Chapter 27 Good Idea

"It's okay." Melia faced the sun, her fingers playfully curved into an O shape: "The fun has just begun~"

The temple was silent, especially the dark room used to "receive" sacrifices.

The candle overhead burned out, and darkness quietly enveloped her. Elena opened her eyes in her sleep and drowsily grabbed the blanket.

Water, I'm so thirsty...I want to drink some water.

She stood up unconsciously and stepped on the edge of the blanket.

Whoosh—his body suddenly fell forward, and his arms reacted immediately, pushing heavily against the ground.

"Hiss..." She'd exerted too much force, and her joints ached slightly. She didn't really mind the pain, but her hazy sleepiness was completely shattered, and her consciousness returned to the dreary reality.

This is not the palace bedroom, but a cage prepared for them by the Temple of the Gods. Whether to kill or chop them up depends on the needs of the enemy.

[Oh no, I hope I can't fall asleep.] She took a deep breath and looked at the girl sleeping beside her: her thick long hair covered most of her face, and her frightened expression was completely relaxed in her sleep, and she bit her lower lip sweetly.

I really envy this guy, he sleeps so soundly.

Looking at the empty soup bowl, Elena pulled up the blanket, ready to sleep until tomorrow, when she could finally settle things with the high priest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to drift off to sleep.

It’s so quiet, everything around is so quiet, only the sound of my own breathing... breathe in, breathe out.

Wait, [only] my breath?!

With a swish, Elena dropped the blanket and slammed her knees to the ground. She crouched down beside Melia's body, her ear pressed against her small head.

Breathe in. Breathe in.

No, it's still just the sound of my breathing!

Is she breathing? Both her voice and the rise and fall of her chest seem very faint...

Elena couldn't help swallowing. Was it poison? Someone had poisoned the soup?

Is this the conspiracy of those bastards, to poison Muala's heir and then put the blame on her?

When the door was opened the next day, someone would surely shout "Murder" - and then seventeen or eighteen temple guards would rush in with spears raised, and carry her and the corpse to the High Inquisitor to convict her before Caesar returned.

When Caesar returns, who will remember a princess who committed suicide out of fear of punishment?

No, calm down, calm down first. Confirm whether she's dead or not, and when she died. Ophelia wouldn't attack right now, but Sura... Sura might do something like that.

Elena first used her fingers to test her breathing, but it was difficult to tell whether there was still a faint airflow at the tip of her nose.

[Little bastard, are you dead or not?] Thinking about how difficult the situation would be the next day, I became more and more anxious.

The fingers pressing on her neck seemed to be unable to find a pulse. Elena frowned and untied Melia's robe, throwing aside the gold pendant fastened on her chest.

Heartbeat is the most powerful sign. If Melia has no heartbeat, she must immediately transform into a dragon, break the fence and retreat without wasting a moment.

With her father not around, the people in the Temple of the Gods might just go all out and make her disappear from the face of the earth.

She put her ear against her heart and pressed her fingers on her carotid artery. She held her breath and slowly closed her eyes, trying to feel the faintest pulse.

Is there a beating...ah, yes!

Before he relaxed, his long eyelashes trembled, and a pair of emerald green eyes slowly opened, colliding with hers.

"ah--"

A mournful soprano voice cut through the night air, and the footsteps outside the door were much faster than when the soup was delivered.

"What happened? Are you okay?" The white-robed priest's voice was full of confusion.

"It's okay. She got up at night to get some water and I tripped her." Elena covered Melia's mouth tightly and replied through gritted teeth, "Hurry up and find some water."

"Okay, wait a minute." The footsteps at the door faded away.

"Wuwu, wuwu, wuwu!" Melia struggled desperately, her arms tightly wrapped around her chest.

Elena seemed to be able to see the accusation of "Oh my god, I'm going to be fucked!" in her eyes, and a nameless anger was surging in her head.

Damn it, if this guy lets me have wild thoughts and rumors, my honorable life will be completely over—

"Don't shout. I'm just worried that you'd die. I don't want to do anything to you!" Elena slowly moved her hand away and glared at her fiercely.

Melia, tears in her eyes, hugged the blanket and huddled aside: "Wow, wow, I don't believe it unless you swear..."

"Get lost." Elena was too lazy to explain and just turned over and lay down.

She closed her eyes, and there seemed to be a rustling sound in her ears. The atmosphere in the room was so awkward that it froze.

Why did she have to misunderstand me... Elena tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The terrifying scene of Melia flying around, accusing the princess of forcibly seizing a commoner girl, kept playing in her mind.

Ha...I'm impressed by her.

Elena slapped herself in her heart, turned over and patted the blanket gently: "Don't think too much, I was really listening to the heartbeat just now."

“…”

"I swear!"

"oh."

The people around him stopped trembling, and the awkward atmosphere seemed to dissipate a little.

Elena leaned on her arm and closed her eyes. "I have a friend...she might be able to send some information to me. We must unite now and deal with those bastards together."

She had been too lazy before, and based on her experience, she had concluded that nothing would happen to her. At most, she would be sent to the battlefield to take risks and win credit for others.

