After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

What they saw was not His Majesty Yang Hao, the former regent.

Instead, she was an expressionless, white-haired nun.

The nun stared intently at the witch standing at the very front of the group, using her long-handled jeweled staff as a walking stick, and then uttered these words:

"Priscilla, you little witch from Shkul Village, you've made your fortune in the capital, built your own connections, and become ungrateful—how dare you come back? How dare you come looking for me? You wouldn't even say a word for him during the Silent Incident, you shameless bastard, why do you dare to slink back like an ingrate? Huh?"

The nun attacked the Night Witch directly with sharp and rude profanities, leaving the accompanying Imperial Knights looking at each other in bewilderment.

The Night Witch showed only a barely perceptible hint of shame on her face. After gesturing that she would handle the matter herself, she took a step forward.

"Theresa, I—"

Before she could even finish her first sentence, the nun unleashed another torrent of profanities:

"Don't fucking try to get close to me. I don't know you, we're not friends. I don't have a fucking ungrateful, shameless bitch like you! If you really have any shame as a human being, then you should get as far away from me as possible right now and stop fucking disturbing his life!"

This made the witch somewhat embarrassed.

Priscilla had assumed that Teresa, as a nun, would at least be willing to listen to her explanation of the whole story... but now it seemed that she had no intention of communicating at all.

In Mother Teresa's eyes, there seemed to be only two choices: either leave or fight to the death. But Priscilla could not choose either option.

If he leaves, the Roman Empire will be destroyed by internal and external troubles due to the complete loss of its regent.

A fight to the death? Without knowing the true nature of Yang Hao's feelings for Mother Teresa, she dared not, and could not, do that...

Because doing so could even force him to stab the already beset-up empire in the back, creating wave after wave of new rebels within its borders, or even leading bandits to rampage through the land.

Although Yang Hao himself lacked military talent, he was intimately familiar with all the weaknesses of the Roman Empire. Knowing these weaknesses, even a five-year-old child could deliver a fatal blow to the current Roman Empire, let alone a potential bandit army.

...In any case, we must get Mother Teresa to lower her guard temporarily through dialogue, at least so that she can meet with Yang Hao.

Thinking of this, the Night Witch took a deep breath.

She slightly raised her staff, then slammed the tip of the staff heavily onto the rubble on the ground.

With the crisp sound of shattering stones, she could see Mother Teresa first take two steps back in fear, then grit her teeth and stand back in her original position.

Now... I have a chance to speak.

"—Theresa. I'm willing to explain to you the mistakes I made before. But before that... could you let me see him?"

"...What if I say 'no'?"

"...I must see him. Theresa. Please, the Roman Empire cannot afford to lose him now."

Priscilla's rather sincere plea elicited a subconscious sneer from Teresa:

"You keep saying you can't lose him, but who's the one who actually abandons him?"

He did so much for those people, and yet who was the first to insult and curse him?

You all built a vast country with his help, but when your own interests were harmed, who was it that threw away your founding heroes like a rag used to wipe the toilet?

What gives you the audacity to demand that he continue to serve you after being betrayed by you?

Priscilla was speechless for a moment. After all, everything Teresa said was true.

But when he thought of the current plight of the Roman Empire, and the disasters or impending suffering in the towns he had seen along the way...

She then regained the ability to speak frankly:

"This is for the common people, Theresa. This is for the people."

"Go to hell! Who doesn't know that the people of the Roman Empire are a bunch of ingrates and idiots? Even those primitive savages in the Demon Forest are more grateful than you! Even crow droppings are more noble than theirs! Don't talk about fighting for the people, you're all just after your own wallets, aren't you? Hah!"

"...Theresa, don't you really see the state of the people right now? Don't you understand what the drought means to the Roman Empire? Don't you know how miserable the people in the drought-stricken areas are right now, and how much they long for the return of their former lives?"

"Isn't that what they brought on themselves? They deserve it! Isn't this the life they wanted? Now they've satisfied their needs by driving out and humiliating Yang Hao. They're content, so why should they want him back? Why do you dare assume that the residents there prefer life under Yang Hao's rule, rather than being happy in the drought?"

Mother Teresa's extremely disdainful yet feigned surprise plunged Priscilla into an awkward silence once again.

Chapter 8: What are you waiting for? Let's go home.

At this point, Priscilla roughly understood that Teresa had no intention of talking to them at all—Teresa's only goal was to drive them all away so that they would not have any contact with Yang Hao.

...A rare thought suddenly welled up in her mind: "Why not just control her for now?" But then she thought again, Yang Hao, all alone at this moment, must have already made Mother Teresa his only source of emotional support. Doing so rashly would only push him to an even more extreme position...

But we can't fight, and communication is almost impossible... What should we do?

Priscilla swallowed hard, momentarily at a loss for words as to how to respond to Theresa's words.

At that moment, Imperial Knight Robert took a step forward and bowed deeply, pleading in an extremely humble manner:

“Sister…you are right. We cannot assume whether the people in the country are willing to live under drought conditions. You are absolutely right.”

"But we can be certain that the Roman Empire needs a regent now. Only under the regent's leadership can the Roman Empire be a unified whole, and only he can do that."

"At present, the Roman Empire is not only full of internal crises, but also has powerful empires across the sea eyeing us covetously."

This is not only for the common people, but also for the survival and refuge of this empire.

So, Sister... please allow us to meet Lord Yang Hao. Just once. We must meet him. At least give us a chance to explain things clearly to him.

...Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to resort to force. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Knight Robert had a clear idea – if he couldn’t get the nun who knew the witch to back down by appealing to the common people, then surely he could get some concessions by appealing to the entire Roman Empire?

Moreover, he also knew that there were indeed people in the world who would never back down no matter what was said.

