Chapter 655: Tais (Part 2)
Previously, Tais had questioned Shiel, asking about Sir Trist Horn’s true identity in her eyes.
After being betrayed by Trist, Shiel was left with sadness and pain, followed by anger and disbelief.
Therefore, the young countess’s answer was naturally that Trist, a hero knight once renowned for resisting the Frost Calamity, had allied with the Frost Calamity for his own desires and then betrayed her.
However, Tais shook her head and said that Trist stood on the side of the Frost Calamity.
Although the two answers seemed the same, they actually had a fundamental difference. Shiel’s words merely implied that Trist and the Frost Calamity might have common interests, merely as allies.
Tais’s answer, however, proclaimed that this renowned Inquisition Knight had completely become a subordinate of the Frost Calamity, even more so than the followers of the Frost Calamity, binding his life and future together.
Verafia remembered Shiel’s astonished expression at the time.
After all, for ten years, Sir Trist Horn had acted as a steadfast shield, blocking the encroachment of the Frost Calamity towards Vinash City. Even after being betrayed, Shiel preferred to imagine that he had defected to the Frost Calamity due to ambition and interests.
Otherwise, it was almost more horrifying and unbelievable for an Inquisition Knight Commander to have a true identity as a servant far exceeding the followers of the Frost Calamity, something that could shake one’s beliefs.
—Of course, in the face of reality, regardless of Trist’s true identity, he was an enemy to them, and in fact, there wasn’t much difference.
Shiel didn’t pursue the question, and Verafia turned to ask Tais again.
“You would care about such matters, perhaps you should know then…”
The silver-haired young girl sighed softly, then raised her head, her cold, light blue pupils gazing at the girl’s delicate face as she began to explain, “The basis for my judgment is that this Lord Trist, from the very beginning, knew that you, and Azer had seen Madam Caslet.”
“You mean, it’s impossible that traitors within your cult informed Trist…”
“Naturally.”
Tais said, “I have never told anyone. Not even Loang and Laurence.”
Verafia raised her eyes, “Then, you are saying, this was told to him by the Frost Calamity, or by an existence after the Frost Calamity? Can this prove that Trist has completely defected to the Frost Calamity… and that It can perceive the traces of the Witch?”
“You said ‘It’.”
Tais stopped walking. A cold wind stirred her silk dress. Her eyes, clear like a cold moon, gazed at the girl’s delicate face, and she suddenly smiled gently:
“Actually, Miss Verafia must have guessed it already. Or, is this why you deliberately came to ask me?”
“Hehe, you figured it out…” Verafia scratched her beautiful hair, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Tais smiled and said, “You are correct. After the Frost Calamity, there is indeed a strange entity with will… In my guess, It shares the same origin as the Witch, so It could easily detect her whereabouts and use frost and snow to hunt down those she met.”
The North Wind Witch, Madam Caslet, even without authority, possessed a status equal to that of the Frost Calamity.
This was something Verafia had suspected for a long time, but since she hadn’t seen her again, she took the opportunity while Tais was present to confirm it.
“However, Tais, how did you all judge it?” Verafia raised her little face again, with some confusion.
“Miss Vera, do you still remember that I said very few people have personally seen the Witch, and most of them have since been devoured by the Frost Calamity’s storm.”
Verafia nodded. Tais affectionately tidied a strand of her beautiful hair blown astray by the wind, then gracefully continued to walk along the corridor outside the castle.
Verafia followed beside her, “You mean…”
“The founder of the Kasha Cult was saved by Caslet ten years ago, before being devoured by the frost, and she had a conversation with the Witch.”
“‘She’?”
Tais used the common language of the Aer Continent and, clearly, used a feminine pronoun.
The silver-haired young girl was silent for a moment, then raised her face and smiled:
“She is my mother. And three years ago, she was captured by Church knights, crucified, and burned to death. That’s why I was able to succeed her and lead the entire Kasha Cult.”
“Ah, I’m sorry…”
Verafia was startled. The slender and beautiful young girl in front of her, her gentle smile only revealed a hint of sadness on her cheeks, and it quickly faded again.
She hesitated, then said:
“Then, why did you, Tais, still…”
“You want to ask, why you still choose to stand on humanity’s side?”
Verafia hesitated slightly, then nodded.
“Such questions… Haha, Mother had already made her resolution when she founded the Kasha Cult and when we joined the cult.”
The young girl shook her head, seeming to feel much more relaxed as she confided in her. She untied her hair, and her silver, long hair cascaded onto her slender shoulders, stirred by a few gusts of wind.
“Our mission, from the beginning, has been to prevent the spread of the Frost Calamity… This should not change due to misunderstanding or hostility from others. Moreover, the deaths of Mother and other companions should not really be blamed on the infuriated priests and knights; the true culprit is the Frost Calamity.”
Verafia nodded.
In the past, in Rubiel City, she had also witnessed the bloody hunt targeting people of the Oran ethnic group. Furthermore, on this continent, admirers of the Frost Calamity like Sir Trist were infiltrated into the decision-making levels of the city-states, and the Kasha Cult’s encounters were undoubtedly influenced by them.
But…
Verafia still raised her head and looked at the young girl’s beautiful face.
The leader of a cult, especially one facing such hostility and a situation almost identical to that of real cultists, she could completely imagine what a heavy burden this was.
Moreover, Tais was not much older than Shiel, and was still a young girl…
“Miss Verafia, what I do is nothing. In the Kasha Cult, there are many more respectable people like Loang and Laurence.”
Seemingly noticing the girl’s gaze, Tais said with a light smile. She also looked at the girl, her slender eyelashes suddenly blinked, and a glimmer of curiosity appeared in her clear, light blue eyes:
“Moreover, compared to me, I can feel that Miss Verafia’s identity is far more special…”
“Ah… um, what’s so special about this young lady, haha…”
Verafia’s small face startled, she hadn’t expected Tais to suddenly shift the topic to herself, and stammered, intending to brush it off.
Tais saw that the girl had no intention of revealing anything and smiled faintly, not pressing further.
Walking beside the young girl, they passed through the corridor where the cold wind blew. Verafia raised her face. They were now on the balcony at the front of the castle, overlooking the main gate and gazing into the distance at the cathedral under the cross dome.
“Tais, did you specifically want to come to this place?” Verafia suddenly asked as she looked up.
