The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Ella wouldn't bother explaining the abstract commands she gave; she just kept shifting the blame onto the other person.

This kind of sophistry, which involves throwing mud at the problem, often requires bystanders to understand the underlying reasons in order to discern who is truly at fault.

But whether it was Reinaldo, who was leading the Knights of Judgment on the left wing at the time, or the other officers on the right wing in the rear, most of them were far away on the battlefield and could only vaguely see part of the situation. It was difficult for them to understand the underlying reasons for the incident.

Only Galahad and his adjutants stationed on the front lines roughly knew where the problem lay, but being in the thick of it, they couldn't explain it clearly in a short time.

"What do you know?! Augustus's consistent tactic is to use heavy cavalry to break through enemy lines; this arrangement is the most suitable way to deal with him!"

"Wow, you're so meticulous in your calculations, so why are so many of our people dying? If you ask me, they all died because of your stupidity."

"Sophia, watch your words!!!"

"You should say that to the dead knights and priests, because if they could still speak, they'd probably be even more rude than I am."

"You... fine, I'll tell you, there must be a traitor among us, otherwise Augustus wouldn't know our movements so well!"

"Oh, so now it's about an inside man again. Your brilliant plan killed so many people. If there really was an inside man, it would definitely be you, right?"

"By the Holy Light, you are simply...!!!"

"Quiet."

Finally, perhaps because he could no longer bear it, or perhaps because he did not want the current strategic meeting to become a mere fragrance gathering, the host, who had been sitting at the head of the long table, spoke softly.

The entire hall fell silent immediately.

Galahad's face turned bright red, his chest heaving with anger, but he obediently kept his mouth shut.

Ella crossed her arms and glanced casually to the side, a new scheme brewing in her mind.

The girl who sat in the host's seat and spoke coldly was none other than Theresa, the new head of the Boromeo family.

Chapter 131 Minor Flaw

"Galahad is right. The fact that our deployment could be completely controlled by the enemy means there is no doubt that there is a traitor."

Theresa's tone was calm and cold, and the candlelight illuminated her face, just as Ye Xiao had seen her in the Seven Seas City.

While Ella appeared to be listening to Theresa's speech, she subtly glanced at a girl in a white robe sitting alongside the other members of the Boromeo family at one side of the long table.

The girl had delicate features, her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen, and she was unusually quiet.

The meeting went on for a while, and she didn't say anything, but judging from her attire, she didn't seem to be a servant or anything like that.

Is this guy from the Boromeo family?

Decari had told Ye Xiao about the Boromeo family. Among the direct descendants, the only girls aged between ten and thirty that matched Ella's knowledge were Agnes and Theresa, the two daughters of the family head, Regri.

Agnes Ye Xiao had seen her before, and Theresa was also speaking in the main seat of the house; neither of them were clearly the girl in the white robe with her eyes slightly lowered.

Upon discovering something suspicious, Ella immediately connected with the Divine Kingdom through Ye Xiao's connection and sent a message remotely, inquiring about the girl from Decari.

Soon, Ye Xiao received a reply from Decali, who said that the council hall had previously been used for family meetings, and only the direct descendants of the Boromeo family were allowed to enter.

The young girl Ella described was someone Decari had never seen during the two months he spent at Boromeo's house.

Even if they were direct descendants of the Boromeo family, and not autistic children, they would still move around the mansion to some extent. Logically speaking, Decari should have seen such a person before.

Therefore, it is not difficult to guess that this girl is probably not a member of the Boromeo family, and may have only appeared at the Boromeo family in the last few days.

Why would someone of unknown origin stand so close to the other members of the Boromeo family?

It should be noted that the upper-class nobles of the Holy City place great importance on elaborate and complicated traditional etiquette. Even during wartime, the position of each person standing around the long table in such high-level meetings is closely related to their status and bloodline.

The astute Ella immediately used Ye Xiao to have Decarri secretly inquire about the girl in the castle, while outwardly she continued to put on a sour face at the conference table and shift the blame to Galahad.

“Head of the Teresa family is right. I do believe there may be a traitor in the army. I suggest a thorough investigation of Nagalahad’s men.”

"Why are you investigating me???"

Galahad, who had been quiet, almost exploded again upon hearing Ella's words.

"I was talking about investigating your 'subordinates,' and you jumped to conclusions so quickly. Are you panicking because I hit the nail on the head?"

Ella raised an eyebrow.

"You're slandering me!"

