The Villain Saint is my secondary account

……

Before leaving the embassy, ​​Princess Femihill emphasized the agreement regarding the duel two days later to Ye Xiao several times.

She probably realized that this nonchalant man really wanted to stand her up.

"Xia Lian, don't you travelers from other worlds have some special means of communication..." Princess Femihill crossed her arms, "...could you use that method to call this guy over? By the way, if he escapes, could you also spread the word among your group about how he fled without a fight, which is so shameful?"

"Oh, Your Highness, there's no need for that. I've really kept this in mind," Ye Xiao said, his forehead creased with exasperation. It seemed that if he stood her up, this princess would cyberbully him.

"How about we add each other as friends, Mr. Ye?" Xia Lian smiled wryly. "Don't worry, His Highness was just saying that; he won't punish you or anything. I just saw that you and Xiao Lian were able to chat for so long, so perhaps I'll have to ask you to come over more often to talk to her and offer some guidance. Ever since that incident, she hasn't had the courage to leave her room..."

"Of course, I know this is trouble for you. If you are willing to come and see Xiaolian, I will cover your travel expenses and food and drink."

Ye Xiao scratched his head. He considered that there might still be issues with that pile of papers that required him to come back to Xiao Lian. Moreover, having more players who could connect with the Aslan royal family might make things much easier. Therefore, without much thought, he agreed, "Okay, I'll add you?"

“Sure, my nickname is ‘Xia Lian,’ Xia as in summer and Lian as in lotus.” Xia Lian smiled slightly.

"Okay." Ye Xiao sent the friend request, and then saw that Xia Lian seemed to be slightly taken aback.

"Wait, you're 'Midnight Snack'???" Xia Lian's face was filled with shock, as if she had seen something incredible. "You've always had this nickname???"

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow, about to speak, but then he suddenly remembered the name "Xia Lian".

Holy crap! I shouldn't have added him! Isn't this the guy who revealed his "number one ranking" status on the forum last time?!

There have been so many things going on lately that Ye Xiao almost forgot about this matter.

No, wait, calm down...

The other party must have seen what Ella looked like before, and now she looks completely different from him.

Ye Xiao quickly composed himself and asked naturally, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"...This...shouldn't be..." Xia Lian frowned, her face full of confusion.

She always remembered that when she first met the top contributor, their username was "Midnight Snack."

But this "midnight snack" she's encountered now is so different from the one she'd seen in the arena...

Could it be that I really remembered it wrong?

Xia Lian was completely confused, but didn't know how to ask, so she could only give a slightly awkward smile, "It's nothing... I accidentally confused your name with someone else's."

“I see.” Ye Xiao nodded. “It’s normal for tens of millions of players to have similar names.”

While saying this, Ye Xiao was actually checking the system to see if adding back deleted friends would save chat history. Fortunately, the system did not have this function, or perhaps it was because too much time had passed and the system had cleared it.

Speaking of which, how come this system clears chat history just like WeChat? Does it also have a storage limit?

……

After exchanging contact information and parting ways, Ye Xiao returned to the Seven Stars Society's residence and began analyzing the pile of things left behind by Su Xiyun.

Meanwhile, in the Loren Grand Cathedral, Ella also received a letter from Morningstar Ridge.

Before the royal selection, the Holy City, as the headquarters of the Holy Temple, asked Ella if she wanted to set off to participate in the Holy Temple Trial. However, because of the royal selection, Ella chose to refuse, which caused the trial, which was supposed to officially crown her as the Holy Maiden of Light, to be postponed to the following year.

The Holy Trial is held every year in the last week of the Repose Month, which is the last week of November. Through this trial, the holy sons and daughters of the Holy Light Church and its subordinate Holy Churches are officially crowned in the Pilgrimage Month, December, and assume the responsibility of ruling their respective churches.

This is an ancient tradition, and even those chosen by the gods with holy marks must go through this process.

The contents of the letter corresponded to this: an invitation to the Holy Trial next year.

Now that the Royal Selection of Loren has ended, Ella can naturally take the time to prepare for this matter. Therefore, she signed her name without hesitation and gave a positive reply.

Chapter Five: Departure Resolution

"Your Holiness, it seems you have decided to go to the Holy City."

Archbishop Holmes, with his white beard, was quite moved when Ella handed him the invitation to the trial.

"Time flies. I can't believe it's been three months since I performed the spiritual quality test on you."

"I am truly sorry that the controversy surrounding the imperial selection caused you to miss this trial."

"It's alright, Your Excellency. The capital city is now in dire need of rebuilding, and the dark clouds of evil spirits have disappeared. I suppose it must all be the arrangement of my Lord." Ella smiled.

"It is also thanks to your compassionate heart, Your Grace." Holmes took the letter, signed his name and indicated his agreement to recommend her. "However, I have a question... Although this question may be somewhat inappropriate for the Chosen of Light... what level has Your Grace reached in Holy Light magic?"

