The Church's Conspiracy?

Under the scrutinizing gaze of Cecilia, Ansu slowly recounted the process of his interaction with Freya.

He continued to follow the "script" he had originally established.

That is—Freya was furious at his threat, but since she had been caught in a compromising position, she had no choice.

If she did not want the fact that she possessed an "impure" bloodline to be made public, she had to satisfy Ansu's "special requests."

In the end, a trembling Freya was forced to agree.

"Special requests?"

Cecilia looked at Ansu suspiciously. "What kind of special? Why does your phrasing sound so much like the methods used by scoundrels in certain novels to threaten innocent girls? You aren't planning on doing... that kind of thing to her, are you?"

"Of course not!" Ansu said helplessly.

"I am hoping to use Freya as a connection to secretly investigate The Church, because I have discovered that The Church's attitude toward the Chosen One is rather strange. I suspect there is a conspiracy hidden within."

"A conspiracy?" Cecilia frowned.

"Exactly!" Ansu voiced his suspicions. "I have always taken the task assigned to me by the Witch very seriously, and I have tried various ways to find that Chosen One. I wanted to probe for information from the Saintess, but I discovered... that inside The Church, the Saintess seems completely unconcerned about the matter of the Chosen One."

This lead successfully piqued Cecilia's interest, and she immediately said, "Go on."

Ansu recalled some of the things he had discussed with Freya. "The Echo of Truth Cult narrowed their search range to the Benalu Royal Academy, but The Church, as the home of the Chosen One, not only pays little attention to this matter but doesn't even seem to know that the Chosen One would appear at the Benalu Royal Academy. Isn't that a bit strange?"

"The Church doesn't even know?" Cecilia was slightly surprised. "This... this is impossible, isn't it? After all, we received the intelligence from within The Church itself..."

"The Church has a problem!" Ansu stated firmly.

Although he was somewhat intentionally changing the subject, Ansu still took his "Fated Death" quite seriously. The whole affair was shrouded in mist, and he needed to reasonably borrow Cecilia's power.

Ansu had suspected that there was something wrong with The Church for a long time.

Because he knew the original plot, the Chosen One was supposed to descend at the timeline when the game officially began; how could it be possible for a cult to have discovered them three years early?

Cecilia's expression became increasingly strange.

She pondered for a moment and spoke slowly: "If that is truly the case, then this is very likely..."

"A trap." Ansu said coldly.

The appearance of the Chosen One at the Benalu Royal Academy was very likely a performance directed by The Church itself.

Ansu continued to follow this line of reasoning: a certain mastermind within The Church might be trying to lure the snake out of its hole in this way, hoping to wipe out the cultists in one fell swoop.

And all those in the know, including Cecilia, had clearly been deceived.

But if one thought about it this way... the problem arose.

The Church's trap was truly a massive undertaking; why would they choose the Benalu Royal Academy?

This would inevitably result in the deaths and injuries of many innocent people, and it might not even succeed in eradicating the entire cult. What were they aiming for?

"No, I must report this to my teacher immediately!" Cecilia realized the gravity of the situation.

But she then paused.

"Wait... I almost forgot, she is still in seclusion. Returning rashly will only let those elders of the Reformist Faction know..."

"We had better investigate in secret." Ansu suggested.

Cecilia furrowed her brows, falling into a long silence.

Ansu waited silently.

After a long while, Cecilia's brows finally relaxed slightly. She looked at Ansu and sighed softly.

"You did well in this matter. If you hadn't secretly probed the Saintess, I might not have discovered the anomalies within this..."

"You can't blame the Witch for this." Ansu said with a smile. "Compared to magic research and the treasures of the Demon race, the Chosen One is likely just an insignificant trifle in your heart. The fact that the cult sent you to be in charge of this must have been requested by the Witch's teacher."

This task felt like forcing a duck onto a perch for Cecilia. With her arrogant nature, she should have been completely indifferent to the so-called person who would "change the world" according to the prophecy.

"Hmm." Cecilia chuckled. "It was a task designated by my teacher, after all; it was hard for me to refuse."

"Then in the future..." Ansu asked cautiously, "can I continue to have contact with the Saintess Freya?"

"This..." Cecilia paused, her expression somewhat troubled.

In the end, she could only glare at Ansu in annoyance.

"You were waiting for me here, weren't you? Are you particularly eager to continue having secret meetings with that beautiful Saintess?"

"Uh..." Why did Ansu smell a hint of jealousy?

He carefully observed Cecilia. The Witch narrowed her eyes, her expression carrying a trace of suspicion.

"You finally got your wish to see her today, and you chatted with her secretly for so long. I think you were quite happy, weren't you?"

"Not happy, not happy at all." Ansu naturally shook his head immediately. "She is a particularly difficult person to deal with, very strange..."

And a bit of a stalker.

The atmosphere remained quiet for a long while. Seeing that Cecilia was only hesitant and not explicitly opposed, Ansu continued to persuade her:

"This is indeed a good opportunity. I can threaten her into letting my sister enroll in the church school, which would give me a chance to continue meeting her."

"Through her, I can dig out the mastermind within The Church. After all, you wouldn't want the task assigned to you by Elder Samantha to go horribly wrong, would you?"

Cecilia was so amused she actually laughed, "You certainly think far ahead! You've even considered your younger sister's schooling!"

Ansu displayed an appropriately embarrassed smile, as if his secret intentions had been laid bare.

Cecilia sighed helplessly, "Fine, I agree."

"But!"

She suddenly emphasized, "After the investigation is over, I do not want you to have any further contact with that Saintess."

"Of course, my lady witch." Ansu breathed a sigh of relief internally.

Since she had agreed, he now had a reason to continue meeting Freya.

Plan accomplished!

After settling these matters, Ansu thought it was all over.

He had intended to mooch a few books from Cecilia's home to see if he could continue to unlock more magic skills...

But just as he was about to speak, the smile hanging on Cecilia's face became increasingly strange.

"Wait a moment~"

Those eerie Demon Blood Eyes manifested once again, and a faint aura of magic began to surge.

It was finally here...

Ansu had actually thought she wouldn't test her Hypnosis Technique on him today.

Fortunately, he had never let his guard down against this Scum Witch; it wasn't the first or second time this person had changed her face as quickly as flipping a book.

Like muscle memory, the moment the witch activated her Hypnosis Technique, Ansu cast his Lv2 Magic Immunity on her.

[Selected skill to immunize: Soul Domination - Hypnosis Technique]

[Once selected, you will be permanently immune to the magical effects of this skill]

Cecilia stared at Ansu, who stood motionless before her with a gradually vacant gaze, and asked with a cryptic smile:

"Do you really have no feelings at all for that Saintess Freya?"

Without hesitation, Ansu replied stiffly:

"Of course not. In my heart, there is only the image of the lady witch; I will never betray the lady witch."

Only then did a satisfied look appear in Cecilia's eyes. It seemed that the psychological suggestions over this period had carved a deep 'brand' of her existence into his heart.

Since he was already this loyal, perhaps these psychological suggestions could come to an end...

After asking the question she cared about most, Cecilia slowly began to inquire about the topics Ansu had brought up earlier.

"Is all the intelligence you brought today true?"

"It is true," Ansu replied.

"Oh..." Cecilia nodded and remained silent for a moment.

She watched the handsome youth standing right before her in silence, and an inexplicable, strange thought suddenly welled up; she suddenly wanted to ask something else today.

"Ansu, do you have..."

"Aside from loyalty and admiration, do you really have no other thoughts about me?"