Chapter 107: I Became the Mother Goddess, You Became the Saintess?

I Became the Mother Goddess, You Became the Saintess?

In the front garden of the villa, a maid watering flowers saw the carriage stop in front of the gate. She quickly stopped her work, tidied her clothes, and approached.

“Good afternoon, madam, is there anything I can...” The maid curtsied slightly. Upon clearly seeing the red-haired girl stepping out of the carriage, she trailed off mid-sentence.

This was the beautiful young lady who had chatted with Miss Amy for quite a while during the tea party a few days ago. The maids had discussed her privately for some time afterward, speculating about her identity and her relationship with Miss Amy.

It was just simple gossip, but many maids still had a very favorable impression of this red-haired girl.

Because when their eyes met, the young lady would politely nod slightly in acknowledgment. When served food and utensils, she wouldn’t hesitate to say thank you, completely lacking the aloofness of other young ladies.

“Miss, are you here to see Miss Amy? She just returned not long ago. I’ll take you inside.” The maid opened the iron gate, her heart secretly thrilled as she saw the other two young ladies and an iron guard disembark from the carriage.

Two more young ladies? What’s happening, what’s happening? Is it what I think?

The maid, right at the forefront of the gossip, suppressed her inner curiosity, maintained an appropriate distance, and respectfully led the way, guiding Ciel and the others to the villa entrance.

“Ladies, please wait a moment while I inform the master.” After saying this, the maid curtsied again to the group, then walked directly into the house, trotting up the stairs.

After waiting outside the door for about two minutes, two maids came downstairs to the group and said, “Ladies, please wait in the reception room for a moment. Miss Amy is changing.”

The newly arrived maid led Adele, Avena, and Nia towards the reception room, but the maid who had gone to announce them stopped Ciel.

“Miss Ciel, Miss Amy requests your presence in her room.” The maid’s inner gossip-monger could barely be contained, but she still relayed the message respectfully.

Avena and Adele naturally heard this. Adele didn’t seem to mind and was already asking the nearby maid softly if there were any refreshments.

Avena, however, after meeting Ciel’s gaze, turned her face away expressionlessly and followed Adele, seemingly unconcerned with Ciel’s business.

“Alright, lead me up.” Ciel said to the maid.

She knew roughly why Amy wanted her to come over.

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Amy returning home safely meant the summoned Divine Advent Church divine servant had done its job and protected her.

Ciel had no doubt Amy would return safely; she was just worried that contact with the Other Side creature might leave Amy with some after-effects.

This was one reason Ciel decided to bring Avena and Adele along.

Following the maid up to the second floor, their footsteps muffled on the wooden floor, the maid finally stopped outside a room door adorned with flower clusters. She raised her hand, knocked, and announced, “Miss Ciel has arrived.”

After saying this, the maid gave Ciel a slight nod, then left the second floor, returning downstairs.

After three or four seconds, Amy’s voice came from the other side of the door: “Is that Ciel...”

“It’s me.” Ciel didn’t rush to open the door, just stood waiting outside.

Click—

The door was opened by Amy. Ciel walked in.

It was a very girly room, with pink and white lace adorning everything from the mattress to the curtains. Upon entering, one could smell an unknown light floral fragrance, refreshing and pleasant. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

After entering, Ciel turned her head sideways towards Amy. She had changed into a different light blue dress from the one seen earlier, her long, slightly curly golden hair somewhat messy.

“Ciel,” Amy, who had been behind the door, immediately closed it after Ciel entered. Her face was full of panic, tears almost welling up as she looked at Ciel. “Ciel...”

“What’s wrong, Amy?” Ciel asked with some concern.

Amy was the most normal friend Ciel had encountered. Innocent, girlish, living a peaceful and affluent life—a life Ciel had once envied.

That’s why she didn’t want this incident to disrupt Amy’s life too much.

“Just now, I went to a mountain manor. Not long after I arrived, the manor suddenly had an earthquake... I... I somehow ran out with father,” Amy described haltingly. “I saw... a ghost! I’ve been cursed by it!”

It was evident that perhaps due to excessive nervousness, Amy’s ability to organize her thoughts had somewhat broken down, but Ciel still grasped the general idea.

But... a ghost?

Was it the transcendent ability of that spiritual being? A white shadow similar to an “Ascetic’s”?

But why could Amy see it? And why wasn’t she harmed after seeing it?

“It’s okay, don’t rush, Amy. Speak slowly.” Ciel placed her hands on Amy’s shoulders, her tone gentle, trying to help her relax and not be so tense.

