CHAPTER 1037: CHAPTER 1037: THE ONE WHO MADE HER FORGET

It was clear in his eyes that he had experienced even more betrayals and disappointments while he was the Pope and Overseer of humans.

He had been betrayed countless times to the point of wishing to give up his role, but ended up staying and was still protecting and defending humanity even now.

"I do have moments of peace and joy. I hope Your Holiness has them too," Arabella responded. Observing the Pope closely.

"That’s good then.

I do too.

My students are my pride and joy now.

And after living for so long, instead of grieving all the time for everyone I have lost, I learned to find joy in a lot of things.

Seeing young ones grow up and evolve, for instance.

You were so young and small the last time I saw you in Lobelius.

You even played with my hair.

Now, you have grown into such a fine lady - a beauty with a great mind and worldview.

And so fearless and courageous to a fault, no longer the young child who cried in my arms about someone no one else could," Pope Elsevier said, chuckling to himself as he recalled what she was like.

It appears he had visited her when she was much younger.

"I, I did?" Arabella could not remember.

"Can you still not remember encountering monsters?" Pope Elsevier inquired after seeing her expression.

"I do remember, but only bits and pieces. Not everything. I heard from my parents that Your Holiness had visited Lobelius to help. I still could not recall meeting you," Arabella relayed. She had been trying to remember ever since her parents told her, but she still could not remember everything, especially about meeting the Pope.

"I see. It seems the spell is still active," Pope Elsevier nodded as if he understood something.

"Spell? What spell?" Arabella blinked.

"I watched you from afar in Medius when the monsters attacked. I thought you’d panic like everyone else, but you were much calmer. You have encountered more monsters aside from the ones when you were 16 and the ones in Medius, right?" Pope Elsevier asked instead of answering her question.

"Yes, a territory in Valeria was attacked and Ferdinand and the Imperial Knights took care of them," Arabella replied honestly, since the Pope seems to be using it as his reference on whether he should tell her something or not.

"I see. No wonder you were calm. You trust them enough for your safety, and you have seen them vanquish monsters effortlessly. I believe you are old enough now to understand and not to need the spell," Pope Elsevier concluded.

"I think so too. I want to know," Arabella agreed.

"When you were young, you were repeatedly attacked by monsters as if you were being targeted. You were traumatized, and among the worst ones was when you almost drowned. You saw something you shouldn’t have, and you remembered it every time you were attacked by monsters. For a child so young, you could have gone insane if you kept remembering them, so I had to use a spell to make you forget all about it for as long as possible. It was a spell I created with divine power, and so it worked safely without damaging your mind. I thought it had worn off by now, but it seems it lasted longer than I thought."

Arabella blinked twice at the Pope’s words as she processed them.

"So I couldn’t remember the monster attacks because Your Holiness used a spell on me?"

"Your young mind found difficulty accepting it, so your mind naturally made you forget about the first attacks. However, as it kept happening, your mind accepted it as part of your truth, so you began to remember more vividly, and they haunted your dreams and kept you awake and afraid of the dark. It got worse every time you were attacked, so your parents asked me for help. I did not tell them everything I had to do in detail because they were not allowed to know either because of the risks it entailed," Pope Elsevier said, hinting there was more.

"What risks?" Arabella inquired.

"If I had told them, they may have been targeted as well. One of your elders in Lobelius knew about this and remained silent as well. You must have heard of her by now," Pope Elsevier gauged her reaction to check if she knew.

"Do you mean, Elder Satara? Yes, I know about her by now," Arabella said to prove she had a clue what he was talking about.

"I see. It’s good that you know now. She also tried to protect as best she could, but she had grown weaker over the years and no longer could. Thus, when your parents asked for my help, I did what I could. I made you forget not only about the monster attacks, but also made you forget about the existences you’ve seen. Humans shouldn’t encounter them directly, and those who do either forget, go blind or deaf, die, or become enlightened. It depends upon the scenario. But for yours, it was something too dangerous to remember. I saw them in your mind as I tried to peek to see what’s terrifying you so much," Pope Elsevier explained.

Arabella’s eyes were wide, and she gulped nervously as she suddenly had a clue what the Pope was talking about.

She recalled the scenery by the pond.

The huge glowing flower that she knew by now resembled the home of fairies she had protected with her last breath in her previous life, and the scepter of the Fairy Queen. The person who encouraged her to walk towards the flower and pick it. And the person who saved her looked like an older version of Ferdinand.

"Oh, it seems you remember them now," Pope Elsevier said as he noticed her reaction.

’So, he’s the one who made me forget about seeing them?’

"I... I recall what happened in the pond," Arabella admitted, and gulped with a lump in her throat as she felt the fear of that existence once again.

"I see... The spell had begun to wear off," Pope Elsevier concluded. "With your reaction, you know by now what They are, right?"

"Y-yes," Arabella gulped.