Pella was at a loss for words.
She could sense that helpless loneliness emanating from Teresa, and it stirred her sympathy.
She wanted to say something for Isavel, to change the impression of her in Teresa’s heart.
But…
Isavel was the villainous Saintess.
In her eyes, they truly were nothing more than tools for saving the world. If such a tool broke, it was simply replaced. There was no need to fix it at all.
Unable to speak in Isavel’s defense, Pella thought of Selis.
“Even if—even if Lady Isavel wouldn’t do that, isn’t Lady Selis still here? She’ll definitely find a way to help you!”
“Pella, I don’t want to trouble Lady Selis anymore.”
Teresa said:
“As long as there are factions, there will be strife. The Preston Family is like that, the Aos Empire is like that, and the Oracle Hall is no exception.”
“Lady Selis, as a Saintess, has always stood at the center of power. If we bring her more trouble, she might no longer be the Oracle Maiden.”
“And this time is different from before. No matter what, the Preston Family are descendants of the Goddess, with countless strong members. If they put pressure on the Oracle Hall…”
She did not continue, but Pella understood.
Selis was not the only Saintess in the Oracle Hall. If the Preston Family applied enough pressure, and the Oracle Hall chose to yield, Selis could very well lose her identity as Saintess.
With Isavel’s disposition, she would definitely do such a thing.
Pella could think of no more reasons to make her stay, so she could only speak with a hint of pleading:
“Even so, can’t you at least wait until the Preston Family comes to decide? Lady Selis asked us to persuade you—she definitely doesn’t want you to leave.”
“It’s not just her. Our entire Order of Knights—we all don’t want you to go.”
Looking past Pella, Teresa noticed many figures in the corridor behind her. Something occurred to her, and her cold gaze suddenly softened.
Ruffling Pella’s hair, she seemed to make up her mind, and smiled, “Alright, then I’ll wait until the family comes before deciding.”
“Really?!”
“Of course it’s true.”
Like coaxing a child, there was an indescribable tenderness in Teresa’s smile.
Pella felt that Teresa’s change was almost unreal, but after pinching her own cheek, she jumped up with excitement.
Her cheek hurt—this wasn’t a dream!
Late at night, lying on her bed in the Rose Knights’ Dormitory, Pella had a dream.
In the dream, at her desperate pleading, Teresa ultimately did not leave the Oracle Hall, and even the cold Isavel was moved to kindness, helping them to block the Preston Family.
But gradually, as she slept, she realized it was all just a dream.
Dreams and reality are often opposites.
Someone had once said these words. They echoed in her mind, and she felt a surge of panic, suddenly opening her eyes wide.
With the glaring sunlight, in a daze, she thought she saw Teresa’s figure by the window.
But when she looked carefully, that figure was like a butterfly—gone in the blink of an eye.
She rushed to Teresa’s bed, but aside from a Badge, a Letter, and a neatly folded quilt, there was no sign of anyone.
Heavy with loss, Pella came to the bedside.
That Badge was Teresa’s Rose Knight Badge, and the Letter was a short Goodbye Letter.
[To my dearest Rose Knights:
When you read this letter, I will already have set out alone on my journey.
Please forgive my silent departure, and please forgive the lie I told last night.
The ‘Rose Knights’ are the only warmth in my otherwise cold life.
Precisely because of this, I must not let it become a fragile piece of glass that shatters because of me…
Don’t look for me, and don’t grieve for me. Please live on, and be happy, for both my share and yours…
—Forever loving you, Teresa]
“You liar…”
After reading the letter, Pella clenched her little fists tightly. Her eyes turned red.
In the next second, holding the letter and the Badge, she left the dormitory.
She was going to find Selis.
That was her only hope of bringing Teresa back.
……
In a town outside the Crimson Forest, Teresa, draped in a black hooded cloak, walked into a tavern.
No matter how Pella pleaded, she was determined to leave the Rose Knights.
The reason was simple: staying would only bring harm to them.
As for waiting until the Preston Family came to the Oracle Hall before leaving… it would be far too late by then.
By that time, even if she wanted to run, the Oracle Hall would never let her go.
Moreover, under no circumstances could she be caught by the Preston Family.
Because she still had to take her revenge.
Flashes of her parents’ smiling faces crossed her mind. Sitting at the table, Teresa touched the scar on her forehead, unconsciously clenching her fists.
The Preston Family, as descendants of the Goddess, were rife with internal power struggles.
Her parents had died at the hands of their own kin because they had trusted the wrong people.
Once they were gone, she, as the Family Saintess, could not escape.
Her Divine Grace was forcibly stripped away, her freedom restricted—she couldn’t even take her own life.
The only reason those people didn’t kill her was to marry her off to another family, as a pawn in a political alliance.
It was also due to their greed that she found a chance to escape. Afterwards, she met the imperial knights recruiting for the empire and joined the Rose Knights.
The first time she saw Isavel, she thought she had escaped the tiger’s den only to fall into a wolf’s lair.
But after spending time with the other girls, she realized this place was paradise.
But… those who seek revenge are always alone.
Last night, as she left the Temporary Encampment of the Rose Knights, she had chanced upon Isavel sitting in a carriage.
The streetlights glowed dimly, their yellow light illuminating Isavel’s pale face, making her look all the more dazzling.
In contrast, Teresa hugged her arms, down and out.
Not only that, but as she passed the carriage, Isavel didn’t spare her a single glance.
With a Saintess’ power, there was no way she wouldn’t have noticed her.
It was just that she was cold and heartless.
To hope that she would say something to make her stay—it was better to hope that Teresa could escape the Preston Family’s pursuit and one day succeed in her revenge.
With a self-mocking laugh, Teresa ordered a glass of water in the tavern.
“Customer, here is the water you ordered.”
As she accepted the glass, many faces flashed through her mind.
Leanna, Pella, Meilin… those she cherished and who cherished her. If fate allowed, perhaps they would meet again someday.
Rose Knights, please live on, with all your might.
Raising her head, she drained the glass of water in one gulp.
Setting the glass down heavily, she sometimes felt her life was as bitter as this water. Born a descendant of the Goddess, yet never blessed by the divine…
No, how could water be bitter?
Teresa’s heart sank. She looked at the glass in her hand, but before she could notice anything strange, her vision went black, her head slammed onto the wooden table, and she lost consciousness.
As her awareness faded, she vaguely heard a sinister laugh in the distance.
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