A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 143

She smiled, a smile unlike her previous mocking one, like ice and snow melting away, a smile of joy at seeing a loved one again.

Unlike her scoundrel father, her sister is so healing and lovely that she will definitely support her and be willing to return to her side.

Have you found Her Highness the Princess?

Amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Ruby inquires about the palace that appears to belong to only her.

Space began to distort, ripples appeared in the air, and then a figure emerged.

"Replying to Lady Ruby, Your Highness, your sister, Princess Curtis, has just returned to the palace with the saintess from the neighboring country."

"Is the news reliable?"

"Yes, Lady Ruby, more than one person has seen them. Several waves of our people were dealt with, but judging from the actions of the saintess beside Princess Curtis, it shouldn't have been a deliberate attempt to rescue them, but rather that they were rescued on the way back."

The rebels also had their own uniforms, making them very easy to recognize.

"I see. Then I'll go pick up my sister and take her home myself."

After killing her enemy, Ruby heard news of her sister whom she longed to see most. Her tone was gentle, like a warm spring breeze, and she was in a very good mood.

"Just back off."

"Yes, Lady Ruby."

The figure in black robes began to sway, becoming blurry and indistinct, before merging back into the space.

243. Sisters Reunited

"Curtis, close your eyes."

However, before Ruby could even go to find Saint Karina, she had already come looking for her.

After the old emperor died, the spatial constraints of the palace loosened, and Saint Karina immediately used teleportation magic to rush over.

However, upon seeing the headless bodies, the courtiers dressed in noble robes, and the only old man with a head—the face of the old emperor, the only complete corpse with a gaping hole in his chest and his heart no longer beating—Saint Karina knew what had happened here.

She knew Curtis was different from other women; she wasn't as obedient to her, and she even reached out to cover Curtis's eyes beforehand.

"Hey, Santa Karina, what are you doing?"

She was annoyed and tried to pry Saint Karina's hand off.

However, she soon smelled the pungent odor of blood.

That smell was hard to dissipate easily in the enclosed space, even though the space was quite large and there was a two- or three-meter-wide hole in the wall.

"Has...something happened?"

Curtis is very perceptive; although she's a bit willful, she's not stupid.

"Yes, something bad has happened. You need to be prepared."

Santa Karina didn't completely forbid Curtis from watching, but she was afraid that if she suddenly watched it, she would have a mental breakdown.

Everyone feels this way, but if you're mentally prepared and have built up a mental defense, this feeling will be much better.

"I see."

Knowing that many people had probably died here, and with the pungent smell of blood filling his nostrils, Curtis abandoned his arrogant ways and nodded obediently.

"You can let go now, Saint Karina."

Then, the gaze shifted from darkness and warmth back to light and cold.

Because darkness is not always a source of fear, it may also be a form of protection.

"vomit."

Even though he was mentally prepared, Curtis still felt his stomach churn and almost vomited when he saw hundreds of headless corpses at the same time.

She gagged a few times, but only vomited some stomach acid and saliva, without expelling the food from her stomach.

I still have food in my stomach from what I ate at the coffee shop.

"What is this..."

Unlike Saint Karina, who had experienced war and felt no discomfort looking at corpses, she was numb.

Just as Saint Karina was able to quickly locate her target among numerous corpses in a short time. It was the old emperor of the Toran Empire.

Curtis couldn't bear to look at the bodies, so she didn't discover that her father's body was among them.

"Curtis, is that you?"

The figure suddenly appeared beside him, her hand reaching towards Curtis's face.

However, that hand was blocked by a cold glint of light.

"court death!"

A flash of anger crossed the man's crimson eyes, and he immediately used vines to deflect the holy sword.

"Oh!"

Saint Karina felt her arms were heavy and almost couldn't hold on.

However, Saint Karina was not afraid, but prepared to use divine words in combination with sword techniques to counterattack.

"Divine Word Technique—It is said by the Goddess that those who believe in her and are favored by her will receive divine power! It can cut through iron with a single blow and move forward without fear!"

Saint Karina showed no mercy. Anyone who remained in the palace at a time like this was definitely not a good person, and was more likely an executioner.

She was no frail old woman; the holy sword, empowered by divine words, immediately seemed to be infused with divine power, severing all the thick green shadows that attacked.

The terrifying slashing power also transformed into a silver afterimage, colliding with the green shadow.

Saint Karina slashed at least hundreds of times before she could cut all the wriggling green vines into pieces, sending them flying everywhere.

Those vines weren't ordinary vines. Even when they were chopped into several pieces, the branches were still twisting and turning, like they were dancing, which looked rather disgusting.

"combustion!"

She set it on fire without giving the vines time to recover, intending to burn it all.

Flames, carrying intense heat, raged within the palace. The scorching flames were fierce, billowing thick smoke, and even the devil vines emitted cries that sounded like a child's wail or a woman's shriek.

This scene is actually quite terrifying, especially when it's amidst a pile of dead bodies.

The bodies do not need to be buried; if the palace is burned down, it will be considered that Saint Karina has cremated the deceased for free.

She didn't believe that people must be buried after death. There are many ways to be buried, including traditional burial, sea burial, air burial, cliff burial, river burial, desert burial, and so on. Cremation can prevent the spread of disease and is a common way to bury soldiers on the battlefield.

