Since stepping into this world, I have lived under countless gazes. Even someone as oblivious as me could feel the burning hatred in those eyes.
From the mansion to my time at the academy, I've lived with the bluntest of stares. I’m not sure if it's because of that, but I've somehow become sensitive enough to feel the emotions behind people's gazes.
For example, the people of the Arts Guild, who are currently watching me, are radiating heat with their stares.
Just like the perverted apostle and the perverts I saw in the streets a while ago, they’re putting in effort to imprint the image of me in their minds.
However, this old man was different. He tried to imitate the others in the Arts Guild, but he couldn't quite grasp the madness within their gaze.
Even when I openly insulted them, while the other guild members were trying to absorb my words, this one was frowning.
From these two facts, I was certain that this person wasn’t part of the Arts Guild. I summoned divine energy and focused it in my eyes.
The divinity that had blossomed after the memorial service for the mummy immediately obeyed my will, showing me the dark aura concealed within the old man.
Under the divine grace of the Arts Guild, there was a disturbing energy hiding.
Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.
It was well concealed, and no one had noticed it, but it couldn’t fool me.
I am an apostle of the Holy God and an enemy of the Evil God.
Once I realized his true identity, I almost immediately planned to expose what was hidden behind him. However, I had an interesting thought and raised the corner of my mouth.
I could expose him directly. The perverted apostle wouldn’t doubt me. It would be clear in no time that he was a follower of the Evil God.
But, you know, if things went that way, I’d give that idiot too much room to stir up trouble.
It was obvious. He’d start yelling, saying, “What makes you doubt me?” He’d drag in all sorts of bad rumors and accuse me of harassing innocent people, causing chaos, and eventually meeting a miserable end.
So, why not make him admit it himself? Let’s make him lose his reason in anger and have him charge at me.
I approached the old man, smoothing out my expression.
"Hey, hey. Grandpa, I have a question for you."
"...Yes?"
The old man, upon seeing my innocent expression, seemed to wonder why I had come to him.
"Why are you staring at me with such disgusting eyes when you can’t even stand up properly?"
But that was only for a moment. As soon as I finished speaking, his face turned bright red.
The anger on the old man's face was so intense that it could have made a child burst into tears, but unfortunately, it didn’t even intimidate me a little.
Instead, his anger only brought me the sense of superiority and joy that the Mesugaki skill provided.
Yes, this is it. You can see the fun when they spring up after being poked.
I hadn’t had such a fun toy in a long time, so I chuckled and continued speaking.
"Why are you frowning?♡ No matter how much strength you put into it, it won’t bring the dead back to life, you know?♡"
"...You’re rude, arrogant, and completely lacking in dignity."
"Ah!♡ Could it be that you're standing, but that’s all you can do?♡ Pfft♡ Sorry~♡ I didn’t realize~♡ What a mistake~♡"
Maybe it was because my words were so sharp, but the faces of the guild members who were listening to me became pale. I didn’t stop, though.
"Are you mad?♡ Do you want to punish me?♡ Go ahead♡ I mean, with your weak old body, what could you possibly do?♡"
I leaned in, daring him to strike me, but I saw the old man’s tightly clenched fist stretching out.
His fist, despite being hidden in wrinkles, was stronger than I could have imagined, but from my perspective, it was simply clumsy.
Compared to Arthur, who once exploded in anger and begged me to let him hit me with a slap, the old man’s fist seemed like a joke.
Easily grabbing the old man’s fist, I gradually added pressure between my fingers.
The old man, unable to endure the pain as his hand twisted, collapsed onto the floor, letting out a scream.
"Are you really that happy that I’m holding your hand?♡ Kneeling down to express your gratitude~♡"
"You... you little...!"
Pffhahaha♡ I grinned at the old man’s pitiful words.
"Ha!♡ I know this must be your first time holding a woman’s hand, but it’s still kind of gross♡ I feel like throwing up♡"
"Lady Allen! Stop it! Even if you’re who you are...!"
Just as the guild leader, who had barely regained his composure, shouted to stop me, the follower of the Evil God removed his mask and unleashed his true power.
As the divine harmony of the Arts Guild faded, it was replaced by an emptiness.
An energy that is nothing, yet can be anything. It exists because it has nothing.
The follower of the Evil God attempted to invade me with his power, but it was impossible.
The divine power I held, from the Holy God, filled the emptiness of his power with light.
As I watched the follower’s pale face, feeling the gap in our powers, I couldn’t help but mock him openly.
