Chapter 325

Chapter 111: Light and Darkness Part 8

Gone?

I furrowed my brows and instinctively asked her, “Who’s gone?”

“It’s our new child! Several of them have disappeared… I can’t find them!”

The little girl’s eyes were brimming with tears as she waved her arms anxiously, her words becoming incoherent.

“There was a particularly mischievous one! It must be her leading the way… There are so many bad people outside, where could they have run off to? Sister, have you seen the bishop? I need to tell him…”

She wants to find the old bishop!

No! I can’t let her go; there’s still a body frozen solid over there.

I quickly walked up to her, patting Aly’s small head.

“Don’t worry, take your time… When did they disappear? What were their features… And… ” I tilted my head, thinking, “Aly, where was the last time you saw them?”

“It was two hours ago?”

“That’s not right, Aly! It was still dark two hours ago!”

“Then… one hour ago!”

“I saw Aile when I got up! She didn’t answer me no matter what I asked…”

“I saw her too! I saw her near the main altar! She was so strange!”

“Yes! I felt the same…”

“She has always been so strange…”

The two boys with Aly immediately chimed in, speaking one after another, making my headache worse.

“Take it slow, speak slowly…”

“Pretty sister nun, would you help us look for them?”

“Peyelo sister, she’s not a nun… She is—”

“Alright, Aly.”

I interrupted the words that were about to spill out of the little girl: “Tell me about the child’s features. I will keep an eye out.”

It must just be that the children got lost or hid somewhere out of fear. They all know the current situation outside, so who would be foolish enough to leave the church? Aly and the others might have been scared by the hall’s condition. Worrying now might be pointless… maybe they’ll show up on their own soon.

It should be fine…

In any case, they can’t go to that room to find the old bishop.

“She is… ten years old! Slightly younger than me, she came with new companions recently, Tré… After that incident, several streets were burning. Then, it seemed her parents died in the disaster, leaving her without a home… Then…”

The little girl spoke intermittently, rambling on without getting to the point. I was anxious to meet Margaret and couldn’t help but remind her, “Aly, appearance.”

“Oh, right…” The little girl suddenly realized. She wiped away her tears and nodded repeatedly at me, “As for appearance… She has white hair! Her eyes are like red gemstones, so beautiful! She is very small, but full of mischief, always disappearing without a trace… Sister, I told you this before, she is always disobedient and troublesome! Why is she running around now…”

I’m troubled too…

“Got it.”

Seeing Aly ramble on endlessly, veering off-topic again, I quickly interrupted her once more, “Aly, don’t worry, everything will be fine. That girl… must be nearby. It’s so scary outside, she wouldn’t have gone far.”

But unexpectedly, the little girl shook her head like a rattle.

“No! Sister, you don’t understand, Aile is very brave! She often sneaks out alone at night, without telling anyone. No one knows where she goes, she always disappears without a trace! The nuns couldn’t find her, which made everyone angry! She never listens to me. She dares anything; once I even saw her talking to a snake… and crows… She says these animals protect her… Oh, we need to find her quickly. Peyelo sister…”

The little girl looked at me with pleading eyes.

I nodded gently.

“Alright. Aly… Follow me.”

I held the little girl’s thin shoulders, wanting to take them away from here first.

“Perfect. I need to find Marg…”

Find Margaret, then have the nuns or monks with free time help look… With this thought, I held Aly and took a few steps, and the two little boys followed.

Suddenly, I stopped.

Wait…

Wait, wait!

It was as if something “whooshed” into my mind, seizing control of my thoughts. My scalp tingled, my body went rigid as if electrified, my heart churned with shock, sending a chill down my spine.

Cataloma… the new little girl… often missing… no one could find her…

Talking to snakes and crows!!!

What kind of joke is this…

“Aly!”

“Ahh!”

Under the emotional stress, my alarmed voice startled Aly, her tiny body trembling.

“Sis… Sister…”

The little girl looked up at me, full of shock and confusion.

But at this moment, I couldn’t afford to think about anything else. I grabbed her shoulders, speaking urgently, “Are you sure! That little girl is an orphan from the disaster?!”

Perhaps my expression scared her, and the little girl seemed somewhat bewildered.

“Sister, what’s wrong… it hurts…”

Oh, I squeezed too hard…

“I’m sorry.”

I immediately released her, smoothing out the collar that I had wrinkled, trying to control my facial expression, my tone slightly softer, “That little girl… The church confirmed her identity?”

Aly stared at me blankly for a moment, her confusion deepening, but she still answered honestly, “Sister, I don’t know these details… But that’s how she told us

“Yes, I haven’t asked the bishop… but actually…”

The little girl seemed hesitant.

