Chapter 65: The Feeling of a Mother
On the pitch-black river filled with grayish-white mist, two figures appeared and vanished.
As she emerged from the water that carried the meaning of eternal silence, Adela's face turned pale once again.
She was a living person, an extraordinary being who was not too powerful, and one who did not belong to the domain of death.
Therefore, the moment she entered the River of the Dead, she truly felt as if she was going to die.
Sylvia did not speak. She merely glanced at her with a rather strange expression.
Then, she pointed to the bed inside the empty room.
"You will rest here tonight."
This was a guest room in the Lancaster residence, the same one she had temporarily used before.
After a brief thought, she added, "Hmm... be careful not to let the servants here discover you."
"Alright."
Seeing the other nod, Sylvia smiled, then pushed open the door and walked through the corridor toward the main part of the house.
...
"Hmm, you're still awake?"
Pushing open the door, the gray-haired puppet looked in surprise at the person on the bed.
"Mm."
Lying on the bed, Isabella replied in a muffled voice.
"I seem to have a bit of insomnia."
As she spoke, she grabbed the edge of her blanket with both hands, revealing half of her face from underneath.
"Insomnia?"
The gray-haired puppet, somewhat puzzled, walked back to her seat, picked up ‘The Witch’s Journey’, and couldn't help but observe the other for a while with curiosity.
"Mm."
With visible weariness on her face, Isabella nodded.
"A bit tired, but I just can't fall asleep."
"I understand."
Sylvia smiled, then a sly expression flashed across her face.
"Do you need some help?"
"…"
Seemingly recalling their first night together, the blonde girl twitched the corner of her mouth.
"No need, Your Highness."
"Tsk."
Sylvia shook her head with a smile, then opened the book in her hand and began reading.
After a few minutes, she sensed the constant gaze fixed on her and helplessly smiled.
"Would you like to have a chat?"
"Mm."
Isabella nodded.
"Your Highness, where did you just go?"
"Hmm... a very dangerous place. When you become a strong enough extraordinary being, I’ll take you there to have a look."
"Mm."
Isabella did not pursue the matter and obediently nodded.
Seeing her behavior, Sylvia’s mouth twitched slightly. She somehow felt the other harbored ulterior motives.
After a moment of thought, she brought up the topic that had been interrupted earlier by the border demon’s appearance:
"Why aren't you afraid of me like the others?"
At this moment, the gray-haired puppet quietly closed the book in her hands, her deep purple eyes glimmering faintly in the dark.
Isabella, however, showed no fear. Instead, after organizing her thoughts, she answered, "Just like what I told you a few hours ago at St. Ruls Cathedral, Your Highness holds an extraordinary place in my heart."
"In fact, it’s more than that. Whenever I’m with you, I always feel a sense of closeness and warmth, like being with family."
"Because of that, I can’t help but see you as... a mother?"
As she spoke the word, her face instantly flushed red.
Sylvia's hand trembled slightly as she held the book.
Mother?
Realizing she had just said something rather strange, Isabella hurriedly explained, "Your Highness, please don’t misunderstand, that was only at the very beginning!"
"At that time, I wasn’t familiar with you, and you carried an aura that looked down upon everything from inside out, so I didn’t dare to show it."
"But as we spent more time together, my feelings gradually changed. Now, you feel more like my elder sister, hmm... or my closest, most intimate friend."
Sister? Sister is just as embarrassing and weird!
Pressing her nonexistent temples, Sylvia had more or less guessed the culprit.
It was her divinity — the portion she had separated and given to Isabella, which still ultimately belonged to her.
The sense of closeness and warmth, like being with family, also came from this divinity.
When it was first divided, its connection to the main body remained close, like a child to its mother.
As time passed, this divinity gradually stabilized and started deeper interactions with Isabella's soul.
Although it still maintained a connection to the main body, it was far weaker than before.
This was why Isabella's feelings toward her slowly shifted.
From open attachment to reserved closeness, though its essence never changed.
Pressing her brow again, the gray-haired puppet leaned back against the chair with a bit of a headache.
There was nothing she could do about such a matter, unless she severed the connection to that piece of divinity, allowing it to fully belong to Isabella.
But if she did that, the unclaimed divinity would once again impose a tremendous burden on Isabella's soul, returning her to her original condition.
"It can only stay like this."
Letting out a light sigh, Sylvia looked helplessly at Isabella, who had once again covered half her face.
At this moment, the blonde girl blinked innocently.
Time flowed by slowly. Around five in the morning, the girl finally fell asleep.
Listening to the steady breathing, feeling the calm and peaceful spiritual fluctuations, Sylvia gently tapped the armrest twice with her fingers.
In the next second, deep purple spiritual fluctuations rippled out, passed through the walls, and quietly altered the memory of the personal maid Maria.
"Miss isn’t feeling well today and will get up a bit later."
Maria then turned over and mumbled drowsily in response.
...
At dawn, stepping under the rising sunlight and walking through the deserted streets, Sylvia returned to St. Ruls Cathedral after ordering Adela to escort Isabella back to Serborn Manor.
On the morning of New Year’s Day, large numbers of devout believers sat inside the cathedral at the city center, praying for blessings for the new year.
Unlike the believers who had waited inside the cathedral for midnight, these people mostly lived farther away or, for various reasons, had not been able to come during the night.
As their prayers continued, the statue upon the altar began to emit a white glow—
This was spirituality tinged with color, invisible to ordinary people.
And it wasn’t just the statue that radiated this pure white glow; the Sacred Emblem of Radiance hanging high above also shone faintly.
Looking at that Sacred Emblem of Radiance, Sylvia was reminded that the symbols representing the Lord of Radiance were often circles and crosses.
Yes, the cross of the crucifix.
Her gaze swept across the congregation and finally landed on Loruze standing before the altar.
Their eyes met, and she nodded slightly.
Then, as if no one were around, she walked toward the underground passage.
She followed the long corridor to the door of her office, pushed it open, and was immediately greeted by an extremely unpleasant voice inside.
"Welcome back, my master."
Hearing this somewhat obsequious voice, Sylvia couldn’t help but recall the King of Loathing and Hatred she had encountered a few hours earlier.
Hmm... both were apostles, but why was the gap between them so wide?
Casting a very subtle glance at a certain fat crow, Sylvia walked to her seat and sat down. She then took out two items from an inner pocket of her cloak.
At the same time, Lakdevo looked over curiously.
The moment its gaze met the necklace, it suddenly let out a strange cry.
Its call was filled with disbelief.
"Ga!"
"Where... where did you find this?"