Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 919 - 920: Discordant Voices

After receiving Haiying’s assurance, Yumo obediently followed Haiying and his Silver Arrowhead troops back to the Church Nation’s capital, the holy city of Vinati.

She had only one purpose for coming here, which was to meet Mengxi and inquire about the matter Yuan’er had mentioned.

Yumo believed that Mengxi was unaware of this matter and was simply being kept in the dark by her subordinates.

Once she understood the details, the conflict between the Church Nation and her children would surely be easily resolved. If Mengxi was being controlled by people with ulterior motives within the Church Nation, Yumo would not hesitate to send those foolish insects to meet the King of Hell. She was not worried about them playing any tricks. In the face of absolute power, conspiracies and schemes could not stir up any waves.

However, before getting to the bottom of everything, Yumo had no choice but to go through some formalities.

Therefore, she obediently followed Haiying’s wishes and, with the help of the maids, changed into a brand new ceremonial dress and arrived at the Silver Moonlight Grand Cathedral in the center of Vinati to attend the welcome party prepared by the high-ranking officials of the Church Nation to welcome her.

Originally thinking it would just be meeting a few high-ranking officials of the Church Nation,

But the moment the door opened, Yumo found that she was quite mistaken.

This banquet was not as low-key and simple as Haiying had described!!

The hall, enveloped in a bright and radiant light, was decorated with all kinds of dazzling and festive decorations. The level of extravagance was beyond what Yumo could describe in words. Even Yuan’er’s engagement banquet in Night Wish City before was probably not as stunning as this.

Not only was the scene magnificent, but the number of attendees also exceeded several hundred, completely surpassing Yumo’s expectations.

The moment they saw Yumo enter,

The high-ranking officials of the Church all knelt on one knee and extended their most respectful greetings to Yumo.

"Welcome back, Your Highness!"

The sound, like a bell, surged towards Miss Yumo like a tidal wave.

After the greetings ended, the people around her suddenly swarmed forward, surrounding Yumo in their midst.

Fortunately, Yumo was someone who had seen grand occasions and would not stand there like a little girl, not knowing what to do. After a moment of astonishment, the girl showed a graceful smile and thanked everyone for their welcome. At this moment, the noble upbringing and etiquette that Sebastian had taught her once again came in handy.

Of course, While dealing with the greetings from the high-ranking officials of the Church Nation, Yumo did not forget to fiercely glare at Haiying, who had accompanied her in.

"Where’s the low-key you promised?!"

Yumo questioned with her eyes.

Unfortunately, This Church Nation Wing named Haiying seemed to be missing a few screws in certain aspects. He did not see the reprimand in Yumo’s eyes at all and instead said with some regret,

"I apologize, Your Highness. Because we had to keep a low profile, the welcome banquet was only held within the cathedral, and the attendees were only invited from the high-ranking officials still in the holy city, the bishops from various places who had time to come, and representatives from some prestigious families in the holy city. It may be a bit simple, so please forgive me."

"..."

Seeing the other party’s serious apology, Yumo was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing how to comment.

"Sigh..."

In the end, she could only resignedly sigh and pretend to be happy while greeting one important figure of the Church Nation after another who came to pay their respects to her.

Uh,

I thought I only came to find Mengxi?

How did it turn into this situation?

…

On the other side,

The guests who had been waiting for a long time in the Silver Moonlight Grand Cathedral, after Yumo entered the grand cathedral, almost always kept their eyes on her.

This could not be blamed on them.

After all, Their Empress was simply too eye-catching. Just one glance was enough to capture everyone’s gaze.

She could be described as a stunning beauty.

After being styled by the stylist, her black and red gradient, slightly curled hair cascaded over her shoulders, with part of it coiled up like a noblewoman. Her pair of scarlet, clear, and dignified eyes were bright and piercing. Her soft and full red lips, her delicate and exquisite little nose sat prettily on her beautiful, gentle, and elegant face. Coupled with her graceful and smooth cheeks, her flawless fair skin, she was a truly peerless beauty with unparalleled charm.

Paired with the white ceremonial dress outlined with gold threads and inlaid with soft blue sapphires, the dancing long skirt perfectly showcased the black-haired girl’s transcendent beauty to the fullest.

Although everyone present had seen the portrait of the Empress Consort on the missing person notice, after seeing the real person, they couldn’t help but sigh...

"What kind of nonsense did that painter draw!"

