Facing Julius, who had disappeared for years and suddenly appeared before her in this mature form, Eleanor’s shock and confusion were no less than the horrifying scene she had seen in the water ball earlier.
But Julius’s appearance was like a sudden shot of adrenaline straight into her heart.
Her fingertips, trembling from fear, miraculously calmed down.
She looked at the black-haired young man across from her who was calmly stroking his teacup, her heart full of curiosity.
“You… where have you been all these years?” Eleanor’s voice was still a little hoarse. She cleared her throat, trying to maintain the dignity befitting a saint.
“I thought you were still in the Theocracy of Al.”
She said softly, “Why did you suddenly come back? And… you’ve changed so much.”
“Have I?”
Julius raised his eyes, those jet-black irises calmly meeting hers.
He picked up the hot tea on the table and took a light sip.
The temperature of the tea was just right.
He did not directly answer Eleanor’s question, nor did he tell her that he was no longer the naive saint knight squire he once was.
He did not say that he had been chosen by the goddess as an envoy.
Nor did he say why he had suddenly appeared here.
The young man simply set down his teacup.
“I have undergone some trials.”
He spoke in a flat tone.
“As for why I returned…”
On the way here, he had already confirmed through his own channels that Eleanor was studying at the Divine Magic Academy.
But for now, he had to first ascertain the attitude of this “Saintess” Eleanor.
In the Imperial Capital, a den of vipers, he still didn’t know how vast the influence of the Chaos Believers was or how deeply they had infiltrated.
He couldn’t trust anyone, not even Eleanor.
Therefore, he could only allude to it.
“I discovered some very bad ‘aura’ in the Southern Diocese.”
He narrated calmly.
“I followed those clues all the way here. I thought you would be stationed in the Southern Diocese.”
“That matter…?”
Julius’s words took on an entirely different meaning in Eleanor’s ears.
At this moment, her mind was already filled with Helos’s “blasphemous biological experiments.”
She knew nothing about the Chaos Believers.
When she heard the words “very bad aura,” “clues,” and “followed all the way here,” her thoughts immediately jumped to Helos.
And the Church would certainly not consider this proper research!
Did the Church already know about Helos’s “forbidden research”?
Julius was chosen personally by His Holiness the Pope.
Did they send Julius here just to “deal with” Helos?
Eleanor’s heart sank, and she felt her hands and feet growing cold again.
She had to know Julius’s stance.
He was no longer that squire of the Olivias Family.
He was the Pope’s man now.
If he really came on orders…
Eleanor swallowed nervously.
Carefully, in a probing tone, she asked back:
“Are you talking about… that matter?”
She didn’t dare say it outright.
“I mean… the research thing, the one that just happened recently?”
Eleanor’s question took on a different meaning in Julius’s ears.
“Research?”
Julius’s eyes clearly lit up.
He immediately thought of Agatha.
Wasn’t that girl a student at the Royal Magic Academy?
Wasn’t she a Chaos Believer?
Was the “research” Miss Eleanor referring to a secret “research” the Chaos Believers were conducting within the Academy?
This was even more serious than he had anticipated!
It seemed Eleanor did indeed know something.
Then things would be easier.
The black-haired young man slowly nodded, his stern face turning extremely serious.
He said in a deep voice, “I have come precisely for this.”
“Yes.”
Julius paused slightly.
He stared into Eleanor’s blue eyes, which were wide with tension, and continued, “Miss Eleanor, if it is as I think, and they are conducting that evil research in the Imperial Capital, under the protection of the Royal Magic Academy…”
“Then I must assist you in eradicating them root and branch.”
Julius’s voice was cold and firm.
“I’m afraid this is also your duty as the Saintess.”
“This is my duty.”
“Eradicate them root and branch?!”
The moment she heard those four words, Eleanor’s mind went buzz and became completely blank.
It’s over.
Everything is over.
He admitted it.
The Church really does know about Helos’s forbidden research!
They’ve even judged it!
They want to “eradicate root and branch”!
How did they get the news before she did?
In that instant, the young girl fell into immense panic.
Just as Eleanor was pale and at a loss, Julius saw her shocked, dazed expression and thought she was amazed at the audacity of the heretics.
So he added another sentence, trying to get her to make a decision quickly.
“Miss Eleanor, please pull yourself together.”
“I have already tracked down the target’s whereabouts.”
Julius said calmly.
“Just before I came to the manor, I just confirmed that ‘her’ lair is currently at the Royal Magic Academy.”
“I need your help.”
“I hope Miss Eleanor can provide me with some assistance so that I can act more freely within the Academy.”
‘Tracked down the whereabouts.’
When she heard that, Eleanor snapped back to reality.
‘Lair is at the Royal Magic Academy.’
‘Needs assistance.’
Every word of Julius was like a heavy hammer, completely shattering her last shred of illusion.
He wasn’t here to negotiate.
He was here to carry out an “execution.”
He needed her, the Saintess’s, “assistance” to make this execution “legal”!
“No—”
Eleanor suddenly stood up from the sofa.
She moved so abruptly that she knocked over the teacup in front of her.
Scalding tea mixed with porcelain shards spilled all over the floor, but she didn’t even notice.
“No!”
She blurted out almost instinctively.
Her voice trembled violently with anger:
“I won’t help you kill Helos!!!”
“Don’t even think about it, Julius!!”
Eleanor was ready to give up being the Saintess.
She was ready to break completely with her family and the Church.
She glared at Julius.
Those usually gentle blue eyes were now filled with determination.
“Even if I have to have Father and Brother lock Helos up! Lock her away for life!”
“That’s still better than… better than having you execute her yourself!”
Eleanor’s reaction gave Julius a real shock.
Julius’s eternally calm face cracked for the first time.
His mind also went blank for a moment.
“…What?”
He even stood up from the sofa instinctively, assuming a defensive posture.
His brain couldn’t process it for a moment.
“When did I say… I was going to kill Helos?”
He frowned.
What nonsense was Miss Eleanor talking about?
He was talking about the Chaos Believers.
Eleanor was talking about Helos.
These two…
Julius’s mind, like a precision instrument, raced.
“No!!”
“Wait?”
He suddenly realized a fundamental fact he had overlooked.
He thought Helos was still in faraway Olivius City?
But Eleanor said…
Julius’s jet-black eyes shot wide open.
He stared at Eleanor, his voice filled with a shock even he hadn’t noticed.