What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

“They’ve minimized their own responsibility, at least to make it look plausible on the surface. The Church can’t possibly disclose that classified project to the public, but they have to give the public an explanation in a timely manner.” Weiss breathed a sigh of relief.

If the Church were to publicly acknowledge that it had internally conducted rituals to transform saints of the Church of the Creator into witches in order to study witches, the Church's long-standing propaganda to the public would be shaken.

The public would assume that the church's research had gone wrong, causing the heretical forces to go out of control and resulting in the tragedy. The responsibility would then fall entirely on the church. No matter how the church claims that someone framed them, it would be meaningless. The fact that the bishop became a witch was too explosive and would attract the vast majority of the public's attention.

The church cannot claim that Weiss was a lurking heretic all along, otherwise this oversight would also cause the church to lose face, and they would have to find another string of people to take the blame.

So it would be better to just put all the blame on that heretic who is still unknown, and that wouldn't be a complete lie, since there really was a "heretic" who framed Weiss.

However, by using such a reason, the Church probably wouldn't want Weiss to appear in public alive again. If the heretics who killed so many people captured Bishop Weiss and then released her alive, Weiss would still be unable to clear her name of heresy.

Moreover, if the outside world were to know that Weiss is still alive, there would inevitably be people who would want to verify whether she is really a witch, which is definitely something the Church does not want to see.

“I also inquired and found out that Archbishop Kuric, along with several church personnel working at the St. Rosalia Institute, have been asked to cooperate with the investigation… well, basically they’ve been detained. We don’t yet know the extent of your father’s repercussions. However, you’d better be prepared that no one in the church can protect you now,” Leon continued.

"..." Weiss remained silent, her expression somber.

Even if the cardinals know that someone else is behind this incident, the Rose School will still be held accountable for it. There were already many cardinals who opposed the research in the past, and this is a perfect opportunity for them to impeach their opponents.

Archbishop Kuric saved her from being attacked by Bishop Beckett, and his situation is now likely not optimistic.

As for her father, although he was not directly involved in the research and even expressed his opposition, they are father and daughter after all. With her in this situation, her father will certainly have to deal with a lot of attacks from political enemies.

The church no longer wants her to appear in public alive. Those who can protect her, including her father, are currently preoccupied with their own problems. Even if she were to go back and sue someone for framing her, the church, while not necessarily going to secretly execute her, would likely detain her on the grounds of holding her accountable—after all, this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been personally involved in the research.

The Santa Rosalia prison where she once worked will likely become her final resting place.

A cruel reality was looming before her: she could no longer return to church.

As for her father, there was no way for her to turn to him either. According to what Leon had told her earlier, the person who framed her was actually targeting her father. In that case, her father might be the most dangerous person. She was a hot potato right now, and if she went to her father, who was probably already in a mess, it might end up harming both of them.

She has nowhere to go now, unless... she can find a way to get rid of the enemy who framed her!

"You still won't say more about the person who framed me?" Weiss looked at Leon earnestly. "Please, tell me!"

She could tell that Leon's ability to name Bishop Beckett and Alexievich meant he possessed clues about the real mastermind.

But at the same time, Leon has been avoiding the topic, and she can imagine that it is directly related to Leon's own secret.

"So, are you mentally prepared?" Leon thought for a moment, then looked directly into Weiss's eyes and asked.

“Of course I’m ready! Tell me the truth,” Weiss said firmly.

“I’m not talking about being mentally prepared to know the truth, but about your future.” Seeing that Weiss still didn’t understand, Leon straightened his expression and said, “What I mean is, are you willing to follow me and accept my protection from now on? Bishop Weiss… no, Weiss Rogers.”

If he were to tell Weiss that the Count was the mastermind behind everything, it would involve his relationship with the Count and the businesses he ran. He could tell Weiss these things, but only if Weiss became completely on his side, that is, ... pledged allegiance to him.

Having drunk the cursed blood, Vice was essentially powerless to resist Leon, but Leon still wanted to understand Vice's own will.