If their Majesty was not also a divine-like creation, many Church Nation officials would have probably lost their minds on the spot.

Both beautiful and elegant.

Indeed worthy of being the Empress Consort. No wonder Her Majesty was so infatuated with this young lady from the Black Rose family.

After coming back to their senses, most of the Church Nation officials showed expressions of "sudden realization." They quickly straightened their attire and stepped forward to extend sincere greetings to the Empress Consort. Regarding the return of this Empress Consort who had helped Her Majesty grow, the people of the Church Nation almost all felt genuinely delighted.

However, There are always some exceptions.

Among the young ladies from prestigious families who were invited to attend the welcome party, there were a few who harbored different emotions.

Staring at that black-haired girl who was enjoying being the center of attention, a few young ladies dressed in luxurious ceremonial dresses couldn’t help but have a trace of hostility in their eyes.

"That woman..."

-_-

"Sigh..."

…

Facing one enthusiastic Church Nation official after another, Yumo sighed helplessly.

She didn’t particularly enjoy this type of social work to begin with.

However, Hearing them address her as "Empress Consort and Your Highness" one after another, it somehow felt... quite pleasing?

Strange.

Yumo thought in puzzlement.

But what puzzled her even more was the current situation at the welcome reception.

"She’s not here?"

After dealing with the Minister of Commerce, Yumo muttered softly in confusion.

She, Of course, referred to that silly Mengxi.

She had been missing for six years, and now that she had finally returned, that girl should have been eager to come out and welcome her, right?

However, now, Quietly scanning the crowd inside the grand cathedral, Yumo was disappointed to find that Mengxi was not among them.

That silly girl, Was she really in seclusion as Haiying had said? Or was she not in the Church Nation at all, and the Church Nation people were just using her identity to act willfully?

Thinking of this, Yumo’s expression couldn’t help but darken. However, the girl naturally wouldn’t act rashly. There were some things she still needed to further confirm.

"You’re Miss Yu, right?"

A female voice with a somewhat unusual tone suddenly came from behind Yumo.

Hm?

Another visitor?

Although somewhat impatient, Yumo still managed to squeeze out a kind smile and gently turned her head to look at the four young ladies in luxurious attire behind her.

"And you are?"

"I am the eldest daughter of the Baylor family, Hiya Baylor. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness." The woman with purple curly hair at the forefront respectfully curtsied to Yumo.

"Miss Hiya? It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Your Highness."

Hiya responded with a smile and patted her chest as if "relieved."

"Your Highness, you’ve been missing for a full six years. It’s wonderful that you can return now. Before, we thought that Your Highness had already passed away. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been impossible to find any trace of you throughout the entire continent."

With that, Hiya’s tone changed, and she asked curiously:

"Where exactly have you been all these years?"

"About that, I apologize, but it’s not very convenient to discuss those matters at the moment."

"Is that so? By the way, Your Highness, there’s something I wanted to tell you. Umm, it might be a bit presumptuous of me to suddenly say this. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"What is it? Just say it directly."

"Your Highness, actually, within the Church, quite a few people have doubts about your identity. Umm, are you really..."

"..."

Hearing these words, Yumo slightly furrowed her brows.

As expected, Her identity was being doubted?

But before Yumo could say anything, the Church Nation Wing Haiying, who was following Yumo like a bodyguard, directly darkened his expression and glared at the purple-haired girl with a serious gaze:

"Are you questioning Her Highness’s identity?"

"No, no, how would I dare question Her Highness? Of course, I know that her Highness is not an imposter. It’s just that I think Your Highness, should still prove her identity again. After all, within the Church, there are still some people who doubt Your Highness’s identity. I feel it’s better to dispel their doubts. Otherwise, if rumors spread around later, it will affect Your Highness’s reputation, right?"

"What doubts are there to have?!"

"Well, Her Highness disappeared for six years without any news. Many people think that Her Highness is no longer alive. Now that she suddenly appears, it’s inevitable to have some doubts. Who knows if it’s like that imposter last time, deliberately disguising herself as Her Highness, wanting to take advantage of the Girl of Destiny’s seclusion to do as she pleases~"

"But Her Highness is wearing those earrings!"

"A single item can’t prove anything, right? If Her Highness had truly passed away, and if some people found her grave and used her belongings to impersonate her, it’s not impossible, right? Judging identity based on a pair of earrings seems a bit inappropriate. Don’t you think so, Lord Haiying?"