Lauren and Li An’s conspicuous appearance in the village naturally drew a lot of attention.
Especially with Lauren’s aloof, noble-looking face and Li An wearing a maid outfit—anyone who crossed their path couldn’t help but come up and ask what was going on.
At times like this, Lauren didn’t need to say a word.
Li An would eagerly introduce Lauren’s identity, successfully making everyone assume she was his girlfriend.
Among the younger generation, many didn’t recognize the former lord, but the older folks were experienced enough to know exactly who Lauren was.
That only led to more hushed whispers behind his back.
Just walking down the road, Lauren could hear their unstoppable gossip.
“Oh my, isn’t that the little girl from the Camilla family?”
“And that handsome young man next to her looks so familiar…”
“Wait, can’t you tell? That’s the young master of the Skomat family!”
“I heard yesterday Lord Lauren went to Sir Kaer’s house to break off the engagement. It caused quite a stir.”
“When they saw Lord Lauren leaving Miss Yuli’s house, his face didn’t look too good.”
“Look, look at what that girl Li An is wearing.”
“A white ribbon and a black dress—isn’t that the same kind the cat girl from the Skomat family wears?”
“Oh dear, has Lord Lauren taken on another one?”
“No way, no way. He just broke off the engagement with Sir Kaer’s family yesterday, and today he’s already got a new maid? And she’s the eldest daughter of the Camilla family?”
Realizing this, people exchanged glances.
Although they lowered their voices, the gossip still traveled far.
Countless comments of this sort reached Lauren’s ears.
The village was small, so the news spread quickly.
Word passed from person to person until the whole village knew—even before Lauren and Li An had reached the center of town.
Naturally, Knight Lord Kaer also got wind of it.
He was, of course, greatly shocked.
Seriously?
Just one day after the engagement was broken off, that little girl from the Camilla family had already latched onto the young master?
Was she out of her mind?
Considering that Lauren might actually be interested in her, Kaer realized he was no longer Lauren’s future father-in-law and had no right to lecture Li An from a moral high ground.
All he could do was sigh helplessly and shake his head.
‘Yuli, what kind of friend have you made? You really misjudged her. You invested your feelings in her, and she turns around and hooks up with your ex-fiancé.’
‘How terrifying. I can’t even imagine how long she’s been planning this.’
At this point, Kaer decided not to tell Yuli about this.
He’d keep her confined at home and let her focus on practicing the sword.
He didn’t even need to think—he was certain that if Yuli found out, she’d do something stupid.
Then there’d be another huge scandal.
It was better not to let her embarrass herself further.
…
[Day 1 Task: Field Investigation Complete!]
[Task Progress: 1/3. Reward: Sword Art: Flourishing Flower Sword Dance]
[Day 2 Task: Head to Skomat Mansion to Investigate Li An’s Trail]
Bringing Li An along to investigate Li An’s trail—this brainless task was finally done.
Just as Lauren paused there for three minutes, the system notification finished playing in his mind.
[Sword Art: Flourishing Flower Sword Dance]
His mind didn’t gain any additional memories.
Instead, a new icon appeared on the system panel.
It looked like clicking it would let him use it directly.
No need to read a manual—honestly, that saved him time and effort.
Reading the skill description, it turned out to be a two-person link skill, specifically designed as a beginner skill for Yuli and Li An to enhance their bond.
It also had a special attack bonus against the boss of the first act.
But now, it had fallen into his hands.
He had to admit—it felt pretty great!
Finally, he had obtained a sword art.
From now on, by combining it with his talent [Sword Prodigy] and gradually increasing his proficiency, becoming a grandmaster in the way of the sword was within reach!
Alright, today’s task was done!
Next up, he needed to carry out his plan involving Li An—pull her into his team and make her work for him.
Lauren turned to look at Li An.
He found her crouching on the ground, idly playing with an ant.
“Ugh, what exactly are we here for…”
Li An felt all her energy drain away.
What kind of weirdo just wandered around aimlessly like this?
She didn’t like it.
She preferred planned actions.
This way of doing things felt like she was wasting precious time, when every second could be spent on something more meaningful.
Just as Li An was getting impatient, Lauren finally spoke.
“Li An.”
He called out gently.
“Yes!”
“What is it?”
Li An immediately stood up, brushed off her skirt, and looked at Lauren with anticipation.
Was he going to teach her something?
“Uh, actually, I’m a small-time leader of a villainous organization trying to overthrow the Empire… I want you to join my team and be a villain with me.”
Although one sentence could explain it all, Lauren naturally wouldn’t expose himself like that.
Facing someone who had already awakened, he knew he had to beat around the bush.
With a Holy Maiden, you had to reason with her and appeal to her emotions.
“Li An, you’ve felt it too, haven’t you? You contain an incredibly powerful Sacred Power within you.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
I know I’m powerful, but so what?
Li An quickly pressed for an answer.
“What I mean is, since you have such great power, have you ever thought about joining the Church?”
“Huh? Join the Church?”
Li An was pleasantly surprised by this.
She hadn’t expected Lauren to suddenly bring up this topic—one related to her past life identity.
She pretended to think about it seriously.
“Join the Church? I might want to be a Divine Arts Sister.”
“What, Lauren dear, do you want to see me in a sister’s habit?”
Li An suddenly smiled mischievously and joked with Lauren.
‘As if. I’ve seen you in a sister’s habit countless times already. Do you think I’ve never seen the world?’
Of course, it was in the game’s character art, Lauren thought to himself.
He continued speaking.
“I don’t think you can only be a simple sister.”
Lauren’s gaze fell on Li An’s face, observing her reaction.
Li An smiled. She clearly looked happy, as if he had hit a sensitive spot.
“Oh?”
She tilted her head, her tone still light and airy.
“Then what does Lauren dear think I can be?”
“A Holy Maiden.”
Lauren answered without hesitation.
“I believe you can become the Holy Maiden.”
He added with a very confident tone.
“The position of Holy Maiden is currently vacant, and it was specifically prepared for you. Li An, you are destined to become the Holy Maiden.”
“Haha, Lauren dear, stop joking around?”
Li An laughed it off, trying to change the subject.
‘I know I’ll become one, but I don’t want to admit it now.’
Li An thought to herself.
She had already been the Holy Maiden once before.
How could she not know what the position entailed?
Precisely because becoming the Holy Maiden would be so busy, she wanted to cherish her free time before the opportunity to join the Church arrived.
She had to raise Lauren’s affection level before becoming the Holy Maiden, so that he would keep her in his heart.
Only then would Li An feel at ease, without fear of some stray cat stealing him away midway.
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