“Ciel... do you believe what I’m saying?” Amy looked into Ciel’s eyes, her eyes red.

“I believe you.” Ciel nodded.

“I didn’t dare tell anyone else... After thinking it over, I felt only Ciel wouldn’t be afraid of these things,” Amy said tearfully, sobbing, “If the maids saw it, they would definitely tell my father.”

“Saw what?” Ciel withdrew her hands and asked, “The ‘ghost’s’ curse?”

Curse... Do spiritual beings leave such things behind?

“I discovered it when I was changing clothes...” Amy said, reaching up to undo the button at her collar, then slowly lifting her skirt, turning her back to Ciel, and taking off the entire dress.

Underneath the dress was a pure white slip dress made of light silk. Through the semi-transparent slip, one could see the fair skin beneath.

Ciel’s gaze instantly locked onto Amy’s back.

As Amy slowly removed the final slip dress, the light silk garment fluttered to the floor, revealing the skin on Amy’s back completely before Ciel.

This is...

-

“I didn’t know this was on my back at first... Initially, after feeling the earthquake, I thought of my father still inside, so I went back to find him...” Amy kept her back to Ciel, arms crossed over her chest, trembling as she spoke, “When I saw my father, he saw the chandelier above my head about to fall, so he ran over to save me... After he pushed me down and shielded me, I saw the chandelier stop in mid-air...”

“It was a ghost... a white ghost holding the chandelier!”

“I can’t remember its appearance at all anymore, but I’m sure it was a ghost...”

Amy sniffled and continued:

“Finally, my father and I inexplicably appeared beside a cornfield at the foot of the mountain. Father fainted, but he was too heavy, I couldn’t drag him. Just as I was about to find help, I encountered two robbers...”

“Just as they stabbed at me with knives, then... then instantly... they instantly...”

“Shattered...”

As she spoke of this, Amy’s voice trembled even more, as if the scene was still vivid in her mind.

“Later, I flagged down a carriage that had just finished delivering goods, gave the worker some money, and he brought father and me back to the city... Then... when I was changing clothes, I saw the ghost curse on my back.”

Amy recounted the subsequent events in one breath, then turned slightly, looked at the serious-faced Ciel, and said, “I... everything I said is true, but I didn’t kill anyone, Ciel...”

Ciel, however, looked at the strange white marking on Amy’s back and fell somewhat silent.

Ten pairs of white, translucent insect wing markings were clearly imprinted on her back.

Ciel had indeed given that spiritual being one last command to protect Amy.

But why did this spiritual being create a ritual formation?

It looked very much like a seal.

It seemed this ritual formation still contained a considerable amount of the spiritual being’s power... Even as Ciel stared at the marking, it flickered slightly, as if responding to Ciel, seeking credit.

I told you to protect her, not become her bodyguard...

Great, another person’s peaceful life shattered by me.

However, judging from Amy’s account, Amy did indeed see the spiritual being and suffered no harm... Why?

Spiritual beings possessed some intelligence, though not high, enough to understand Ciel’s commands.

What made it act beyond its orders, sealing itself onto Amy’s back?

If the people from the Divine Advent Church saw this, they would definitely consider it some holy mark left by the Mother Goddess, and elevate Amy to Saintess status.

No... this was just Ciel’s speculation.

Perhaps that spiritual being really wasn’t very bright and did it unintentionally?

“Besides this mark, is there anything else strange?” Ciel asked calmly.

Amy initially felt like the sky was falling, but hearing Ciel’s tone now, it seemed like it wasn’t such a big deal.

Perhaps it was Ciel’s largely unperturbed emotions and composed demeanor that slightly calmed Amy’s panicked heart.

“There’s one more thing... wait.” Amy bent down and pulled the slip dress that had fallen to her ankles back on.

Ciel turned sideways to look elsewhere, only turning back towards Amy after the rustling sound of changing clothes stopped and Amy’s voice sounded again.

“It’s this bag... I didn’t dare throw it away, afraid a ghost was sealed inside and might kill someone else. I didn’t dare open it either...” Amy handed a delicate black velvet pouch to Ciel. After Ciel took the pouch, Amy, seeing Ciel looking sideways, seemed to realize how unladylike her previous actions were.

Amy lowered her head, her face blushing red to the ears, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

Ciel, after taking the pouch, gently squeezed it.

This is...

Bottles?

Potion bottles?

After carefully checking it was just an ordinary bag, Ciel slowly opened it, revealing three potion bottles lying inside, along with a parchment scroll.

Ciel took out the parchment, unfolded a corner, confirmed it was just ordinary Ansu script, then slowly unrolled the scroll.

