The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"Oh, it's good that you found it, it's good that you found it, hahaha."

Perhaps it was Ye Xiao's magnanimity that made the nobleman's son reluctant to pursue the matter of spilling the wine any further. Ye Xiao apologized repeatedly and promised to cover half of the cost of the dice betting later. Only then did the latter's expression finally improve.

Upon hearing the words "dice gambling," the noblemen, too lazy to even change their wet undershirts, excitedly joined the others at the amusement park next to the main banquet hall.

Aside from eating, drinking, and dancing, the noble banquets of the Duchy of Tedeh differed from those of the traditional Loren, often offering a variety of entertainment options, among which dice games were the most popular pastime among these noble youths.

Ye Xiao came along mainly to lure the spy Zhou Lixun away from the main banquet hall, so that Ella's follow-up operation could proceed more smoothly.

And that was indeed the case. After going up to the relatively quiet second floor, where there were fewer people, Ella quickly spotted General Doppler approaching a room door, knocking on it, and going inside.

These rooms, intended for private conversations, are equipped with soundproofing magic arrays, and there are also undercover agents disguised as servants keeping watch nearby, making it difficult for both the rat familiar and Ella herself to sneak in for the time being.

Therefore, Ella was not in a hurry to go over, but instead went into a washroom in the opposite direction. At the same time, she sent a mouse out from under her skirt, which followed a maid wearing a black and white checkered skirt who was pushing a cart into the cleaning room.

It was the same old trick: the rat used the Moon Goddess Illusion to seduce the maid and hide her through the portal, while Ella used the Ring of All Things to impersonate her.

Half a minute later, Ella, disguised as a maid, pushed a cart out of the cleaning room and pretended to clean, slowly approaching the room where General Doppler had entered.

While waiting for the right opportunity, Ye Xiao and a group of noble scions were placing bets at the gambling table.

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Open, one, one, three, small!"

"Ugh, shit!"

The bustling amusement hall was much more lively than the main banquet hall, with a group of young nobles from the duchy cursing and swearing, a far cry from their refined demeanor in the banquet hall.

The nobles of the Kingdom of Loren and Doum rarely appeared here. Firstly, their homeland had fallen, so they had no time for such entertainment. Secondly, these Loren nobles, who were accustomed to using high art forms such as drama and music for entertainment, were close to the church in their faith and had a natural resistance to entertainment such as gambling dice and cards. They might play it in private, but they generally would not play it in public.

Chapter Thirty: The So-Called Duchy

The atmosphere around the dice table was lively. Ye Xiao had an unexpectedly large amount of money on him. After playing a few rounds with half of the chips that Ye Xiao had sponsored, the nobleman named Pierberg not only stopped caring about Ye Xiao's earlier spilled drinks, but even started to call him brother.

The young nobles nearby were also surprised that this seemingly unremarkable country bumpkin baron was carrying so many gold coins, and even began to think how much better it would have been if that bottle of wine had hit them instead.

Ye Xiaochu simply blended into the crowd with a cheerful smile, but after observing the surrounding environment, her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the back view of a girl with long, dark purple hair at another dice table.

There were far more people gathered around that table than at Ye Xiao's table, and it was obvious to the naked eye that they showed particular respect to the purple-haired girl.

Opposite the girl with long purple hair sat a girl in white with hair as golden as the sun, wearing a flower wreath and a bright smile, who was opening her arms to embrace a large number of chips.

Hey, wait a minute, that guy wouldn't happen to be...?

Ye Xiao's lips twitched. Although he didn't want to believe it, according to the information Holman provided, the image of the girl with the flower wreath was exactly the same as that of the saintess of the Duchy Legion who could cast holy light on tens of thousands of people.

This made Ye Xiao almost unable to believe his eyes.

He thought the other party was like the "Desert Fox" who didn't show up at the banquet to hide his whereabouts, and he also wondered why all the experts in the Duchy's army were so cautious, making it difficult to do intelligence work.

He had considered all sorts of possibilities, but he never imagined that this guy was just holed up in this godforsaken place gambling on dice.

A "saintess"? Gambling??

Seriously?

Ye Xiao was a little nervous until the nobleman next to him patted him on the shoulder, "Hey, it's time to place your bets, Brother Kalon."

"Oh, good."

Ye Xiao turned his gaze back, picked up two chips from the small mountain of chips in front of him, and pushed them into the square on the tablecloth with the word "big" written on it.

"Open, four five five, big!"

"Wow, that's amazing, Kalong! You won again!?"

