Thinking about it, Vanessa frowned slightly, feeling as if she had overlooked a very important issue, but just what that issue was, she couldn’t quite recall at the moment.

Two hours passed. Vanessa stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her hair covered by another. The beautiful woman’s translucent skin flushed faintly pink from the hot water, a delicate rosy truly hue enhancing her natural beauty, a breathtaking sight.

One could only say the towel was enduring quite the ordeal. It wasn’t easy at all to fully wrap around her ample, voluptuous curves.

Vanessa slipped on soft slippers and sat on the bed to rest for a while. She noticed the clothes Luna had thoughtfully placed on her bed, a pale yellow corseted dress. After checking the size, it seemed to fit reasonably well.

Then came the undergarments. Some of these were probably Luna’s own. Vanessa tried them on, but they were too small, not just slightly tight, but completely unwearable.

What was she supposed to do now??

Vanessa let out a soft sigh, resting her chin on one hand.

Perhaps this was the burden of being too well-endowed? Sometimes, she truly envied Aesphyra. She’d never had this problem. Vanessa thought that when she had the time, she should kindly ask Aesphyra how she’d managed to ‘maintain’ herself so perfectly from childhood to now.

Without suitable undergarments, and fearing the dress might tear if forced, Vanessa pondered it over and ultimately decided to wear just the corseted dress.

There was no helping it. After all, she was traveling only with three other girls. It wasn’t a big deal. Besides, she was used to sleeping completely naked anyway.

So, after putting on the corseted dress and letting her hair down, she walked to the vanity, dried and styled her hair. The room’s light illuminated her lustrous, slightly wavy pinkish hair, giving it the texture of the finest velvet.

After combing through her soft, fluffy locks, Vanessa hesitated for a moment by the door, then turned the knob and stepped out. She descended the stairs into the hall and found the other three had already finished bathing, each now wearing a corseted gown and sitting on the lounge sofa.

Vanessa noticed that Luna had styled her hair into a side ponytail. Hmm, in a certain sense, quite a dangerous hairstyle. Paired with her platinum-golden gown, matching her eye color, it revealed her fair arms and thighs like lotus roots, exuding the noble grace of a high-born lady.

Amisa’s style changed rather noticeably after removing her school uniform and putting on a more casual corseted dress. Normally, her student uniform forcibly categorizes her look as a buxom schoolgirl. Without that uniform, given Amisa’s breasts size, she looked as if she were wearing a strapless ball gown even in casual attire. Especially paired with her slightly curled, creamy-golden long hair, she looked exquisitely doll-like.

As for Fanya, without the uniform, she looked more like an innocent neighborhood girl, pure and demure. And naturally, this had everything to do with her completely flat chest.

“Your Holiness, are you feeling better? You didn’t fall while bathing, did you?” Fanya immediately approached with concern as Vanessa walked down.

“Fanya, I’m much better now. And honestly, I don’t think I’d ever be clumsy enough to trip on flat ground,” Vanessa replied, sitting down. Although still a bit weak, she was clear in much better conditions than before.

“How about the rest of you? How are you feeling?” Vanessa asked.

“Thanks to Your Holiness’s concern, we’re all doing well. We used healing spells earlier and have mostly recovered,” Luna explained.

It makes sense. All four of them had the [Holy Envoy] soul armament, meaning their healing abilities were exceptional, basically in a state where they’d never die as long as they weren’t instantly killed.

“Everyone, while I was bathing earlier, I suddenly realized a very serious issue,” Vanessa said, sitting gracefully on the main sofa, regaining her usual disposition and elegant demeanor as she carefully chose her words.

“Oh? What problem?” The other three turned to her with curious eyes.

“Did we… after leaving the Cube’s alternate space, overlooked something important?” Vanessa continued.

“You mean…?” Amisa seemed to catch on.

“Yes. What about [Bloodied Debt]? What happened to that ultimate evil weapon? Was it truly destroyed?” Vanessa asked calmly.

“Eh? It wasn’t?” Fanya looked confused. “Didn’t Your Holiness burn it with holy flames? I remember it was completely charred and shattered, it must have been finished, right?”

“And during the cube’s collapse, there was no way anyone could’ve saved it. That evil sword must be dead for sure. Surviving holy fire? That’s absolutely impossible.” Fanya added. “It deserved it too. How much evil has that thing committed throughout history?”

“I hope so,” Vanessa replied. Yet, for some reason, she had a lingering feeling that the evil weapon wouldn’t be so easily defeated.

She hoped this was just an inaccurate Hunch.

“Now that Your Holiness has bathed and recovered, let’s get to the main topic. We’re alone here.” Saying this, Luna took out a small object resembling a music box, opened it, and an invisible dome spread out, enclosing the entire hall and encompassing all of them.

“That enchanted item, is it a soundproof box?” Amisa recognized the function of the magical device in Luna’s hand.

“Yes. Although no one else is here, just to be cautious, I’ve activated the soundproof box. Our conversation from here on will only be known to us,” Luna explained.

“I’ve gathered you here to discuss what we’ll do once we return to the academy.”

“Once we return to Carillian Academy, we need to agree on a consistent story about what happened,” Luna said.

“A consistent story?” Fanya pondered. “Lady Luna, do you mean about Charon, [Bloodied Debt], and Foreno?”

“Yes. And some matters beyond that.”

“I think we’ve done nothing wrong, pure self-defense. If questioned, shouldn’t we just tell the truth openly? Why hide anything?” Fanya replied. “Just speak the truth, right?”

“Exactly. I agree. Telling the truth is best in our current situation, which is like walking a tightrope. If we ever fail to keep our story consistent, explaining it later will be impossible,” Luna stated her opinion.

