Chapter 84: “Daughter”

Sylvia’s forehead suddenly creased with irritation as she heard Bianca’s analysis.

“I tracked the trail all the way to Lady Lainie’s place. I was just about to examine her body when I was attacked.”

“Attacked?”

“Yes.”

Bianca sighed deeply.

“Lady Lainie seemed possessed. Some black, viscous filth appeared inside her body. They tried to strike me when I wasn’t paying attention, but I managed to stop them.”

Sylvia calmed down at this and began to analyze.

“Are these monsters formed from the toxins accumulated inside Lainie’s body?”

“That should be the case.”

“So, those spices merely destroy the mind and body of ordinary people, but for powerful Transcendents, they even serve as nutrients, nurturing these creatures?”

Sylvia’s tone grew increasingly flat as she spoke.

Yet Bianca knew that the Holy Throne had already silently deemed the subject a target to be eliminated.

The Holy City, along with several neighboring Nations, treated these items as contraband.

But farther away, the Cathedral’s reach was limited.

Combined with the secret smuggling operations they had adopted, detection became even more difficult.

“Holy Throne, should we…”

Before Bianca could finish, she suddenly widened her eyes and fell silent.

Sylvia directly reached into the coffin, lifting Lainie out with one hand supporting her shoulders and the other under her knees.

Accompanied by a few drifting flower petals, Sylvia cradled Lainie like a precious treasure.

“I will take Lainie back to the Holy City for burial. This place is no place for her to rest.”

Lowering her gaze to Lainie’s parched lips, Sylvia hesitated briefly before gently pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Turning her back to Bianca, Sylvia’s eyes suddenly felt dry.

Lainie was truly gone.

Countless times earlier, she had tried to numb herself.

But when Lainie was finally in her arms, the weight of reality was unbearably heavy — so heavy it nearly suffocated her.

“My Princess, I’ll take you home.”

“My Princess” — a term Sylvia had often teased Lainie with in the past.

Bianca silently tore open a portal, saying nothing more.

“Wait here for me a few minutes. I’ll be back soon.”

A distance of a thousand miles was thus lightly traversed by Sylvia in mere minutes.

“Mm…”

Only after the Pope left did Bianca finally exhale in relief.

There was no denying that the Holy Throne’s pressure was immense.

Simply standing silently beside Sylvia felt like carrying a mountain.

Now that she had some time away, Bianca could finally relax, if only briefly.

The Cathedral’s floor, polished daily by her, gleamed like a mirror.

Bianca looked down at herself — her black and white nun’s habit tightly hugging her figure.

Adjusting her collar quietly to ensure she had not been impolite earlier, she thought about whether she should change into something larger.

Especially at the chest, which was stretched taut, the habit was creased and strained.

She often felt breathless and uncomfortable there.

What a troublesome thing…

Her heavy bosom sagged like ripe peaches.

She weighed them silently in her hands, frowning at the discomfort.

The buttons across her chest looked “dangerous,” strained so tightly they seemed ready to burst open at any moment.

Running her fingers through the pale golden strands beneath her black veil, Bianca frowned over these concerns.

“What are you doing?”

A voice came from behind.

Startled, Bianca’s chest heaved and bounced slightly.

Sylvia had already rushed back from the Holy City, her eyes scanning Bianca up and down with a strange expression.

Only now did she realize this nun’s figure was somehow provocatively sinful.

Even with a solemn and holy demeanor, it was hard not to be distracted.

Not to mention she’d just caught Bianca clutching her chest.

Shaking her head, Sylvia dismissed such thoughts.

After settling Lainie back in the Holy City, she forced herself out of her negative emotions.

The key now was the child — a boy named Roman.

She asked directly, “I will investigate Lainie’s matter myself, but tell me why Roman was inside the Lily Countess’s domain — in that Count’s estate.”

Though she had already guessed the likeliest scenario, she still needed confirmation from Bianca.

“Lord Roman…”

Bianca considered her words carefully.

“After Lady Lainie passed away, Lord Roman was captured by Auction officials due to debts from medical treatment. He was put up for sale at the Auction Venue in Sakura Violet Imperial City.”

Listening to this, Sylvia’s cold eyes widened further. When Bianca finished, she finally lost control.

“Auction? You mean he was sold like a slave?”

Her anger was overshadowed by pain and pity.

Lainie’s death was the direct cause, but hearing about this child’s fate, her misplaced resentment vanished.

After all, Roman and Lainie were both victims. How could she blame him?

“So, the Lily Countess was the one who bought him in the end?”

Bianca lowered her head, reading the anger in Sylvia’s voice.

She thought for a moment and gently explained to Luo Xiya, “The Count is a decent person, without the vile faults some nobles have. He treated Lord Roman with respect.”

“Lord Roman is also lucky in some ways. I’m sure Goddess Fara wouldn’t let him be abused by those lowly people.”

Recalling the girl who had braved the palace halls to meet her, Bianca couldn’t help but admit she was an imposing and righteous child. Roman being purchased by her was, in fact, fortunate.

As one of the most powerful people on the continent, she was well aware of how depraved some noblewomen were behind closed doors.

Those obsessed with boys favored and coveted keeping a “daughter” at home.

The quotation marks were necessary because these “daughters” were actually delicate, pretty little boys.

By day, they were doted on like real daughters or sisters.

But at night, those women became shameless beasts.

They’d dress the boys in beautiful princess dresses, then violently ravage them in bed, riding them through the night.

They made the boys call them “Mama” during these acts to enhance the twisted pleasure.

They also fed them drugs to keep them lively and clingy throughout the night.

Side effects?

Who cared.

These “daughters” were consumables, like crops—once one batch was used up, another was ready to replace them.