"S—Stopp! Kya-hahaha!" the silver-haired girl cried out. Wildly flailing her arms around as warm moisture started to gather inside her eyelids.
Holding the High Priestess in her hands, Claire made no effort to stop, but instead, her hands began moving faster, tickling the girl as hard as she could. The dark-purple-haired girl even found a strange sense of enjoyment in this situation.
"P-pfahaha! Please!" Seraphina managed to say, begging her assailant to cease.
The little girl was getting desperate. She could feel her bladder loosening, a foretelling sign of what would happen if someone laughed too hard.
"I give up-kahaha! I said I give up!"
Hearing this, Claire only smirked. This smirk quickly turned into a creepy giggle.
"Teehehe...I told you it was your last chance, didn't I?"
"Hopefully, this will teach you a good lesson about knowing when to surrender," she added, mocking the silver-haired girl for her previous words.
Seraphina was teetering on her breaking point. Tears were already flowing out of her golden eyes, from both laughter and the humiliation of being on the verge of wetting herself.
In this situation, there was no way she could make use of her mana even if she wanted to. Keeping her dignity intact was already difficult enough, so concentrating on casting was out of the question!
'Nooo...' thought Seraphina as unwillingness filled her mind.
At this point, the silver-haired girl had already shut her eyes tight and resigned herself to her embarrassing fate. Claire was merciless, and it did not seem as though she would receive a break, even after being thoroughly humiliated.
However, when Seraphina had lost all hope and could not keep holding it anymore, a familiar, invisible, and blue energy emerged from her. Swooping in, it completely repaired her body, as well as her need to pee, thus saving her from disgrace.
Then—
*SLAPPP!*
The silver-haired slapped her captor with every ounce of strength she could muster. The impact of Seraphina's hand against Claire's cheek sent the noble girl crashing towards the other end of the room— below the window, with effects very similar to the previous [Water Annihilation Canon]
*Crack!*
"Oh no..!"
"Are you okay!?" The High Priestess asked with concern overflowing from her.
"..."
Receiving a lack of response, she walked over to check on Claire. Even though the other party had gone too far, she was still very much her friend.
And despite having unalived a lot of beasts and plants, Seraphina had never killed one of her own, or even hurt them badly. The thought terrified her, and beyond that, she could not see herself going against The Fourteen Sacred Mandates.
"Claire! I'm sorry! Don't die on me, please... I'll heal you right away!" The golden-eyed girl said, panicked.
Claire's jaw and neck had been fractured. Those were injuries that would have most probably ended a normal person's life; fortunately, the noble girl's 2-Star level kept her alive even in this state.
Seraphina knew her regeneration magic alone could not heal such severe injuries. So she hastily summoned her golden pewter staff, letting out this miraculous and unseeable green aura.
Claire's various wounds immediately disappeared under its effects, and even her mana reserves were refilled to their utmost point. The red handprints on her cheek also vanished without a trace.
Next, the younger girl intently pressed her hands over the purple-eyed lady's shoulders before shouting:
"Wake up! Wake up, please!"
Feeling her body being rapidly shaken back and forth, the young noble girl grew nauseous, a headache already coming on.
"I'm alive. You can stop what you're doing now, it's uncomfortable..." she groaned.
Seraphina instantly stopped her actions and removed her hands from Claire's shoulders.
"Are you okay...?"
"Yes, I am fine..." she said, cracking her neck. "...But you didn't have to hit that hard!"
Claire looked at the silver-haired girl before her with an accusing glare. She had almost died just now; of course, she would complain!
"Hmph," the little girl huffed, puffing out her cheeks in indignation. "It's all your fault! It's you who wanted to have a spar in the first place, and it's also you who forced this on me!"
She paused to catch her breath before adding:
"You have no right to complain!"
Claire let out a resigned sigh.
"Alright, alright...I get it. Will you forgive me if I tell you how I cast [Water Annihilation Canon]?" she said, pressing her index finger to her lips in a shushing sign. "That's a big secret, you know~"
Seraphina's golden eyes brightened. She was indeed very interested in how the noble girl had done it.
However,
"I want you to tell me, but we can't...at least not for now," the girl said as her gaze wandered outside the window. "Your father has arrived, Claire."
Outside, a second carriage bearing Alequessa's crest had arrived before the church...
...
Stepping out of his carriage, Ambre Arest of Alequessa walked in with elegance and a posture full of confidence, like he owned the place— because he kinda did own the place. Technically, 49% of it was his.
Like his daughter, the man had dark-purple hair with similarly colored eyes to boot. He was wearing a finely tailored, black and amber colored coat of silk, bearing the familiar purple barryl. His trousers came from the same outfit, matching perfectly with his coat. At his feet were polished boots of a deep and pure black color.
From his ear hung an earring carved out of an orange topaz. It shone against the sunlight like a fire, in contrast to Claire's Water element. At his waist hung a short sword tightly secured inside its sheath.
While making his way inside the church, Ambre Arest spotted two supplicants, a man and a woman, likely forming a couple. They were passionately making out under his view, though the two probably did not notice him.
This couple was none other than Carlos and Mairie; the two were currently engrossed in a kissing battle!
Watching this scene, the Nobleman only felt disdain towards the two.
Yes, they were poor. Yes, they were supplicants. Yes, they had faced struggles unknown to him.
But did this give adults the right to freeload off a child?
They were healed, fed, and sheltered by a kid young enough to be their granddaughter! Yet, they made no effort to change their situations and instead engaged in a luxury known as love.