Cleric Phoebe of the Hidden Sea Convent was clutching a massive stack of old archive boxes that almost entirely blocked her line of sight, wobbling as she shuffled toward her room.
Her signature large round hat was knocked askew, and she looked to be struggling immensely.
"Need some help, Cleric Phoebe?" Rover asked, stepping forward.
"Ah!" Phoebe jumped, nearly dropping the boxes. Peeking half her small face out from behind the stack and seeing it was Rover, she instantly breathed a sigh of relief, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I-It's Lord Rover! I-It's fine, I can..."
Before she could finish, the topmost box slipped, but Rover caught it with quick reflexes.
"It seems they aren't very obedient." Rover smiled faintly, taking the majority of the heavy boxes from her hands without leaving room for argument. "Which room? I'll help you carry them over."
"T-That's too much trouble for you! It's just ahead... the third room on the left..." Phoebe felt both grateful and embarrassed, hastily straightening her crooked hat and whispering her thanks.
Arriving at Phoebe's small yet tidy room, Rover gently placed the archive boxes on the desk.
"Thank you, Lord Rover!" Phoebe bowed deeply. "Priest Antonio said... he told me to bring some old archives to organize and file during our free time on the voyage... and... and also hoped I could learn more..."
Her voice grew softer and softer. She seemed to realize herself that this excuse felt completely out of place on a vacation yacht.
Rover understood perfectly. This was nothing more than another form of currying favor from Antonio and his ilk—an attempt to deepen his impression by having Phoebe, who had a decent relationship with Rover, show her face more often in front of him.
He didn't care for such petty tricks, but seeing Phoebe's diligent and earnest demeanor, it wasn't his place to say much.
"Being dutiful is a good thing, but don't forget to get some proper rest," Rover said gently, preparing to leave.
"I will! Thank you!" Phoebe bowed again.
After Rover left, Phoebe patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed being alone in a room with Rover made her extremely nervous.
She sat down and began to earnestly organize the pile of archives. Most were old clerical records and material inventories, tedious and boring to sort through.
However, just as she reached an old, unlabeled box at the very bottom, she discovered several documents with distinctly different paper textures that seemed to have been stuffed in by mistake.
Curious, she pulled out those documents. With just one glance at the titles, her face instantly drained of color.
[Phase Evaluation Report on the Cooperative Project with the "Fractsidus" (Top Secret)]
[Follow-up Handling and Gag Order Records of the "Underground Vault Incident" (Top Secret)]
[Briefing on the Hidden Sea Proving Ground and "Heaven" (Top Secret)]
Her fingers began to tremble, and her breathing quickened.
Unable to believe her eyes, she flipped through the pages almost mechanically.
The documents recorded how Prelate Finlay secretly cooperated with the Fractsidus to conduct dangerous experiments; how they exiled numerous innocent people to cover up the truth and divert attention; how they tacitly allowed subordinates to orchestrate the underground vault incident, publicly blaming it on malfunctioning Echoes; and how they conducted maddening, taboo research related to the Threnodian deep within the Proving Ground...
Every single word was like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing the foundation of her faith, her perception of the Hidden Sea Convent, and everything she thought she knew about the past.
"No... impossible... this must be fake..." She muttered to herself, tears welling up uncontrollably and dropping onto the cold pages. "Lord Prelate... the Convent... how could... were all those sacrifices... all that faith... all a lie?"
An immense sense of terror, betrayal, and absurdity swept over her. The world seemed to collapse before her eyes.
She felt suffocated, entirely at a loss.
In her extreme panic and despair, the only thing she could think of, the only piece of driftwood she could grasp, was that figure who was always incomparably strong and calm—the one who seemed able to see through all the fog.
She practically stumbled out of her room, not even bothering to fix her appearance. With tear streaks still on her face, she rushed toward Rover's guest room from memory.
Bang, bang, bang! She pounded heavily on the door, her voice choking with sobs. "Lord Rover! Lord Rover! Please... open the door!"
The door quickly opened. Rover looked at the panicked, tear-stained Phoebe outside, frowning slightly. "Phoebe? What happened?"
"My Lord... I... I..." Phoebe babbled incoherently. Grabbing Rover's arm like a lifeline, she sobbed uncontrollably. "I saw... those documents... the Convent... the Prelate... they... they were all fake... sob..."
