"Finished..."

At this moment, everyone in the room had similar thoughts rising in their hearts.

Aunt Mima didn't expect her earlier praise to be so quickly contradicted.

Maggie's shock came from the sudden appearance of Macal. Her gaze followed Ogre to Macal—she knew her brother's life was pretty much over.

"If I trust a woman again, I'm a fool..."

Ogre felt embarrassed by his previous judgment and trust.

"Miss... Miss Geling?!"

With Macal's exclamation, everyone snapped back to reality.

Maggie quickly stepped in front: "No, brother, you saw wrong..."

"But she clearly turned around..."

Macal didn't think he was that foolish.

Moreover, Miss Geling's features almost perfectly matched those of the ethereal girl before him...

"Macal, close the window and get in here quickly!"

Aunt Mima's booming voice, combined with Maggie's blocking, finally brought some sense back to Macal.

He realized his earlier loss of composure and foolishness—it was a panicked reaction.

Yet the girl's face lingered in his mind: "I'm sorry!"

Although Macal moved swiftly, he couldn't help but try to sneak a peek at the girl behind Maggie, even if she was a dreamlike goddess, she wasn't as captivating as this fleeting glimpse of the girl.

How could anyone be so pure...

"Hurry up!"

"Okay... okay..."

As the window closed, Aunt Mima could no longer bring herself to praise Macal.

"Sorry, Miss Geling," Mima apologized sincerely.

She had promised to cover for the girl.

Sigh, it's all this stupid boy's fault!

So eager, he ruined his own chance...

Mima knew that once a boy was captivated by beauty, it was easy to idolize it.

This mindset greatly reduced the chances of successful pursuit.

"No..." Ogre shook his head, "It's..."

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The situation had already happened, so they needed to find a way to remedy it. If they acted well, the problem shouldn't be too big.

"Sigh... it's all this kid's fault. Maggie, go open the door." Looking at the innocent, dazed girl.

Mima's guilt suddenly surged; inexplicably, she felt a sense of wrongdoing.

"Okay, Mom..." Maggie, however, didn't think showing beauty was a big deal.

She just felt that her cousin might never recover in this lifetime.

'Uncle might end up without descendants because of this...' Maggie couldn't help but worry about her cousin's future.

In her view, the chances of Ogre being successfully pursued were close to zero—such a beautiful girl was only worthy of a hero or a prince.

...

"I didn't mean to..."

At the dining table, Macal never lifted his head; he couldn't resist looking at the girl.

To hide his embarrassment, he could only keep his head down.

"How can you protect Miss Geling like this?" Mima was truly frustrated with her nephew's lack of progress.

He didn't even dare to lift his head when meeting her, practically a turtle! How could he be a Paladin, more like a water turtle knight.

Ogre saw this and gently patted Macal's lowered head.

"No..."

"Problem..."

Ogre couldn't quite understand this human behavior, he muttered to himself: 'Is it really necessary...'

A strong warrior bowing down for a pretty face was hard for Ogre to comprehend.

Even if the one bowing was himself.

'Do not let desire and fame bind the free soul, true glory needs no proof; true courage may not require facing death, just be yourself, child...'

—"Words of the Dawn God" / On God and the Firstborn.

"Miss... Miss Geling, I, I really didn't expect it to be like this."

Ogre's gesture made Macal stutter even more, his face flushed, yet he still didn't dare to look directly at the girl's face.

"Lift your head, cousin, keeping it down is also a form of disrespect." Maggie's words were sharp, and they had an immediate effect.

"No, I, I just didn't expect it to be like this." Macal's gaze once again fell on the girl's face, and in that moment, he thought of many things...

Like the names of children.

The direct observation was far more stunning than the previous fleeting glimpse.

Even at this close distance, Ogre's skin showed no flaws.

Perfect as if crafted by the gods...

"Cousin/Macal!"

"Huh?"

As Ogre put on a mask, Macal finally snapped out of his near-enchanted state.

No, even when facing the allure of a succubus, he hadn't performed this poorly.

With his heart pounding faster.

Macal finally realized the truth—he was smitten.

This Paladin, who had dedicated his youth to the Church, felt a strong desire to marry for the first time.

Before meeting Ogre, Macal had always believed himself to be a man who valued inner beauty, respecting all girls and dreaming of finding one whose soul matched his.

Until now.

"Macal, you were staring at Miss Geling so intently, you'll scare her away." Mima was truly despairing over her nephew's behavior.

He hadn't even touched her hand and was already fantasizing...

How could there be any chance like this?

Women are attracted, not pursued through self-deprecation—Mima had been beautiful in her youth, so she knew this well, and vice versa.

However, to truly get along well, the most important thing—was equality, in every sense.

"Yeah, and you were drooling..." Maggie looked at the table with some disdain.

"No way..." Macal instinctively wanted to refute, but when he reached out, he realized he really had been drooling.

Damn, how could he be so out of control?

It must be the devil within affecting him!

Ogre had already put on the mask Maggie found earlier—she realized her face seemed to have a slightly overwhelming effect.

'As a combat tactic, it should be useful too, but unfortunately, it only works on humans.'

Ogre didn't think trolls or goblins would show any mercy.

The effect of a beautiful face on a Paladin like Macal was entirely due to the constraints of civilization and morality.

They understood restraint.

Unlike goblins, who would directly fight and restrain.

'A value derived from civilization...' Ogre thought of the slaves he saw in the Black Market.

If, if he appeared not as a nun but as a slave.

Would Macal still feel shy and hopeful?

Hard to say.

But Ogre always felt that the thing that allowed beauty to have an effect was fundamentally still power.

Only when civilization and race were strong.

Beauty would truly belong to oneself, and before being strong and independent—even the most beautiful face would never truly belong to oneself.

At most, it would elicit a sigh of regret.

Personality and will played a role that could almost be ignored.

'A path devoid of power is ultimately a crooked path.' After some thought, Ogre stopped thinking about how to use his face.

The value brought by this beauty was something he couldn't bear now.

"Alright, alright, let's eat something first. Maggie, come help me." Mima sighed inwardly and finally decided to let things take their course.

What if, what if the girl liked this kind of thing.

Though the probability was low...

"Okay, Mom." Maggie glanced at the two, then faced Macal with a fierce tone and clenched her fist: "Don't bully her."

"Uh..."

Macal couldn't believe that he, a dignified Paladin of Dawn, would have his character questioned.

He had properly passed the trials, after all.

"Hmph..."

"Alright, Maggie, let's go."

As Mima and her daughter left, the guest hall quickly quieted down.

"Um, Geling... uh, I'll get you some paper and pen."

Even facing Ogre with a mask, Macal was still a bit uneasy, unable to forget the face beneath the mask.

It turned out someone could be so beautiful that it overshadowed flaws.

"Okay..."

Ogre responded somewhat helplessly.

This was already deviating from his planned life in disguise.

"If there's anything you want, just let me know." Macal regained his composure and got up to leave.

When he brought the nun's attire earlier, he also brought a graphite pen specially purchased from the Church of Truth for writing.

But Mima took it too quickly, leaving him no time to explain.

'I wonder if Miss Geling has someone she likes...'

As soon as Macal left the room, he began to let his imagination run wild.

His current state was complicated—wanting to stay by the girl's side, yet worried his actions might offend her.

"I will definitely protect you... Geling."