Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!-Chapter 61 -: 60 Julius’s mess.[2]

Elizabeth stared up at the sky in a daze for a long moment. After some thinking, she finally calmed down a little.

"How did he even like her?" she muttered to herself.

From everything she’d heard and seen, Rosalina was super arrogant, like, the queen of arrogance.

No one could beat her at it. "And my one and only son fell for ’her’? ’Her’?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "Why, my sweet baby boy? I raised you with so much love and care. Why would you pick her over the nice girl I chose for you...?"

Then she suddenly stopped. A new thought hit her.

She whipped her head toward Lucian and asked quickly, "Wait...what about her? Does Rosalina like him back?"

Lucian scratched his head, looking unsure.

"Um... I’m not really sure. From what I saw, she acts pretty cold toward him."

Elizabeth gritted her teeth. "Why didn’t you fall for anyone else? Why ’only’ her?"

She screamed inside her head, yelling up at the sky even though no sound came out.

"Haaa... calm down, calm down!" she whispered to herself, breathing a bit hard.

"He’s still young. He made a silly choice, but he’s my only son. My baby."

She frowned, thinking hard.

Then a memory popped into her mind, little Julius as a child, with those big innocent eyes.

"Mom, I want her! Pretty please? I won’t ask for anything else, just her!"

Elizabeth let out a long, defeated sigh. "Ohh, my sweet baby boy..."

She gave up. "Fine, whatever. Husband will handle it."

She convinced herself with a small nod.

"It’s not like I can break the heart of my handsome, super-smart, one-in-a-billion, perfect child now, can I?"

She clasped her hands together and prayed quietly.

"Please, God, give my husband the strength to fight all the trouble and make my only son’s wish come true."

Meanwhile, far away in the Hayes clan...

Nathaniel was busy working on some papers when a sudden cold shiver ran down his back.

"What? What?!" He looked around nervously. "Is someone bad-mouthing me right now?"

The butler standing nearby raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, my lord?"

Nathaniel frowned and shook his head.

"No... nothing." He went back to his work, still feeling uneasy.

Back in the Holy Empire...

"Haa..." Elizabeth sighed again. She turned to Lucian with a tired smile.

Trying to change the subject, she asked. "Sir Lucian, have you seen the saint candidate before?"

Lucian shook his head. "No, I haven’t. From what I heard, he was adopted just four months ago by Cardinal Raphael."

"Hmm," Elizabeth replied with a small hum.

"I haven’t seen him since I arrived either. I heard it’s part of the rules, the saint candidate must stay inside the holy chamber until the trial starts. No one can meet him before."

As they started chatting about other things, the Pope suddenly looked up at the bright sky.

"It is time," she whispered.

She stood up slowly, her long white robe flowing behind her like soft clouds.

In her hand she held a beautiful golden staff that sparkled in the sunlight.

Cardinal Raphael stood up right after her and followed two steps behind, staying quiet and respectful.

The Pope walked to the very edge of the huge platform.

She stopped, looked out at the thousands of people waiting below, and took a deep breath.

"Haaa..."

The whole crowd went completely silent. Everyone leaned forward, hearts beating fast.

"Children of Benigore!" the Pope called out.

Her voice rang out loud and clear, echoing across the entire square like magic.

The crowd exploded with cheers! People clapped, waved their hands, and shouted with joy.

The Pope smiled warmly and continued, her voice strong and proud.

"I, Salena the 80th Pope of the Church of Goddess Benigore..."

Every important person on the platform, Elizabeth, Lucian, Jaya, Dean Orin Belebright, and all the bishops, went totally quiet.

They listened carefully, eyes wide with excitement.

"...today I might be the luckiest Pope this church has ever had! After five hundred long years, the Goddess has finally sent us a brave candidate who is ready to take the Saint Trial!"

The crowd went wild again, louder cheers, happy tears, and shouts of "Praise the Goddess!" filled the air.

Everyone on the platform sat up straighter.

Elizabeth and Lucian exchanged quick glances. Even the Emperor leaned forward with a big smile.

The big moment was finally here.

"Everyone, get ready," Dean Orin Belebright said in a low, serious voice.

He looked up at the bright sky, eyes sharp.

The moment the saint candidate appears, it’s very likely there will be an attack."

Instantly, the mood changed.

Elizabeth, Lucian, Jaya, the Emperor, the bishops, everyone’s faces turned serious.

The Pope continued, her voice strong and clear, echoing across the huge square.

"Now, children of the great Goddess... you and I will witness this historic event."

She paused.

Her warm smile disappeared. Her eyes turned cold and deadly serious.

"However... there are evil forces who will not let us complete this trial easily."

Angry whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.

"Those evil scums!"

"If I ever get my hands on them..."

Rage boiled up everywhere.

The last trial 500 years ago had ended in blood and chaos. History repeated itself too often.

But the Pope raised her golden staff high. Sunlight flashed off it like fire.

"However, fear not!"

Her voice boomed louder than before.

"Because these heroes..."

She turned and pointed proudly at the people standing behind her.

Elizabeth, Dean Orin, Professor Lucian, Professor Jaya, and a few other powerful figures stepped forward.

They waved at the crowd with confident smiles (except the bishops and devotees, who can’t take up arms during the saint trial).

The square exploded with cheers!

"Hooray for the heroes!"

"Protect the trial!"

"Long live the guardians!"

The Pope smiled again, warm and fierce at the same time.

"They are the heroes who will protect this sacred trial!"

The cheers grew even louder, people jumping, clapping, shouting names.

Then she raised her staff once more. Golden light seemed to glow brighter around it.

"Now... let us call out our hope!"

She turned toward the far end of the platform, the same entrance everyone had used earlier.

"The saint candidate who will face the Saint Trial after five hundred long years!"

"Children of Benigore... pray for our new saint!"

She pointed straight ahead.

"The fifth saint candidate to take on the trial in the long history of the Church of Benigore..."

Everyone held their breath.

The crowd leaned forward. The platform went silent except for the soft wind.

Then the Pope’s voice rang out like thunder:

"Saint Candidate... Uriel!"