On the parchment, crooked Ansu words were written in blood, resembling a baby’s writing.

It was hard to say who wrote it, but the writer was definitely not a native Ansu speaker; the writing felt like it had been run through a translation machine and back again.

【Respected Proxy, Holy Lady, Messenger of the Supreme God】

【I shall protect you according to the Great One’s will】

【Offerings are from me, “Ascetic” “Missionary” “Radiance Bishop”】

【I have informed the most loyal follower, to aid you】

【May you follow Him/Her forever, and awaken Him/Her soon】

【—His/Her servant, your guardian, “Faceless Weakling”】

After reading it, Ciel was almost certain the writer was that spiritual being.

Ciel was very sure that when she first encountered that spiritual being, which strongly pointed towards the Divine Advent Church, its intelligence was definitely not high enough to write.

Could it be that consuming the “Radiance Bishop” caused its intelligence to transform?

Recalling how it called her Mother Goddess every time it appeared, and left Amy potions ranging from “Ascetic” all the way to “Radiance Bishop,” Ciel fell silent again.

It.

First, due to the existence of the system skills 【Charm】 and 【Spiritual Summoning】, it mistook her for the Mother Goddess.

Then, because she told it to protect Amy, and Amy could see it without harm, it mistook Amy for the Saintess.

Now, it sealed itself onto Amy’s back to protect her, and incidentally...

“Informed” some most loyal follower of the Divine Advent Church about this?

Wait, let me get this straight.

Ciel put down the parchment, rubbed her temples, feeling a bit confused.

Wait, who’s the real cult here?

Now the Mother Goddess, Saintess, and Divine Servant are all gathered. Does this mean with just one command, the Divine Advent Church could be renamed the Ciel Church?

Don’t be ridiculous!

Besides, she wasn’t any Mother Goddess. It was just that 【Charm Lv.2】 made the spiritual being have a favorable impression of her. It definitely misunderstood something.

But Amy... might very well be special, the kind who would be raised as a Saintess even if thrown into the Church of the Savior Goddess.

-

Wait, why are there so many hidden dragons and crouching tigers around me?

Ciel felt a headache coming on.

She really didn’t want some cultist kneeling before her one day, clinging to her leg, crying their eyes out calling her Mother Goddess.

Fortunately, Ciel had simulations. She could spend some points later to find people from the Divine Advent Church and see if they knew about her existence.

For now, first calm Amy down and make sure she doesn’t casually reveal the mark on her back... If people from the Church of the Savior Goddess saw it, trouble would arise even if nothing happened.

Amy definitely wouldn’t want to go to the Church of the Savior Goddess. Ciel knew from previous simulations that Baron Hastings strongly disliked the Church of the Savior Goddess... or rather, the noble class generally held no favorable impression of it.

“Is there a problem, Ciel?” At this point, Amy seemed to realize Ciel had been silent for a bit too long. Worried Ciel might be possessed by the ghost, Amy looked at Ciel nervously and asked, “What’s inside the bag?”

“No, it’s nothing.” Ciel tightened the bag, her gaze towards Amy somewhat complex.

How should she tell her?

Tell Amy, you’ve become a Saintess, please choose your faction: Church of the Savior Goddess Saintess or Divine Advent Church Saintess?

Amy would probably think she was crazy.

“Amy, don’t let anyone else see the mark on your back, understand?” Ciel looked into Amy’s sapphire-like eyes and instructed, “This bag, I’ll keep it safe for you for now. When I find out what it is, I’ll tell you.”

“Okay, I understand.” Amy nodded, then after a moment, asked hesitantly, “Ciel, you know what these are, right? The thing on my back, is it really a ghost curse... or a spirit?”

Amy’s imagination was quite rich.

But this was normal. Since decades ago, mysticism and spiritualism had become popular in Ansu. Although unrelated to transcendent paths, they were very popular among ordinary people, especially the middle and upper classes.

The afterlife, mediums, ghosts, séances... various rumors and scams, even dedicated organizations holding regular séances or mediumship sessions, mostly consisting of occult enthusiasts.

Influenced by these, many novels about ghosts, spirits, and monsters also sold well, some becoming widely spread urban legends... like the Headless Horseman.

So, it was perfectly normal for Amy to have these imaginations.

“It’s not a ghost or spirit curse or anything.” Ciel searched her mind for appropriate vocabulary, then said, “It’s more like some kind of amulet... similar to a four-leaf clover, meant to protect you. So you don’t need to worry too much, it’s just imprinted on you.”

