"Yo, the person you're looking for is quite capable. They actually managed to draw out these long-eared creatures who've been stuck in their shells," a beautiful woman with red hair said with interest. She was wearing a thin, flowing gown that draped elegantly around her.
Her alluring figure and snow-white skin were captivating, but she was cradling a small child. The child was very cute, with soft brown curls piled on his head. His small face wore an expression of helplessness towards the woman holding him. His little hands rested on her shoulders, his face turned towards the elves. He had never seen elves before and was surprised to encounter them here. They were so beautiful, and the jewelry they wore was also exquisite.
"You should say less. The elves didn't provoke you," Maurice said with a sigh. He had intended to bring the cub himself, but his sister insisted on coming along. She claimed she was worried about him bringing the child alone, forgetting that he had taken care of the cub more than she had on Dragon Island. His sister was a red dragon with a fiery temper, and her approach to her own cub was rather rough; the child was mostly raised by his father. When they arrived on Dragon Island, it was Maurice who looked after the child, while his mother only played with him. Now, when he wanted to bring the child to Angelina, his sister, worried about him taking care of the cub, insisted on bringing him herself.
Seeing the cub's exasperated look at his mother, Maurice knew how uncomfortable the child was. He gently took the cub from Anita's embrace. "Angelina has guests right now. Let's settle in first. We can see her after the elves leave," he said.
"Why do we have to go after the elves?" Anita grumbled.
"First come, first served. And their meeting was scheduled in advance. Let's go, this place is a bit remote, and we need to find a better place to stay. Little Joey can't stand a bad environment," Maurice said, holding Joey in one arm and taking Anita's arm with the other.
"Fine, I'll give you some face. I won't bother with these long ears today. Just make sure this former saintess can cure Joey, or I'll beat you up," Anita threatened, raising her fist.
"Mom, don't be like that!" Joey felt much more comfortable back in Maurice's arms. Now, seeing his mother speak to his uncle like that, he felt she was being too much.
"Little Joey, you're my son, you should be on my side," Anita said indignantly.
"I like Maurice," Joey buried his face in Maurice's chest.
"You... Forget it. Maurice, you've never cared so much about anyone. Why are you so concerned about this former saintess of the church?" As Maurice's only sister, she naturally cared deeply about her younger brother. She was well aware of the changes in him. Though somewhat carefree, she was very devoted to her only sibling.
"You're overthinking it!" Maurice didn't answer her question, instead walking forward with Joey. The weather was still quite cold, so Maurice wrapped Joey in a small blanket to protect him from the wind. All along their journey, they had shielded Joey within their claws, ensuring he didn't feel a single gust of wind. The weather here was much colder than on Dragon Island, and Joey was too frail; any carelessness could easily make him ill. However, throughout the journey, it was Uncle Maurice who took care of Joey. Anita, on the other hand, was of little help. Maurice felt he might as well have brought a maid to look after Joey instead of her.
The arrival of the elves did not bring Lin Yan much joy. She had her knights and maids entertain the elves, preparing a lavish dinner for them. This group of elves brought greetings from the Elven King, and Lin Yan realized the Elven King had chosen to trust her. The Elven Mother Tree was not in a critical state yet. In the original novel, its condition worsened five years later, just as the heroine had firmly established her position as a saintess. The beautiful and perfect original host had vanished from everyone's memory, replaced by the new "Rose of the Church." Only among some young rakes would there be whispers of regret over the original host's beauty. After all, while the new saintess was beautiful, she couldn't compare to the original host's appearance.
However, the original host was dead, and the heroine had completely usurped her position in the church. Or rather, the Holy Son had completely taken the original host's place, and the heroine had become his subordinate. Yet, the heroine's "harem protagonist" trait also garnered her favor from many. Unlike the original host, who was aloof and unapproachable, the heroine, being understanding and approachable, was more favored by those people. The heroine was kind and soft-hearted, empathetic, and she had saved many people. Strangely, the people she saved seemed to all possess distinguished identities. Lin Yan found it curious why the heroine could so consistently rescue the right people. Many of them were living in anonymity, yet the heroine, with just a casual act of rescue, would stumble upon an important figure. But then again, that's how novels were written to be more exciting.
Lin Yan decided not to dwell on the heroine's matters. Her current target was not the heroine, but the Holy Son who framed her and had her expelled from the church, and the Pope who favored the Holy Son. After dinner, Lin Yan instructed the maids to escort the elves to their quarters. Although the manor was only half-built, with the aid of magic, it was already habitable. Every morning, watching the maids use cleaning magic to tidy the manor, Lin Yan found it quite astonishing. She had even tried to learn some of these cleaning spells, which were not part of the original host's memories. After all, given her status, it was beneath her to clean rooms herself.
It was then that Lin Yan realized that the maids around her were not ordinary people. She became curious about the capabilities of the former head maid. However, remembering that the maids were sent by the original host's father, and these maids were the original host's mother's staff, she had a general idea. While these maids possessed magical talent, it wasn't particularly high; at best, they would become level-one mages in their lifetime. On this continent, mages were respected, but magic apprentices were not. Becoming a personal maid to a saintess in the church was likely their best possible path. Yet, their unwavering loyalty to her, a banished saintess, spoke volumes of their noble character. Lin Yan felt they were capable of much more, and being mere maids seemed to be a waste of their talents.