Early morning, inside the Duke Howard’s Mansion.
The knight furrowed his brows as he looked at the maid standing before him.
“T-the Young Lady went out. You probably won’t see her today…”
The maid nervously glanced up at the towering knight clad in heavy armor.
The knight simply lowered his head to glance once, then a deep, muffled voice echoed from within his helmet: “I understand.”
The young maid immediately exhaled in relief.
This knight seems pretty reasonable to talk to…
Just then, she heard him speak again.
“I remember… there was a boy named Li Ang here before, right?”
The maid froze for a moment, then recalling the rumors, stammered out, “Y-yes, but don’t worry, he was dismissed yesterday!”
No sooner had she spoken than the atmosphere around them suddenly grew heavy, making it even hard to breathe.
“Dismissed?” the knight murmured.
“Tell me about him…”
She had come precisely because of Li Ang.
The pressure on her eased immediately, and she carefully began recounting from when the Young Lady had taken Li Ang in.
For some reason, though, the knight seemed quite angry.
The maid trembled.
She told of Li Ang as she remembered him, occasionally being interrupted for details, but thankfully she finished with many stumbles and without trouble.
Afterward, the knight let her leave.
Back in his room, the knight slowly removed his helmet, revealing a young woman’s delicate face, her eyes full of complex emotions.
“Master… you big liar, we promised we’d be together forever.”
Elvie reached up to touch the somewhat worn knight’s emblem on her chest and muttered to herself, then suddenly grit her teeth.
“Liar!”
***
Meanwhile, Li Ang’s consciousness detached from the simulation.
The morning sunlight gently streamed onto the bed as he slowly opened his eyes.
To his surprise, it felt like he had just slept, and his mind was unusually clear.
Li Ang didn’t choose to continue the simulation but tidied his belongings slightly and prepared to head to the Church.
After all, Visilia was still covering the treatment costs for his sister, and now that he was leaving, he couldn’t just keep freeloading.
Today was the day to bring her back.
The roads in the Imperial Capital Solaris were clearly much better than those in Ashen City, with smooth, grayish-blue stone bricks paving the streets, and even the air carried a faint floral fragrance.
Li Ang followed the path straight to the city center and looked up.
The Church stood in the heart of the capital, its silver-gray building solemn and sacred in the morning sunlight.
The walls were densely inscribed with text.
These were all the Empire’s laws and regulations, a unique sight owing to the Empire’s devotion to the God of Order and Law!
“You’re here?”
A Priest at the entrance greeted Li Ang, then wrote his name down on a sheet of paper.
“By the way, Miss Visilia is here too, probably visiting your sister.”
Hmm?
Li Ang felt a vague sense of foreboding—after all, those two had never gotten along well.
He quickly crossed the main hall of prayer and headed to the reception area at the back of the Church.
The corridor was quiet, so much so that even the prayers from outside were inaudible.
Li Ang found the room and knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
Soon, a young girl’s voice answered from within.
Li Ang pushed open the door to see gray-white walls covered in all kinds of doodles.
Just one glance made it obvious who the owner was… definitely a mischievous child!
To Li Ang’s surprise, Visilia was nowhere to be seen.
The room only held a pink-haired girl sitting on the bed, the blanket kicked aside to reveal her slender calves and ankles.
Her hair was messy and stuck to her face, but her lively eyes instantly locked onto Li Ang.
“Brother!”
The girl waved excitedly when she saw him.
Li Ang closed the door and sat down beside the bed.
The pink-haired girl puffed up her cheeks and said crossly, “Brother, I heard you were dismissed?”
That must have been Visilia telling her.
Li Ang nodded.
“I was actually planning to resign voluntarily.”
“See! That stubborn Young Lady is just all about pride. Otherwise, why would she have me convince you to go back?”
“Sylph.”
Li Ang stopped her helplessly, grasping the main point.
“The Young Lady… wants me to go back?”
He was a little surprised.
“Yeah. Brother, you can’t be serious about going back. That Young Lady is really not right for you! I don’t approve of her being my sister-in-law anyway!”
Sylph resolutely crossed her arms over her chest.
Li Ang felt a headache coming on just listening to her ramble.
No one could tell she was seriously ill.
“Alright, I’m not going back. I’m here today to take you with me.”
Li Ang said helplessly.
Even if what Sylph said was true, going back now would only make things more awkward.
“How’s your illness?”
Li Ang changed the subject.
“Huh?”
Sylph blinked, then suddenly remembered and shouted as she fell back onto the bed, “Ah! I’m dying… My last wish before I go is that my brother never marries that evil Visilia, and then gives me a big hug!”
Her acting was riddled with flaws, so much so that Li Ang didn’t even bother to comment.
The girl lay pitifully on the bed, blinking big eyes at Li Ang, reaching out with both hands quite obviously asking.
A hug, please.
Li Ang sighed in his heart and leaned forward.
Before he could reach Sylph, the girl moved closer herself.
“Alright, enough joking around.”
Li Ang firmly held down the little head that kept trying to climb into his arms.
His scheme foiled, Sylph pouted and asked, “Brother, did you eat breakfast before coming here?”
“No.”
Li Ang hadn’t had time to eat, having gotten up and come straight to the Church after washing up.
Upon hearing this, Sylph quietly pulled half a piece of bread from her lap and pressed it into Li Ang’s hand.
“Eat quickly, I saved it especially for you!”
It was a habit they developed when wandering outside together—since Li Ang often didn’t have enough to eat, little Sylph always saved half a piece of bread for him.
Li Ang held the bread, still warm in places.
That winter, the bread they secretly hid had frozen into a brick-like hardness, impossible to bite.
They had to warm it with body heat before eating.
So he didn’t show any disgust but instead carefully ate the bread.
They never wasted food.
Li Ang brushed the crumbs off his hand, frowning.
“Stop changing the subject. What did Miss Catherine say?”
He could clearly feel Sylph was hiding something.
Catherine was a Priest at the Church, a powerful Seventh-Rank Priest who had been treating Sylph.
“Her body is in bad shape. Conservatively, she has less than a year to live. The most important thing is, my healing magic has lost its effect on her.”
The woman’s voice was gentle, like a spring breeze.
Li Ang’s heart sank at her words, while Sylph sitting before him looked dissatisfied.
“Miss Catherine! We clearly agreed not to tell Brother!”
“Sorry, but I must take responsibility for your life.”
Catherine showed an apologetic expression.