Chapter 591: Mirrorheart
"Anna! What are you doing!"
Loren was so startled that he immediately began to struggle, but Anna already had him firmly pinned down.
"Master Mentor, do you love me?"
Anna suddenly asked this question, leaving Loren completely bewildered.
"I... I love you..."
No matter what, Loren couldn't bring himself to say he didn't.
Though he had no idea why Anna was suddenly asking this, he instinctively answered with his true feelings.
"I know."
Anna broke into a smile, then suddenly pressed down on him.
In an instant, blood gushed forth, and the pain of torn muscles made tears flow uncontrollably from Anna's eyes—though of course, they could have also been tears of happiness.
Regardless, enduring such damage was still too much for Anna's body. Loren instinctively used the Justice Card to store the damage, and asked:
Seeing Anna's pained expression, Loren couldn't muster any desire to scold her, his words filled only with concern.
"I... I'm fine..."
Anna steadied herself, cradling Loren's face in her hands:
"I want you to stop using the Justice Card. This is the second most important moment of my life, and I want to experience it fully.
"The most important was the moment you picked me up."
"This... I..."
Loren looked at the blood on his body, not knowing what to say.
What was done was done. There was no point in him doing anything now.
In the end, Loren chose to let Anna have her way. It wasn't like he could escape anyway, so he might as well get it over with quickly...
Even now, Loren still couldn't accept this shift in their relationship deep down.
Even though he had long known of Anna's feelings, he hadn't dared to believe she would actually do this... or perhaps it was that Loren simply refused to accept reality...
"I'm sorry... but I really can't hold back anymore..."
When she felt the pain return, Anna directly sealed Loren's lips with her own.
Veronica blinked her big eyes. This wasn't the first time she'd seen such a thing—last time Loren and Cecelia had gone at it for so long that she'd fallen asleep waiting.
This time was considerably faster than last, though. Anna had spent her days watching tutorials and studying strategies, but this was still her first real battle, so she was quickly defeated.
"Ah..."
Loren let out a sigh, laid Anna down properly, and covered her with a blanket.
Mirrorheart wasn't here, so cleaning up the battlefield was rather troublesome...
"Veronica, do you want to give it a try?"
Anna's voice was weak and breathless from the excessive exertion and pain.
"Forget it. Seeing how much pain you're in, I don't think this is anything good...
"And there's so much blood... I'm afraid of pain. I don't know why you people insist on doing this..."
Veronica declined Anna's offer. Looking at the bloodstains here, she felt a bit scared.
"It's fine, it looks painful but actually—"
"Shut up... don't corrupt Veronica..."
Loren timely covered Anna's mouth, even if Anna might take the opportunity to lick his hand, he didn't care anymore.
At this point, Loren had no choice but to accept it.
Soon enough, Anna fell asleep, and only then did Loren release his hand.
Even in sleep, Anna seemed restless, instinctively groping around until she found Loren.
Anna clung to Loren tightly, her expression gradually settling into peace.
Loren stroked Anna's head, just like he always had.
At the same time, Loren was thinking about the future.
If Loren announced to the world that he was here, the witches would indeed gradually come to find him, but at the same time, he would draw the attention of the Orthodox Gods.
Especially now that Loren was planning to gradually reclaim the Observer's authority—this was the last thing the Orthodox Gods wanted to see.
When that time came, not only might one Orthodox God descend, but possibly even multiple Orthodox Gods descending together.
Back then, they had managed to coordinate killing Loren before the war broke out, and now they could also coordinate a temporary truce to kill Loren first.
They wouldn't stop the war immediately, but one day they would.
The threat of the Perpetual Observer was on an entirely different level from the witches. The witches might be able to drag the Orthodox Gods down from their altars, and the Orthodox Gods would most likely kill each other, but the Perpetual Observer would definitely eliminate all of them.
Loren needed to devise a foolproof plan.
The Orthodox Gods were too powerful. If they truly came for Loren, even if he could escape himself, he couldn't escape with the witches in tow.
"I can only prepare the Severance Ritual first..."
The mythical creatures required for the Severance Ritual were also a problem. Unfortunately, Loren had no idea where Starnight was right now; otherwise, he really wanted to ask her how she had become a Starry Sky Whale.
If only she knew where the Starry Sky Whale was. As the most ancient mythical creature, it would likely also know the whereabouts of other mythical creatures.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that the mythical creature needed to deal with the God of Light and Fire was in the Lost Snow Mountains.
Movila had so many copies, yet she hadn't left a single one behind here. Loren couldn't help but start worrying about her.
Naclis had also disappeared somewhere. She had been willing to leave Anna behind, which meant she must have been extremely anxious, probably scouring the entire world for Loren right now.
Mirrorheart had vanished too. She had always been the most obedient to Loren's orders, so she was probably hiding in the Witches' Church now, and the other maids were likely there as well.
Among the maids, only Seraphina's whereabouts were unknown. Mirrorheart had warned Loren to be careful of her, but hadn't explained why.
Scarlett—Loren didn't know if she had managed to hide in the Witches' Church. She couldn't take care of herself, and Loren worried whether she could survive in this chaotic world.
Luna had just lost her biological parents, and now she had lost Loren too. Under such a double blow, he didn't know if she could hold up.
Laila was still out adventuring. If she learned that Loren had died shortly after she left, she would probably break down completely.
Even though staying wouldn't have changed anything, she still would have wanted to die with Loren...
Thus, slowly pondering the future, Loren gradually drifted off to sleep.
Veronica also wrapped her arms around Loren, and for the first time in a long while, Loren enjoyed the feeling of having a woman on each side.
That night was the most peaceful sleep Anna had gotten in years. Even though her body still ached somewhat, it didn't affect her at all.
Loren woke up early the next day. He didn't disturb Veronica and Anna, who were still sleeping, and quietly got out of bed to tuck them back in.
With the Church in the Gedlan Kingdom gone, no one was organizing the various rituals anymore, and the weather in the Gedlan Kingdom wasn't very pleasant right now—it was still rather cold.
However, no sooner had Loren left the bedroom than he noticed something was off.
"Why is there a fragrance?"
Loren followed the scent and discovered a table full of delicious dishes, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, in the restaurant.
"!"
Loren suddenly guessed something. Clutching the key Mirrorheart had left him, he rushed toward the bathroom.
Sure enough, just as he opened the door, he saw an incredibly familiar face.
The person's black hair covered one eye, and she was kneeling on the ground, seemingly waiting to welcome something.