Chapter 202: An Unexpected Turn of Events
“Pell, why are you betraying me too? Have I treated you poorly?”
After several consecutive teleportation spells, Roden’s group took a short break. The Pope seized this opportunity to pull Helena aside and question her.
“Everything you have now was given to you by me. Without me, you would still be an ordinary person.”
The Pope couldn’t understand why the once loyal Helena would choose to betray her. As her “dirty glove,” Helena should understand her the best.
“Your Holiness, my name is Helena. Please address me by my proper name next time. Pell is already dead by your hand. Now, I belong to Kailun’s side, so please keep your distance.”
Helena smiled at the Pope. Saying these words made her feel much better.
She had been suppressing herself for too long. In the past, she had only vented her frustrations through blood and death, treating every mission as her last.
As the Pope’s assassin, it was a miracle that she had survived until now.
“You… all of you have gone mad, all bewitched by that demon! This is terrible! What benefits did he promise you to make you follow him? Tell me, and I’ll give you double!”
The Pope stomped her foot angrily. If Helena wasn’t currently on Kailun’s side, that foot might have already landed on her.
To the former Pope, assassins like Helena were just obedient consumables. If one died during a mission, she could just train another one.
Although most of the previous Saints had been “consumed,” there were still some remaining former Holy Sons. She could just sacrifice a few elderly ones to create two new useful assassins.
“Alright, Kailun promised me that I could whip you. So double would mean adding barbs to the whip. So, after we return, are you really willing to be whipped by me?”
Helena’s eyes lit up, and she pulled out a barbed whip from her sleeve.
She had always been prepared to whip the Pope and had even secretly infiltrated the dungeon before, but she had failed every time.
Now that the Pope had taken the initiative to make this request, she was ecstatic.
“…” The Pope glanced at Helena’s whip and remained silent for a moment. “You people are truly insane, utterly unreasonable. Get ready to continue our journey.”
She had given up on questioning Helena. Judging from her eyes, she was probably already broken.
Come to think of it, Chrissy was also broken. That look in her eyes wasn’t like the Chrissy she knew.
She had interacted with Kailun and discovered that his words and actions had a strange infectious power. It was normal for young people like Helena and Chrissy to be bewitched.
But this method wouldn’t work on her. Once she returned to the Temple of the Celestial God, she would have a chance to make new plans. Even the one-month contract wouldn’t have much impact on her.
“Can’t we talk a little more? Just one hour. Let me whip you for an hour. Please, Your Holiness.”
As the Pope turned to leave, Helena blocked her path with the whip.
“Get lost!”
The Pope shouted, her voice filled with authority.
“It seems Your Holiness is in a good mood. We’ll do it next time then.” Helena put away the whip, a hint of regret in her voice.
She wasn’t afraid of the Pope punishing her. Kailun had bestowed upon her immense power. Even the Pope might not be able to defeat her.
This was the reason why Kailun was confident in letting them accompany the Pope. The real lamb was the arrogant Pope herself.
Helena had only said that to get revenge, to provoke the Pope into attacking her, and then whip her a few times.
Unfortunately, the Pope had restrained herself.
……
In a small town a day’s journey away from Alaye, Charles and Paul met at an inn.
Thanks to Charles’s intervention, Harry’s life was temporarily preserved. He was estimated to be able to hold on for another three days.
“The Pope is already on her way back with reinforcements. Just hold on a little longer.”
Charles poured himself a pot of black tea and sipped it slowly. He had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in the past week, his entire demeanor looking much more dejected.
He had returned from the main battlefield in defeat, the Pope had briefly lost contact, Alaye was besieged by the Empress, and the White Jade Alliance, having suffered heavy losses, had severely condemned them…
So much had happened that he could barely keep up.
“Where did the Pope go? She’s not in Alaye, and she didn’t support the main battlefield. Could there be anything more important than these matters?”
Paul, sitting by the bed, tending to Harry, was full of resentment. He believed that all of this was due to the Pope’s miscalculations.
If it weren’t for her major misjudgment, they wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses at the second mine.
