"Fortunately, my plans succeeded. We’re finally free. We no longer have to live in hiding. We can finally go anywhere on this continent with our heads held high."
"Well said!" the sinister-sounding Mage was the first to cheer. "Truly worthy of being our Saintess. So young, yet your wisdom is extraordinary."
"When faced with a life-or-death situation, your mind becomes exceptionally clear. Once you cast aside all those hypocritical, nauseating emotions, you see everything for what it is." Tan You shrugged. "I will not be returning to the Edmonds family. All of you may leave."
Catherine glared at Tan You. "You’re the reason your sister is in this state, and you think you can just walk away? I’m telling you, it won’t be that easy!"
"How ridiculous. I know better than any of you how Lilith got her position as the Saintess of Light... COUGH, COUGH..." Tan You covered her mouth, coughing twice. "Back during the third trial for the Saintess selection, Lilith, a two-star Mage, was no match for the one-star Lisi. If I hadn’t secretly intervened, do you really think she would have secured the title of Saintess of Light?"
"Doesn’t that count as me helping her?" Tan You said, rubbing her chest and trying to suppress the dull ache there. "Speaking of which, I still feel guilty for ruining someone else’s opportunity for no good reason. I will naturally send a gift to apologize later."
The Great Elder gave Tan You a worried look. "You only need to give us the order for such trivial matters. Why let them weigh on your mind?"
Tan You said softly, "I had my reasons, but it’s a fact that I stole someone else’s opportunity. One doesn’t get many good opportunities in life, and any one of them could change a person’s fate. When an apology is due, it must be given."
The Great Elder pondered for a moment before pulling a level-nine Light Element Magic Beast Crystal Core from his ring. "This is a gift of apology. Please accept it, Mage Lisi."
Lisi looked at the Magic Beast Crystal Core and, in the end, accepted it. "I will accept it. Miss Adina, your magnanimity puts me to shame."
Tan You coughed twice more, the corners of her eyes turning red. "Not at all. In fact, I admire you very much. Some people, even with extraordinary talent and powerful family backgrounds, are still a lost cause. All they care about day in and day out is petty romance, all they know is how to be jealous and fight over lovers, completely wasting their talent."
As Tan You spoke, her gaze swept past Lilith, who was now cowering beside Catherine, looking especially pitiful.
Unable to suppress the itch in her throat, Tan You coughed lightly again. "Do I need to recount, in full detail, exactly what Lilith, Karina, Anita, Jenny, and the others did back then?"
The leaders of the families that had just been named all paled. Who would have thought that events from so many years ago would be dredged up now?
"Your families worked together to cover up this matter. And what’s even more laughable is..." Tan You glanced at Dennis and Danit, whose complexions were gradually returning to normal. "Your mother took a liking to the compensation gifts sent by those families and brazenly told me to give them to you, all so your training would go more smoothly. Truly the heart of a loving mother."
Dennis and Danit both frowned. "We didn’t know about this. We were both at the academy back then. Later, you left for Kandapes without a word, and we never knew the real reason. We didn’t know you were sick..."
The sabertooth tiger let out a lazy sneeze. "Of course they were too embarrassed to say anything. Their most beloved daughter maliciously abandoned her own frail sister, leaving her life hanging by a thread. How could they have the face to speak of such things?"
The Two-Headed Netherworld Snake spoke up as well. "Even if you didn’t know before, Adina was in Kandapes for so many years. We never saw you send anything to her. ’Sibling affection’? That’s just for show, to fool outsiders. Do you two even have such a thing between you?"
The raven flew off Tan You’s shoulder. "Sigh, I told you this Imperial City was no good. See? The moment we arrived, your coughing sickness acted up again... We tried so hard to help you, and we’d finally managed to get it under control, but now it’s back..."
"Does your chest hurt?"
Tan You wiped away the tears her coughing had produced. "A little. Don’t worry, I won’t be dying anytime soon."
"Nonsense," the Dark Unicorn half-knelt beside Tan You. "Let me take you back. Have Netherworld stay with you for a while. With it around, your cough can be suppressed a little."
Tan You climbed onto its back without hesitation. "Thank you. Let’s go to the main camp. I can barely stand any longer. Netherworld, shall we go together?"
The Two-Headed Netherworld Snake quickly shrank, coiling around Tan You’s wrist. "Let’s go. Later, we can go to the Mist Forest and find that healing-type Holy Beast to take a look at you..."
"Don’t bother it. This illness is deep-seated... If you’re worried about me, just accompany me more when I train... COUGH, COUGH..." The voices of Tan You and the Netherworld Snake slowly faded on the wind as their figures disappeared. The faces of the crowd below shifted again and again. In that short time, a shocking amount of information had been revealed.
’First, the Saintess of the Dark Divine Hall is actually the reclusive fourth miss of the Edmonds family? And the reason for Adina’s frail health is that her own family harmed her?’
’Second, that Saintess started scheming for herself at such a young age? Or are all the young nobles these days so... monstrously clever?’
’And finally, is the Saintess going to cut all ties with the Edmonds family?’
The moment the Divine Hall of Light collapsed, a dense crowd of onlookers, including commoners from all walks of life, had gathered around. Now, everyone was whispering amongst themselves. After all, nothing major had happened in the Imperial City for a long time.
The last hot topic had been about when Lilith would emerge from the Divine Hall of Light and get engaged to the Third Prince. Now, with this sudden upheaval, that engagement was likely off the table.
Once out of the crowd’s sight, Tan You flopped onto the unicorn’s back. "So tiring. My mind feels completely exhausted, but my body is buzzing with energy."
The raven flew beside Tan You. "Why didn’t the Divine Power completely eradicate the root of your illness? We were in the Mist Forest for so long, and I never saw you like this..."
"No, that’s not right. When I first saw you, you were also coughing every few steps... But you’re still doing better now than before. You have no idea, I was so worried back then, terrified that one day you’d be coughing and then..."
"And then just keel over?" Tan You finished the raven’s sentence. "Don’t worry. I was just in the basement for too long, the cold seeped into my bones, and I didn’t get any proper rest. I’ll be fine after I go back and rest for a while."
"Besides, you’re all here. With you by my side, I’m not worried at all. We made it through those difficult times together. From now on, things will only get better."
"Besides," she added, "I’m a Divine Favored. How could I die so easily?" Perhaps it was because of the several Dark Element Holy Beasts by her side, nourishing her with the Dark Element, but Tan You’s body felt much more at ease, and there was a bit more strength in her voice now.