Chapter 51: Late Night, Two People, Tutoring
Upon hearing the question, Isabella first curled her lips in a thoroughly inelegant manner, then said:
"I applied to my father under the pretext that my recovery was a gift from the gods, asking to come to the cathedral to offer prayers and express gratitude for the god’s grace."
"But I never said the god was the Lord of Radiance."
As she said this, the blonde girl blinked.
Sylvia, having given up controlling her expression, twitched the corner of her mouth.
"Ahem, show proper respect to the gods."
She gave a brief admonition, then asked with some curiosity:
"Wouldn’t your absence today raise suspicion among the guests?"
"No."
Isabella shook her head:
"It’s been like this every year."
"Entering the hall in a wheelchair, then struggling to take a few steps with the help of maids—this has happened year after year."
"Until last year, when my father agreed to let me stop attending."
Sylvia nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at Maria, the maid who was currently seated on a bench with her head bowed in prayer, and casually asked:
"Then what did you come here for?"
At this moment, Isabella blinked her lake-clear blue eyes, tilted her head slightly, and replied:
"Your Highness, it seems your memory isn’t particularly good."
"Hm?"
Sylvia was briefly stunned, then looked at her in surprise.
"Tsk, you already forgot what I just said."
Isabella shook her head with a smile, then her expression suddenly turned serious. Word by word, she repeated what she had just said earlier:
"To express gratitude for the god’s grace."
Upon hearing this, Sylvia was first taken aback, then revealed a wry smile, and said:
"Very well, let us give thanks to the great Faceless One…"
But before she could finish her words, Isabella grasped her wrist:
"No, not the great Faceless One. I mean you."
"In my heart, the one I’m most grateful to is you."
"When I was most helpless, it was you who pulled me from the abyss, who became the brightest light in the darkness of my life."
"In my heart, you are god!"
Sylvia’s expression froze for a moment, her thoughts likewise halting.
Her reaction was due to the unrestrained emotion conveyed in Isabella’s words—not because she feared her disguise had been seen through—
Isabella’s speech was merely a rhetorical flourish.
A few seconds later, she gave a slightly awkward cough, then flexed her wrist in an attempt to pull away from the other’s hand—only to find that the pale, slender hand was gripping more tightly than she had expected.
When she failed to break free, she coughed again lightly and then said:
"This isn’t proper."
"You should maintain respect and reverence for the divine."
The other girl’s actions and words just now were clearly blasphemous.
"Apologies, Your Highness."
As if only just realizing how profane her actions had been, Isabella quickly let go and lowered her head with an expression that feigned fear.
However, her eyes glanced upward, catching that Sylvia didn’t seem angry, and a trace of relief flashed across her face.
The next moment, she looked up again and smiled at the puppet standing before her.
"You…"
Sylvia sighed with a smile, then, displaying the demeanor of someone resigned yet indulgent, raised her hand and gently patted Isabella’s head.
"Be more mindful in the future. You must show absolute reverence toward the divine."
"Yes."
Isabella tilted her head slightly and cheerfully uttered a single word.
In truth, she held almost no reverence for the divine.
During those years of soul decay and physical weakness, she had prayed countless times to the Lord of Radiance.
With each stabbing pain that radiated from her heart, gazing out the window at the bright full moon, she had once believed that eventually she would receive the blessing of radiance.
But…
At this thought, a scornful laugh echoed in Isabella’s heart.
Unlike the ignorant ones who only knew how to endlessly pray to their deities as they approached death, she had gradually abandoned Radiance.
And it was then that Sylvia appeared, marking a turning point in her life.
With her body revitalized and her decaying soul brimming with renewed life, her trust in Sylvia was rapidly deepening.
At the same time, this seemingly eerie yet extraordinarily kind apostle of an evil god evoked a mix of complicated emotions—
Not just awe and gratitude, but dependence as well.
Of course, Sylvia knew none of this. She simply found spending time with this young lady to be quite relaxing.
There was none of that suffocating reverence, none of the distance created by status.
After nodding slightly, she asked:
"Hmm… where are you heading next?"
"Back to Serborn Manor, or to the residence in the Eplington District?"
Isabella shook her head:
"To the house in the Eplington District."
"Traveling out of the city at night isn’t very safe, even with guards my father arranged for me."
Sylvia nodded, then glanced at Maria, who was rising to her feet, and said to the blonde girl in front of her—who stood nearly as tall as herself:
"Alright, your maid has finished her prayers. It’s time for you to go back."
After saying this, a trace of reluctance unexpectedly stirred in Sylvia’s heart.
Reluctance?
At that moment, she found herself a little dazed.
Damn it, why was there a feeling of reluctance?
But after giving it some thought, she quickly figured out the key—
The girl’s presence had temporarily pulled her out of that lonely melancholy.
Even if only a little.
Once Isabella left, she would return to that social environment filled with distance and reverence.
With that realization, the mental exhaustion accumulated over the past seven days surged in and swept over her thoughts.
Sighing, the puppet girl waved her hand and turned, intending to walk toward the underground levels.
Just then, Isabella suddenly spoke:
"Your Highness, um… hmm…"
"You… you…"
"Hmm?"
Sylvia turned back in confusion and saw the other girl seemingly summoning her courage. After a moment of organizing her words, she said:
"Although I know you’re very busy, could you spare some time to come to my house tonight?"
"Why?"
The puppet girl looked at her in puzzlement, her peripheral vision catching Maria in the hall looking around for her young mistress.
"I… um…"
Isabella once again became a bit tongue-tied. A few seconds later, she suddenly blurted out:
"I’ve run into a problem with my studies in mysticism. I was hoping you could tutor me tonight!"
"?"
A question mark practically appeared above Sylvia’s head.
Do you want me to teach you a foreign language next?
As she silently complained in her heart, she still inexplicably replied:
"Alright."
Upon hearing Sylvia’s response, Isabella’s face showed a satisfied smile, and a flicker of cunning passed through her eyes.