A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 45

Saint Karina could only lower her head, trying her best not to look at that sickly, panting face, but instead looking at the ground, attempting to escape in this way.

Her only consolation now is that Esther hasn't gone so far as to make her crawl in front of others.

This side hall of the sanctuary was strictly off-limits to all unauthorized personnel, including priests who were not permitted to enter. The vast side hall was empty except for Saint Karina and Esther. Even Philomena, who had greeted her during the day, was nowhere to be found, perhaps having vanished into the shadows, awaiting the Pope's summons.

However, Esther's appearance was indeed not suitable for public display.

"We agreed to walk around the side hall ten times, Sister Saint Karina, and this is only the sixth time."

For Esther, this walking exercise was probably less strenuous than the exercise she would get after a meal to help her digest.

However, for Santa Karina, it was torture.

Her palms were already bloody and swollen. Although her white robe was there to protect her knees, it was worn out and had deep, dark marks on it, where she had been dragged on the ground.

There was no other way; Saint Karina absolutely refused to crawl on all fours, so Esther had to resort to a slightly more forceful method: dragging her at super-high speed.

Despite being bumped and bruised all over, Santa Karina finally gave in.

If she climbed on her own, only her hands, elbows, and knees would be injured. But if Esther had to do ten laps, Saint Karina would be really worried that all of Esther's internal organs would have to be displaced.

"Whoosh, whoosh."

Time passed slowly, and the humiliating and agonizing crawling finally came to an end.

St. Karina was panting heavily, moving around in a posture she wasn't used to. It was the first time she had realized how physically demanding something could be.

If she could just lie down, she wouldn't care if it was the ground or not. Anyway, it was almost completely rubbed by her white robe. After ten rounds, the ground would probably be cleaner than her clothes.

But she couldn't. The other end of the chain on the collar was still in Esther's hand. The woman was looking at her meaningfully, as if she was looking for something Saint Karina could do to punish her again.

"Sister Saint Karina, do you think I'm prettier, or is His Majesty the Emperor of the Lorian Empire prettier?"

"what?"

Saint Karina was taken aback; she didn't quite understand which emperor Esther was referring to.

Was it Ernest VII, or Brenda, the current emperor of the Lorian Empire?

"According to my informant, my sister went to the palace today."

"Then...so what?"

Saint Karina felt a little guilty. She hadn't gone to the palace on official business; she had gone to investigate how to unlock the collar and information about the Church of Order, and also to have a hot cup of fresh milk tea.

In short, neither of these things would make Esther happy; only Saint Karina would be.

"It's alright~ It's alright. I know that Sister Saint Karina went to the palace only to discuss political affairs with the emperor. After all, this country is no longer as glorious as it once was, beset by internal and external troubles. But I heard that you and His Majesty the Emperor spent the afternoon in the palace library. You said you were two women, why would you stay in the library and not want to come out?"

"Of course... of course, it's reading. After finishing what needs to be said in the library, what else can I do? After all, I've been asleep for over five hundred years, and I want to understand the current world. Reading can help me understand it faster."

Saint Karina tried her best to keep her eyes focused and sincere, avoiding glancing around, and answered with a forced smile.

88. Punishment

Due to extreme nervousness, St. Karina's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her robes were soaked through with sweat.

Her breathing was a little rapid, seemingly due to the exercise she had just done, but actually more so because of the feeling of suffocation caused by the tension.

"Oh~ That's it."

The intonation of her voice made Saint Karina tense.

"Regarding the supplementary knowledge in this area, I will arrange teachers and corresponding courses for Sister Saint Karina in the future. In the future, try not to be alone with other women in the palace, otherwise Esther will be jealous."

Esther's gloomy expression softened, and it seemed she had let the matter drop.

"However, there must be a punishment for violating curfew, right, Sister Saint Karina?"

Suddenly, her collar was pulled, and Saint Karina lost her balance and fell at Esther's feet.

Those were beautiful legs encased in white stockings, with divine runes flowing across them—a magical product of the Order of the Gods.

It is said that the purpose of wearing these stockings is to enhance the wearer's attack power and critical hit success rate when the stockings tear.

"..."

There's no curfew here. The agreed-upon time was for her to come back early after nightfall.

The transition from day to night takes only about two hours.

