The royal family prepared a grand spectacle to drive away evil spirits for His Majesty the Emperor. A magnificent and exquisite altar was erected in the central garden of the palace, surrounded by layers of roses. Under the golden sunlight, even the dewdrops on the flowers were crystal clear.
"Your Highness seems to be looking unwell lately; you should take care of your health."
High Priest Arlin stood beside Maggie, a kind and holy smile on his lips, and spoke to Maggie in a concerned tone.
"No need for the High Priest to worry. Once you return to the temple, with the blessing of the God, your health will naturally improve."
Maggie parted her cherry lips slightly and replied in a soft voice.
"Your Highness is absolutely right."
Yarlin smiled and nodded in agreement with Maggie's words.
Meanwhile, the construction of the altar had reached its final stage. The magic circles on the ground were even made by inlaying and connecting magical gems. Even though most of them were only level one or two gems, it was still too extravagant for ordinary people.
"Your Highness, the exorcism array is complete. Thank you for your help."
Secretary Grey walked steadily to Maggie's side and whispered.
"His Majesty's health is of utmost importance."
Maggie smiled and softly agreed.
No one asked her which exorcism array to use that day; the palace was quite professional, preparing it without her having to ask.
The little ghost floated beside her ear, clicked its tongue, and then spoke.
"The spell circle is inscribed with the lowest level 'Binding Death', a spell circle that targets the undead and has no effect on vampires."
"Moreover, the true 'Bound Death Resentment' should only be known to a very small number of humans. The low-level ones are just for show; they look powerful when activated, but the actual effect is very poor. Humans are truly terrifying creatures."
Maggie lowered her eyes slightly, understanding dawning on her.
A magic circle to expel the dead and ghosts cannot work on vampires, who are soulless monsters cursed by the continent of Coral. Yarlin and the Third Prince really went to great lengths, fearing that the Queen would be harmed, while also trying to maintain the face of the Temple of Light.
They chose this seemingly impressive but actually ineffective way to demonstrate the power of the Temple of Light, while also embarrassing her.
That's quite a scheme.
Maggie's gaze returned to the king, whose face was ashen and whose dejected state was even more severe than when he first entered the palace. It seemed that the queen had not let him off the hook these past few days.
maybe.....
The queen might hate the king even more than she imagines.
Maggie snapped out of her reverie, gracefully lifted her skirt, and slowly stepped into the garden. The fragrance of roses lingered around her nose, and she could faintly smell the sunshine in the air.
Despite the warm and beautiful scene, Maggie keenly sensed the cold gaze fixed on her back.
In the magnificent royal palace, Maggie stood in the center of the garden like a goddess descended from heaven. Her exquisite, almost inhuman appearance attracted the attention of almost everyone. Even Arlin, who considered her useless, couldn't bear to look away.
Even if everyone thinks she's just a pretty face, she's still a pretty face that can amaze even the gods and ghosts.
Maggie was dressed in a pure white, sacred saintly robe. Her snow-white skin was almost transparent. She closed her pale golden, glassy eyes and clasped her hands together in prayer before her chest. The sun shone on her, as if the gods had answered her prayers and draped her in a layer of holy light.
May light shine wherever you go, and may darkness be banished beyond your boundaries.
"I pray to God with my own body to save people who are corrupted by evil spirits, and to let God's light shine here, so that evil will have nowhere to hide."
As Maggie's melodious, nightingale-like prayer faded, the surrounding magic circle began to surge wildly, absorbing the surrounding magical energy.
Maggie lowered her head, her expression inscrutable.
No one knew that beneath her saintly exterior, a vicious and mocking smile was playing on her lips.
The intense light emanating from the magic obscured Maggie's figure, leaving only a faint silhouette, which also perfectly concealed the magical fluctuations from Maggie's Dark Puppet Technique.
The target of the spell was, of course, the queen, who was hiding in the rose maze and watching her intently at that moment.
Everyone was amazed by the magnificent sight of the magic circle being activated, except for Yarlin and the Third Prince, who exchanged a glance with a fleeting look of smugness on their faces.
