Volume 6, Chapter 13 – The Confessors

“…needs.”

Finishing the unspoken part of Evelyn’s sentence for her, Yisi waved her hand. It was clear that Evelyn was very good at seducing people. If a man in good health and spirits were standing here, he would probably be so captivated he wouldn’t even know his own name.

Inconspicuously, Evelyn reached out and lightly touched Yisi’s shoulder. Then, as if electrocuted, she immediately withdrew her hand. Her long, narrow, deep-green eyes gradually lost focus, revealing a slightly dazed look, before quickly returning to normal.

The moment, which lasted less than a second, went unnoticed by outsiders. But in Yisi’s eyes, Evelyn’s abnormality was too obvious to be ignored. That appearance just now reminded Yisi of Refina when she was being fed upon.

Hey, hey… I haven’t done anything to Evelyn.

Not to mention she had always exercised restraint. Even after confirming her future with Andrea, their intimate acts over the past two months had only gone as far as kissing. Secondly, before coming to Mitters Bayer, her only contact with Evelyn was when she stole the necklace, and that contact couldn’t even be considered a proper meeting.

A trace of suspicion appeared in her eyes, which quickly turned to surprise. Understanding that this was not the place to talk, Evelyn made no further moves. After giving Mary a smile, she left with her guards and walked slowly to the base of the high platform where the statue was located. She held a thick book handed to her by a paladin in one hand and extended the other towards the believers below.

“It’s getting late. Let us begin. From the divine revelation, to the sacred moment.”

The so-called divine revelation should refer to a direction, like left or right. The same applied to the sacred moment. Based on the fact that only the believer on the far left remained by Evelyn’s side, while the rest of the believers on the right followed the paladins out of the main hall, the so-called divine revelation meant the left, and the sacred moment meant the right.

Even directions have to be stated so obscurely.

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Without doing anything to attract attention, Yisi patted Mary’s back.

“Alright, let’s go over too. But we are only here to observe, not to receive baptism, so we don’t need to come back here.”

The baptism was probably similar to a confession, which was why only one person was left in the hall at a time.

“Yes, Master.”

Nodding vigorously, Mary looked at Evelyn guiding the believer with the holy book as she was led out of the hall by Yisi.

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It wasn’t until the sun had passed its zenith and noon was almost over that the baptism ceremony finally neared its completion. As Yisi had expected, she and Mary were being closely watched by the paladins. Although the paladins stood like statues in the side hall used for waiting, Yisi could still feel that if she and Mary made any move to leave, they would be stopped immediately.

Enduring the hunger in her stomach, Yisi took out the snacks she had bought on the road from her inventory and handed them to Mary. It wasn’t that there wasn’t enough food, but Yisi felt that as an adult, she shouldn’t eat like a child in a holy sanctuary, even if the act of eating didn’t draw any objections from the paladins.

“Do you usually wait this long?”

Randomly picking a believer, Yisi struck up a conversation in a low voice. The other party was a commoner woman in relatively clean clothes.

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The woman, who had been muttering with her head down, slowly looked up, her tense expression gradually relaxing.

“Yes. Lady Evelyn listens to our sins and confessions on behalf of the Goddess, then gives us a method of atonement according to the severity of our sins, and finally forgives us. Some people are here to see Lady Evelyn and ask her to help them. Besides that, there are also people who simply want to come and worship the Goddess.”

“I don’t mean anything by it, but can you tell me which category you fall into?”

She had thought the other party would find her rude, but the woman showed no aversion. On the contrary, she showed a repentant expression, clearly aware of her deep sins, and lowered her head in guilt.

“As the daughter of a merchant, I always looked down on my husband, who came from a commoner background. Even though he worked very hard, I still couldn’t change my opinion of him. A few days ago, due to a conflict, I left my child and husband and went to my father’s city alone. Unexpectedly, my husband was attacked by a beast in the forest while searching for me. Although his life was saved thanks to the treatment of the priests, it will be difficult for him to continue being a hunter in the future…”

After speaking, the woman began to sob.

“I already know my sin. I will be a good wife and mother from now on. I hope the Goddess can forgive me and not punish my family for my mistake.”

“I hope the Goddess accepts your confession.”

“Thank you…”

A pillar of support for people’s hearts. It fits the word ‘religion’ quite well.

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Handing the woman a handkerchief, Yisi changed the subject.

“Aren’t you afraid of me? Before, I was told by Lady Evelyn… by Lady Evelyn that I had an ominous aura.”

Before, the believers had been very afraid of her, but after her contact with Evelyn, they suddenly lost their vigilance and fear. Logically, if she were to talk to them now, they should be afraid of her and want her to stay away.

After wiping her tears, the woman answered calmly.

“You have already received Lady Evelyn’s baptism. Even if a demon is sealed within your body, we will not be afraid of you. Lady Evelyn is a child of God. The hearts of those who come into contact with Lady Evelyn will be occupied by light. A demon can only barely survive by resisting with all its might.”

If she didn’t remember that Evelyn had deliberately touched her shoulder and had temporarily lost her composure after that, she would have dismissed the woman’s words as religious fanaticism.

“It’s your turn.”

A paladin came to the woman’s side. After saying goodbye to Yisi, the woman went to the main hall, leaving only Yisi and Mary in the side hall.

Yisi pressed a fist to her lips.

“So, whether it was touching me or touching Mary just now, it was an act with an inner meaning. That so-called baptism.”

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But she didn’t feel anything. She neither felt her heart being filled with light nor did she suddenly receive a divine revelation. Was it because she wasn’t human?

As Yisi was thinking, Mary looked towards the main hall with a very sympathetic gaze.

“Miss Andrea had to do all this before… Standing for so long, not even being able to drink water. It’s so hard.”

“Andrea was more than happy to do these things.”

Evelyn wanted to find a place where she could use her intellect, and she disliked the restrictive and boring days in the church. Andrea, on the other hand, hated dealing with nobles and liked to do things that made people happy. The two of them were in the very environments that they detested but the other desired. That was why they reached an agreement and consented to swap souls. According to Andrea, the last day of the week was her favorite because she could guide the believers and see them relax because of her.

“Miss Yisi, Miss Mary, Lady Evelyn invites you to the inner sanctum for purification.”

As Mary finished the last piece of bread in her hand, four nuns carrying square silver trays, led by a relatively older woman, walked slowly to Yisi. On the four square silver trays, besides dazzlingly white bath towels, there were also cotton slippers, other clothes of unknown purpose, and steaming milk.

—That woman is serious about the purification.

Feeling a headache coming on, Yisi pressed a hand to her forehead.