Snow immediately became alert when she heard Nickâs question!
Thinking about it, Nick has always been exceptionally concerned with her research and is now coming for information at such a crucial time, could he have something else in mind?
Right now the identity of the third apostle was still unclear, so Snow had to be careful and canât easily trust anyone like last time!
Snowâs attitude changed as she coldly questioned him.
âNick, why are you asking so many questions? If I said yes, would you want to destroy the results of my research?â
âSnow, what do you mean by that? Donât treat me like your enemy! This city is my dioceses, the infected here also include my believers, so I have a responsibility to save them!â
âWhat does that have to do with me?â
âOnce the black core is deciphered and a cure is found, then the plague will officially come to an end, so I naturally have to be concerned about your research and ensure that the cure is successfully found!â
At first, Snow was suspicious, but thinking about it, his words did make sense. As the local Saint, it was normal to get an understanding of the situation, perhaps she was just getting too emotional.
Speaking of which, Snow hasnât found anything suspicious about Nick all this time, so thereâs no reason to suspect him of being part of the enlightened.
âBut Nick, how did you know that my research was ending today? ⌠Isnât that too much of a coincidence?â
âHehe, Snow, did you forget? You said last time that your research was already at the final stage, thatâs why I came today!â
âLast time? Oh, rightâŚâ
Snow remembered how Nick didnât just come today but came every now and then. The last time he came was two days ago and at the time her experiments were entering the final stage, she didnât have the time for anything else so she just causally said something to him to chase him away, she never expected him to remember and specifically come back.
This Nick is really annoying. Although he had reason to pay attention to her research, such frequency was getting a bit annoying. But Snow couldnât rebuke him, so she decided just to say some things to get him to leave.
âNick my research isnât completely finished, thereâs still one last step.â
âOne last step? Are you still missing some material?â
âYes, I am missing something.â
âWhat are you missing?â
â⌠Hey Nick, do you have to ask everything?â
âSnow, Iâm not trying to be annoying! As the local Saint I have the power to support you to complete your experiment! ⌠Tell me, I can get whatever material youâre missing and ensure that your experiments can proceed successfully!â
Nick saw that Snow was getting suspicious so he used the excuse of helping her gather the materials to muddle by, but this time Snow couldnât say any more.
Even if Nick was unrelated to the enlightened, Snow couldnât easily reveal this information. The mission of finding the sacred crystal fruit wasnât difficult but if the information got out, who knows what will happen and Snow didnât want to make it more difficult for her brother.
âNick, thank you for your kindness, but Iâve already entrusted this matter to someone else, so you donât have to worry.â
âTo someone else? Who⌠could it be that brother of yours?â
Nick raised his eyebrow and his tone was filled with disdain.
âHmph, what can Lin Xiao do? Do you really believe he can help you find whatever you need?â
When that youth was mentioned, Nick was angry and couldnât pretend to be graceful anymore! That kid was annoying, but Snow would rather trust her useless brother than trust him, and he couldnât take out this anger, so he could only start making strange reports to Snow.
âSpeaking of your brother Lin Xiao⌠heâs been famous recently!â
âOh? What did he do?â
âYou havenât heard? At princess Claireâs request, Lin Xiao attended the war meeting a while ago as an advisor and stood firm overturning both Taikeâs and Barrettâs plans and even found the traitor Hardy!â
Nick may be complimenting him, but he didnât believe it. With what heâs personally verified of that stinking kid, he might just be slightly clever and couldnât amount to anything big. So even though the news said that Lin Xiao was outstanding during the meeting, Nick thought it was fake and that surely Claire saw through everything and this was something to trick the masses! How could that kid convince the grand marshall? What a joke!
Nick might not believe it, but Snow believed it without question.
âHehe, what about that Nick, I was right, my brother is outstanding!â
âHeh, I guess⌠but it seems like someone else is even more clear of excellence than you are?â
âHm? What do you mean by that?â
âSnow, you donât know yet, right? It seems like your brother has a love affair with princess Claire!â
âWhat?â
Sensing Snowâs nervousness, Nick revealed a sly smile. Although he wasnât clear about Lin Xiao and Claireâs relationship, he told her all about those groundless accusations.
âDamn brother! I canât believe heâs going around behind my back again! How⌠despicable!â
âSnow, you donât have to be so angry, heâs a man after all and princess Claire is a beauty, so developing feelings is natural.â
Nick was smiling while saying that, but his heart was bleeding! He was the one who liked Claire and chased her for a full year, yet he had to praise those two⌠was there anything worse as a man?
But to trick Snow, Nick could only endure it!
âSo Snow, rather than relying on someone like that, why not let me! Iâll personally prepare what you need!â
âYou? ⌠Hm, forget it.â
While Snow was angry, she almost fell for it and agreed to Nickâs request, but she was still vigilant and never said what she was missing.
Seeing that, Nick sighed and realized that he wouldnât be able to get any more valuable information from Snow, so he gave up.
But⌠what was the final ingredient she was lacking?
At first, Nick didnât believe that Snow would be able to decipher the black core but now that Snow has already gotten so far, that completely changed Nickâs evaluation of her. Perhaps to Snow she may be moving slowly, but to Nick, she was moving at an amazing speed! With just one maid as a helper she could almost fully decipher the black core, she was a hundred times better than those boastful professors!
It seems like that Snow will discover the final secret sooner or later!
If that was the caseâŚ
âNick?â
Snow became uneasy at Nickâs sudden silence.
âHmph, I never expected that a brat like you would be able to do it. Youâre a Saintess yet you can decipher the black core, it seems like I underestimated you.â
âHm? Nick, what did you say? Speak up, I canât hear you.â
Snow still couldnât hear his muttering and couldnât see him, so currently Nick was invisible to her which made her even more uneasy. But his next words really made her jump!
âSnow, the last thing youâre missing isnât a sacred crystal fruit, right?â
âHm? Nick, w-what did you just say?â
How was Nick able to guess it?
After seeing her nervous demeanor, Nick had an idea. It seems like he was right and that proved Snow was really at the final step.
Snow finally realized the danger she was in!
In order to wait for her brother, she already chased away all the other believers and servants so that no one could disturb them, so she was the only person there! Also her personal maid bodyguard Elona was also sent away to get Lin Xiao.
âNick? W-whatâs wrong? Say something!â
Snow tried asking but Nick still wasnât speaking and this strange silence made Snow panic, she could even feel the killing intent in the air.
Why was it like this?
Was Nick really part of the enlightened?
Just as Snow was scared trembling and couldnât even breathe, there was a familiar voice at the door.