Chapter 1083: Guardian
A flicker of subtle embarrassment appeared on Hesta's face. She rose to her feet. "It just occurred to me, so I mentioned it casually. I can be a little slow sometimes. If anything I said earlier offended you, please forgive me."
Pakart did not press further. She gave Hesta a long, penetrating look, clearly not believing that explanation at all, but she could not be bothered to pursue it. Before long, she called Stella over to take her back. Hesta personally carried the old woman's wheelchair from the second floor down to the first, then bid her a very courteous farewell and stood at the door watching Pakart leave.
That question had not come out of nowhere. It stemmed from several reminders Ligo had given her over the past few days—Ligo had always been troubled by Pakart's unwavering stance against the death penalty.
Many times, Ligo had asked whether Hesta truly thought Pakart could be trusted. Could someone who could not even accept capital punishment really give up the chance to save a large group of children in the mountains for the sake of a few young people she had only recently met? From every angle, it seemed impossible that the old woman would place Hesta's interests above her own moral sentiments.
Yet strangely enough, Hesta had reached a different conclusion on this matter: perhaps it was not absolute.
That afternoon, when she had emailed Pakart about the orphanage's strange illness, Hesta had personally watched Pakart withdraw the furious reply she had written—because the old woman had not wanted her knowledge to be used for evil.
The incident had left such a deep impression on Hesta that she could at least confirm one thing: somewhere in the old woman's internal hierarchy, "moral judgment" still ranked above "moral