When Ciel first arrived in this world, she had also searched everywhere for information about transcendent abilities, visiting various churches and large and small medium circles. After discovering they were scams, she stopped going.

However, this experience gave her considerable knowledge about these matters, making her quite adept at bluffing.

“Amulet?” Amy was also a bit confused.

But thinking carefully, when those two robbers rushed at her earlier, they indeed didn’t even touch her before turning into chunks of meat... And she herself was completely unharmed.

When she was about to be hit by the chandelier earlier, something also saved her...

If it was an “amulet,” then these things made sense.

But there was one more thing Amy couldn’t figure out.

How did this amulet get onto her body?

Sudden awakening?

Did her ancestors have some heroic spirit?

And...

When Ciel talked about these things, there was absolutely no fluctuation in her emotions. When she was panicking initially, Ciel just comforted her gently. This gave Amy a strong sense of security.

She felt asking Ciel to look into this matter was absolutely the right decision.

If she had asked other friends, some exorcist would probably have been invited over to “exorcise” her within two days.

“So what should I do now, Ciel?” Amy subconsciously moved closer to Ciel, feeling that staying near the composed Ciel made her feel very secure.

“I happened to bring two friends over for you to meet,” Ciel looked at Amy and said, “They are experts in this field and can check if there’s anything wrong with your body or spirit.”

Friends?

Amy stopped, asking curiously, “Is it that Lady Roswell?”

“Yes.” Ciel nodded.

“I’m her assistant now.”

“Assistant?”

“She’s... Her side job is actually being a doctor.” Ciel recalled Avena’s performance at the clinic, suppressed a smile, and said, “Specializing in psychology.”

“Okay... They’ve been waiting downstairs for a while too. Let’s go down and find them.” Amy nodded.

She had carefully observed Ciel’s expression earlier. When mentioning Avena, Ciel seemed to think of something amusing, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards slightly.

It didn’t look like she was kidnapped or coerced... Amy’s previous worries were thus relieved.

Coincidentally, she also wanted to interact more with Ciel’s friends, get closer to the people around Ciel, which would help Amy understand Ciel more deeply.

After tidying her clothes and putting on her shoes, Amy led Ciel downstairs to the reception room.

Inside the reception room, besides Avena, Adele, and Nia, there was also a well-maintained lady.

She was smiling and talking to Avena. Avena wore a formulaic smile, occasionally nodding in agreement. After all, she was Ciel’s friend’s mother; she would naturally give face.

Adele, on the other hand, was stuffing her face with cake, apparently still hungry from earlier at Ciel’s place.

“Amy, what took you so long? The guests have been waiting,” Mrs. Hastings teased with a smile, then stood up. “You girls have fun, I won’t disturb you.”

As Mrs. Hastings passed Amy, Amy tugged at her mother’s sleeve and asked softly, “Is Father awake?”

“He’s awake, just a little dizzy, still resting.” Mrs. Hastings patted her hand reassuringly, then smiled at the group and left the reception room, heading upstairs.

Ciel casually found a seat at the table. Since Amy wasn’t very familiar with the others, she sat down beside Ciel.

Avena hadn’t gotten a clear look from afar earlier. This time, she briefly sized up Amy, realized she was an ordinary person, and lost much interest, merely nodding a greeting.

Ordinary people almost always meant no exciting, dramatic stories. No stories naturally couldn’t pique Avena’s interest.

People like Ciel, who brought “show effects” wherever she went, were truly hard to find.

-

“Hello, Amy! You can just call me Adele~” Adele wiped her fingers clean with a napkin, stood up, extended her right hand towards Amy, and said with a smile.

“Hello, I’m Amy.” Amy couldn’t be as outgoing as Adele but stood up and shook Adele’s hand.

If Adele hadn’t been an orphan but also a noble young lady, perhaps her personality could indeed make her very good friends with Amy.

After introducing Amy, Adele, and Avena to each other, Ciel looked towards Avena and said, “Amy was also inside Deton Manor earlier.”

Avena nodded, thinking inwardly, as expected.

Given Ciel’s personality, she was unlikely to just go hang out with friends immediately after the incident ended. So this blonde girl before them was also inside Deton Manor earlier.

Something must have happened to make Ciel rush over so urgently.

Avena habitually used her own behavior to infer Ciel’s actions. Usually, her inferences were more than half correct.

“Hiss...” Adele sucked in a breath, looked at Amy, and asked, “Are you injured anywhere? If you’re hurt, I can help take a look.”

“No.” Amy shook her head and said, “I only felt the earthquake for a short while... After I ran away, I didn’t know what happened there.”

