Bernadette had spent countless nights pondering why her father, once a shining beacon who changed an era, became so insane and unrecognizable. After Roselle's fall, she searched desperately for the truth, digging through her memories for any overlooked details, but to no avail.
Now, 150 years after Roselle's assassination, Bernadette finally uncovered the truth: it was all because her father had been corrupted by an evil god.
Should she feel happy? This revelation suggested that her father's late-life madness might not have been his true self. He was still the father she admired, not a completely fallen tyrant.
Should she feel sad? Her father had become a puppet of the evil god, losing even his sense of self, struggling to stay lucid.
Bernadette didn't know. She suddenly felt cold, as if her throat were blocked, rendering her speechless.
She wanted to flee the exhibition, return to the Dawn, and hide in the room filled with toys and books Roselle had given her as a child, curling up against the wooden boards like she did in her youth.
But Bernadette did nothing. She didn't move, only staring at the exhibit in front of her. Despite trying to control her emotions, her voice trembled, "You said he regained sanity... So there's still a chance to save him, right?"
Lynn, seeing Bernadette's deteriorating state, wasn't surprised. He had anticipated her reaction and prepared a response.
So, he nodded and smiled, "It's hard to say, but fortunately, he made a deal with me, so I will help him rid of the corruption."
Bernadette turned sharply to Lynn, almost instinctively asking, "You can help my father remove the corruption?"
"For me, it's not difficult, just takes some time," Lynn replied with a smile, "So hold back your tears, little princess. Your father would protest if he knew I made you cry."
Bernadette wiped her eyes instinctively. There were no tears yet—not because she didn't want to cry, but because she didn't want to show her tears in front of others.
But Lynn's words nearly brought her to tears—not from pure sadness but from the overwhelming emotional shift between joy and sorrow.
Bernadette felt dazed, her emotions a tangled mess of grief and joy, making her mind a whirl.
She couldn't be blamed. She had just learned her father was corrupted by an evil god, becoming its puppet, and now Lynn was telling her he could save her father. The drastic emotional swing was too much for anyone.
Lynn waited patiently for Bernadette's emotions to settle, calculating the next steps to reveal Roselle's darker past.
Lynn had planned this: first revealing part of the truth to restore some of Roselle's image and increase his credibility with Bernadette. Then, by offering to save her father, he would further gain her trust and goodwill. Finally, he would read Roselle's dark history to Bernadette, ensuring a greater impact.
In manipulating emotions and undermining someone, Lynn was a professional.
As for the promise to Roselle, Lynn hadn't forgotten. He would select less shocking entries from Roselle's dark history to share with Bernadette.
"What deal did my father make with you?" Bernadette asked, her voice hoarse after calming down.
"Don't worry. He just agreed to work for me after ridding of the corruption," Lynn said with a smile.
Bernadette was taken aback. She had imagined many possibilities but had not considered work as a condition.
In normal circumstances, who would use work as a condition to help a god rid of corruption?
'Wait, if he could resolve the corruption even a Black Emperor couldn't, doesn't that imply he's at least a god himself?' Bernadette's eyes widened in realization.
Without knowing about outer gods, Bernadette believed her father's inability to rid of the evil god's corruption was due to being corrupted too early and thus controlled by another Sequence 0.
But anyone who could help a Sequence 0 remove corruption from another Sequence 0 had to be a Sequence 0 or close to it.
Moreover, only a Sequence 0 could have the confidence to make another Sequence 0 work for them. Bernadette, understanding this, pursed her lips and cautiously asked, "Thank you for helping my father. May I know your name?"
"You don't need to thank me. It was an equivalent exchange," Lynn replied with a smile. "As for my name..."
"You can call me Angel of Secrets."
'Angel of Secrets...' Bernadette frowned at the title, then recalled something and carefully asked, "Are you the Angel of Secrets who once followed the Ancient Sun God?"
As a Mystery Pryer specializing in learning various knowledge, Bernadette knew some hidden history from the Second Epoch, thanks to the knowledge instilled by the Hidden Sage.
Although Roselle's crafted artifacts allowed Bernadette to block some of the Hidden Sage's knowledge transfers, she sometimes accepted them to gain more hidden knowledge.
—The Hidden Sage, though a strict teacher, generously imparted knowledge, including hidden information not available through normal channels. However, it was up to Bernadette to receive and digest it.
Thus, Bernadette had heard of the Angel of Secrets, Lynn, who had followed the Ancient Sun God in the Second Epoch. Though there were few records, Bernadette knew little about him.
She didn't expect to meet him today. It wasn't surprising for someone who became an angel in the Second Epoch to now be a god. She just wondered about his pathway...
Bernadette mused internally. She wouldn't dismiss her earlier guess based on "Angel of Secrets." If anything, knowing his identity confirmed her suspicions.
(End of Chapter)
If you want, support me on Patreon and get access to 40 translated chapters in advance:
p@treon.com/IHaveNoNamingSense