Chapter 527

"Hey!"

Patia moved nimbly and quickly organized a counterattack.

However, her opponent was no pushover, and with the protection of the Jade Shield, she was overwhelmed by a storm of attacks in less than five moves, and even took a solid kick to the chest.

As Patia was kicked away, Lappland grinned and stepped forward, pinning his left hand behind his back to capture him alive.

"Let go, let go of me!"

Patia looked up and caught sight of Oren next to Shi Lei; his pupils widened involuntarily.

Wasn't this accomplice who was lurking beside the Pope supposed to be picking up Zhongli? Why is he here?

Even if you're taking the other person to a hotel to rest or to explore the city, you shouldn't come to the Central Hospital, right?

Etc!

Could it be that...

Patia shifted her gaze slightly, staring at Shi Lei standing at the door, and instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

Damn it, Zhongli is here!

She clenched her fists, knowing that she couldn't ask Oren for help now, otherwise her years of infiltration would be in vain.

Oren was extremely annoyed to see Patia; he hadn't expected them to cause trouble here. And to make matters worse, Zhongli had caught them in the act. What was he to do?

No matter what fate awaits Patia, Oren can only watch helplessly, unable to do anything about it.

Not wanting to put Oren in a difficult position, Patia used her free hand to pull out a dagger and stab herself in the heart!

Only death can preserve the flame of hope until the other comrades achieve final victory!

Don't want!

Oren's pupils dilated sharply; he almost screamed. His fingers, tucked into his pocket, pinched his thigh hard.

But the next second, the dagger stopped two centimeters from the heart, unable to penetrate any further.

With Shi Lei present, how could anyone die so easily?

"Hahaha, you want to commit suicide? Dream on!"

Lappland noticed something was wrong, quickly snatched Patia's dagger, and restrained her hands. This way, even if she still had weapons on her person, she wouldn't be able to commit suicide.

"Da da da."

A series of hurried footsteps came from the corridor.

Fiamma and Mostima had just heard the sound of muskets firing and immediately left the ward to check on the situation.

They saw Shi Lei and the others at the end of the corridor and came over to check, somewhat uncertainly.

Upon seeing Liberi's appearance, Fiamma displayed a very strange expression:

"Patia? What are you doing here?"

Patia, her hands restrained, managed to glance up at the other person with difficulty, remaining silent the entire time. What could her comrade say if he saw her in such a disheveled state?

Seeing that Patia refused to cooperate, Fiamma turned to Aizel and asked:

"I am Fiamma, a senior commissioner from the Laterano Notary Office. Can you tell me what's going on?"

Upon hearing that he was a senior from the Notary Office, and seeing the name tag around his neck proving his identity, Aizel answered all his questions without hesitation.

He recounted everything that happened: his encounter with the unconscious Cecilia on the road, taking her to the Central Hospital, being called to the rooftop by the caregiver, and what happened after he returned.

This style of using any means necessary to take Cecilia away doesn't seem like righteous behavior. Fiamma stared at her old comrade-in-arms and asked again:

"Patia, what happened to you after I left the Guard Team? How did things get like this?"

Patia scoffed, making no attempt to hide the disgust and aversion in her eyes: She coldly snorted.

"Heh, don't act like you care about me. Instead of asking me what I've been through all these years, you should think about what you've been doing, Senior Fiamma."

Seeing that she still wouldn't cooperate, Fiamma had no choice but to follow Laterano's rules and take Patia and the people on the rooftop to the Notary Office to await their fate.

Now that the situation was clear, Aizel bowed in thanks:

"Mister Zhongli, thank you for your help. I'll take Cecilia home once she's feeling better."

Cecilia only dared to leave the house because she hadn't seen her mother, and naturally she didn't want to go back.

"I don't want to go home, I want to find my mom!"

As they spoke, Mostima noticed something unusual about her as Sarkaz. At such a young age, she probably didn't even have Guardian Gun, yet the halo above her head was unusually dim.

Because Shi Lei was present, she did not stand up.

She quietly retreated behind the crowd, preparing to go to the Doctor to ask for Cecilia's Medical Report.

Fiamma was constantly monitoring Mostima to prevent her from leaking classified information. Seeing her slip out of the ward silently, she quickly followed her out.

Mostima, where are you going?

Mostima did not answer, but went straight to the Doctor's Office. After showing her identification to prove her identity, she successfully obtained Cecilia's Medical Record.

"Mostima, what happened?"

Mostima didn't give a direct answer, but instead took the Medical Record to the window and made a shushing gesture:

"I'm calling His Holiness the Pope, please be quiet."

"You!"

Fiamma was about to lash out, but the call had already been answered, so she had no choice but to stand aside and wait.

"Please connect me to His Holiness the Pope and tell him that what I'm about to report must not be known to anyone else."

Upon hearing this, Fiamma frowned and began to temporarily 'invite' the Doctor out of the room.

Shortly after, the call was successfully transferred.

"Your Holiness, it's been a long time."

The Pope's voice was very kind, and his speech was slow:

"Long time no see, my child. Did you visit Remuan this time you came back? How is she?"

