When Ariel was invited to charity banquets, Sophia would claim illness to avoid going.

When Ariel took over St. Cassia Academy, Sophia went and established Samuel National Academy.

This situation had been going on for nearly two years.

Perhaps holding resentment in her heart, every time Ariel saw Sophia, she couldn't help but lecture her a few words.

Then their relationship became worse and worse...

Ariel had basically given up, letting Sophia guard against her like she was some terrible flood or wild beast.

"I am indeed worried," Sophia said, "that given the church's way of doing things, they might do something irreversible."

Ariel frowned, wanting to refute but held back.

Sophia raised her head, seriously gazing into Ariel's eyes, and shrugged helplessly.

"But I think if I had to find the one person in the church I could trust, it would only be you. That's why I came to you for help."

Ariel was stunned for a long time.

The anger she had been suppressing in her heart completely dissipated like smoke after hearing Sophia's words.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd heard Sophia say something like this.

"You seem to have changed quite a bit, Sophia."

Much more straightforward than before—she could actually express her feelings so directly.

If it had been in the past, they would probably have fallen out within two sentences.

Ariel could hardly imagine it.

She couldn't help but glance again at the girl on the bed, obvious confusion floating in her golden eyes.

Was all of this because of that girl named Celitia?

Following Ariel's gaze, Sophia also looked toward the quietly sleeping girl, gentle starlight flickering in her eyes.

She reached out her hand and gently smoothed the girl's fluffy curls.

"You're quite good to her," Ariel said.

"I just want to watch her get better day by day," Sophia smiled softly. "You'll help me, won't you, Ariel?"

Under her gaze, Ariel fell silent, and after a long while, slowly nodded.

○

The memory from last night flashed through her mind, and Ariel looked at the still somewhat dazed girl before her, softening her voice by a third.

"I've examined your condition. The purification ritual was effective for you. After the ritual was halfway through, you should have stopped feeling uncomfortable, right?"

Celitia nodded.

"Yes, and I had a..." she paused slightly, not knowing how to describe it, "a... relatively peaceful dream?"

"That's good." Ariel said. "According to my examination results, your physical condition has basically recovered."

In fact, after the curse stopped manifesting, Ariel couldn't sense its aura at all.

This point concerned her greatly.

Without voicing these thoughts, Ariel said in a low voice: "I need you to stay at the church for at least a week so I can conduct follow-up observations."

Celitia was immediately startled and hastily shook her head in refusal:

"That's not necessary, Saintess. I know my own physical condition very well. As long as I get through the new moon, everything will return to normal. Moreover, I'm a student at Samuel Academy and need to attend classes every day. Final exams are coming up soon—I can't slack off."

"Are classes more important than your health?" Ariel frowned. "I heard from Sophia that you don't care about your body at all—that won't do."

At this point, Ariel's voice became firm and brooked no argument.

"Since Sophia has entrusted your matter to me, I will definitely take full responsibility. Even if you want to escape now, it's too late."

"Huh?"

Celitia's eyes widened in disbelief.

Wait, wait, what was going on?

Sophia had entrusted her matter to Ariel?

Didn't that mean she would frequently see Ariel's stern, unpleasant face?

Even though she had mentally prepared herself to deal with Ariel, Celitia never expected things would develop in this direction.

"Wait a minute, I haven't agreed yet!"

"I don't care," Ariel snorted coldly through her nose. "Sophia agreed, I agreed—the matter is decided."

Celitia said weakly: "But..."

If Ariel figured out the source of the curse and then discovered her identity before rebirth, Celitia was certain that fist would definitely hit her square in the face and send her flying a kilometer away.

"Stop being wordy," Ariel waved her hand impatiently. "All objections are overruled. Understand?"

When it came to being autocratic and domineering, Ariel definitely surpassed Sophia by many times.

If with Sophia, she could still rely on acting cute and speaking softly to change her mind, the matters decided by the Saintess left no room for negotiation.

Celitia felt utterly helpless.

She never expected to be forcibly targeted by Ariel like this.

Celitia turned her head to look at Sophia, who was still sleeping sweetly, her gaze gradually softening.

If this was someone she trusted, the development she hoped to see, then cooperating a bit wouldn't hurt.

Even if it really led to some unavoidable conclusion, she would probably… calmly welcome that day's arrival.

"Alright, then I'll follow your arrangements and stay at the church for a few days," Celitia said.

"Really?" This exclamation came from Sophia.

She drowsily woke from her dream and heard Celitia saying she would stay at the church, immediately becoming alert.

Earlier, when Ariel told her she planned to temporarily keep Celitia at the church for observation, Sophia had been very worried she would refuse.

Hearing Celitia's answer now, Sophia couldn't help but feel happy.

Then, however, she felt a faint sense of loss.

This also meant that for at least a week, she wouldn't be able to see Celitia at the academy, right?

She could only find ways to squeeze time from her busy studies and court duties to visit her at the church.

"Mm," Celitia replied helplessly, "Haven't you two already decided for me? I can only follow the arrangements."

Sophia was startled and looked at Ariel in surprise.

How had Ariel convinced her? She hadn't made Lily angry, had she?

You had to know that even she couldn't stand Ariel's bad temper.

Ariel innocently spread her hands.

As the two exchanged glances, Celitia saw the identical dark circles under their eyes and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Perhaps she just didn't want to make others worry about her anymore.

The door to the rest room was suddenly knocked on, and Pierre's excited voice came from outside:

"Saintess! Saintess! We found Miss Kassy!!"

Sophia and Celitia both raised their heads and looked toward the door.

Ariel immediately stood up from her chair, her golden eyes narrowing dangerously: "Where is she? Hurry up and bring her back!!"