Chapter 7: Vera

The little girl seemed to be drawn by the noise of the nuns moving things, yet she also seemed afraid of being discovered.

Her body was pressed tightly against the wall, completely unaware of Bai Jin approaching from behind.

Bai Jin reached out her right hand and gently patted the little girl’s thin shoulder.

“Ah!”
The little girl, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, practically jumped into the air, letting out a short, startled cry.

She spun around abruptly, her small face pale.
Her round eyes instantly filled with tears, her expression one of pure terror at being caught.

“Don’t be afraid! Child, don’t be afraid!”
Bai Jin quickly soothed her in a low voice, crouching down to bring her gaze level with the little girl’s, trying to convey goodwill.

“I… I…”
The little girl’s voice was tearful and incoherent.
“I didn’t mean to! I was just… looking… I’ll leave right away!”

Her eyes darted frantically towards the chapel and then towards the corridor, as if searching for an escape route.

In Bai Jin’s eyes, this was just a pitiful little thing who had snuck into the church for the first time, both curious and afraid, and had gotten lost and been scared by her.

“Shh…”
Bai Jin placed a finger to her lips, signaling for her to be quiet.
She tried to force a gentle smile, but her hoarse voice made the smile lack any warmth.

“It’s alright, no one here will blame you. The service is almost over. What’s your name? Is this… your first time here? Did you get separated from your family? Or are you lost?”

The little girl’s body remained tense, her eyes warily fixed on the silver-haired sister in the novice nun’s habit, whose face was frighteningly pale and had strange ligature marks on her neck.

‘Asking so many questions at once, is this an interrogation or what!’

“I… my name is Vera. I’m not lost…”
Vera paused, seeming to struggle to form her words, but her gaze couldn’t help but drift back to those miscellaneous boxes.

Especially some of the furniture that looked like it came from a noble’s home, and the exquisite ornaments and clothes that were completely out of place in this solemn church.

“I just wanted to see…”
Vera’s voice grew even lower, tinged with a childish curiosity.

“What the Saintess’s living quarters look like…”
After she finished, she quickly lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong.

Bai Jin nodded in understanding.
So it was a little fan attracted by the title of “Saintess.”
Looking at Vera’s tattered clothes, she sighed inwardly.

This child probably saw Lilith as a pure and holy, perfect Saintess, not knowing what a twisted soul and terrifying truth lay hidden beneath that glamorous exterior.

Bai Jin glanced around the grand side corridor of the church, then thought of the wonderful life she had briefly enjoyed, a bitter taste rising in her mouth.

“There’s nothing to see here, Vera. Don’t be drawn in by appearances…”
Her words came to an abrupt halt, realizing she had almost misspoken in front of a child.

So she changed her tune.
“There are many rules in the church. It’s best to wait until the service is over and ask one of the other sisters. Don’t wander around on your own. It’s easy to get lost, and easy to… get into trouble.”

Bai Jin’s words were suggestive, her gaze subconsciously glancing towards the pulpit.

Vera nodded as if she half-understood, but the curiosity in her big eyes did not fade.
She stared straight at Bai Jin, with the unique innocence of a child.

“Sister Nun, what is the Saintess usually like?”

This question stumped Bai Jin.

‘Usually?’
Although she hadn’t spent much time with Lilith, in just these few short days, Bai Jin had witnessed three different faces of Lilith.

Bai Jin’s throat felt a little dry.
How should she answer?
Tell this little girl with eyes full of admiration the truth?

That would be no different from personally shattering a child’s fantasy, and might even bring a fatal disaster upon her.

But to praise that lunatic against her conscience?

Bai Jin subconsciously glanced again at Vera’s patched dress.
The bitterness of shared suffering and her resentment towards Lilith intertwined in her heart, almost making her blurt out some heartfelt words, but reason pulled her back.

Bai Jin took a deep breath, leaned close to Vera’s ear, and spoke in a near-whisper, as if sharing a little secret.

“Vera, did you know? When the Saintess sleeps, she likes to have all her dolls around her, otherwise, she can’t sleep soundly.”

Bai Jin felt the constant stinging pain from the chains.
“Especially the ones that are locked up. She keeps a very close eye on them.”

Her words were full of metaphor.
How much Vera could understand, Bai Jin didn’t know, nor did she care anymore.

She just wanted to vent her frustration and anger at being bound, controlled, and treated as a possession in an almost absurd way.

Vera’s big eyes blinked.
She seemed to be drawn in by this little secret.
“Then the Saintess, does she… does she eat children?”

Bai Jin was taken aback by her leaping question, almost bursting out laughing, but the pain in her throat made her hold it back, turning it into a cough.

She looked at Vera’s serious little face, and the mischievous streak in her heart grew stronger.
She deliberately put on a stern face and scared her in an even lower voice.

“Well… I only know that those naughty children who don’t listen, run around everywhere, and always ask questions…”

Bai Jin paused deliberately, creating a tense atmosphere.
“They probably… smell the most delicious~”

Vera’s thin body trembled visibly.
She subconsciously covered her mouth, and her round eyes were instantly clouded with a layer of mist, as if she were about to be eaten in the next second.

Seeing that Vera was successfully scared, a flash of pride crossed Bai Jin’s heart.
‘The feeling of badmouthing Lilith behind her back is really great.’

“Heh…”

A sneer sounded without warning from a very close distance behind Bai Jin.

That voice was too familiar!
So familiar that it sent a chill down Bai Jin’s spine.

She spun her head around abruptly, her heart almost leaping out of her throat.

Lilith, at some unknown time, had been standing silently in the shadows of the side door.
The shadow of the hood covered half her face, revealing only the elegant line of her jaw and a slightly upturned corner of her lip.

‘Those whispers just now, the “eating children” thing… how much did she hear?!’

Lilith didn’t look at Bai Jin.
Her azure eyes, hidden under the hood, fell on the verge-of-tears Vera.

“Poor little lamb…”
Lilith’s voice was as soft as a sigh.
“It seems you’re lost? Or did you hear some… bedtime stories you shouldn’t have?”

“The smell of fear… truly… tender and fresh.”
Her voice was almost a whisper, laced with a playful interest, as if she were evaluating an interesting dessert?

Bai Jin’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach, her whole body turning cold.
She subconsciously wanted to shield Vera behind her, but the restraints of the chains tightened abruptly, making her unable to move.

Lilith’s gaze slowly moved to Bai Jin’s face.
Bai Jin saw the smile in those eyes, and a hint of appreciation for her earlier words?

“My dear ‘attendant nun’…”
Lilith’s voice returned to that placid, holy tone, yet every word was like an ice pick, piercing Bai Jin’s ears.

“It seems you’re very good at telling interesting stories to lost lambs~”

“The ceremony is over. It’s time to go back. As for this ‘lost’ little guest…”

Lilith’s gaze swept over the trembling Vera again.
“May the Holy Blood guide you home.”

She no longer looked at Vera and turned to leave, the hem of her priest’s robe dragging with a slight rustle on the floor.

“Follow.”
Two words, a command to Bai Jin, not to be questioned.

Bai Jin took one last look at the still-shaken Vera, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She could do nothing.
She could only drag her heavy body, like a puppet pulled by invisible strings, and silently follow behind Lilith, heading towards the depths of the church.

Vera watched the two of them leave, especially Lilith’s wide priest’s robe.
The fear on her small face slowly faded, replaced by a thoughtfulness that didn’t match her age.

She glanced again at the miscellaneous boxes filled with ornate decorations, her small mouth moving silently, as if she were murmuring something.

Then, like a wisp of smoke, she quickly disappeared into the shadows at the other end of the side corridor.