"How pathetic~♡ You can’t even control your emotions~♡ Your acting is so clumsy~♡ You’re so weak that you’re overwhelmed by a little girl~♡ And to top it off, you’re such a useless eunuch who can’t even get it up~♡ What’s the point of even living?♡"
"Shut... Gahhh!"
The old man, his face turning bright red with rage, tried to pour out his anger, but before he could, my foot met his nose with a crisp crack.
With the sound of bones breaking, the old man rolled across the floor, eventually hitting the wall, twitching a few times before losing consciousness.
With the old man fainted, the power that had concealed his true form lifted, revealing a man in his mid-twenties, hidden beneath his disguise.
"...What the hell."
"What do you think it is? Your guild is so low-level that you were tricked by such a pathetic guy."
I scolded the guild leader and hummed as I walked out of the meeting hall.
It felt good to play with a fun toy again. It was like all my stress was melting away.
<Lucy.>
‘...What’s wrong, Grandpa?’
I stopped humming when I heard Grandpa’s unusually stern voice and looked at him cautiously.
<Do you really not know what you’ve done?>
‘Uh, well...’
Did I do something wrong just now? I might have acted emotionally, but in the end, the result was good, wasn’t it?
I stopped the Arts Guild from falling into the trap and even found the Evil God’s infiltrator. Oh, maybe...
‘Are you talking about how I recklessly approached the Evil God’s follower?’
<I know your strength, so why would I be worried about that?>
‘...Well, then what is it? I really don’t understand.’
<Haaah.>
After hearing Grandpa’s sigh, I reflexively flinched my shoulder. Cal and Erin, who were with me, asked what happened, but I shrugged and quickly dismissed it, heading back toward the drawing room.
<Do you think a noble lady should be so loud and provocative like that?!>
‘...Ah, you mean that?’
<Is there any bigger mistake than this!>
‘Well, it’s not like I’ve never spoken like that before.’
I’ve provoked people with harsh words plenty of times, so what’s the big deal now?
‘Besides, I don’t even want to say those things.’
<So you’re trying to fool me! You said those things of your own volition!>
‘It was because I thought it would make him angry.’
<That’s not something you should brush off so easily! A girl who hasn’t even been formally betrothed shouldn’t be speaking like that! Others may allow it, but I can’t!>
Grandpa’s lecturing went on endlessly, sounding like a serious matter to him.
Of course, I didn’t take it seriously. My refinement and dignity were shattered before I even stepped into this world.
With Mesugaki skill, there’s no way I could fix that, so what’s the point of taking Grandpa’s scolding seriously?
Before Grandpa’s scolding ended, the perverted apostle, who had returned, had a look of sadness on his face.
It was clear where the sadness came from: mourning for the old man, who had been stripped of his disguise by the follower of the Evil God.
The perverted apostle tried to hide his heavy heart behind a smile and told me what had happened in the meeting room after I left.
"Thanks to you, Lady Allen, everything went smoothly. The follower of the Evil God was the one who was pushing for this more aggressively than anyone."
By revealing the follower’s true identity, public opinion had shifted, and the plans the Arts Guild had set were scrapped.
"In return, we decided to increase surveillance within the guild. There could be more infiltrators."
The perverted apostle continued, now speaking with sincerity, thanking me.
"Thank you very much, Lady Allen. If it weren’t for you, we would have never noticed that someone had infiltrated our ranks. We wouldn’t even have been able to pray for Bishop Yurik’s soul."
He bowed his head, saying that if I had any requests, I should ask.
The apostle, wanting to repay his debt, seemed eager to do whatever I asked.
Hearing this, I didn’t hesitate and spoke.
"First, take all that perverted energy you’ve gathered and teach it to the useless Erin. She’s pathetic enough, but her self-esteem is at rock bottom, it’s laughable."
"If Lady Erin wishes, I will gladly do so."
"And do what you did at the end-of-term party again. Your touch is disgusting and revolting, but I’ll endure it this time."
"It’s an honor. I will gladly do so."
"Lastly, let the old man who got played by the Evil God know the truth. I want to say something to that fool who got tricked."
At my final request, the perverted apostle looked up at me, meeting my gaze, his eyes red as he bit his lip.
"This is Prete. I swear on the name of the goddess, I will do whatever it takes to make sure your voice reaches Bishop Yurik. Your beautiful mourning will surely bring peace to his restless spirit!"
I didn’t respond and turned my head.
Then, I heard the sound of tears falling from behind me.