After leaving the Imperial Palace grounds via Shadow Realm traversal, Eros came to a halt and released his hold on the waists of the two women.
"Leaving the Shadow Realm from here will put you on a street in the Inner City of Intiles. Now, it is time for you to pay the price for this transaction," Eros said in a flat tone, glancing sideways at Isabella.
Hearing that they had already left the palace, Isabella let out a soft breath and nodded.
"To the west of the Auckland Isles, near the edge of the Mist, there is a small island known as the Isle of the Lost. That is where I suspect a fragment of the Night Goddess’s Divine Kingdom exists."
Eros narrowed his eyes and asked indifferently, "Your reasoning?"
Isabella didn't mind his skepticism and explained, "That island does not always exist; it only appears in that location occasionally. Furthermore, the timing of its appearance and the duration of its stay follow no pattern."
"The reason it is called the Isle of the Lost is that if a human who steps onto it does not leave before the island vanishes, they will disappear from this world forever."
"Even the traces of their existence will be erased. Parents forget they had a child; wives forget they had a husband. Even records concerning them will become a blank void, as if the person never existed."
"This process continues until the next time the island appears. When the island resurfaces in those waters, the lost memories and records are remembered once more, but the person remains gone forever."
Isabella paused here, looking at the Night Remnant before her. "I have heard that the Goddess of Night is a deity who controls 'Concealment.' I do not know if this is the legendary power of Concealment, but I suspect there is a connection."
Eros nodded calmly. "Whether that is the case, we will naturally send someone to verify. Thus, the transaction ends here."
"Additionally, since this deal went smoothly, I will give you a piece of advice as a bonus."
"If you think that escaping the palace means escaping the control of the Royal Family, you have underestimated them—especially since you are both Spirit-Blessed."
Toward the end, Eros’s tone took on an inexplicable edge.
Isabella’s pupils dilated, and her body went stiff. After a long moment, she spoke with difficulty, "You discovered it?"
"It’s quite obvious, isn't it!" Eros said leisurely, the corners of his mouth curling up.
He had entered the Shadow Realm using Barbara’s power, so while Barbara brought them in, she had conveniently inspected their bodies. This was mainly to ensure the Royal Family hadn't left some other means on the two women that might affect him. Instead of finding traps, she discovered their constitutions.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Only after hearing Barbara say they were both Spirit-Blessed did Eros have an epiphany. No wonder they wanted to flee. No wonder that "filial son" was unwilling to let his sister leave Intiles last time. He even claimed he feared his sister would be bullied by Eros’s family at the fief.
Tsk! He spoke with such sincerity, yet it was all to keep his sister in Intiles so the family could better sacrifice her. All the puzzles were solved.
Isabella fell into silence after hearing Eros’s words.
Eventually, Eros spoke: "I will take you out of the Shadow Realm now. Once we leave, I can only wish you good luck—"
"Wait!" Isabella suddenly interrupted.
Eros looked at her with interest, curious as to what she would say next. Isabella sighed, her tone somber:
"I am doing this solely so that I and my child can survive."
Eros nodded. "Understandable."
"Therefore, I wish to make another deal with your Night lineage. The content of the deal is to offer us protection! In exchange, I can provide the location of another fragment of the Night Goddess’s Divine Kingdom."
"This time, the information is not a guess. A fragment truly exists there."
Isabella stared directly into the eyes of the Night Remnant, enunciating her terms one by one.
Eros’s gaze flickered, and he gave a low laugh. "It seems you were well-prepared. However, I am curious—why us? You clearly had simpler methods. You could have reported the Royal Family directly to the Church. I believe if you were the one to report it, the Church would certainly investigate them thoroughly."
Isabella gave a self-deprecating smile. "I originally made three plans. The highest priority was trading with your Night lineage. If I hadn't encountered you by the final deadline, I would have chosen the second plan—reporting to the Church as you suggested."
Eros raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised we were prioritized over the Church."
Isabella lowered her eyes, her voice sounding despondent. "Because I do not believe the Church can protect us. Not that they lack the power, but because we are not worth the cost to them."
"Are you referring to the Sequence 2 beneath the palace?" Eros rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
But that didn't seem right. If it was just protecting someone from a Sequence 2, the Church should be able to do it easily. Especially since the Royal Family’s Sequence 2 was a "neutered" version; a single Cardinal Archbishop of the Reincarnation Church could likely pin him down with one hand—and there were three such existences in Intiles.
Hearing the Night Remnant mention the Sequence 2 beneath the palace so nonchalantly, Isabella’s expression became dazed. After a while, she stuttered:
"You... you... you know of his existence?"
Eros glanced at the incredulous Isabella and said offhandedly, "He’s hidden so obviously; isn't he visible at a glance?"
Isabella’s mouth twitched into a bitter smile. "Indeed. He is our ancestor, the creator of this empire, the Founding Emperor—Augustine I. It is precisely because of his existence that I say the Church might not be able to protect us."
Without waiting for Eros to ask why, Isabella continued on her own:
"The ritual array used by the Augustine family for bloodline baptism was tampered with by him from the very beginning. This resulted in our bodies becoming his vessels the moment we undergo the baptism, allowing him to reincarnate over and over again."
"And through these successive reincarnations, he grew stronger and stronger, eventually becoming an Angel."
Eros seemed to understand now. "You mean everyone in the Augustine family is effectively a clone of his? He can awaken in any of your bodies at any time?"
Isabella nodded. "And if he wishes, he can ignore distance and manipulate the lives of us vessels at will."
So this was why she said even the Church might not be able to protect her. Indeed, if one wanted to kill Augustine I, they would have to kill every single member of the Augustine family; otherwise, he could awaken in any of them at any time.
What a rogue way to play!
It wasn't that the Church definitely lacked a solution, but rather whether it was worth the immense price to save a mere Sequence 6 and Sequence 9.