Target of Revenge

The next morning, the Castle dining hall was lit normally for the first time.

At least, that was how Isolde saw it.

She sat at the head of the long table with a cup of black tea before her.

Lia stood behind her, holding the menu and seriously scanning the words with the eye exposed beyond her bandages.

"Miss, today's kitchen can provide: rye bread, smoked meat, stewed mushrooms, assorted rotten flesh, Breathworm egg custard, live snails—"

"Stop." Isolde remained expressionless. "Cross out everything after that from the menu."

Lia said, "Yes."

Isolde had a slight headache. She had barely paid attention to food these past few days, but seeing it now, it seemed the Castle's dining system needed a major overhaul. Great. Her next outing now came with the additional task of selecting recipes.

The sound of bells came from outside. Isolde looked up and saw Ullr, the wandering merchant, walk in.

He was still wearing that old cloak, its edges covered in copper pieces, small bottles, and tiny bells. As he moved, they softly knocked together, making faint tinkling sounds.

At first glance, he looked like a dark-themed Christmas tree. Ullr removed his top hat and gave a slight bow.

"Good morning, esteemed master of the Castle."

Isolde raised her eyes. "Good morning, shrewd wandering merchant."

Ullr quickly broke into a smile. "You are quite amusing."

"Thank you for the compliment." Isolde lifted her cup and took an elegant sip.

Ullr sat at the other end of the long table.

A Faceless Attendant placed a plate before him.

The cover was lifted, revealing a fragrant piece of toasted rye bread, a dish of smoked meat, and a small bowl of mushroom soup.

Isolde's gaze softened slightly. It seemed there were normal dishes after all.

The next second, a grayish-white eyeball emerged from the mushroom soup, slowly turned toward Ullr, and blinked at him.

Isolde said, "..."

Ullr looked down at it, then looked back at her. "The Castle's hospitality is exceptionally unique."

Isolde coughed twice. "...That was the previous owner's style."

She looked at Lia. Lia stiffly stepped forward, intending to remove the bowl of soup.

But Ullr picked up a spoon, pulled aside his mask with his right hand to reveal his mouth, and naturally scooped up the eyeball before placing it in his mouth.

What kind of mouth was that?

Like an abyss. Like a black hole.

Set into his gaunt chin, it seemed capable of swallowing even the light around it.

"Mmm, delicious."

Seeing how happily he ate, Isolde looked away from him and dismissed Lia with a wave.

She had nearly forgotten that most creatures in this world simply could not be judged by normal human standards.

Perhaps those disgusting-looking menu items were incomparably delicious to certain creatures.

Ullr set down his spoon. His white-gloved hands folded together on the table as he spoke in a light tone.

"Esteemed miss, have you decided on your after-sales request?"

Isolde gently rubbed the rim of her cup with her fingertips before speaking.

"I have."

Ullr leaned forward slightly. "Please, go on."

"I want you to help me fulfill the Moon-Crowned Unicorn's Last Wish Echo."

Ullr paused. "Esteemed miss, are you sure?"

Isolde picked up her teacup without looking at him. "Can't you understand?"

"Of course I can." Ullr chuckled. "It is simply that this matter is rather troublesome. The returns are unstable, the risks are high, and it is not worth taking on."

Isolde let out a cold laugh. "Isn't it because you failed to consider the risks when you accepted the goods? Now that the risk has been transferred to me, you have conveniently washed your hands of responsibility."

She deliberately emphasized the words "failed to consider." This unscrupulous merchant might have known about the existence of the Last Wish Echo from the beginning, yet he had kept silent.

If it had been Valen, that mindless lump of rotten flesh, then once he paid the remaining balance, whatever happened afterward would have had nothing to do with him.

When you encounter advertisements asking, "Are you a real person?" there is no need to respond. Just close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!

But Ullr had not expected to meet Isolde, a smart person who actually read contract agreements. He had even ended up detained here himself.

Ullr's low laughter leaked from behind his mask. "You are an intelligent person. Since that is the case, I will cooperate fully and provide you with some useful information."

Isolde took a sip of tea. Looking at Ullr across from her, she continued.

"Then tell me exactly how the Moon-Crowned Unicorn died."

Ullr took out a scroll of parchment from his cloak. When he released it, the map floated in the air and slowly unfolded.

One building in the northeast was marked by flowing red ink.

"Here is Grey Dove Monastery, a branch church under the Holy Court's control."

Yu Lingye had heard the name "Holy Court" too many times in her previous life.

It was the faith church of Holy White City.

In the eyes of most players, it was the banner of the light faction and righteous resistance against darkness.

In her previous life, she had once fantasized that if she managed to escape and encountered people from the Holy Court one day—

Would those white-robed believers reach out to save her? Would they tell her that her suffering was finally over?

Unfortunately, she had never encountered them.

Later, she came to understand that so-called light usually shone first upon those qualified to stand beneath it.

And for grains of sand too insignificant, even making the gods lower their gaze for a glance was a luxury.

Yet the Holy Court, so righteous and glorious in appearance, had killed the Moon-Crowned Unicorn.

The answer was more ironic than she had imagined.

Holy beasts like unicorns were naturally close to holy light and could suppress the undead, corruption, and dark arts.

Logically, they should have stood on the same side as the Holy Court. How had they met such a miserable end?

Ullr seemed to see her confusion and continued.

"On the surface, Grey Dove Monastery takes in wounded soldiers and refugees. In reality, it is a transit point where the Holy Court processes holy beast remains and conducts human trafficking."

"Their horns, bones, and manes are mostly sent there first for purification and cutting, then distributed to workshops for holy artifacts, where they are polished into highly valuable relics."

Isolde stared at the map. After a few seconds, she suddenly laughed.

"Are you sure you are talking about the Holy Court, and not some slaughterhouse dressed in white robes?"

Ullr spread his hands. "The name is not important. As long as the ledgers are clean enough, even a slaughterhouse can be called a relief center."

The smile on Isolde's face faded. In the memories from yesterday, she had believed that the ones persecuting unicorns were merely some extremist churches, but she had never expected it to be the Holy Court.

The answer was so absurd that her first reaction was to suspect Ullr was lying to her.

"Where is the evidence?"

Ullr's voice was calm and unhurried. "Esteemed miss, I am currently fulfilling my after-sales obligation. My intelligence may be expensive, incomplete, or embellished with a merchant's rhetoric, but I cannot falsify it within the bounds of the contract."

He raised a hand, and a golden contract light appeared along the edge of the parchment.

"Otherwise, I would pay dearly for it."

Isolde stared at the golden light and did not argue further.

Followers of the Contract God indeed found it difficult to lie within the scope of a contract.

That made this even more troublesome.

If the Holy Court truly was the mastermind behind this, the chain of interests behind it was easy to imagine.

She could not possibly challenge the entire Holy White City alone, could she?

Isolde suddenly felt her palm grow a little hot.

The gray-blue mark seemed to breathe beneath her skin, reminding her that once she had stepped onto this path, she could not easily retreat.

Expressionlessly, she lowered her hand, feeling somewhat weary.

When she had spoken of collecting debts last night, she had thought she was taking on a debt-collection mission.

But now, it appeared that behind this debtor stood banks, royalty, churches, and a complete security force.

A newly appointed hidden boss who had inherited the Castle less than two days ago was directly confronting Holy White City's entire faith system.

This pace of development was practically a straight route to the final ending.

Isolde sighed inwardly, slowly leaned back in her chair, and reached her final conclusion.

"So the true targets of the unicorn's revenge are the Holy Court and Grey Dove Monastery?"