In the end, Lady Catherine couldn’t hold back the affection in her heart.
She stepped forward and pulled Roman into her embrace, gently stroking his long silver hair that reached his waist.
Buried amidst the majestic snowy peaks of the lady, feeling both the balloon-like fullness and elasticity as well as the soft, cake-like sweetness—two sensations so different yet coexisting—Roman’s thoughts were instantly interrupted.
This feeling reminded him of his long-lost ‘mother’.
That had once been his safest, warmest harbor.
Although he had long since been abandoned by her, those memories were still beautiful when recalled now, even if most had faded with time.
Now, lying in Lady Catherine’s arms, he seemed to have picked up those memories once more.
Lady Catherine was about as tall and slender as Luo Xiya, but her figure was much more voluptuous, the bearing of a noblewoman cultivated through years of pampered living.
As she drew near, a rich, intoxicating fragrance filled the air.
Only then did Roman realize that his earlier actions had been misunderstood…
Though his appearance and demeanor always unconsciously gave off a soft and fragile impression, in truth, with his previous life’s experiences, he was far stronger than anyone around him—even Luo Xiya—could imagine.
His earlier silence and contemplation had actually been about how to prepare his words if Duchess Kelden really did arrive tomorrow.
But now, being misunderstood, Roman couldn’t ‘break free’ and could only let the lady hold him, helplessly letting out a few muffled sounds.
A ticklish feeling spread from his chest, along with warm breath.
Lady Catherine’s fair cheeks unknowingly flushed red, and only after sensing Roman’s attempts to break free did she finally let him go.
Once out of her embrace, Roman’s eyes started spinning in dizzy circles again.
If not for Luo Xiya catching him from behind in time, he almost wouldn’t have been able to steady himself.
Supporting Roman by the waist, Luo Xiya shot a barely perceptible, resentful glance at Lady Catherine.
Moments ago, faced with Duchess Kelden’s overbearing presence, the psychological shadow from childhood made her instinctively timid.
Even when she saw Roman being interrogated, she hadn’t stepped up to defend him right away—instead, it was Lady Catherine who intervened first, shielding Roman from the confrontation with the duchess and protecting him.
This left Luo Xiya with complicated feelings.
“I didn’t expect the duchess would be coming as soon as tomorrow…”
Elise sighed from the side.
“She’s always been that decisive,” Lady Catherine said, having eased the awkwardness.
“Don’t worry, with me here, she won’t have a chance to make any decisions on her own.”
Hearing Lady Catherine’s firm assurance, everyone couldn’t help but feel a great sense of relief.
Looking at her gentle, beautiful, yet reliable and powerful Aunt Catherine before her, the proud Luo Xiya felt both admiration and a silent resolve forming in her heart.
Far off in the Lily Territory, Milis was dragging Tania along the road, holding her with a chain in one hand as if dragging a dead dog.
As they walked, Milis suddenly stopped.
Several people in gray robes respectfully approached and stood before her.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
They all knelt on one knee before Milis.
Milis, as if granted amnesty, immediately tossed Tania before them with a look of disgust.
“I hope your efficiency will be higher with this troublesome matter once I’m done.”
One of them took Tania, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Your Highness, you mentioned someone nearby awakened a mid-tier or higher Sacred Seal. Do you have any leads now?”
Hearing this, Milis couldn’t help but curl her lips in self-satisfaction.
Searched high and low, but found it by chance—Milis’s main reason for coming to the Lily Territory wasn’t even to capture Tania, but rather to meet Lady Catherine, and incidentally give Luo Xiya a bit of a warning.
Mixing business with personal matters—perhaps that best described Milis.
Yet, unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, she stumbled upon a lead for something as difficult as finding a needle in the ocean.
Thinking back to the unusual reaction from the Holy Throne that night, the vague title of ‘Holy Child’ was almost certainly not referring to a girl, but a boy.
A boy who awakened a High-tier Sacred Seal?
Just thinking about it left Milis shocked, even a little horrified.
If this was true, that boy would be the greatest ‘heretic’ in the history of the Continent.
It wasn’t that his faith was heretical, but that his very existence was a mistake in the eyes of those in power—he shouldn’t exist.
He would become the greatest disruption to the Continent’s longstanding hierarchy.
This meant that extraordinary talent was no longer an insurmountable gap for men.
Even if no others like him ever appeared again, the potential impact of just this one boy was unimaginable.
So, once this boy was found, even without an order from the Holy Throne, the Walkers of the Heretic Tribunal would voluntarily help His Majesty quietly eliminate this ‘heretic’ in some hidden corner.
However, the Yanglight Continent was simply too vast.
Finding someone without even accurate information was no different than fishing for a needle in the sea.
Normally, someone awakening a High-tier Sacred Seal would cause a noticeable surge of Magic Power in the area, but this time there wasn’t the slightest anomaly—it was clearly artificially concealed.
There were very few people on the Continent capable of interfering with the flow of the Magic Tide; either their Magic Power was above Sanctuary, or their Sacred Seal itself had relevant abilities.
Even within such a narrowed range, searching for a person was still like shrinking the sea to a river—still extremely difficult.
That was why, when Milis saw Roman, her usually cold nature was so shaken and even excited.
A white flower replacing his right eye wasn’t much on its own—the Continent had all sorts of deformed people, and not all could be Holy Children, right?
As for a man possessing a flawless beauty comparable to a goddess, that was exceedingly rare in history, but she could still explain it by suspecting that Roman’s bloodline might be connected to Elves.
It wasn’t until the end, when she sensed the Magic Power fluctuations around Roman and the means personally arranged by Lady Catherine, that she truly realized—perhaps she really had fished out the needle lost in the sea by accident.
Each of the first three conditions alone proved nothing, but when combined—and with Lady Catherine being one of the few capable of concealing the Magic Tide—the answer was almost certain.
“I want you to help me investigate someone.”
Staring into the distance at the Lily Territory, thinking of Luo Xiya’s provocative look and the clear stubbornness in Roman’s eyes, Milis couldn’t help but speak in a lighter, more cheerful tone, filled with pleasant satisfaction.
She told these Apostles of the Heretic Tribunal about Roman’s information from the recent Auction.
Watching them leave in different directions, Milis stood where she was and softly hummed an aria.
Suddenly, a pair of Flame Wings woven from Magic Power formed behind her, and in the blink of an eye, Milis vanished from the spot.