Chapter 7

—Good heavens, aunt! Why the hell did you think I was dying? What did you hear to make you believe that?

"It's just that the townspeople said you had a very strange look on your face when you seemed to escape from the clinic. I thought you had a vision of the future where you would die of a chronic illness and decided to do it." Too far away for us not to see you depart for the embrace of the gods!

"No way! What kind of tragic and uninteresting drama has formed in your head? Who doesn't know that a prophetess can't see her future? What chronic illness would kill you so quickly but allow you to run and catch a carriage? And will you stop rubbing your head against my breasts?!"

"Hehehehehe... they're so soft... my Arisella... her breasts... they're fine"

"Gods... Help me with this perverted fool!"

"The goddess Aphrodite is on my side!"

"¡Puaj!"

The argument between the two was quite absurd and childishly pointless, while Arisella practically had a vein throbbing on her face as she tried to get rid of her lustful aunt with anger visible on her face.

It was lucky the housekeeper wasn't there to witness such nonsense.

Still, a smile of relief could be seen on Alica's tearful face as she looked at Arisella, seeing how healthy and energetic her most beloved "daughter" was.

He really thought something bad had happened to him, so he thanked his goddess for being well and in good health as he happily closed his eyes with his head still persistently resting on his two large "flesh pillows."

Though in a short time, that smile of his wouldn't last long.

♦♦♦♦

"Wait... What? Your soul level suddenly increased? Is this a joke? It's a joke, right?"

After Arisella managed to get rid of this sexually harassing aunt, the two spectacularly beautiful women were finally able to have a quiet conversation over tea on the elegant terrace of the Bluen Mansion.

Today was a pleasant day in the Cesna Mountains, with a gentle breeze gently caressing her cheeks. It was a lovely day for tea, and the peaceful view of the village in the distance from the terrace made it even more perfect.

In the middle of talking about this and that, Arisella took the opportunity to ask Alica why she didn't accompany John to the clinic, since he supposedly went to the forest where she was collecting medicinal herbs to give her the shocking news about the incident, but only John showed up at the clinic without anyone accompanying him.

And in response to his curiosity, Alica became strangely evasive when she said that she couldn't have found her even if she had tried, as she had gotten slightly lost chasing a strange "lanky, thick-looking animal with two legs as fat as balls" somewhere in the forest of Argos.

Although Arisella had never heard of such an animal and its attitude made her feel a little suspicious, she also thought it shouldn't be a lie considering how her aunt sometimes acted as if she only had air in her head, instead of a perfectly functioning brain.

And yes, it was clearly an insult to her intelligence... But what can you do when a woman has done so many stupid things? She didn't even need all her memories to know it was just a matter of years.

Chasing an animal just because you find it interesting is certainly not the dumbest thing you've done so far, Auntie. 

That's what she thought.

Although Arisella wouldn't care if everything she said turned out to be nothing more than a lie. Everyone in this world had secrets, and the most important thing was for Alica to calm down now that she knew she wasn't dying at all.

Well, that was until Arisella opened up about the reason for her sudden breakdown during a date with John.

Suddenly, her aunt's hands trembled as she held the large cup of green tea, causing Arisella to worry about her reaction.

“No, Aunt, it’s not a joke. Lucelle and I have verified it with the Spiritual Measuring Sphere. My total spiritual power is now powerful enough to illuminate the room Lucelle uses to serve her clients with enough force to temporarily blind us. Now, it would be possible for me to use abilities of a prophetess of rank 4 and above,” Arisella said, the seriousness in her eyes making it clear to the cleric that her words were only speaking the truth.

However, Alica didn't dare believe it. Or rather, she didn't want to believe it. Anyone could tell from her expression that she considered it to be bad news.

"...Are you serious? Living much of your life as a low-ranking professional and suddenly gaining power comparable to the prophetesses who serve the Duke? Even if we're talking about latent spiritual power, does it make sense? There's no way something like that could be real..."

“As incredible as it may seem, it is the truth”

And it’s probably because of my desire to be the most “talented of all”… a nice compensation from Heavenly Father, I must say.

