Quadruple split.

Chapter 2707 Sora
Sora did not know Frank Hughes.

In fact, given that the name 'Frank Hughes' is essentially just a facade, a symbol, a show, very few people in the entire [Innocent Realm] actually know this mysterious bard.

Strictly speaking, Frank Hughes did not exist outside the purview of Diana A. Archizolti, a VIP ticket holder, and some people around her.

It's clear that the "person inside" didn't want to put in too much effort, since he had an obligation to give Frank life, and giving life to a false existence was quite a laborious task.

Unlike Link Zelda, who is essentially just a disposable piece of clothing that you can dust off and wear again when needed, Frank Hughes is not such a superficial character.

That is different from Tanmo, yet only Tanmo can portray it. It possesses an independent personality and thought, and does not exist to serve Tanmo or Diana. Rather, it is an extremely special being that will act according to its 'personality' as long as it exists.

Of course, Frank Hughes's so-called 'personality' is different from 'Black Fan', 'Tan Mo', and 'Silent' in 'The Realm of Innocence'. It is not a mental state that can cause trouble for Mo Tan himself. It is just a concept that is not simple, a behavioral logic with its own independent system.

His meaning is divided in two, belonging to both Danmo and Diana, and the existence of these two people will become Frank's spiritual anchor, ensuring that he will never lose his way.

He exists solely for his two sets of underlying logics, much like a non-mainstream satellite orbiting two planets with a trajectory shaped like [∞], and cannot be interfered with by any existence or thing.

Even if Danmo himself were given existence, spirit, and form to Frank Hughes, he could not violate Frank's underlying logic, otherwise the former would become a shell like 'Link Zelda'.

Diana would never admit that a physical body was her lover, the Frank Hughes she deeply loved.

This is the most taboo and unspeakable area, a seemingly thin but impregnable 'window paper' that even Futaba cannot interfere with.

Frank's love for Diana was genuine, a fairytale-like love that is hard to find even in bard stories.

This love may have been a sweet mead for Diana, who could see through everything, but for others, whether it was the love of Thomson or Frank, it was a deadly poison.

But not long ago, Sora Euryphus unfortunately opened this Pandora's box, and within just a few days, the potent poison seeped into her very bones.

At first, Sora simply wanted to help her fiancé share the burden based on reason. She knew very well that Kenneth's time was precious, and she knew even more that this brother who cherished Diana was willing to give up so much for his sister. Even those letters from some despicable liar (Kenneth's words), he was willing to grit his teeth and read them one by one for Diana's sake.

This is undoubtedly a huge burden, both mentally and practically.

So, after listening to Kenneth's candid complaints, Sora, who knew very well that she 'should think of her fiancé,' made a decision that, while not necessarily wrong, would have disastrous consequences—to read the letter to Diana.

Her decision was undoubtedly a huge relief for Kenneth. After all, to the "Sage of the Mist Moon," who already had a negative view of Frank, those words that made his molars ache were like ice picks—cold, disgusting, and creepy. Every time he read them, he felt like he was covered in goosebumps.

The problem is that while Kenneth had a biased view of Frank, Sora did not have such preconceived notions. In the latter's view, those carefully written cursive words on parchment, every word and every sentence, were like the warm breeze of March, constantly melting the ice that had encased her heart for many years.

She knew very well that the warm sense of belonging did not belong to her, but to Diana A. Archizolti, who lay unconscious on the bed like a living dead. Even so, Sora couldn’t help but think about what her life would be like if she could meet someone like that.

Unlike his relationship with Kenneth, which was a perfect match, Diana, one of the three greatest astrologers of the time, was like a star in the sky to Frank, someone he could not even touch in his dreams. Yet, the two of them miraculously came together.

There were no conflicts of interest, no behind-the-scenes deals, no matching social status; there were only two sincere, clean, clear, and pure feelings between them.

In a moment, Sora suddenly realized that the letters she wrote with longing and love were gradually filling the cold and deep emptiness in her heart, and were the most direct and thorough redemption for herself, a puppet who could only be manipulated by others.

At one point, Sora even felt like the living dead lying in bed, while Diana was surrounded by the most beautiful warmth and tenderness in the world, her life filled with blossoming happiness and beauty.

If that love were directed at me... I'd probably be willing to die right now.

Naturally, Sora had this dangerous idea, but when she came to her senses, she realized that she had been warmed by Frank's feelings for Diana and had been transformed from a vase, a puppet, and a bargaining chip into a living person.

A puppet doesn't have wild thoughts, a vase doesn't have any extravagant desires, and a bargaining chip doesn't feel regret.

But people will.

Realizing she had become a 'human' again, Sora Euphoria quietly broke down, unseen by Kenneth.

Just as a person who lives in darkness will not yearn for light, Sora believes that the reason she was able to accept the emptiness and nothingness deep in her heart in the past was simply because she had never seen truly beautiful emotions. After Frank gave her an unexpected warmth, she gradually began to be unable to accept her past and present self.

Sora Euryphus began to deny things in her subconscious.

She denied her past self, denied her present self, denied her so-called family, denied her nearly thirty years of life, denied Kenneth's feelings for her, and also denied her feelings for Kenneth.