The two old men he had befriended were gone, and even Koya, who still had some value, had become useless.
But Koya deserved to die because she had sent someone to assassinate Harry.
“The Pope naturally has her own plans. If I hear another sarcastic remark from you, I’ll kick you and Harry out and let you fend for yourselves. Don’t forget, only by returning to Alaye can Harry be saved.”
Charles frowned. He still disliked Paul. If it weren’t for the bigger picture, he would have already started cursing.
A traitor who switched sides so easily wasn’t worthy of the Pope’s concern. Bringing him back to Alaye was just a waste of resources.
But since the Pope had given the order, he would naturally carry it out. If Paul dared to speak ill of the Pope again, he would find an opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Paul, sensing Charles’s displeasure, realized that he had said the wrong thing. He quickly changed his tune. “I understand. I wasn’t being sarcastic towards the Pope. I was just worried about Harry and spoke out of anxiety. I hope Master Charles can understand.”
“Hmph!” Charles snorted coldly and took another sip of tea.
“Buzz!”
Just as the warm tea went down his throat, he received a new message. He quickly put down his cup and checked it.
“It’s a magic letter from the Pope!”
Charles’s spirits lifted upon seeing the familiar handwriting. He excitedly read the contents and summarized, “The Pope said they have sped up their journey and are expected to arrive within two or three days. She wants us to go to a town a thousand miles away from Alaye to investigate the situation.”
“But wouldn’t it be dangerous to be so close to Alaye?” Paul hesitated.
Charles put away his communication device. “If you’re worried, stay here. I’ll go alone. But if we miss the best time for treatment, I’m afraid no one will be willing to treat Harry.”
After saying that, he jumped out of the window and ran towards the distance. He didn’t use teleportation magic directly because he wanted to give Paul a chance to catch up.
After all, two ninth-rank mages could handle more trouble. If he went alone, he could easily be surrounded by the Empress’s forces.
Paul, sitting by the bed, hesitated for a moment. Looking at Harry’s increasingly pale face, he finally made up his mind.
“Wait for me, Harry. As long as we can see the Pope, you’ll be safe.”
He muttered to himself, put Harry on his shoulder, and jumped out of the window.
However, Paul didn’t know that the current acting Pope was his enemy, and the Pope he was about to meet was also his enemy.
……
“Splash!”
Kailun relaxed in the comfortable hot spring, enjoying a moment of peace.
This hot spring was built by Ella. It wasn’t a natural hot spring but a magical creation.
However, it seemed very effective, and Ella planned to have the Chamber of Commerce promote it.
It felt no different from a natural hot spring and was perfect for relieving fatigue.
This hot spring was located in the courtyard. Only the people living in the small building could enter, which meant only Kailun, the sole male resident.
The hot spring was divided into four areas: the guest area for Isabella and the others, the maid area for the maids of the small building, the dancer area for the dancers of the Loya troupe, and the family area for those close to Kailun, such as Afra, Carol, and Anna.
As for Kailun himself?
He could go to the guest area for a chance encounter with Fox, the maid area for the service of lovely and beautiful maids, the dancer area for the mesmerizing dances of beautiful ladies, or the family area for another round of “activities.”
In a way, he could go anywhere. Except for Isabella, who was currently an ally, the others were mostly “prey.”
He was specifically thinking of Rose and Bella. If he encountered Shirley, he might hesitate. Shirley was a bit smarter, but only a bit.
After much deliberation, he went to the guest area. Besides Fox, everyone else was busy with their own affairs and wouldn’t be coming anytime soon.
But to his disappointment, he didn’t see Fox there, so he could only enjoy the hot spring alone.
Kailun called a maid to warm two bottles of white wine and then covered his eyes with a hot towel. After dismissing the maid, he leaned back against a large rock, lost in thought.
He wanted to be lazy occasionally, just lie there and do nothing.
He was tired and wanted to be a “salty fish.”
Kailun took a sip of the wine. It was a bit spicy, not as sweet as red wine, but the aftertaste was quite pleasant.
He lowered his constitution so he could enjoy the slight intoxication brought by the alcohol.
