"I am very touched because Ayanokouji-sama cares so much about me! I am deeply touched!" Emilia repeated these words.
After Ayanokouji weighed the pros and cons, he finally put his hand down. It seems that even though Emilia doesn't look normal now, she maintains the most basic conversational skills. It's not too big.
Just as he was about to stand up, Emilia turned around and sat directly on him.
"What are you doing?" Ayanokouji asked.
"Ayanokouji-sama, I have tried my best not to cause trouble for you. I don't even want to waste your time on the first night! You care so much about me and protect me. I am truly touched! How should I repay you?" Emilia stretched out her slender finger and gently placed it on his lips.
"It doesn't require repayment, but that's what I must do as a supporter." Ayanokouji continued following her topic.
He could feel that Emilia's character was more detached than before. Is the impact of the trial very significant?
"No, no, no, I must repay Ayanokouji-sama, because you are the person I like the most." As Emilia spoke, her whole body fell onto Ayanokouji's body, her fingertips wandering around his body.
Such a confession should make the opposite sex's blood boil, but it is very frightening at the moment. Emilia seems not to express love, but more like what a slave would say to please their master.
"What do you want, Ayanokouji-sama? For you, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I can do it now!" Emilia said with an ambiguous tone like a succubus, her warm breath blowing on Ayanokouji's face, and their lips almost touching.
However, Ayanokouji's eyes traced Emilia's shoulders and neck. He searched for a suitable position where he could make her faint with a single blow as a last resort.
"I want you to stop pressuring me for now." Ayanokouji said, although his tone was calm, it clearly sounded like a warning.
"I'm sorry!" Emilia immediately stood up from him, "Will Ayanokouji-sama hate me? This is all my fault!"
"It's not your fault." Ayanokouji said, Emilia seemed like an unstable time bomb now.
"No, no, no, no, I can't make Ayanokouji-sama hate me, because I love Ayanokouji-sama so much! Ayanokouji-sama is the meaning of my existence!" Emilia murmured to herself, as if she did not hear Ayanokouji's words, "Ayanokouji-sama has helped me, helped me who had given up on myself and was so incompetent! Even if Puck leaves and betrays me, it's enough for me to have Ayanokouji-sama!"
Ayanokouji frowned slightly. If it were the Emilia of the past, she would never say such words to Puck.
"I want to be with Ayanokouji-sama forever, always together, or give up the trial and stay here forever. Both of us will live in Sanctuary together!"
Emilia leaned forward and looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Such a proposal certainly cannot be accepted by Ayanokouji, because he knows what Roswaal has planned. No matter what preparations he has made, it is clearly not a good thing.
"Roswaal is planning something bad. Emilia, you must break through the trial and leave this place as soon as possible, or you may be in danger."
"I don't care about danger or anything! As long as I can be with Ayanokouji-sama, that's enough – even if I die, as long as I can be with you, that's enough!"
"Right." Ayanokouji nodded slightly, "Okay, Emilia said so, let's go back now!"
"Yes!" A smile appeared on Emilia's face, she nodded enthusiastically, then turned around and prepared to leave.
And as Emilia turned her back, Ayanokouji reached out his hand and struck the junction between her shoulder and neck with unparalleled accuracy.
This attack was very strong and precise, causing Emilia to lose consciousness and faint.
Although Emilia could still communicate, Ayanokouji wanted to prevent any accidents, so he chose to knock her out.
He carried Emilia's body on his back, her body as light as a feather, and walked back towards the village.
The scene changed and Emilia was brought back to the room by Ayanokouji. He also specifically asked Ram to prepare sleep spices to ensure that Emilia's sleep would not cause any problems.
Ayanokouji slowly entered Emilia's room, avoiding making loud noises to wake her up. Seeing her sleeping face, he felt that Emilia currently seemed no different from before.
However, Ayanokouji still had many questions in his mind, and according to Echidna's clues, only Puck could answer these questions.
He did not have the appropriate opportunity a few nights ago, but today he finally had the chance to verify if Puck was still inside the crystal stone.
He reached out his hand and slowly approached Emilia's neck – if Puck was still protecting Emilia, then he would surely not close his eyes.
And just as his fingers were about to touch Emilia's neck, a cold breath came out of the pendant, almost freezing his hand.
"No need to go this far." Ayanokouji whispered.
"Besides, she is my daughter Lia."
A familiar voice sounded, and the crystal stone pendant on Emilia's chest shone green, but the figure of Puck could not appear.
"It seems you have been inside the crystal stone. Is there no way to appear?" Ayanokouji asked.
