Chapter 192

But Maria spoke softly in her gentle tone.

"Just now... in the church, you didn't actually want to come with me, did you?"

"..."

"In the church, you actually wanted to leave with Salvadore, but you ultimately chose me. Why is that?"

Maria has a very keen sense of intuition.

She realized that at that time, in the church, the girl didn't actually want to be with her; as a child, she would rather stay with her family.

Even so, she still chose to follow Maria.

Why is that?

"..."

Celinina fell silent.

She did not answer Maria's question, but simply lowered her head and remained silent.

Clearly, these naive children, when faced with questions they don't want to answer, will only choose silence as their response.

Maria shook her head.

"I do know some hunting techniques, but these are techniques you can't possibly learn."

"Why?"

Hearing that Maria was about to agree, the girl hesitated.

She tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled, but then she gritted her teeth even faster.

"I... I'm very smart... No matter how difficult it is, I can learn it!"

"... This is something that can't be learned."

Maria sighed.

It wasn't that she was unwilling to teach girls skills; it was simply that her skills were impossible for others to learn.

Hunter's hunting skills are an unsystematic technique.

That skill was forged in countless life-or-death battles, through real, hard-fought combat.

Without rules, without constraints, they utilize everything at their disposal, etching the habit of fighting into every bone, every muscle, and every nerve.

This technique is impossible to repeat or teach.

It's impossible to train without repeated death simulations.

Even if you forcefully teach a girl, she will only imitate what you've learned, and she might even cause problems for the teacher herself because she is too focused on the technique.

Upon hearing Maria's explanation, Celinina not only failed to understand, but became even more confused.

Since Maria's technology is so unique, then... why did my grandfather make me follow Maria?

What can I learn from Maria?

"That's a question you'll have to ask yourself."

Maria crouched down slightly, but even so, she was still a little taller than the girl.

"In the church, Salvadore also said that he was grooming you to be his successor... So, what kind of person do you think would qualify as his successor?"

"This..."

This time, the girl was genuinely stunned.

Maria's problem was something she had never considered.

What kind of person is the heir to the Texas Family?

In fact, she has never considered what level she wants to reach... Rather, her life so far has been planned out; whatever her family arranges for her, she just does her best within that scope.

But as for who the heir should be... this question, which has no standard answer, left her somewhat at a loss.

Maria roughly understood the girl's current problem.

At this point, Celinina had no idea of her own place in the world; she was just a simple, confused girl.

It must be said that Texas at this time did indeed resemble her when she was a child.

Once upon a time, she was just that girl who followed the rules step by step.

However, her experiences changed many things about her.

And these are things that cannot be taught through words.

"Since you don't know, then you should get some rest."

Maria shook her head.

Learning without a purpose is simply a waste of our time.

"But..."

Celinina was somewhat unwilling.

She couldn't understand Maria's guidance, nor was she willing to think about what constituted a suitable successor or what she should do.

All she knew was that her grandfather Salvadore, held the woman before him in great awe.

He sent himself to the other person's side in the hope that he could grow as a person.

And one's own growth needs to be greater than ever before in order to be worthy of such a person.

This means she needs to put in more effort and reduce unnecessary wasted time!

Therefore, she desperately hoped that Maria could teach her something.

Even though she didn't know what she could learn from Maria.

"You're in a hurry... but it's pointless."

Maria shook her head again.

This attitude left Celinina clenching her fists.

She looked at Maria before her, a fire burning within her... but nothing could be ignited.

Meanwhile, Lavinia, who had finished resting, also came over.

She looked at the two girls, one older and one younger, and hesitated for a moment.

She had overheard a lot of their conversation, but she hesitated when it came to this question.

But after a moment, she looked at the book in her hands, and her gaze gradually hardened!

"That..."

She stepped forward, attracting the attention of both of them.

Would you... mind talking to me?

The girl turned her head, looked at Celinina beside her, and then at Maria beside her.

It's like they're consulting each other's opinions.

Maria, after a moment's thought, granted Lavinia's request.

After all, Lavinia and Celinina are closer in age to her than she is, making their interactions easier.

Moreover, Lavinia does possess something that Celinina lacks.

My own goals

"..."

After glancing at Maria and realizing what Maria was thinking, Celinina gritted her teeth.

"I see."

Nodding, she followed Lavinia away.

Maria wouldn't interfere too much with the two girls' conversation.

This isn't like her, and... she also has another older girl to deal with right now.

I turned my head and looked out the window.

"I don't think peeping or eavesdropping are things a lady should do... What do you think?"

"Hehehe..."

As Maria's voice faded, an awkward chuckle came from the window.

A short while later, a Sankta girl with a halo above her head silently landed on the edge of the balcony and looked at Maria awkwardly.

"Yo~ We meet again."

Although she was a little embarrassed to be discovered, that seems to be just the way women are; after scratching her head, she looked at Maria again.

Maria was also curious about the other party's return.

What brings you here?

"..." The Sankta girl didn't reply, but just chuckled and looked at Maria, somewhat embarrassed.

But when Maria saw the other person's appearance, she realized what was going on.

"You know?"

Clearly, the girl was referring to the fact that she knew she wasn't one of the Inquisitors.

After all, the girl was still hungover early in the morning, yet she still insisted on attending the Gray Hall meeting, which shows that the meeting was very important.

And the fact that she wasn't there at that moment meant that the Sankta girl understood that she wasn't one of the Inquisitors.

But Maria was still somewhat puzzled.

"Is there something you need from me?"

"That..."

Sankta scratched her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

She didn't know how to explain the situation to the other party.

But looking into those plain gray eyes, she couldn't bring herself to lie.

These eyes seemed to possess a magical power, piercing straight into her soul and making her feel that if she ever lied, she would be instantly exposed!

After a while, she seemed to give up on herself and casually sat down on the bed next to her.

"Actually... I received an order."

"Order?"

"Yes, Father Agniel gave me the order himself." The Sankta woman nodded. "He said... he wants me to keep an eye on your movements."

"My movements?"

Upon hearing what the other person said, Maria was stunned for a moment, then burst into a silent laugh.

"Are you spying on me?"

"While that's how things are, there's really no need to explain it so clearly."

The Sankta woman scratched her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

After attending the meeting this morning, Father Agniel specifically asked to stay behind with her alone.

I thought I had displeased them with my performance today, but who would have thought that the priest would give me such a task?

When she asked the priest about his goals and background as usual, Father Agniel unusually asked her not to ask any more questions.

This made the girl realize that things were probably not going well.

However, she wasn't sure what was wrong with this situation.

She simply deduced that Maria's background was probably not simple.

After all, when Father Agniel gave him the task, he repeatedly reminded him not to do anything that might provoke the other party, and to prioritize the other party's state when necessary.

Such an important additional instruction is certainly thought-provoking.

This made her hesitant to casually drag Maria along for drinks and boasting like she had the day before.