"Therefore, as the most loyal believer of the Lord, and for the sake of your precarious life, you must find a way to expose their ugliness and absolutely cannot let the temple be controlled by that group of people!"
As Shia spoke, she rushed forward, gripped Maggie's hands tightly, her expression excited and her eyes red.
"Okay, I promise you."
Maggie forced a smile, her voice sounding somewhat stiff.
At least when chatting with an old cunning person, their logic is normal and they won't suddenly go crazy. But when chatting with a mentally ill person, anything can happen. You should be especially careful not to provoke them, or the consequences could be unimaginable.
Especially when the opponent is stronger.
Maggie could almost imagine the horrific consequences if she refused.
Tomorrow, the border city will be filled with news of 'fratricide within the Temple of Light, and the tragic death of the Holy Maiden'.
"Good, very good. You are the most outstanding Holy Maiden I have ever seen. If it were you, you would definitely be able to do it."
Shia's face, which had been relatively normal, contorted for a moment before transforming into an extremely gentle expression, looking at her with the same loving gaze one would give a child.
But Maggie didn't feel any warmth at all; instead, she got goosebumps all over her body.
It's quite terrifying that horror, eeriness, holiness, and gentleness can be so perfectly blended in one person.
"Is there anything else you'd like to say? I probably still have some things to finish."
Maggie cautiously made a small request to retreat, leaving ample room for maneuver, fearing that Shia might suddenly go mad.
"Is that so? In that case, I won't take up any more of Your Highness's time."
Shia's expression softened slightly. She looked at Maggie for a long while before slowly turning away, returning to her normal self from when they first met.
Only Maggie knew what kind of danger lurked beneath the calm surface of the sea, a danger that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Thank you, High Priest Shia."
What Maggie really wanted to say was, 'Thank you for sparing my life,' but she wasn't that stupid. She only had the right to say what she thought when she was powerful enough to be unmatched.
She turned and quickly left Shia's room, even running downstairs the moment she stepped out, wanting to get away from the top of the tower as soon as possible.
Charles, who had promised to wait for her, also mysteriously disappeared.
Maggie didn't care, but when she got downstairs she saw Charles hiding in the corner.
The two locked eyes, and Maggie clearly sensed Charles give an awkward smile before stepping out from the corner of the wall to stand in front of her.
"Your Highness, have you met Priest Shia?"
His tentative question made Maggie feel a little strange, combined with his previous odd behavior of refusing to go in.
Maggie realized almost instantly that she also knew that Shia was not mentally stable.
"I've seen him."
Maggie pretended to be calm, but her eyes were watching Charles's expression, and she keenly caught the unnatural look on his face.
"She...didn't say anything strange, did she?"
Charles cautiously continued to ask.
"I said so."
Maggie answered naturally.
"That's good... Hmm?"
Charles instinctively showed a relieved expression, but after his brain processed what Maggie had said, his face immediately froze.
"So she's mentioned it to you too?"
Maggie seemed lost in thought.
"No, no, don't believe her. Your Highness, just pretend you didn't hear it."
Charles's face flushed red, and he waved his hand frantically in front of him, as if he were afraid that Maggie would say it.
"I see."
Maggie nodded. She understood Charles's fear. As a member of the Temple of Light, it was absurd for him to have the audacity to want to kill the Pope.
It's understandable that he would be afraid.
"In short, please don't take those words to heart. Priestess Shia is very useful to the border city. No one else can predict the beast tide so accurately. If she really said anything offensive to the temple, please don't take it to heart, Your Highness."
Charles seemed to think it wasn't good to just brush it off like that, or perhaps he was afraid Maggie would hold him accountable, so he added a couple more sentences.
"good."
Maggie didn't see any benefit in arguing with a madman. She wasn't the Pope's lackey, so it didn't matter to her what people said.
Moreover...
Shia's words were not entirely useless. According to her, the Holy Maiden of Light in the temple might really be unsafe, which was indeed something that needed to be investigated.
Or perhaps, she really did discover something, which forced her to leave the center of power in the temple.
Given her current state, it's hard for Maggie not to suspect that she was forced out of the temple and far away from Saint Fe City in order to give up the position of High Priest to Arlin.
It's even possible that the Pope or Archbishop Ford did something to her.
Thinking about it this way, it's a bit sad.
"Phew, thank you, Your Highness."
Charles felt completely drained, relieved that his worries had finally been resolved.
"Since you knew she would talk nonsense, why did you still let me see her?"
Maggie was curious about the reason, so she asked directly.
Charles gave a bitter smile, seemingly with a sense of helplessness.
"It's Shia who insists on seeing you. If you don't cooperate with her, she..."
With an expression of difficulty in speaking, Maggie understood that there was no need to press him further.
As the two were talking, Maggie suddenly sensed a dangerous aura. She looked up but saw only a clear blue sky and clouds.
She dismissed Charles without making a sound, then quickly headed towards her room.
That was the safest place in the entire war zone.
As it turned out, Maggie's intuition was correct. Just before she stepped into the room, a line of blood flew towards Maggie's neck. If it made contact, her head and body would be separated on the spot.
Maggie unleashed almost all of her magic, igniting the potential of every cell in her body in an instant, just to barely dodge the attack from the bloodline.
She could even hear the sound of her own bones squeezing together; her movements were too extreme, and her bones were creaking and protesting.
Almost at that moment, Perkin and Harlan rushed up and surrounded her, their auras rising steadily, filled with a murderous intent.
"It's Lilia."
"Maggie said in a hoarse voice."
The holder of the bloodline was immediately recognized; only Lilia possessed such an ability. She was a very special vampire, a natural assassin like Perkin.
"It's that vampire again."
Harlan's face suddenly turned cold, and he also thought of the fish that had escaped during the siege of the eastern suburbs.
At a very high point in the distance, Lilia looked down at Maggie with a regretful expression, unable to stop herself from expressing her pity.
"They are indeed difficult to kill; we need to think of a new method."
A skilled assassin will not attempt another shot if the first one fails.
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