Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 288

[Vol. 5] Chapter 288: The Secret of the Three Saintesses

Ian Noyes

Violet had a bit of an impression of this man, and actually, it wasn’t a bad one.

He was the envoy sent by the Holy Court to greet the Western Expeditionary Army, led by Yuna, when they arrived at Angel City.

Of course, “greet” might not be the right word. It was closer to a negotiation, a form of diplomacy, and a way to assert authority over the Western powers that had interfered in the Eastern war… something like that.

After all, at that time, the situation was still under control and hadn’t escalated to the level of the Fourth Demon War. It was merely regarded as “unrest.” The Holy Order, entrenched in the Angel City, felt unassailable, so they naturally didn’t see a need for the Bright Light Saintess to meddle in their affairs.

Under such a general stance, along with the intention to secure the Lambert family’s and the Holy Court’s absolute dominance in the Eastern Capital, the terms Ian proposed for negotiation were not particularly favorable, and he faced particularly intense resistance from the Western Capital generals because of it.

But in the end, he was just a representative, a scapegoat of sorts. From the subtle clues she picked up during their interactions back then, Violet could tell that, personally, Ian Noyes didn’t really care about the conflicts between East and West or between the Three Saintesses and the Holy Order.

He seemed like someone who didn’t pay much attention to power, a rather pure-hearted believer at his core, who only found himself in these situations due to his background and abilities, forcing him to carry out certain tasks despite his reluctance.

So Violet didn’t treat him with any particularly distant or condescending attitude.

“Yes, it has been a long time. Over two months since our last meeting. We even said we’d chat again if we had the chance~”

Ian shook his head with a wry smile.

“Plans never keep up with changes. Who could’ve known that the situation would take so many unexpected turns? But speaking of which, why has Miss Dawn suddenly returned to the Holy Capital? Could it be that the demons are plotting something and are about to bring the fight here?”

The white fox girl shook her head, getting straight to the point.

“This has nothing to do with demons. I’m here to see the Holy Pope. If you really don’t know the details, don’t ask. Sometimes, knowing too much isn’t a good thing.”

The assistant manager was slightly taken aback, then sighed as if he agreed and understood.

“You’re right. Thank you for the reminder, Miss Dawn. Please follow me, His Highness the Pope is already waiting for you in the Grand Church of Light.”

With Ian leading the way, the two of them headed deeper into the Holy Court.

Along the way, this archbishop, who clearly knew the area well, acted as a tour guide, giving explanations of nearby landmarks and decorations to avoid awkward silence.

Though somewhat distracted, clearly worried about Dawn’s less-than-friendly attitude, he still explained everything carefully and in detail, easily recounting the historical anecdotes and cultural significance behind each location.

This was likely his usual job.

“Miss Dawn, please look over here. This is the Holy Sword Glanst. It’s a weapon modeled after the [Judgment Holy Sword], which the first Judgment Saintess entrusted to her successor as an artifact. Although it doesn’t possess the same divine power as the holy weapon bestowed by the gods, it is still quite formidable and holds significant commemorative value.”

“After the first Saintess passed away, the Church stored and safeguarded Glanst, exhibiting it as a precious artifact to commemorate that illustrious founding era.”

“Oh… the first Judgment Saintess.”

The white fox girl paused thoughtfully, her gaze falling on the sword inside a crystal display case, protected by intricate magical arrays. The sword bore at least a seventy percent resemblance to the [Judgment Holy Sword].

Seeing her stop for the first time, Ian, who had been giving a routine introduction, also halted and turned around. The two Knight Templars guarding the sacred sword noticed her gaze, and, flattered by her attention, they quickly bowed their heads in respect.

“Miss Dawn, is there something wrong?”

“No, just a bit of curiosity.”

Seeing this sword, Violet suddenly recalled something.

According to historical records, the first Judgment Saintess wasn’t able to break through to the transcendent level. In the end, she peacefully passed away due to old age, surrounded by others. The same fate befell the first Redemption Saintess and the first Bright Light Saintess.

It’s widely known that the original Three Saintesses never reached the transcendent level, yet there were slight differences in their successors.

