"You rarely have such a serious talk with a mortal."

Betty, who had been waiting for her at the railing, approached Zooey as she came out of the cabin.

"I talk more with King Roland," Zooey replied indifferently.

"But we all know he's not technically a real mortal," Betty said in a sorrowful tone. "Sean wanted you to only talk about the origin of the church and the immense power of the G.o.d's Punishment Witches. But what did you end up saying? 'It's not worth it', and 'the church was a mistake from the beginning'," Betty broke off while clicking her tongue. "That was too much information for a patient."

"Our task is to recover the ancient treasure and rescue the captured believer. Whether she's alive or not, that's none of our business," Zooey said as she stopped and narrowed her eyes at Betty. "Speaking of you... since when did you start to care about a mortal?"

"Shouldn't people care about each other?"

"Yeah, we should, but it doesn't sound like something you would say." Zooey paused for a moment and said, "Hang on... you're just gloating over her misfortune, aren't you?"

"Hey, don't say it out loud," Betty said while sn.i.g.g.e.ring. "Because I really wanted to go in there with you — "

"Yes," Zooey said on a sigh. "She does look like them."

"She's the express image of them," Betty said as she walked to Zooey and leaned against the porthole. "If she were born 400 years earlier, and if she were a witch, then in the last Union meeting..."

"She would definitely support Lady Alice rather than us," Zooey supplied Betty's answer. "That's what makes me upset."

Farrina did not resemble a particular individual, but a specific group of people.

She resembled a group of survived Union witches facing an uncertain and dismal future.

They had had very few choices at that time.

Most of them had chosen to support the plan of the G.o.d's Punishment Witches instead of the hopeless proposal of "the Chosen One", even though this meant they would have to sacrifice themselves in the end.

On that meeting that had determined their fate, Alice had completely flattened Natalia, winning the support of the great majority. At the end of the meeting, people on the floor had set up a chant of "the human race will perpetuate. Long live the witches", and their voices reverberated across the hall. In fact, even some Natalia's supporters had become hesitant in the end, uncertain whether their choice would lead them to the light at the end of the tunnel. Zooey, at that time, could not do anything for the Queen of Sunchaser but stomped her feet in agitation.

Now she took her anger out on Farrina.

Zooey was not repudiating any church believer per se but the disbanded Union instead.

She had wanted to tell them that even the weakest witch had the potential to become strong.

She had also wanted to let them know that ignorant, short-sighted mortals could also make a contribution.

What she had wanted to say most badly was "if only they could hang in there just a bit longer..."

She wished they had not reached a parting of the ways just because of different opinions.

But all her thoughts dissolved into a deep sigh.

With no solid and conclusive evidence, the Three Chiefs would inevitably make the same choice if everything had started all over again.

Only a person with a heart of steel was capable of helping everyone get through that dark times when the regime of the Union was tottering.

"If only Lady Alice, Lady Eleanor and Lady Natalie could see what we have now..."

Zooey muttered as she gazed at the boundless blue ocean.

In another room on the other side of the cabin, Kajen put down his quill, shocked and dismay.

"Mr. Kajen..." said Roentgen, who was equally perplexed by what they had just heard. "I'm afraid we've known too much."

To let Kajen better understand the story of Joe and Farrina, Sean had settled him and his student down in a room adjacent to the patient's cabin and made a little adjustment to the wall. He had set up a one-way transparent mirror which allowed Kajen to peer through the wall and see everything that happened in the next room. In addition to that, Sean had also installed two amplifiers that enabled Kajen to hear the contents of their conversation clearly.

It was Kajen Fels' first time to pry into others' privacy. Although he understood it was not very appropriate, the temptation was just too great to resist. This was just like a reality show where actors doc.u.mented unscripted real-life situations. He, on the other hand, was a viewer and also recorder of the show.

Much to his consternation, he had not only heard a story about love and redemption but also learned a secret, appalling history of the church.

The witch empire had established the Four Kingdoms?

The church was the offspring of the Union?

Those ancient witches could possess a human body?

Every single piece of information would be sufficient to disquiet the public.

Roentgen peeped through the door restlessly, as though fearing some guards would suddenly burst in, throw a burlap sack over her head and dump her into the ocean.

The words of King Roland gradually came floating out of Kajen's memories.

"It's a romance in dark times."

"You should know what 'based on' means."

Perhaps, Roland had predicted that this would happen.

Anyway, he could not chicken out now.

Even if he was presented the choice to back out, he would not do so.

Dimly, Kajen had a feeling that this play would create a huge commotion.

This play would be unprecedented and also set a milestone for the future play industry.

Just at that moment, Kajen saw the two people in the next room start to talk again.

He immediately picked up the amplifiers.

"So... that's what we've got in the end..." Farrina stared at Joe, her eyes sliding out of focus. "The church is gone... n.o.body needs me anymore... You saved me but I can't give you anything as a return... I'm sorry..."

Her voice, in the end, was hardly over a whisper.

Joe grasped her hand, a look of melancholy on his face and bl.u.s.tered, "I saved you not for the d.a.m.n church!"

His thundering voice shocked Farrina.

"I never put much faith in the church. I joined the church just to find something to do. Everyone pretended to be a pious believer because they wanted to get promoted fast. I used to be a n.o.ble, and it doesn't make sense that I would devote everything to G.o.d!"

"You — " Farrina said, biting her lip, her eyes fixing on Joe again. She slowly raised her hand in a painful sort of way, in an attempt to slap in his face.

Joe did not dodge but held his head even a little higher.

But Farrina dropped her hand in the end. She said, "You're... lying, aren't you? You followed me to the Kingdom of Wolfheart after the defeat of the G.o.d's Punishment Army. How could you say that you don't have... much faith in the church?"

Joe grabbed her by the arm and said feverishly, "I did so because I want to be with you! Screw the Supreme Pontiff! Screw the Battle of Divine Will!"

"Joe!"

"Let me finis.h.!.+," Joe talked over her. He had been waiting for this opportunity to pour his heart out for too long. He had once thought he would have never had the chance to do so. Now, he simply could not let this chance slip through his fingers again. "After you were captured, I tried every possible means to come to your rescue. It had nothing to do with the future of Hermes, because I know the world wouldn't be any different without the church. All I need is you... I don't want to lose you... I need you!"

CRACK.

The quill in Kajen's hand snapped.

"You... need me?" Farrina echoed perplexedly.

"Didn't you say you couldn't return me anything? Then I'll demand something from you as a return," Joe said as he clutched Farrina under his arms. "Be with me — you must stay with me wherever you go. No matter what our fate will be, we'll face it together. This... is what I want from you as a return!"