CA – Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Jemma had spent her entire life in their territory since birth. Having just come of age, her trip to the Shas Principality with Fanny to rescue Eva and Jillian was her first contact with the outside world.
Before this, her impressions of Black Witches and priests came from the words of the elder members of her clan.
The Black Witches were indeed as evil and vicious as she had imagined, but the priests, who were also labeled as evil and vicious, had changed her impression because of the gentle, golden-haired priest.
In truth, among all the races on the continent of Statu, aside from the Vampires and Black Witches, the rest were quite fond of the aura of light, and the werewolves were no exception.
It was just that the werewolves' rejection and hostility toward the Holy See made them consciously stay away from, or even resist, this attraction.
But Jemma, who was still new to the world, did not harbor the deep-seated hostility and rejection toward the Holy See that the older werewolves did. Coupled with her own curiosity and the golden-haired priest's natural affinity, her resistance almost completely vanished. Even though the wound on her paw had already healed, she still liked to linger around Tang Qiu.
Things that could be said, things that couldn't; things Tang Qiu wanted to know, and things she didn't—Jemma told her everything.
By the time Eva came to take Tang Qiu to see the Clan Leader, Jemma still looked like she had more to say. She quietly reached out to grab Tang Qiu's sleeve, leaned in, and whispered, "Do you want to come stay in my house?"
"I can turn into my original form to keep you warm."
She blinked her watery eyes, looking at the golden-haired priest with anticipation. She felt she still had so much she wanted to say to her.
Eva frowned and shot Jemma a glare, calling out in a warning tone, "Jemma, let go."
Jemma aggrievedly pulled her hand back.
"You can still come find me tomorrow," Tang Qiu said, comforting Jemma gently when she saw her spirits fall.
Jemma wanted to nod happily, but seeing Eva still glaring at her, she shrank back and ran away.
Under Eva's stare, the other werewolves also followed Jemma and fled. Eva turned with a cold expression and gestured for Tang Qiu to follow her.
After they had walked some distance, Eva suddenly spoke, "You people from the Holy See are really good at winning people over."
Tang Qiu glanced at her and said with a smile, "Perhaps it's the influence of the Light Goddess."
"Oh?" Eva was taken aback, momentarily unsure how to respond.
She hadn't expected Tang Qiu not only to refrain from refuting her but also to drag their Holy See's lofty and inviolable Light Goddess into the conversation. Weren't the people of the Holy See rumored to forbid anyone from profaning the Light Goddess?
Could it be that her earlier words were a compliment? Eva fell silent for a moment, then turned her head to glance at Tang Qiu. She saw that her features were still gentle, a smile on her lips, and her aura was mild and harmless, without any sharpness. Yet, Eva knew this person was not as soft and weak as she appeared on the surface.
Back at the Black Witch's manor, she had seen how calm this golden-haired priest was when facing a situation that even she found dangerous. Moreover, when Erin, whose true identity was a Black Witch, encountered danger, her first reaction wasn't to summon a demonic beast but to hide behind this priest.
Eva found it incredible. This priest was clearly so fragile that a werewolf could snap her neck with a single hand, so why could she faintly sense a powerful presence from Tang Qiu?
"You informed my companions that Jillian and I were captured. For that, I thank you." Eva stopped walking and said in a cold tone, "But don't think you can win over my people."
"You're overthinking it." Tang Qiu observed her surroundings while speaking nonchalantly, "The Light Goddess teaches us to treat all people equally. I treated your clan member because I was following the teachings of the Light Goddess."
"It has nothing to do with whether you are werewolves or ordinary people."
Eva snorted coldly. "It had better be that way." She pointed ahead and said expressionlessly, "The Clan Leader is waiting for you inside."
After speaking, she turned and strode away. Tang Qiu watched her retreating back and shrugged. Eva's hostility towards the people of the Holy See was still very deep.
The number of werewolves was not large, and they all lived together on this ice plain, including the Clan Leader.
A simple ice house, looking very plain without any special features. If Eva hadn't said this was where the werewolf Clan Leader lived, Tang Qiu would have thought it was just an ordinary house on the ice plain.
