“What did you say? A Virtue... System?” Kaleni repeated the unfamiliar term. “What is that?”

“It’s something that appears after the family bloodline awakens,” Vanessa explained.

Seeing Kaleni’s reaction, Vanessa looked surprised. The Virtue System was her greatest secret, but she had assumed every member of the Facilis Family possessed one. Yet judging by Kaleni’s response, she had never even heard of it.

“After the family bloodline awakens? How does that work? Members of our family are born with their bloodlines already awakened,” Kaleni said, voicing her confusion.

“I suppose that makes sense. But you still didn’t see anything after reaching a certain age?” Vanessa asked.

“No.” Kaleni shook her head. “I’ve never heard of any Virtue System.”

“I doubt my grandmother or Mother has heard of it either. If they had, they certainly would have told me. It would also be recorded in Dawn Enlightenment, along with a detailed explanation of its functions and proper use.”

“So, Little Vanessa, what exactly is this Virtue System of yours? What does it do?” Kaleni asked.

“It only fully awakened after my bloodline did. Before that, I could only see occasional notifications showing changes to my Virtue. Come to think of it, I still haven’t told you how my bloodline awakened.”

Vanessa recounted the entire sequence of events: how she had first noticed the changes in her Virtue, and then used it to awaken her bloodline.

“Something like that actually happened?” Kaleni remained silent throughout the story, occasionally showing her astonishment. “That truly is a miracle.”

“Yes. When my bloodline awakened, I also met a pink-haired angel in a dream who claimed to be the Dawn Goddess.”

“The Dawn Goddess?” Kaleni looked even more astonished. “Little Vanessa, are you certain the one you encountered was truly the Goddess?”

“I’m not certain. That’s only what the woman called herself.”

“You said you encountered her in a dream? She didn’t manifest on the continent?”

“No. It was more like a space resembling an illusion,” Vanessa recalled.

“Then it was most likely the Goddess herself,” Kaleni said with emotion.

“You’ve heard of such a thing, Big Sister Kaleni?”

“Yes. I haven’t experienced it personally, but I’ve heard of similar events. Some Dawn Saintesses were summoned by the Goddess in their dreams and granted revelations.”

Kaleni thought for a moment.

“Oh, right. I’ve never heard of the Virtue System you mentioned, Little Vanessa, but there was indeed a Dawn Saintess in history who possessed dual Spirit Souls, just like you.”

“Oh? Who?”

“An ancestor named Flareli. Have you heard of her, Little Vanessa?”

“You mean the ancestor Flareli who crushed the demon race, defended Cliffbreak Fort, and reclaimed vast stretches of lost territory?” Vanessa asked.

“That’s right. It seems you have heard of her. But did you know that Ancestor Flareli wasn’t always like that? Before she was formally crowned Saintess, she was... well, someone with an exceptionally unusual personality and way of conducting herself.”

Kaleni clearly knew some private details, but found them difficult to voice.

“Exceptionally unusual?”

Vanessa did not find that strange at all. If anything, it seemed fitting.

The Iron-Blooded Saintess. The War-God Saintess. Flareli Facilis.

She had been one of the strongest Saintesses in history, ranking among the top three in combat power. According to legend, she had even fought a living dragon alone—and defeated it.

She was also one of the most accomplished Dawn Saintesses. She had led the Radiant Cross Knights in defending Cliffbreak Fort, crushed the invading army of the demon race, and reclaimed vast stretches of lost territory. Her martial achievements had been unparalleled.

“How was she unusual?”

“Ahem.”

Kaleni cleared her throat. Certain secrets concerning previous Saintesses could not be revealed to outsiders. But Vanessa was no outsider. She was a member of the Facilis Family. Sharing these matters with her was simply a private conversation within the family.

“According to our family history, Ancestor Flareli was a Saintess who loved amusement and pleasure in her youth.”

“That doesn’t sound particularly unusual.”

After hearing about so many eccentric Saintesses, Vanessa saw nothing strange about a child being playful. What child did not love to play?

At least enjoying herself was better than abandoning her role as Saintess to pursue a career as an idol.

“No, Little Vanessa. I don’t think you understand what I mean. Ancestor Flareli wasn’t merely playful. At the time, she... well... even gathered a clique of noble wastrels around herself. She spent every day neglecting her duties, drinking heavily with those disreputable friends, and causing enormous trouble.” Kaleni sighed.

“That actually happened?” Vanessa asked, somewhat embarrassed.

That certainly was unusual.

“And that wasn’t all.” Kaleni paused. “She nearly caused an unprecedented disaster in the Holy Capital of the Church. Fortunately, the old Pope who had served the previous Saintess managed to contain the situation, and no one was hurt.”

“But the incident infuriated the old Pope. Ancestor Flareli still refused to mend her ways afterward and continued doing whatever she pleased. Within a few days, he fell ill and died.”

“With the old Pope gone, the Church of the Dawn had no one left to take charge. Everyone had no choice but to crown Ancestor Flareli as the Dawn Saintess.”

“But do you know what happened on the second day of her reign?”

“What?” Vanessa asked.

