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Chapter 282: Lilian’s Worries

A black-haired man and lady were currently sitting opposite to one another in a room in the Nymph Palace. It was known for its delicate interior decor, and it would appear that the rumors weren’t unfounded. However, there was a solemn and tense atmosphere in the room that prevented one from appreciating the aesthetics.

It was just half an hour ago that Roel entered the Nymph Palace and explained everything he knew about the Bloody Envelope Incident to Lilian.

Unlike Paul, he didn’t bother looking for Cheryl’s ‘Book of Truth’ insignia before paying Lilian a visit to request for her help. He didn’t want to waste his time and risk alarming his enemy. Besides, he had confidence in convincing her and making things happen.

Not all words were equal.

Unlike Paul, who was an ostracized illegitimate son of the Austine Empire, Roel was one of the six Ringbearers of the Saint Freya Academy. This legitimized the operations of the Request Club, making it a powerhouse with the backing of the Bluerose Faction.

Anything that came out of Roel’s mouth carried weight, even if there was no evidence behind it. On top of that, Roel wasn’t here to plead for help and assistance; he was here to ask for cooperation.

Roel’s Request Club would provide intelligence on the hideouts of the evil cultists, and Lilian’s Special Ops Team would serve as the main fighting force to encircle and destroy them. This was the proposal he was going with.

Typically speaking, the one with the greatest obligation to defeat evil cultists should have been the Saint Mesit Theocracy, but the students in Nora’s faction were mostly still in the First Grade, so the average fighting prowess was still at Origin Level 5. They were still severely lacking compared to the elite force Lilian had carefully picked out and groomed.

Out of consideration for the vast difference in military might, Roel gave up on the idea of approaching Nora and Charlotte for help.

What he was aiming for here was a perfect victory, and he wouldn’t allow any uncertainty to bog down his plan.

Besides, it was the Enforcement Division’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the students in the academy. They received a huge amount of resources from the academy in order for them to carry out their job properly.

Roel held a cup of tea in his hand as he waited quietly for Lilian’s response. The latter considered the matter carefully before giving a nod of agreement.

“I understand. I’ll personally lead my men to Fulte’s Stop and raid the possible hideouts of the evil cultists.”

“Oh... You have my gratitude for that. To be frank, I didn’t think that you would trust me that quickly.”

Roel thought that it would take a bit more effort to convince Lilian, so he couldn’t help but look at her in surprise when she agreed to his request so heartily.

“Despite the lack of tangible evidence, I don’t think that you would lie about something as serious as this,” replied Lilian calmly.

Her unexpected trust in him brought an unwitting smile to Roel’s face. What he didn’t know was that his brilliant smiling face made Lilian freeze for a moment as her amethyst eyes lingered on him for a long time before she finally lowered her gaze.

Once again, this feeling.

Lilian picked up her teacup and subconsciously rubbed the edges of its rim. She sighed softly under her breath, confused as to what was wrong with her.

Over the past month, she had spent plenty of time with Roel, be it the morning classes or the night remedial lessons. With so much interaction going on between them—not to mention the close-up ones from the mana compression training—she was able to gain some understanding of Roel.

He was an earnest learner, a steadfast warrior in the face of adversity, as well as an obstinate man who refused to admit defeat. Despite those traits, he didn’t have a domineering character, leaning more toward the gentle type instead. There was one thing that was peculiar about him—he seemed to be constantly weighed down by worries, unlike his peers.

It was a mishmash of anxiety, fear, frustration, and many other negative emotions, and it created a monster that heaped a frightening amount of stress on him. Yes, it was as if he was constantly living in a high-stress environment.

Prior to their interactions, Lilian would have never expected to see such a side to Roel, for he never allowed himself to openly reveal the stress he was in.

It seems to be a habit.

It was likely that even those who were close to him hadn’t noticed his mental state yet. Yet, when the two of them clashed their mana against one another, she was somehow able to feel him.

If Roel was a book, Lilian would be a reader who unintentionally flipped open this book every time their mana clashed with one another. She was only reading it bit by bit every day, but surely, her understanding of him was deepening.

And as she got to know him more and more, she found herself gradually undergoing a change as well.

A foreign emotion was starting to bud in her. It felt like a mixture of sympathy and heartache, and it would always lead to Lilian’s mind wandering in weird directions whenever she was teaching Roel.

Am I being too strict here? It might impact his positivity if I push him too hard, so perhaps I should consider lessening his workload a little.

These were thoughts she never had while she was tutoring others.

At the same time, she started forming new habits. She noticed that whenever she offered a vague compliment to Roel, the latter would reveal a brilliant smile. At times like this, her eyes would be automatically drawn to him, unable to move away. It was only fortunate that he was rather dense about such matters, so he hadn’t noticed her peculiar behavior yet.