The location of this ice house was neither in the center nor in the deepest part of the ice plain. There were many other ice houses around it, and quite a few werewolves lived nearby. Hearing the commotion, they all came out and looked at Tang Qiu with wary eyes.
Tang Qiu walked calmly to the door of the ice house and pushed it open. Her palm recoiled from the cold, and she frowned imperceptibly before smoothing her expression. Entering the ice house, she raised her eyes to look at the woman standing in the center of the room with her back to her.
Werewolves had a significant advantage in height. Looking at the entire werewolf clan from a distance, one would see tall and slender figures. The person before her was no different, but what caught Tang Qiu's attention more was her long, golden hair cascading down her back.
Tang Qiu paused. Just as she was about to speak, the person in the center of the room turned around. Sky-blue eyes swept over Tang Qiu, and the werewolf Clan Leader smiled, speaking in a gentle tone, "You must be Priest Grace, correct?"
"I am the Clan Leader of the Wolf Race, Faye Field."
Faye Field... Tang Qiu repeated the name silently in her heart, then nodded slightly, curtsied elegantly, and replied with a smile, "Grace Barton."
Her gaze lingered on Faye's face for a second before politely moving down to the area of her lips and chin.
Faye had a long scar on her face, running from her right temple all the way to her left cheek. It was a burn scar, and the skin around it was also affected, making her features look somewhat ferocious.
Given the werewolf genes, it wasn't hard to imagine how perfect the face behind Faye's scar must have once been.
Faye didn't seem to mind the scar on her face. Seeing Tang Qiu politely avert her gaze, she even shook her head with a light laugh. "I heard about you from Fanny. You saved my people, so you deserve the friendship of us werewolves."
Her tone was polite but carried a faint sense of distance, which slowly dispelled some of the suspicions Tang Qiu had about Fanny's motives for bringing her back to their territory. She replied courteously, "It is my honor to gain the friendship of the werewolves."
Faye smiled. "Aren't you afraid the Holy See will find out about you answering like that?"
Seeing her bring up the Holy See on her own initiative, Tang Qiu felt no need for reservations. She curved her lips slightly, her tone relaxed. "I believe our conversation will not reach the ears of the Holy See."
"You're interesting." Faye's gaze rested on Tang Qiu's face for a moment before she turned away. In the center of her room grew a green-leafed plant. She picked up a pair of scissors and continued to trim its slender branches and leaves. Her voice betrayed no emotion, but the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.
"If you have any requests, feel free to make them. Consider it a reward for saving Eva and Jillian."
"I heard that you and your friend are injured. You can stay here to recuperate until you are fully healed."
Tang Qiu softly agreed. Seeing Faye focus on trimming the plant, she tactfully found an excuse to leave.
The sound of the door closing made the distracted Faye slowly put down the scissors in her hand. She caressed the slender leaves and noticed their edges were slightly yellow. A flash of worry crossed her eyes. Frowning, she opened two bottles of Holy Water of Light and poured them onto the soil specially prepared for the plant.
The door behind her was pushed open again. This time, it was Fanny who entered. She closed the door casually and looked at Faye's back, asking in a low voice, "Is she Grace?"
Faye didn't turn around, but the hand stroking the leaves paused. She thought for a moment and said, "...I'm not entirely sure."
Fanny frowned. "What do you mean?" The royal aura she had sensed on the golden-haired priest couldn't possibly be fake.
"Didn't you notice how she was a stranger to me?" Faye turned and sat in a chair, gesturing for Fanny to sit opposite her. "She was sealed and sent to the Gosse Church at thirteen. It's only been five years. That's not long enough to forget her own identity, is it?"
Fanny was stunned, her expression turning grave. "Could something have happened?"
"She was supposed to break the seal and return on her coming-of-age day. You shouldn't have sent only Eva and Jillian to retrieve her."
Fanny had been extremely reluctant about the decision to send the werewolf heir to the Holy See. She had wanted to personally retrieve Grace on her coming-of-age day but had been stopped by Faye.
As Fanny brought this up, her face darkened, and her tone grew heavy. "Grace is the heir of the Wolf Race. She is your successor. The royal line now consists of only you and her. If anything happens to her, what do you expect the Wolf Race to do?"
