Mo Wan admitted she was panicking.
At this moment, she felt exactly as she did three years ago. It was the same feeling as when the demons judged her and declared her exile from the Demon Empire to the barrens.
Cold sweat ran down her back. Her vision began to spin.
She was far from the territory of the demons. Her current strength was not at the level of a normal eighteen-year-old demon princess.
She faced the Saintess of the humans. This woman was the most powerful weapon the humans had against her kind. The Saintess seemed to know all her secrets. Mo Wan had no confidence to fight back.
She realized her life might end soon. Mo Wan's legs felt weak. Her body felt light and she could not even stand steady.
Suddenly, a warm touch pressed against her waist. The sensitive contact made Mo Wan flinch. Her mind cleared instantly.
She looked down at her waist. The clean, white arm of the Saintess was holding her. Their bodies were pressed close together. Mo Wan could smell the light fragrance on the Saintess. It made her feel even dizzier.
"But I know you do not want that, right?"
The Saintess spoke with gentle words again. Mo Wan snapped back to her senses.
She realized she had acted without any of the dignity or courage expected of a demon princess.
Mo Wan regained her composure.
She nodded and answered.
"Yes, Saintess. I am no longer a princess of the demons. I do not think we need to be enemies."
Iselyn smiled. She raised her right hand again.
This time, Mo Wan did not hesitate. She reached out to take the gift.
But just as she was about to take the silver ring, Iselyn curled her fingers. She blocked Mo Wan from taking it.
Mo Wan's hand froze in mid-air.
The Saintess changed her mind every second. Mo Wan did not know how to react.
However, Iselyn did not intend to take back the reward. She held the ring between her fingers and slid it onto Mo Wan's middle finger.
Then, Iselyn let go of Mo Wan's waist. A faint smile remained on her face.
Mo Wan's heart beat faster.
It was no longer because of tension. It was because of an inexplicable embarrassment.
She did not understand why the Saintess of the humans would do something so intimate to a demon. Did the Saintess not realize what giving someone a ring symbolized?
She had given a ring to a demon. If the Sun God knew what the Saintess had done, she would likely lose all her magic power. She would be turned into a mortal who could not use magic.
Mo Wan looked at the window on the wall. The glass was dark. Not a single ray of sunlight could enter the room.
Mo Wan finally understood why the Saintess had covered the windows when they entered.
The Kingdom of Vesa worshipped the Sun God.
People called him the Main God. They believed light was a gift from him. Anywhere the sun reached was a place the Sun God watched and blessed.
"You cannot become a Knight of Vesa. However, I have a job opening near me. I wonder if you are willing to take it."
Mo Wan looked away from the ring. She looked at Iselyn. The fear in her eyes had vanished.
"What position?"
"Friend."
"Saintess, I do not understand. A friend...?"
"Yes. A Saintess has no friends. Humans treat me as the agent of the Main God. In their eyes, I am the Saintess first and Iselyn second."
"I understand."
Mo Wan did not believe in the Sun God. She could look past the religious titles of Iselyn.
"As a friend, I ask you to help me look after my Princess. I know she will not listen to me. She will continue to put herself in danger to hunt monsters."
"I will."
"Fine. It is time. You should leave."
Iselyn stood up from her chair. She raised her hand and the door behind Mo Wan opened automatically.
Cold air flowed in from outside.
Mo Wan felt a bit uncomfortable. It felt like she was being chased out. she had just started to communicate with Iselyn properly. Now they had to part. She had not even explained her current situation or told Iselyn how much she wanted peace.
"To you, the weight of that ring should be greater than a Medal of Honor, right?"
Mo Wan looked down at her finger.
"Yes."
She nodded.
The discomfort in her heart vanished.
"Goodbye, Saintess."
She finally left the church without any burden.
Outside, the sun was setting. The light had turned yellow. There were more people moving in front of the church than at noon.
Mo Wan clenched her fist. She protected the reward Iselyn had given her. She was afraid a thief might take it.
She walked toward the inn where the Azure Crystal Squad stayed.
When she reached her room, Mo Wan planned to put the ring away before finding her teammates.
She sat on the bed.
Mo Wan took out her bag and opened the magic box where she kept her money.
Before putting the ring away, Mo Wan held up her right hand. She used the twilight from the window to look at the gift.
It was a simple silver ring. There were no diamonds on it. Only a few runes were carved on the band.
Mo Wan liked the gift very much.
A normal [Spatial Ring] could only hold as much as a suitcase. The weight of the ring would not increase regardless of what was inside.
A [Spatial Ring] likely cost one hundred [Gold Coins].
For a normal person, one hundred [Gold Coins] was enough to live for a lifetime.
The beautiful face of Iselyn appeared in her mind. She remembered the gentle words spoken in that dark room. Mo Wan could not help but smile.
Rosa was right.
The kindness of the Saintess was special. It was hard to describe. It was a kind of... serious kindness?
Iselyn was likely the most perfect woman Mo Wan had ever met. She combined coldness and warmth perfectly.
Mo Wan finally tried to pull the ring off her middle finger.
She pulled.
Mo Wan pulled harder. However, the ring stayed tight against the base of her finger. It did not move.
"What is happening?"
Mo Wan tried to use magic to force the ring off. It did not work. She pulled until her finger was red, but the ring stayed in place.
Her heart sank.
'I fell for it.'
Iselyn did not intend to let her go so easily. This ring was a reward, but it was also a shackle.
"Knock, knock! Mo Wan, are you back?"
Rosa's voice came from outside the door.
Mo Wan jumped.
She hurriedly covered the ring on her right hand. She wondered how she would explain this to Rosa.
She had not brought back a medal. Instead, she had a ring.
"I am back. Wait a moment. I am changing."
"Oh. It is good that you are back. I was worried. I thought you were locked in the church."
"It is fine. It just took some time to heal the Princess."
Mo Wan took her normal clothes out of her bag. She quickly changed out of the priest robes Rosa had bought for her.
She decided to ignore the ring for now.
She would just say it was a gift from the Princess.
Yes. That was the plan.