Conversely, she hated it whenever he had a downcast look on his face. Every time he showed such an expression, she would feel as if something was crushing her heart, suffocating her breath. Any harsh words she was intending to say would be mellowed down over and over again before finally coming out of her mouth.

Without a doubt, the reason why she didn’t hesitate long to trust Roel despite the shocking nature of what he had just told her had a lot to do with the time they had spent together.

“You mentioned earlier that the Request Club has narrowed down the possible hideouts of the evil cultists to two locations. Since that’s the case, I’ll divide the Special Ops Team into two squads, and each of us will take one each. It should be safer that way,” said Lilian as she finally took a sip of tea.

Unexpectedly, Roel didn’t respond right away to her proposal. He hesitated for a brief moment there before saying something that made her frown.

“Senior, regarding that matter, I do have some thoughts...” said Roel.

They definitely had enough manpower to pull off a raid now, so their main focus right now was to devise a plan to snag all of the evil cultists at once. It was certain that the evil cultists were maintaining close communication with the teacher colluding with them, so they would have to make a move on both of them at once in order to achieve a complete sweep.

In other words, the best timing for them to pull off the raid was when the teacher made an attempt on the sender’s life. This was the only opportunity they had to uncover the teacher and take him down, or else the latter would simply continue staying hidden till the end of time.

Of course, such a course of action would also spell great danger too.

Someone who was able to hide their true nature as an evil cultist and infiltrate the Saint Freya Academy as a teacher was definitely no small fry. Ordinary students wouldn’t be able to defeat him while protecting the sender, so Roel would have to do it personally.

“I wish to stay by the sender’s side and wait for the perpetrator to come knocking.”

Clang!

The moment Roel voiced out his thoughts, Lilian placed her teacup down so forcefully that it shocked Roel.

“I forbid it.”

“... Senior?”

“I said, I forbid it.”

“...”

Staring at the astonished Roel, Lilian belatedly realized that her reaction was over the top. It took her a while before she remembered that they were currently not a senior and a junior but fellow Ringbearers, meaning that they were equal in position. She took a deep breath to calm her anxious heart, gathered her thoughts, and finally answered with a composed voice.

“It’s far too risky. Isn’t it rash for you to make such a decision when you don’t even know the strength of the perpetrator? It would be one thing if the perpetrator is only at Origin Level 4, but what if he has reached Origin Level 3? The Ring Guardian you have faced in ‘Night of the Demons’ is nothing more than a mindless shadow; a real Origin Level 3 will be far more powerful than that.”

No, I would rather fight a real Origin Level 3 transcendent than the Ring Guardian I had to face, Roel thought in his mind, though he chose not to voice it aloud.

Lilian’s voice might have been stern, but he could sense her worry and concern for him, and it warmed his heart up. Nevertheless, he still shook his head and refuted Lilian’s doubts.

“Senior, I am confident about this. Have you forgotten about my Nine-headed Serpent Staff? I... do have quite a few trump cards other than that.”

He was intending to assuage Lilian’s worries, but the latter was still unable to accept this. It was just that her hands were tied since the main force were all her subordinates, so she couldn’t just swap roles with Roel or else a huge problem could occur with the command chain.

The alternative was to seek Chris’ help, but the two of them decided against it after some contemplation.

It was likely that the teacher colluding with the evil cultists already knew about the sender liaising with the Request Club. If both Lilian and Chris were to display anomalous behavior at this juncture, it could lead to them stopping their activities till everything settled down. If this matter were to get dragged out, the ones who would be disadvantaged were Roel and his group.

“Senior, you have generously welcomed me at your Nymph Palace, so I’ll make sure to return your hospitality at my Azure Manor. Trust me on this, alright?”

After a long bout of persuasion, Roel offered Lilian a promise while looking at her with unwavering golden eyes. Eventually, Lilian succumbed to his obstinacy and nodded.

All in all, their meeting lasted for an hour, and it was already nightfall by the time Roel left the Nymph Palace. He quickly returned to the Azure Manor and summoned his team leaders over for an emergency meeting.

The meeting started off with Paul and Geralt reporting the results of their investigation, followed by Roel informing them of the follow-up plans. When the two of them heard that Roel had secured the cooperation of the Purplerose Faction, they visibly heaved a sigh of relief.

The following morning, the members of the Bluerose Faction continued their investigation on the Third Residential Sector, making use of a typical survey to approach the residents to obtain their personal information. Finally, at noontime, they managed to confirm the target.

“Melty Sani, Third Grade student, daughter of a viscount in the Austine Empire. She has learned conversion-type spells during her time in the Second Grade and achieved spectacular results in the field. She was in the same student organization as the missing Cheryl, and they appear to be on close terms with one another.”

Roel rested in his chair as he listened to Paul read out the information in the report. At the end of the report, he glanced at the blood envelope on the table and nodded slightly. His anxious heart was finally able to catch some respite after worrying for an entire day.

“That’s her.”