In the line of both the Judgment and Redemption Saintesses, out of about twenty generations, few have managed to reach the transcendent level. Due to the issue of lifespan, each saintess typically held her position and wielded her holy artifact for ten to twenty years, rarely exceeding a century before passing it on to the next generation. Even Loknisa only reached the transcendent level with the help of someone like Minchen, a traveler from another world.

Throughout her journey in the Holy Court, Violet had seen many replicas similar to this Holy Sword Glanst. These substitutes, left by successive Judgment Saintesses, were commonplace, and the same was true for the Redemption Saintesses.

But the Bright Light Saintess, head of the Three Saintesses, was an exception.

Violet had noticed that, in this entire Holy Court, there was almost no equipment left behind by the Bright Light Saintesses that held any practical significance.

No matter how much the Holy Order suppressed the Bright Light Saintess faction, they couldn’t openly show such bias. The only plausible explanation for this is that the relics of successive Bright Light Saintesses were collected and preserved in some other manner.

To achieve something like this… only the Bright Light Saintess herself could do it.

Due to the extended lifespan granted by their powerful abilities, the succession intervals in the Summerfield lineage are very long. Yuna, the current Bright Light Saintess, is only the eighth generation, while the frequently changing Redemption Saintess, Philomena, is already the twenty-third.

The main reason for this difference is that Bright Light Saintesses have a particularly high rate of reaching the transcendent level.

In other words, while the time it takes may vary, nearly every Bright Light Saintess has managed to achieve the transcendent level during her tenure. Over the past thousand years, of the eight Bright Light Saintesses, only three have been exceptions.

These exceptions are the first Bright Light Saintess, the seventh Bright Light Saintess who was deposed after the Demon War, and the current Bright Light Saintess, Yuna Summerfield.

Of course, Yuna is known to have hidden her true strength, so the only real exceptions should be the first and seventh.

Another strange thing is that, despite the fact that transcendents can live for over a thousand years, previous Bright Light Saintesses who reached the transcendent level often voluntarily abdicated after one or two hundred years in office and gradually disappeared from public view…

Where did they go?

Some rumors say that the reason Bright Light Saintesses can consistently reach the transcendent level is that the Summerfield family possesses a secret technique to push their potential to the limit. Although this makes it easier for each Bright Light Saintess to achieve transcendent level, it severely shortens their lifespan.

There is also speculation that the Summerfields achieved this power by intermarrying with the Lightborn Tribe, which granted them the strength to break through to the transcendent level, albeit with certain negative effects, such as reduced longevity.

So, the former Bright Light Saintesses who withdrew from public life may have already passed away long ago.

Otherwise, in the critical moment of the Third Demon War, when the Bright Light faction was in decline, why would those predecessors have remained silent?

Violet remained noncommittal about these theories.

But there was one thing she was certain of.

The first Saintess of the Summerfield family was indeed an ordinary human or rather, an ordinary divine-descendant. It was only starting with the second Bright Light Saintess that the so-called Lightborn Tribe bloodline somehow entered their lineage.

The emergence of transcendent power began around that time as well.

But if the Lightborn Tribe’s bloodline was truly so powerful, wouldn’t the other two divine-descendant families have considered introducing it to produce transcendent-level powerhouses of their own?

Clearly, something was amiss here.

And the issue lay with those successive Bright Light Saintesses who reached the transcendent level in an almost synchronized, regular pattern… and with Yuna Summerfield herself.

In fact, did those Bright Light Saintesses really only reach the transcendent level later on?

After all, Yuna, while possessing peak transcendent power, has consistently concealed her strength and avoided fighting. As a result, the world only regards her as legendary at best. If this pattern were applied…

Noticing the white fox girl staring silently at the sacred sword in the display and occasionally glancing deeper into the Holy Court, Ian, who had been waiting patiently, finally spoke up.

“Miss Dawn, if you’re interested in the Sacred Sword Glanst, I could have the guards lift the seal for you to view it up close. While this isn’t allowed for ordinary visitors, for you…”

However, Violet simply shook her head, ending her train of thought, then turned and moved on.

“No need, let’s go. We shouldn’t keep August Lambert waiting.”