"Forehead……"

This question really stumped Ella.

She raised one hand and tried to chant a simple holy light spell, while trying to activate her body's connection to the holy light.

Then, a ball of light, about the size of a baseball and emitting a faint golden glow, appeared in her palm.

Bishop Holmes gazed at the orb of light that struggled to maintain its spherical shape in Ella's palm, shifting constantly, and asked in a low voice:

"The Holy Maiden casts... a Radiant Blast, a basic arcane spell?"

"Hmm..." Ella held on for about five or six seconds, and the ball of light shrank smaller and smaller like a deflated balloon, before dissipating into free-floating specks of light.

"This..." Holmes stroked his beard awkwardly, "I am well aware of the Holy Maiden's abilities and compassion, but the magic you are skilled in is probably not applicable to those believers in the Holy City who are unaware of the truth..."

Although Holmes didn't say it outright, the spells Ella knew really seemed bizarre.

But since it's called a "trial," battles are bound to happen. The holy sons and daughters of the other temples will use their powers to command the wind and rain, while the holy daughter of the Temple of Light, who leads all the temples, suddenly unleashes a huge, dark tentacle. It's a bit hard to watch out for.

“Well…” Ella’s eyes darted around, “I actually know a little bit of Templar skills…”

"A Templar Knight...?" Holmes was stunned. "When did Your Excellency ever practice Templar swordsmanship?"

Ella gave a smirk, and then, with a thought, the Holy Light Armor commonly used by Templars was revealed on her body.

Then she raised the knife and scabbard from her waist, and golden light immediately enveloped it.

This was a Templar skill she learned from the former Archbishop Evans during a memory mission, and she found it surprisingly useful after registering it in the system as a reward.

As for the other holy light spells she learned on her own, such as "Healing Holy Light" and "Sword of Judgment," they became strange and unorthodox when used after being added to the system skill tree, and she could not master proper holy light spells at all.

Ella still doesn't understand why. Unless she gets the Holy Light skill directly as a reward from the system by completing certain tasks, all the skills she learns herself or by buying skill books will be merged into the evil god's skill tree and turned into strange spells in the form of tentacles and sludge.

Although she didn't practice the Templar's skills often and her proficiency wasn't very high, it was still better than her pitiful Holy Light spell, Water Apple.

"...It turns out that the Holy Maiden has more insights into the path of Holy Light Sword Technique training." Holmes coughed lightly. "Although... Templar Knights are generally responsible for guarding the Holy Son and Holy Maiden...the doctrine does not stipulate that the Holy Maiden is not allowed to train as a Templar Knight."

"Have you decided on your entourage?"

"Yes, I've already written it on there."

Each holy son and daughter can bring one attendant when participating in the trial, and Ella naturally filled in "Ye Xiao" here.

“Uh… I seem to have heard of this person before,” Holmes frowned as he held the invitation. He hadn’t even noticed the name until now, and now he vaguely remembered it. “I remember… he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen?”

“It is indeed that person.” Ella smiled and nodded.

"This...isn't it a bit..." Holmes didn't quite understand. He had met this "Ye Xiao" once in the palace, and he seemed quite ordinary. Why were King Loren and his own saintess so eager to have this guy?

As the saying goes, a subject cannot serve two masters. The Holy Maiden is essentially a monarch of another faction that transcends the imperial power. Holmes thought this was inappropriate no matter how he looked at it.

But the silver-haired girl in front of him remained calm. "Don't worry, Your Excellency, he is the most suitable candidate in my opinion."

“Alright, since you’ve made up your mind.” Seeing Ella’s determination, Holmes didn’t say anything more. “I originally thought you would choose Ophelia or Geraint…”

These two were the personal guards who served Ella when she went to Stormport. After returning to the capital, they continued to perform their duties, but they were basically like two tin cans, not saying much, just silently following behind Ella on the left and right.

“I will naturally bring them along,” Ella smiled, “but I’ve decided that this person is needed as a follower to participate in the trial.”

Holmes nodded helplessly. Well, this man might have some extraordinary qualities that he himself was unaware of, since he could win the favor of both the Queen and the Saintess at the same time.

Afterwards, Ella and Bishop Holmes planned their route to Morningstar Ridge. They had a full year, so they weren't in a hurry to head straight to the Holy City.

Now that the capital city has stabilized, many members of the Seven Luminaries Society are still burdened with the punishment of failing the imperial selection mission, so the benefits of staying in Loren are actually quite limited.

Moreover, with the knowledge left over from the previous life, there are still many places on the continent worth exploring. As the system version evolves to 2.0, even greater changes that will sweep across the continent are already brewing.

Leaving Loren was an inevitable trend.

In addition to discussing the matter with Holmes, Ella also returned to the Duke's mansion to discuss it with her father.