The firstborn daughter of every Clan Leader was raised outside the clan until she came of age. When Fanny was young, she didn't know the reason. It was only after she became the Vice-Chief that she finally learned some of the inside story—an inside story she couldn't comprehend.
The most senior members of the Wolf Race were not the Clan Leaders, but the elders who had lived for an unknown length of time. They lived in seclusion year-round, only emerging after the birth of a Clan Leader's firstborn daughter. They would take the werewolf heir away to raise her. Around the age of ten, they would seal her transformation ability, train her to perceive the power of light, and then send her to the Holy See once there was nothing unusual about her.
This was a long-standing tradition of the Wolf Race, known only to a few.
The royal bloodline was already difficult to pass down, so when Fanny learned of this tradition, she found it utterly incomprehensible.
In her view, such a useless tradition should have been abandoned long ago.
"The royal bloodline still has Ophelia," Faye said. Seeing Fanny's dark expression, she sighed helplessly and rubbed her brow, her hand pausing as it touched the scar on her temple. "Fanny, there are some things you don't understand."
Fanny looked at her expressionlessly. "Do you know what Ophelia has done?"
"...I know."
"Then why don't you order her capture?"
Faye sighed. "But you can't defeat her either."
Fanny's expression stiffened. Seeing she was about to explode, Faye quickly placated her. "If she causes too much trouble, I will go out and bring her back."
Fanny shot her a cold glare, then turned and left. The door slammed shut with a bang, making the ice house tremble.
"Such a temper..." Faye shook her head, muttering to herself as she gazed at the doorway. She sat in the chair for a while, her thoughts revolving around the golden-haired priest, her heart not as calm as her exterior suggested.
After sitting lost in thought for a while, something suddenly occurred to Faye. She frowned, pondered for a moment, then stood up and pushed the door open to go outside.
After bringing Tang Qiu to Faye, Eva had forgotten to lead her back. When Tang Qiu came out of Faye's ice house, she scanned her surroundings but saw no sign of Eva, so she had to find her own way back.
The sky had completely darkened, and the ice plain was pitch black. The werewolves' eyesight meant they had no need for things like torches or oil lamps. Tang Qiu had no choice but to summon a Light Ball to illuminate the path ahead, ensuring she didn't go in the wrong direction.
After passing through a long stretch of darkness, a few scattered points of firelight suddenly appeared in her field of vision. A trace of doubt flashed in Tang Qiu's eyes, but she didn't stop walking. When she reached the center of the lights, she was surprised to find a village here.
Was this a human village with werewolf blood? Tang Qiu carefully recalled the path they had taken. They hadn't passed through any place like a village.
In werewolf territory, even the faintest aura of light was extremely conspicuous. The doors of the houses opened one after another, and tall, sturdy werewolf men emerged, looking at Tang Qiu with wary eyes. The air grew thick with tension.
The smile on Tang Qiu's lips faded slightly. She took a step back and nodded. "My apologies, I seem to be lost."
After speaking, she turned around and faced the darkness ahead, raising a hand to touch her chin. In a place like the ice plain, with no obvious landmarks, it was indeed a bit dangerous for someone with a poor sense of direction.
Tang Qiu observed her surroundings and had just decided which direction to take when a man's voice suddenly came from behind her. "Wait."
A werewolf man who looked to have just come of age walked up to Tang Qiu. He first sniffed curiously, then took a deep breath, looking at Tang Qiu with astonishment and disbelief, muttering to himself, "So fragrant..."
His eyes began to change—an instinctual reaction brought on by the blood flowing in his veins.
"Asa," someone chided him in a deep voice. "Don't be rude."
"...How strange, why can I smell it too?"
"It's not a full moon night."
"No, she's not a werewolf. She's a priest."
Tang Qiu took an imperceptible step back, her sky-blue eyes slowly sweeping over the werewolf men approaching her. The smile on her face vanished completely, replaced for the first time by a frosty expression.
The look in these men's eyes reminded Tang Qiu of those monsters bred for reproduction. The thought was absurd, but weren't these people, who were uncontrollably approaching her, just like those monsters that pounced on her at first sight?