"That's right." Puck's voice came from the crystal stone, "Previously, someone applied some kind of spell, which made it increasingly difficult for me to appear. Initially hard to find, but then I realized the disturbing spell, it was difficult to appear..."
"Roswaal..." Ayanokouji immediately locked the suspect, because Emilia believed that around the time of the Demon Beast incident, Puck's appearance time gradually decreased, and the only one who could do this was Roswaal.
"The influence of the spell is gradually fading, but now I cannot appear because of Lia herself."
"What do you mean?"
"She is participating in the trial, but she unconsciously avoids the sealed memories, and she also unconsciously denies my existence, which affects the contents of our contract – but as long as I am not there, her memories will be open..."
"As long as you end the contract, can Emilia's memories return?"
"Yes." After Puck finished saying this, he paused for a few seconds and continued, "But it's no longer possible."
"Why?"
"Because Lia has now rejected the trial, it's too late. Even if the memory seal is opened now, it won't help." Puck spoke with a hint of sadness.
"You always refer to Emilia as your daughter, can you see her like this?" Ayanokouji continued.
"My duty is to protect Lia. I will not let Lia be hurt in any way. Above all else. I cannot let Lia be hurt, nor anyone else."
"This is really too protective."
"Ayanokouji, there is nothing more to say. It's too late." Puck's voice sounded faint, but it carried a heavy weight. "If Lia suffered pain at that time, if there was someone to share the burden with her, maybe it wouldn't be like this. It's not your fault, Ayanokouji..."
As the last words were spoken, the crystal stone dimmed, and Puck's voice was no longer heard.
Ayanokouji left the room seriously. If this continues, Emilia will never be able to break through the trial.
Is there a way to make her normal again?
He must be prepared with both hands.
After Ayanokouji left the room, he immediately asked Otto to inform everyone that heavy snowfall would come in a few days, and asked everyone to prepare and stock up on supplies.
And when he prepared everything and returned to his residence, he found that Emilia had disappeared, and the window of the room was open with a large hole.
Without waiting long, Ayanokouji immediately called several people to search for Emilia.
The forest in Sanctuary was complex, and because it was already morning, the light was very dark and the ground was very wet, making it difficult to get information about Emilia's whereabouts from the footprints.
Ayanokouji could only ask for the help of clone Ryuzu, using Sanctuary's eyes to find Emilia's trail, and also asked Otto to use Divine Protection to find Emilia.
From darkness to dawn and darkness again, but still found nothing.
But finding nothing was the biggest advantage for Ayanokouji. He immediately knew where Emilia was most likely to appear – the trial ruins.
Ayanokouji, Beatrice, and the others quickly rushed there. In front of the large ruins were countless large ice breakers, stretching across the ruins and almost covering the entire ruins.
"Emilia." Ayanokouji asked hesitantly.
"Ayanokouji-sama!"
Emilia walked to the door of the ruins, with a transparent layer of ice between them.
"Ayanokouji-sama, you finally made it here. Are you really here to find me?! Ayanokouji-sama! Ayanokouji-sama!" Emilia lay directly on the ice with a very charming look in her eyes.
"Emilia, what are you doing?"
"Don't you still know my thoughts, Ayanokouji-sama? If I plan to seal this place, no one will be able to break through the trial in the future, and we will be able to stay in Sanctuary forever." Emilia spoke while gently stroking her face with the fingers of both hands.
"Have you forgotten your wish to ascend the throne and unblock the forest?" Ayanokouji asked, wanting to see her current state. From the current situation, Emilia seemed desperate.
"It's impossible. I have no talent to ascend the throne at all. Without Ayanokouji-sama's help, I would only be in vain! I like Ayanokouji-sama the most! But I'm worried about causing trouble for Ayanokouji-sama. It's troublesome, so please stay here with me, Ayanokouji-sama, and you don't need to worry about any kingdom affairs! As long as I stay here, no matter what Ayanokouji-sama asks me to do, I will do it!"
"It's okay to destroy this place, the trial place!" A smile appeared on Emilia's face, but it gave a very frightening feeling to the people.
"Is this woman really crazy?" Beatrice frowned and directed her gaze to Emilia's face. "If Betty wasn't worried that Bubby would be sad, I would definitely teach this person a lesson."
"Thank you, Betty, for bringing Emilia out." Judging from the current situation, Ayanokouji was afraid he really had to give up on Emilia.
However, if the scene Echidna saw earlier was true, then once he broke Emilia, Puck would most likely go berserk, which would have very serious consequences. The best choice at the moment is to find a way to imprison Emilia and ensure her survival. It should not trigger Puck's berserk condition.
And at that moment, a piece of white snowflake fell.