A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 9

The maid stood at the door, showing no intention of going in.

Even through the door, Santa Karina could hear the lively atmosphere inside, with voices discussing national planning and reconstruction policies drifting out through the door.

"I see."

Saint Karina nodded, hoping that her entrance wouldn't be awkward.

This heavy door, adorned with beautiful carvings, could not completely block out the sounds coming from inside.

"Squeak-"

A maid opened the door for Saint Karina, and she went straight inside.

At this moment, everyone's attention obviously shifted to Saint Karina.

They seemed to have been informed by the young emperor long ago, as if they knew the identities of the latecomers. At the two long tables inside, there were court officials and nobles with real power.

The people's gazes held a variety of emotions, and their appraising looks made Saint Karina very uncomfortable.

Unlike the respect shown by the maids and female guards in the palace, these nobles showed no respect for Saint Karina whatsoever. Their eyes were filled with arrogance, as if they felt that an old relic from more than five hundred years ago had no need to come to the main hall to discuss politics.

Power and interests are a very limited cake. If the cake has already been divided, and new people want to participate and take a piece of the cake, then the interests of the existing beneficiaries will inevitably be harmed.

They are high and mighty figures who would never thank the Holy Maiden of the Nation for protecting the country once again. Perhaps they would express gratitude at the time, but if the person being thanked infringes upon their interests, that gratitude would quickly turn sour, or even vanish completely.

After all, the current Lorian Empire... is truly a country corrupt to the core.

17. Punishing woodworms

“Your Excellency, please don’t be so formal. Come and sit next to me.”

Brenda waved to Santa Karina with a polite smile, seemingly trying to help her out of a difficult situation.

"Wait, Your Majesty, this is against the rules."

The one who spoke was the Minister of Finance, that fat, pig-like man with a bloated belly.

"What could be wrong with simply greeting Her Majesty the Holy Maiden?"

Brenda looked embarrassed and seemed somewhat displeased.

"Our Lorian Empire believes in the Church of Order, not the Church of Eternity. Your Majesty, the position beside you will represent your attitude. Please think carefully before you act."

The man continued to block.

"Although this saintess did save our capital, she was just an individual; it was our ministers and nobles who truly contributed money and effort."

In the Lorian Empire, ministers held court positions and served directly for the emperor, while nobles were appointed by the emperor and exercised ruling power in local areas.

But seeing the young emperor's appearance, Saint Karina seemed to understand something. The ministers and nobles had colluded; of the empire's three factions—the royalists, the neutrals, and the nobles—the nobles were currently in the lead.

This included important national finance ministers, who were also members of the aristocracy.

“Alright…I understand, Lord Francis. Excuse me, Your Excellency, please find an empty seat.”

Brenda cannot do without the support of these parasites in the country, and has no choice but to compromise for the time being.

The Ernest family had many sisters, and it didn't matter whether the emperor was Brenda or not, as long as the aristocracy was willing.

"Don't apologize to me, because I didn't want to attend this boring meeting at all."

Saint Karina knew she was being used as a pawn; Brenda was scheming against her, trying to win over the Holy Maiden of the Defenders to her side and send a signal to the nobles that they should not act rashly.

"Your Excellency, are you leaving your seat?"

The man who spoke was smug; he wasn't even willing to give Saint Karina the final concession.

He dared to show such disrespect to the emperor and the saintess because almost four-fifths of the people in the main hall were aristocrats, and the remaining five were of mixed backgrounds and not entirely loyal to the young emperor.

“That’s what I was thinking just now, but now, fat pig, if you dare to look at me with those disgusting eyes again, I’ll dig you out of the main hall right now.”

Unlike the young emperor, Saint Karina didn't care at all what would happen to the Lorian Empire, which had betrayed the Eternal God Cult, the Eternal Goddess, and the Eternal Saintess.

It's not her style to be trampled on and swaggered around by this kind of person and have to swallow her anger.

"Guuuu!"

Seemingly startled by Santa Karina's gaze, the man, with his large belly protruding, nearly tripped and fell.

His steps backward were unsteady, clearly the kind of person whose body had been hollowed out by wine, women, and beautiful women.

But then he calmed down and realized that this was his territory, and he had no reason to be afraid of Saint Karina. His long history of bullying others made it impossible for him to swallow the humiliation of losing face in front of so many people.

