It took quite a bit of effort to convince Harlan that Silvia—or rather, Bellavella—had not been beaten into her current state by me. Then I pulled him over to a seat by the window and ordered some pastries and Silvia's homemade freshly squeezed juice. Harlan stared slack-jawed as Silvia bustled about behind the counter, only snapping back to his senses when a plate of pastries was set before him. I gave him a curious look. "You knew Bellavella well?"
"Not particularly well. Back when the Old Empire still existed, her Celestial Region was far from mine, so we had little contact. It was only after we were corrupted—you know, we carried out several joint operations within the Fallen Apostle faction," Harlan said casually as he examined the delicate pastries before him. "Though I didn't know her deeply, I knew Bellavella was a cold person. Cunning, occasionally rather cutting—overall, not easy to get along with. The gap between her and this one is simply... I still can't believe what I'm seeing."
"She was already like this when we brought her back." It took a full ten minutes for me to explain how Bellavella had become Silvia. "That's basically it. Bellavella split into two people. Her original personality spends most of its time asleep, while Silvia controls this body. But Bellavella has recovered some strength recently. She's doing her best to help us train the Ravens and the spellcaster forces on the mystical side. When she's feeling well, she also goes to Heavenly City to help out."
"I can't believe she made this." Harlan pointed at the pastries on the table. "No normal Shilin Apostle could make something so ornate and meaningless. I can sense that the personality called Silvia is utterly different from Bellavella. She doesn't even possess the self-awareness of