Pierberg exclaimed in disbelief, then, beaming, he and Ye Xiao pocketed the chips the dealer had pushed to them.

After several rounds, Pierberg found that his odds of winning were particularly high when betting with Ye Xiao. He didn't know why, but the gold coins he brought almost doubled as a result.

This made him find the country bumpkin baron even more pleasing to the eye. After all, who wouldn't like a god of wealth who brings them a steady stream of gold coins, especially when the other party also shared half of his betting costs?

However, while some were happy, others were sad, and the faces of the other noble children who had not followed the right path were rather unpleasant.

“Mr. Pierberg, do you know who those people at that table over there are?”

Ye Xiao asked, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

His question wasn't abrupt, after all, there was a large group of distinguished figures gathered over there, and it was normal for a baron from the countryside to be curious.

"Oh, that's..."

Pierberg followed Ye Xiao's gaze and was about to answer, but then, as if he suddenly remembered something, his expression changed abruptly, and his voice lowered, "Hey, those people over there are not to be trifled with, Brother Kalon, I suggest you don't go over there and risk getting into trouble."

Ye Xiao nodded as if he understood, but in his mind he was already planning how to get closer to them.

But before his plan could take shape, Zhou Lixun, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, "That is the famous Holy Maiden. I think you, Baron Kalon, have probably heard of her. She is the one who can grant divine protection to tens of thousands of people at the same time and protect the lives of countless warriors in our legion."

Ye Xiao glanced at Zhou Lixun with some surprise. Why did this guy suddenly speak up at this moment?

Could it be that she's trying to test him?

Ye Xiao considered for a moment, then replied with a smile, "Oh, so it's that sir. I have indeed heard of him... but I remember that the Holy Maiden of Light was born in Loren. Why would she appear in your country's army?"

"You're not talking about the same person, Brother Kalon."

Pierberg waved his hand, "The 'Holy Maiden of Light' you mentioned, born in Loren, 'Ella Heviel,' is not the same person as that sir over there."

"Oh?"

Ye Xiao looked confused. "Does that mean the Holy Maiden over there isn't the Holy Maiden of Light?"

"Keep your voice down, you mustn't say that and let the believers over there hear you."

Pierberg's eyes widened, and he put a finger to his lips. "To us, the followers of light in Tedeh, that one over there is the true Holy Maiden of Light."

It wasn't that he had a particularly good relationship with Baron Caron, but if the guy said something reckless and got dragged out and beaten to death, he would lose money.

"Oh, is that so? I'm so sorry, it seems I didn't think it through."

Ye Xiao scratched his head.

"Hehehe, there's no need to apologize to me. Our duchy isn't as rigid as Loren. Whether you believe in a religion or not is your own freedom. I'm not a believer in the Light, so what you just said didn't offend me at all."

Pierberg smiled and patted Ye Xiao on the shoulder. "Besides, most of the followers are around that saintess. As long as you show respect, you won't have any major trouble."

"I understand. And who is that saintess sitting opposite?"

Now that the conversation had started, Ye Xiao seized the opportunity to ask, "Oh, I just wanted to learn more so I could know what I should be careful about. After all, you see, I might have to spend more time in your country's circles and mingle with you gentlemen in the future."

"Hahaha, the Doom royal family hasn't even disbanded yet and you're already pledging your loyalty,"

Pierberg chuckled. "That's interesting. Compared to those hypocrites, I'm finding your honest nature quite appealing."

"As you said, I have always been a sincere person."

Ye Xiao smiled cheerfully, raised his glass, and clinked it with Pierberg's.

“That’s Miss Windsor, the daughter of the Duke of Tyron. Oh, you may not be familiar with the Duke of Tyron, but he is one of the twelve members of our House of Lords.”

"It's hard for me to explain to you how powerful he is, but you just need to know that the entire Eastern Expeditionary Army's war preparations, from airships and tanks to the iron pots the soldiers use for lunch, are all funded by his family."

"Such an exaggeration."

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, "Does such an important figure really need to send his daughter to the front lines? Isn't that too risky?"

"What are you thinking? Of course she's not here to join the army. She's just checking on her father to see if her family's assets are being managed properly."

Pierberg smiled and waved his hand.

"To put it another way, think of this entire legion as a merchant guild, and don't see what's happening on this land as a war, but as a business transaction. Then think about it, as an investor, wouldn't she want to see if the merchant guild she's invested in is actually generating profits for them?"

“This… countless people have died in this war. To treat this as a business transaction… isn’t that a bit too cruel?”

