"You were amazing, young miss," admired one of the guildsmen. "I always admired your intellect but never thought that you had such useful abilities."
This bootlicking has been happening ever since Cecily scared away the monster. The ironic thing is that she did not even remember it but was traumatized instead.
The illusion that he made her see made her confused. The dark being could have sacrificed her, but he did not. Instead, he taught her a lesson.
That did not make sense. Cecily knew that the best way to kill a lamb is to make it trust you, not the other way around. It seems this dark being was angry that she even trusted him.
'Does that make it trustable?' she was conflicted. Her suspicions were there before he attempted anything, and they stemmed out of her fear.