Weiss was stunned on the spot, and her heart began to race faster than ever before.

How are you mentally prepared for the future? To spend the rest of your life with him, accepting his protection?

This sounds a bit like... a marriage proposal?

Chapter 157 Life-size Saintess Figurine

No, that's not right.

What was I thinking just now?

After a brief moment of surprise, Weiss regained some of her composure.

"What exactly do you mean by 'this person who has always been under your protection'?" Weiss asked cautiously.

“You can't go back to the church now, and not only that, you're wanted by the police. Those who want to frame you haven't completely given up. You need a place to hide. For my own sake, I will continue to hide you and protect you,” Leon explained carefully. “But if you want to go further…”

"Go a step further?" Weiss became nervous again.

“If you want to understand more deeply, you need to understand that once you know some things, you won’t be able to escape. You need to become one of us, follow me, and work for me. Of course, I will also give you corresponding benefits. You can continue your research, or rather, I really hope you can continue your research. I will support you with my resources, but your research must also be used for my purposes,” Leon continued.

The fact that Weiss Rogers was able to make a major breakthrough based on Lena's medicine in just a few months is enough to prove her scientific research level. Such a talent is definitely worth recruiting, especially after he was mentally prepared to be an enemy of the Earl. Weiss's strength is crucial.

Weiss blinked expressionlessly and asked to confirm, "So, you mean, you want me to work for you?"

“Yes, isn’t that what we’re discussing?” Leon raised an eyebrow.

"..." Weiss fell silent, her mind gradually cooling down.

After a long while, she held her forehead and sighed softly.

That's exactly how it is; in fact, it's the only way it could be.

How could I have thought so absurdly at that moment? And my earlier behavior of clinging to the clothes Leon left behind, seeking reassurance, upon closer reflection, was not my usual self at all, and I couldn't even be considered a normal person.

Weiss felt extremely ashamed of her earlier behavior.

Was it because Leon saved her, causing her to become dependent on him in this panicked situation? Or was it the intimate contact during the blood-drinking that sparked a slight awareness of the opposite sex in her?

That's incredibly stupid.

Now, thinking back calmly, she realized that she didn't really understand the real Leon. She didn't even understand why Leon saved her. Leon was even involved with Bishop Beckett, who framed her, and there was also the secret of how Leon became a witch... It's fair to say that she knew nothing about this man's true nature.

Now that she has drunk the other party's cursed blood and her life is in the other party's hands, how could she still be having such wild thoughts?

“I’m sorry to suddenly put you in this situation to make a decision, but I also have my own concerns.” Leon interpreted Weiss’s reaction as distress and patiently waited for her to consider it.

Weiss took a deep breath, changed her mindset, completely abandoned those unrealistic and chaotic thoughts, and froze her heart.

From now on, she will approach Leon and the conditions he proposed with the absolutely rational mindset she uses when conducting research.

After calming down, she understood her passive situation in the face of Leon, but she wasn't actually without cards in her hand; that card was the reason Leon saved her.

She couldn't understand it for a while, and even for a moment mistakenly thought that Leon was risking his life purely for her sake.

But if she could think of something other than that, the most likely possibility she could come up with was still the medicine to treat halogenation, which was the only thing in her life that was tied to Leon's connection to her.

She had thought that Selene Hershey wasn't important enough to Leon to warrant such a great risk in rescuing her from the church's siege, but now that she knew Leon's blessing was cursed blood, she had a new perspective.

Cursed blood is actually a very rare blessing. Upon closer examination, it seems too coincidental that Leon and Selene, two people who are related, both possess the same rare blessing. In the case file, Selene only showed the cursed blood once when she confessed. That time, the cursed blood was in a test tube, and Leon was also present.

If the blood was actually Leon's, it means that there was more to Sally's confession than met the eye, and it might even have been orchestrated by Leon himself.

The relationship between Selene Hershey and Leon is probably not so simple. Perhaps for Leon, Selene is truly worth risking his life to save.

