Suddenly realizing that her actions might be somewhat misunderstood, Ariel's face flushed with an embarrassed blush.

"I mean, take off the robe you're wearing on the outside."

As she spoke, Ariel had already removed her Saintess robe and held it together with her cloak in her hands.

"Your clothes are dirty. Wear mine for now to make do, and later when the activity ends, we'll take them back to wash."

Ariel knew that Celitia's health was poor, and if she just made her take off her outer garment, she might catch cold and fall ill.

So she'd give her own clothes to her instead. After all, Ariel had always been robust and healthy—this bit of cold wouldn't affect her.

Celitia refused: "If it's dirty, it's dirty. I'll just change clothes after we go back."

"No," Ariel narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'm telling you to change, so you change. We agreed beforehand that while you're at the church, you listen to me."

Who agreed to that with you...

Celitia felt increasingly helpless.

But she knew that Ariel had this uncompromising personality—unless you could convince her, no one could go against her wishes.

"It's just taking off an outer garment, no need to be shy. Besides, I'll block you so the people outside can't see."

While saying this, Ariel's own face imperceptibly reddened a bit.

Ariel actually had no ulterior motives and hadn't intended to make her misunderstand.

It's just that the girl before her, completely unable to resist, cornered by her, with eyes wide from surprise, looked like a panicked yet well-behaved little lamb.

It felt... somewhat cute.

Celitia wanted to step back, but her spine was already against the wall, unable to put any distance between herself and Ariel.

She had no choice but to raise her head and look at the crimson-haired woman before her.

"It's not shyness, just somewhat... somewhat unaccustomed to this."

The former Celitia could still look down at Ariel; now Ariel was more than half a head taller than her.

She could see that after Ariel removed her loose robe, she revealed the black form-fitting clothes underneath that were convenient for movement, outlining perfect body curves that retained feminine grace while being full of fluid strength.

She stood in front of Celitia, blocking the light falling from ahead, her lion-like golden eyes gazing at her, giving Celitia an intense feeling of oppression with nowhere to escape.

An increasingly strange feeling arose in Celitia's heart.

She had never imagined that she would one day be cornered by Ariel with no way to retreat.

Yet it wasn't a life-or-death battle, but being forced to put on her clothes.

This was... too strange.

So, did life's encounters inevitably develop in absurd directions?

Seeing that Celitia hadn't moved for a long time, Ariel had a sudden realization: "I understand... it won't work with me watching either, right? Then I'll just close my eyes."

Wait, it's just changing an outer garment—could you please not say things that cause misunderstandings?

Celitia shook her head, giving up: "No need."

As she was speaking, someone outside the wooden shed curiously walked over, apparently wanting to see what the two were doing.

Ariel quickly turned around and shouted irritably: "What are you looking at? Are you done with your work? Go do your job!"

The priests who had come over to listen to gossip immediately scattered like mice seeing a cat.

Celitia felt even more helpless: "Are you sure this won't spread strange rumors?"

"If you would just move a bit faster instead of dawdling, there wouldn't be any rumors to spread." Ariel gave her an annoyed look.

Celitia had no choice but to untie her belt, carefully roll up the outer robe she was wearing, and take off the monk's robe.

Taking the outer robe Ariel handed her, she put it on and buttoned it up one button at a time.

The clothes still retained her body warmth, covering the faint chill around her body and making her feel very warm.

Unlike Sophia's sweet lavender scent, Ariel's clothes only carried a clean and refreshing soap pod fragrance.

"Wear the cloak too, it'll be warmer."

Ariel casually shook out the cloak and put it on Celitia.

"I don't need—"

Celitia tried to refuse, but Ariel had already irresistibly put the cloak on her, even tying the strings meticulously.

Her refusing hand awkwardly remained suspended in mid-air, and Celitia had to quietly withdraw it.

"Aren't you cold yourself?" Celitia sighed.

"Cold? My body isn't that weak." Ariel waved her hand dismissively. "Take care of yourself. I don't want you getting sick and then having Sophia blame me for not taking good care of you and come cause me trouble."

Seeing Ariel bring up Sophia to pressure her, Celitia had to suppress her last bit of reluctance.

"Alright," Celitia took a deep breath. "Then thank you, Saintess."

"You're not my subordinate, you don't need to address me like that." Ariel felt somewhat uncomfortable. "Just call me by my name."

Celitia blinked: "But don't the people also call you that?"

Ariel thought, she wasn't like ordinary people either.

Addressing her as "Saintess" felt more like distance than respect.

Forget it, they'd only known each other a few days—no need to force it.

Ariel didn't continue insisting.

"You must be tired? Go rest over there for a while."

She stepped aside and showed Celitia a faint smile.

"If there's anything, feel free to come find me."

With that, Ariel turned and walked out, leaving in her usual hurried manner.

Watching Ariel's retreating figure, Celitia was somewhat dazed.

That seemed to be the first time she had seen Ariel show a genuine smile.

Celitia's feelings were quite complex.

Having been opponents with Ariel for so many years, Celitia actually didn't harbor any ill feelings toward her.

As people both from humble origins, she even felt a sense of mutual understanding.

If their positions hadn't been opposed, her former self might have been able to become friends with her.

But unfortunately... there weren so many "what ifs."

When Celitia returned to the wooden shed, she felt countless gazes falling on her.

This Saintess robe was indeed quite eye-catching, but weren't they looking a bit too frequently?

From their gazes, Celitia sensed the flavor of gossip.

Speaking of which, how were these priests and monks just like those students at the academy, loving to listen to gossip?!

Father Hope, who had originally been distributing food on the other side, even ran over and patted her shoulder with loving kindness.

"You really do have a good relationship with Lady Ariel. You must keep it up, Celitia."

"Keep it up?" Celitia found this word very strange.

Father Hope looked around like a thief before whispering in Celitia's ear:

"With Lady Ariel's temper, only His Majesty the King and His Grace the Archbishop can suppress her a bit. But she actually listens to you and even gave you her clothes to wear—this treatment is quite rare. In the future, please help us keep an eye on Ariel. If she loses her temper, you must help us put in good words."

Father Hope wore an expression of "I understand, I understand" and patted Celitia's shoulder again.

He hurried back in the direction he came from, giving Celitia no chance to explain.

"..."

Celitia was speechless.

What exactly had they misunderstood?

The idea of her controlling Ariel—such a thing was completely impossible, right?