We moved to Golden Courtyard

But Karen was stunned.

"You could simply die now, but then what? Will your death help destiny, or rather, will it help you achieve your ideals?"

Karen began to waver.

Eleanor's words haunted her mind like a demon.

"Do you remember what I said at the end of this lesson?"

Karen unconsciously repeated it.

"Preserve your life for when you can be of use, seek opportunities, and serve the ideals in your heart..."

"If a person dies, where will you find the opportunity to fulfill your ideals?"

Karen pursed her lips.

Seeing this, Eleanor lowered her voice slightly and whispered in Karen's ear, "Surrender is only temporary. Xu Qi is from China, and there's a proverb in his country that says..."

"His body is in Cao's camp, but his heart is with Han." This means—you can have my body, but not my heart.

Is that how it's explained?

"Then..." Karen said, her voice trembling, "What if he asks me to do something really outrageous?"

"for example?"

"Xu Qi... seemed to have shown obvious affection for me before..."

If she could, Eleanor would love to burst out laughing!

Karen is such a gullible little girl... But she really is a simple and kind-hearted person.

Eleanor was starting to feel guilty about her actions.

“It’s alright, Karen. I’m your Commander Eleanor. I’ll protect you. As for what you’re thinking… if it really happens, I’ll take care of it for you.”

Chapter 1170, Page 1163: Now you can only beg me.

Eleanor didn't rush Karen to give an answer, but gave her a night to think it over, because haste makes waste.

"Although I was prepared, I didn't expect you to actually try to persuade Karen this way."

Inside the office, Xu Qi looked at the other person with a playful smile.

Eleanor seemed to have anticipated Xu Qi's question and laughed, "It's just a formality; Karen Kaslana won't agree to it."

Xu Qi was somewhat surprised, since he wasn't there, but there were surveillance cameras in that room, and it was clear that Karen was quite wavering.

“I gave her one night, not to let her consider whether to agree to my plan, but to let her think clearly about the irrationality of this matter.”

Xu Qi raised an eyebrow and carefully considered Eleanor's words.

"In this way, if Karen is willing to surrender, it must be a genuine surrender, and you can use Karen to maintain a foothold within the resistance..."

Good political acumen.

"Since we've decided to change our ways, we must not only be thorough, but also plan for future development. I am a surrendered general who never swore an oath of allegiance, and as I've already said..."

Karen will definitely be my pledge of allegiance.

Xu Qi nodded in satisfaction. His decision to recruit Eleanor was indeed the right one. This woman could surprise people in every way.

"Now that we've talked about Karen, let's talk about fate."

Upon hearing Xu Qi mention this, Eleanor sat up straight.

After all, this is equivalent to the other party sending you the message that I am starting to trust you little by little.

A former master of the previous dynasty—this kind of pledge of allegiance is far more compelling than any Karen.

Xu Qi fiddled with the Pad in his hand, spun it on the table, and handed it to Eleanor. It displayed the latest news from Europe.

"Bishop Otto of Destiny announces..."

Eleanor's pupils trembled; she could hardly believe the message she was seeing—Bishop Otto of Destiny had announced that his abdication ceremony would be held in Klosten in seven days.

"I must say, this is also why I feel confident and willing to use you."

Eleanor sat motionless in her seat, remaining silent for a long time.

"Judging from your current appearance, you still have some expectations for Otto. It's just a pity that this is not fake news we made up."

"I don't understand..."

"This is his conversation with me... and Kiana."

Eleanor looked up abruptly, her shock even more intense than when she first learned that Theresa's last name was Apocalypse!

"It seems you did know after all."

Faced with Xu Qi's confident tone, Eleanor lowered her head deeply.

"While I understand you will hold back, I am still very disappointed in you... Colonel Eleanor."

Xu Qi's tone remained unchanged, yet Eleanor sensed a chilling undertone. Just like that day, when she entered the church and saw the man on the throne.

Perhaps, in essence, Xu Qi and Otto are the same kind of people.

Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, a subconscious avoidance that occurs when faced with something truly terrifying.

She was afraid of Xu Qi.

Xu Qi stood up, walked behind Eleanor, and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Although I have never met Otto, there is probably a debt between us that can never be settled..."

Kiana and Kiki, Theresa, and Rita and Durandal.

Not to mention, he even dared to help Cocolia... Cocolia and I have an irreconcilable hatred, and I must watch her die.

The things I did in Europe were all so that I could meet him as soon as possible. I have so many questions that I need him to answer and help me with.

So this is what he and I talked about: we were to go to Klosten to see him in seven days. Even knowing it was a trap, we had to go!

Now, can you tell me everything you know?

Eleanor pursed her lips tightly.

With his shoulders held down, that feeling of life and death being in Xu Qi's hands returned...