"So... what should I do? This isn't good... definitely not good." Alica's previously calm eyes were once again filled with pure anxiety. Furthermore, her face turned terribly pale, as if she had truly heard the worst news in the world.

At this, Arisella remained silent, understanding the reasons why Alica reacted so badly to something that other duchies would consider "good news."

Why?

Because such a drastic increase in power would condemn her to something worse than the death penalty if outsiders found out, that's why!

In the vast territory belonging to the Duchy of Aswort, the noble vassals who serve the family take advantage of the negligence of their current sovereign, who is only focused on defensive warfare, to do as they please, exploiting any legal loophole not protected by the inviolable law of the nobles to cause suffering and pain to the commoners for their twisted pleasure.

Illegal slave trade, drug trafficking, money laundering, human experimentation, and more. Among the many nobles of the North, there are very few who haven't committed at least one of these crimes; the most dangerous are those who commit every single one. They even illegally sold vital Northern resources to other duchies, amassing a fortune.

It can be said that since the current duke, Astrian von Aswort, came to power as the new sovereign, the north began to rot rapidly due to his indifference to the actions of the nobility.

And because of that, many prophetesses of great skill and beauty unfortunately fell into the hands of lustful nobles who disdained their status as "Angelina's daughters" and turned them into playthings to satisfy their libidos. Those disgusting upper-caste men and women laughed as they "educated" these girls to serve them in every way possible, and it was hard to say whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that only very talented prophetesses were their targets, due to the incredible beauty each of them was born with.

Of course, not all northern nobles were scum who needed to be exterminated. There were several honorable and ethical aristocrats who fought to change their homeland and protected the commoners from corrupt nobles. However, not only were they a miserable minority, but they also only had nobles from the earl to the lowest ranks of the nobility.

They were too weak to change anything in this cold, harsh land. They were powerless even together... they could only save a few.

Therefore, for Alica, Arisella's soul grade increase was nothing more than a disaster for her future that was about to knock loudly on her door. She couldn't help but think about the terrible things that could happen to her beloved child if those heartless nobles found out about her, her beauty, and her newfound power.

Arisella was an extremely beautiful girl, and the only reason those crooked nobles didn't know of her existence was because she was a low-ranking prophetess, so they only needed to send a young girl with spiritual power similar to Arisella's and a relatively decent appearance to have her rank verified by an envoy from the local town administration who worked with the corrupt nobles, something that happens every month. This was done with the help of the village chief, as it would be strange for clerics to get involved in the matter, by the way.

However, there was a problem, and that is that the village chief only made sure to hide her existence because he did not want to lose his only prophetess for anything more than her beauty, as he would not get a high price for a prophetess without much talent who only had her face to show for.

But even so, despite this, the fat, ugly man also made sure to receive as much money as he could from the Church, fostering the idea that he might change his mind if his greed for gold wasn't satisfied. He was an unpleasant human being, but he was more useful than Alica and Selena when it came to helping hide Arisella from the nobles.

That was also the reason why Alica always went out "in search of medicinal herbs in the forest" and why Selena often went out to the city on "church business"; they needed money to keep that "green goblin" under control.

Something Arisella didn't know, as they made sure to hide all those unpleasant matters so as not to make her life miserable.

All the effort they put into earning money was done for their beloved Arisella, who was like a daughter to them. And it wasn't particularly difficult for them to perform such acts since they were Clerics of the Goddess Aphrodite, who had had many "night gatherings" to have fun and relieve stress in the past. It wouldn't last long either, as they were approaching the age at which Arisella should never have been able to awaken her spiritual potential... they just had to wait a few more years, and they wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.

But now everything has changed. The true power hidden within Arisella has come to light, and if the village chief… if that greedy man discovers that Arisella has awakened her potential… all his efforts will be in vain. That man would only dream of fleeing to a place where he could live in greater luxury, and he wouldn't fear retaliation from the village if he sold Arisella, a Fifth-Rank Prophetess, to the Nobles.