"What did you say! You are nothing but a relic of five hundred years ago. Calling you 'Holy Maiden' is already being polite, but not only are you not satisfied, you actually dare to insult a prominent minister of the empire as a fat pig!"

He was so angry that his whole body was trembling with fat.

Are you defying me?

"Crack."

But soon, the fat pig, who had been spitting everywhere, was unable to speak.

With a cold laugh, Saint Karina kicked the Finance Minister's disgusting body with her high heels. He was sent flying like an inflated ball, crashing heavily to the ground.

That's right, in front of all the ministers and nobles, Saint Karina directly beat up the imperial minister that the fat pig had mentioned.

"Boom."

The tables and chairs were overturned, and even the beams and pillars of the main hall were broken off, causing a tremendous, earth-shaking sound to resound in the room.

The fat pig, its cheek muscles contorted in pain and howling in agony, not only had countless broken bones in its body, but its forehead was also bleeding profusely from the impact, making it look quite pitiful.

However, among the hundred or so people present, not a single nobleman or minister dared to help.

While the Holy Maiden of the Guardian Kingdom was indeed a historical figure from five hundred years ago, everyone present knew the glorious history of the Lorian Empire and what a powerful figure the Holy Maiden of the Guardian Kingdom was. They knew that if they went to help her now, they would be the next ones screaming in a pool of blood.

Slowly glancing around at the crowd who were silently bowing their heads, trying to pretend they didn't see her and minimize their presence, Saint Karina's eyes flashed with disappointment. These high and mighty people, whom the nation had painstakingly supported, were just such useless trash.

"This fat pig says I'm an ancient relic from five hundred years ago, someone useless to the country. Well then, I'd like to ask, when the capital, Partington, was breached by the demons, who protected this country?"

"It's you... Your Excellency the Holy Maiden."

At first, no one dared to speak, but after a moment of silence, a member of the aristocratic faction spoke up.

There was a deep fear in his eyes. It was clear that he was terrified of the Holy Maiden of the Kingdom and worried that Saint Karina might kill them in a fit of rage and massacre the entire main hall.

After all, this ruthless master had slaughtered tens of thousands of demons and hundreds of thousands of demon tides before he ascended to heaven. With only a hundred or so people in the main hall, there was really a fear that this bloodthirsty brat wouldn't be enough to kill.

Throughout history, the blood on the hands of the Holy Maiden of Wei is countless.

"Very well, now, does anyone have any objections to how I should punish this fat pig?"

"..."

The main hall was deathly silent.

The group looked at each other, and after some hesitation, bowed and replied, "No objections."

"Hey, you fat pig, you say you're the Minister of Finance of the Lorian Empire, right? I happen to be short of money and land. Give me all the money and real estate you have, and I'll forgive your disrespect, how about it?"

This fat pig deserves to die for ruining my good mood with this parasite.

Saint Karina's pointed high heels slammed into the other person's body as she wiped away what couldn't possibly be blood from her clothes with some displeasure.

"Impossible!...All of it! You want my manhood! I'll give you a portion at most..."

Upon hearing Saint Karina's words, the fat pig became extremely agitated. For someone like him, nothing was more important than money.

No country, no people, no justice, no family, love, or friendship can compare to money.

"Partial? I said I wanted everything... It seems you still don't understand your situation, so I'll make it clear to you right now."

Saint Karina stomped her heel on the back of his hand, and then—with a burst of force.

"Gu yi yi yi yi!"

His hand was instantly ruined; the bone pierced through the flesh and was exposed on the skin.

He screamed in agony, the sounds of which were as comical as pig squeals.

Really noisy.

18. An Empire Beset by Internal and External Troubles

"Wait! Your Excellency, please do not continue to torment Lord Francis. As an apology, on behalf of the noble faction, I will find one of your sacred relics for you."

This time, it was the Foreign Minister who stepped forward.

His attitude was humble and impeccable, much more pleasing to Saint Karina than that fat pig from before.

Moreover, she truly needs the sacred relics. Like the Holy Sword, these relics are part of the Holy Maiden; only by collecting all the relics can she regain her former strength.

After the thieves robbed the underground sanctuary, all the sacred relics had vanished without a trace. Searching for them was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"You think you can exchange this fat pig's life for a sacred relic? Trading something that originally belonged to me? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Saint Karina sneered.

