Volume 4, Chapter 35 – Dancing, Rejection, Mysophobia, and Madness

“Beautiful miss, would you honor me with a dance?”

Although many people wanted to speak with him, Falco only had eyes for Ailiya.

After approaching Ailiya and taking in her face, Falco almost trembled all over, his heart involuntarily beating faster from excitement.

Beautiful as a celestial fairy…

This was Falco’s first impression of Ailiya.

Falco had actually seen photos of Ailiya before, but the real-life Ailiya was obviously more vivacious and beautiful than in the pictures. Combined with the pure and sacred aura emanating from the girl, the silver-haired girl’s charm was further enhanced.

Looking carefully, indeed, this appearance and temperament were very similar to the young Lianna.

Thinking of that Divine-Graced Maiden he had once desired but never been able to obtain, Falco’s gaze became increasingly sharp.

Not being able to obtain Lianna back then was undoubtedly an obsession in Falco’s heart.

If he could obtain Ailiya, this daughter of Lianna, it would surely be quite wonderful.

Moreover, compared to the several Divine-Graced Maidens currently on the continent, Ailiya was young, beautiful, and had strong potential—indeed more perfect than the other Divine-Graced Maidens.

Only such a Divine-Graced Maiden would be worthy of himself, this divine representative on earth, right?

His perfect self, plus this divine maiden, would surely be able to create children surpassing all previous Popes, right?

—”Heh, hehe, hehehe…”

As his thoughts progressed, Falco couldn’t help but let out eerie laughter in his heart.

In his sky-blue pupils, an emotion called ‘greed’ continuously overflowed.

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Of course, in order not to frighten this young Divine-Graced Maiden before him, Falco still tried his utmost to suppress the impulse to forcibly take her back to the Divine Kingdom, putting on a gentle and refined appearance to try to build more goodwill.

It had to be admitted that Falco was indeed very handsome, with well-proportioned features and sharp angles. Combined with that enchanting smile, he could easily captivate hearts.

Especially young girls would probably have no resistance to this.

However, facing Falco’s smile, Ailiya merely blinked indifferently.

This silver-haired girl didn’t show the bashful expression that many young girls would display as Falco had expected, but remained calm.

Due to certain aspects, having been trained by Serveiling and Yelena to be quite twisted, Ailiya couldn’t develop any feelings of attraction toward this white-haired handsome man before her.

Not only that, having already guessed Falco’s true intentions from those invitation letters and marriage proposals from the Valen family, Ailiya even instinctively felt a trace of disgust upon seeing him.

Ailiya didn’t like the feeling of her body being coveted by others.

Of course, a certain foolish evil god was an exception.

Although displeased, considering the surrounding spectators… to protect the divine maiden image she had established, Ailiya controlled her emotions and showed a captivating sweet smile. The smile seemed to carry a trace of regret.

The next moment, under everyone’s quite surprised gazes, Ailiya apologetically bowed to Falco:

“Sorry, Your Excellency the Great Cleric, I’ve only returned to the human world for a few years and haven’t had time to learn ballroom dancing yet. I’m not very good at it—if I stepped on you, I’d feel very guilty.”

Of course, this was a lie.

How could Ailiya, who used teaching ballroom dancing as an excuse to torment Miss Bai Lianyue daily, not know how to dance?

But whether to dance depended on who the partner was.

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“Besides, so many people are watching. If I dance too awkwardly, I’d be laughed at. So, Your Excellency the Great Cleric, you should find other girls instead. There are quite a few girls here who want to dance with you.”

Saying this, Ailiya thoughtfully looked around at those young ladies whose eyes were glowing with envy.

“Speaking of which, I’ve been here for quite a while and should go take care of my mother. As you know, my mother’s health hasn’t been very good lately. Sorry about this, Your Excellency the Great Cleric, I’ll take my leave first.”

After politely declining with a smile, the apologetic Ailiya decisively withdrew from the banquet scene.

Obviously not wanting to give Falco a chance to continue pestering her.

Ailiya thus quickly left under many people’s surprised gazes.

Meanwhile, Falco still stood in place, looking at Ailiya’s departing figure in disbelief, his hand extended in invitation still awkwardly suspended in mid-air.

“…”

Being rejected for the first time in his life, Falco felt at a loss, with some negative emotions quietly welling up in his heart.

Just then, whether to prevent Falco’s extended hand from being too embarrassing or to boldly express her feelings, a nearby red-haired girl bashfully stepped forward and actively took Falco’s extended hand.

“Your Excellency the Great Cleric, I’m Metri-Salon. If you don’t mind, could you dance with me?”

The girl asked sincerely.

However, the moment the girl’s hand touched Falco’s, this Divine Faith cleric suddenly trembled all over, and an eerie coldness imperceptibly flashed through his eyes.

But the next instant, Falco suppressed that strange emotion and showed the charming smile he used when receiving believers.

“Of course, it would be my honor.”

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!!!

Hearing this, the girl named “Metri” immediately showed excited and joyful expression, her pretty face even taking on a layer of bashful red. After all, the opportunity to dance with the next Pope wasn’t something everyone could obtain.

For a moment, the girl felt fortunate for making such a bold and wise decision.

Little did she know, this would be the most regrettable decision of her life.

Thus, the banquet continued.

Metri danced with Falco in the center of the venue under the envious and jealous gazes of many young women, getting her wish fulfilled.

Several minutes later, with the end of one dance, Falco used the excuse of having important matters to handle and temporarily left the banquet hall, coming to an empty rooftop.

Upon reaching this rooftop and confirming no one was watching him, the loving smile on Falco’s face immediately faded at a visible speed, replaced by a cold and eerie expression.

Then, Falco stared fixedly down at his hands, pulling out a handkerchief to continuously wipe them.

Frantically wiping—every finger joint, every nail crevice was being continuously wiped.

Wiping back and forth twenty or thirty times wasn’t enough. Falco even directly mobilized the spiritual power within his body, causing white light to envelop his hands, continuously purifying the ‘filth’ within.

Damn it, damn damn damn damn!!

That damn commoner, how dare she touch my body?! Disgusting! So disgusting!

Falco let out low growls in a pathological manner.

Only after cleaning his hands with purifying light more than twenty times did Falco gradually calm down. After this, Falco coldly glanced toward the nearby platform.

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“What’s that woman’s background?”

As Falco’s words left his mouth, the empty platform suddenly showed spatial distortion.

Immediately after, a white-robed man quietly appeared and respectfully knelt halfway on the platform above.

“Reporting to the young master, she’s just the daughter of a multinational corporation, nothing worth being wary of.”

“Then destroy that corporation for me! And cut off that woman’s arms!”

With a fierce expression, Falco said viciously.

His noble body wasn’t something just anyone could touch.

“Yes, young master.”

Regarding Falco’s demands, the white-robed person seemed accustomed to them. After respectfully nodding, he instantly disappeared from the spot.

The emotionally stabilized Falco slowly walked to the edge of the rooftop, directing his gaze downward to the location of the rest room where Ailiya was.

Heh, actually rejecting my invitation?

Ailiya-Lingyuan, quite bold indeed.

However,

—”Somewhat interesting.”