“Before I answer, I want to confirm something. Is there something else going on behind Selena Hershey’s confession? Did you risk saving me so that you could use the medicine I developed to save her?” Weiss asked, looking directly into Leon’s eyes.

It's amazing that he thought of this so quickly...

Leon straightened his expression, sensing a slight change in Weiss's aura.

“Yes, I need your medicine to save Mrs. Hershey, and you also want to complete this research. In this respect, our interests are aligned,” Leon said.

"You gained your rank because of Bishop Beckett's recommendation, so you actually have some kind of connection with the mastermind behind my framing. It could be a collaboration, or it could be a subordinate relationship. You didn't tell me the mastermind's identity because it involves your secret. You betrayed him to save me so you could get medicine for Selena Hershey?" Weiss was beginning to sort out her thoughts.

“Yes, you guessed right.” Leon smiled helplessly. “So you can see that we are now on the same side. That mastermind cannot accept any betrayal. If necessary, you and I will have to join forces to deal with him. So I hope you can accept my invitation.”

"If I accept your invitation, will you tell me the name of the mastermind?" Weiss asked Leon for confirmation.

“Yes, but at the same time I will also have some requirements for your work,” Leon replied.

“There’s something I don’t understand. You could have used the cursed blood to force me to do things for you directly without having to reveal any information to me. Why did you ask for my opinion?” Weiss asked calmly.

“I believe fear is not the best motivator for a person. Weiss, we had secrets between us before this, but our previous relationship wasn’t fake. I think for us, cooperation based on a certain level of trust is definitely better than simple coercion,” Leon said earnestly.

Weiss was silent for a moment, then nodded: "That makes sense."

"And what's your answer?" Leon asked seriously.

“Since our interests align, I agree to your terms,” Weiss said earnestly.

Through rational consideration, she realized her predicament; currently, she had no better place to go than to seek refuge with Leon. Only by establishing a cooperative relationship and working for Leon would she have value to him beyond just preparing the special medicine. Otherwise, once Selena Hershey recovered, she would be of no use to Leon.

“Very good, welcome to the team.” Leon smiled.

"Now, can you tell me the name of the person behind this?" Weiss asked.

“Don’t rush. Before that, we need to solve the immediate problem. We need to figure out how to get out of the Southeastern Parish first, and then we can talk about this,” Leon said.

Weiss thought for a moment and understood what Leon meant: "Is the parish still under lockdown?"

Since the church has not yet found her or the mysterious werewolf who rescued her, nor has it found the witch who is suspected of framing her, it will inevitably temporarily seal off the parish and prohibit people from entering or leaving.

However, this lockdown certainly cannot continue. Tens of thousands of outsiders gathered in the parish for Holy Spirit Day, and a lockdown for a few more days would likely cause great chaos. In fact, people have already gathered near the city gates out of panic.

Furthermore, the parish is also home to church officials from surrounding counties. If they are kept here, local church facilities may come to a standstill.

“Actually, the city gates were opened after the church issued the announcement, allowing people to leave the city. The problem is that all carriages and luggage leaving the city are subject to search, including church personnel. I went to check, and there are many bishops and knights from the Mystic Church guarding the gates. If someone is hiding in a carriage, they won't be able to escape their detection,” Leon explained the situation seriously.

Bishop Beckett once told him that the basic blessing of the Mystic God could give people a certain degree of clairvoyance. This perception was said to be different from sight and hearing. It was a kind of vague intuition that allowed the extraordinary to form the general outline and structure of the surrounding objects in their minds.

It's actually quite difficult to determine what exactly is inside the carriage with this kind of vague perception. However, living beings, especially people, are very different from objects. If there is a person hiding in the carriage, it will definitely be noticeable.

Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult to quietly bring Weiss out, whom the church was searching for with all its might. Knights were patrolling the city walls both inside and outside, making it unrealistic to try to scale the walls.

How to secretly slip out of the city is their main concern right now.

“I do have an idea,” Weiss said after a moment’s thought. “We can use your cursed blood to petrify me while keeping my face covered, then use paint to fix the color difference and disguise me as a statue. We can buy some art statues from the museum and ship them out together.”

