The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Orphindo knelt on one knee. "Then please let me be your dog!"

Ella stood there, stunned. After a moment, her ethereal voice uttered a word filled with confusion.

"what?"

This guy really has gone mad, and he's really mad.

Chapter Ninety-Three: Honest Orffindor

Ella never expected that this delicate interrogation would actually result in the recruitment of an extra servant.

Orphindo's words were so sincere that Ella heard them as simply and naturally as "inviting him to dinner."

But she couldn't really refuse, because even though he had become a slave of the Dark Shepherd, Decari was unwilling to reveal much about the Holy Box and the Boromeo family to Ye Xiao.

When asked, he simply said he didn't know or wasn't clear. Despite his disappointment with Agnes, Decali remained loyal to his post.

To obtain this intelligence, we need to rely on Orphnoch, who has "defected."

"If you mean you want to serve as my knight... I wouldn't mind..."

Ella carefully considered her words before speaking to Orphnoch.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty. I am deeply honored."

Orfino knelt on one knee and gave a knightly salute, saying, "Of course, I am sorry for not being honest with you at the beginning, which has wasted so much of your time. I beg you, Holy Maiden, to punish me."

"Forehead?"

Ella's face stiffened. "That's not necessary..."

"No! Please punish me!"

Orfindo suddenly leaned forward again in front of the girl's long, slender legs, startling Ella, who jumped back like a frightened rabbit.

“This is the punishment I deserve, Your Holiness. Show me no mercy! Feel free to shove my head hard with the sole of your spotless shoe. Oh, and if you could kick me in the face, that would be even more perfect… No, I mean this punishment will leave a deeper impression on me, making me understand how honorable it is to offer my loyalty to such a noble being as Your Holiness…”

"Stop, stop, stop."

Ella wiped the sweat from her smooth forehead, interrupting Orfindo's rapid-fire speech, "I don't blame you for wasting my time, nor do I need to punish you for it."

She could remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before her, but facing this Orphnoch really made her a little nervous.

"No punishment is needed..."

Orfindo slightly raised his head from the ground, pondering Ella's answer. His eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had realized something new. "I see! Yes, the Saintess is right!"

No, what do you know?

Ella is genuinely scared now; her thought process is worlds apart from that of a normal person.

"This really can't be called punishment; thinking like that is still deceiving my true self."

Orfino clenched his fists, his gaze intense. "As expected of the Holy Maiden, she saw through my immature thoughts at a glance and bestowed divine teachings to dispel my confusion and ignorance!"

Isn't your idea mature enough? It's so mature that it could be mentally polluting to children!

Ella's eyes showed shock.

"This should be called a reward, no, since it is a gift from the Holy Maiden, it is a gift from God!"

Orfino's face was filled with fervor. "How could I so casually presume to ask for the Holy Maiden's favor!"

"Your Holiness, please command me at will! I will give you everything, for your supreme reward!"

Well, compared to what this guy has figured out now, his previous ideas were indeed not "mature" enough.

Ella covered her face in exasperation. Orfino wasn't insane or mentally ill; he knew exactly what he was saying, with clear logic and motivation.

This is what left Ella speechless the most.

After all, illnesses can be cured, but Orfino was simply a psychopath.

"Let's not talk about that for now... Tell me about the Holy Casket first."

Although Orphondo's thought process seemed somewhat unusual after his apparent enlightenment, his unconditional obedience to Ella's words made her inquiries much less troublesome.

He truthfully told her about the Holy Casket and the Boromeo family, to which Agnes belonged.

As mentioned before, this large family is located in the Holy City and is responsible for guarding one of the three sacred artifacts, the "Holy Casket".

Agnes is the second daughter of Legry Borromeo, the patriarch of the family. This forty-year-old Legry is also one of the three cardinals of the Holy City.

The other two cardinals were Isabella Rossia, the patriarch of the family responsible for guarding the Holy Ring, and a cardinal named Tobias William, chosen by the Lord.

Ella vaguely remembered the latter; he was the one who came on the day of the Loren Pilgrimage, whom she had rescued from the hands of the mad former Archbishop of Loren, Evans.

It turns out that the other party was a cardinal promoted by the Lord of the Temple, so he should be considered a direct subordinate of the Lord of the Temple. No wonder he came to examine this newly emerged Holy Maiden of Light on behalf of the Lord of the Temple.

Returning to the theft of the Boromeo family's sacred casket, according to Orfindo, every year during the Sanctuary Trials, the three guardian families would bring out sacred objects to test the affinity between the participants of the Trials of Light and the sacred objects in the final trial, selecting promising individuals to be trained as assistants to their families.

Orfindo and Decari were promoted to Knight Commander of the Inquisition through trials, a prerequisite for promotion to certain special positions within the Holy Temple.

Therefore, similarly, Ella also needs to complete this trial before she can be officially crowned as a saint.

