“Hmm?”
As Maria walked alone along the avenue of the Papal Palace, a figure suddenly appeared before her.
A peony-patterned qipao, a tall and alluring figure, and a cascade of enchanting silver hair swayed freely in the night as she turned, the faint glow settling on it, revealing a clean and sacred aura.
After an elegant turn, Rosalind unfolded her fan with both hands, gently fanning herself as she sized up Maria with a playful gaze.
Lightly tapping her toes, her alluring legs appearing and disappearing at the slit, Rosalind laughed softly.
“Maria, were you satisfied with your exchange with Saint Son?”
Maria was momentarily stunned, then shook her head and smiled.
“Bishop Rosalind, did you come all this way just to mock me?”
“I don’t know where this talk of mocking comes from.”
Rosalind’s eyes above the fan revealed a hint of grievance as she spoke in a dissatisfied tone.
“You little vixen, stop teasing me.”
Maria replied irritably.
“That little fox, that little vixen just finished teasing you, and now your Aunt can’t wait to come and step on me too?”
“Teasing?”
This time Rosalind finally showed a puzzled expression, closing her fan as she asked.
“What did His Highness do to you?”
“Hmph…”
At this point, even Maria, who had been in a good mood just moments ago, couldn’t help but snort.
Ignoring Rosalind, she walked forward, wanting to leave by bypassing her directly.
“Hey~”
But Rosalind’s curiosity was piqued. She patted her fan and walked up beside Maria.
She had been busy dealing with Milis just now, helping cover for the two and keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Naturally, she didn’t know what the two had talked about or what had happened, so when she saw Maria leave, she quickly chased after her.
“If my good child did anything rude, just tell me. I’ll make sure to educate her properly for you.”
Rosalind asked with a mischievous smile, tapping Maria’s shoulder.
“Besides, your own intentions were so twisted. Even if that child did something inappropriate, you’d have deserved it~”
She snorted as she spoke.
Maria had already been infuriated by that little fox pretending to be pure, and now this Mother Fox’s teasing words were both mocking and insinuating.
She decided to just say it directly.
“That little fox agreed to my request.”
“Ah?”
Rosalind froze, her folding fan stuck in place.
That child agreed?
Looking at the red-haired woman before her, Rosalind suddenly found her a bit detestable.
A mix of surprise, disappointment, and dejection surged within her, and she fell silent.
That sense of loss—it came from her own belief that Roman would become a true man, based on the premise of Roman’s innocence.
If Roman was rotten inside despite his outward purity, then everything she had said and done would be a complete joke.
“What’s with that expression? You’re the one who played matchmaker for me. Now that I’ve succeeded, why are you upset?”
Maria felt Rosalind was being unreasonable and asked bluntly.
“…”
Rosalind ignored her, staring silently at the clean floor of the Papal Palace, feeling as if the reflection there was a clown performing for its own amusement.
As for the woman beside her, she’d probably already agreed on a place with that child. Maria’s dissatisfaction was likely due to some excessive conditions she’d set.
“Click…”
Maria glanced at the woman beside her, who always left her guessing, and suddenly a terribly indecent thought crossed her mind.
“You don’t… also have feelings for Saint Son, do you?”
Her voice was low and cold, like a venomous snake, hissing as she questioned Rosalind.
At the same time, her sharp eyes bore into Rosalind.
If Saintess Highness was Roman’s godmother, then she was his Aunt.
Was helping set them up just a ploy to tarnish Roman’s purity, lower his standards, and then use her own involvement as leverage against him?
As the Knight Order leader and a master schemer, Maria eyed Rosalind uneasily.
She decided not to tease her any further and spoke again.
“It seems you’ve misunderstood something.”
“Saint Son agreed to my terms on the surface, but in reality, he just wants to use this relationship to make me work for him.”
“Work for him?”
Rosalind, lost in thought and with a dirty mind, misunderstood immediately.
She glanced at Maria, thinking that with her nearly 1.8-meter height and perfectly sculpted body, she’d make great ‘work’ in bed.
“Mother Fox, can you cut down on your nonsense?”
Maria, sensing Rosalind’s strange gaze, grew irritated and poked her side.
“His Highness’s meaning was that I give him three Promises, to be fulfilled when he needs them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t trust me with himself.”
“When the Promises are used up, and we no longer need to doubt each other, my requests of him would naturally be fulfilled as well.”
“…….”
After a brief silence, Rosalind spread her fan, instantly sweeping away the earlier gloom, and covered her face with a light laugh.
“This child… At such a young age, he already knows how to spin grand tales and use empty promises to make others work for him.”
Rosalind said with admiration.
“The most crucial part is, you have no choice but to accept. Otherwise, you’ll never reach the edge of the Law Domain in your lifetime.”
“The things you need are so precious. As the Saint Son, any condition he sets isn’t excessive, and his methods are so subtle, just at that threshold—leaving you neither able to accept nor refuse, and letting him use that name to order you around at will.”
Rosalind’s fan fluttered more cheerfully, satisfaction shining in her amethyst eyes.
“Many with narrow views, even if they obtain something from a Domain Transcendent, care only for some trivial material gains, never maximizing their benefits.”
“They don’t realize that for a Domain Transcendent, nothing is more valuable than a ‘Promise.’”
“Brilliant. Simply brilliant.”
The more Rosalind spoke, the more Maria’s head ached.
“Enough. You can shut up now.”
‘Hee hee, I know~’
In Rosalind’s original plan, Roman should have flatly rejected Maria’s request, leaving her to clean up the mess afterward.
Yet that child silently gained three invaluable Promises from Maria, almost unscathed.
Rosalind touched her pounding heart, growing more excited for the future.
Who’s next…?