Chapter 391

Chapter 15 A Quiet Night

The atmosphere was slightly silent for a moment.

I pressed closely against Sarah’s somewhat frail body, feeling clearly that the girl had been making efforts to adjust her breathing and regulate her turbulent emotions. She placed her hand lightly on my shoulder, her fingers trembling slightly, and did not say another word for a long time.

“Sarah…”

Gradually, I began to feel a bit uncomfortable and broke the silence, “Have you all… known about this?”

Upon hearing this, the girl moved slightly and then slowly shook her head.

“I don’t know…” she said.

Her voice sounded as if something was stuck in her throat, a little hoarse, with a slight nasal quality. Then she cleared her throat, “Daisy is simple-minded, sometimes silly… although she read the prophecy, she only casually mentioned that this person resembled Peylo, but might not have thought much more about it… she didn’t see you back then, it’s hard to imagine… there have been many rumors about you in the academy recently, and some people have mentioned these things, but I feel… the joke component is more likely… after all… it’s too hard to believe…”

“Oh.”

Hearing her say this, I felt much relieved.

“What about Sophia?”

Tonight, I hadn’t seen Sophia. She wasn’t in the dormitory, nor was she in the academy. I had been hesitant earlier, so I didn’t dare ask. Even now, asking made me feel tense and uneasy.

She saw me release the dead smoke…

There were definitely more than one person in the entire city who saw me covered in black flames. But among those witnesses, most were probably soldiers; some died, and others survived. Perhaps the scene would become their eternal nightmare, but… very few could have clearly seen my appearance or face.

Because I was almost always flying in the sky.

In the eyes of most people, that shape looked like nothing more than a dark fireball tearing through the sky.

Added to that were the reports from the new prophecy, which prominently highlighted the content and deliberately confused it, almost all hinting that I was a “Pope’s knight who is not afraid of the abyss.” Like Carlos, or even better—because the article had mentioned a few ambiguous phrases, subtly implying that I could “control the power of the abyss.”

I didn’t know whether this was Angel paving the way for his thoughts, or writing it for certain “special groups.” Originally, I was worried, but up until now, I hadn’t heard any rumors about a “girl entangled by dead smoke appearing in the city,” not even a single word.

Victoria, or Reckt, no one mentioned it.

It was as if everyone considered the dark fog that flew over half the city to be the monster trampled underfoot in the painting. To the civilians, or the surviving witnesses, that monster was already killed by me.

But in fact, in my memory, at least several people including Reckt saw me spread my flame wings and fly away with Her Majesty. This matter is something I can’t avoid by making excuses. Ordinary soldiers and civilians might not understand what the black flames truly meant; they had never seen the abyss and couldn’t recognize the power of chaos.

But Victoria was different… she was a Pope’s knight and so smart, once she heard Reckt’s description, she would surely understand.

So I think Victoria must be clear about this.

But strangely, since then, Victoria hasn’t mentioned anything about how I saved her.

If she doesn’t mention it, of course, I won’t bring it up.

As for Sophia…

I’m not sure if she recognized it, because she never attended Teresa’s class and has never been interested in abyss-related matters.

But regardless, she is an academy student…

Every time I think about this, I feel extremely uneasy.

What if Sophia told Sarah what she saw that day… maybe she doesn’t understand the nature of the chaos power, but Sarah certainly does…

“…Peylo?”

The girl in front of me suddenly patted my shoulder, bringing me back from my chaotic thoughts to reality.

“What are you thinking? Your expression is so serious…”

“Sorry.”

I quickly apologized, then replied

The girl smiled, “What did you say just now?”

“I said, Sophia hasn’t returned yet. Not long after you left, she left the academy, saying she was helping her father. Then the city became chaotic… I got scared and went to ask Professor Melville about your situation. He said you were fine… that you would be back in a few days. I thought Sophia would return first, but it turned out to be you… Peyilo, have you often attended those occasions where many important people are present… Have you seen her?”

Oh…

Sophia hadn’t returned, and Sarah didn’t even know about her injury. They hadn’t met face-to-face yet.

“Mm-hmm…”

I tilted my head, thinking for a moment, and decided to give Sarah a heads-up.

“Indeed, I saw her once before.”

“Oh! When was that…”

“At Saint Zayri Cathedral… nearby streets. At that time, I was fighting with Truth… against bad people. Sophia suddenly ran out…”

At this point, Sarah covered her mouth again, her eyes full of panic. “Then what happened to her…”

“She’s fine.” I quickly said, fearing she might think of something bad. “The scene was… a bit chaotic. I couldn’t talk much with her and told her to run quickly. Later, Margaret… oh, the Holy Maiden arrived. She had the nuns take Sophia to hide in the church… After that, I had other things to attend to and didn’t see her again.”

“Oh…”

Sarah’s expression looked a bit dazed.

Although I tried to use cautious words to avoid mentioning the danger, Sarah probably sensed the hidden peril from my casual tone and might have imagined the situation, causing her to swallow nervously.

“Then… ah, she saw you…”

“Yes.” I nodded lightly. “It was quite intense at that time. Sophia might have been frightened… but rest assured, I know she’s safe.”

“Safe… that’s good…”

“Mm-hmm.”

There was another brief silence.

The girl in front of me was lost in thought, unsure what she was pondering. Seeing her emotions stabilize slightly, I stepped back two steps, smoothed out my wrinkled skirt, and fiddled with my hair in front of the mirror. Suddenly, I heard Sarah speak again, “Peyilo, what happened to your… your hair?”

Hair?

Ah…

I touched the white hair on my forehead, and a fleeting image of a little girl’s smiling face flashed through my mind.

“This might be… because I’ve used Frost Order for a long time? It’s nothing…”

“Frost Order? Oh right, Miss Sylvieja is part of the Frost Order… But how could order power—”

Sarah was puzzled, but before she could finish her sentence, Daisy knocked on the bathroom door.

“Sarah, Peyilo, what are you doing in there? The black goose meat will get cold…”

“Oh oh, we’ll come out right away!”

I quickly responded, then exchanged glances with Sarah, and walked over quickly to open the door. Outside stood Daisy, standing elegantly with a slight frown and a hint of suspicion in her expression.

“Are you… washing up?”

“Yeah, you told me to clean up, didn’t you?” Sarah behind me immediately replied.

“Oh…”

Daisy nodded, but her brows furrowed deeper. After a moment of hesitation, she added, “But you two…”

“Oh! Don’t ask so many questions, little ones.”

“Huh…”

Her words made Daisy even more confused. But she just thought about it foolishly and didn’t ask anything else.

The tranquility of the night was gently cast through the silver moonlight from the window into the room.

After Sarah finished washing up, the three of us divided and ate the black goose meat. I alone finished the remaining seven deer meat pies. During this time, Sarah seemed somewhat distracted, and several times Daisy found it strange, but she was easily distracted by a few words.

We chatted idly, and Daisy asked me where I had been these past few days. I told her I had gone out on business, and after returning, I stayed at the church. A few days ago, I went home, and when the academy resumed classes, I came over. I glossed over the details and didn’t explain the reasons, knowing that shy Daisy wouldn’t pry too deeply.

After finishing our meal, I tidied up the bed and extinguished the candle, changing into my pajamas and lying down.

My heart felt at peace.