Upon hearing this, Ella suddenly understood why the world-destroying witch Ella from her previous life had delayed for a year before participating in the Holy Trial, just like her, and why she had killed all three cardinals after the trial.

According to player forums, Ella cannot use the three relics, so her affinity for them is probably zero.

As the Holy Maiden of Light, none of the three sacred objects recognized her. She was never one to be a nice person, so it was no wonder she lost her temper.

Of course, this was only speculated by players and some Church believers who had not yet been corrupted and joined the resistance much later on.

At first, the three cardinals were only reported to have disappeared. Ella bypassed the trials by some unknown means and became the new Holy Lord. She began to do evil and levy taxes with the help of the Holy Temple. Her true infamy only gradually spread after that.

However, Ella doesn't know much about her development path in the early stages of her previous life. After all, Ye Xiao was still a struggling adventurer in Storm Harbor at that time, and the news of the Holy Maiden of Light appearing in Loren was just one of many strange rumors in the world.

In that lifetime, Ella didn't have much of a presence in the early stages, unlike now, when her name is known for major events like the Pilgrimage Festival, Stormport, and even the internal strife in the Imperial City.

Therefore, at that time, Ella, who later became the Witch of Destruction, was probably just quietly eliminating things that posed a threat to her. As for the disasters that befell the people and the calamities caused by the rampant evil spirits, she paid no attention to them at all.

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Holy Box

As a result, the imperial city after the previous royal election was in ruins, with civil war causing countless innocent civilians to die; the Maltz family of Stormport has always been in charge of the count, holding great power and oppressing the lower classes.

But perhaps because the Church of Life had not yet found a way to deal with Ella, they did not dare to act too recklessly in Loren. Therefore, they lured the false saintess to cities in other countries to launch a "blasphemy"...

As Ella listened to Orfindo's narration, she recalled information from her past life. Some information that she had not been clear about in the past gradually became clearer through the comparison between the two.

In this life, the Holy Casket was stolen during the recent Sanctuary Trial in Morningstar Ridge, which Ella was absent from.

Orfino said that it was rumored that a member of the Boromeo family responsible for guarding the relics colluded with the Dark Shepherd and stole the relics and ran away after the trial.

The family patriarch, Regiboromeo, was furious. During the investigation, it was discovered that some of the family members who stole the sacred artifact may have been assisted by direct descendants. As a result, all the young direct descendants of the Boromeo family were placed under house arrest in the Holy City and are subject to investigation at any time.

Among them, the young and ambitious Agnes, who had been at a disadvantage in the family competition with her eldest daughter Theresa Borromeo, gathered a small team of Inquisition knights trained by the family to sneak out to sea in order to retrieve the Holy Regalia and thus gain merit.

Among them, Decali was actually the youngest Master-level Templar Knight in his cohort, a genius among geniuses. With him as an assistant, it's no wonder Agnes dared to be so reckless.

Tsk tsk, an eighteen-year-old master swordsman, that's the aptitude of a sword saint! Ella sighed inwardly. If Agnes hadn't surrendered and Decali hadn't refused to abandon his companions, those Dark Shepherds, even the sea monsters, might not have been able to keep him.

While Orfindo's talent wasn't as good as Decali's, he was still considered one of the best among the young Templars. He even received an invitation from the First Templar Order. If it weren't for the fact that he was taken in from the slums of the Tedhe Federation Duchy by the Boromeo family when he was a child and had the Boromeo family's kindness in raising him, he might have chosen to join the Templar Order.

"But in that case, I might not be able to meet the noble and flawless Saintess at such an early age."

Orfino clutched his chest. "If I used to feel confused about my choices, now I only regret not having found the great opportunity to kneel before the saintess's pure skirt sooner."

"Well, if that's the case,"

Ella ignored Orfino's flattery, "Do you feel like you've let down the Boromeo family by choosing to pledge allegiance to me?"

"To be loyal to the Holy Maiden is God's will, and the Holy Maiden is God's spokesperson."

Orfindo responded with a devout expression, "The Boromeo family are servants who follow God, so they raised me, just as the saint raised me."

Ella's lips twitched. What kind of top-level understanding was this?

"Okay... So, do you know exactly what the Holy Casket is?"

"I had the privilege of seeing it during the Holy Trial; it roughly resembled a wooden cabinet of this size,"

As Orfino recalled, he gestured with his hands, saying, "Regarding its specific abilities, I have heard within the Boromeo family that believers with a high affinity for the casket, after receiving the blessing of the casket, can use the casket to have a spiritual connection with other blessed individuals. The higher the affinity, the clearer the connection that can be transmitted and received."

"Soul connection?"

Ella tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes, through this, those who are inspired can transmit information and even perceive each other in their hearts, and even after the physical body perishes, their thoughts and beliefs about light and faith will be transformed into experiences and deposited in the casket, passed down from generation to generation, and can be taken by those who are inspired at any time."