Alica bit her lip, disgust and anger on her face as she imagined the chief's disgusting face, filled with a creepy glint in his eyes as he looked at the gold he had been given as payment...

The image soon distorted to show the man forcefully carrying an innocent young woman with brown hair and eyes on a silver platter toward a lecherous nobleman, rubbing his hands together as he waited to receive his large payment.

That pig!

Alica clenched her fists tightly, angry. Obviously, nothing like that had ever happened before, but she could easily see it was something she would do.

That scum will definitely try to sell Arisella to interested nobles, yearning for the shiny gold coins they would get; if those nobles pay him anyway.

The only ones who do not fall to this fate are the servants of the gods like Alica, whom the nobles dare not touch.

Should I kill him?

Such murderous thoughts appeared in his head. However, he soon buried them. They could have done it silently, but the consequences of the sudden death of a chief who had also helped save the village in his own way would be catastrophic for all of Taylan due to the confusion it would cause.

After all, they couldn't think of a death that didn't sound unnatural, and as someone with a profession of his own, no one would believe them if they told them he died of a heart attack due to his bad habits. After all, although first-ranking, the man was a [Warrior].

There should be a better way to solve the bear problem.

Staring at Arisella, Alica was filled with determination to protect her and said with a serious expression: "Arisella, you have to promise me something..."

"And?"

"Please... never tell anyone but us about your current abilities, okay?"

"..."

"Arisella?" The girl's silence frightened her, and Alica looked at her anxiously.

"I'm sorry, Aunt... but I can't promise you that." Before anyone could interrupt her, she raised her hand and quickly continued, "Since I'm planning to contact the Duke of Aswort himself for help."

—Oh? Wait a minute, I don't think I heard right… —Alica blinked and lifted her hair around her ears, revealing a pointed tip characteristic of the Nox; a demi-human race very similar to high-fantasy Elves, so she was able to 'hear better' the extremely absurd thing that came out of her little girl's mouth.

Arisella just stared at her silently for a few seconds and finally said in a calm voice, "I was planning to meet with the Duke."

"Why?" she cried, bewildered and, above all, furious.

There was no one in the entire North who had a good opinion of the current Duke, who blissfully ignored the misfortunes caused by his vassals while spending his life largely neglecting his duty as Sovereign.

It was only natural that Alica wasn't at all pleased with Arisella's idea of ​​communicating with the leader of the trash. Who knows, maybe he's worse than all those nobles combined. She wouldn't be surprised if he was a true barbarian, given how obsessed with battle he was compared to his predecessors.

"It's for our future... the future of the entire village." Undeterred, Arisella looked her aunt in the eyes and said seriously, "I swear, if it weren't for the disaster that will befall us all, I wouldn't even try to come into contact with that man."

That was absolutely true.

Though like the former Amael, Arisella was aware of why the Duke didn't seem to care much for his rule, even if the man was a holy leader loved by everyone in the north, she wouldn't try to get close to one of the 5 Sovereigns of all the Nobles of the Empire for no reason.

He wasn't a person overly greedy for power, either in this life or the next. The only reason his mansion looked like that of a true nobleman was because the villagers loved it and designed it that way, thinking he deserved it. Much of the money he used came from the villagers, with the excuse that he shouldn't give away his precious prophecies for nothing.

...Well, I wasn't really particularly against that last part. Everyone needed money and worked hard for it, right? She was no different.

Prophecy-giving was also technically a job; one that could potentially save a village or even an entire nation from annihilation, but a job nonetheless.

The problem, however, is that they gave her that money and even their property as tribute, something they persisted in doing even when she told them not to, much to her bewilderment.

I mean, Arisella understands that she's the prophetess of a village, and she also understood that as a prophetess, she legally becomes the owner of the entire village in question by law. But she wanted to firmly tell the townspeople that as a prophetess of the lowest rank and a baroness by name, the village head, belonging to a family that has led for generations, is even more suitable to command the village.

She was not his lover nor will she be in the future.

In any case, Arisella had no intention of aspiring to become the permanent personal prophetess of the duke or any other high-ranking noble of the north. She simply wanted a quiet life in this village, to reunite with her family from time to time and chat with her dear friends.

