Villain Steal the Heroines

Silence!

A chill inducing, pin drop silence shrouded the hall.

Crack!

which was only broken by the splintering sounds of the silver sphere that could not withstand the force of my title for more than a few seconds.

Crumble!

turning into dust with a clattering sound like sand falling.

Looking around the hall, I saw everyone dumbfounded, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

Taking this moment of silence as an opportunity, my father, who wasn't shocked as he knew the result years ago, announced the end of the title ceremony.

"Today, I'd like to tell everyone that my son, Luke,'s title has been successfully awakened, which is an S rank, Ruler of Light."

"This....!"

His words made everyone come back to their senses, making them realise that everything happening in front of them was real.

Impossible!

Unbelievable!

Nonsense!

They all came to their senses after hearing my father's words, and as they did, some of the people who were sitting among them couldn't help but instinctively stand up in disbelief, while the ones who were standing stood there speechless with their eyes wide open after remembering the words that were displayed on the silver sphere.

However, before anyone among them could say anything, a loud shout from the right side of the hall suppressed their presence and halted their movement.

"Everyone! Please step aside."

Everyone immediately turned their attention to the voice, as if it were an angelic proclamation.

Hearing that authoritative voice, the people who were standing there dumbfounded and speechless couldn't help but move aside instinctively to make room for the people dressed in white religious garb who were full of excitement.

When everyone realised the identities of these people, they understood why these crazy people were invited here today.

The crowd was in a state of anticipation and admiration for what was about to unfold, and they couldn't help but be awestruck by the Duke's ability to plan so boldly.

You guessed it right—the people that shouted just now were the people of the Church of Light.

A group of paladins and priests, led by the archbishop himself, came running towards me on the stage, and because my father had already instructed the guards not to intervene in their matter, no one stopped them either.

"Lord Luke... no, our hero, our Holy Son!"

But instead of going towards my father, they came straight towards me, and without giving me a chance, the archbishop held my hands with tears in his eyes.

There was no formality in his actions, and he simply changed my honorifics. His voice cracked with emotion as he declared me the holy son and prayed for my health.

But instead of getting mad or trying to push his hand away because he was too excited, I took the initiative and grabbed his hands and shook them as a handshake.

"Hello, Archbishop Drake. It's great to finally put a face to the name I've known for so long and the deeds I've admired."

"It's nice to meet you too, the rumoured genius of the Steeline family; you're even better than the rumours. hahaha."

"I appreciate the compliment; it was all my parents' hard work; they taught me well."

Calmly, I smiled while shaking his hand, and he, being the type of individual he is, immediately quelled his earlier excitement, collected himself, and did the same.

Actually, as a person who had read the novel and knew about the ins and outs of many things from my God's perspective, I knew all the reasons why the Archbishop was so enthusiastic just now that, without any hesitation and without my status even being officially recognised, he called me the holy son.

In this novel, "The Reincarnated Hero of Arcedia," one of the main heroines is a saintess of the Church of Light.

Cliché, right?

But what's interesting is that she plays an important role in the story as a saintess with very significant power and position within the denomination.

With her A rank title, which is similar to but lower than mine as ruler of light, she becomes the saintess, gets the blessings of the goddess, and saves the denomination by taking on the role of the saintess.

This helps the denomination a lot in the Holy Kingdom, where different religions are fighting with each other, which eventually makes them respect and adore the saintess with all their hearts, making her authority and status all the more powerful.

However, now that the Church of Light still has no saint, because the future saintess is still an ordinary little girl at the moment who hasn't awakened her title yet, and since the denomination urgently needs someone to hold the position, they can only pin their hopes on me, who is an even better choice than some saintess who doesn't have an S rank title.

Anyway, as the holder of the title "Ruler of Light," I'm already a hero, which is thought to be a direct gift from the goddess and is almost as important as the pope himself, who is like the goddess's messenger.

To these fanatical believers, I'm worth an infinite amount to them.

And although most people are unaware of these behind-the-scenes logics and complications, even they understand the position and status that a hero and a holy son hold.

─Are my ears working fine? Did I hear correctly that the archbishop called him the holy son?

