Chapter 41: A Peaceful Village Life? Not Quite!

“Hajimiyo nanbe ryudou ashihayaku~”

Phyllis sat on a large rock, her hands cupping her face as she hummed a tune.

It had been half a month since she returned to the Catkin.

At times, Phyllis felt a bit dazed, as if her recent experiences had been nothing more than a dream.

“However…”

Phyllis pulled a small mirror from her dress and checked her neck.

This exquisite Mirror Magic Tool was a gift from Carola.

Furthermore, the Mark Carola had left on her neck was still there.

These things served as reminders that everything she had gone through wasn’t a dream.

It was reality.

“Why…”

Phyllis still didn’t understand why Carola had suddenly let her go.

The goal she had longed for and fought for during all those days—escaping from Carola’s Castle…

It had been achieved just like that?

Yet, Phyllis felt a strange sense of emptiness in her heart.

While acting as Carola’s lover, she had actually felt her heart flutter for the woman due to a few incidents.

But why did Carola suddenly send her back to the Catkin?

‘She wouldn’t want me to destroy the Catkin, would she?’

The thought had crossed Phyllis’s mind.

But she quickly dismissed it.

While it was possible, it didn’t seem to have much purpose.

Moreover, as soon as Phyllis returned to the Catkin, the mark of the Master-Servant Contract on her neck was recognized by the priests.

Those Catkin priests had been furious, incessantly cursing Carola with the most vicious Catkin insults they knew.

Things like “may she always get a fishbone stuck in her throat” or “may she choke every time she drinks water.”

Fortunately, Phyllis explained to the priests that her permanent blessing, the Protection of the Cat God, had taken effect.

Because of it, even though the Master-Servant Contract had been successfully signed, Carola had no way to force her to obey commands.

Only then did the Catkin priests breathe a sigh of relief.

The priests were well aware of Phyllis’s uniqueness.

It was a blessing bestowed by their Catkin deity.

Otherwise, how could Phyllis have entered the Sacred Ground to become a Candidate Saintess?

What made the priests even angrier was the fact that Phyllis had been snatched away by Carola right from the Sacred Ground!

This was undoubtedly a slap in the face for the Catkin!

And a heavy one at that!

When had the Catkin ever suffered such an insult?

Regrettably, during the time Phyllis was missing, the Catkin only knew she had vanished; they had no idea who had kidnapped her.

It wasn’t until news came from the Blood Tribe.

Only then did the Catkin realize that Phyllis had been kidnapped by the Blood Princess, Carola.

Consequently, the Catkin priests had planned to pressure the Ventrue Clan of the Thirteen Clans to force them to hand Phyllis over.

But before they could even reach the Blood Tribe’s territory, they found Phyllis on the road, already out of the Scarlet Dungeon.

***

The sun was about to sink into the earth.

Phyllis tucked the small mirror back into her bosom and jumped down from the rock.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched her shadow long, and the thin plumes of cooking smoke from the Catkin village swayed in the evening breeze.

This was the place where she was born in this other world.

Her parents in this world had passed away in an accident shortly after her birth.

However, thanks to her mature mindset, Phyllis had lived quite well and eventually became a Candidate Saintess…

“Lady Phyllis!”

A youthful voice called out.

Phyllis looked up to see a young Catkin girl running over from the village, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

This was Lily, a ragdoll Catkin and the youngest daughter of the village carpenter.

“Dinner is ready! Mama asked me to invite you back to eat!”

Lily looked up at Phyllis with sparkling eyes and handed her the flowers.

“Lady Phyllis, these are for you! Mama said you went through something terrible and need to rest well. I hope these flowers make you feel better!”

Phyllis crouched down and took the bouquet, a wave of warmth washing over her heart.

“Thank you, Lily. But I’m not that fragile, meow~”

Phyllis reached out and patted Lily on the head.

Lily’s cat ears twitched adorably under Phyllis’s touch.

Since returning to the village these past few days, Phyllis had been treated almost like a piece of fragile glass.

The villagers brought her all sorts of food and gifts, and even the usually strict Village Chief Elsa was exceptionally gentle with her.

It made Phyllis quite uncomfortable.

“Lady Phyllis, is the mark on your neck really okay?”

On the way back, Lily finally couldn’t help but ask cautiously.

Phyllis instinctively touched the side of her neck, where the mark from the Master-Servant Contract remained.

“Yes, it’s fine,” Phyllis said, trying to make her voice sound light.

“It’s just a mark; it won’t hurt me, meow~”

“But…”

Lily looked at the mark on Phyllis’s neck again, wanting to reach out and touch it, but she ultimately didn’t say anything more.

By the time Phyllis and Lily returned to the village, dinner was being served.

There were various fish dishes and fruit wine brewed from wild berries.

“Phyllis is here,” Village Chief Elsa said, sitting in the seat of honor and beckoning to her.

“Come, sit beside me.”

Elsa was an elderly calico Catkin.

Though her hair had turned white, her eyes remained sharp.

She had also been a Catkin blessed by the Cat God.

However, the Cat God’s blessings varied in strength.

If measured on a scale of 1-10, Elsa’s was a 3, while Phyllis’s was at least an 8!

“How are you feeling today?”

Elsa asked. “Any discomfort?”

“I’m great, Grandma Elsa, meow~” Phyllis replied.

“You really don’t need to worry about me so much.”

“How can we not worry?”

A young hairless Catkin sitting opposite them widened his eyes.

“You were imprisoned by that Blood Tribe monster for so long and forced into a Master-Servant Contract. Even if you have the Cat God’s blessing, who knows if that monster has other tricks…”

“Leo, watch your words!” Elsa said calmly.

“Do not use words like ‘monster’ in front of Phyllis.”

Leo, the hairless cat, lowered his head.

“Yes, Village Chief Elsa!”

The dinner proceeded in a somewhat heavy atmosphere.

“Phyllis,” Elsa said suddenly as the meal ended, stopping Phyllis as she was about to leave the table.

“Starting tomorrow, return to the Sacred Ground to resume your training.”

“Eh!” Phyllis looked up.

“So soon?”

“Time waits for no one.”

Elsa’s expression turned serious.

“According to the Prophecy, the Era of Darkness is coming! That is both a crisis and an opportunity. You must grow quickly to have any hope of protecting our people when the darkness arrives.”

‘Could Carola have done it for the same reason? But…’

“Phyllis?”

Elsa’s voice pulled Phyllis back to reality.

“Ah! I’m listening, meow~”

“Go first thing tomorrow morning. Get some rest tonight.”

“Okay.”

After saying goodbye to Elsa, Phyllis returned to her room.

It was a small house.

She had lived here as a child but hadn’t visited much since moving to the Sacred Ground.

The room was simple:

A bed, a table, and a wardrobe.

It wasn’t much different from the rented rooms she had lived in during her previous life.

Except she didn’t have to pay rent.

Phyllis sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window for a while.

Suddenly, the mark on Phyllis’s neck began to feel hot.

“Huh? That’s strange!”

Phyllis pulled out the small mirror and checked the mark on her neck.

“The dim mark began to glow.”

‘Is Carola approaching me?’

Phyllis looked up in confusion, then her jaw dropped in shock at the sight outside the window.

A red meteor streaked across the sky, plunging directly toward her current location!

“Carola?!!!”