The crowd fell silent for a moment. Then, as though some switch had suddenly been flipped, everyone scattered in unspoken agreement. Some even held books and chatted with one another, as if nothing had happened.
Lynn hurriedly got to her feet. Ignoring the numbness in her legs, she stumbled away.
A moment after she left the building, someone else left as well.
Several more people exchanged glances, then quietly followed after them.
Lynn rushed out of the building and into an alley. Only when she reached a deserted spot did her legs give out, and she collapsed onto the ground.
After catching her breath for a while, she hugged her knees and began to sob.
She could already imagine what would happen next. Someone would report her for heresy, she would be dragged to the Underground Tribunal and tortured into confessing everything, then hanged from the gallows...
The more Lynn thought about it, the more terrified she became. She cried so hard she could barely breathe.
She was just a little nun who liked reading unofficial histories. How had she ended up burdened with such a heavy fate...?
It seemed she could only run. But where could she run to? She was just an ordinary person. Forget smuggling herself to Castel—she might not even make it out of town before being caught and dragged back.
"Thank you." Lynn took the handkerchief the man offered, wiped her nose, and then suddenly froze.
A man was standing beside her. She had no idea how long he had been there.
Lynn hastily reached into her pocket and pulled out a metal object, gripping it in her hand—this was a newly issued hand cannon from the Holy See, which she carried for protection.
But the man moved faster. The moment Lynn pulled out the