For the Duke of Haville, this was the first time his daughter had undertaken such a long journey, and it was impossible not to be worried.

However, compared to this journey, the Duke had something even more troubling on his mind. During the royal selection, everyone was busy, so he couldn't ask. Now that the selection was over, he finally found an opportunity to speak up, and he couldn't help but say it:

"Daughter...didn't you tell me before that the knight beside the princess is your boyfriend?"

"Of course, Ella, as your father, I won't interfere in your love life. But before I leave the capital, could you please invite that young talent so that I, as his father, can also have a chance to talk to him?"

Chapter Six: An Audience with the Duke

"Ah... this... Father is so busy with affairs of state, so perhaps we shouldn't trouble you?"

Ella's heart tightened involuntarily.

“How can this be considered a trouble? This is a major matter concerning my daughter’s love life.” Duke Hevil’s rough hand gently patted Ella’s head. “Ella, you don’t need to worry too much. You should know your father. I’m not the kind of person who would nitpick your lover because of status or position.”

“But since he is your lover, I must also consider his abilities and qualifications to see if he is qualified to become a member of our family.”

Ella swallowed hard; she didn't dare say that, theoretically, she should be the one joining "Ye Xiao's family."

"And I've heard that he seems to be a traveler from another world?" Duke Hevil pondered for a moment, then continued, "I have no complaints about this group. I had heard before coming to the capital that the knowledge and insights they bring from other worlds are quite unique."

"Therefore, I am afraid that you will be attracted by these new insights and novel ideas, and thus overlook the potential shortcomings of the other party."

"I think that after the First Princess knighted him, she seemed to have received a lot of help from him. Now that she has ascended the throne and become our Majesty, it is hard to say whether this knight has contributed to it."

“But this man serves the king while also having entanglements with you, so I am indeed very worried. So at least, on the other hand, I need to see if he is truly sincere towards you.”

Duke Heville's patient and earnest advice was truly heartfelt, and after hearing it this far, Ella seemed to have no reason to refuse.

So she could only pretend to go out and open a portal to find Ye Xiao, who was still studying Su Xiyun's left-behind notes at the Seven Stars Society's headquarters.

Ye Xiao also stopped his research, rummaged through his drawers and found a few decent clothes, put them on, combed his hair to look like an adult, and shaved off the beard that he had been growing for who knows how many days.

With Ella around, Ye Xiao could easily see his tidied-up appearance. Looking at himself in a tall, slim black trench coat, a vest underneath, slicked-back hair, and a young face that didn't quite match his slicked-back hair, he had a strong sense of déjà vu as a spy in an enemy-occupied area in an anti-Japanese war drama.

But it should be alright? Anyway, Ella looks pretty cool.

However, when the two of them stood in front of the mirror together, Ye Xiao's illusion about his handsome appearance was shattered.

Standing side by side with that stunningly beautiful silver-haired girl, Ye Xiao looked at himself and realized he seemed utterly...mediocre.

The longer I look at Ella, the less I can accept having such an eyesore standing next to her...

No, I'm not going to spoil the mood! Ye Xiao patted her face, wondering why she was scolding herself.

"Damn it, why is the difference so big?..."

Ye Xiao picked up a comb and carefully adjusted her hairstyle, with Ella even helping her fuss over it.

Even if they weren't a perfect match, they shouldn't look like a toad next to a swan, right?

No matter what he tried, Ye Xiao found that he couldn't match the girl in the mirror in any way.

Beside that ethereal, otherworldly girl, Ye Xiao's presence seemed utterly ordinary.

It's not that he's ugly or unattractive; after cleaning up, Ye Xiao could actually be considered somewhat handsome. His young face and deep, languid eyes had a unique charm.

However, compared to Ella, there is still an insurmountable gap.

"Never mind, my charm comes from within."

So he simply gave up, and with a flick of his comb, he returned to his original slicked-back hairstyle.

Then, Ella casually opened a portal, and they arrived near the Duke's mansion.

Of course, if they arrived too quickly, the Duke would inevitably be suspicious. The two strolled around the surrounding streets for a while before finally arriving at Duke Heville's residence.

Downstairs, gazing at the mansion gates he had seen countless times, Ye Xiao felt a strange sense of tension for some reason.

This has nothing to do with Duke Hevil's status or power; it's simply because he is Ella's father.

Ella pushed open the door, and the two, led by servants, headed to the third floor of the mansion, to the Duke's study.

"Please come in."

As the door slowly opened, Ye Xiao saw Duke Heville behind the desk.

Even though they had met just half an hour ago, Ye Xiao felt that Duke Heville's aura was completely different from before when they met again.

His slightly furrowed brows, his sharp, eagle-like gaze, his expressionless face, and his every gesture exuded the air of someone accustomed to being in a high position.

"Greetings, Your Grace." "Greetings, Father." Ye Xiao greeted first, followed by Ella Daoan.