lavinia—the one who had taken the initiative to ingratiate herself with him—was involved. After Count Willie escaped, he had already anticipated Lavinia's escape as well. Once Rudolf III finished speaking, he merely nodded. "I wanted to ask this earlier. It seems you knew long ago that Count Willie and his Kand family were members of the Annihilation Cult?"
"Annihilation