Perhaps she saw my serious and restrained expression, and understood that something was amiss, but she didn’t understand what exactly. Her face looked confused and coquettish, unsure whether to speak or not.

Seeing this, I urged her anxiously, “What is it?”

“Actually… I also feel like something’s off…” Ali sniffled and wiped her face, “Sister, it’s not nice to say things like this about others… but since you asked, I’ll tell you the truth. Sister, Eleri is so beautiful, I don’t believe she’s a commoner’s child… Commoners’ children can’t have skin as beautiful as hers, nor hair and eyes like that… I think she must be of noble birth like you… but if others don’t want to say, there must be some hidden reason, so I won’t ask either…”

“…”

Ah…

It seems I hit the jackpot.

“…Sister?”

“Ali, I have a question for you.”

“Hmm.”

The little girl stood up straight.

“Recently, many people in the city have gone missing. Do you know about this, Ali?”

“Hmm, I do. I actually wanted to warn you to be careful… But then I found out you had left. Thinking about it again, Sister wouldn’t be afraid of those bad people, right? When will you—”

“Not now. I’m asking you, have they found the criminals responsible for the disappearances?”

Ali’s eyes turned, then she shook her head.

“I haven’t heard of anyone being caught… Afterward, the city remained like that…”

“Then, the one called—”

“…Eleri.”

“Hmm, Eleri. You couldn’t find her, when did it happen? At dusk? Or at night?”

“It could be both, everything is so mysterious…”

Suddenly, Ali’s eyes widened.

“Sister, you mean… No, it can’t be! Sister, Eleri is just a little girl! She’s not even eleven years old, Sister, where are you thinking—”

“Sister, it’s not what you think.”

How could Ali understand…

But maybe things aren’t as I imagined. Don’t jump to conclusions yet. Maybe she’s just a mischievous little girl, and everything is just a coincidence…

I rubbed Ali’s fluffy head again.

Ah, my head hurts…

“Sister, help me find her. Ali… do you think she might go to…?”

Ali’s expression turned sad, “I don’t know, she never tells us anything…”

So I looked at the two little boys.

“Then you tell me, where was the last time you saw her?”

The two boys glanced at each other, then one of them said to me, “Sister, I saw her in the morning. Eleri woke up especially early today, though she looked a bit… Although she’s usually strange, today felt even stranger. So I asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t even respond to me, so I got angry and didn’t talk to her anymore… But at that moment, I saw her heading towards the central hall, not sure what she was doing…”

“Sister, I saw it too! Behind the central hall is the main altar, where the bishop prays and performs sacrifices. We sometimes go there, and I saw Eleri walking towards that direction in the morning… After that, I lost track of her.”

Behind the central hall… the main altar…

“Ali, take me there.”

“Sister, we’re usually not allowed to enter there, Eleri wouldn’t…”

You can’t enter, but that doesn’t mean the abyss can’t.

“Take me there.”

Hearing my firm words, the little girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright…”

She turned and walked back in the direction we came from. I followed closely behind. Seeing the boy wanting to follow, I turned and said, “You two, please help your sister, okay?”

“Sister, tell us!”

“You two, go to the front hall. Find a nun, and let her tell Marg… tell the Holy Maiden, that… ” I tilted my head and thought for a moment, “Tell her, Peyilo went to find… find the little girl in the mud. Also, tell her the bishop…”

…The bishop’s matters, a child wouldn’t understand clearly… I’ll tell her myself when I see her.

“Forget it, just say this one. Remember?”

The boy nodded repeatedly, “Yes, I remember! Pretty sister, rest assured, leave it to us!”

I made the boy repeat it once more to confirm he had it right, then let them go. Then I walked quickly with Ali toward the main altar.

I wonder if…

Maybe she’s already not there… But I must personally confirm, perhaps I’ll discover something… I hope things aren’t as I imagine…

Together with Ali, we walked through the corridor, down to the ground floor’s front hall, bypassed the crowd in the central hall, and passed the garden behind it. Ahead was a tall white wall, with a large iron gate and a big iron lock.

Just like on the second floor, there was no one here, very quiet and empty.

“Sister, I’ll go look for someone to open the door…”

“No need.”

I shook my head.

“Is this the main altar?”

“Hmm.”

“Graaah—”

Suddenly, a hoarse cry echoed in the sky.

I was startled, then heard Ali’s voice filled with joy, “It’s a crow! Sister Peyilo, that’s Eleri’s crow! She must be nearby, she must—”

The little girl jumped around beside me. I raised my head, looking at the black bird circling outside the courtyard, took a deep breath.

“Ali, leave this place.”

“Sister…?”

“Leave this place, go find the Holy Maiden. Tell her… the little girl in the mud. I found her.”