Selina’s pupils suddenly contracted, and her gray-white eyelashes trembled violently.
She instinctively took half a step back.
“Eh? No, it’s not…Huh?”
Her voice rarely carried a trace of panic, and a flicker of disbelief flashed through her pale gray eyes.
Her fingertips tried several times to release the Concealment Technique, but it was like grasping at quicksand—her magical power, for some unknown reason, dissipated like mist under the sunlight.
Captured.
How, how could this be?!
Her canine teeth unconsciously bit into her lower lip, leaving deep marks on her pale skin.
The dark patterns on her cloak flickered wildly, yet they could not reconstruct the magical circuit.
Julius had already circled to her side, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, but his voice remained astonishingly calm:
“Miss Selina, may I ask how you got in here?”
Selina’s gaze darted rapidly between the two of them.
Helos’s curious eyes felt like needles pressing against her back, and the sharp edge hidden beneath Julius’s seemingly polite question made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
She had thought it possible she might be discovered, but never imagined she would be exposed like this—caught red-handed like a clumsy thief.
Selina’s voice lowered, her fingertips sliding inconspicuously toward her waist.
“Don’t move.”
Julius suddenly stepped forward, his longsword already drawn, the sharp tip glinting with a cold light in the candlelight.
The boy’s black uniform did not flutter in the night breeze, and his voice was steady beyond his years:
“Could it be that Mr. Kyle has also infiltrated the Duke’s residence?”
Selina’s fingertips froze mid-air.
Her pale gray eyes swiftly scanned the surroundings—the narrow workshop space completely suppressed magic; confronting a Paladin attendant head-on was tantamount to courting death.
Even if he was just a boy, that unsheathed longsword was enough to pierce her throat before she could employ any tactics.
Selina bit her lip; for the first time, she felt a genuine sense of danger.
Like a crippled sparrow caught in a cat’s paws.
Julius’s sword tip remained motionless, his gaze fixed on her every move:
“Take your hand off your waist and slowly raise it.”
Selina’s chest rose and fell slightly.
She slowly raised both hands; her gray-white long hair swayed gently with the movement.
“I just…..”
Her voice was so soft it was barely audible, “wanted to confirm something.”
Helos peeked out from behind Julius, her silver hair shining in the candlelight:
“What’s so urgent that you had to sneak around in the middle of the night…..”
Before her words finished, Selina’s complexion suddenly changed dramatically.
The girl’s already pale skin lost the last bit of color, turning ashen white like ice and snow.
Fading.
Her pale gray pupils contracted violently, and her slender fingers unconsciously clutched the collar of her chest.
Selina’s body began trembling uncontrollably, her slender frame swaying like a dying candle in the wind, her gray-white hair tangled wildly behind her.
What on earth is this…..
Selina’s vision started to blur; the candlelight before her split into countless afterimages.
She tried to steady herself against the wall, only to find all the strength drained from her limbs.
In her last moments of consciousness, all she felt was a dizzying whirl.
The next second, she collapsed straight backward.
Julius took a step forward in a flash; his longsword clanged onto the ground.
His arm caught Selina’s falling body steadily, the sleeve of his black uniform covered by the girl’s gray-white hair.
Julius turned his head, a hint of helplessness in his eyes as he looked at Helos:
“Did you use your power?”
“If not, then what?”
Helos shrugged.
Tilting her head, her pale purple eyes sparkled with innocent light:
“But it’s not entirely my fault, right? Who told her to sneak in at night like that.”
“And to stay right beside me for so long.”
Julius sighed, his gaze returning to the unconscious Selina.
The girl’s gray-white hair spread out messily, her pale cheeks almost translucent under the moonlight.
He reached out to check her breathing, and upon confirming she was alive, he spoke:
“This one doesn’t seem to harbor any ill intent…..”
“But infiltrating the Duke’s residence itself is a huge problem.”
Helos pursed her lips, unconsciously twirling a strand of silver hair:
“Besides, who knows if she and that red-haired guy are working together? Maybe they have some other agenda.”
The boy’s brow furrowed slightly; the shoulders under his black uniform tensed for a moment:
“What do we do now?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m not in charge.”
Helos spread her hands with a helpless expression.
She suddenly lowered her voice, winking slyly, “Why don’t you ask my sister?”
“Sounds good.”
Julius thought for a moment, then nodded, “Then I’ll be right back.”
“So you just listened to Helos and brought her to me?”
Eleanor stood with her hands on her hips, her deep blue eyes staring straight at Julius, disbelief in her voice:
“You’re something else—managing to sneak past so many guards and bring her here.”
Julius hung his head, the black uniform still stained with traces of dirt:
“Thanks to Miss Helos.…”
“I’m not praising you!”
Eleanor’s voice rose a few decibels, and her eyes held a hint of speechlessness.
She took a deep breath and glanced at her personal maid, Lil, beside her:
“After all, shouldn’t something like this be reported directly to the guards? No matter what, my father should be the one to handle this.”
Julius swallowed hard:
“I’m afraid the Duke’s methods would be too…heartless.”
“She actually trespassed into the Duke’s residence,”
Eleanor crossed her arms, her voice growing colder, “According to the law, I could order her execution right here and now.”
The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.
Lil’s gaze flickered between her mistress and the faint gray-haired girl, then she cleared her throat softly.
Eleanor’s eyes fell on Selina’s pale face.
Her pale gray eyelashes fluttered slightly; her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
“….Forget it.”
Eleanor suddenly sighed, her golden hair swaying gently with her head shake, “Since you’ve brought her here, I’ll trust you this once.”
She lifted her skirt and crouched down, the snow-white hem spreading over the carpet:
“Lay her flat on the floor; I’ll perform the Healing Ritual.”
Julius breathed a sigh of relief, carefully helping Selina lie down.
Eleanor’s slender fingers hovered lightly above the girl’s forehead, her fingertips glowing with a gentle golden light.
The sacred healing magic was warm like the dawn, shining brightly in the dim room.
“In the name of the goddess……”
Eleanor chanted softly as golden magic trickled like a stream into Selina’s body.
Soon, Selina’s complexion visibly improved.
But in contrast, Eleanor’s expression grew increasingly strange.
Only after she withdrew the magic did Julius finally ask:
“Your face looks a little odd. Did you discover something?”
Thanks for translating.