However, in the very end, amidst the chaos, Sora never denied Frank Hughes. On the contrary, she found herself seemingly hopelessly in love with the culprit who had made such a mess of her life and made her realize that everything around her was an incurable hell.

This was a morbid and abnormal emotion, which Sora, who was well-educated, was fully aware of. But just as Diana knew very well what 'Frank' really was yet still loved him deeply, Sora, who did not know the truth but also knew very well that Frank did not belong to her, could not overcome this emotion with reason.

At times, she even resented Diana on the bed, because Diana was undoubtedly Frank's whole world. But she was also incredibly grateful to Diana, because without her, the star Frank cherished, she probably would never have felt that warmth in her entire life.

Thus, caught in this contradiction, Sora kept reading the new letters Frank sent to Diana. Not only that, she would even look through every letter Frank sent to Diana and read them to her over and over again.

In Kenneth's eyes, this was his fiancée working tirelessly for her sister, hoping to awaken her with methods that he couldn't understand at all and which had no logical basis.

In Sora's own view, each time she read a letter to Diana, she felt a little closer to the man named Frank, and even the smallest, insignificant step closer brought her joy. From some point onward, Frank's letters became Sora's emotional support, while Kenneth A. Archizolti increasingly annoyed her.

Without a doubt, as a man, Kenneth was no match for Frank. Even if the latter was just a wandering bard, his passion, his romance, and his devotion far surpassed that of the rigid and acerbic "Sage of the Mist" in Sora's eyes.

At this moment, Sora believes that true love is not about turning down experiments to take her to a fancy restaurant for dinner, but about being able to feel each other's heartbeats and longings even when they are separated by vast distances.

If Frank is real, then Kenneth is fake.

If Frank is romantic, then Kenneth is rigid.

If Frank is good, then Kenneth is evil.

Countless times, Sora wanted to push Kenneth away, who only ever embraced her, and tell her that she had had enough of this disgusting relationship, that she wanted to pursue the warmth that would allow her to become a person again, and to sever all ties with the Euphoris family and the Archizorti family.

But she also knew this wouldn't work, because as a stranger, her only connection to Frank Hughes was his beloved Diana A. Archizolti.

If he severed ties with Kenneth, he would not only be ostracized by the Euphoria family, but also fall out with the entire Archizorti family, which would naturally make it difficult for him to have any further connection with Diana.

At this moment, Sora absolutely did not want to lose Diana, the link between herself and Frank.

She knew perfectly well that this was wishful thinking, but she couldn't accept any other way. Even so, in Sora's heart, her 'compromise' at this moment was worthwhile and made her happy. This kind of happy 'compromise' was something she had always longed for.

If I could see Frank, or even just exchange a few words with him...

Sora gently held Diana's hands, trying to feel the warmth of another person in them, while lowering her already clouded eyes and whispering softly—

"Even if I were sitting side by side with Kenneth on the other side of the table, what difference would it make?"

……

at the same time
Northeast Continent, Northern Territory, White Mountain City, Sun Cult Church
"Then may the Lord's grace always be with you."

A tall, slender half-elf with pointed ears knelt before a dozen children and said with a smile, "Go home and eat your dinner, and be careful on the road."

"Okay, Harry, Pastor."

The smiling children looked at the half-elf older brother in front of them, who wasn't particularly handsome but had a captivating and slightly alluring charm, and said in unison, "May the Lord's grace always be with you."

After he finished speaking, the restless children scattered like birds and beasts, running out of the church laughing and joking.

"Hey, slow down, don't fall! Especially you, little Pele, don't run so... sigh."

After calling out twice in vain to those little devils who seemed to have come to life from mud, and receiving no response, Reverend Harry lowered his head with a wry smile and said helplessly, "Let's just send them back one by one starting tomorrow."

“You worry too much, Potter.”

The middle-aged man, who appeared beside Reverend Harry at some point, with a somewhat gloomy expression and wearing a white priest's robe with gold trim, yet appearing as if he were wearing a bat-wing-like cloak, shook his head and said in a voice as somber as his appearance: "This is not a good habit."

“I’m sorry, Father Allen.”

Harry smiled awkwardly and shrugged. "I know it's not a bad thing that these kids are energetic, but they just unconsciously..."

"Unconsciously worrying about them?"

Father Alan Karak, a middle-aged priest with one-quarter bat-orc blood, one-quarter dark elf blood, and half human blood, glanced indifferently at the somewhat flustered Reverend Harry: "I think it would be more effective if they could fall hard once, scrape their knees and bleed, than if you yelled at them a hundred times."

Harry scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I understand the reasoning, Father Allen, but... well, I'm different from you. Because I haven't received the favor of my Lord, I can't even do something as simple as healing children with divine magic. So I hope they can be more careful."

"So I said it before, Potter."

Allen frowned and said in a deep voice, "You are not suited for this line of work. As you just said, you can't even use divine magic."

Harry's face stiffened: "I..."

"You could probably achieve far more in any profession than becoming a clergyman."

Alan coldly interrupted Harry, turning and walking toward the prayer room without looking back, saying, "But if you're still stubborn... go to my bookshelf, find the fifth book from the left on the third row, those are my notes from when I was taking my pharmacist's license exam."

"Father Allen..."

"Even if it's not as useful as divine magic, it's enough to heal a few brats who have scraped their knees."

Chapter 2698: The End