### Chapter 47: The Messenger
So this guy blabbed my business to Angel, huh?
The first thought that popped into the girl’s head. She blinked her eyes, thinking she should react to this news, but her small face remained as calm as a still pond. Her dark eyes, hidden in the gloomy cell, showed no sign of any ripple.
She simply analyzed the man’s words with cool efficiency, and after a moment, stood up slowly from her chair.
“I have an idea.”
Walking up to the iron bars, she addressed the man.
“What…”
Ramiel struggled to lift his head, gazing at the girl’s bright, beautiful face that could make anyone weak at the knees.
This wasn’t the first time he had looked closely at her face.
A long time ago, when Romani Doctor brought her to the Silgaya clinic and told him, “This is the most promising patient we’ve ever had; take good care of her and don’t let her harm herself again,” he’d seen her rare beauty and felt a deep sympathy for her from that moment on.
He’d even entertained the thought of sneaking her out.
One night, after she went through another round of extreme pain during her experiments and begged him to just k*ll her, he’d had that thought. Just a fleeting thought, nothing more.
He didn’t regret not saving her back then, not until this moment, and he still didn’t.
Just a little regretful.
She had once been such a pure, kind girl.
Now, she was not.
He could see that in her eyes.
“I’ve told you everything you need to know… *cough cough.* So, are you planning to torment me slowly with Dead Smoke, or just go ahead and burn me to ash with Infernal Fire?”
He did his best to suppress the tremors of his body, not wanting to show weakness in front of the girl in her last moments. He slowly closed his eyes. “I’m fine with whatever. You decide.”
“No, no, no.”
But then he heard the girl say, “I’ve changed my mind. I want you to stay alive… for now.”
*Swish, swish, swish!*
*Clang!*
A series of whooshing sounds filled the air, and as the chains fell away, Ramiel suddenly felt his hands free, and he *plopped* onto the ground.
“I want you to go back to the Holy City, check things out there, and while you’re at it, deliver a message to Angel.”
Her voice echoed in the dark space, and Ramiel, dazed on the floor for a moment despite the ache, suddenly sat up, “You want to cooperate with us?!”
…………
In the royal palace’s audience room, a heavy atmosphere began to spread between the three. Skarlij pondered for a moment before looking at Her Majesty the Queen. “Where’s Saint George?”
Her Majesty shot him a glance. “On his way to the Holy City.”
Skarlij narrowed his eyes. “So, he really thinks this is the right moment? Isn’t there a chance this is just bait released by the Pope to draw out all the hidden enemies while chaos reigns, pretending to be weak to lure them all out for a grand takedown?”
“That’s not impossible.”
Her Majesty replied coolly, “But the chances are very slim. The First Knights Order is out in full force; that’s a confirmed fact. The Holy City’s defenses are practically nonexistent. Cardinal Michel and Cardinal Elena are getting old, and the few prodigies in the Temple Church have already made their choices.”
“And if there is indeed an inside man, or someone who gets re-recruited after returning to the city, news would’ve reached me by now because the Temple Church couldn’t possibly control those few in such a short time—no way even the Pope could manage that, and if he could, with their vast network, they’d find a way to sneak out information. But now? Nothing but crickets.”
“So, Mr. Saint George is planning to go see for himself?”
Skarlij shook his head vigorously. “And then what? If he finds a huge problem in the Holy City, what’s he going to do?”
“He’s going to make a move.”
Tarlasya jumped in suddenly, “Gathering all those Pope Knights, there’s no way he’s going to just sit back.”
“Make a move?”
Skarlij couldn’t help but laugh, “What kind of move? Is he going to k*ll Pope Angel, take out everyone in the Temple Church who opposes him? Right now?”
“The more chaotic it is, the sooner you need to clear out the instigators,” Her Majesty spoke rapidly. “Otherwise, the chaos will go on forever, and no one will truly unite until the last moment when the nation, land, power, and people are all turned to ash.”
She paused.
“And right now, the only person in the Holy Church who has the ability and the intent to really address the root of the problem is Saint George. If he rises, the Western Continent has a chance to rally all its living forces to face the dreadful enemy that looms ahead, something humanity defeated a thousand years ago shouldn’t be something we deal with through heinous experiments today!”
…………
In the cell, Ramiel’s eyes widened in disbelief at what he was hearing.
But clearly, he misunderstood the girl’s intentions.
“Who wants to cooperate with you guys?”
The girl’s expression remained calm as she looked down from her higher position, speaking every word slowly to the man, “I want you to tell that j*rk, face-to-face, that I’m back. He owes me, and soon, I’ll be coming to collect, whether from the clinic, the Choir of Saints, Romani Doctor, or those in the Rossius family who thought they could scheme against my father. Nobody gets to escape—no one.”
“But before that, I want to meet him and do a little business. Ramiel, you’ll be the messenger between us. If he agrees, we’ll meet at the Holy Wall, and I’ll set the time, which I’ll notify you about ahead.”
Even if it wasn’t cooperation…
But who cared? At least it meant a new line of connection with the girl. The immense risk he was taking to enter the city, the subsequent grief of Emily’s demise, all summed up to this moment, and he was almost bursting with joy. He didn’t even think about not dying here, nor did he care who she wanted revenge on. As long as she was willing to go to the Holy Wall, everything else didn’t matter.
Because that meant she would get involved in the major disaster facing the Church.
She was still willing to save the lives of countless people in the Western Continent.
Even after everything, she was still ready.
Even willing to let him go. Though Ramiel knew it was just that she didn’t want anyone around her to take that risk, so she chose to send him back to the Holy City.
“Alright!”
He agreed in one breath.
“I’ll have that crow follow you.” The girl continued, “It will keep an eye on you, watch your every move. You can’t k*ll it, but it has the power to eliminate you at any time; that’s no doubt, you’ve seen it.”
“So don’t even think about playing tricks on me. If I let you go, it doesn’t matter however you play tricks—just know it will ruin the deal. I will personally go to the Holy City and wipe out all of you.”
“I won’t play tricks.”
The man looked her in the eyes, saying seriously, “If needed, I can update you on the situation in the Holy City, no hiding anything. There’s no need to hide anything from you. I know you hate us, but we’re not the enemies. The Mother Deity is.”
…………
Just before leaving, he suddenly saw the Sword Demon quietly following, looking a bit sad. The girl froze, suddenly remembering something, and stopped. “Oh, there’s one more thing.”
Turning back to Ramiel, who was flexing his limbs in the cell, she said, “Tell me, whose hands did her mother d*e in?”
The man, ready to use his Flash move to escape, paused slightly.
“…Chris.”
But after hesitating for only a second, he blurted out, “Tulip Chris, the General Affairs of the Choir of Saints, Pope Knight.”