─Fool! not only the holy son but the hero too.

hisss!

─This is devastating news for anyone who was against the Steeline family.

─Our family must be informed.

─Yes, let me inform them—it looks like there will be a new wave, named Luke Steeline, blowing into the kingdom soon. Only God knows what kind of impact it will have on us in the future.

─Now that the Steeline has the support of the church, I believe it is better to be friends with them rather than enemies.

When the people below heard the Archbishop call me "holy son," they were so shocked that some of them literally dropped their glasses from their hands.

Some of them started talking about it among themselves, while others dashed off, either to the balcony or the garden, in a hurry to tell their families about the situation using the communication devices that they had brought along with them.

A faint smile appeared on my face as I observed such a situation.

Everything was going according to my plan, as if I were a conductor leading and controlling this large group of individuals while they played to the beat of my rhythm.

The explosion of the bombs I gave them today, within less than 30 minutes after my arrival at the hall, left them shell shocked.

Most of them didn't even have the time to put everything together and analyse the situation.

However, even the foolest of them understood one thing tonight: that from today onwards, the genius of Steeline has the backing of the whole Church of Light, has an S rank title, and is an untouchable existence.

Some people who had bad thoughts after the display of my sword apprentice rank or the news of me having a title were now cursing themselves inwardly and warning themselves not to even think of anything bad against me, who now not only has such a doting father as Duke Brandon but also a great backer like Archbishop Drake, or the whole Church of Light if their ears heard correctly just now.

They were now even wondering how to make a good relationship with me and tie their sail to my boat, as I was still a kid and could be swayed easily.

"Holy son, can you show me the power of your title again, or do you need some time to get used to it as you have only awakened it today?"

"There's no need to wait, Archbishop; although not properly, I can still activate my title."

"That's wonderful, as expected from the child gifted by the goddess."

With that, I instantly urged my aura and activated my title as my hands started to glow, sending warmth to everyone near me.

"How about it? Is this enough?"

"Amazing! Holy son, do you know the origin and symbolism of this title?" He asked like a teacher instructing his best student with a smile while stroking his white beard.

"With all due respect, Archbishop, I know a little about some things, but as you know, this isn't the right time to discuss these things."

"Hoo! Then what does the holy son suggest?"

"Simple! You all can enjoy the banquet and stay here in the Steeline castle tonight; you are all our esteemed guests, and once the party is over, we will have a good long chat later in the morning. Until then, give this birthday boy a chance to show his hospitality to all of you uncles from the Church of Light."

"Hahaha! Goodness, what a calm and composed nature, as expected from the hero, our holy son. Then we would follow your advice and enjoy this night since we got such good news; it certainly deserves a celebration."

After that, the archbishop chatted with me for a few more seconds, congratulated me on my birthday, and excitedly took other members of his group down the stage and out of the hall, probably going to inform the cardinal about this news.

Nevertheless, I didn't stop him, because this was all I wanted: to let them know and see me as their beacon of hope.

Anyway, the night was still dark, and as soon as the Archbishop left with his group, my impatient mother grabbed my hand, took me down the stage with her, among the crowd below, and one by one started introducing me to various high ranking people.

While my mother was speaking with one of his friends and my father was also busy dealing with people, I secretly saw the group of the Greenberg family discussing something among themselves in the corner.

But because the hall was filled with people talking with each other about this sudden situation, the Greenberg family's group wasn't as conspicuous.

However, I didn't neglect them, nor had I forgotten about them, so without wasting any time, I ordered the system in my mind.

'System, spy on Selina's mother without her notice.'

[Ding! Host can buy a one time spy charm from the mall; it costs 20 Destiny coins and can be activated on anyone within a distance of 30 metres, but it has a time limit of only 2 hours.]

[Does the host confirm the purchase?]

'F*ck! so expensive, why don't you just say directly that you want to rob me? Anyway, buy it, activate it, and target─Stacey Greenberg.'

Soon, the system confirmed my purchase, and silently activated the spy charm on Stacey.

[Spy charm activated]

'Let's see what secret plans you're hatching, my dear mother-in-law. Oh! I forgot, this time you wouldn't even get the chance to call yourself that, you b*tch.'