Without her noticing, Olivia had already begun stroking the top of her head.
A strange, scorching heat flowed from her forehead, drilling into her brain and spreading throughout her entire body.
It felt so warm.
Olivia was a powerful and resolute leader of the heavenly oracle envoys.
She herself had once been polluted by this very power.
The entire process did not take more than two minutes.
By the time she came back to her senses, a black diamond-shaped pattern had already appeared on her forehead.
“Ha… mmm~”
Philina let out a moan.
The reason her reaction was so intense wasn’t because accepting the shadow caused her pain.
Rather, it was because a warm power had invaded her magic, bringing a tingling numbness that spread across her whole body.
Her face flushed red as she moaned again. “Ah…”
“See, Philina? It wasn’t as painful as you imagined, right?”
“Mm.”
Unconsciously, she suddenly recalled Lady Gabriella’s first reaction upon seeing her.
This was one of the reasons her emotions were running out of control—because Lady Gabriella had felt she was in the way, disrupting their life.
She was causing trouble for Lady Gabriella.
“Lady Gabriella!”
Philina chanted the name silently once more.
Forcing herself to open her eyes and rouse her spirit.
Being eroded by shadow was extremely dangerous; it could even turn her into a demon.
Strangely, her heart was cheering and celebrating this moment.
How wonderful~ I can finally fight side by side with Lady Gabriella!
She could finally reunite with Liya and the others and have pleasant conversations with the gentle Lady Olivia.
What a terrifying thought.
By the time this crossed her mind, Olivia had already withdrawn her finger from her forehead. Philina breathed heavily, feeling every detail of the tingling numbness spreading inside her body, and couldn’t help but blush again.
“Haa… ah… haa…”
“Do you need me to accompany you back?”
“No, no need.”
Philina immediately stood up and left the room.
Her body felt fine, but she knew that if she stayed any longer, she would definitely break.
She had never expected Olivia to choose to corrupt her with darkness. She hadn’t anticipated this outcome at all.
Philina washed her face, trying to calm herself down.
Looking at the girl in the mirror—with eyes that seemed to have lost their light and the diamond pattern on her fair forehead—she realized she was on the verge of losing.
She suddenly thought of Elsa and Tina.
At the beginning, Tina had been just like her, swearing that she could restore Lady Gabriella’s sanity and work with her from the inside to strike at the demon race.
But it had all been in vain.
Tina, who lacked the immense power of a heavenly oracle envoy, would surely succumb to the darkness and eventually fall, submitting to the evil god.
“I won’t… I’m almost…”
She tried touching the pattern on her forehead. Immediately, that tingling, numbing sensation surged through her body once more.
Philina was no ordinary human—she was a heavenly oracle envoy.
She knew about the [Holy Body], something most humans were unaware of.
It was a perfect physique forged from Lady Gabriella’s pure power, immune to curses and all forms of darkness.
Unfortunately, the portion of that power she was supposed to return had already been taken by the evil god.
Now, she could only find another way.
Morphis, Miss Liya, and Miss Olivia each carried a portion of the Goddess’s power.
Now, Miss Liya had already fallen, and Lady Olivia had been corrupted by darkness.
No…
Perhaps falling was her only path forward.
Philina even considered seeking out Lady Liya. She wandered aimlessly through the corridors, hesitating.
It would be very happy, wouldn’t it?
At the very least, she had to meet Lady Gabriella in person.
That night, since Philina had no work assignments, she returned to her dormitory to rest.
She chose not to go back to the castle.
That might arouse suspicion and cause her to lose any chance of saving them.
The moment she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Philina woke up naturally.
She crawled out of bed, washed up, and used water magic to clean her body, making sure she smelled fresh and pleasant.
She put on the black stockings Elsa had mentioned, along with a well-fitting maid outfit.
Using magic, she dried her crimson hair and placed the white maid headdress on her head.
A dignified and adorable little maid appeared in the mirror.
After waking up, Philina felt her condition had improved considerably.
She tended to get anxious easily, and when anxious, she would become incoherent and miss good opportunities.
She needed to stay calm.
In the early morning, Lady Gabriella would definitely appear in the kitchen. That would be her best chance.
And that was exactly what happened.
Although the sky had not fully brightened yet, the entire residential palace wasn’t as cold as winter.
A refreshing breeze blew in from the window, gently lifting Gabriella’s shining silver-white hair.
However, the horns on her head and the pair of wings symbolized an eternal curse.
Miss Gabriella now seemed to be a complete demon.
Even more concerning was that the sharp edge that had once belonged to the Goddess—or rather, the Silver-White Sword Empress—seemed to have vanished entirely.
She had become more elegant, yet also more dangerous—like a cobra waiting for the right moment to strike.
The two met on the necessary path to the dining hall.
“Good morning, Miss Gabriella.”
Gabriella narrowed her eyes as she looked over the petite maid.
There was the scent of a curse on her.
“Hmm, looks like Mother’s doing?”
The soft and obedient girl before her.
Compared to her previous arrogant and domineering attitude, she now looked more like…
“Miss Philina, is there something you need from me~?”
“Lady Gabriella, I… I have something important I want to discuss with you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Miss Gabriella, how… how is your body doing? Is it alright~?”
Ever since she became pregnant, the magic power inside her body had become unstable.
But now, through some method, she had managed to stabilize it.
If her belly started to grow larger, she might completely lose her ability to move freely and would need to stay home peacefully to raise the child.
Right now, Gabriella wanted to know what Philina was planning to do.
She gave Philina a deep look and revealed a warm smile.
“Miss Philina, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Mm.”
Philina’s eyes shifted as if she was thinking.
Her gaze was hesitant, and her heart was clearly struggling… it was very obvious.
“About what happened last time, I’m sorry. I… I must have caused you a lot of trouble.”
Gabriella remembered that this idiot Philina had previously come up with the idea of sealing the evil god.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Even now, Gabriella felt there was nothing wrong with what she had done.
Betraying one’s master was never allowed.
“Hmm? You just wanted to help me, right? Looking at you, Miss Philina, it seems you haven’t completely fallen yet.”
“This isn’t Miss Philina’s fault~ If anyone should apologize, it should be me.”
The corners of Gabriella’s mouth curved upward.
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