Chapter 92: Interrogation

‘Had I really traveled back five hundred years? But how could such a thing be possible? It was something that had never happened before.’

Suddenly, Iana recalled something Headmaster Ianbella had once said—that her potential surpassed Serinveia’s.

Based on that, a guess formed in Iana’s mind: could her ability be related to time?

The thought took root in her mind like a towering tree.

Yes, only this could explain her current situation.

Only a time-related ability could surpass Serinveia’s spatial power in potential and strength.

‘If my ability really is time, then defeating Serinveia would be effortless. ‘

With that idea, Iana began to envision a bright future, imagining herself dominating the Holy Trial and sweeping aside the other female protagonists with overwhelming power.

But then Iana snapped back to reality.

The trial’s challenges had always been directly related to one’s abilities.

If hers truly was a godlike power over time, wouldn’t her trial be impossibly difficult as well?

The thought made Iana shiver involuntarily.

Just then, Elia happened to walk by and saw this moment.

“What’s wrong? Are you cold?” 

Elia noticed Iana and Lillian surrounded by knights in the center of the courtyard and felt a strange intuition.

It seemed to suggest that the two were not spies.

Besides, Elia had never seen these two before.

The Pope’s people were well-known to her, and neither of them had appeared among them.

Of course, it was still possible they had been recently recruited by the Pope.

Although Elia’s sixth sense as a Saintess was usually accurate, to be safe, she decided to interrogate the two herself.

She prepared to use the Confession Spell.

The Confession Spell was a Saintess-exclusive magic, only learnable by those with Saintess blood.

Anyone hit by this spell, whose bloodline development was lower than the caster’s, would enter a special state where they must answer the caster’s questions truthfully and unconditionally.

That was why Elia always took any suspected spies encountered by the knights directly to herself for interrogation—because she would never make a mistake.

This was also the real reason why the Pope wouldn’t normally send spies this way.

However, the Confession Spell consumed a considerable amount of mana.

Elia preferred not to use it unless necessary.

But since these two girls had appeared along her secret path, she couldn’t afford to be careless.

As Elia cast the Confession Spell on Iana and Lillian, neither resisted at all.

The glow in their eyes dimmed, their expressions turned blank, and they fell into a trance-like state very similar to hypnosis.

“Are you spies sent by the Pope?”

“No.” The two answered in unison.

“Then how did you get here?”

“I was knocked unconscious by some force, and when I opened my eyes, I was here.” Lillian murmured drowsily.

“I was teleported here.” Iana replied.

During the questioning, Elia noticed a Saintess-like aura on Lillian very similar to her own, which piqued her curiosity.

Normally, such an aura only appeared in members of the Saintess Family, but Elia had never seen Lillian inside the family.

Curious, she asked, “Who are you? Which family do you belong to?”

“My name is Lillian. I come from the Saint Yola Holy Maiden Family.”

“Saint Yola Holy Maiden Family?” Elia frowned.

She had never heard of that family before.

The only Saintess Family in this world was her own, and it was not called Saint Yola.

But under the effect of the Confession Spell, with Lillian’s bloodline development barely at seven percent, she couldn’t possibly be lying.

“Which kingdom are you from?”

“The Crovian Kingdom.”

Another unfamiliar name.

Elia began to wonder if her Confession Spell had grown rusty from disuse.

After a brief line of questioning, Elia still didn’t get the answers she wanted.

However, she was certain that these two were neither spies sent by the Pope nor infected by any parasitic creatures.

So she decided not to press further on their origins.

Elia withdrew the Confession Spell, allowing them to return to normal.

“What happened just now?” Iana came out of her daze, her memories hazy—like she had just awoken from a brief dream.

Lillian rubbed her temples, looking at Elia in confusion, the woman she had seen before.

“Did we… say something just now?”

Elia smiled gently, her tone much softer now.

“Don’t worry too much. I was only asking some simple questions.”

“I’ve confirmed you’re not enemies. You can choose to leave or come with us.”

“However, if you choose the former, it might be dangerous. I hope you’ll consider this carefully.”

She paused and kindly scanned Iana and Lillian, lingering a moment longer on Lillian.

“But I am curious about your origins, so I’m more inclined to have you choose the latter.”

Iana caught the subtle implication in Elia’s words and cautiously asked, “Did you discover something?”

Elia nodded slightly, “I’m not entirely sure yet. I need more time to verify it, so I want you to stay by my side.”

Faced with Elia’s invitation, Iana pondered.

She had come here to undertake a trial, but she still didn’t know what her trial was.

The Demon Dragon Mother hadn’t told her, only saying it would be difficult.

After a brief moment of thought, Iana chose to accept Elia’s invitation.

After all, Elia was a special existence—five hundred years later, she still claimed a close connection to Iana and said she was Lillian’s master.

So no matter what, avoiding contact with her was impossible.

This was the time loop, an unchangeable fact.

Even if she refused now, she would end up interacting with Elia later.

Moreover, Iana had a vague feeling that Elia was closely linked to her trial.

“Alright, I choose to go with you.”

“Good.” Elia’s radiant face broke into a smile as she said to the knights, “Prepare a carriage for them.”

“Saintess, is this appropriate? We are on a secret mission. Even though we’ve confirmed they aren’t enemies, shouldn’t we avoid bringing them along?” a knight voiced his concern.

“Do as I say. I have a feeling these two can help us get through this crisis.”