The moment Maggie regained consciousness, she felt a loud noise around her, as if people were talking nearby.
"Her Highness, most of your external injuries have healed. The priest is not in the temple at the moment, so I'm afraid I can't help with your internal injuries."
The woman's voice carried a hint of apology.
"Hmm, how long until she wakes up?"
A familiar male voice rang out, and in her daze, Maggie was still wondering who it was.
Wait, something's not right...
The next second, Maggie suddenly opened her eyes. How could Harlen be in her room?!
"Ah, Your Highness, you're awake."
The priestess was the first to notice Maggie's movement and spoke excitedly.
"..."
Maggie had just woken up, her mind still foggy. The last image that remained in her mind was her lunging at the mirror, along with the deafening sound of an explosion.
Looking to the right, Harlan's handsome face came into view, his gaze fixed intently on her, a signature perfect smile on his lips—no, if you had to put it... there seemed to be something else mixed in with it.
In short, she's much more attractive than before, almost as if she's deliberately exuding charm and intentionally seducing others.
"It's good that Her Highness has woken up."
His voice was so affectionate and tender, it was almost drowning in it, but unfortunately Maggie wasn't buying it.
Um... it's not that I don't eat at all.
"...Um."
Maggie gave a stiff reply, feeling that something was off about her today, her mind filled with questions.
Why did she wake up and go back to the temple?
Did Bella die or not?
Will Ford have a problem with her coming back like this?
Fortunately, she is still alive. As long as there is life, there is hope.
No matter what happened, as long as you're alive, there's still a chance to turn things around.
Thinking of this, Maggie's tense expression slowly relaxed. But this relaxation caused an indescribable pain to surge from inside her body. Her ribs and internal organs felt as if they had been shattered and reassembled, and the pain was so intense that she almost cramped up.
She remembered what the priestess had said earlier...
So she has severe internal injuries?
That sounds even worse.
Maggie silently shed tears for herself.
As if sensing that Maggie was not in a good state, the priestess's eyes revealed a faint concern and guilt.
"It's all because I'm not strong enough. If the High Priest were here, everything would be fine..."
Maggie managed a weak smile and whispered words of comfort.
"Don't blame yourself, you did your best."
She wasn't that free, and she was extremely critical of the people who helped her with her treatment.
Indeed, it would be wonderful if the High Priest were here...
The priest's power and status in the temple were second only to the pope, and he was one level above Cardinal Ford. He was the most upright person in the entire Temple of Light and a true fanatical believer of the God of Light.
The priest possesses extremely strong healing abilities. He knows almost all light-based healing magic, and can even restore a half-crippled person to full health or revive someone who is on the verge of death.
At the same time, his defensive magic is also very strong. Since he became a priest, no one has been able to injure him, not even the Pope.
It's like he puts all his skill points into healing and defense, leaving him with extremely poor offensive capabilities.
The current situation within the temple is that the priest and the pope are on equal footing, but unfortunately, the priest has been sent out on a mission for various reasons.
If the priest were present, Ford certainly wouldn't have dared to be so blatantly arrogant as to make such an absurd decision as sending her to the cemetery for the dead, and no one would have dared to object; at most, they would have targeted her secretly.
"Her Highness needs to rest. You should go back and inform His Holiness the Bishop."
Harun waved his hand, turned his head, and spoke gently to the priestess.
"Yes, Commander Knight."
The priestess bowed her head in agreement, turned around, and pushed open the door to leave.
Now only Maggie and Harlan were left in the room. Maggie, who had been holding back her doubts, finally had a place to vent them.
"What happened during the time I was unconscious?"
Maggie frowned, and without bothering with pleasantries, went straight to the point.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking this question? What exactly did you do?"
Harlan didn't answer Maggie's question. Instead, he slowly propped his chin up, giving her a "you won't tell me, and I won't tell you" look.
"...secret."
Maggie was silent for a moment, then looked away and softly uttered two words.
Some things are inexplicable, including her ability to detonate magical gems; they all sound absurd.
“My dear Saintess, I am not interested in your secret, but how do you want me to explain it to His Holiness the Bishop?”
Seeing that Maggie was unwilling to cooperate, Harlan sighed silently, his tone becoming helpless.
"...Let me think about it."
Maggie looked embarrassed. Oh no, she had been judging him by her own petty standards.
"Wait, where are Nesser and Perkin?"
Maggie suddenly remembered that there were two other people she hadn't seen. Could they also be seriously injured?
"They're alright."
Harlan rubbed his temples, seemingly annoyed by Maggie's overly erratic thinking. After a moment's thought, he told Maggie everything that happened afterward.
"The Mirror Spirit's true form was destroyed by the exploding magic a second after you entered. We were all thrown out through the spatial rift and were swept away by the aftershocks, but your body and strength were too weak, so you were the most seriously injured."
"The area around the Cemetery of the Dead has been completely leveled by magic; Bella could not possibly still exist."
Maggie listened to his words in a daze, her feelings a mix of relief and something else entirely.
Her choice wasn't wrong; the Mirror Spirit's independent space could eliminate the threat of explosion, but she still underestimated the power of the Moonstone...
Even if Harlan didn't tell her, Maggie could guess most of what happened next.
Now that Bella is dead and the matter is over, it's normal for her to be able to return to the temple.
"I see."
Maggie nodded, gathered her thoughts, and prepared an explanation that sounded reasonable. Whether Ford believed her or not was not her concern.
Anyway, that area has already been reduced to ruins, and the investigation will not yield any results.
"Just say that a demon lord fell from the sky, fought with the Queen of the Dead in the cemetery, accidentally broke a magic gem, and then it exploded."
"We survived by hiding inside the mirror spirits' mirrors."
Maggie felt that she wasn't lying; most of what she said was true, with only minor differences in details that were insignificant.
"..."
Harlan finally broke down after hearing Maggie's ridiculously perfunctory explanation.
How could a demon lord fall from the sky?! How could a magic gem explode for no reason?
Is this a joke?
"Your Highness, do you think His Holiness the Bishop is...?"
Harlan's chest heaved violently, and he almost swore, but his deep-rooted self-control kept him in check.
"Sir Knight, is it possible that what I said is true?"
Maggie smiled slightly and said calmly.
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