“Kid! Come visit the imperial capital sometime! I’ll take you to hunt griffins in my estate gardens, it’s a deal———!”

“Commander, sit tight, don’t fall off!”

Early the next morning after the Abyss believer was eliminated, the members of the Church Knights packed their luggage at lightning speed, placed the corpse of the corrupted believer into a cage and paraded it through the streets, then mounted their horses and left the town, of course during their departure, Filin kept waving at Lisea, practically wanting to tie him up and drag him back to the imperial capital.

On the surface, Xidis calmly waved farewell to the Church Knights with a gentle smile, but inside, her inner demon was already pinching its nose and fanning the air.

‘Hurry up and get lost, Church dogs, stop disturbing my peaceful life, I’ve still got plenty of important things to deal with.’

Once the knights were far enough to disappear from sight, Xidis and Lisea both let out a long sigh at the same time.

“They’re finally gone.”

“Thankfully everyone is safe.”

Xidis glanced sideways at that kid, the way Lisea looked at the Church Knights was filled with admiration, and it was precisely that expression that made alarm bells ring in her mind, she swore she would use every underhanded method to sabotage this Holy Spirit Festival.

“There are still important things to do.”

Xidis and Lisea spoke those words at the same time again, which made her pause slightly, she turned to ask what he planned to do next, only to see Rong’an standing beside him with a pen in her left hand and a notebook in her right, looking like a student taking notes in class.

There wasn’t a trace of a smile on Rong’an’s pretty face, she nodded obediently and explained.

“These past few days the Church Knights disrupted our plans, Holy Spirit Day is almost here and we haven’t prepared anything at all, that won’t do!”

“Oh right, Holy Spirit Day, these past few days were so chaotic I almost forgot about it.”

Holy Spirit Day was the most important festival in the Empire, with thousands of years of tradition. On this day every household decorated their homes, bought gifts, slaughtered turkeys and gathered for family feasts.

Since this time Lisea would be going to Migendorf to participate in the divine test, Xidis had been on edge and completely forgot to prepare for the holiday.

What should she buy? As a lover of fruit desserts, pineapple pizza was definitely a must, strawberry mapo tofu could also be added...

While Xidis was thinking about what to buy, the two kids had already started discussing among themselves, Rong’an made a cute puzzled sound, tapping the end of her pen lightly against her soft lips as she suggested.

“This year, I’ll handle Lady Xidis’ fruit desserts, we absolutely can’t let you wreak havoc in the kitchen again.”

“I agree!”

At least when it came to preventing things like chocolate tomato soup, pineapple pizza and strawberry mapo tofu, Rong’an and Lisea were completely in agreement.

“Hey hey hey! Don’t just veto the food I want to eat on your own, you two brats!”

Seeing Xidis about to puff up in anger, Lisea stepped forward and gently pressed her shoulders, coaxing her skillfully.

“Don’t worry, Rong’an and I have been picking things out for a whole month, we found lots of delicious fruit desserts for you, Teacher.”

︾▽︾

‘Since that’s the case, I’ll forgive you two for the sake of tasty sweets.’

Watching this scene, Rong’an couldn’t help but sigh, thinking that although the young master looked honest, he was really good at handling Lady Xidis, she needed to learn from him in that regard.

“Oh right, gifts and new clothes for Holy Spirit Day are essential, young master, just tell me what you want and I’ll go buy it tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, Sister Rong’an! I saw a super cute Christmas outfit at Mr. Cabot’s shop, oh right oh right oh right, cat ears and gothic outfits are a must too.”

‘Oh ho ho! You’ve got quite the taste. Rong'an has a great figure, she’d definitely look amazing in a low-cut Christmas outfit, but gothic outfits and cat ears don’t really suit her, it’s gotta be a low-cut maid outfit! Wait…’

The more Xidis thought about it, the more something felt off, wasn’t Cabot’s shop a children’s clothing store? How would Rong’an even fit into those, and in this house, the only one under 1.6 meters was...

At that moment, the Abyss Prince seemed to realize something, she slapped Lisea’s hand away and jumped up, delivering a punch straight to his head.

“You unfilial brat!! Divine punishment!!”

“Ugh, I’ve been found out!”

“Young master, don’t go too far.”

‘What kind of nonsense is this guy thinking about all day! I’m the most terrifying, most frightening, most evil demon! How could I wear something like that! Hah!!’

Xidis puffed up angrily and immediately pointed at Rong’an, giving orders.

“Teach this brat a proper lesson, I’m so mad! I’m not coming back for dinner tonight, and not tomorrow either!”

“Eh! Lady Xidis! Where are you going? I was wrong, okay? I’ll take care of your garden for the next two months and prepare pudding for you every morning!”

Xidis’ raised leg paused for a moment mid-step, she had to admit this guy was truly cunning, just like his deceptively sweet mother, how could his conditions be so tempting.

But to maintain her authority, she still took that step forward and left the two unlucky kids behind, adding.

“No need! Those Church Knights delayed my business these past few days, I have to go out for a few days, you two prepare properly for Holy Spirit Day!”

“Understood!”

Seeing that Xidis had made up her mind, Lisea didn’t try to stop her, instead he and Rong’an respectfully bid her farewell.

Before leaving, Xidis turned back and gave Lisea a disdainful smile, saying mockingly.

“Lisea, don’t forget to buy that thing for the holiday, this time I’ll handle two at once.”

Lisea’s face instantly turned pale, and he hurriedly confirmed.

“R-really? Just one nearly...”

“I never joke about these things, I’m counting on you.”

“Got it...”

Watching Xidis’ departing figure, Lisea couldn’t help but feel worried, the tragedy from two years ago was still vivid in his mind, he truly feared for his teacher’s safety…

* * *

After returning home, Xidis quickly changed into a pitch-black robe and put on the mask representing Xilrodiel, unless it was an emergency or she was extremely short on money, she wouldn’t use this identity, but the recent troubles had pushed her to the brink.

Lisea participating in the divine test was already unacceptable, and with Liyat coming as well, Xidis had resolved to sabotage the entire event.

‘Hehehe, the Church dogs and Liyat want to cause trouble in the south, huh? I’ll just make sure most of you die on the way, let’s see who can still get Lisea to the divine test!’

However, she had almost no intelligence on the Cardinals heading south, so she needed to act using Xilrodiel’s identity, after all this was a great mage renowned across the entire Southern Empire, infiltrating high society and gathering some information would be easy.

Thus, after completing her disguise, she casually waved her hand and opened a portal leading to the Holy Silver Tower, the headquarters of mages in the southern region, the largest academic institution for magical research and also a place frequently visited by nobles.

There, she would definitely obtain the information she needed!

Xidis stepped into the portal, and after a flash of light, what appeared before her was not the towering Holy Silver Tower, but a massive fireball flying straight toward her face...