Taming the Dark Lord - Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – Dwindling Chance of Escape

She was anxious, and she realized that her plan in pretending to be weak and feeble failed. Her body trembled as cold sweat dripped down her back. She took a few steps back, and weakly knelt on the ground.

Rita was taken aback. She strode forward, grasping on Amelia’s arm as she supported her. Everyone else came closer. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I used up my magic.” Amelia said feebly.

Amelia’s cheeks were covered with sweat, and her body was brimming with exhaustion. It seemed like she was not pretending at all, she really was out of strength.

The saints looked at each other. This was what they expected of Amelia.

Rita helped her up, and concernedly said. “Let’s get you home. You should rest.”

Amelia glanced at her. She smiled at her gratefully and nodded. A tear escaped from the corner of her eyelid, and slid down to her chin. She was already so worn out.

The saints saw how spent Amelia was, and it was because she saved them. They gathered up and surrounded her, willing to provide help in any way they could.

As a matter of fact, the reason for Amelia’s cold sweat was from anxiety. The thought of staying here for the rest of her life frightened her so much she could not walk properly.

The crowd aided Amelia with her steps. They didn’t rush her, and told Amelia to take her time. After a few paces, a group of people was seen standing at the end of road. They squinted, and saw that it was the pope who had just arrived.

“Pope Highness.” Amelia and the saints bowed.

The pope glanced at the burning torture chamber, and he heard the minute sounds of crackling metal. He raised his wand from his pocket, and magic gushed out from its tips. It went straight to the untamed flames, simmering it down until the blaze was completely taken out. The house was charred black, unusable at such burnt state.

“Amelia.” The pope called calmly. Amelia trembled.

Here it comes, here it comes. The pope would finally strip her off the title!

Amelia was beyond thrilled. The pope must have sensed that Amelia was inadequate, since such an incident happened right under her nose.

Amelia wrenched her arms free from the saints’ clutches. She limped towards the pope, knelt, and bowed her head so low it almost touched the ground. She was clearly repenting for her insufficiency to protect her fellow saints, and even letting the two witches escape unscathed.

The atmosphere was tense, and the pope seemed to be angry. The saints briskly knelt behind Amelia like ducklings, and peered at the pope with curiosity. They weren’t sure of what they should do: Whether they should speak highly of Amelia, or add fuel to the fire by putting the blame on her, to save themselves from the pope’s wrath.

Amelia rescued them. What they should do is to vouch for Amelia, and speak about how she saved them.

They now saw Amelia in a different light, and it appeared Amelia was not as weak as they initially thought. She had great courage, and it was really admirable.

But that doesn’t mean they were incompetent, okay! They were just caught off guard, that’s all! If given the chance, they would definitely do better than they did a few moments ago.

To be honest, who wouldn’t want to be the chief? If Amelia were to step down, the saints would want the position for themselves. It was an absolute honor to have the crown perch above their heads.

Debra was delighted at the thought.  She felt the need to say something nice about Amelia to divert the pope’s attention to her. “Pope Highness, the chief.. She—“

“Alright!” The pope said abruptly, cutting Debra off. He looked at Amelia, and laughed heartily. “Good job.”

What.

Amelia, Debra and the saints looked dumbfounded at the pope’s remark. Did their ears betray them? Did they really hear the pope say, “Good job”?

Amelia thought she was mishearing things. She raised her head and uttered a soft “What?”

The pope smiled at Amelia’s expression. He pulled her up, and patted her shoulders with his heavy hands. “I saw everything. You bravely helped everyone out there. How bold and courageous. You are without a doubt deserving of the position.”

“It’s just that your magic reserve is a little low.” The pope added, “Come to me when you have time, and I’ll personally teach you myself.”

Everyone around them had their mouths wide agape upon hearing the pope’s words. What was happening? Was the pope about to accept disciples?

How about Debra? What would she do?

Other saints gazed at Debra inconspicuously, wanting to see how she’d react. Debra looked like she wanted the earth to swallow her whole, and she was staring at Amelia with eyes full of envy.

How lucky could Amelia get?

Not only did she become the chief, the pope clearly favored her as well, offering to train her as a disciple. Amelia’s life was about to change tremendously.

At this point, it would be hard to see who would preside over the Sacred Ceremony, which will happen in six months time.

Poor Debra. She was always at the top, excelling more than anyone else, and yet she was usurped by someone who was always placed last. They have no idea how pathetic she felt.

Debra could feel sympathetic glances thrown at her direction, and some were even looking at her mockingly. She lowered her head, and closed her fists so tightly it drew blood, dripping slowly to the pavement.

Amelia on the other hand, felt numb.

What she wanted to do now was to scoot in front of the pope, look him directly in the eyes, and ask him what was wrong with him. But she did not dare voice out her thoughts, since doing so would land her in a difficult situation. She blinked her tears away and nodded.

There’s nothing she could do. She can’t just refuse the pope’s offer, especially when they were out in public. She was left with no choice.

She could only agree, and watch herself be swept even much further in the Light cult. Seemed like, escaping from this hellhole had become more difficult.