Chapter 22 | Reborn as the Pope's Heir in a Matriarchal Theocracy

In the afternoon, Lu Li walked into the lounge the academy had specially prepared for him, just as he always did.

Taking an afternoon nap at this time had become a habit of his. Though it was only a small office, a bed had been thoughtfully provided.

The silk tree bed was layered with a thick, soft mattress and covered with a smooth velvet sheet, so comfortable that lying on it felt like floating on a cloud.

At moments like this, he would strongly condemn the decay and corruption of the privileged class in his heart, before enjoying the brief tranquility of surging sleepiness with a guilty conscience.

Today, however, he tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what, like a snake on a hot griddle.

After several restless attempts, Lu Li had to admit that he was suffering from insomnia.

Lu Li had always considered himself fairly thick-skinned—even if the sky were to fall, he would still eat and drink as usual. Yet the increasingly tense atmosphere of late had ultimately gotten to him after all.

Once a person couldn't sleep, their mind would wander. He thought of Amore losing control on the front lines, and of the knights who had sacrificed themselves.

He also thought of his past life, an ordinary person who had lived a mediocre existence behind a mask.

And finally, he thought of his current self—someone who appeared to carry the destiny of a nation on his shoulders, but was in truth merely a pebble swept into the sky by crashing waves.

His thoughts grew more and more chaotic. Suddenly, a chill crept up his spine, and an overwhelming dread welled in his heart like an incoming tide.

“Anthelia!” he called out instinctively, but received not the slightest response.

The room was dead quiet, and outside was equally deathly still.

He quickly got up, put on his shoes, and walked toward the door.

Yet the moment his fingertips touched the door, a blinding light bloomed behind him. Starting from a concentrated spark, it expanded at breathtaking speed into a violent explosion, towering flames surging toward his back almost instantaneously.

“Huh?”

Lu Li pushed open the door. Feeling a wave of scorching heat behind him, he could not help looking back.

In the next second, his pupils dilated sharply. The muscles all over his body stiffened, trembling uncontrollably.

The expanding, burning fire still held its violent, clawing posture, like a ferocious beast that would completely swallow him in the next instant. Yet at this moment, it was frozen quietly and tamely before his eyes.

Lu Li stumbled backward. In just a single second, he realized what he had just experienced: he had brushed shoulders with death.

He had almost died.

Swallowed by flames like that, there was no way he would have survived.

Though he had no idea what had paused the explosion, it had truly saved his life!

He turned and began running out of the office building, shouting Anthelia's and Amore's names as he ran, yet receiving no answer whatsoever.

Lu Li ran until he was out of breath, yet could not see the end of the corridor. This was the first time he had ever felt this path was so long.

“Stop shouting,” a voice suddenly spoke near his ear. “They can't hear you. In the time frozen by the Holy Chalice, everything is stationary.”

Lu Li's body froze instantly. He stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look.

Unbeknownst to him, a person had appeared in the silent hallway. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing the slightly panting youth with great interest.

“Who are you?”

Lu Li eyed the woman who had suddenly appeared with vigilance, the dread in his heart growing even stronger.

“Me?”

“Are you asking for my name?”

Looking at the youth, the woman had to admit he was the most beautiful man with the most unique demeanor she had ever seen.

Lu Li said nothing. The woman before him gave off an extremely strange vibe—her undisguised malice felt somewhat familiar, yet it flickered unpredictably, as if two different souls resided within her body.

“You can call me Morningstar,” the woman said with a grin.

At this moment, had the Presiding Judge who tried Amore that day been present, she would have certainly found this voice somewhat familiar.

“Are you here to kill me?” Lu Li, surprisingly, calmed down at this moment.

He was perfectly aware of his own pathetic combat capabilities—forget a knight, he might not even beat an ordinary adult woman of this world in an unarmed fight.

And the woman before him calling herself “Morningstar” was clearly bad news. If she truly was an assassin, he likely wouldn't be able to escape no matter what.

Sweat clung to the youth's temples, and he looked a bit disheveled, yet his posture suddenly became composed. Watching this, Morningstar's interest deepened even further.

“What good would killing you do me?” she asked in return.

“Who knows?” Lu Li shrugged. “I imagine there are quite a few people right now who wish I were dead.”

“Quite a few people?” Morningstar assumed a thoughtful expression, then chuckled softly. “That definitely doesn't include me.”

“Is that so? Then I can rest easy.”

Lu Li nodded, then turned around and continued walking toward the main entrance of the office building.

He seemed to completely trust the woman's words, exposing his back and his lovely, sweat-glistening nape to her without the slightest defense. If she truly wanted to move, she could easily snap the boy's neck with a single strike.

Seeing his departing figure, Morningstar indeed made no further move, calling out after him instead: “I really am getting more and more interested in you!”

“Really? Then you'd better be careful,” Lu Li replied without turning back.

“Careful of what?” Morningstar raised an eyebrow slightly.

At those words, the youth turned his head back and actually flashed a brilliant smile. He said nothing, yet it felt as though everything had been said.

“This guy...”

Morningstar admitted that for a split second just now, she had truly been dazzled by that smile. A strange urge surged in her heart—an urge to protect that smile, as if all the beauty in the world was concentrated right there.

What a... repulsive feeling.

She slowly lowered her gaze. In the next instant, it felt as though something fierce and wrathful had descended upon the mortal world—like a demon buried in flames awakening from hell with a hideous roar.

Lu Li stepped out the main door. Just as the woman named Morningstar had said, the entire world seemed plunged into stillness.

Leaves in the wind no longer swayed, birds in the sky no longer flew, everything stood frozen in place, and time was completely solidified.

The Holy Chalice...

He remembered the gift Julia had given him. Taking the exquisitely crafted pocket watch from his coat, he opened it; as expected, the hands were no longer moving.