Volume 2, Chapter 40 ~The Truth Behind the Persecution

“So, Dylin’s staying at Coleman Academy for the holiday.”

“Yeah, I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Dylin answered Astrid’s question without even looking up. To him, it didn’t matter where he stayed—it was just a change of lodging.

He had no home here, nowhere to return to.

“What about Lady Teresa?”

“No idea. Probably staying at the Crown Estate too.” Dylin replied nonchalantly.

Naturally, if he was staying at the estate, where else would Teresa go?

“I see.” Astrid bowed her head slightly, her clasped hands tightening involuntarily.

The thought of Teresa and Dylin—two people with such a close relationship—alone together in the estate for an entire holiday made it hard not to imagine things happening between them. To outsiders, their bond was intimate to the point of inseparability. They were just one breath away from crossing the final line.

Dylin seemed indifferent, but who knew what attitude Her Highness Teresa held toward him?

In Teresa’s eyes, what was Dylin really?

A comrade-in-arms? A loyal friend who shared hardship? Or perhaps...

Astrid didn’t let her thoughts go further. But just imagining the possibility made her feel unwell, like a stone pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Why did she feel this way? Was it because of Dylin? Did she not want Teresa getting too close to him?

On impulse, Astrid glanced at Dylin, who was working at his desk.

She had never fully sorted out her feelings for Dylin, but after so much time, she couldn’t deny she had some inkling. If she still claimed not to know, it would be nothing but willful denial.

But this time felt different. She didn’t know why. Her emotions were tangled, like clumps of yarn impossible to unravel.

Think about it: a whole holiday, just the two of them under one roof, constantly running into each other—and with their already heated relationship—wasn’t this a recipe for trouble?

The more she thought about it, the more anxious Astrid became.

But she had to take Sophia back to the Land of the Elves this break. She couldn’t stay at Coleman.

Maybe… maybe she could take Teresa along too? That way, they’d be separated.

No, no—what was she thinking? Teresa had gone through so much to hide her identity from the other Moon Elves. This would defeat the purpose entirely.

Dylin, unaware of Astrid’s internal turmoil, was busy finalizing the last of the team’s affairs and planning his holiday.

He hadn’t finished reading the books in the library, but he couldn’t spend all his time buried in them. There was a saying: reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.

Sealing a report into a folder, he made his way to the third floor and stopped before his room. Just as he reached for the doorknob, Astrid’s voice called him.

“Dylin, do you need something from Lady Teresa?”

“Hmm? No, not really.” Dylin looked up, puzzled by her question—only to freeze.

On the door was a line of elegant Elvish script, beautifully and precisely spelling out Teresa’s name.

Damn.

“Oh, actually, yes—I did need to talk to her, but it seems she’s not in,” Dylin quickly covered up, then turned to leave. “I’ll just wait until she returns.”

Astrid watched curiously. From her angle, Dylin hadn’t even knocked. Yet he was already saying Teresa wasn’t there and walking away.

Was it her presence that made him change his mind?

So there were secrets between them—things even she wasn’t allowed to know.

Astrid felt a twinge of unexplained disappointment.

She thought of that golden-haired girl resting flirtatiously on her lap in Ruglian, playing with her hair.

For some reason, whenever Teresa was mentioned now, Astrid’s first thought was of that moment—her warm breath brushing against her lap.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Teresa at all this morning. Where had she gone?

Back in his room, Dylin quietly exhaled in relief.

He had worn the mask too long—he was starting to forget who he was. For a moment, he’d slipped back into thinking of himself as Teresa.

He hadn’t yet planned his holiday. Stretching out lazily on the bed, he picked up the golden butterfly hairpin resting beside the nightstand. As it lit up with golden ripples, he was soon enveloped in its glow.

The moment he entered the accessory's interface, a very familiar symbol caught his eye: new

It was rare to see English in this world. He tapped it, and the screen shifted to the Gacha page. The previous UP item was gone, replaced by a long wooden bow entwined with vines and pink blossoms.

[Floral Whisper, Eternal Bloom] – Limited UP now available!

That bow…

Dylin stared at the beautifully crafted bow, shaped like a blooming vine. An indescribable sense of familiarity surged in him. It was the same feeling he got when seeing a must-have UP character or weapon—instant obsession. He felt an irrational urge to own it, no matter the cost.

But then he checked his pitifully empty wallet. Turns out, he had no habit of saving tokens. Every time he scraped together enough for a pull, he used it immediately—never setting anything aside.

Longing for the beautiful floral bow, Dylin opened its details:

[Floral Whisper, Eternal Bloom]:

[Resurgence]: Regenerates after being broken.

[Formless]: Can transform into any weapon.

[Spirit of All Flora]: Doubles the power of nature-type Divine Authorities.

Dylin was dumbfounded.

This bow was tailor-made for Teresa.

Her biggest issue so far had been that her Divine Authority and domain needed a wooden bow to activate—and her trump card required destroying that bow. But this [Floral Whisper, Eternal Bloom] not only regenerated, it could transform into other weapons too. It might as well be her exclusive weapon.

Could it be that this was the very weapon once wielded by the Elf War Goddess Teresa? Was the Golden Butterfly guiding her back toward everything she had lost?

If only he had more tokens…

It was a familiar dilemma. He found himself searching for a page where he could pay to win, but of course, the Gacha had no monetization. The rewards in this system couldn’t be bought with money.

So, if he couldn’t pay, he had to earn. Fast.

Then he remembered the Main Quests.

His first main quest had been winning the Crown Tournament—which he had done. Twice, even.

That quest gave him a Soul Boost Elixir. Without it, Ruglian might have gone very differently.

He hadn’t checked the main quest list in a while, too busy lately. But with this new Gacha pull available, he headed back to the quest screen.

The old quest was dimmed—complete or expired. Then golden light filled the panel, and a new objective appeared:

[Investigate the True Cause Behind the Empire's Persecution of Heretics]

Reward: 60 Tokens

The Empire's persecution of heretics?

Sounded… simple?

Was he missing something, or was it really that easy?

The reward was even better than the last one, yet the task looked far simpler. Was this the system being generous—or was something deeper at play?

The first quest had required a hard-fought victory. This one only asked for some historical research. But what exactly counted as a successful investigation? The Golden Butterfly offered no guidance on what completion looked like. Did he need to write a report? Or just understand the truth?

Simple on the surface—but vague and undefined. That might be the real challenge.

The "Empire" referred to the once-great human empire that had dominated the Kaleburn Continent. Now, it was but a shadow of its former self, lacking the strength to even reclaim the Whiteglass Kingdom.

Once, its word shook nations. Now, it barely clung to life—pitiful, really, and not all that deserving of sympathy.

Dylin had read a bit of imperial history. The Empire had once been tolerant—toward heretics and even other races. But after its defeat by the Demon Race, it changed drastically. It began to hunt down heretics, spilling rivers of blood. The most infamous incident forced the Whiteglass Kingdom to declare independence.

The god Carreto, one of the Seven Saints, symbolized justice, mercy, victory, and truth. He was worshipped throughout human realms, including the Empire and the Kingdom.

And yet, the Empire sparked the “Blood Moon Incident,” labeling many of its own believers as heretics and purging them mercilessly.

This directly led to the Whiteglass Kingdom's secession.

So said the history books. Dylin didn’t know more than that.

No one knew why the Empire had suddenly become so crazed and intolerant.

Centuries could feel recent. A decade could feel distant. Sometimes the truth only surfaced a hundred or a thousand years later—when someone finally unearthed the Empire’s secrets.

Wait… why not just ask Felicia?

How could he forget that?

Dylin went to her room and found the door ajar. He knocked lightly and stepped inside. She was packing.

“Here to say goodbye?” Felicia asked with a smile.

“Yeah. And I have a question.”

He sat down in a chair.

“Just a side note? Or is that the main reason you came?” Felicia teased, briefly recalling how his saliva had triggered her breakthrough. She looked away, embarrassed.

“Ahem… do you remember why the Whiteglass Kingdom broke away from the Empire?”

“That was a hundred years ago. I wasn’t born yet—how would I know?” Felicia laughed. “Why the sudden interest? Studying history or archaeology now?”

“I just want to understand. Why is the Empire now so absolutely—and even negatively—intolerant of heretics?”

“You want to know that? You’re asking the wrong person. I’m the Princess of the Whiteglass Kingdom, not the Imperial Princess.”

“But as someone from that background, surely you know something. Of course, if it’s sensitive, just forget I asked.”

“It’s just history. Nothing sensitive about it.” Felicia’s smile faded. “As for the cause—I don’t know. No one does, except maybe the Imperial family. And the old emperor who started it all died in battle.”

“But I can tell you this: the Empire’s fanaticism back then was terrifying. They declared several dukes and marquises heretics and purged them in bloody campaigns. Only then did the Duke of Whiteglass break free and found the Kingdom.”

“Otherwise, who would’ve wanted a war? The Demon Race war had already drained all the light-kind. If the Empire hadn’t gone mad, we’d all still be one nation.”

“And today?”

“Still the same.” Felicia shook her head. “The more you suppress something, the harder it bounces back. The Empire just doesn’t get that.”

“As for their excuse? They claim the Demon invasion was summoned by heretics. That until every heretic is dead, peace will never return.”

“Of course, that’s just their official line. Who knows what the truth really is?”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.