NOVPUBIn the still of the night within the mansion, the light in the living room was uncharacteristically bright, as if rejecting the siege of the rainy night outside the window.
Due to the presence of soundproof Magitools on the cabinet, no one knew how hard it was raining outside or whether there was thunderous rumbling.
In this ordinarily relaxed living room, the atmosphere between the two women and one man was like a tightly stretched string, poised to snap at any moment.
The gazes of Hyperion and Sigrid met with determination and a full intent to battle, like two razor sharp swords, intersecting over Lanci’s figure.
No one was willing to back down an inch, the room was filled with the eerie calm before the storm.
"Meow! You two..."
The cat boss, who had originally wanted to mediate, was stared down by Sigrid and Hyperion’s glare as soon as he started to speak.
It retracted its head again, trembling in fear and scrambled back under the sofa.
That was a glare filled with killing intent.
Whether it was Sigrid’s icy stare or Hyperion’s indignant glare, both were unyielding.
The cat boss now considered himself friends with both Xiu Bao and Sikder. If tensions rose and he was forced to choose sides, he couldn’t even bear to think about it!
"I warn you for the last time, let go of my Saint Heir."
Sigrid’s voice grew colder, her grasp tightening ever so slightly.
"You’ve known him for at most two months, how can you say such things without feeling ashamed? "
At this time, Hyperion became extremely aggressive; or perhaps this was how she spoke when she first met Lanci.
"Saint Heir, tell her, are you mine?"
Sigrid looked to Lanci and spoke, she rarely phrased her questions without a hint of inquiry, as if she did not allow for any form of denial.
"..."
Lanci took a deep breath, just about to mediate, when Hyperion turned to look at him, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
"...Saint Heir?"
Hyperion wondered if Sigrid was deceiving her.
Yet at this moment, it was a plausible explanation—why Lanci would cooperate with the Hegemony Branch.
If he held a high position within the Hegemony Branch, everything would suddenly make sense!
Hyperion couldn’t believe what she was hearing, looking at Lanci with wide eyes, as if she needed Lanci to explain things to her.
If Lanci were to affirm Sigrid’s question, it would feel as if the sky were falling.
Once upon a time in the South Continent, he was such a staunch enemy of the Rebirth Church.
"I am now with the Hegemony Branch, trying to save the Protoss Empire. The Protoss Royal Magic Academy and the Hegemony Branch are now inseparable allies."
Lanci helplessly let Hyperion continue holding onto his forearm, unsure why Hyperion was so resistant to the Rebirth Church.
When they had parted ways, they had already agreed to infiltrate the Nirvana Branch. Now upon meeting again, she seemed to be hell-bent on destroying the Rebirth Church.
"No... you, you really joined the Rebirth Church?"
Hyperion felt Lanci wasn’t merely infiltrating the group.
If it was merely infiltration, he would have hinted at her long ago, instead of brazenly bringing her to the Hegemony Branch’s base at the school, as if ready to sincerely cooperate with the Hegemony Branch.
"Of course, he swore never to betray the Bishop of Hegemony."
Sigrid glanced at Lanci and took a somewhat triumphant tone as she responded for Lanci.
"He must have been forced."
Hyperion couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What kind of spell had this woman cast onto Lanci to lead him to the Bishop of Hegemony and have him swear an allegiance to the Bishop of Hegemony?
She understood that once Lanci was before such formidable figures, he would have to pledge fealty to the Hegemony Branch to survive! 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"He volunteered."
Sigrid confirmed with certainty.
"Bullshit!"
However, Hyperion realized that regardless of what this woman named Sikder said, Lanci didn’t contradict her once.
"Say something."
Hyperion could only gaze at Lanci, urging in a trembling voice.
If Lanci were forced into it, he could at least blink, she would surely understand.
"..."
Yet Lanci’s unflustered gaze seemed to tell her that what Sigrid had said was not far from the truth.
"What exactly happened in these two months..."
Hyperion shook her head. The person she trusted the most was actually colluding with the Rebirth Church, and was entangled with a woman from the Hegemony Branch.
"Do you understand now? Don’t touch other people’s things casually."
Sigrid asked Hyperion.
"He’s not your property!"
Hyperion still hadn’t let go of Lanci until this moment. She knew that if Lanci were ever to stroll down the wrong path, she would be the only one capable of guiding him out of the abyss.
She then turned to look at Lanci.
"No matter what you say today, I will never cooperate with the Rebirth Church. I swear by the Lady Goddess, I will never abandon my faith for personal reasons."
Hyperion, with a hint of tears in her eyes, adamantly asserted to Lanci.
She was also laying her cards on the table with Lanci, expressing how shocking his decision to join the Rebirth Church was and how heartbroken she truly felt.
"Lady Goddess... you are a member of the Church of the Goddess of Destiny?"
Sigrid frowned, gleaned new understanding as she stared at Hyperion,
"Then it’s simple. There’s no way we can cooperate. Whatever he says now is useless. Today, I’ll show you who’s really in charge here."
Sigrid scoffed coldly, feeling rather absurd. The Saint Heir had actually brought a spy from the Church of the Goddess of Destiny home. In the future, she definitely couldn’t casually allow him to interact with other women; he was so easily deceived.
"You are a friend of the Saint Heir, I won’t kill you, but if you still don’t understand who he really belongs to, I’ll make sure you learn your lesson."
Sigrid glanced at Hyperion’s hand, her icy gaze devoid of any remaining patience.
"Do you want to have a one-on-one fight with me? I can accompany you right now."
Hyperion, without showing any signs of backing down, stared at Sigrid, replying with her own question.
If they were to fight, they could head to the semi-restricted or unrestricted area, determining not only the victor but also life or death.
"You’re not qualified to fight me one-on-one, and besides, he has a duty to protect me."
"Do you really think he’s charmed by you?"
"You’ll see, if I were to face danger, he’s going to protect me!"
"He won’t protect you, he will only protect me!"
Their words overlapped, the speed and tone escalating, not waiting for the other to finish speaking, as if trying to overpower the other.
The chaotic arguing was several times more explosive than when they were talking one sentence at a time.
In the end, both of them looked at Lanci, who had remained silent. Their indignant gazes seemed to be demanding to know whose side he would be on.
He wasn’t going to get off easy by avoiding this question in any way.
The cat boss understood that a deadlock was finally looming.
-----------------
Illustration by @Non_replica (Weibo)