If they thought about it carefully, they were inside the temple. If the enemy really didn't want to behave like a human being, they could kill one and frame the other, or simply fake a double fight.

How can we put our fate in the hands of the enemy?

"How can we leave our fate in their hands?" Melia rolled over, her voice a little excited. "I've already thought of a plan. Just wait and see what I do tomorrow!"

"You've planted someone in the temple? Was it Muala's doing?"

"Hehehe, you'll know when the sun rises~ Good night~" Melia kept the secret and proudly rolled up the quilt.

"Hey, give me back my blanket."

"No way~" He rolled around.

Bang, the world is quiet.

…

The next day, Elena opened her eyes to the aroma of wheat cakes.

The girl next to me was clutching a handful of reeds, slowly spreading syrup onto the wheat cakes. Her soft eyelashes fluttered in the sunlight as she muttered, "...This material isn't suitable for a brush. I'd better use animal hair. I'll have Annie gather the reeds and make a broom later..."

"What brush, broom? Well, lead sugar is indeed sweet." Elena came forward, picked up the wheat cake underneath and took a bite.

"I have a lot of great ideas. If you want to invest—what about lead sugar? They put lead in sugar?!"

Her emerald eyes widened, and Elena nearly choked on her wheat cracker crumbs. "Why are you so surprised? Don't you store your wine in lead cans at home?"

Thump, thump, boom!

Melia's pupils contracted: What happened to the fictional world we agreed on? Why is it Rome again?

The ancient Romans did love using things containing lead. It sweetened sugar, flavored wine, served as a preservative, and was used in cosmetics—but it was also highly toxic!

Melia put down the brush and handed over the water pitcher: "Rinse your mouth quickly and spit it out. Don't you get stomachache after eating lead sugar and drinking lead wine?" Thinking of how much lead-containing food she had eaten in the past few days, she wanted to die all over again.

"? Your stomach hurts? You're too weak." Elena picked up the second candy cake nonchalantly and devoured it. She even deliberately sipped the syrup in front of Melia's widening eyes.

"Ahhhhh, I can't stand you! Don't mess with me at a time like this!" Melia nervously snatched the syrup bowl away, slamming it to the ground. A closer look revealed a suspicious substance coating the rim of the bowl...it might be lead!

She grabbed the remaining wheat cake and stuffed it into her mouth, soon her cheeks bulging out like a chipmunk. "See if you still want to eat it? From now on, ah, don't use anything with lead in it. ah, it's poisonous."

The ancient Romans loved using lead so much that they had to find opportunities to promote lead-free daily necessities, such as porcelain and soap...

Elena smiled silently. People with dragon blood in their bodies are not afraid of ordinary toxins at all, so what is the big deal about using lead in daily life?

However, seeing Melia's angry look, she didn't continue to refute: "Whatever you want, but the lead-free syrup is not sweet enough."

Almost everyone who couldn't afford honey would resort to boiling glucose syrup in lead pots, and it was hard to imagine how she could stop the common people from doing so. Even if she sold honey in large quantities at a low price, she couldn't satisfy everyone's needs.

When it comes to sugar, Melia becomes proud again: "Hehe~ That's because you haven't mastered the real technology~"

She loves eating sugar very much. Even though the origin of sugarcane is far away, beets are nearby. If that doesn't work, there is always malt sugar.

Others have to worry about the ratio of cash crops to food crops, but she doesn't have to. As soon as the seeds arrive, she plants them directly in Shadow Roma and makes a lot of money.

As he thought about it, an intoxicated smile appeared on his face, bathing in the holy light of golden sugar.

"What's with that expression?" She really deserves a beating! Elena controlled her fist and nudged her protruding cheek with her fingertips.

"Hehehe."

Looking at the empty plates on the table and the broken sugar bowl on the floor, Melia wiped the corners of her mouth and said, "Okay, breakfast is over~ It's time to get down to business."

"Yes, you said last night that you had a way to deal with them."

Elena first looked at the iron window: no one left any traces in front of the window or made any strange noises outside the window.

Then she looked around: there was nothing missing or extra in the room. There was no furniture or sheepskins. How was Melia going to notify the people outside?

"Ahem, someone come here~"

Melia cleared her throat, walked to the wooden door and knocked hard.

The door opened a crack, and a pair of eyes glanced in suspiciously: "What's wrong?"

Melia placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "I dreamed of the goddess last night. She descended in a radiant light. Quickly find the high priest. I have something important to tell him!"

“…”

Her powerful voice echoed in the room, and both the priest and Elena fell into a deathly silence.

The priest was faster. He closed the door in a whoosh. Outside, there was a clattering sound of footsteps as if a dog was chasing someone.

"Mei, Liya!" Elena twisted someone's shoulder hard. "Is this what you meant? Using a fake oracle to trick the pawns?"

She was speechless. If the high priest's evil words could reach her head, she would believe them. If someone claimed to have received an oracle, the clergy had the right to make a judgment.

Now, as long as the high priest determines that Melia is falsely transmitting the oracle or goes further and insists that she is haunted by the devil... there is no need to go to court, she can be directly skewered on a stick and roasted until cooked through.

"It's okay." Melia faced the sun, her fingers playfully bent into an O shape: "The fun has just begun~"