In fact, besides finding all the sacred artifacts, she has a second way to advance: to convert the power of the sacred medicine into a demonic potion, transforming herself from a saintly woman who protects the country into a demonic woman who brings ruin to the country.

It can be said that the more turbulent this country and this continent are, the faster it can advance, like a rocket taking off.

"No, no, no, of course I will also give you a compensation payment, a full thousand gold coins plus Partington's suite, the kind with a manor."

"whispering sound……"

Saint Karina clicked her tongue, which was a reluctant agreement.

She removed the heel from the Minister of Finance's hand and sat down directly next to the young emperor.

This time, no one in the main hall dared to speak up against her a second time. Saint Karina gained temporary power through the Unsealing Stone, a fact known only to the young emperor. Everyone else assumed that the Holy Maiden of the Kingdom's strength was exactly the same as it had been over five hundred years ago, and dared not openly disobey her.

"what……"

The Finance Minister, having survived the ordeal, scrambled back into the crowd in fear. It seemed that only among his own faction of nobles could he regain a sense of security.

If she were in a crowd, even if she still harbored anger when Saint Karina agreed to the nobles' demands, she wouldn't have gone back on her word. It's difficult for an individual to become a hero, but it's incredibly easy to change the tide of public opinion overnight.

Saint Karina did not continue to make things difficult for him, just as a normal person would not spend all day chasing after a dirty rat that he had accidentally bumped into.

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, after all, with the Saintess's skill, this great hall would immediately be reduced to ashes.

Brenda's tightly clenched hands gradually loosened, her palms covered in cold sweat.

The Lorian Empire is now teetering on the brink of collapse, and she alone cannot hold it up. She dares not easily offend the nobles, nor does she dare to offend the Holy Maiden in order to protect them.

Being caught between two forces and becoming a victim of their power struggle is a truly unpleasant feeling.

During the meeting, the Minister of War stepped forward and continued to report the current situation to Brenda. His attitude was significantly better than before.

Aside from the emperor, the only people most concerned about the war situation were a few nobles and ministers whose own interests were at stake.

Brenda moved half of the items off the table to make room for the map. She had seen this map countless times; she knew every country and place name on it by heart.

Several fortresses require heavy garrison defense, but there are almost no available personnel in the country.

While Saint Karina was able to repel the monster tide, it doesn't mean she can do it every time. Some of her territory and fortresses have already fallen, and it won't be easy to take them back.

Back then, Lorian's territory spanned three continents, but now it's less than a tenth of what it used to be... and even in these remaining territories, the young emperor has almost no control, as they are all governed by local lords.

Her authority... is probably limited to the small capital city of Partington.

"Sir Bridges, what are your thoughts on the upcoming battle?"

She looked at the middle-aged man next to her, whose temples were gray and who was over fifty.

He commands all the troops currently available to the capital and hails from the Dreiser family, which has been loyal to the empire since its founding. The Dreiser family is the empire's last trump card, playing a crucial role in the resistance against the demon invasion. In past wars, they have repeatedly saved the royal family from crises, demonstrating their formidable strength.

Yesterday's battle severely weakened the Dreiser family's army, and Bridges frowned from the moment he took his seat, expressing his dissatisfaction with the lighthearted atmosphere of the banquet.

While some relaxation is necessary, these people acted as if it were none of their business in the empire's crisis. The demons had already breached the city walls, yet the ministers and nobles were still indulging in nightly revelry, turning a deaf ear to the cries of anguish outside.

If this continues, it's hard to say whether the Lorian Empire will survive the year.

"First, a large number of demon troops are entrenched in the north, and they may come south to harass our country at any time. The Toran Empire in the west has frequent friction with our country and may take advantage of the situation to demand that Lorian cede border territories."

Then, pointing to the map, he continued to provide further explanation.

"In recent years, several islands in the south have formed the Praia Ocean Federation theocratic state, which worships the god of the deep sea. This is contrary to the doctrine of the Church of the God of Order, and they have been enemies since ancient times. We need to pay more attention to them. Finally, there is the Saint Marta Sea in the east. Recently, we have received many reports of underwater people attacking fishermen, as well as several sightings of suspicious persons."

"I will have Her Majesty the Saint personally investigate these matters; Lord Bridges need not worry too much."

Upon hearing this, Bridges's furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and he personally poured wine for the young emperor and Saint Karina.