In fact, Saint Karina now seriously suspects that even if she hadn't wasted time and had returned early, she would have had enough holy water to drink tonight, and it certainly wouldn't have been less.

But she dared not speak out; she was under someone else's roof and could only vent her anger without daring to say anything.

"Hehe, Saint Karina's expression of wanting to get angry but having no choice but to give in is also quite charming~"

Her hand moved off the chains and cupped Saint Karina's face in her hands, her cheeks flushed an unusual red, and she gave a sickly, delirious laugh.

Her eyes were full of anticipation, as if she was already planning how to punish Saint Karina.

"Ah~ Actually, I've longed for a long time to see Sister Saint Karina completely tolerate my willfulness."

"Hey hey hey..."

That was the look in a wolf's eyes when it saw a bone; Esther, grinning foolishly, was practically drooling.

His sickly appearance suggested he wanted to devour Saint Karina completely, leaving no trace of her.

Her eyes gleamed with a hungry, green light; Esther could no longer contain herself.

"Hey~ For the sake of the purity of faith, will Saint Karina, who is a saintess, also drink the holy water that Esther specially made for her today?"

After saying that, Esther lifted her skirt, one of them standing and the other on all fours. Esther's intention was clear: she wanted Saint Karina to crawl over and drink a large amount of specially made, thick holy water.

She had probably been back for a while today, and since she was in a side hall, she wasn't wearing her usual papal robes, but rather a beautiful long dress that suited her temperament.

The advantage of this type of skirt over a short skirt is that it is less likely to reveal things that shouldn't be revealed, such as a small piece of fabric composed of three line segments that are not on the same straight line and are connected end to end.

Moreover, even when giving a speech in a completely open space, the speaker can simply control the volume, maintain a flushed face as if giving a passionate speech, and control themselves from making strange noises due to emotional fluctuations.

In noisy situations, a person can hide under the hem of a skirt and do whatever they want. Even if they hear the sound of water dripping onto the ground, they will only assume it is sweat from the hot weather.

"I...I don't want to drink it."

If it were normal holy water, Saint Karina would drink it regardless of its shape or when it was produced. But the holy water Esther gave her was different. Saint Karina knew that it would make her vomit up everything she ate.

Moreover, seeing the aloof and noble Pope reveal a decadent and morbid smile, she was truly panicked.

“I see… There’s really no other way. Esther originally only wanted to treat Saint Karina in a relatively gentle way today, but if Saint Karina doesn’t want to, Esther will have to use a relatively firm approach.”

If it started as an invitation to Saint Karina, now it's a threat using coercion.

"Come on~ be good, right? Sister Saint Karina can probably only eat very simple food. She needs rich life energy to replenish what she's lost. For her health, eat your food obediently~"

She continued with a sickly smile, but in a tone as if she were coaxing a child to eat, she chuckled as she delivered the final ultimatum.

There's nowhere to escape...it's over.

Saint Karina looked at the other person's gentle gaze as he stroked her lower abdomen with despair, and could only crawl over in humiliation.

If they continue to be dragged, or subjected to whipping or tattooing, not only will it take a lot of magic and time to repair the marks and restore them to their original state, but they will also have to endure the pitying, hesitant yet unusually excited gaze of the other party.

Perhaps Esther did not intend to hurt herself, but she was inherently excited and eager to leave pain and more marks on Saint Karina.

It's like there's some kind of strange switch in your head. You're perfectly normal most of the time, but once you turn it on, you start acting strangely.

"Don't make things so difficult for me, Sister Saint Karina. My specially made holy water has no harmful effects. Once you get used to drinking it, you won't need to eat any other food. You can get life energy and significantly restore your strength just by drinking the holy water every day."

Saint Karina understood that Esther was indeed not lying.

Each time she had a similar relationship with her, the evil god Eris would give her a considerable amount of energy, like gaining experience in a game, with the experience bar scrolling rapidly at a visible speed.

Swallowing holy water has the same benefits; she only needs to continue for half a month to break through to the fifth rank, which is a good thing that most people would beg for.

However... the process was far too humiliating, and the consequence of only being able to drink holy water and gradually being unable to eat normal food was something Saint Karina was unwilling to pay.

According to Esther, although there isn't the immediate withdrawal reaction like with vampires, and it takes time to become addictive, Saint Karina still doesn't want to drink this every day.

