“I won’t! I won’t!”
Even as she was being pulled, Anlis clung to Vylian, unmoving. She held on tightly, like a barnacle stuck to a cliff face.
She even pressed her cheek against Vylian’s skin, rubbing it incessantly, greedily sniffing the rose-like fragrance, making soft, whimpering murmurs.
“It’s… it’s the smell of Mom.”
As she spoke, she even took a little bite on Vylian’s neck.
It didn’t hurt, just felt a bit ticklish.
Like a kitten acting spoiled, leaving a faint red mark on that delicate skin.
It completely made Vylian’s face flush red!
She was practically no different from a steaming kettle.
“I am not your mom! Let go of me!”
Vylian was utterly mortified and indignant.
She had let her guard down just now, hadn’t dodged, thinking Anlis wouldn’t do anything too outrageous in front of so many people.
But now that she was completely embraced, Vylian found she couldn’t even struggle free!
After all, due to the Sacrificial Cost paid for seeking the Hero’s Secret Art, once the trigger condition was met, all her strength was currently suppressed.
Wasn’t this curse a bit too potent?
Anlis was acting without any restraint at all, did she not have a shred of shame?
It seemed she really didn’t, as she was now getting carried away, treating the people around her as if they weren’t there. If Vylian wasn’t holding down her hands, her clothes would probably have been stripped off.
Vylian was being stared at intently by six pairs of eyes…
That’s right, Anlis’s father and Fula had just entered the room moments ago, and their expressions were indescribably strange.
What an utter disgrace!
This shouldn’t be how things were!
When she planted this curse, her original intention was to cause trouble for the Hero, Anlis!
So why was she the one experiencing social death now?
Anlis kept whispering strange things like “Mommy,” “Mommy” in her ear.
She really wanted to just eliminate everyone who knew about this!
Obviously, Vylian wasn’t the only one angry. Lisina’s veins bulged as she reached out to pinch Anlis’s ear.
“Who are you calling Mommy? Anlis! You… how can you be so improper!”
“Ow ow ow! I want the loli mommy! I want the loli mommy!”
Anlis yelped in pain but still showed no intention of letting go, instead holding on even tighter.
“I’m sorry your mom isn’t a loli, then!”
Finding that pinching the ear was useless, Lisina switched to tickling her armpits.
Anlis giggled, her body squirming incessantly, but the strength in her grip didn’t weaken; instead, it grew even stronger.
Vylian, who was holding down her hands, was starting to lose her grip, her fingertips trembling slightly.
“Wait! You… please don’t agitate her!!” Vylian exclaimed, her voice even changing pitch.
It felt like her innerwear strap had been pulled loose!
Hearing Vylian say this, Lisina could only give up.
“Anlis, what’s wrong with you? Weren’t you a very well-behaved child before?”
“Something’s off!” Archbishop Meili finally sensed something amiss.
“There’s a problem!”
This naturally couldn’t be the Hero’s inherent nature.
Such unrestrained, absurd, and abnormal behavior had long exceeded the scope of a normal person.
The two archbishops vaguely detected an abnormal aura.
Their gazes kept shifting to Anlis’s father.
“Sir, I presume you are the Hero’s father? Were you… with her just now?”
Bolai nodded and recounted what had just happened.
After hearing Bolai’s account, Lisina couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety. She quickly walked to his side, worriedly and tightly grasping his hand, her eyes filled with lingering fear.
She never expected something so dangerous had just happened.
“In that case, everything makes sense. This must be the work of a curse! Corrupted Creatures are notoriously cunning. It’s very likely it used some trump card in its dying moments.”
Archbishop Meili analyzed, holy light glowing in her hand—a gentle and sacred power.
A brief spiritual inspection indeed revealed a curse in Anlis’s lower abdomen.
“But there’s no need to worry. The power influence of a mere hundred-level Abyss Creature can be easily dispelled with a wave of my hand. It won’t cause any waves.”
“Please bear with it for a moment, Your Holiness.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Archbishop Meili slowly channeled the holy light from her fingertip into Anlis’s body.
The holy light traveled along Anlis’s blood vessels and meridians, quickly locating the Corrosion curse power located in her lower abdomen.
She concentrated her energy, attempting to use the power of the holy light to completely eliminate this curse…
But the next second, her movements froze.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Archbishop Meili’s stiff expression, Archbishop Glen couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“I…”
She ultimately couldn’t bring herself to admit in front of Glen that she was utterly incapable of breaking the curse.
“I, ah, I accidentally caught a chill yesterday. That must be affecting the exertion of my power. I actually couldn’t completely eradicate this lingering power all at once. It really is stubborn.”
“What do you mean, caught a chill? If you can’t do it, let me. Meili, I think you’ve been too comfortable for too long. You can’t even break such a minor curse. You really lack experience.”
“If you’re so capable, you do it!”
Meili’s face flushed red, and she simply stepped aside to make room for Glen.
Archbishop Glen naturally stepped up without hesitation, smugly raising his chin, taking a step forward, and continuously channeling the holy light from within his own body into Anlis.
He was full of confidence, but the next second, the smug smile on his face also instantly froze, gradually turning ugly.
“Oh dear~ How come our ever-experienced Archbishop Glen also couldn’t break the curse? Could it be… you’re not up to it either?”
“Nonsense! It’s because I… had an upset stomach last night. You know, diarrhea is caused by impurity. I haven’t been completely cleansed yet, so it’s normal for it to affect the holy light’s potency, isn’t it?”
Glen stroked his beard, not blushing nor his heart racing.
Naturally, they were unable to break it. Not to mention that the only way to break this curse now was to kill the Corrupt Monarch.
Just the sheer level gap meant they couldn’t possibly shake this curse in the slightest.
Instead, because of the holy light they successively channeled, it stimulated the curse within Anlis, making her lose control even more.
Vylian clearly felt Anlis’s strength increase again. Her hands had already randomly grabbed the ribbon of Vylian’s corset, her fingertips applying slight pressure, causing the silk ribbon to loosen.
“Can you two stop being counterproductive! Just knock her out! Don’t you know how to knock someone out?”
But the two archbishops did not act.
“That won’t do. What if there are side effects from not getting release while unconscious? Furthermore, I just discovered that this curse seems to… not have any particularly negative effects.”
Archbishop Glen said thoughtfully. Archbishop Meili did not refute him; their chemistry on certain matters was surprisingly consistent.
“How can there be no negative effects? Look at my child, she’s…”
Basically synonymous with shamelessness now, right?
And the object of her shamelessness is Her Holiness the Saintess! Thankfully, the two archbishops haven’t charged their family with the crime of blaspheming the Saintess because of this.
“No, we have seen through its essence. This is actually something similar to an aphrodisiac. As long as the Hero’s needs can be satisfied, she should immediately regain her clarity.”
Archbishop Meili followed up.
“So?”
“So, Her Holiness the Saintess will have to make the sacrifice. Well, after all, there’s no other way. The Hero and the Saintess are a match made in heaven to begin with. Now this situation has occurred, haha, and the Hero seems to really like Her Holiness too. So, I think, this is something that can’t be helped.”
Archbishop Glen laughed awkwardly, uttering a strange statement.
“Huh?”
Lisina and Bolai were utterly stunned.
Vylian felt as if struck by lightning.
No way, dude!
Aren’t I the Saintess? A fake Saintess is still a Saintess! How come I’m being sacrificed so quickly?
“I…”
“This is unacceptable!! I disagree!”
Suddenly, Fula, who had been standing silently to the side with an extremely unpleasant expression, stepped forward abruptly.
“I disagree with this! How can this be allowed!”