How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?-Chapter 426 - 146 : Kindred Spirit

Hearing the nun's words and watching her retreating back, Winnie felt his heart skip a beat. He then followed after the nun, his mood slightly heavy.

The underlying implication of those words was already indicating that Shikondell's condition wasn't good, indeed, it could even be described as terrible. After all, if her injuries could be treated within the church and convent, why would they specifically call for her roommate?

Wasn't this essentially the same as being called in for a "critical condition vigil"?

No, that couldn't be. Shikondell, after all, was essentially the main heroine chosen by fate, blessed and protected by divine fortune. Even if something truly unexpected happened, she would surely overcome it and turn misfortune into fortune.

Following the nun, Winnie arrived at the Church of Radiance inside the Carillian Academy. Passing through the courtyard gate, the prayer statue of the Goddess Varelis, and the central main hall of the church, they reached the courtyard behind.

Inside the church, people came and went in endless streams. While there were always many visitors on ordinary days, recently, there had been more people than ever before, so crowded it felt like an Earth's hospital during peak hours, packed to the brim whether on weekends or weekdays.

This sacred place, meant for devout believers to come and pray, was filled now with a suffocatingly low atmosphere. Winnie saw many injured students being supported into the church's backyard by their companions. Numerous priests and nuns carried stretchers, transporting students who couldn't move, some even unconscious, their lives hanging in the balance, into the back courtyard.

"This is truly a disaster," the nun guiding Winnie murmured softly. She then turned and faced the statue of the Protective Goddess, offering a sincere prayer. "Goddess above, please in your great mercy, protect these innocent children who have suffered misfortune."

"Sister, there seems to be many injuries this time. Can your side handle it?" Winnie asked, glancing at the busy priests and nuns rushing about.

Many of these groundswell priests and nuns were truly kind-hearted. Regarding the issues of the higher-ups, they clearly knew nothing, and would never know.

"Yes, this calamity was truly unexpected, an accident within an accident," the nun exclaimed. "Upon hearing the news and fearing insufficient medical resources to rescue the injured in time, the Church of Radiance has generously sent many priests and nuns to aid Carillian Academy as a gesture of condolence and regret over this incident. May the Goddess favor the continent of Terraria."

Listening quietly to the nun's words, Winnie remained silent. After a moment's contemplation, he suddenly smiled coldly. "Is that so? The Church truly remains as compassionate as ever."

The two of them walked through the crowds and the overcrowded corridors, heading deep into the hallway.

As he faintly noticed both sides of the corridor filled with packed rooms, hearing noisy chatter, hushed discussions, and the pained moans of the injured, Winnie's heart sank further and further.

Despite the obvious noise, the atmosphere felt incredibly oppressive.

The nun stopped in front of a room deep down the corridor. After softly saying "Excuse me," she gently pushed open the door.

Winnie followed her in with nervous anticipation, only to find two nuns standing inside, whispering to each other.

Inside the room were two people he recognized. One was Milian. Her face no longer held its usual childishness or vibrant energy. Now, her beautiful, lovely features were clouded with worry, confusion, and a hollowed-out despair. Even the little strand of hair sticking up on her head had drooped down.

She didn't even notice the door opening. Her gaze remains fixed on the silver-haired elf lying motionless on the bed before her, eyes closed, unmoving, the person Winnie knew better than anyone else: Shikondell. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Winnie stared at the Moon Elf girl lying on the bed, then slowly stepped toward her.

"Sister Fel, this is the young elf boy's roommate," the guiding nun said, approaching the shoulder-length-haired nun.

"So you're Winnie?" Sister Fel shifted her gaze to Winnie.

"That's me." Winnie glanced at Shikondell, lying on the bed with closed eyes and pale complexion. He had never seen Shikondell in such a state. He then turned his gaze back to the three nuns.

"Sisters, may I ask... what's wrong with my roommate?" Winnie took a deep breath. His tone was calm, yet heavily laden.

Sister Fel sighed deeply. "He's currently in no immediate danger. You can rest assured."

"The physical injuries he sustained have already been healed and stabilized by us."

Hearing the nuns say this, Winnie's heart eased slightly.

"But that's not the main issue. It seems that Dell can't wake up."

"Can't wake up?" Winnie frowned, unsure what exactly they meant.

"Yes. For some unknown reason, he has shut himself off. Perhaps he saw something too shocking inside the Magic Cube space, which contaminated his soul, causing him to fall into a coma from which he cannot awaken."

"Or perhaps... he simply doesn't wish to wake up again." The nuns explained. "We've already examined Dell thoroughly. In truth, his injuries weren't severe, nor were they particularly complicated. Compared to other students, the real injury he suffered is here." The nun pointed to her own chest.

"Here?" Winnie hesitated.

"Yes," the nun pondered. "We can heal the wounds on her body, and indeed, those are already taken care of. But the wounds in his heart, no one can heal those. Only he herself can. No one else can help him."

Hearing this, Winnie fell silent, continuing to gaze at Shikondell, who lay with closed eyes.

"For now, we have no other choice but to report this matter to the Church headquarters and hope they might have a solution," Fel said. "Don't lose hope. The Church has existed for so long, and over the years, many expert priests and nuns specializing in mental healing have left behind valuable notes we can refer to."

"But the time required would be very long, right?" Winnie suddenly interrupted.

"Yes, that's true. It's unavoidable," Fel replied after a pause, sounding helpless. "After all, the human heart is something we still haven't fully understood. People are complex and ever-changing."