“Ancestor Flareli dismissed every veteran Church official who had served her mother. She overruled all objections and replaced them with the disreputable friends she had met who-knows-where—the same people who had spent every day causing trouble alongside her.”

“That was the most dangerous crisis the Church of the Dawn and the Facilis Family had ever faced. When we later reconstructed the events, we discovered that the demon race had deliberately exploited Ancestor Flareli’s ignorant, spoiled nature and guided her toward that decision. Many of her so-called friends had been planted around her by the demon race years in advance.”

“Ancestor Flareli’s mother was extremely busy and rarely had time to accompany her, so her education was neglected. From childhood onward, the people who stayed beside her were those ‘childhood friends’ and ‘companions.’ In reality, many of them had accepted benefits from the demon race.”

“The Church of the Dawn changed overnight. The old Pope’s death brought Ancestor Flareli no remorse. On the contrary, with no one left capable of restraining her, she became even worse.”

“Humanity was already declining at the time, and even the Holy Capital of the Church had been infiltrated by the demon race. If nothing unexpected had happened, the Church of the Dawn would soon have been hollowed out by enemy agents. No loyal minister’s counsel would ever have reached the Dawn Saintess. She heard only the flattery of her disreputable friends, and everything she knew about the outside world came from those ‘confidants’ she trusted.”

“Even among all the Saintesses throughout history, Ancestor Flareli’s incompetence at the time was almost unimaginable. There had never been another Saintess like her.”

“Just when everyone believed the Church of the Dawn would be destroyed by this foolish Saintess, something astonishing happened. Only a few days after ascending to her position, Ancestor Flareli woke one morning as though she had become an entirely different person. She turned quiet and withdrawn.”

“Until then, she had refused to leave the Holy Capital and spent every day drinking and amusing herself with her confidants instead of attending to her duties. Yet she suddenly announced that she would travel beyond the city on an inspection.”

“She ignored her confidants’ attempts to stop her and left the Holy Capital. Only then did she discover that she had spent her entire life imprisoned within a cage woven from lies. The outside world was nothing like what she had been told. During the inspection, some people heard that she was the Dawn Saintess and even threw eggshells at her.”

“According to the account of a knight who accompanied her, Flareli did not order her subordinates to punish the furious commoners. She silently gazed at the people glaring at her with resentment, ordered her subordinates not to intervene and to keep their distance, then dismounted alone and walked onto the village and town roads.”

“One accompanying knight warned her that assassins might be hiding among the people. Ancestor Flareli remained silent for a long while before replying bitterly, ‘Only someone of value is worth assassinating.’”

“As she continued her inspection, many villagers threw rotten tomatoes and vegetables at her while condemning and insulting her. She never argued back. She merely endured it in silence and toured several villages like a wooden doll.”

“In many of the towns she visited afterward, people reportedly panicked when they heard she was coming and hid from her as though fleeing a plague.”

“Once she finally understood how the people saw her, she returned from that inspection and immediately dismissed every one of her confidants. She reinstated all the Church officials she had once despised—the ones who had always lectured her and tried to teach her—and began actively listening to their counsel.”

“Afterward, Ancestor Flareli cut her long hair to her shoulders as a declaration that she had severed herself from the past. First, she personally visited every household that had suffered because of her and apologized. Then she devoted herself to reform. By day, the officials taught her how to govern Church affairs. At night, she trained her Spirit Souls and magic.”

“Ancestor Flareli’s talent was genuinely terrifying. Despite having neglected her studies for so many years, she still recovered everything she had lost and advanced at an astonishing pace.”

“Her capacity for learning was equally remarkable. Once she had gained a basic grasp of Church governance, Flareli personally handled every matter. Sometimes she would travel herself to deal with the most trivial disputes.”

“Records state that she may have slept fewer than four hours a day. She was either working, traveling somewhere to work, studying, training, or fighting.”

“Through Ancestor Flareli’s tireless efforts, the Church of the Dawn gradually regained its former credibility, and its nearly empty treasury slowly filled again.”

“She continued making inspections, never warning anyone in advance. She walked the streets alone while ordering her knights to follow at a distance, and she never stopped commoners from throwing eggs at her.”

“She said, ‘When the day comes that fewer eggs strike my face, it will mean I’ve finally matured a little as a Saintess.’”

“Sure enough, with every annual inspection, the number of people voicing their grievances fell dramatically.”

“Then the army of the demon race invaded. Humanity at the time was completely incapable of stopping it. Ancestor Flareli fulfilled her duty as the Dawn Saintess and personally led the Radiant Cross Knights into battle. She held the overwhelming army of the demon race at Cliffbreak Fort, then launched a counterattack and annihilated it. The demon race suffered a devastating blow, humanity escaped destruction, and the continent gained several centuries of peace.”

“She then took advantage of the demon race’s weakened state to press the counteroffensive, forcing it to surrender every territory it had seized over the previous several centuries.”

“Throughout the war, Ancestor Flareli fought bloody battles at the head of the Radiant Cross Knights, always leading from the front. Being cut by blades, struck unconscious by magic, and dragged back by her subordinates became commonplace. She came close to death several times.”