Feeling the steam from the hot spring, he took a few more sips, the feeling of intoxication becoming more pronounced.
As he sipped the wine leisurely, Kailun felt much more relaxed, a pleasant dizziness washing over him.
“Tap, tap, tap!”
After an unknown amount of time, he heard footsteps approaching, a bit hurried, as if the person couldn’t wait.
Kailun was curious, so he removed the towel from his eyes and looked towards the entrance. He hoped it was Fox. That would be much more fun.
Isabella would also be good. At least the grown-up Isabella was very much to his liking.
Bella was also fine. The little dragon girl must be very comfortable to hug.
However, the person who walked in from behind the screen wasn’t Fox, Isabella, or Bella.
“Rose?”
“Kailun?”
They both exclaimed each other’s names, clearly surprised by this encounter.
Rose was wrapped in a white towel, just covering her chest and bottom, the rest of her skin exposed.
Kailun first looked at Rose’s surprised face, then glanced at her impressive “northern hemisphere,” and finally admired her perfect legs.
The fair and curvy mature woman was quite alluring from a certain angle.
“I’m sorry. Excuse me. I’ll just go.”
Rose came back to her senses and quickly apologized. Before she could finish speaking, she lifted her long leg, ready to turn and run.
However, Kailun’s voice, like a demonic whisper, reached her ears. “Didn’t I teach you how to apologize? Do it again.”
Rose’s raised leg froze in mid-air. She looked at Kailun, who was leisurely sipping his wine.
He seemed a bit drunk, his face flushed.
“As my exclusive wine server, you should apologize by serving me wine in the hot spring.” Perhaps worried that Rose wouldn’t understand, Kailun kindly explained it again.
Rose secretly took a step back. “I just remembered that I haven’t finished practicing my dance. I’m going back to review it. Can we do this next time?”
He nodded, and Rose’s heart leaped with joy.
Kailun: “No.”
Rose: “…”
He nodded but said no? Was he sick?
She almost cursed out loud. She shouldn’t have come looking for Fox.
Speaking of which, she had seen Fox enter the hot spring with her own eyes, but where was she now?
She couldn’t have gone to the wrong hot spring pool, right?
Not only had her plan to contact Fox failed, but she had also run into Kailun, the big demon. She was doomed.
“Come and pour me some wine. You have ten seconds to think about it.”
Kailun glanced at Rose again and closed his eyes. This was his concession.
Since he couldn’t have fun with Fox, he would find it from Rose. It was also good to occasionally bully this “traitor.”
Rose looked at Kailun. Although his eyes were closed, the pressure he exerted on her was even greater.
But there was one strange thing. Kailun’s aura didn’t seem strong today, even weaker than hers.
Should she try something?
She looked down at the towel wrapped around her body and sighed. Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought anything. If she had a dagger or something, she might be able to try something.
If she used magic directly, Kailun might detect her mana output as soon as she started channeling it. It was too risky.
After much deliberation, Rose could only endure her frustration and step into the hot spring.
“Splash~”
She waded through the knee-deep water, walking towards Kailun step by step, stopping about a meter away from him.
Kailun handed his wine glass to Rose. “Do you remember the same way you served me wine last time? Start if you do.”
Hearing Kailun’s commanding tone, Rose instinctively knelt down. She was still hesitant as she held the exquisite jade wine glass.
Kailun seemed really weak now. Should she strangle him?
No, not yet. She would pretend to obey him first, wait until he was distracted, and then use her powerful legs to strangle him.
Rose made up her mind and poured the white wine down her cleavage, watching it flow down and mix with the steaming hot spring water.
She moved closer to Kailun, one hand tilting the wine glass, the other hand cupping her breast, guiding the jade beads into the valley.
But when they made contact, a strange sensation made her moan softly.
Poor Rose wanted to tell Kailun that those weren’t grapes, but he probably wouldn’t listen to her.
……
“Not here? Didn’t Anna say Kailun was already here?”
Fox, wrapped in a towel, arrived at the family area of the hot spring. She searched but couldn’t find Kailun.
Helplessly, she sighed and headed towards the guest area.
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