Creis gently closed the door and walked over to the two of them.
From this angle, Creis could only see Isabella’s smooth, flawless back and her long hair of deep purple mixed with golden yellow.
She immediately moved to the other side of the bed—the side away from the moonlight—took Gabriella’s hand, and checked her physical condition.
Gabriella’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Her eyes were closed as if she had fallen into a long, peaceful sleep.
She looked like she was sleeping—or perhaps as if a sneaky shrine maiden had slipped her a sleeping potion.
The cross in Creis’s eyes released a dazzling light as she examined Gabriella’s body.
She was weak, but there was nothing seriously wrong now. It seemed Isa had helped.
There had been a risk of instability before she left, but the check just now let Creis confirm that Gabriella’s body had returned to normal.
Creis controlled her magic to envelop Gabriella’s body so she couldn’t hear any sounds from outside.
She looked up at Isa across the bed.
“Miss Isa, this isn’t your shift time, is it?”
“It will be in five minutes. Why?”
“We agreed that the shift change is at midnight, at which point I’ll stand guard outside the door.”
Isabella rose from the bed and released Gabriella’s head. She stood up as if she didn’t care about Creis at all, calmly looking at her with no intention of arguing.
But Creis had no plans to let Isabella leave just like that.
“What did you do to her?”
Creis still remembered why she suspected Isa.
According to Olivia, Royal Knight Captain Isa was the strongest knight Holy Queen Simona had transferred from the Saint Son’s outer hall guards.
She had a somewhat arrogant personality but would devote herself fully to her master.
In other words, the Royal Knight Captain had almost no records of cooperating with the Royal Knight squad or participating in missions.
She was a lone wolf, a tool for the Church’s high ranks and the Holy Queen.
She had little interaction with the Saint Son and few colleagues who could identify her.
Only her strength proved her status.
Such a person being suddenly assigned to guard the Silver-White Sword Empress was suspicious from the start.
Not long ago on the battlefield, the Evil God had left without releasing much power or declaring war on humanity, and there had been two controlled knights by her side.
So if the Evil God had other intentions and had deliberately let Gabriella go while sending many apostles to monitor her, it meant the current crisis had not ended.
The final piece of evidence was what she had sensed while cooking.
She had heard almost everything Isa said to Gabriella—phrases like “help you” and “responsible for,” and so on.
Creis didn’t understand the meaning of those words.
She didn’t know what the two had done, but she believed Isa had the intention of doing something to Gabriella while hiding it from everyone.
“What did you do? Who are you?”
Before Isa could continue answering, Creis asked again.
Her voice wasn’t loud, like a ripple spreading from a drop of water in a lake.
“I am Royal Knight Guard Captain Isa, Miss Creis. You were negligent just now.”
“Gabriella is very weak, yet you didn’t tell anyone. She was in a lot of pain earlier.”
Isa seemed to be defending herself, but her sharp gaze was clearly accusing Creis of negligence.
Of course she knew Gabriella’s condition.
Gabriella’s state had always been bad.
Her body and soul seemed separated, with an indescribable repulsion between the holy body and soul, as if some invisible force was preventing Gabriella from fully recovering her holy body…
The holy body was what Creis had passed down to Gabriella.
It wouldn’t be eroded by curses, wouldn’t age, and strictly speaking, she wouldn’t die.
She had reminded Gabriella and noticed it earlier than Isa, precisely to prevent problems before they arose.
No one could have known it would worsen so quickly.
Gabriella hadn’t mentioned feeling unwell, so while the agreement with Olivia was still in effect, she had temporarily left the bedroom.
“Protecting Gabriella is my responsibility. Do you have a better option?”
“What if Gabriella dies?”
“She won’t die so easily.”
Creis spoke with absolute certainty.
“Captain Isa, I understand Gabriella better than anyone. That’s also why the Saint Son assigned me to guard her.”
“Is that what you think?”
Isabella’s voice carried a slight tremble. She seemed angry, but also filled with regret.
“Nearly nine years ago, the Silver-White Sword Empress was imprisoned by the Demon King, nearly had her memories taken, her power sealed into the Holy Sword, her memories washed clean, and turned into the Demon King’s tool.”
“I know.”
“In all these years, no one saved her except Elsa and Tina at first… Now they’ve both sacrificed themselves. During this time, I never heard of you, Miss Creis.”
At this point, clear emotions that had never appeared on her face before began to flicker in her eyes.
Creis maintained the same cold gaze the entire time, but it wasn’t anger—it was something closer to pity.
“If Gabriella recovers her holy body, I can find her.”
“So to you, Gabriella without her holy body isn’t worth protecting?”
“I never said that.”
Creis interrupted Isabella.
She had wanted to say that she was Gabriella’s mother.
She even knew every function of Gabriella’s holy body, its full combat potential once fully developed, and the soul rank that was only one step away from godhood.
But she stopped herself.
She didn’t tell Isabella the truth that she was Gabriella’s mother—not because she felt it was unnecessary, but because she didn’t think she could convince her.
Olivia would have understood.
So Creis had no idea how to answer Isa’s words. She felt like a negligent person who was now scrambling for excuses to save face.
In the end, Creis decided to stay silent.
Isabella sighed and looked at Creis with helpless eyes.
“Creis, if you don’t trust me, we can keep watch together. I’m just as worried about Gabriella as you are.”
Creis nodded. Her silent agreement was enough.
So Creis sat down on Gabriella’s left side while Isa sat on the right.
Creis found a small wooden chair, sat upright with her hands resting on her thighs wrapped in white stockings, and held her chest high.
Her shadow fell over Gabriella and stretched across Isabella.
Isabella lay on her side beside Gabriella, making sure the girl could feel her warmth.
The bedroom was deathly quiet.
Even the soft sound of Gabriella’s leg brushing against the sheets became clear.
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