Chapter 6: Checking for Pregnancy

Pope Leona sat at her desk.

On the desk were several documents, all reports on the assault against the Witch Stronghold.

They stated clearly that in the basement of the Witch Stronghold, there were signs of interrogation.

Moreover, the traces left behind were rather indecent.

Among the things left behind were handcuffs, blindfolds, and Collars, as well as many little toys one could hardly bear to look at directly, and Saintess Robes scattered across the floor.

Who the witches had interrogated was self-evident.

Adding in the fact that Milie had been missing for five days, it was easy to connect the dots.

Leona put down the report and leaned back in her chair, lost in thought.

The Church of the Goddess brooked no blasphemy; anyone tainted by the witches was to be branded a Heretic, even if that person had once been a Saintess.

After much deliberation, Leona took out the Contact Crystal.

It had been five days without any contact from Milie. Now that the Witch Stronghold had been conquered, Milie’s corpse was nowhere to be found. Had she been transferred elsewhere, or had she escaped in the chaos?

Not long after, a voice came from the Contact Crystal.

“Your Holiness, good day!”

“Milie, where have you been? Why haven’t you replied for so long?”

“Sorry, I was injured.” Milie feigned an indignant tone, “I was stabbed in the back by a traitor. I barely managed to escape, and I’ve only just recovered my magic.”

Her voice didn’t sound like someone who had been tormented for a long time.

Still, no conclusion could be drawn yet. She had to keep Milie calm, and ideally trick her into coming back.

As for the matter of the Church of the Goddess attacking the Witch Stronghold; if Milie had escaped, she would surely know. If she was innocent, telling her wouldn’t matter.

There was no need to conceal it—there was nothing to be gained from hiding the truth.

If she didn’t say anything, it might only make Milie suspicious.

“Yesterday, we destroyed the Witch Stronghold.”

On the other end, Milie gripped the blanket tightly.

“That’s wonderful. Those witches got what they deserved!”

For the Pope to mention this out of the blue, she definitely had an ulterior motive. Was she trying to gauge her reaction, or perhaps they had found something in the basement?

She had left in a hurry and probably left a lot of evidence behind.

Most crucial of all was her own Saintess Robe.

But Milie had already thought up an excuse, just waiting for the Pope to ask about it. Now was not the time to bring it up herself, or it would be like “hiding silver in this place”—drawing attention to herself for no reason.

“Aren’t you going to ask which stronghold it was?”

“Hmm? There are so many Witch Strongholds—why would I ask which one?”

Her answer was perfect; surely even the Pope could find no fault with it?

If it weren’t for the fact that she was still on the call, Milie would have cheered and popped some champagne in celebration.

“Never mind, let’s not talk about that for now.” Leona changed to a concerned tone. “Are your injuries serious? Do you want me to send someone to meet you?”

“I’m much better now. I’ll be back at the temple by noon.”

“That’s good. You’ve had a tough journey—when you return, I’ll reward you.”

After ending the contact, Milie stared at the crystal, deep in thought.

The Pope probably knew something, just had no solid evidence. Once Milie returned to the Church of the Goddess, what awaited her would be a brutal interrogation.

Even so, she couldn’t just run away.

If she ran, it would be a sign of guilt, and she’d be wanted by the Church of the Goddess!

Milie was already hated by the witches; if the Church of the Goddess started hunting her, she wouldn’t know where to go.

To prepare for inspection, she had to make sure she was thoroughly clean.

She remembered there was a stream nearby, wasn’t there?

Milie clutched her chest and quietly unzipped the tent.

She poked her head out and looked around. The morning air was fresh, and little birds were chirping noisily in the branches. It seemed there was no one around, and Milie felt a little more at ease.

“Grr, let’s bathe first!……”

Milie patted her cheeks to calm herself.

She took a towel and a Magic Stone from her travel backpack.

She went to the stream and tossed the Magic Stone in; the surface of the water glowed red, and soon steam was rising in clouds. Milie swallowed nervously and sat on a river pebble.

She stretched out her foot and touched the water with her toes.

“Ah, it’s hot!——”

It was a little too hot, but nothing unbearable.

Milie mustered her courage and sat down in the bottom of the stream pool.

The hot water rose above her shoulders, enveloping her entire body in warmth. Having run around naked just before, her body had been freezing cold.

Milie scooped up the hot water and patted it onto her ample chest.

She washed herself gently, becoming squeaky clean.

Her movements were careful and tender; she didn’t want to hurt herself, but inevitably her heart raced, even though this was just a perfectly normal bath…

After quite some time, Milie finally let out a long breath.

She leaned on the edge of the pond, staring dazedly at the clouds in the sky.

With her whole body clean, Milie wrapped herself in a towel.

To suppress the witch’s aura, Milie had drunk several bottles of Holy Water in a row, so much that her belly had grown a bit round, almost looking as though she was pregnant.

“Ugh!…Pregnant?……”

Milie’s face turned pale, and she subconsciously touched her lower abdomen.

She was at the age of blooming youth and already capable of bearing a child. After being bullied by the witches for so long, what if she was carrying one of their children?

“No, no way, that couldn’t possibly happen!”

Terrified, Milie hastily dug out a Pregnancy Test Kit.

She’d only bought it out of curiosity to study it; she’d thought she’d never need it, but fate had caught up with her in the end.

“Please, Goddess, don’t let me be pregnant!”

Usually, Milie never prayed to the Goddess.

She thought it was all superstition, a mythical figure the Pope invented to control the faithful.

But now, she had no other options.

She gazed at the little kit, feeling a bit embarrassed. She understood how to use it, having studied it out of curiosity before, but she’d never had a chance to actually try it.

After following the instructions, Milie stared nervously at the indicator panel.

A line lit up on the left—it was just the indicator line, which didn’t mean anything, simply showing the kit wasn’t expired and was being used correctly.

The crucial part was the line on the right…

“Don’t light up, don’t light up!……”

Milie chanted inwardly, too scared to look directly, and could only squint with one eye and sneak a peek.