Rover let her into the room and closed the door.
Phoebe's emotions seemed to have completely collapsed. She intermittently recounted her discovery, her body trembling from the massive shock to her worldview.
Rover listened quietly without interrupting, handing her a glass of water.
His expression darkened slightly. For Phoebe to "accidentally" see these archives was clearly no coincidence.
However, Rover didn't delve deeply into this. Instead, he waited for the highly emotional Phoebe to calm down slightly before speaking in a deep voice, "Phoebe, look at me."
Phoebe lifted her tear-streaked face. Her violet eyes were filled with brokenness and helplessness.
"The truth is often wrapped in thorns," Rover's voice was steady and powerful, carrying a reassuring strength. "What you saw before was the 'light' the Convent wanted you to see. And now, you have touched the 'shadows' that inevitably exist beneath that brilliance."
"But... these shadows... are too dark... too terrifying..." Phoebe choked out.
"The world is never simply black and white," Rover gazed at her. "Light and shadow coexist. The important thing isn't that you discovered the shadows, but whether you will consequently deny all the light, or..."
"Gather your courage, recognize this complex reality, and then choose which side you should stand on, and what you should fight for. The 'goodness' in your heart should be defined and upheld by you yourself, not by any organization or individual."
As he spoke, Rover calmly and sincerely recounted parts of his experience in the underwater Proving Ground. This included how Finlay had lost his original intentions after being corrupted by the Threnodian, Rover's battle alongside Phrolova, and how, in the final moments, Finlay's consciousness was awakened by the lantern, allowing him to sacrifice his body to seal the Black Tide and achieve redemption.
His words were like a ray of light, piercing through the fog in Phoebe's heart.
She stared at him blankly, profoundly shaken by the power and deep understanding in his words.
An immense sense of gratitude, admiration, and even reliance—along with a hazy emotion mixed with the search for truth and salvation—instantly overwhelmed her.
Driven by emotion, she suddenly threw herself into Rover's arms, hugging him tightly. Burying her face in his chest, she wept aloud: "I believe you... only you... You are the only one I can rely on now... Please tell me what I should do from now on..."
Rover's body stiffened slightly. But feeling the intense trembling and utter helplessness of the young girl in his arms, he hesitated for a moment before finally patting her back gently, attempting to offer some comfort.
Right at that moment, a light knock sounded at the door, which was immediately pushed open—
Coletta had come to confirm the specific schedule and activity arrangements for the afternoon's return trip, and his door hadn't been locked.
"Rover, about this afternoon..." Coletta's voice was light and cheerful, carrying a trace of accomplishment from having just hosted the event.
However, her words came to a grinding halt.
The scene before her instantly froze her in place: Phoebe was hugging Rover tightly, crying a river of tears, with Rover's hand resting gently on her back.
Hearing the sound, Phoebe looked up in panic. With tearful eyes and a flushed face, she looked completely like someone caught in the middle of an illicit affair, utterly embarrassed.
The air between the three of them instantly solidified.
The smile on Coletta's face vanished instantly, her eyes rapidly turning icy. She quickly swept her gaze over Phoebe's disheveled clothes and red, puffy eyes.
Then, she looked at Rover, her tone becoming unnaturally calm, even carrying a faint aloofness: "It seems I've come at a bad time. I'll have Zanni send over the yacht's return schedule later."
With that, without giving any chance for an explanation, she whipped around. Her high heels clicked crisply and urgently against the floor as she left rapidly.
Only her tightly clenched fists betrayed the stormy seas churning in her heart and the sudden, intense sense of crisis rising within her.
Another one? And it's Phoebe...?!
That innocent-looking, completely harmless little cleric?!
Alarm bells rang loudly in Coletta's head, and her pace quickened even further.
"It seems... I can no longer afford to wait around leisurely."
Back inside the room, Rover looked at the teary-eyed Phoebe still in his arms, then recalled Coletta's expression and behavior just now...
Yeah, she definitely misunderstood something, and now she's jealous again.
Rover rubbed his temples helplessly. He was going to have to waste a lot of breath explaining this later.
_____
+50 advanced chapters monthly on my patreon, join now and read...
Patreon.com/IndifferentVillain
Ur support keeps me motivated thanks in advance.
Chapter 270 is out on my patreon!!!!!
________