Chapter 242: As Expected of You
Chrissy placed the food on the table and poured Meggie Liran a cup of warm black tea.
“Please eat. I’ll come back to clean up tomorrow morning. I have to go back and accompany Kailun now.”
She kept her head lowered, her bangs covering her eyes.
Hearing Chrissy’s words, Meggie Liran felt another pang of pain in her heart. She walked over and grabbed Chrissy’s wrist. “Can’t you escape? Since you can come here, you must be able to escape, right?”
Chrissy shook her head, feigning dejection. “I can’t. Kailun not only left a mark on me but also on you. As long as these marks remain, we’ll be caught even if we flee to the ends of the earth.”
“Humph, I knew it. You still have thoughts of escaping. That’s good. I thought you were so attached to Kailun that you wouldn’t even want to escape. It seems you haven’t completely fallen.”
A glimmer of hope appeared in Meggie Liran’s heart. As long as Chrissy hadn’t completely fallen, there was still a chance for her to turn back.
If she could make Chrissy see Kailun’s evil nature, she might be able to change her mind. At least, that’s what Meggie Liran believed.
“No, I can’t go back. There’s only Kailun in my heart now. This is an undeniable fact.”
Chrissy raised her head and looked at the Pope with sincere eyes.
Despite the sincerity in Chrissy’s eyes, Meggie Liran, having been deceived before, couldn’t help but suspect that it was an act, a ploy to make her give up.
To avoid backfiring, she didn’t press further.
Meggie Liran pulled Chrissy’s wrist and led her to the table. “Stay and chat with me for a while. We haven’t had a proper conversation since Kailun appeared.”
Chrissy mumbled softly, “I’d rather go back sooner…”
“What did you just say?”
Meggie Liran thought she heard Chrissy say something.
Chrissy: “Nothing, nothing. Please eat first.”
“There’s no need for honorifics. I’m no longer the Pope. Kailun has taken that title.”
Meggie Liran’s words were laced with resentment. The thought of Kailun made her lose her appetite.
Chrissy: “Kailun is truly despicable.”
“Forget it, let’s not talk about him.”
Meggie Liran waved her hand. She planned to subtly guide Chrissy.
If things went well, she might even be able to convince Chrissy to betray Kailun and turn the tables.
However, this was too risky. She didn’t intend to let Chrissy do this. After all, there was still Afra, the knight, whose threat was no less than Kailun’s.
Without Kailun’s restraint, the powerful knight might become a crazed butcher.
She was numb. Thinking about Kailun’s hidden cards, Meggie Liran had no idea how to turn the situation around.
A voice whispered in her heart, “Give up. It’s useless. You’ll never be Kailun’s match.”
To “purify” Chrissy’s heart, she told her many stories, some from her own experiences, some she had heard before. These stories could, to a certain extent, awaken Chrissy’s memories.
Meggie Liran talked at length, her eating pace slowing down significantly.
They chatted for a long time, stopping only when the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon.
Chrissy packed up and prepared to leave. “It’s getting late. I have to go back now. I’ll secretly bring you food for the next few days. Don’t mention what we talked about just now. I’m afraid Kailun might misunderstand. I don’t have any other choice, do I?”
She gave Meggie Liran a sad, forced smile.
Meggie Liran quickly said, “No, there’s still a chance. As long as there’s hope, there’s a chance.”
For some reason, after their long conversation, Meggie Liran had placed her hopes on Chrissy, as if saving her would be saving herself.
Even if she could no longer escape, she had to make Chrissy turn back.
“Alright, I suppose there’s still some hope. I’ll leave now. See you tomorrow night.”
Chrissy looked at the sky outside with regret.
It wasn’t because she hadn’t grasped the hope Meggie Liran had spoken of, but because Kailun had been “occupied” by Illusion and Afra tonight.
To complete the task Kailun had assigned her, she hadn’t even had a “sip of the soup.” How disappointing.
Chrissy’s regretful expression was misinterpreted by Meggie Liran, who smiled faintly.
It was settled.
……
“Charles, Paul, you have truly disappointed me. I gave you so many people, and what happened? Not only did you waste an entire day and fail to capture him, but you also caused such heavy losses, forcing me to step in personally.”
At eight in the morning, Kailun, disguised as the Pope, held a morning meeting. Sitting on the Pope’s throne, he berated the people below, his voice filled with disappointment.
“You’ve embarrassed us all. Now everyone in Alaye thinks you’re a bunch of good-for-nothings. Go hang yourselves on the pillar of shame for a hundred years. I don’t want to see you.”
