A Meeting of Queens

"Don't you want to ask anything?" Elisa glanced at Paul. "Or are you trying to stay out of it, afraid of getting drawn into the struggle within the Saintess's faction?"

Paul did not answer, merely furrowing his brow.

Elisa smiled, a worldliness at odds with her age in that smile. "From the moment you became a candidate Temple Knight, it was already impossible for you to remain untainted. Not everyone can be like your teacher, Lord Pasari, the Captain of the Holy Knights—or rather, you simply do not possess that kind of strength yet. Worse than choosing the wrong side is choosing no side at all. Though fence-sitters may sometimes be courted by every faction, they can never earn true trust. They will forever be shunned and despised."

Paul remained silent. Elisa drew a deep breath and rose to her feet. "There's a saying: opportunities may come by chance, but only those who are prepared can seize them. All right, I'm going back to rest. Thank you for your help."

Elisa took several steps, then turned back again at the door. "One more thing: opportunity knocks but once. Even if you are prepared, opportunities will not always be there. Once you lose one, it may never come back. Think carefully about what I told you last time. I will not say it a second time."

Paul sat lost in thought, seemingly unaware even when Elisa walked out of the room.

Chen Rui, who had been spying from the side, quietly withdrew from the room. The moment he heard "the struggle within the Saintess's faction," a vague outline had already formed in his mind. The female assassin was likely one of the Saintess's followers as well, and might be involved in some dispute over succession. Elisa's previous killing scheme had probably