Vol 2. Chapter 113: The Irresistibility of Fate

“Actually, I never truly resented Great-Grandmother,” Vanessa said softly. “Back then, it was most likely out of helplessness.”

It wasn’t humility—Vanessa genuinely didn’t know whether, had she been in Sophia’s place, she could have done better.

After all, what they had now was merely King Friane V’s summary of events. The situation at the time had likely been far more complicated than later generations imagined. Considering the tides of war and political currents, that might well have been the best decision Sophia could make.

She had even left contingency measures—for instance, arranging a marriage contract with the Emperor of the Tyrel Empire.

Perhaps there had been more. Perhaps Sophia had approached other nobles as well, hoping they might protect the Facilis line. Only later did she discover that neither the Tyrel Emperor nor those great lords were trustworthy. Only then did she entrust everything to the King of Camella.

The Peono Family truly had been an exception among nobility. One only had to look at Mirexia and Friane V to glimpse that their ancestor had likely been a man of upright character.

From the hindsight of later generations, the Ten-Thousand-Beast Fox King, that scourge of life, had been defeated. But at the time, he was hailed as the demon lord most likely to become the Demon King—so much so that even Saintess Sophia could not guarantee she could stop him, let alone defeat him.

And if Vinny remembered correctly, the Ten-Thousand-Beast Fox King slain by his great-grandmother was none other than Jiu Lixue’s father. He had been far older than Sophia, and certainly no weaker—likely even stronger.

To drag down such a rising lord of demons with the greatest potential to become Demon King—yes, his great-grandmother and the Radiant Cross Knights of that era had truly given everything.

That war had no winners. Both the human alliance and the demon host suffered devastating losses. The worst of all were the leaders on both sides, and their families.

The Saintess of Dawn and the Ten-Thousand-Beast Fox King fell together. The Dawn Church and the Fox Domain lost their elites. Their heirs were manipulated by power-hungry ministers and lived miserable lives.

The Facilis family, reduced to a mere ornamental relic, was cast out of the Dawn Church after three generations, which led to Vinny’s own present situation.

As for Jiu Lixue—hers was even more hellish. From childhood she crawled on the edge of life and death, wandering from place to place, starving often, at times reduced to fighting lesser beasts for scraps of carrion.

One had to admit—that big white fox was absurdly tough to survive all that.

When the Ten-Thousand-Beast Fox King and the Saintess of Dawn perished together, Jiu Lixue was still a child. In a world of demons where the weak were trampled, she had no one to rely on. Yet she scraped through her most vulnerable years, secretly building strength, and eventually surged back to reclaim her parents’ lands. In any other tale, this would have been the script of a destined great heroine.

But honestly, Vanessa felt the Jiu family had no right to pity. As the ones who instigated the war, was it not natural they should bear the consequences?

Who asked them to start a war?

If she remembered right, when she first met Jiu Lixue, the girl had even used her father’s death as a barb. Thinking back now, Vanessa felt she should have retorted: You brought this on yourself.

“My little Vanessa, you truly are strong. Still... for you, my precious one, to have endured so much—how unbearable,” Elusha said, her voice tinted with grievance. “Rest assured, little Vanessa. If I ever get the chance to meet Sophia again, I’ll make certain to vent your anger for you.”

“...”

Vanessa had heard of mothers striking their daughters, only for the grandmother to scold the mother with: How dare you strike my granddaughter! Was her situation... something like that?

“Ancestor Elusha... then why am I here?” Vanessa decided to steer away from the topic.

“Ah, that question. Well, when my little Vanessa is bullied, how could her ancestor possibly sit by and watch?” Elusha smiled tenderly.

“Of course I came to lend my ever-diligent little Vanessa a hand.”

“...A hand?” Vanessa hesitated.

“Yes. It has been a long time since any descendant of the Facilis line came to see me. I have been... very lonely.” Elusha’s eyes held regret.

“But now at last, I have you. And I must say, little Vanessa, you are extraordinary. I’ve seen many juniors, but never one who faced a plight as desperate as yours, yet still saw a dawn of reversal.”

“...Ancestor, in other words, I’m the unluckiest one in the Facilis family, aren’t I?” Vanessa said helplessly.

“Not at all, little Vanessa. You are one of the Saintesses most capable of withstanding adversity. Few Saintesses began with a fate worse than yours.”

“Thank you for the praise, Ancestor... but forgive me, I can’t feel happy about it.” Vanessa sighed.

“It’s all right, little Vanessa. Don’t lose heart. You’ve endured the hardest trials already. What hardship ahead could possibly crush you now?” Elusha stroked her hair gently, soothing her as though she were a child.

“I know your current plight. I too wish for you to be happy, to choose your own path. But fate... fate is a strange thing. Little Vanessa, do you know? Though you’ve faced circumstances none of the Saintesses before you ever endured, you are not the first Facilis descendant to declare she wanted nothing of being Saintess, to live as an ordinary person.”

“There were many. Countless, even, with wills firmer than yours.”

“...Eh?” Vanessa froze. She had thought herself unique—that every Facilis was bound to the Saintess’s role. The truth startled her.

“Ancestor... did any of them succeed?” Vanessa asked—then instantly realized how foolish a question it was.

Of course not. If they had, how could there have been later Saintesses? The Facilis line had always been thin, one child per generation.

“For example, one of the ancestors you’ve already met,” Elusha said with a soft smile.