As an unknown rune appeared on the emperor's body, the light of the magic array began to gradually dissipate.
As soon as Maggie opened her eyes, she saw a court magician rush to the emperor's side and begin to examine his physical condition.
However, after examining her for only a few seconds, the court magician looked troubled and hesitated before glancing at Maggie.
Yarlin immediately spoke up.
"Your Highness is not an unreasonable person; you can speak frankly."
The court magician immediately bowed deeply, adopting a humble and fearful posture, and spoke hesitantly.
"His Majesty's health shows no signs of improvement..."
These words caused an uproar. The Holy Maiden of Light had created such a great deal of momentum, yet it had no effect. This was a disgrace to the Temple of Light.
"Your Highness, what's going on?"
The third prince frowned, stepped forward from the crowd, and spoke to Maggie in a tone that was no longer as gentle as when he first entered the palace, but rather carried a hint of questioning.
Maggie's expression remained gentle and unchanged as she calmly stepped out of the magic circle and walked to Arlin and the Third Prince.
"You two might as well look back."
Her tone was gentle, as if she were reminding them to take care of their health. Yarlin couldn't help but feel a little strange, but he didn't listen to Maggie's words. Instead, he continued to advise Maggie in a gentle tone.
"Your Highness, you have just become a Holy Maiden. Failure is not something to be ashamed of. Why bother..."
Before he could finish speaking, several screams came from the maids and servants around him.
"The King...the Queen...has been resurrected!"
"It's a vampire!"
"The Queen has turned into a vampire! Aaaaaah!"
With a few thuds, the Third Prince and Yarlin's expressions changed drastically, and they both turned around to look behind them.
To everyone's surprise, the Queen, who should have died many years ago, was standing in the garden pavilion, surrounded by roses. Her face was delicate and youthful, without a trace of age. Her skin was almost deathly pale, and her lips were so red they looked as if they were about to bleed.
Of course, her most distinctive feature is her sharp teeth.
These characteristics make it hard not to think of the vampires that have recently been wreaking havoc in the Kingdom of Arnold.
"Mother...Mother Empress!"
The third prince was also stunned. His plan, which was already halfway to success, was suddenly shattered by his own mother, and in front of everyone. Even if he was very shrewd, his expression would crack on the spot.
Arlin abruptly turned to look at Maggie, quickly casting a spell to detect traces of spellcasting, but unfortunately...
There was no trace of magic surging on Maggie. She stood there quietly, like a white rose in the bustling city, beautiful, pure, and untouched by any dust, completely out of place in the chaotic scene.
"What's wrong with the High Priest? Vampires have appeared; shouldn't we send out the Holy Knights to capture them?"
Maggie kindly reminded Arlin that he should now fulfill the Temple of Light's duty to cleanse evil, but her words sounded to Arlin as if to say, 'Arlin, this is what happens when you offend me.'
It was full of sarcasm.
Arlin's chest heaved violently, his gaze fixed on Maggie, his lips trembling. In the end, however, he simply turned his head away with a livid face, not saying anything out of line to Maggie, and forcibly suppressed his anger to summon the nun.
"Summon the Knights!"
Yarlin's trembling voice revealed that he was not at peace, but he dared not overstep his bounds in front of outsiders.
Because Maggie is now of a higher status than him... the Holy Maiden of Light.
The Temple of Light has a very strict hierarchy. If he violates the temple's rules in front of so many people, he will be punished by the Pope himself when he returns.
Maggie knew exactly what he was doing. Without evidence that she did it, he couldn't even complain to Ford. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and take the blame.
After all, she was just a useless saintess who knew nothing about the inside story; her only order was to cure the emperor.
She completed the task perfectly, but Yarlin messed up the real mission objective. I wonder how angry Ford will be.
Thinking of this, Maggie could hardly contain her urge to laugh.
But she suppressed her smile; after all, the real show had just begun, and the time to laugh was yet to come.
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