Galahad's eyes were filled with hatred, as if he wanted to devour Ella. "I am utterly loyal to Lady Theresa. If we're talking about problems, yours are far more serious than mine!"

"I killed that troublesome servant knight for you, and I led the men to hunt down the True Saintess. You say all these nice things, but look at what you've actually done!"

Ella shrugged without fear. As the Holy Maiden of Glacier and the Holy Maiden of Sophia Town, her battle record was verifiable except for Ye Xiao. At most, there was a slight controversy over today's military order, but how could she be a traitor?

Everyone here seems like a traitor, except for her.

Thanks to this, even if Ella brazenly confronted Galahad and made false accusations, the latter couldn't do anything about her.

Theresa seemed to think so too. It was impossible not to be suspicious of the strange orders that "Sophia" had given today, especially since she had a distinguished record of military achievements.

Therefore, she could only mediate their argument once again.

"From now on, I will be in unified command of the entire army, and deployment orders will be issued separately to each unit for execution."

With a formidable enemy at hand, the Holy City army might have to continue their advance the next day after only one night's rest, so they had no time to waste searching for the traitor.

"But……"

Galahad wanted to argue, but a cold look from Theresa silenced him.

"Hmph, I'm relieved to have Lady Theresa in command. If this guy were still in command, I'm really afraid he'd get angry and sabotage me during the battle. It's a small matter if he settles personal scores, but it would be a big deal if he missed a crucial opportunity."

Ella smiled and nodded, as if approving of Theresa's decision.

Galahad kept his mouth shut, but his throbbing veins had already crushed the thick table in front of him to pieces.

Under Theresa's strong control, the meeting finally moved on to the next step: how to build a defense against the impending arrival of the First and Fourth Knights.

……

Although there was much discussion and many plans were proposed at the meeting, the final deployment would be issued by Theresa to each legion individually as a means to prevent traitors from leaking information.

Therefore, even if it were Ella this time, she would only know the tasks assigned to the Third Knights under her jurisdiction.

However, Ella didn't care about this. She had already achieved her goal of stirring up trouble. Since it was the final battle, the various military departments were still unfamiliar with each other's deployments. Even if she openly defected with her troops, no one could stop her.

Compared to this, the white-robed girl who remained silent from beginning to end and whose origins were unknown piqued her curiosity even more.

Ella had a gut feeling that this might be related to the reason for the coup in the Boromeo family.

At the time, Decali conducted a secret investigation after the mutiny. The official news circulating in the family was that Theresa had imprisoned her father, her second brother Ivano, and her sister Agnes in the dungeon beneath the castle.

But in reality, Decari secretly sent people to check the dungeon, and there was no trace of the three of them.

Ella tried to sense Agnes's location using the trace of divine power she had left inside Agnes, but she couldn't find her exact location.

The three members of the Boromeo family seemed to have vanished from the castle that day, which was very strange.

Fortunately, this time Decarri managed to glean some important information from the upper echelons of the castle and reported it to Ye Xiao.

"They said that a person claiming to be from the Rossia family came to visit that day. She looked like a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, and she was somewhat similar to the one described by the Holy Maiden."

"But they came and went very quickly. Only a few messengers and guards stationed in the parliament hall noticed them that day."

So it belongs to the Rossia family. That's interesting.

While listening to the meeting, Ella continued to discreetly observe the girl.

Now she was certain that this guy was suspicious, but right now, she didn't know a suitable way to approach him.

Chapter 132 Two-Pronged Approach

So, as the meeting ended and the officers and family members who participated left one after another, the girl also left the main hall through a secluded side door.

If Ella hadn't been paying close attention, she might not have noticed the girl's movements.

Ella didn't linger in the main hall. She deliberately followed the other people and left through the main entrance. However, as she walked through the shadow cast by a candle on a stone pillar, she secretly released a few rats from under her skirt.

As soon as the rats emerged, they used the shadows to scurry into the corner, climbed up the walls and beams, and followed the direction of the suspicious girl.

It led to a secluded corridor, with a row of windows on one wall offering a view of the dense night outside the castle.

The cool moonlight streamed through the slightly dusty glass, and the girl in white robes stood quietly by the window, seemingly waiting for something.

Before long, Ella, with the help of the rat familiar's vision, saw Theresa and her bodyguards coming from the other end of the corridor.

This is hardly surprising, as Theresa deliberately took a detour after leaving the council hall to come from another direction, presumably to avoid attracting the attention of those with ulterior motives.

