"Your injuries are still severe. Rest well in the temple first. A priest will come to treat you later."
Maggie didn't want Ficklin to hurt anyone as soon as he entered the temple, so she reached out and pushed Harun, leading him outside and leaving Ficklin with only one sentence.
"Oh, okay."
Perhaps because he believed Maggie's fabricated past, Ficklin was more obedient than Maggie had imagined. He simply nodded blankly and stayed obediently in the temple to wait.
Maggie followed Harlan outwards, her mind still preoccupied with the poison in Ficklin's body.
His deadly poison came from the dead, and if Maggie hadn't read the comic book storyline beforehand, she wouldn't have known how to cure it.
Even if Ficklin had agreed to the dragon knight Sheri's request today, he might not have been able to cure the undead poison from the archlich.
The poison of the dead is like a maggot clinging to bones; it will return with a vengeance.
After a brief period of superficial healing, the condition quickly recurs.
Places touched by death will slowly rot and turn into bones, and eventually the poisoned creatures will become dead spirits.
The antidote can only suppress the necromantic toxins for a short time; when the next invasion begins, the backlash will be even more severe.
After all, if the problem could be solved simply by using an antidote, it wouldn't have troubled Ficklin for so long in the comics.
Coincidentally, Maggie has a gray bead in her body that can absorb a massive amount of death energy, which comes from Bella, the undead queen who was blown to ash long ago.
If Ficklin stays by her side for a long time, the poison formed by the aura of death will be slowly absorbed by the gray bead until it disappears completely.
She suffered no loss, because she was still alive. The gray bead would remain dormant for the time being, but after absorbing the poison from Ficklin's body, the power contained within the gray bead in her body would become very strong.
In other words, if Maggie dies by accident, she will most likely be transformed into a top-tier undead lich on the spot.
This is also something that greatly troubles Maggie, because it seems that she cannot remove the gray bead from her body. She has been back in the temple for so long and has read many books, but she has not found a solution.
You can't exactly cut open her stomach and take it out, can you?
It's not that it's impossible.
But would the gray bead really exist in her stomach in the form of a bead? This is a magical world, after all.
However, no living being had ever survived the transformation of the Gray Pearl before, leaving Maggie now like a headless fly, with no precedent to refer to.
"What is Your Highness thinking about?"
Harlan's gaze remained fixed on Maggie. Seeing that Maggie had remained silent the entire time, as if she were thinking about something, he took the initiative to ask her a question.
"Hmm? It's nothing."
Maggie snapped out of her daze and subconsciously shook her head. She wouldn't tell anyone about something that threatened her; she'd keep it to herself.
"Your Highness, aren't you curious why we're besieging the eastern suburbs tonight?"
Harlan wisely refrained from pressing the matter. He always had a good sense of propriety; he would push his luck, but only within a range that wouldn't make the prey uncomfortable. As soon as the prey became even slightly wary, he would retreat to a distance beyond the prey's guard.
In this situation, slowly approach the prey until the target is no longer wary of his approach.
"Why?"
Maggie appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she was somewhat annoyed. To prevent a conflict between the two, she had hurriedly followed Harlan out without even asking what had happened, which was incredibly careless of her.
"The guild leader of the Blood Hunter Guild spoke with the priest, saying that high-level vampires have invaded Santa Fe City."
Harlan always held his sword in his hand, seemingly relaxed, but in reality, he was always on high alert, ready to prevent any sudden attack from any dangerous entity.
Who could blame him when his saintess was by his side?
"Oh, I see."
Maggie understood; Gillian had mentioned this to her earlier that day, but she hadn't expected her to act so quickly and efficiently.
"The Blood Hunter Guild leader said today that he wanted to see His Highness to discuss the encirclement and suppression, but he was stopped by the priest, or rather, the bishop."
Harlan made a pointed remark.
"It seems... His Excellency the Bishop still has a prejudice against me."
Maggie wasn't surprised. If she really captured a high-level vampire, it would be a great achievement. The archbishop would seize any opportunity to suppress her, so how could he possibly let her have a chance to benefit from it?
"Then you still dared to invite me without permission."
She glanced at Harlan sideways, somewhat puzzled by his purpose.
"Of course, I want to make Her Highness happy."
Harlan turned his head, a gentle smile in his eyes, his back to the moon, like a prince or knight in a fairy tale.
"What's the real reason?"
Maggie was used to Harlan's ramblings, and she didn't even change her expression when she asked him questions.
It's obviously a trap. She'd be really stupid to fall for it so easily.
"That's the real reason."
Under the moonlight, Harlan lowered his eyes slightly, and before he lowered them, a look of hurt flashed in his eyes, which Maggie just happened to catch.
"...Speak properly."
Maggie is numb.
"Your Highness was attacked by a vampire when you were in the Kingdom of Saint Na. I wonder if the vampires that have appeared this time might be the ones who attacked you before, which is why they specifically asked you to come along."
"If so, it would be perfect to avenge His Highness in front of him."
Harlan sighed softly, focusing intently on Maggie's eyes as he spoke. The azure eyes made Maggie feel inexplicably disoriented, as if they should be golden.
It is the same gold color as that of Nophiel, the god of light.
She seemed to have met her before...
The thought startled Maggie. Was she bewitched or had she lost her mind? Nophiel had been asleep for so long, how could she have seen him?
If you've seen them in comics, they're just two-dimensional characters; they don't feel real at all.
Maggie snapped out of her thoughts and understood the meaning behind Harlan's words. Her first thought was, how does he even know what happened to her in the Kingdom of Saint Na?
"You investigated me."
Maggie frowned slightly, automatically filtering out his nice words and only caring about how he found out about her schedule.
"Your Highness misunderstands. It was just that the magician in the Green Tower said it unintentionally, and I just happened to overhear it."
Harlan's eyes were filled with innocence and sincerity, which inexplicably made Maggie feel a little guilty; it seemed she had truly misunderstood him.
The Beard royal family did indeed commission the Green Tower to investigate the murderer, and it's normal that the chief investigator is currently in Santa Fe City and knows about it.
"Feel sorry."
Maggie was silent for a moment, then offered a slight apology, saying that it was indeed a bit much to always look at Harlan with prejudice.
"I am your knight, Your Highness, you never need to apologize to me. I only hope that Your Highness will trust me more in the future."
Harlan's lips curled up slightly, her tone as gentle as ever, and her eyes were excessively affectionate.
Maggie couldn't resist and simply chose not to look at him. Trust is something that depends on the situation.
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