"Winnie, you're Dell's roommate, and you've spent the most time with him. So we'd like to ask you to take care of him. If anything unexpected happens, please notify us at the front desk immediately. We'll always be available."

"Of course. Thank you for all your hard work, Sisters," Winnie replied. He could clearly see that these nuns had been working nonstop, unable to rest properly. The dark circles under their eyes were deep, evidence they'd probably pulled several all-nighters.

"It's not hard. This is simply our duty. We leave him in your and Milian's care." The nuns looked at Winnie, then at Milian, before leaving the room.

Suddenly, the room left with only Winnie and Milian.

Winnie stood silently for a moment, then fetched a chair and sat beside Shikondell's bed, calmly watching her.

"How long have you been guarding her here?" Winnie asked.

Milian remained silent for a long while, as if only then realizing Winnie was speaking to her. Her bloodshot, lifeless eyes blankly turned towards him.

"What?"

"Never mind," Winnie shook his head. "Earlier, in the Magic Cube space, did you encounter Dell?"

"...No." Milian seemed to need time to process even such a simple question, as if her mind had frozen. "I didn't meet her."

"If I had met her, I definitely wouldn't have let her end up like this."

"Then why?" Winnie looked at Milian's current state.

"It's all my fault," Milian suddenly buried her face in her hands, as if her emotions had shattered. "If only I hadn't brought out that strange Magic Cube back then, none of this would've happened."

"It's not your fault," Winnie said, still staring at Shikondell. "Didn't you see all the patients outside? They all saw the same Magic Cube we saw that night and entered that strange alternate space. Even if you hadn't brought it out, it would've appeared anyway."

"Even if we hadn't played that game that night, even if we'd just gone straight to sleep, it would've appeared in our dreams," Winnie said calmly.

"..." Milian stopped, raised her head, and her olive-colored eyes, filled with helplessness, staring at Winnie. "So... you really don't show any reaction at all, do you?"

"What kind of reaction?" Winnie calmly looked back at Milian. "Milian, emotions are contagious. If you keep emitting such negativity here, it won't just affect me, it'll affect Dell too, making her even more unwilling to wake up."

"If you want to feel down, depressed, or resentful, fine, do it when you're alone. But when others are around, try to hold it back. Even if people see through it, at least it won't spread to them."

"…" Hearing this, Milian sniffled, looking lost. Winnie then silently handed her a handkerchief.

Don't ask where he got it. He didn't carry handkerchiefs normally. This was a disposable silk handkerchief he'd taken from Aesphyra's house, meant for wiping his mouth, but later, Aesphyra had ended up wiping his mouth for him, scolded him, and stormed off, leaving the handkerchief behind.

"Thank you." Milian seemed slightly surprised but accepted the handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes.

'Virtue + 30.'

Current Virtue: 8014.

"You've become a bit more decent than before, haven't you?" Milian said, clutching the handkerchief and regaining some composure.

"Have I?" Winnie showed no particular reaction. In his memory, someone had already said something similar to him before.

But, well... for some reason, every time he bickered and played around with Aesphyra, he never thought too deeply. His mind was completely relaxed, unrestrained, unmasked.

Honestly, Winnie didn't dislike this state.

And what he didn't know was that Aesphyra felt the same way.

She had too seen many hypocrites since childhood, people who wore masks even when they met face to face, far more than Winnie ever had. Precisely because of that, she values people like him so deeply, those she can interact with without calculation, without pretense, without wearing a mask.

The two remained silent in the room, saying nothing, simply gazing quietly at Shikondell.

"Did you already know?" Milian broke the silence.

"Know what?" Winnie asked.

"You know what I mean." Milian looked deeply at Shikondell.

"If you don't explain clearly, how would I know what you're referring to?" Winnie feigned ignorance.

"You... never mind. If you don't want to talk about it, fine. I just don't believe you're still so oblivious after all this time," Milian sniffed.

"If only I had reached out to help her back then, things wouldn't have ended like this. All of this is our own doing," Milian said solemnly. Due to the intense emotional turmoil, the usual strong "bratty girl" aura she carried, so overwhelming it made people want to say "that smell's too strong", had all but disappeared.

"Back then?"

"You might not know, but for elves, heart demons are truly terrifying," Milian said bitterly. "You humans always envy and praise our long lifespans, yet never mention the burdensome aspects."

"Elves can truly die from heartbreak due to overwhelming sadness."

"When the Moon Elf homeland was invaded and destroyed by tribal people, Dell's heart... was already half-dead," Milian murmured.

"I knew it would come to this. But back then, for certain reasons, we were unable to assist them."

"Looking back, if we hadn't been so selfish, so many of our Moon Elf kin wouldn't have perished, and Dell wouldn't be in this state today."

"Truthfully, Dell's resentment towards us is justified. We're all children of Mother Earth, children of the Forest Mother, yet for our own sake, we failed to save our kin."

"I've always wanted to compensate her, just to ease my own guilt, in a petty, selfish way."

"But how could something like that ever be compensated?... We're truly hypocrites," Milian lowered her head, her voice filled with self-loathing and remorse.

"So, Dell's current problem didn't happen overnight, it's because her homeland was destroyed, her kin either killed or enslaved?" Winnie asked.

"You already sensed it, didn't you? Dell has always been lonely. As a human, you might not understand what it's like to lose your homeland and every single one of your kind," Milian stared blankly at Shikondell. "This feeling... is like a floating duckweed, drifting in the midair."

"Milian, how do you know it isn't because Dell sensed a 'kindred spirit' in me?"

"…" Hearing this, Milian looked at Winnie, then fell silent.