Hiss... Listening to Orfindo's description, Ella realized how powerful it was after just a moment's thought.

She herself, relying on Ye Xiao's sword skills accumulated in the previous life, became a Grandmaster Swordsman not long after the start of this life... According to the ability of this Holy Box, as long as there is a member in the family history who has reached the Grandmaster level, wouldn't it be possible to produce descendants with Grandmaster and Extraordinary strength through the passing down of experience from generation to generation?

"However, affinity also affects the caller's understanding of the experiences accumulated in the Holy Box; the higher the affinity, the clearer the experience will be."

Orfindo seemed to have guessed what Ella was thinking and continued, "In addition, there are differences in talent, resources, temperament and other factors, so it is still difficult to completely replicate the abilities of other powerful Invokers. But this is indeed enough to greatly shorten the time for personal growth, because once a connection with the Holy Casket is established, the Invoker can pray to it anytime and anywhere and receive blessings from it."

"On the other hand, the invoker can also pray to the consciousness stored in the casket to manipulate or assist, thereby exerting power beyond their own."

They can even hire substitute players and coaches... Ella scratched her cheek. As one of the three sacred objects, it seems to truly live up to its reputation.

No wonder some of the Inquisition knights and Second Knights I fought in my previous life could suddenly unleash their full power when they were at a disadvantage, as if they were completely different people. I thought it was some kind of faith boost, but now it seems that this is probably the power of this thing.

If everyone were given a portable old man (a type of elderly Chinese figure), who could resist that?

This holy casket is so powerful, I wonder how potent the other two holy relics must be.

"However, now that the Holy Casket has been stolen, although those who have established a connection with the Holy Casket can still draw on its knowledge and power, those who have recently joined the Boromeo family, such as myself or Decari, have not received the blessing and are therefore unable to resonate with the Holy Casket."

"That's why we need Lady Agnes, who established contact with the Holy Casket early on, to guide us in finding it."

Ella nodded, indicating that she understood.

But if that's the case, doesn't it mean that Agnes can now contact other family members through the Holy Box to rescue her?

However, the Dark Seekers' ship is still adrift at sea, and even if Agnes wanted to make contact, she would probably have to wait until it reached shore and her location was confirmed.

This could be a significant threat to those Dark Shepherds.

Ella narrowed her eyes slightly, her crimson pupils revealing a deep depth.

However, the identities of the deities behind those shepherds who were using his name were still unclear, and he was not on the same side as them, so there was no need for him to help them.

It's best to let Ye Xiao observe the situation first.

"I see. Thank you."

Ella smiled at Orfino.

"The Holy Maiden's praise has deeply moved me!"

Orfindo's eyes lit up, and he immediately knelt on the ground again, interlacing his fingers in a pleading gesture, "Please, Your Majesty, lift your jade foot and grant me the greatest reward!!"

Ella sighed, realizing she shouldn't have thanked him.

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Kingdom Locked in Mist

After the interrogation ended, at Orfino's request, Ella simply took him onto the merchant ship as well.

This guy is completely unattached, has set his sights on Ella, and has good talent; he's quite suitable to be cultivated as an excellent Templar Knight prospect.

The only problem is that this guy's thought process isn't quite normal.

Fortunately, he wasn't usually that unruly, so Ella wasn't too worried.

Three days later, the merchant ship finally crossed the Magala Sea and arrived in the Kingdom of Valen.

It was evening, and the port city of Coral Harbour could be seen from a great distance at sea.

As dusk falls, towering chimneys rise along the coastline, thick white smoke mingling with the clouds and casting a thin layer of ash over half of the red sunset.

The hazy sea fog enveloped the streets and alleys along the shore, and the kerosene lamps, like ghosts lurking in the fog, flickered and emitted a halo of light.

Valen boasts a highly developed steam industry unlike any other country, even though the mineral fuels used here are said to be magical crystals that, unlike coal, cause significant air pollution.

But the Aslans and the elves, who were closest to nature, were absolutely disgusted by Valen's chimneys. In this country that seemed to be forever shrouded in mist, it was rare to see travelers with pointed ears.

Even from the window on the deck, Ella could feel the oppressive atmosphere permeating the harbor filled with people.

But putting all that aside, Valen's wealth is among the best in the entire continent of Mea. Half of the steamships sailing the Magara Sea are built in factories scattered across its relatively small territory. It boasts the most advanced steam technology scholars and is supported by forging techniques from the dwarves. Its unique geographical location connecting the east and west of the continent has made countless merchants extremely wealthy in Valen.

After passing Valen and continuing west along the coastline, past the Gilded Desert, lies the high mountain forests of the western part of the America continent, home to the vast forests of the Aslan Empire and the Elven race. If one continues north into the depths of the continent, one can reach the borders of the Tedhe Federation and its vassal states. To the east, across the Magala Sea to the north, lies the vast territory of the Loren Empire.