Chapter Thirty-Three: Seems Easy to Exploit

The bones were returned to the grave. The one who laid them back was Lin Lei—none of the headmasters were particularly eager to do it themselves.

Lin Lei considered arranging the bones correctly to be a challenging task, and it also provided an opportunity to study the skeletal structure of elves. The leopard kept a distance of over ten meters from him, pondering what it would take for Lin Lei to truly be wary of something.

“What a noble act.”

From afar, a female elf clad in golden armor witnessed the scene and strode towards Lin Lei. The mages encircling the graveyard all stepped aside to let her through.

“Isn’t the High Lord supposed to be fighting at the front? Why has she come here?”

“I heard she also serves as the head of the Paladin Academy.”

“So that’s it—she must have rushed back from the front lines because of what happened last night.”

The mages murmured among themselves. Lin Lei looked up—the majority of the kingdom’s lords were familiar to him, but this one was a stranger. Her hair and eyes gleamed with gold, and she was a stunning beauty. She exuded the aura of holy light—a paladin, without doubt.

“A paladin, the Knight Lord?” Lin Lei guessed her identity. She was the mentor of all forest elf paladins, the first among their kind to awaken to the holy light. Born a commoner, she had fought countless battles and, as the Lord of Holy Light, commanded the war against the night elves.

“So it’s her,” Lin Lei thought. He was seeing her for the first time—for she had never attended any ceremonies or celebrations in the past. The reasons were not only her busy duties; she also harbored a dislike for Winnie, and, by extension, for Winnie’s son.

“Lady Bai, welcome back.”

The headmasters, upon seeing the Paladin, smiled warmly—if Winnie was considered the demon of Snow City, then this woman was its angel of righteousness. She rarely resided in the city, yet her reputation far surpassed that of any other headmaster.

“That’s right! She’s the one…”

Hearing her addressed as Lady Bai, Lin Lei recalled someone from the past. When the paladin approached, he looked up and asked, “Sister, are you the woman from the skeleton’s memories—the one who was framed by Mother with a poisoned apple?”

Beside him, the leopard couldn’t help but shudder. For Lin Lei to address someone as ‘sister’ surely meant he was up to something.

“To think Winnie could give birth to a child like this,” Lady Bai remarked, her gaze lingering on Lin Lei’s bandages, her heart aching all the more. This child’s character was nothing like his mother’s. He possessed such a sense of justice—he ought to be protected. Clearly, Winnie had failed in her duty as a mother.

“You saw the skeleton’s memories?” Lady Bai glanced at the coffin. The bones within were arranged beautifully, proof of Lin Lei’s care. “So that’s why you were willing to humble yourself and tidy up its remains.”

She turned and regarded Lin Lei for a moment, then bent down.

“Little prince, I’ve already heard all about your actions.” She gently stroked Lin Lei’s head. Along her way, she had seen many elves praying for his safety, which filled her with guilt. “Who would have thought the child born of that demon would be so noble? My prejudice was too deep.”

Lin Lei had boldly chosen to self-destruct to protect Snow City. Lady Bai now felt the full weight of her own unfairness—she had never met Lin Lei, yet had judged him simply for his parentage. That was a mistake she could not deny.

“You have earned my respect!”

Having said this, the paladin straightened, drew her sword, and looked to her right. “Winnie, don’t even think about escaping!”

In the crowd to the right, Winnie, who had been ready to slip away, froze in place.

“Ahaha, Lady Bai, it’s been so long!” She scratched her head and laughed. “Lovely weather today, isn’t it?”

Lin Lei stared, as if seeing a new world. This was odd—Mother seemed terrified of the paladin, yet in the skeleton’s memories, she’d shown not a hint of fear.

“When will you repay the money you owe me?” Lady Bai’s next words made everything clear to Lin Lei—so Winnie owed her money!

“No wonder!” Lin Lei nodded to himself. The Cleric Academy had been sold to the Paladin Academy—he should have guessed it was collateral for Winnie’s debts.

“Just give me one more year! One year!” Winnie pleaded. “I’ve found a new way to make a fortune, I’ll definitely pay you back!”

“Your so-called way means having your son sing for money?” Golden flames flickered from Lady Bai. “I finally understand, Winnie. I should have known—cold-blooded as you are, how could you be a proper mother? So you’ve been using your own child to make money!”

Lin Lei nodded vigorously. Indeed, that woman was utterly despicable!

“You’re exaggerating. He adores me!” Winnie denied. “How could someone unmarried like you comprehend the deep affection between a mother and her child?”

Lady Bai’s anger only grew. She turned to Lin Lei, “Do you love your mother?”

Lin Lei paused, then pointed to his bandaged body.

“Mother, if a mother leaves her child like this, how could he still love her?”

Admittedly, he’d triggered his own self-destruction, but the skeleton and the machine armor had both been concocted by Winnie. Lin Lei would never miss a chance to retaliate.

“And… it was you who resurrected the skeleton, too,”

Lin Lei added.

“So everything that happened last night was your doing!”

“Winnie!” Lady Bai was furious. She’d suspected as much on her way here—resurrection spells were Winnie’s specialty. Not only had she used her son as a tool for profit, but she didn’t even care for his life, sending him into battle against such formidable foes!

By the goddess, what a wretched woman! And the little prince—how pitiful he was! To have such a mother from birth, what suffering he must have endured!

“For this child’s sake, I can no longer let you off! Winnie, I challenge you to a duel! Even if I lose my title as Lord, I must teach you a lesson!”

Lady Bai declared her challenge, but Winnie turned and bolted.

“I’d have to be mad to duel you—I’m the queen!”

“When have you ever acted like a queen?”

Lady Bai gave chase, and the two figures quickly vanished. Soon, sounds of battle echoed from the distant woods.

Lin Lei raised his hand to watch. Each time the holy light flared, his spirits rose a little higher.

“That woman is incredible—to actually suppress Mother. I admire her.” He turned to one of the royal mages. “What’s her name? I want to get to know her better.”

That paladin seemed to have mistaken him for someone noble and selfless—Lin Lei loved such people; they always seemed so easy to use.

The royal mage answered, “Lady Bai.”

Lin Lei waved dismissively. “I’m not asking for her family name, I want her given name.”

“Your Highness, her name is Bai Xiaojie,” the mage replied. “But she prefers to be called Lady Bai.”

Bai Xiaojie—what a peculiar name, but Lin Lei reluctantly accepted it; at least there was a ‘little’ in the middle.

“Oh, by the way, Your Highness, we’ve converted that bathhouse into a bedroom for you,” the royal mage suddenly reported.

“What, a bedroom?” Lin Lei was surprised. “Why?”

“There’s a mana node beneath the bathhouse,” the mage explained. “Training there will yield twice the results with half the effort.”