“Are you saying… that something serious enough to ruin our entire lives could happen if you don’t contact the duke directly?” Alica looked at her with wide eyes and asked hesitantly, “Did you have a prophetic dream while your pent-up spiritual power was being released?”

Arisella nodded without hesitation. She had yet to use her new abilities, which she had gained upon reaching the fifth rank, but she didn't need to predict something she herself had destined to happen anyway, so it wasn't entirely a lie.

Furthermore, prophetic dreams were the only method of looking into the future that did not cause great strain on the soul, so no one would suspect that she was lying, even when she seemed as full of energy as she was now.

And although the future knowledge gained through prophetic dreams was rather vague… they were still a low-cost way to prevent disasters, if one knew how to interpret them correctly in the first place.

Well, it's not usually like you can control whether you have them or not.

Alica sighed, rubbing her forehead with frustration and worry in her eyes.

"I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for us by doing something so dangerous..."

—Auntie… I'm not sacrificing myself for nothing. —Arisella looked into her eyes, a sincere smile on her lips as she cajoled her with confidence in her voice— Believe me when I tell you that this is the best option where not only will we all make it out alive, but the entire North will move forward as if nothing will change at all… no matter how bad such a thing may seem, if you think about it.

She couldn't help but let out an awkward laugh as she recalled the corruption throughout the Northern Duchy that she herself established.

When writing his first novel, Amael simply made the corruption of the North a common element of no immediate importance so that the original heroine could solve things with her cunning and allies, being distinguished by her achievements but ultimately marginalized by her failure.

I didn't expect things to be worse than I thought they would be in reality... or rather, was it to be expected? After all, writing that Corrupt Noble 1 destroyed Corrupt Noble 2's property with bandits is simple... but in reality, things aren't as simple as a few lines like that.

If there's any chance of turning things around, Arisella hopes to use some of her modern knowledge to help solve certain problems related to the North and its future. Perhaps it would be a good idea to help the original heroine showcase her administrative talents.

Arisella believed she could do that, after all, this world was technologically stagnant in everything except magic and other supernatural powers due to the prohibition of sciences and the long period of warlords after the Great Catastrophe of Ragnarok.

The methods used to administer the noble territories were also quite simple, thanks to the power of the titles granted to sovereigns and aristocrats.

In addition, Arisella learned a wide range of skills like Amael to create different types of web novels after her modest success. And she could easily remember almost everything she was interested in, as it was very important.

"Okay… I don't really want to support your idea, but I trust you won't lie to me about something so serious just so you can have a higher position in the Empire, right?" Alica looked at her with slight suspicion.

"Of course not!" Arisella said, looking aggrieved. "I would never leave the village for something like that, and besides, I have to get married... Ugh!"

The poor girl remembered the kiss from earlier and her face twisted involuntarily. Should I kiss him...?

"?" Alica looked at her curiously at Arisella's sudden grimace, before brushing it off as just one of her quirks and laughing, saying:

"I know, it was just a little joke. I know that our Arisella, narcissistic as she may be, doesn't have such an ambitious and selfish mindset.  You're certainly not the kind of woman who would abandon her commoner lover and try to seduce a powerful aristocrat into giving you the life of a queen, making a potential disaster an excuse to get close to him while you act weak and helpless with that hot body of yours and steal it from his lover. There's no way you'd do something so typical of a Green Tea Bitch."

"..."

Alica laughed at her own joke and then took a sip of green tea, but Arisella, who was drinking her red tea and almost spat it out when she heard it, was not amused by the joke.

Me seducing the most powerful man in the North? Please... I still get dizzy remembering that I'm someone's girlfriend!    Arisella snorted at the mere thought.

And even if I wanted to, which is not the case, that man is a heroin addict, you know?

And what the hell was I thinking when I used so many common Chinese terms in a Western fantasy novel? It seems so unnatural to me because of my past life memories!

Also, dear aunt, don't talk about green tea bitches while drinking green tea!

Arisella made many replicas in her heart.