With neither side willing to back down, as a knight who had survived the brutal battlefield, he knew this was the worst, yet necessary, moment of facing each other with weapons drawn.

The nun before him was so small. Even the barbarian children were stronger than her.

Knight Robert confidently concluded that if it were merely a matter of words, the nun would certainly not back down an inch. But if the threat of a knife were increased... she would definitely back down.

Faced with a sharp blade, everyone who has never been on the battlefield will instinctively feel fear. That's all they wanted; they simply hoped for a chance to meet the Regent in peacetime.

...Knight Robert rose, his right hand already on the scabbard, stroking it as he slowly gripped the hilt.

With a "click," the sword was slightly drawn—but unexpectedly, although the nun was so frightened that her face turned pale and she didn't dare to breathe, she still stood firmly in her original position.

Instead of backing down out of fear, she even took another step forward forcefully, standing directly in front of Priscilla.

"—Smack!"

Then, in front of everyone, she slapped the Night Witch hard across the face. The Night Witch looked at the nun silently, anger flashing in her eyes, but she didn't have the courage to meet the nun's indignant gaze.

The witch instinctively gave in, but the nun's heart was filled with fear, just as Knight Robert had imagined.

But precisely because of this, she would never back down. Because if even she backed down, then Yang Hao's last home would vanish without a trace.

(Oh my god, what the hell did I do wrong?! Theresa, Theresa! If that little witch casts a berserk spell on you and kills you right away, who's going to talk to you about it?! And is that knight really going to attack? That sword will definitely hurt a lot, right? No, I don't want this to happen. We've already come to this point, can't you guys just leave and figure out how to clean up your own mess?)

"I should have known you were a bunch of bandits! I shouldn't have forgotten that before he unified the Roman Empire, it was a large autonomous territory of mixed human tribes... I shouldn't have had any expectations of you barbarians!"

Mother Teresa remained defiant, though the fear in her heart had risen to her throat as the knight's sword, tightly gripped in his hand, was slightly drawn. Yet, she remained stubborn, showing no signs of backing down.

(What the hell am I doing?! Theresa, Theresa! Have you forgotten that for these 'nobles' and 'mages' of the Roman Empire right now, 'barbarian' is the most damn insulting word?! Don't provoke them anymore, or it'll be terrible if they really draw their swords and split up...)

Theresa could even sense Priscilla's sudden surge of murderous intent—for this genius mage, the word "barbarian" was not only a denial of all her current achievements, but also an insult to her entire life... But what could Theresa say? She was simply stating a fact.

The Roman Empire originated from a group of barbarian tribes that were integrated into a nation by a small kingdom and a regent, and then ruled by a group of ungrateful and decadent people—so was she wrong? No!

She was insulting the Roman Empire simply by stating the facts, but you are all so shameless as to expel the Regent, remain silent when the Regent is humiliated, and boycott everything he does!

So now that the entire empire is declining, they're only now realizing how good others are? And they're so eager to have the regent return like lightning? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

You're shameless, but at least have some basic human decency, okay?

Ah—I really want to live in the Elf Kingdom. Even though the elves are old-fashioned, rule-abiding, and incredibly stubborn, at least they acknowledge Yang Hao's achievements and contributions, right? Life there might not be luxurious, but at least my feigned conversion would be over, and he wouldn't be stuck in this situation where he can't even go to a town. At least we could live a normal life...

what about you?

A bunch of fucking bastards, a bunch of whores who wouldn't even attract the saliva of stray dogs if they walked naked down the street... You're the ones who use other people's inheritance, you're the ones who drive others away, you're the ones who humiliate others, you're the ones who destroy others' achievements...

...

Fine, so what if I get killed?

As long as I, Mother Teresa, am alive, I will never let you take another step toward the convent!

"Click—"

With a deathly pale face and trembling body, Mother Teresa stood tall and proud, her eyes fixed on Priscilla, who dared not meet her gaze, with a look of pride and disdain. She glanced at the Imperial knights who were ashamed and indignant because of the term "barbarian," and at the knight Robert, who had already drawn his sword.

Whether it was Robert or Priscilla, their murderous intent had genuinely reached Mother Teresa's heart. But so what?

She is a human being, not an animal. She will never forget her roots, nor will she forget all that Yang Hao has done for her.

So she had to stand here, so she wanted to stand here, she wanted to protect Yang Hao's last home... until she died, or until he no longer needed her.

But no one can get through here until then.

They faced off. Just as the situation had become uncontrollable, and the Imperial side decided to force their way in, long-eared archers, concealed by the scent of the forest, drew their bows, ready to intervene—

"—!"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of kneeling in worship.

Looking back, I saw a man carrying a basket full of firewood on his back, holding a rusty logging axe, with a half-shaved and pockmarked beard, and his hair was almost unkempt. He was dressed in linen clothes and worn-out boots.

"Your Majesty the Regent—!"

The man walked straight toward the monastery with a blank expression. Along the way, all the imperial knights made way for him, then knelt down reverently to pay their highest respects.

"—Your Majesty the Regent...!"

Knight Robert was taken aback for a moment, then overjoyed, he knelt down in a half-kneeling salute, and then took out his weapon with the same reverence, holding it with both hands to show his loyalty and harmlessness.

However, the man didn't even glance at him. He walked straight toward the two people who were facing each other.

A hint of joy flashed in the eyes of the witch Priscilla, and she said impatiently:

"Yang Hao, please let me explain—"

"What are you waiting for? Let's go back together."

"—!"

Sure enough, he didn't abandon the Roman Empire, nor did he abandon me!

Just as Priscilla was overjoyed and even subconsciously reached out to him, hoping that he would hold her hand tightly as before.

He walked past Priscilla, and as she turned around in a sudden, stunned silence, he stared back at her.