“You don’t mean—?” Vanessa’s eyes widened.

“Yes, precisely. Selena. Not long ago, you even joined hands with her to drive off that ‘Mister Squid.’ She, too, once shouted daily that she wanted nothing to do with the Saintess’s role, that she only wanted to leave the Church and become a singer idol. She nearly drove the entire Church—Pope included—mad with worry.”

“In the end she still became Saintess, though not without antics. She compromised, declaring she would debut as the Church’s idol instead. Looking back, that child was quite amusing.”

“...”

That did indeed sound just like Selena. No surprise at all.

“...I see.” Vanessa nodded.

“So you understand? Often, no matter our wishes, things will not change. There is always an irresistible force steering our lives, whether we consent or not. That, perhaps, is the burden the Facilis family must bear.”

“I think it is our bloodline, as descendants of the Dawn Goddess. We cannot stand idle when the world wavers. At such times, we cannot help but step forward—just as you did, little Vanessa, when the Demon Pillar Erunios descended.” Elusha’s voice was calm.

“These things come naturally. It is events that guide our lives more than people. All we can do is our best—and leave the rest to fate.”

“My little Vanessa, now I will impart to you the remedies I spent my life perfecting. But the knowledge is vast. If I were to pour it all into you at once, your mind could not withstand it. Only a fraction can be revealed now. The rest will unseal with time.”

“In addition, I shall awaken the portion of your bloodline still dormant.”

“...Dormant bloodline?” Vanessa barely had time to question before Elusha’s hands glowed with holy cherry light.

The radiance was dazzling. Compared to it, the Saint Light Vanessa herself wielded was like a faint glowworm.

In the next instant, a warm rain of light showered down, wrapping Vanessa completely.

She wanted to speak—but her consciousness blurred in the glow, and soon she sank into sleep.

There were still many things she wished to say, many questions to ask—but it was too late.

“Walk bravely onward, my child,” Elusha whispered, eyes closing gently.

――――

Vanessa felt as though she had dreamed for a long time. The dream was so real it lacked the fleeting haze of dreams. When she woke and saw the familiar ceiling, it felt like another lifetime.

The Platinum Sanctuary. The spirits of fallen Radiant Cross Knights. Saintess Elusha. All vivid in her memory.

She rose from bed, opened the window, and let the morning wind lift the cherry strands around her ears.

“...Troublesome.”

Before the mirror, the radiant cherry-haired girl sighed. Her gaze fell—her view of her own feet blocked by the snow-white weight on her chest.

She had thought it merely a dream. But waking, she was still Vanessa.

So—she had transformed while asleep?

Vanessa pressed her forehead, head aching. She sat on the bed, tried to revert. Of course—it failed.

Without twenty-four hours, there was no return to Vinny. She had transformed last night, so only tonight could she change back.

Meaning—today, she could not leave the house.

It had to be the notes left by her great-grandmother Elusha that caused the dream.

She had met her ancestor, the knights who awaited her, received Elusha’s lifetime of remedies, and had the rest of her bloodline awakened.

Her head throbbed. Knowledge that should have been vague and foreign now emerged vividly. It was as Elusha had warned—forcing a flood of knowledge into a mind was dangerous. Even this small fraction gave her rejection symptoms. Just recalling fragments brought splitting pain. If nothing had been sealed away, she was certain her brain would have broken.

And what was this dormant bloodline? Where would it show?

The questions churned.

As did her confusion about her future.

She now knew she was not the first Facilis Saintess to wish for an ordinary life. Yet all had become Saintess in the end. The thought left her uneasy.

She sat quietly on the bed, toying with a lock of her cherry hair, mulling her worries—when a knock came at the door.

“Vinny, are you awake?”

“?!” Vanessa froze, her face paling.

Oh no! She had forgotten—she wasn’t living alone!

She stood motionless, breath caught.

But the voice outside continued.

“Vinny, I thought I heard your window open. Are you awake?” Shicodale’s soft voice drifted through. Hearing no answer, a hint of doubt tinged his tone.

“...”

Inside, Vanessa dared not breathe, her mind racing.

She couldn’t play dead. If she stayed inside all day, Shicodale would surely suspect something.

Maybe—escape out the window? Then figure it out later?

No—that wouldn’t work. The moment she stepped out, she’d be on the street.

Before enrollment, perhaps she could have brazened it. But now? During the descent of Erunios, at Carillian Academy she had stood before all, clad as the Dawn Goddess herself.

And the [Armor Fortress] she wore was the very same she had used then. Anyone would recognize it instantly.

And the capital of Camella was full of Carillian Academy students on holiday. What if one of them spotted her?

Unless—she changed her hairstyle and outfit entirely.

If she cosplayed Selena—pigtails, idol-style skirt uniform, bouncing around declaring herself the Church’s idol—then people might find it strange, but at least they wouldn’t connect her to the “Dawn Goddess” who stood against the Demon Pillar.

But she could never bring herself to do that. Even Selena had never dared such shamelessness in public. The Saintess’s image had to be maintained—especially for her.

“...Strange. Not awake yet?” Shicodale murmured outside.

Yet... she thought she had heard footsteps inside. Light, quick steps—like high-heeled boots.

But no one in this house wore high heels.

Could it be a thief? No thief would wear high heels to steal...

After much thought, Shicodale could only conclude he must have misheard.