“Not allowed to fully save Mother?”
Sophie’s face was filled with astonishment after hearing Kiran’s statement.
“Yes. At the time, I also couldn’t understand why they would give me such an order. No matter how much I asked, the only reply I received was that I must obey the command.”
Kiran’s expression was solemn.
“It seemed as if those people simply didn’t want Lady Sylvia to live. They hoped she would die in that accident.”
“Who exactly issued the order?” Sophie pressed.
Kiran hesitated.
He wasn’t sure whether he should speak.
The things involved behind this ran far too deep.
“Mr. Kiran, I only want to investigate the circumstances surrounding my mother’s accident back then. This has nothing to do with my current identity or any other powers.” Sophie said earnestly. “Because I am my mother’s daughter, I must uncover the truth.”
“Very well, Miss Sophie. I hope you can bear the truth.” Kiran finally spoke. “The ones who issued the orders to us physicians were precisely… the upper echelons of the Holy Land.”
“So it really was the Holy Land’s higher-ups?”
Sophie had more or less guessed this in her heart.
If there hadn’t been collusion from within, how could her mother have possibly died?
Hearing this answer from Kiran’s mouth now didn’t surprise her too much.
“Miss Sophie, judging from your reaction, you had already noticed some clues long ago, hadn’t you?” Kiran sighed. “Sigh, I also cannot understand it. Lady Sylvia was such an important Saintess to the Holy Land, yet she was abandoned in this way. The Holy Land’s actions felt like nothing more than a performance, announcing to everyone that they were doing their utmost on the surface to save her.”
“Besides you, did the other physicians also receive this order?”
“Yes,” Kiran nodded. “All of us physicians were under pressure from the Holy Land and chose to comply. We only put on some superficial efforts in front of others. However…”
“However?”
“I did not obey the order.”
A bitter smile surfaced on Kiran’s face.
“The Holy Land didn’t know that before Lady Sylvia entered the Holy Land, I had actually met her once. I happened to pass by a rural convent and encountered some trouble. While practicing medicine on my travels, I was pursued by bandits. She helped me and hid me inside the convent, allowing me to escape disaster.”
“So Mr. Kiran had met Mother before.” Sophie was somewhat surprised.
“I truly couldn’t stand seeing Lady Sylvia suffer. So after defying the order, late at night, I avoided the guards and secretly made my way to the ward. I planned to use every ounce of my ability to treat Lady Sylvia, even if it could only lessen some of her pain.”
Kiran’s eyes turned melancholy.
“Unfortunately, my medical skills were still insufficient. I couldn’t save Lady Sylvia in the end. She still departed from this world. The next day, because I had gone against the orders, I was captured. The higher-ups were furious and intended to label me a heretic and put me on trial.”
“Just because you tried to save my mother?”
“Yes. Back then, I really thought I was going to die. However, the Pope of the Holy Land stepped forward, persuaded his subordinates to show magnanimity, and spared me. In his eyes, what I did probably held no significance—just the actions of a man whose head had been turned by adoration.”
When Kiran mentioned Altes, his expression darkened, especially when recalling that hypocritical mercy.
“They demanded that I keep this matter strictly confidential in exchange for letting me go. I eventually agreed and never spoke of it to anyone else again. But I didn’t want to pretend to have a healer’s benevolent heart just for the sake of my career, so I voluntarily resigned, left the sight of others, returned to the countryside, and distanced myself from all those troubles. Hmph, the Holy Land is full of hypocrites. Truly disappointing.”
“…But they overlooked one thing. Actually, on the night I was treating Lady Sylvia, I heard her say something while she was unconscious.”
“What did she say?”
“Inside Mount Olens, there exists—”
Kiran paused.
“That’s all I heard at the time. I’m not sure of the exact words. Perhaps Lady Sylvia wanted to convey something.”
“Mount Olens…”
Sophie fell into deep thought.
Mount Olens was the sacred mountain—the very foundation of the Holy Land.
However, no one had ever entered the interior of the sacred mountain, and there was no known way in.
What lay within was something unheard of.
Could it be that her mother had learned some secret about the Holy Land, which brought about her fatal disaster?
She felt that the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death were growing increasingly complicated.
“Miss Sophie, for so many years, I have lived with guilt. I greatly respected Lady Sylvia. Logically, I should have publicly announced that there were many suspicious aspects to her death,” Kiran lowered his head. “But I have a family. I have a daughter, and now a granddaughter. If I had truly done that, they might have been placed in danger. I’m sorry. I failed her.”
“It’s alright. I understand, Mr. Kiran. Everyone has people they cherish and wish to protect. That is only natural. The fact that you summoned the courage back then to treat my mother was already incredibly brave. The ones who should feel ashamed are not you, but those despicable people.”
Sophie replied in a gentle voice.
“Thank you, Miss Sophie.”
Kiran’s eyes grew moist. His nose stung, and tears began to fall.
For so many years, he had not dared to face Sylvia’s daughter, always blaming himself for what happened back then.
After receiving Sophie’s gentleness, his emotions finally found release, and he gained some relief from the heavy burden of guilt.
“I am truly grateful to you, Mr. Kiran. The truth you have shared with me—I will keep it secret and ensure that neither you nor your current family comes to harm from others.”
“Understood, Miss Sophie. I’m sorry for showing you such an embarrassing sight… at my age…”
Kiran wiped away his tears. A heartfelt smile finally appeared on his face.
“However, now that you know all of this, what do you plan to do next?”
“I will investigate everything thoroughly. For example, the secrets hidden within Mount Olens. I will drag out the black hands lurking behind the scenes and make them pay the true price.”
Sophie answered with firm determination.
Her eyes were filled with resolve.
If her enemies were the Holy Land itself, then she would face the entire Holy Land head-on.
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