Lady Catherine was silent for a long time after hearing Sylvia’s words.
Seeing this, Sylvia immediately followed up.
“And.”
Her face still bore the holy and dignified smile of a pope, but the words she spoke as she walked to Catherine’s side were anything but noble.
“Even if you protect Roman today, what’s the point?”
“Your niece will be back in a few days. By then, she’ll probably drag Roman off day and night, and you…”
She tapped Lady Catherine’s chest.
Sylvia sneered lightly.
“In the end, you’re just making a wedding dress for your good niece. Do you think she’ll give you a share? Hehe.”
“Of course, with your abilities, eavesdropping by the wall should still be possible.”
Lady Catherine, however, was not provoked by Sylvia’s words.
On the contrary, she appeared calm, even carrying a trace of guilt.
“What happened between Roman and me tonight was a mistake from the start. Since it was an accident, it can’t happen a second time.”
Sylvia raised an eyebrow.
“An accident? I think the word ‘surprise’ is more fitting.”
Lady Catherine’s forced composure finally began to crack.
She moved away from Sylvia in annoyance.
“In fact, Roman staying with me and the Holy City might be better for you.”
Sylvia suddenly said behind her.
“What do you mean?”
Lady Catherine turned back, puzzled.
“What do you mean?~”
Sylvia met her gaze.
“After Roman becomes the Holy Child, someone will need to teach him. I don’t have the time for that.”
At this, Lady Catherine’s deep blue eyes grew tense.
“How about it? Isn’t it better for Roman to come back with me than to stay by your niece’s side?”
Lady Catherine narrowed her eyes at Sylvia, feeling that she was more of a devil playing with people’s hearts.
“I’ll leave first.”
Without responding, Lady Catherine traced her finger through the night air and disappeared the next second.
Once Lady Catherine’s figure had completely vanished, the smile on Sylvia’s face slowly faded.
Was this a compromise?
Sylvia shook her head and stopped thinking about it.
She preferred to call it drawing someone in.
And for Roman, what did it matter to set aside a bit of trivial pride?
Unknowingly, a faint light had begun to appear on the distant horizon.
This absurd, licentious, and tumultuous long night was finally coming to an end.
A journey of a thousand miles was completed by a single thought of Sylvia.
When she opened her eyes again, she had already returned to Saint City Osiris.
Let’s see how Roman is doing now.
She thought.
***
Saint City Osiris.
Roman’s long, slightly curled lashes quivered with each breath.
The disturbance Zora caused still lingered, making even his sleep restless as he tossed and turned on the bed.
At last, the spell Rosetta had cast upon him lifted.
Roman slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the unfamiliar and ornate ceiling, his mind blank and utterly lost.
Last night…
A sudden chill ran through Roman as he sat up in bed, instinctively checking his own body.
Just thinking of that indigo-haired woman sent a shiver of dread through him.
If he remembered correctly, last night, he had been drugged and ravished by that woman…
The more he thought about it, the more he felt a wave of nausea rise in his throat.
There could be no mistake.
In such a situation, no one would come to his rescue, and now he had awoken completely naked.
He didn’t hate making love.
On the contrary, doing so with someone he liked was a happy, addictive experience.
When he was with Luo Xiya, he often felt like he wasn’t himself at all, willing to indulge in any of her games, sharing bodily fluids and pleasure without triggering his obsessive cleanliness.
But with a stranger…
Roman still remembered that night when he acted almost on instinct for mutual destruction in the face of two strangers.
Just the thought of kissing, coupling, or touching someone he didn’t like made his skin crawl.
His once-cured cleanliness obsession threatened to return.
In the past, when his symptoms flared up, he would curl up alone in the bathtub, scrubbing his skin raw and red, as if he could peel away a layer.
Those experiences during his work, being touched by men and women alike, had turned him into a near-aquatic creature at night.
There were times when he woke up still in the bathtub.
Suppressing his instinctive disgust, Roman carefully observed his surroundings, pondering how to escape.
Then confusion struck him.
The room’s decor was both sacred and luxurious, filled with exquisite furnishings and religious items.
The bed he lay on was no longer the empty wooden one from last night, but a soft and comfortable bed.
Judging by its size, it could easily fit five more people.
A woman like that… would she live in such a place?
As Roman’s doubts swirled, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
“You’re awake?”
At the sound, Roman instinctively tightened the blanket around himself, burying his head like a startled rabbit.
Peering out from the folds, he saw a woman clad in silver-white light armor, a rapier at her waist, standing upright and dignified.
Simply by standing there, she was like an unyielding lance, exerting immense pressure.
And now, facing Roman, she knelt on one knee without hesitation, offering her purest loyalty and respect.
“Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Rosetta. You need not fear. It was I who saved you last night and brought you here.”
Roman sensed Rosetta’s upright aura and truthful tone.
Only then did he lift the blanket slightly, revealing his small head.
Rosetta’s white hair, tied in a ponytail, hung over her shoulder due to her lowered head.
She knelt with one knee, a hand on her chest—a scene that would astonish anyone who saw it.
Because Rosetta would never show such deference, not even before the Holy Throne.
“Where is this place?”
Roman didn’t know who Rosetta was.
Out of courtesy, he only asked about their location.
At the same time, he wondered why she addressed him as ‘Your Highness.’
Only then did Rosetta look up slightly, revealing her delicate and radiant face, golden eyes full of gentleness and respect.
“This is the Holy Light Church, Saint City Osiris.”
She spoke softly.
“And you are the Holy Child bestowed by Goddess Fara.”
“That is why you are here, in the room of the Holy Throne.”
“Majesty specifically entrusted me with this duty.”
“At today’s Ceremony of the Holy City, the Holy Throne will announce your identity to the entire continent.”
“And you will become a being revered by all.”
“Even the Holy Throne can only stand equal to you.”
And she…
From this moment on, would protect your safety.
Rosetta thought, filled with a strong sense of responsibility.