These words were directed at Charles and Paul. The others lowered their heads, not daring to look at the “Pope.”
Yesterday’s losses were plain for all to see. They had been completely played by Kailun, who had escaped in the end.
If it weren’t for the Pope’s intervention, they would have become laughingstocks.
“Please punish us, Your Holiness!”
Charles, showing a good attitude, immediately knelt on one knee.
Paul, standing beside him, hesitated for a moment before the immense pressure forced him to kneel as well. “Please punish us, Your Holiness.”
Paul felt incredibly uncomfortable. He desperately resisted the act of kneeling.
He loathed the person sitting on the Pope’s throne, loathed him from the bottom of his heart.
“Punishment will be given. To make up for your mistakes yesterday, I’ll assign you a difficult task. If you fail again, then…”
Kailun didn’t finish his sentence, leaving them to imagine the consequences.
Charles didn’t give Paul time to think. He immediately replied, “Your Holiness, we will do our utmost to complete the task you assign us.”
Paul: “…”
Having a teammate like Charles was a pain. He wasn’t a dog of the Temple and didn’t want to take on extra tasks.
In his opinion, the Pope should bear most of the blame for yesterday’s losses. After all, they were just following her orders.
However, the Pope was their leader, and it was common for leaders to make their subordinates take the blame. Charles’s eagerness to admit his mistakes might be an attempt to impress the Pope.
‘The Pope has a good dog.’ Paul glanced at Charles and cursed him silently.
“Good attitude. Holy Son Paul, stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed.”
Kailun waved everyone away, leaving only Paul.
Only after everyone else had left did Paul ask nervously, “Your Holiness, is there anything you want to say to me?”
Kailun tapped the armrest of his chair, the sound echoing through the hall. “You have great potential. I intend to focus on cultivating you.”
Paul: “What do you mean?”
“You can absorb the mana of other Temple members, right? I intend to help you with that.”
Kailun, hidden behind the white light, smiled.
“Who are you referring to?” Paul asked.
Kailun: “Some people I don’t like very much. What? Are you unwilling?”
“No… it’s just, I want to know what I have to do in return. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right?”
Having been tricked many times, Paul was now more cautious. He was tempted by the Pope’s offer, but what was the price?
Kailun leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed. “It’s simple. I’ll create opportunities for you to ‘absorb’ certain people, but all of this will be your own doing, and it has nothing to do with me. Do you understand?”
Paul nodded. “I understand.”
Simply put, the Pope wanted to use him to eliminate some of her rivals, and if anything went wrong, he would take all the blame.
The worst-case scenario would be being silenced. These were all foreseeable consequences.
However, Paul didn’t refuse directly. Knowing such confidential information, it would be difficult for him to leave.
He thought for a moment and said, “I can agree to your terms, but you also have to fulfill one of my wishes.”
Kailun: “Tell me.”
Paul’s expression darkened. “Let me kill Kailun with my own hands.”
Kailun suppressed his laughter. “It seems you hate Kailun very much. Can you tell me what he did to you?”
“He… that bastard Kailun not only stole my sister, but he also stole my aunt, and he even sent my father to a brothel, he…”
Even though Paul knew that the Pope was aware of his past, he still recounted it.
After listening to his story, Kailun commented, “How tragic.”
Paul: “…”
[Paul’s goodwill -1, Total Goodwill -156]
The painful memories fueled his hatred for Kailun once again.
“I regret to inform you that Kailun escaped. I didn’t capture him.”
After a while, Kailun added, twisting the knife.
Paul was shocked. “How?! Didn’t you capture him yesterday? Many people saw it!”
Kailun smiled. “It was all a deception. If I didn’t capture Kailun, how could I explain it to the people of the Temple? It seems you’ll have to kill him yourself. Shouldn’t you work harder to achieve your dream?”
Paul: “This…”
This was the day Paul had been rendered speechless the most times. The drastic turn of events left him at a loss for words.
He had already planned his future, but why was there such a huge change?
It was like jumping from one pit into another, a never-ending cycle, making him feel the fear of being controlled by Kailun once again.
He instinctively hugged himself and shivered, as if Kailun was standing right in front of him, staring. The Pope was just as annoying as Kailun, just slightly less so.
“Hoo~”
Paul took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He looked at Kailun, sitting on the Pope’s throne. “I agree.”
Kailun clapped his hands in satisfaction. “A wise decision. As expected of you.”
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