"Oh?"
Lilith propped up her chin. "You haven't had any guesses at all?"
"I did wonder whether, when Papa was assassinated, you also suffered retaliation, causing Mr. Sparrow to lose his memories and you to be cursed into a cat."
Bernadette explained her conjecture. "But there were still many things that didn't add up."
"So?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
Lilith laughed. "What a dishonest child. You've already guessed, haven't you?"
Bernadette: "..."
"That's right."
Lilith smiled brightly. "The Sparrow and I whom you first met had traveled back in time from the future. So, when you first found us, it wasn't that we'd lost our memories and forgotten you. We really didn't know you."
Bernadette's pupils contracted.
Indeed, just as Lilith had said, she had entertained that possibility. But every time, she had felt it was far too absurd. As a Mystery Pryer whose advancement depended on knowledge, Bernadette prided herself on possessing more extensive and profound mystical knowledge than the vast majority of people in the world. Yet she had truly never heard of any Beyonder ability that allowed someone to travel through time.
After all, once time travel became possible, it would trigger a series of events-such as the classic temporal paradox.
"So..."
Bernadette said softly, "You knew from the beginning that Papa would be assassinated, and that the Intis Empire would collapse with his death?"
"Yes."
"..."
She clenched her fists hard, forcing herself not to ask, "Then why didn't you stop it all?" That would create a paradox between the past and the future. It took no thought to know that some unknown catastrophe would surely result.
After a long silence, she asked softly, "Is Papa really dead?"
Lilith nodded slightly. "He is."
"..."
"But... he's not quite dead."
Lilith laughed.
There were