However, many soldiers often cannot be properly buried. Their bodies are mostly left lying in the open, looking the same as when they died, for many days onward, unless their country is able to spare the resources to bury them.

"Crack, snap, snap."

But the expected next wave of attacks did not come; instead, the woman clapped for Saint Karina from afar.

She had killed her summoned creature, her pet, yet she was unusually applauding herself. Saint Karina did not lower her guard; instead, she became even more vigilant.

"That was truly well done, much better than that old man. The Holy Maiden of the Lorian Empire truly lives up to her reputation."

In retrospect, Ruby did indeed go easy on them.

She was still merciful to her annoying old man, even before the fight started, she was already using all sorts of deadly tactics, trying to take his life.

She toyed with the old emperor, but was extremely cruel to this guy who was suspected to be her brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

When Ruby received the news that her sister had run off with a white-haired woman, her lips twitched violently. She was clearly displeased, but even more so inside. She wished she could give Saint Karina a good beating to teach her a lesson for daring to abduct her own sister.

Now that she's seen it, she naturally goes straight for the punch.

"you flatter me."

Saint Karina will reply tentatively.

However, having fully emerged from the shadows, the red-haired, red-eyed woman had a very distinctive appearance, bearing a striking resemblance to Curtis, which prevented her from making any further moves before the other party could strike again.

The green vines had thorns, or spikes, which, while not injuring Saint Karina's body, still tore at the hem of her clothes.

This made Santa Karina look slightly better than the woman whose clothes were neat and who only had some bloodstains on her body, but not by much.

Although she was very unhappy about being suddenly targeted and attacked by this woman, she still intended to give her a chance to explain. There were more royal family members present at the crime scene than just one possible explanation. Besides being the executioner, it could also be Curtis's sister, who had arrived before them.

The woman was curvaceous and much better than Curtis, who was a dainty little dumpling. She was like a ripe peach. Saint Karina couldn't possibly be Curtis's sister, and she couldn't possibly be her younger sister.

"you……"

Just as Santa Karina was about to ask how the other person got there, Curtis interrupted her.

"Sister... Ruby? Is that you?"

Curtis, who had been offline for a long time, finally came back online and started asking questions.

244. A Clash of Wills

Her pupils widened slightly, as if she couldn't believe it.

The surrounding environment shocked her so much that she even wondered if it was an illusion. She still had a deep impression of Ruby, who looked almost exactly the same as she had over a decade ago, with little change.

Red hair and red eyes are the hallmarks of the royal family of the Toran Empire. While people from other countries may also have this feature, in this country, they are almost always assumed to be members of the royal family or related to the royal family by blood.

In her memory, Ruby was very kind to her. Although she often had to deal with official business and lead troops into battle, she would let Curtis bother her all day long whenever she had free time.

She had a bad temper, but she was very gentle and patient with Curtis. That's probably what they mean by blood being thicker than water.

Curtis has many siblings, but she only has one sister, Ruby, from both parents. Although her other siblings don't bully her or dare to do anything to her, their relationship with her is never good.

Being in the royal family, there was practically no familial affection. Her father doted on her, largely because of his guilt.

When she was young, her father paid little attention to her. His favor came after her sister Ruby was exiled and imprisoned, and after her mother passed away.

As a child, Curtis often thought that if this was the only way to gain her father's favor, she would rather not have it.

“It’s me. Curtis, come here.”

She reached out her hand to Curtis.

However, Curtis did not jump into her sister's arms as she did when she was a child.

She seemed hesitant, remaining behind Santa Karina.

A decade or so of absence from each other's lives makes it difficult to rebuild trust. Moreover, the environment they're in—surrounded by mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with blood on Ruby's clothes and hands—is particularly challenging.

Perhaps Curtis herself didn't realize that she trusted Santa Karina more than her own sister.

"What are you hesitating about?"

Ruby saw the hesitation in Curtis's eyes and was somewhat annoyed.

"Sister, more than anything else, I want to ask you why you're here."

Curtis sensed danger emanating from Ruby, even though she wasn't targeting him.

"You don't need to ask these questions. You just need to come with me. You are my sister, not some strange woman of unknown origin."

"Saint Karina is a saintess of the Lorian Empire, not a woman of unknown origin. And sister, aren't you serving your sentence?"

"Serving time... haha."

Ruby gave a mocking laugh.

She seemed to have no idea that when she met her sister, the other sister didn't immediately inquire about her health, but instead emphasized that she was still serving her sentence.

Life imprisonment is nothing... She'd spend her entire life in a cramped prison cell, while her enemies lived in palaces, enjoying the finest food and drink, and basking in everyone's praise. And she, Ruby, was a sinner.

She is still a sinner.

Those who fabricate charges are the true traitors.

"You mean that old man? What right does he have to judge others, including me!"

Anger, like a floodgate bursting, poured out.

She did not resent her sister, but blamed everything on the old emperor.

It's all because of that person that I've been unable to stay by my favorite younger sister's side, which has led to estrangement and distance between the sisters.

But things are different now. She's back, and she can only be the emperor of the Toran Empire. No one can separate the sisters anymore.

"Curtis, do you believe me? If I said I've never done anything wrong before, would you believe me?"

"I believe you, sister."