"Kalen Kaslana..."

"Ok?"

"All he has done all along is to resurrect a woman who has long been sealed away by history and for whom no historical record can be found now."

She is the first Holy Maiden of Destiny, the Kaslana of the purest bloodline—Kalen Kaslana.

"Then what is their relationship with Karen, whom we captured?"

"She was the closest thing to a success, but a failure is still a failure."

When Eleanor said this, there was a clear sense of relief in her heart.

This secret, which she had kept hidden in her heart for more than a decade, finally found someone to tell one day.

How did you find out about these things?

"During my years in the Military Intelligence Bureau, I have been handling the dirtiest dealings behind the three major families. The more I came into contact with them, the more I learned."

Sooner or later, they will settle accounts with me.

If I want to survive, I can't just be a tool... While I was acting as their front man, I was also investigating the secrets of the three major families.

During this process, I found a name—Kalen Kaslana.

Then… Otto came to me.”

A smile finally appeared on Xu Qi's face.

He patted Eleanor on the shoulder and said, "Actually, you've always been Otto's loyal follower, a trained assassin. Am I right to say that?"

Eleanor couldn't help but shiver again.

"What seems real may be fake... You almost fooled me with your claim of only being loyal to Apocalypse—you're only loyal to Otto."

Being captured by me isn't the key point; the key point is that Karen was also captured. "Saving her life for future use" is never just empty words to deceive people; it's your truest thought, which is why Karen wavered.

Although she was naive, she wasn't stupid; she could tell if someone was lying.

Eleanor just wanted to escape from this place as quickly as possible, as far away as possible! To escape to a place where Xu Qi would never find her...

"Why bother? Otto never thought of you. After learning of Vanaheim's defeat, he immediately used his last card."

This is why you were so shaken after seeing that news. It turns out that what you considered loyalty was worthless in the eyes of others.

Eleanor said painfully, "Stop talking..."

But the next second, she felt a suffocating and constricting sensation on her neck.

Xu Qi grabbed her by the neck, but not with much force, leaving her with just a sliver of room to breathe.

Xu Qi gently kissed Eleanor's beautiful face.

"You'd better understand that you're a prisoner now. You have no right to demand anything. If you want to do anything, you can only... beg me."

Chapter 1171, 1164: Am I, Pado, going to be the youngest again?

Despite her suppressed emotions and confusion, Eleanor maintained a semblance of composure, painfully uttering a few words from her throat.

"Why... have you humiliated me like this..."

Xu Qi remained silent for a moment, then released Eleanor.

"If you hadn't given up that last bit of hope today and told me everything you knew, I would have strangled you just now."

Eleanor took deep breaths of the fresh air.

Even though Xu Qi's words just now didn't seem threatening at all to her, she still couldn't help but feel a little afraid of him.

In fact, Eleanor knew that even if she remained stubborn to the end, Xu Qi would not kill her.

He wasn't a pushover, just not as dark as some people think.

Xu Qi sat back down, and Eleanor also caught her breath.

She forced a smile and said, "I lied to you the first time, and you gave me a deeply unforgettable experience in return. We're even now, right?"

Xu Qi shrugged noncommittally.

"Continue, what exactly did Otto do to revive Kallen? And why did you react to the name Kiana?"

Eleanor remained silent for a moment.

She was using this brief moment to get her brain, which had just regained its oxygen supply, working at full capacity. She was both recalling and thinking.

This loyal dog of Otto, who came from the Military Intelligence Bureau and was the most outstanding woman in Shaniat, suddenly realized that all her actions were under Xu Qi's control.

He never believed in himself; he was just waiting for the right opportunity.

Waiting for an opportunity that can completely break down her psychological defenses.

She had to admit that she was greatly shaken after seeing Otto's declaration of abdication—"We are ready to fight to the death, why does Your Majesty surrender first?"

She had no reason to tell Xu Qi anything about Karen and Otto.

The only possibility is that when her psychological defenses are completely destroyed, she will speak out with resentment and unwillingness towards fate or Otto.

Xu Qi actually got his wish...

But in other words, if Otto hadn't spoken to Xu Qi in this way, he wouldn't have ended up like this—it was all fate.

After waiting for Eleanor for a while, Xu Qi spoke.

"Have you figured it out?"

Eleanor let out a long sigh.

“Your Excellency the Bishop is the most shrewd judge of people I’ve ever met, just like you… but he’s also different from you. In that person’s dictionary, the word ‘trust’ has never existed.”

He is a person who will never love again, and a person who will never trust others again.

I think that the former Kallen Kaslana was the culprit behind all of this, which led him to do so many inhumane things, and I want to resurrect her.

And Kiana Kaslana... might be the first victim he encountered in order to complete this plan..."

……