Staring up at the beautiful and familiar face looking down from on high, Sean felt his heart go ice-cold.
Anna... was *Diana*...
’So the person who teamed up with me and Elise for that mission out of Blake City... was the Saintess herself this whole time??’
’And I even flaunted my "relationship" with Elise right in front of her, then started a vote to kick her out of the party...?’
’I’m so screwed...’
’Completely screwed.’
Remembering how Diana had witnessed all the times he and Elise had "faked being a couple," and how they had even gotten only one room at the motel, the three of them sleeping together... Sean felt he was well and truly doomed this time.
Elise was just as crestfallen.
The moment Diana revealed her true face and identity, her life flashed before her eyes just as vividly as Sean’s.
Only now did she finally understand: the killing intent she had sensed that night at the hotel in Blake City hadn’t been her imagination.
Because right now, she could feel that very same killing intent radiating from Diana.
The reason Sean hadn’t felt it back then was that Diana’s killing intent wasn’t directed at him—it was directed at her.
Elise had been silently praying that they wouldn’t run into the Saintess, only to find out the Saintess had been right there with her and Sean all along...
’We’re so dead this time.’
Elvire, however, just looked stunned for a moment before asking Sean, "She’s the Saintess?"
Sean braced himself and managed a weak, "Yeah."
Elvire didn’t understand why he was panicking. "Aren’t you two friends?"
Sean: "..."
’We are.’
’But not the way you think.’
In Elvire’s eyes, Sean and Diana’s relationship was purely one of "cooperation." Sean could contact her brother-in-law, Carl Black, and Diana had to rely on Sean for any news of him. To that end, Diana had even sent a pair of Grand Mage sisters to the Farm World to protect Sean. He had told her all of this himself.
So, even for Carl Black’s sake, Diana wouldn’t actually do anything to Sean.
Their chances of surviving an encounter with the Saintess were much higher than with Fan Ke’er from the Bright King’s Court.
’This should be good news, so why is he panicking?’
Sean: "..."
’Because I’ve done so many "good deeds."’
’Assuming Diana noticed me and Elise from the very beginning and was secretly observing us as Anna... then does that mean she also knows about that night I stuffed Elise so full she couldn’t even eat a late-night snack?’
...
Sean was rendered speechless.
Weeping internally and wearing a look of utter despair, he took a step forward and called out to Diana in the sky, "It’s all my fault."
"I was the one who wanted to investigate. Infiltrating the church tonight was my idea. So..."
"Just kill me."
"Let them go."
With that, Sean closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.
It took Sean only three seconds to go from desperately searching for a sliver of hope to actively seeking death.
’First, Fan Ke’er is still watching from the side. My identity can’t be exposed.’
’Diana’s position can’t be compromised either.’
’At most, Diana and I can only be casual friends who don’t know each other very well.’
’Second, I can’t say anything about me and Elise.’
’Otherwise, if Elvire finds out, I won’t just die once here—I’ll have to die all over again when we get back.’
’If I don’t want things to spiral completely out of control, I have to die.’
’And the faster, the better. I can’t say another word.’
Seeing Sean step forward to offer up his life, Elvire was utterly bewildered. ’Where did all your usual silver-tongued sophistry go?’ she thought.
’With his personality, shouldn’t he be trying to persuade the Saintess that this is all just a "misunderstanding"?’
’Why isn’t he even trying to argue his way out of it this time? Why fast-forward straight to proving his integrity by dying?’
Elvire could tell that Sean seemed a little afraid of Diana.
Perhaps he knew that arguing was pointless and just wanted to get it over with.
But while Sean might be afraid of Diana, she certainly wasn’t.
Elvire already had an extremely poor impression of the Saintess for seducing her brother-in-law and stealing a man from her sister. Now they were meeting as enemies. She was self-aware enough to know she couldn’t win a physical fight, but that didn’t mean she would bow her head to Diana. If fighting was suicide, then she would use her words!
So, the first thing out of Elvire’s mouth was a sharp insult.
She pulled Sean back, looked up at Diana in the sky, and sneered, "Your Highness, the vixen. Long time no see."
Sean: "???"
Elise: "???"
A vixen??
Now, their already ice-cold hearts turned even colder, as if an arctic wind were blowing right up their pants.
Maybe Diana hadn’t been *that* angry a moment ago, but after Elvire’s outburst, even the last, tiny shred of hope—that she might go easy on them for Carl Black’s sake—was completely gone...
She was just pouring gasoline on the fire!
And the worst part was, Sean couldn’t stop her.
Because he was currently posing as Elvire’s boyfriend, and he knew how much she disliked Diana, he was in no position to stop her from lashing out.
Sure enough.
Diana immediately shot him a cold, pointed look.
So this was his "good little sister."
Disrespectful and utterly devoid of manners.
Sean lowered his head, pretending he didn’t see it.
Diana made a mental note to settle this score later, then turned to Elvire. Her tone was dismissive. "Do I know you?"
"You don’t have to know me. It’s enough that I know you." Elvire would never mention her sister’s name, not with people from the Bright King’s Court watching from the sidelines. She wasn’t that stupid. She shot Sean a scornful glance. "At the end of the day, Sean is supposed to be your friend, doing your dirty work. It would be one thing if you didn’t save him, but are you really here to kick him while he’s down?"