A life without delicious food is an incomplete life. If humans lose their desire to eat and can only live by drinking women's special holy water, what difference is there between them and succubi who can only absorb the essence of women?

Of course, succubi are not picky eaters, and they are not limited to humans; they can eat any race.

Succubi consume vital essence in many ways, including entering dreams, creating illusions, kissing, drinking special holy water, and exploring the origins of life.

"Sigh... It seems that even after Esther explained the benefits, Sister Saint Karina is still unwilling."

Esther sighed, as if lamenting that Saint Karina was unaware of her good fortune.

With a slightly troubled expression, she touched her lips with her finger, as if pondering how to get Santa Karina to accept this fact.

After all, she still wanted Saint Karina to belong to her, inside and out...

89. Communication in a Secret Room

"Using the same method of punishment might actually be a reward for Sister Saint Karina~"

Esther tugged at the chains, making a jingling sound.

She used some force to prevent Santa Karina from feeling suffocated from being pulled, but she knew it was time to follow her.

“I made a special place for Sister Saint Karina to stay in. If she behaves and stays there for the night, she won’t have to drink the holy water today, and the punishments like whipping can be canceled.”

Esther led the way, turning on a mechanism that revealed a downward passage behind a brick wall.

The interior was dark and gloomy, like a deep and monstrous beast that would devour its prey. Saint Karina did not have the ability to see in the dark, but the darkness had no effect on Esther.

"Radiance, illumination."

Carefully following the direction of the drag, they arrived at the end of the passage, where Esther's magic flickered in the secret room.

This is a very ordinary light spell, similar to a high-wattage incandescent light bulb. The room is not large, but it is filled with all sorts of torture instruments.

"Gudu."

Saint Karina swallowed hard, suddenly regretting that she should have just drunk the holy water.

In any case, one can satisfy one's appetite after escaping, and the process of the holy water transforming the body is also slow and cannot be achieved overnight.

If those instruments of torture were used on her, Saint Karina would have wanted to transform into Kuafu (a legendary figure known for his cunning and ruthlessness) and drink the holy water pool dry.

“Don’t be afraid, Sister Saint Karina. These are used on people who have made mistakes in the church. I am not the one who will execute them. Other priests will do it. These instruments of torture are just old things piled up here.”

Esther explained with a faint smile, but it sent a chill down Saint Karina's spine.

"Of course, what I gave my sister wasn't something that someone else had used; it was a brand new item that I had just had made."

She acted like a child, showing Santa Karina her prized creation.

The item is quite new; it's a completely sealed metal box, somewhat like a safe. If the door is closed, the inside will definitely be pitch black.

The box wasn't big and had no ventilation holes. Esther threw the chain, which slammed into the box with a loud clang because it was metal.

The sound made her eardrums ache, and Saint Karina's body trembled.

"Sister, let's go inside."

She still smiled slightly with her eyes narrowed, but gave Saint Karina a sense of "danger".

Go inside… Looking at the metal box that wasn’t even half her height, Saint Karina felt that once inside, she could only curl up in a very uncomfortable position.

She stepped back, and the unreasonable demands were not immediately complied with.

Santa Karina had her own judgment; she was afraid that if she stayed here for one night, her back would break.

"I do not……"

She tried to refuse, but a force rubbed against her, and an invisible "hand" pushed her directly inside.

"Bang!"

The metal door slammed shut, plunging her into complete darkness, and her eardrums began to ache even more.

Actually, besides the shock to her ear, her body ached all over as if she'd been hit like a bowling ball. She suspected that in addition to the bruises, she might also have a bone fracture.

This shows the powerlessness of a fourth-order human in the face of a demigod. If Esther wanted to force her way in, she would be as fragile as a child.

"Are you trying to make me submit like this...?"

Saint Karina was filled with nothing but regret. Instead of spending the night in such a cramped place where she couldn't even stretch, she would have preferred to work her hands and back to tend to the little serpent and drink more holy water.

At least when you drink holy water, aside from the occasional choking from the large spray, the taste is a bit sour and salty. Overall, it's similar to drinking honey water. The taste isn't too bad, and it's easy to get hooked on it.

Whether it was because the metal of the box was too thick or because soundproofing magic was applied inside, Saint Karina could not hear any sound outside after she entered, and was trapped in an environment of absolute silence.