"To be honest, I discovered something particularly interesting at the Central Hospital in the Stiwan District."

"Oh?"

"In this hospital, I found an eight-year-old Sarkaz Girl. At least from her appearance and various statistical indicators, she is a Sarkaz. The problem is that this girl is not yet twelve years old and has never received Guardian Gun. It's hard to imagine which commandment she violated to fall into a state close to 'fallen'?"

"..."

All Sarkaz people know that only by shooting one's fellow Sarkaz can one fall into the Fallen. In this case, the halo above one's head will dim, and the horns will turn black.

Because fallen Sarkaz are so rare, normal Sarkaz like Aizel did not notice anything unusual.

But Mostima, being the fallen Sarkaz, immediately noticed Cecilia's unusual behavior.

If a child who doesn't even have Guardian Gun falls into depravity without breaking any precepts.

This indicates that there are serious loopholes or problems in the Laterano people's proud rules.

Laterano relies on rules and regulations to govern the daily lives of the Sarkaz. If this is exposed and causes a significant loss of public trust, who knows what kind of chaos it will lead to in the future.

The Pope quickly realized the seriousness of the matter and responded after a brief silence:

"If conditions permit, please bring the child to the Papal Hall, and I will answer your questions in person."

Mostima pouted slightly and began to explain:

"It's impossible. Zhongli is protecting her. Without a sufficiently legitimate reason, no one can change her mind."

The Pope was startled upon hearing this. Where had the most distinguished guest of this Summit of All Nations gone?

Why is Zhongli at the Central Hospital?

"Your Holiness, have you forgotten? Remuella's sister Lamyuan, is undergoing rehabilitation here."

"..."

This time, the Pope remained silent for an even longer time, as the matter was beginning to become very difficult. After pondering for a long time, he sighed and instructed Mostima:

"The child is under Zhongli's protection, so he should be safe. Cardinal Vierlif and I are at the Grand Cathedral preparing for the Summit of All Nations. Come find me immediately."

Five minutes ago, in the ward.

"I don't want to go home, I want to find my mom!"

The little girl's voice began to grow shrill, and her emotions became increasingly agitated. Although Aizel had no experience caring for children, she showed great patience.

"Okay, okay, okay, Cecilia. I'll help you look, but can you tell me her name?"

My mother's name is Felia.

Aizel's pupils dilated upon hearing this, finding it utterly unbelievable. This was the name of the woman whose body Federico had just taken away. Unable to confirm, he provided further details to Cecilia for verification.

"Is it Felia from Serfas Street? Wait, let me check the information. 7-265 Serfas Street?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Oh my god~"

Seeing him cover his face with his hands in pain and dejection, Shi Lei sensed something was wrong and asked:

"What's wrong?"

Aizel glanced back at Cecilia, his words hesitant:

"Her mother just... sigh."

The unspoken understanding between adults is that some things don't need to be said aloud. Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately understood that Cecilia's mother had unfortunately passed away.

Oren knew how important this child was to his organization, and seeing the atmosphere plummet to freezing point, he shifted his gaze slightly and tentatively asked:

"Since some things have already happened, there's no point in regretting them now. The most important thing right now is how to take care of this little girl."

Oren posed the question to Aizel, wanting to see how the kid would respond. He needed to determine if he had any room to maneuver based on Ezel's answer.

"I wonder how His Holiness the Pope would treat Cecilia if we took her to the Papal Hall?"

"Ah, I don't know. How His Holiness the Pope will decide is not for me to say."

As you can see, she's a very 'special' Sarkaz. From what I understand, His Holiness the Pope doesn't like to use drastic methods. Besides, Cecilia is so lovely, surely he wouldn't hurt her."

Just as the two were discussing the little girl's whereabouts, Shi Lei, who had been guarding the door, suddenly spoke up. Upon hearing his opinion, Oren and Aizel immediately fell silent.

"If I'm not mistaken, neither of you are this little girl's guardians, are you?"

"Yes, that's definitely not it."

"Why should you decide where she goes in the future? Why don't you ask for her opinion?"

At this point, Shi Lei entered the ward.

He had extensive experience interacting with little girls (Lisa), and gave Cecilia a kind smile:

"Little sister, where do you want to go? I'll protect you and take you anywhere you want to go."

Cecilia looked the man in front of her up and felt a strange sense of familiarity. The Notary Office guy had been talking for ages without taking any real action; this man was much more reliable.

"Really?"

"Of course, you can pinky swear if you don't believe me."

Shi Lei was adept at using this trick to coax children. However, Lisa was usually very obedient, so he rarely needed to use this method; she would do whatever he was told.

After Cecilia made a pinky promise with him, she said again:

"Can you help me find my mother?"

"Yes... if there's still time."

Unable to determine whether her mother remained in the morgue or was cremated after her death, Shi Lei asked Aizel:

"Could you take us to see her mother? It would be anything, it's her last wish."

"All right."

Aizel gritted his teeth and gestured for them to proceed.

"Her mother should be in the Requiem Church; I wonder if she's finished praying. Mister Zhongli, please follow me."