Ye Xiao looked somewhat reluctant.

Of course, he wasn't expressing his true feelings; it was just that as a border baron of a traditional empire, he would naturally feel uncomfortable upon suddenly hearing such a statement.

In his heart, Ye Xiao scoffed at this behavior.

But Pierberg naturally couldn't see Ye Xiao's true thoughts. He just grinned and patted the other's shoulder again.

"In the eyes of big shots, everything is no different from the dice on this gambling table. They only need to focus on how much return the chips they bet on can bring them."

"War, population, land... even you and me are just means for them to earn and measure their interests. Whether it's eradicating evil gods or saving the world, it's all just slogans in the end."

"You can 'buy' vast tracts of land from these feudal imperial monkeys using steel, gunpowder, and the lives of ordinary people. Do you think there's a more lucrative deal in the world?"

"This is the Duchy, brothers Kalon. Cast aside those tedious honors and welcome to a world where profit reigns supreme."

Chapter Thirty-One: Setting a Trap

"Oh, I've learned something."

Ye Xiao gave a forced smile and flicked the chips he was holding onto the table.

This time, the dealer opened with a small bet, and coincidentally, he "guessed" it again.

"Wow, Kalong, you've made another fortune!"

Pierberg took back the chips he had earned from betting on Ye Xiao, his face beaming with joy.

"Luck, luck, hehe, maybe the goddess of fortune is being especially kind to me tonight."

Ye Xiao said embarrassedly.

They kept winning money, which finally made the onlookers a little unhappy.

"Look at that guy's face."

A nobleman slammed his hand on the table in great displeasure. "Bringing a country bumpkin from the Kingdom of Doum in here is utterly tasteless; the air itself stinks."

"No, brother, are you alright?"

Pierberg couldn't stand being mocked like that. "You lost because you were unlucky, why are you nagging us?"

"What, are you talking about? Look around, are there any people from the Kingdom of Doom here besides yours? Bringing a country bumpkin to the amusement park has ruined my luck."

"Hey???"

Pierberg straightened up, his face unfriendly. "Are you looking for trouble?"

The tension suddenly escalated, and Ye Xiao never expected that the two of them would almost start fighting after just a few words.

Although he knew from his previous life that many noble sons of the Duchy of Tedeh were not as rude and violent as Loren and Aslan, and that a considerable number of people died in duels every year.

The root cause may be that the history of Tedeh is not as long as that of the other two countries, but its development in recent years has been particularly rapid. As a result, the children of many newly wealthy families are different from those traditional nobles who have been spoiled by many formalities since childhood, and have more of a nouveau riche flavor.

It was truly outrageous that these two would start arguing in public. Seeing the situation, Ye Xiao thought that as someone who came to do stealth work, there was no need to cause any trouble. He was thinking of simply calming down Pielberg with a few words, but out of the corner of his eye, he unexpectedly saw the nobility scion making a gesture to someone under the table.

Something's fishy?

What do you want to do?

Seeing several unfamiliar noblemen approaching, Ye Xiao immediately became alert.

He initially thought his identity had been discovered and that the other party was trying to capture him. But after carefully observing the strength of these guys, he realized they were no match for him, let alone Zhou Lixun standing next to him.

Since the spy didn't react much and didn't even show any intention to help encircle him, the other side's little tricks were probably not aimed at him.

But if not him, then who should be targeted?

Ye Xiao glanced at Pielberg beside her, who was still passionately exchanging words with the other party, and was immediately taken aback.

"Stop talking nonsense, Pielberg. You're only keeping your head around here by licking Chavedoppler's pants. Don't think he can protect you for long. You'll be nothing after the war!"

"You fucking want to die!"

Pierberg, having reached his limit, was furious that a nobleman had been humiliated in court like this, and given his volatile temper, he was unlikely to let the other side off the hook.

He ripped off his glove and threw it at the other man's chest, shouting furiously, "Come and fight me if you dare, you coward!!!"

"Hit him! Beat him!"

"Do it!"

Military life is actually quite boring for most aristocratic children who come here to gain experience, far less exciting than the lavish entertainment they enjoy back home. So, seeing such entertainment at a banquet is something most onlookers are happy to do.

Even Ye Xiaowang found it hard to keep his composure upon seeing this scene, and couldn't help but think that there were really a lot of people in this country. If it weren't for the fact that it was here, he probably wouldn't have guessed that this was actually the front line of a war.

"What's all this noise about over here?"

But just then, a cold snort suddenly rang out.