“However,” Luna’s tone shifted as she turned to Vanessa, “we can’t tell the whole truth. For example, we can’t reveal the truth about Saintess. If that gets out, everything will be ruined. I don’t need to explain that to you, right?”

“Yes, don’t worry. Amisa and I understand,” Fanya nodded.

“Good. Then let’s standardize our statements.”

The only thing Vanessa needed to worry about was that Charon was a high noble of Camella. Revealing his cause of death could impact the Camella Kingdom, especially his family.

But there was no avoiding it. Evil deeds must carry their price.

Besides that, Vanessa will also discuss the matter with Mirexia.

“As for Foreno, we’ll have to speak in code,” Luna paused. “After all, the Carillian Academy doesn’t know what Foreno was really doing, but the Church of Light, and the Pope himself, must know. If they learn his death is connected to us, they’ll definitely suspect us.”

“For now, let’s avoid discussing his death altogether.”

“Also, Your Holiness, until you’ve developed sufficient self-defense abilities, try not to leave Carillian Academy,” Luna advised.

“Carillian Academy, being located on imperial ancient grounds and the top academy on the continent of Terraria, is a safe place. Even the Church of Light wouldn’t dare send assassins after a student within the academy grounds. Doing so wouldn’t just mean openly breaking relations with Carillian Academy, it would shatter their reputation overnight.”

“So staying within the academy is very safe. Even Foreno, with the Pope’s approval, only dared to act during this study trip, using demonic spatial powers to isolate you and strike when you were vulnerable.”

“I understand,” Vanessa nodded.

After finalizing their story, Luna continued with other instructions.

“Miss Amisa, Miss Fanya,” Luna turned to them.

“Yes!”

“From now on, when you see Your Holiness at the academy, what should you call her?” Luna asked.

“To change our address, ah, right, what should we call her now?” Fanya suddenly realized the issue.

Should they still call her ‘Winnie’ when they meet, like before??

Fanya thought so, but now knowing Vanessa’s true identity, the name suddenly felt hot on her tongue. She staggered, unable to bring herself to say it.

“Just call her ‘Winnie’ like before?” Fanya asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” Luna exclaimed at Fanya’s reaction, jokingly adding, “Or does Miss Fanya want to keep calling her ‘Your Holiness,’ so we can all end up burned at the stake by the Church together?”

“U-uh, but…” Fanya turned away at Vanessa, then turned away, looked again, then turned away once more.

She couldn’t connect the past image of Winnie with the present Vanessa. Doing so reminded Fanya of her own embarrassing history.

Thinking she was strong, believing she was a righteous ally, representing the Church’s enforcers, openly disrespecting the Saintess, boasting challenges, only to be thoroughly beaten down afterward.

Even if no one else knew, she’d be ashamed for life! And back then, so many people had witnessed it!

“When you meet in school, you two must address Her Holiness as ‘Winnie’ in a way that seems not too familiar, got it?” Luna said.

“I’ll demonstrate.” Luna then shifted her gaze to Vanessa, her expression instantly transformed into a polite, elegant smile. “Good morning, Winnie~”

“Like this. Understood? Now, to prevent any attitude inconsistencies that might take us away, you two try it,” said Luna.

Amisa completed the demonstration naturally. Fanya struggled, repeating it several times with unnatural stiffness, until Luna finally accepted it as barely passable.

Later, as night fell, Luna mentioned it was time for dinner, and everyone was indeed hungry.

“I’ll cook,” Amisa volunteered, since she was probably the only one here who could.

“Then let me assist you, Amisa,” Vanessa offered.

“Oh? Your Holiness, can you cook too?” All three wore expressions of utter surprise, but upon recalling Vanessa’s upbringings, they found it less strange.

After all, this wasn’t a pampered Saintess raised in luxury. One could even call her a groundswell Saintess.

“Yes, I know a little.”

“No, please rest, Your Holiness. You’ve only just recovered. Fanya and Lady Luna, you should go back to your rooms and rest too. I’ll call you down once the meal is ready.”

“The previous battle was exhausting for all of you. I didn’t help much at all.” Amisa wasn’t being modest. She wasn’t a knight, only an advanced Artisans. During the fight, she’d been incapacitated the whole time due to low mana. Fanya had carried Vanessa the entire time, and when Vanessa fell, it was Luna who had to step in. Truly, she hadn’t contributed.

After Luna showed Amisa where the various seasonings and ingredients were kept, none of them returned to their rooms, instead settling back into the living room.

“By the way, Miss Fanya, during the fight, didn’t your sword get destroyed?” Luna suddenly asked.

“Ah, yes.” That sword had been Fanya’s beloved weapon.

“In that case, I’ll go pick a new one from the armory here.”

“Really?”

“Of course. From now on, you’re Her Holiness’s personal bodyguard. How could you go without a weapon?” Luna half-joked. “Otherwise, Her Holiness might end up having to protect you instead.”

“U-uh.” Hearing this, Fanya lowered her head, slightly embarrassed.

Indeed, it had been Vanessa protecting her all along.

So Fanya didn’t refuse. Who knew what might happen next? As a knight, she couldn’t afford to be weaponless.

At her current strength, if she couldn’t assist Vanessa, dragging her down would be a crime.

Thus, Fanya followed Luna to the backyard, leaving Vanessa alone in the living room.

“Aaah!!” Just as Vanessa leaned back on the sofa with her eyes closed, a sudden scream erupted from the kitchen.

“Help! Save me!”

“Amisha, what’s wrong?!” Vanessa’s heart leapt, and she quickly stood and rushed into the kitchen.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep