How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?-Chapter 424 - 144 : Half a point not due to human

"Cute things, what girl doesn't like them~?" Aesphyra glanced sideways at Winnie. "That's why I say you, Winnie, don't understand girls at all."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course you, the flirtatious master who immediately hits on any pretty girl she sees, knows far more about hearts than I ever could, you womanizer," Winnie retorted sarcastically.

Winnie recalled how, back when they first met on the carriage ride to school, this white-haired nutball had actually proposed a bet, wagering over which of them Mirexia would fall for first.

Looking back now, even if he'd taken that bet, it seemed she wouldn't have won anyway. At the very least, Aesphyra and Mirexia's relationship had clearly veered off from its original course compared to his past life. Where exactly it had gone off track, Winnie didn't know, but even he realized their bond had definitely warped somehow.

"Hmm~? Why is Winnie so concerned about this?" Aesphyra leaned in slightly with a meaningful expression. "Is there a particular reason you're so bothered? Could it be... jealousy?"

"Get lost! I told you I'm allergic to nuts, and you're still getting closer!" Winnie said, inexplicably flustered and irritated all of a sudden.

"And jealous? Jealous of you?? Pfft, you nutball, you have no hardware, yet you're so damn confident?? Don't insult my dignity! I'd rather fall for a pig, or a cow, before I'd ever like you!" Winnie declared emphatically.

"Oh?~ Is that so?" Aesphyra folded her arms. "Ah, what a shame. If only Winnie had confessed to me just now, I might've actually considered it~?"

Her tone made it impossible to tell whether she was truly serious or merely teasing.

But Winnie was certain, this girl had a malicious streak. She loved to toy with him for amusement, then wear that smug 'you fell for it' expression afterwards, leaving him utterly humiliated.

No need to think twice, she was definitely messing with him again!

"Thanks, but no thanks," Winnie said back without hesitation, fully activating his 'Shrimp-head Mode'. "Though I know full well this white-haired nutball is head over heels for me, alas, my heart already belongs to someone else. You've got zero chance, got it?"

With that, Winnie put on his slippers. "By the way, I noticed your shoe cabinet, this pair of blue octopus slippers only has one, no matching pair?"

He said this because most of the slippers in Aesphyra's cabinet came in identical pairs, except this one, which was unique.

"That's right," Aesphyra replied calmly, walking into the living room. "I picked a pair with no duplicate for Winnie. Otherwise, I might mix them up and throw away the unused ones by mistake."

"You—?!" Winnie nearly laughed in outrage. "I'm perfectly clean, don't have stinky feet or anything, so now you're discriminating against me? Why don't you check yourself first? You've been stuck in that magic cube space for days, how long have you worn those black stockings and loafers without changing? Pfft, I can already smell it. Who are you to judge me, huh!"

Through their bickering, Winnie improved his mode. This constant emotional rollercoaster triggered by her words, this daily verbal sparring with Aesphyra, subconsciously, it made him feel like he'd returned to a warm, familiar routine, filling him with a sense of safety.

Seeing this, Aesphyra simply smiled without speaking.

Soon, she brought over a freshly brewed tea and placed it on the large coffee table in the living room.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to have Contoro ice cream? Why are you just serving tea now?" Winnie complained. "Trying to brush me off?"

"Be patient, Winnie. Drink the tea first." Aesphyra poured a cup for both of them, then sat on the small sofa in the center, holding her teacup elegantly as she took a delicate sip.

"Ow, hot hot hot!" Winnie nearly burned his tongue after his first sip.

"Winnie, is your tongue a cat's tongue?"

"So what if it is? Did a cat's tongue eat your rice?" Winnie retorted, setting down his cup.

"By the way, Aesphyra, have you received any signal from Dell?" Winnie suddenly asked.

"Signal from Dell?" Aesphyra raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Didn't you give Dell some device that could send signals to you? While he was trapped in that eerie magic cube space, did he ever try to call for help?"

Winnie looked at her with hopeful eyes.

Aesphyra shook her head. "No. Besides, each scene within the magic cube space is relatively independent. Different isolated spaces mean he and I were essentially in separate alternate dimensions. Even if he sent a signal, I likely wouldn't have received it."

Winnie fell silent.

"Still no word from Dell?" Aesphyra asked.

"Mmm." Winnie nodded quietly, head lowered. "He... hasn't returned. No news. And none of the people who came back have seen him."

"If anyone who returned had seen Dell, then he'd already be back. So you don't need to dwell on it, this is logically contradictory from the start," Aesphyra observed, noting his troubled mental state.

"Hold on, Winnie." Without explanation, Aesphyra reached into the drawer beneath the coffee table and pulled out a pure, crystalline gem. She held it between two fingers and extended it towards Winnie.

"Huh? What's this?" Winnie looked up, puzzled.

"Put it in your mouth and hold it there for about ten minutes before spitting it out," Aesphyra said simply.

"Tch, you think I'll just pop it in my mouth like that? I don't even know what this thing is," Winnie grumbled, but even as he said it, he knew Aesphyra wouldn't harm him. Mouth protesting, body complying, he did as told.

"What the heck is this anyway?" Winnie mumbled, words muffled.

"Shh, Winnie, don't accidentally swallow it," Aesphyra warned, then took a gem herself and placed it in her mouth.

Minute by minute passed. Aesphyra quietly watched the steam rising from their tea gradually fade.

Winnie thought the tea must have some special property, making him and Aesphyra stare at the dissipating vapor for so long, only to realize she was simply counting time.

"Hey, is it done yet?"

"All right." Aesphyra gently spat her gem onto the tea tray. "Sorry, Winnie, making you stay silent for ten minutes must've been torture."

"I'm not some chatterbox!" Winnie mumbling.

"Where do I spit it?"

"Just a moment." Aesphyra examined her own gem, confirmed its crystal clarity, then casually tossed it into the trash.

Next, she pulled out a disposable glove from her pocket, put it on, and held her hand out toward Winnie.

"Spit it into my hand."

"??" Winnie had no idea what Aesphyra was planning, but he compiled, spitting the gem into her gloved palm.

"..." Aesphyra held up the gem Winnie had spat out, examined it carefully under the sunlight.

"W-what is it?" Winnie felt an inexplicable surge of embarrassment at seeing her so intently inspecting something that had been in his mouth.

Aesphyra remained silent. After a while, she discarded the gem along with the glove, then stood and went upstairs to her room.

"??" Winnie sat baffled, completely clueless about what Aesphyra was doing.

When she came back down, Winnie saw she was holding a vial of gray alchemical potion.

"That gem was called the [Primordial Alchemical Stone], used to detect abnormalities within your body." Aesphyra sat back down to explain. At some point, her usual playful smile had disappeared, replaced by calm seriousness.

Winnie knew this expression, Aesphyra was completely serious now.

"[Primordial Alchemical Stone]??" Winnie had never heard of it, but it sounded powerful. "So it's for a body check? No need, I already underwent a full medical exam after returning."

"Not enough. The academy's examination wasn't thorough enough," Aesphyra countered.

"You mean there were things they missed?"

"Of course. For instance, traces of alchemical potion remain in your body, and this potion wasn't something you drank knowingly, with full awareness of its effects." Aesphyra speaks with grave sincerity.

"What?!" Winnie's eyes broadened.

"The [Primordial Alchemical Stone] detected residual alchemical reactions in your system," Aesphyra said, glancing at the discarded stone.

"So what is it?"

"Can't be certain. But it's likely not harmful, after all, your full examination detected nothing. The academy's checks focus on poisons or hidden injuries that could harm students. They tend to overlook residual traces of other alchemical substances. So I believe this is likely residue from a supportive-type alchemical potion," Aesphyra analyzed, drawing on her profound expertise in alchemy.

For example?

"For example, alchemical potion that, once consumed, allows the drinker to be tracked for an extended period." Aesphyra explained slowly.

"?!" Winnie's face instantly froze.

"Think carefully, have you taken any alchemical potions recently?" Aesphyra noted every flicker of expression on his face.

"...Yes. But it was before the field trip to Mount Kamov," Winnie replied. He already had a good idea who'd administered it, Luna had warned him back then.

Aesphyra fell silent. After a long pause, she spoke. "Was it given to you by the priest at the academy, after the [Bloodied Debt] incident?"

"......." Winnie lifted his eyes to meet hers in silence.

He was surprised. For Aesphyra to say this meant she'd suspected this possibility long ago, earlier even than him, a descendant of Varelis.

It showed just how meticulous and airtight Aesphyra's thinking truly was.

Of course, it was only suspected. Even Aesphyra hadn't expected the Church of Radiance to actually target a seemingly harmless dead vein individual, and not just target, but go for the kill, even willing to turn his death into an 'accident' that harmed millions of innocents.

This went far beyond anyone's imagination of the Church. After all, within human society, the Church of Radiance was acknowledged as a sacred organization embodying all positive virtues.

Seeing Winnie's silence, Aesphyra understood everything, no need to ask further.

"Drink this first." Aesphyra handed him the gray potion. "It'll eliminate the residual traces of that alchemical potion. Regardless of whether the residue can still directly or indirectly harm you, no one wants some strange substance lingering inside their body."

"Mmm." Winnie accepted the potion, giving Aesphyra a deep, lingering look.

He'd meant to repay her debt, but after just one repayment, the debt kept growing instead.

How many times did this idiot help him?

Asking himself this question, he could barely remember anymore.

It was her who helped him in the entrance trial. She shielded him from blows at the banquet. Her during the [Bronze Blood] assault on the academy. Her during the zealots' attack. Her during encounters with Julliana, during the [Bloodied Debt] incident...

Beyond these major events, several smaller favors added up, so many that he'd completely lost count of how much he owed her.

Winnie sighed softly.

Seriously, when they first met, they were practically on the verge of being enemies. How had things developed to the point where he owed her so much?

Winnie downed the potion. He felt no immediate change, but whatever Aesphyra said was undoubtedly correct.

Now, Winnie instinctively believed everything Aesphyra told him, just as she instinctively believed in him.

After finishing the potion, Winnie placed the empty vial on the table and exhaled deeply. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Was this magic cube space incident troublesome for you?" Aesphyra asked next.

Winnie immediately understood the subtext.

She was asking whether the magic cube space event was connected to the residual alchemical traces in his body, whether the two were deeply linked.

"Yes," Winnie replied without hesitation.

"Maybe you won't believe me," Winnie continued, "but I've never been someone who sought trouble."

"My original plan was just to get a degree, graduate, and land a decent job. I never wanted anything to do with Varelis."

"But now, " Winnie fell silent here.

'Virtue + 80.'

Current Virtue: 7784.

"Was it them?" Aesphyra suddenly asked.

"Do you believe me?"

"Winnie, you've asked me this question many times before." Aesphyra suddenly smiled. "But if Winnie feels so insecure, I don't mind repeating it again and again."

"I've always believed in you."

"....... It was them," Winnie replied after a brief silence.

'Virtue + 100.'

Current Virtue: 7884.

"Have you ever heard a saying, Winnie?" Aesphyra paused, then spoke.

"What?"

"Everything is fate. Not a single thing is under human control."

"Haha, that's for people like me. You're different," Winnie tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "You've always been the one holding fate in your own hands, haven't you?"

"Is that so? No, Winnie." Aesphyra gently shook her head. "No one is an exception."

"......"

"Ah~ Well then, enough of that. Didn't we talk about cake ice cream earlier? All right, Winnie followed my instructions and 'took his medicine'. A well-behaved child who obediently takes medicine naturally deserves a reward, doesn't he?" With that, Aesphyra stood and walked toward the magic crystal freezer in her home.

Winnie watched her retreating back in silence for a long time.