Amy looked towards Ciel. Ciel had told her not to talk about these things with others, and she wasn’t sure if the people opposite were trustworthy.

“Amy, could you help us get some cake? The kind we ate earlier.” Ciel looked towards Amy and asked with a smile.

“Oh... yes, yes, I can ask the maid... I’ll go get it.” Amy nodded, obediently stood up, and left the reception room.

She knew Ciel wanted to send her away to discuss something, but this feeling of being excluded made Amy feel slightly sad.

After Amy left and the door closed again, Avena looked at Ciel and asked, “This child... something’s up?”

“Can you sense if there’s anything wrong with her spirit?” Ciel asked.

“No.” Avena shook her head lightly. “Just an ordinary person.”

“She...” Ciel hesitated, then decided it was better to discuss this back at Avena’s house where it was safer.

“Cooperate with me later.” Ciel said to Avena, then looked at Adele.

“Adele, just eat later, don’t talk, understand?”

“Huh?” Adele was taken aback.

Weren’t all the Divine Advent Church people dead at Deton Manor? Why did she still have to keep quiet?

That child escaped from Deton Manor... and she’s Ciel’s friend...

Instantly, a grand drama unfolded in Adele’s mind.

After the cultist stronghold at Deton Manor was destroyed, Ciel surprisingly discovered her former friend was actually a cult member. Out of past affection, Ciel decided to spare her, bringing Adele and Avena together to discuss how to deprogram Amy and help her return to normal...

“Is she a cultist?” Adele asked softly.

“Uh...” Adele’s question even caught Ciel off guard.

In a sense, Adele’s guess was quite accurate, just not a cultist, but most likely a cult Saintess.

She didn’t know how Adele arrived at this conclusion, but the outcome wasn’t far off.

“No, and there’s no danger. Just eat your food.” Finally, Ciel temporarily dismissed Adele’s concerns, planning to explain properly after returning.

Knock, knock, knock—

At this moment, a knock sounded at the door. Ciel looked towards the door and said, “Come in.”

Amy awkwardly pushed the door open while holding a tray, stepped carefully to the edge of the table, placed it down gingerly, then pushed it towards the center of the four, letting out a long sigh.

“Thank you, Amy.” Ciel stood up, closed the door behind her, pushed the tray towards Adele, sat down, looked at Amy, and said, “Amy, there’s something we need to tell you.”

“Ah... What is it?” Amy showed a puzzled expression, but inwardly already vaguely guessed it was about the things they discussed earlier that she wasn’t supposed to hear.

“Have you heard of transcendents?” Ciel took out the pouch from earlier, removed the three potion bottles, and lined them up one by one before her.

Amy would have to know these things sooner or later. From the moment she could see that spiritual being, her destiny was already set. The sooner she knew the truth, the greater her chances of survival.

Avena’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Pfft—cough cough cough...” Upon hearing Ciel’s words and seeing the three potion bottles, Adele almost choked on the cake she had just swallowed.

“Tran...scendents?” Amy’s face showed slight confusion.

“Nia.” Avena called out.

Nia slowly raised her hand. The silver armor in her hand glowed like a red-hot iron. When she opened her hand again, an exquisite small silver metal figure appeared in her palm.

She placed the thumb-sized metal figure on the table. The figure ran a few steps towards Amy and waved at her.

So skillful, just like a kindergarten teacher gently guiding. Placing a small iron figure both demonstrates transcendent power and avoids causing panic.

Ciel observed Nia’s practiced technique; clearly, this wasn’t Nia’s first time doing this.

Amy looked at the small figure before her, mouth agape, face full of shock.

Ciel spoke from the side, “Do you want to understand this world?”

“It’s very dangerous here.”

“If you don’t want to know, I can find a way to remove the mark on your back, have Avena erase your memories, let you forget all this.”

“The choice is yours, Amy.”

...

“Bishop! Bishop! Where are you going?! That’s the way to disembark! That’s the sea!!! Archbishop!!!”

“My Lord! The Archbishop jumped off!”

“Quick! Someone save her! Where is she?!”

“Mother Goddess! You lost sight of such a big person?! Wait!”

“Quick, quick, go find her, keep it quiet... Don’t let anyone hear...”

On an ocean-going steamship departing from Ansu port, amidst the panicked cries of several crew members, a figure swam vigorously towards the shore.

Her face held the epiphany and fervor of someone awakening from a long dream, swimming steadfastly towards the shore.

“Sadhana above... Divine Servant... I will definitely follow your guidance, find, and serve the Mother Goddess with all my heart...”