However, the two did not say anything after meeting. When the girl in the white robe saw Theresa's figure, she simply bowed very respectfully and then silently walked behind her like a servant.

This made Ella a little puzzled about the relationship between the two, and she carefully manipulated the mouse to lie in the shadows on the ceiling and continue to follow closely.

After they had walked quietly along the corridor for a while, and there was no one else around, the girl in white suddenly spoke in a low voice.

“My Lord, Mother wishes to inform you that she has made preparations.”

Just as she spoke, dark blue runes lit up on the floor tiles beneath her skirt, indicating that a soundproofing array had been activated.

Fortunately, the rat controlled by Ella was like a spider, with several tentacles extending from its belly and hanging from the ceiling above its head; otherwise, it might have been difficult to hear the voices of these people.

"No rush, we'll act when the Holy City advances."

Theresa's voice remained as cold as ever, but her expression held an unsettling gloom compared to her demeanor in the council.

Her chin was slightly raised, and the cold look in her eyes on her stern face was nothing like that of a noble lady born in a greenhouse.

"Secondly, the performance of the Third Knights was unexpectedly poor, so in the end, at least let them fulfill their duty as cannon fodder."

"clear."

The white-robed girl following closely behind nodded slightly and said no more.

Although the conversation was brief, Ella gleaned some crucial information from it.

Just as she expected, Theresa probably did have some problems, but there was something even more important: the family alliance was just cannon fodder for the enemy.

Ella was somewhat surprised. There were only a few armies in the entire Holy City, including the four major knightly orders, the Judgment Army, and the City Defense Army. What kind of tricks could these guys be hiding?

Could it be because of that fake saintess?

That doesn't quite add up. Sophia has already confessed that the fake saintess is the company's trump card, while this Teresa should be representing the Dark Shepherds.

What exactly is their trump card that rivals an army? Could it be that they are hiding another large private army in Rossiya?

But this doesn't seem very realistic. All of their 100,000 troops have to be deployed outside the castle. With an army of the same size, it's impossible for the Rossiya family to hide without revealing any trace.

Ella sat in the main tent of her assigned military camp, rubbing her chin. If the real battlefield wasn't actually here, then she would have to seriously consider how to deploy her troops next.

Why not just assume that the other side really does have an army hidden behind them? Then, what would be the most likely target for their attack?

Ella's gaze swept over the map hanging beside her, and without much hesitation, she focused on the central marker "Holy City".

In that case, tomorrow's battle plan will probably have to be changed. However, it would be too deliberate to have Augustus recall all his troops directly. Moreover, it is half a day's journey from here to the Holy City. The enemy will soon realize that something is wrong. In a worse case, if the allied forces here turn around to pursue, they may even be attacked from both sides.

Even if the family alliance only has 50,000 men left, it wouldn't be easy to take them all down in a short time if they were to hold out in Boromeo Castle and rely on the fortifications. It's also not feasible to take down this side first and then go back to reinforce the Holy City.

Or how about we try to "behead" Theresa directly?

Ella, through the mouse's eyes, watched Theresa as she returned to her bedroom.

But Ella doesn't know the specifics of Theresa's current situation; it could be brainwashing, mind control, or she could simply have been replaced.

Furthermore, considering Julius's presence here, the other side should also be prepared to guard against a decapitation strike.

Faced with the Dark Seekers and the company, Ella knew she couldn't be too cautious; taking advantage of her strengths and acting recklessly could lead to serious problems.

However, a decapitation strike is still worth trying, but it's best not to rush into action right now and to have a more comprehensive contingency plan.

Thinking about it carefully, all the officers and family members in the war meeting just now were the main war faction resisting the Holy City. Regardless of their opinions, even though they were now forced into a desperate situation, they were only thinking about how to defend and counterattack, but they did not consider seeking peace at all.

However, this is unreasonable. Judging from the previous situation where the Lazirus family was brought under their control, even among the members of the three major families, there should be some who want to "seek peace".

Perhaps out of fear, or perhaps out of faith, there are at least a few such people, if not many.

How could the Boromeo family achieve such complete and unwavering support for the war?

In other words, why did Teresa lock up her father and sister?

In that instant, Ella realized that she seemed to have grasped a key point.

Compared to the low probability of a family being entirely composed of pro-war members, the likelihood of the pro-peace faction being purged is obviously much greater.

So, has the original head of the family, Legry, already died?