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Chapter 22
Caught off guard by an unexpected visitor, Yulian blinked absentmindedly, forgetting even to smile.
Anila approached with a sly smile, tilting her head. Following her movement, her silvery hair shimmered with an aurora-like glow. It was a beauty capable of captivating anyone, regardless of age or gender.
Yulian, who had momentarily frozen, slowly spoke.
“What are you doing here? I thought your secret meetings were only on weekends.”
“Well, there were some circumstances.”
“Circumstances, huh? More likely, you just found a guy you liked.”
But the answer that popped out wasn’t the kind of response a man enchanted by her would normally give. It was closer to Yulian’s true nature.
Anila, finding him uninteresting, wiped the smile off her face and swiftly turned away.
“Ah, forget it. Let’s go inside and talk.”
“Talk about what? Just so you know, I don’t have any money to lend you.”
“Ugh! Always money, money, money! It’s not like that!”
“Sure. Our saint prefers handsome men over materialistic things like money anyway.”
Yulian was one of the few men Anila didn’t fall for. He loved money more than most women did. Anila already knew his true nature.
Frowning, she revealed her irritation.
“Say one more stupid thing like that, and I’ll put up a notice in the town square listing all the donations you embezzled!”
“Really? Then I guess I’ll just list all the men you’ve been playing around with… wait, on second thought, that might be tricky. The list would be so long the paper would drag on the ground.”
“This is unbelievable…!”
Yulian countered without even blinking. He was busy mocking the saint before him rather than showing her any respect or affection. Anila, unable to stand him, huffed in frustration.
From the very first time they met, this miser had been like this.
“Just one coin can feed three children! Please share your good deeds!”
That had been exactly one year ago.
As usual, Anila wandered the streets looking for a handsome man, when Yulian suddenly appeared in her line of sight. He was handing out flyers for a charity organization and encouraging citizens to donate regularly.
A sane person would never think of approaching a man devoted to good deeds—but for our reckless saint, that wasn’t even a consideration.
“Ah! I think you dropped your handkerchief…”
“Oh, thank you!”
Naturally, Anila targeted him, creating a trap disguised as coincidence. He fell for it surprisingly easily. Like other men, Yulian couldn’t even look her in the eye without blushing, and Anila inwardly rejoiced.
“As a token of thanks, may I buy you a drink… do you have time?”
“Th-that’s not necessary…”
“I just want to do this for you, okay?”
But her inflated expectations soon deflated like a popped balloon.
The more Anila talked to him at the tavern, the clearer it became: his interest wasn’t in her, but in the money she might have.
“…What? You suggested going to a tavern without even having money for drinks?”
As expected, the moment Yulian realized Anila was actually a saint with no wealth, his disappointment was obvious. He had only been trying to woo her under the mistaken impression that her radiant beauty and pure aura meant she was a noblewoman.
“A saint who must remain pure, wandering around at night to meet men…”
“And you? As the head of a charity, you tried to use women just to get pocket money?”
They were clearly cut from the same cloth: greedy humans who exploit others to satisfy their secret desires.
If Anila had been interested in his handsome looks and physique, Yulian was only interested in the wealth she might possess. That was the only real difference between them.
With similar mindsets, they soon reached a conclusion: it was mutually beneficial to form a partnership that satisfied each other’s greed.
“Our White Wings are the only charity officially recognized by the temple!”
It was a surprisingly good deal. Yulian gained the temple’s trust and established the charity’s position through Anila, while Anila received the funds and location she needed for her secret meetings.
Though they occasionally quarreled due to personality differences, their relationship had remained relatively smooth. It was an unusual alliance that worked precisely because their desires were clear.
“Do you think I came to find a guy like you just to hear that…?”
Every time Yulian belittled her, Anila’s irritation skyrocketed. Recently, she had been even more sensitive, having had her pride scratched by Ferric.
“!”
A strange hum echoed through the air as brilliant aurora light began to pour from behind her. The divine power matched her title as a saint.
Only then did Yulian realize he had gone too far and hurriedly added,
“Alright, alright. I get it. Just… let’s talk inside.”
Men obsessed with women, yet loved by a god—Anila could never understand the taste of the omnipotent somewhere up in the heavens.
Once Yulian stepped back, Anila withdrew her divine power. Hmph, it was nothing special.
Seeing her stick out her tongue openly, Yulian wanted to argue but wisely kept his mouth shut. He hadn’t even filled his vault to the ceiling yet, and he had no desire to be burned by divine power.
“So? What’s the matter?”
He wanted to hear the business and get her out quickly. Yulian plopped onto the sofa, nodding casually. His forehead ached from the scratch he got earlier, causing him to frown.
Realizing he was injured, Anila sighed and stood up. Gathering her divine power in her hand, she lightly tapped Yulian’s forehead. The pain vanished instantly as if it had never existed.
Yulian touched his now-pristine skin, sneaking a glance at Anila.
“…Wow, you could make some money off this.”
“Really? That’s all you say instead of thanking me? Fine. Now just sit and listen—I’m angry right now.”
Seeing that Yulian was more concerned with money than the noble divine power she just displayed, Anila grimaced and finally revealed her purpose.
“There’s someone I want to investigate. You know a lot of connections. Help me.”
“Hmm… I can’t really refuse. This isn’t the first time, right? So, who is it this time?”
“It’s not a man. It’s a woman.”
Yulian blinked in surprise, then straightened up, more shocked than when he was healed by her divine power.
“…Did I hear that wrong?”
“No. Right. I need information on a woman—a very famous one.”
“What? Who on earth is it…?”
But that was just the beginning.
“Leriel Tenebris. You know her. The power player of the Triane Kingdom, infamous as a villainess.”
“Leriel Tenebris?!”
Hearing the familiar name, Yulian jumped up from the sofa. Startled by his sudden shout, Anila got angry.
“Ah! What’s with the yelling all of a sudden?!”
“You’re curious about her?! Don’t tell me… you’re interested too?”
“Wait, ‘me too’? What do you mean by that?”
Now it was Anila’s turn to be flustered.
Yulian realized his slip too late, and both of them knew it was beyond fixing.