“Within the Church, perhaps because she had been deceived so thoroughly in her youth, Ancestor Flareli harbored an intense hatred for sanctimonious clergy who secretly oppressed and defrauded the people. Once their crimes were verified, she personally executed them.”

“People often ‘appealed directly to the Saintess’ during Ancestor Flareli’s era. Other Dawn Saintesses might have allowed a criminal some final dignity. Saintess Flareli established the facts and truth, then executed the culprit herself in public. Every time, their blood sprayed across her.”

“Whenever those criminals continued trying to defend themselves despite the irrefutable evidence—claiming they had been coerced, forced, or left with no other choice, and begging her to at least spare their lives—Saintess Flareli would say, ‘Do you think you can deceive me? I’ve seen people like you all my life.’”

“Her methods of punishing the guilty were so brutal that people with guilty consciences frequently slandered Ancestor Flareli. They mockingly called her the ‘Skull-Splitting Saintess.’ Others dredged up her youthful behavior and called her the ‘Delinquent Saintess.’ But among the public, she earned overwhelming approval.”

“Most people have never heard about Ancestor Flareli’s early life because her later achievements and reputation shone so brilliantly that they eclipsed the many mistakes of her ignorant youth. But that doesn’t mean she ever forgot them.”

“Before her death, Ancestor Flareli finally revealed her true feelings. After years of warfare, bloodshed, and wounds without ever shedding a tear, she wept. She confessed that part of the reason she had driven herself so mercilessly was her profound guilt over her early actions—guilt toward everyone, and toward the old Pope.”

“She felt so guilty that she was always trying to do more for everyone to make amends. That was why she pushed herself so hard.”

“She said that a few nights after becoming Saintess, she dreamed of the Goddess. The Goddess revealed the truth and the real faces of those around her. Then, without listening to her protests or offering any further explanation, the Goddess said in disappointment, ‘Perhaps the fate of Facilis has run its course.’”

“‘You truly ought to learn how the people see you.’”

“‘From now on, do whatever you wish. I will no longer watch over you.’”

“Ancestor Flareli said those words terrified her.”

A Saintess no longer watched over by the Goddess.

Vanessa understood what that meant.

You are no longer a member of the Facilis Family.

You have been cast out of the Facilis Family.

If she would no longer belong to the Facilis Family, then naturally she could do whatever she wished from then on.

“‘The more I accomplished, the more I understood how unforgivable I once was.’ That was what Ancestor Flareli said. Before she died, she said she did not expect forgiveness. She had failed too many people and brought shame upon the Facilis Family.”

“She neglected her duties, trusted the wrong people, drove the old Pope to his grave, and nearly caused an unprecedented catastrophe. She knew her youthful conduct was so vile that nothing comparable could be found among any other Saintess.”

“She also knew that the Goddess had long since lost faith in her and no longer watched over her. Yet as death approached, she still hoped the Goddess would look at her one final time and not refuse to acknowledge her as Her child.”

“Her final wish was to see the old Pope once more and apologize to him in person.”

“Before she died, she instructed her closest retainers to record the mistakes of her youth in the Church’s history so that future Dawn Saintesses could learn from them. She wanted them to be warned not to follow her example, or they would spend a lifetime making amends for their mistakes.”

“I think the Goddess may have forgiven Ancestor Flareli,” Vanessa said after a long, contemplative silence. “Perhaps Flareli simply never realized it. She fought the demon race and came close to death several times, yet survived again and again. Maybe the Goddess was protecting her from beyond mortal sight.”

“Her devotion and repentance made the Goddess look upon her once more.”

“Hee-hee. Perhaps.” Kaleni smiled. “But few people speak of that history anymore. Ancestor Flareli’s later achievements were simply too great. She reclaimed the long-lost buffer territories, forced the demon race to settle down, and brought several centuries of peace to the Tyrelis Continent. The territory she recovered was so vast that even many wise rulers of the Tyrelis Ancient Empire could not compare.”

“Moreover, during the war, she protected civilians of the demon race who had also suffered from the ravages of battle, earning the support of many among them. She is a major reason why some members of the demon race worship the Dawn Goddess.”

“In a sense, Ancestor Flareli truly resembles you, Little Vanessa. Of course, I’m not saying you made terrible mistakes in your youth. I only mean that both of you possess dual Spirit Souls and met the Goddess in dreams.”

“But as for whether she had a Virtue System, I don’t know.”

Vanessa fell silent, sinking into thought.

She had never imagined that the life of Flareli, the Iron-Blooded Saintess, had been so eventful.

As for never having made mistakes...

Her counterpart in the other worldline truly had committed a terrible mistake—one a thousand times more grievous than Flareli’s youthful arrogance and debauchery.

Or perhaps, in this life, he had reached a fork in the road and already stepped onto the wrong path with one foot. Fortunately, at the crucial moment, he had awakened the memories of his previous life. He learned what fate awaited him if he continued his reckless behavior, lost his nerve, and became determined to survive at any cost. Later, his bloodline awakened as well.

Could that, too, have been part of the Dawn Goddess’s design?

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