"Your body... why does it have the scent of a werewolf..." one of the men who had already reached Tang Qiu asked in confusion.
When it came to changes in a werewolf's own scent, the werewolf men were far more sensitive than the women.
Tang Qiu lowered her gaze slightly. Although a curve formed on her lips, her voice held little warmth. "What are you talking about?"
"I am a priest."
A dazzling flame of light suddenly appeared at Tang Qiu's feet. The flames spread outward as if fanned by the wind, encircling the men who had gathered around. The fire erupted without warning, and a dozen men engulfed in flames let out miserable screams.
Tang Qiu held her staff and raised her head slightly. She smiled at the few who were lucky enough to jump out of the circle of fire and said softly, "Next time, don't get too close to a priest. She might cast spells randomly out of fear."
Although Tang Qiu was still seething with anger, looking at the burning men struggling on the ground, she remembered that this was, after all, werewolf territory. She hesitated for a moment before lowering her staff, turning, and walking away.
The flames of light were not as easy to extinguish as ordinary fire. The burning men on the ground continued to burn for a while after Tang Qiu left before the flames slowly died out.
A few men went forward to check if the people on the ground were still breathing. However, just as they knelt down, a cold wind suddenly swept past from behind. They subconsciously turned their heads and vaguely saw a black shadow. Before they could get a closer look, their heads were separated from their bodies.
The black shadow materialized in front of the scattered corpses. Lucille took out a handkerchief and expressionlessly wiped the bloodstains from her palm. Then, her figure flashed and she headed in the direction Tang Qiu had left.
The commotion from the flames of light had not only attracted Lucille's attention. Not long after Lucille left, two more people appeared.
Fanny looked down at the corpses on the ground with an indifferent expression. She turned to Faye, who had arrived after her, and said in a deep voice, "She is the Heir, Grace."
Her tone was absolutely certain.
The reaction of these werewolf men had already confirmed it for her. The golden-haired priest was indeed a werewolf.
"Her seal hasn't been broken." Fanny's expression was grave. If the seal had been completely broken, the royal aura, even without transforming, would have made those werewolf men submit, not harbor improper intentions.
Even a non-royal werewolf's aura would have made these men dare not act rashly. The werewolf scent on the golden-haired priest was simply too weak.
Faye looked at the charred bodies, their life status unknown. Something came to mind, and her expression turned grim. It wasn't until she heard Fanny's voice that she snapped back to reality and nodded in agreement. "It looks like it's only half-undone."
Fanny turned to leave. "I'm going to tell her the truth."
Faye quickly grabbed her. "...She is a priest of the Holy See now."
"Until she abandons her identity with the Holy See, you are not to mention anything about her heritage." Faye said, word by word, "This is an order."
Fanny's face darkened. She met Faye's gaze for a moment, and seeing her serious expression, she finally looked away in silence, no longer intending to go find Tang Qiu.
Faye let her go. She gazed in the direction Tang Qiu had just left, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "How did she get through her full moon nights?"
A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes.
A werewolf's first transformation after coming of age is often accompanied by euphoric emotions and uncontrollable power. If they cannot be successfully soothed, they will lose their reason and go on a rampage, madly venting this immense power until their agitated blood slowly calms, only then returning to normal.
A long time ago, before their first transformation, werewolves would seek out something that could soothe them. Each individual's situation was different—it could be a person, an animal, or even an inconspicuous flower or blade of grass. Only by smelling their scent could the euphoric emotions be gradually calmed.
But later, they discovered a plant—Silla Grass. The fragrance of this plant was wondrous; everyone who smelled it perceived their own favorite scent. Many Silla Grass plants were grown in the territory, all to help newly adult werewolves successfully pass their full moon nights.
However, this Silla Grass only grew in their territory. So how did Tang Qiu get through her first full moon transformation?
And then there was the subsequent estrus period... Faye was still thinking when Fanny suddenly thought of the vampire who was always by the golden-haired priest's side. Her heart sank, and she couldn't help but ask again, "Can we really not bring Grace back?"
Werewolves could only mate with werewolves. She did not want to see their future heir getting mixed up with a vampire, especially since there was a precedent of their royal bloodline going astray.
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