Only then did Ariel's expression brighten slightly.

If Sophia had continued as before, obediently listening to whatever Celitia said, Ariel might have suspected that Celitia had cast some kind of spell on Sophia.

However, even so, Ariel still felt that Sophia paid a bit too much attention to Celitia.

This girl in her arms—aside from having a weak body and stubborn personality, what was special about her?

What exactly about her attracted Sophia so much?

Ariel couldn't help but become curious.

Seeing that Sophia and Ariel had reached an agreement, Celitia knew she no longer had any choice.

Having Ariel conduct a purification ritual to treat her body and remove the curse?

No matter how she thought about it, this situation was bizarre—absolutely awkward beyond belief.

Speaking of which, being held so gently in Ariel's arms like this—wasn't that even stranger?!

How embarrassing...

Celitia's heart collapsed, so she simply closed her eyes, lowered her head, and quietly hid her face.

Don't let anyone see, don't let anyone see, don't let anyone see...!

Even though it was unlikely for others to learn the details, Celitia still prayed this way.

The two brought Celitia hurriedly back to Cassia Cathedral, entering through the back door.

"Saintess!"

Pierre rushed up anxiously. "We still haven't been able to find Miss Kassy. Should we... cancel the purification ritual?"

Ariel shook her head and pointed with her chin at Celitia in her arms:

"If we can't find Kassy, so be it. The ritual's protagonist will be her instead—everything continues."

Looking at the girl in Ariel's arms, Pierre asked in confusion:

"Isn't this Miss Celitia? Is she also cursed?"

Ariel raised an eyebrow and gave him a cold look.

Pierre immediately realized he was asking too many questions and quickly shut his mouth, apologizing with a smile:

"Sorry, Saintess. Everything is ready—let's hurry over."

Ariel snorted lightly: "Let's go."

Pierre led the way, taking the three of them toward the rest hall in the depths of the church, carefully pushing open the door.

On the deep blue carpet, countless runes glowed with dazzling golden light, arranged in orderly fashion into an intricate magical formation that flickered gently.

Stepping into the ritual formation, Ariel carefully placed the girl in the very center.

The flickering light illuminated Ariel's face, sparkling in her golden eyes.

She softened her expression slightly, her voice low, gentle, and calm:

"Close your eyes. Just think of it as taking a nap."

Ariel sat down in the main position of the formation, while Pierre and another nun came over and sat in the corresponding triangular positions.

The ritual formation activated, golden light blazing bright. In that dazzling radiance, Celitia slowly closed her eyes.

When it came to dealing with curses, the church was still more professional.

The pain in her heart and the constricted feeling in her chest clearly diminished. The physical discomfort was gradually easing, the bone-deep cold receded, and warmth gradually flowed through her limbs and body.

Unconsciously, Celitia fell asleep.

Then, she opened her eyes in the dream.

She knew it was a dream because Celitia once again saw that mysterious inverted world.

Floating clouds swept past before her eyes, and distant objects appeared and disappeared—the only existence in this boundless realm that couldn't be found.

What was that?

Celitia stared intently ahead.

As if knowing she was watching, the hazy mist gradually dispersed, and what was hidden behind it was also revealed.

It was a statue of a goddess, but like this realm, it too was inverted.

In a trance, Celitia seemed to see that gentle, beautiful face become animated, the corners of its lips curving slightly upward in an extremely faint smile directed at her.

Celitia's whole body shook, and she immediately woke from the dream.

Staring at the stained glass ceiling of the church, Celitia remained dazed for quite a while before finally confirming that she was back in reality.

This is... Cassia Cathedral...

Slowly turning her head, Celitia saw two people keeping watch beside her.

Sophia was lying at the foot of the bed, her head buried in her arms, her body rising and falling regularly—clearly sleeping soundly.

Ariel sat in a chair at the head of the bed, her spine straight, watching her with a slightly haggard expression.

"Awake?" Ariel asked. "From your unsettled appearance, did you have a nightmare?"

Celitia slowly spoke, her voice slightly hoarse:

"No."

Facing the church's Saintess, Celitia certainly couldn't tell her that she had dreamed of a strange goddess statue.

Ariel stood up and brought over a water cup from a nearby table, handing it to her.

"The water has gone cold. Make do with drinking a little to moisten your throat—I'll have someone bring hot water later."

Celitia was startled and obediently took the cup.

The Saintess being so gentle was quite unusual—Celitia was very unaccustomed to it.

"About what happened yesterday," Ariel hesitated slightly, struggling with how to begin, "I heard the full story from Sophia."

○

After the purification ritual ended, it was already late at night.

Having transferred the sleeping Celitia to the rest room, looking at the girl on the bed with her peaceful expression, Ariel's expression remained rather unpleasant.

Secretly observing Ariel and remembering her questioning, Sophia couldn't help feeling very guilty.

"Are you still angry, Ariel?"

Ariel turned her head and glared fiercely at Sophia, saying irritably:

"Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"I'm sorry, Ariel, it was all my idea!"

Sophia, who usually extremely disliked backing down to Ariel, had no choice but to admit her mistakes at this moment.

"Actually, I discovered the curse on Lily first, but she absolutely refused to seek help from the church. Later, when I learned that Kassy had the same curse, I coaxed her into coming to you, wanting to see if you had any solution. As for why Kassy suddenly ran away, I don't know either... I've talked with her, and she very much hoped to remove the curse on herself, so this time there might be some inside story..."

Under Ariel's gaze, Sophia gradually lowered her head, anxiously wringing her fingers.

"That's how it is. We did conceal part of the truth, but we absolutely didn't deliberately fool you..."

"To you," Ariel couldn't help but smile coldly, "what kind of terrible flood or wild beast am I?"

Ariel didn't know from when exactly Sophia had started being so guarded against her.

Even the rumors from outside had spread to the point of saying they were about to break ties.

She wanted to have a good talk with Sophia, but every attempt ended in failure.