"Are you alright?" Leon looked at Weiss with some surprise.

“The essence of the cursed blood is to strip away life force, temporarily returning life to a pure material state, which is very similar to the principle of salinization disease. After being cursed and petrified, the texture of the body surface is almost indistinguishable from that of a sculpture. I know that as long as the degree of petrification is controlled, a certain degree of petrification with the cursed blood can be non-fatal and even reversed. I believe you shouldn't be able to harm my life,” Weiss analyzed calmly.

“But…” Leon looked somewhat hesitant.

“I don’t care, so why should you worry? As long as we achieve our goal and the risks are manageable, we can put aside all other minor issues,” Weiss said expressionlessly.

The plan seemed feasible in her mind, and the risks were within a manageable range, so it was worth considering. She was now thinking about this issue with absolute rationality, which was the kind of person Weiss Rogers should be.

Leon gradually put away his concerns and nodded: "Alright, since you're prepared for this, then of course I have no reason to back down. But at least when you put it in the car, you should cover it with a white cloth."

“Yes, indeed.” Weiss nodded calmly. “After all…”

She paused here, as a "minor detail" that she had subconsciously overlooked with her absolutely rational thinking resurfaced with Leon's reminder:

Yes, after all, clothes can't be petrified. If you want to disguise yourself as a sculpture, then naturally... it's best not to wear clothes.

Thinking of this, Weiss's hard-won frozen heart suddenly cracked a little.

Chapter 158 A Difficult Situation

No, wait a minute, let's sort things out first...

Weiss forced herself to calm down again.

The petrification symptoms caused by the cursed blood are disguised as statues; only the parts belonging to the living organism will petrify, even the nails and hair will turn into a mineral texture.

But the clothes on a person won't change, meaning she'll end up as a sculpture wearing ordinary cloth clothes—that's just too strange, and being seen by her would only attract the attention of the searchers.

Normally, even if a sculpture has clothes, they should be sculpted, and reproducing the texture of the clothes is part of the sculptor's skill.

It is impossible to change the texture of clothing using the Creator's blessing. Once petrified and losing consciousness, the power of the blessing can no longer be maintained.

Wearing clothes under a white sheet also carries risks. Even if you cover yourself with a white sheet, you still need to expose part of your body to convince the searchers that it is a sculpture. Otherwise, they will definitely lift the white sheet to examine it carefully. If the part of your body covered with clothes is exposed, or if the white sheet slips off, it will be easy to spot the problem.

Ultimately, it's not worth risking everything for a matter of shame.

In other words, the most reasonable approach to using this solution is to go naked, as nude sculptures that express the beauty of the human body are quite common nowadays.

As Weiss thought this, she looked at Leon across from her, her eyes showing obvious signs of wavering.

Even if it's unlikely that anyone else will see her wearing a white sheet in the car, before that, the only person responsible for touching up her body color, draping her in a white sheet, and making various disguises for her can be Leon.

Although she was petrified, it was undoubtedly her own body, and in that situation, she could only helplessly let this man do as he pleased...

Just imagining that scene made it impossible for her to stay calm.

How could I not have thought of something so important?

No, rather than saying I didn't think of it, it's more accurate to say I deliberately didn't think of it at the time.

In order to get rid of those wild thoughts, she deliberately blocked out her feelings for Leon in her mind and kept reminding herself to consider things with absolute rationality. As a result of this overcorrection, she neglected to be emotional when she should have been.

To put it bluntly, this wasn't her usual state. She was deliberately forcing herself to ignore her feelings for Leon, but in essence, she still cared.

In fact, she should have thought of this when she first considered this approach, and temporarily put the plan aside in her mind, think of other options first, and only consider it when there was really no better way.

Now that I've brought it up myself, and said it so decisively, it seems a bit difficult to take it back and think of another way.

“Vise, your courage and awareness are truly admirable, and I will learn from you. Rest assured, I swear, I will not have any extra thoughts or actions while preparing,” Leon said confidently, looking at Veise with clear eyes.