Lin Ye was not too impressed or disappointed in Nian for what she just did.

His little sister just dropped a bombshell on this poor man's soul. An outsider exposing the nation's well-kept secret and revealing a deadly illness at a glance was too much to ignore.

Nonetheless. With Nian's unconventional actions, they did get this man to take them seriously now. With them knowing something that he doesn't, they have the upper hand in this meeting.

Cruel but effective.

"Okay, can we talk now?" Kieran asked in a defeated tone, a far cry from when they first met him, "How did you know that?"

"…"

However, seeing the state that the man was in now, Lin Ye was considering giving him a session in the future.

"We'll talk about that later." Nian put her hand on Lin Ye's shoulder. She was acting as a personal assistant to him now. "Now I want to talk to you about him, not me."

The elder's eyes widened. However, he slowly seriously nodded at them now.

"If he knows how to cure me, to cure the Sankta," He lowered his head to him, "If this is true, I am willing to offer my body to you."

"…"

In Lin Ye's opinion, he likes to think that this man should have a better words to use in his sentences.

This made Nian grin.

"Good," She nodded at the man, "At least you know how to use that brain of yours."

Seeing the man lowering his head even more, Lin Ye was starting to feel bad for him now. He patted Nian's shoulder to get her attention. When she spun to look at him, she looked like she was expecting him to praise her with how her eyes were sparkling.

Although he let out a tired sigh, Lin Ye still had a smile on his face.

"I think you have done enough Nian. Thank you," He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a wrapped bar of chocolate and handed it to her, "Here. Let me do the rest."

Nian did not need to be told twice as he swiped the bar of chocolate out from his hand and nodded at him excitedly.

"Sure, Gege," Nian smiled, "All the best!"

With that Nian went to the nearest bench behind them and sat down. While she was busy enjoying the spicy chocolate, Lin Ye and Kieran were now on their own.

Lin ye focused back on the elderly man and patted his shoulder.

"Raise your head," He said to the angel, "How can I talk with a person that won't look at me?"

Although conflicted, Kieran finally raised his head to Lin Ye. He stared at the gentle expression of the Doctor even when he was still tense. The Doctor noticed this too.

"And you don't need to worry," With a smile, the Doctor reassured him, "Regarding… Laterano's condition, we will talk about it later."

"Even if I won't choose to cooperate with you?" Elder Kieran asked rhetorically.

Logically speaking, for this kind of question, most people would answer with a yes to this to get on the better side of the person.

However, Lin Ye really didn't want to show his sincerity to Kieran.

The poor old man who looked down on them a second ago and deliberately neglected them so why should he do that to the person who did not take them seriously before?

He was not a scumbag, Lin Ye admitted.

However, actions have their effect.

"We won't interfere with your decision after this meeting however in the same way, I won't interfere with my friend's decision in helping you or not." Lin Ye explained calmly with a smile to him, "I am here to discuss business with Laterano. Other than that, Nian will be the one that decides what we will do after. If she is okay with me helping you, I have no problem doing so."

Lin ye folded his arms at the man.

"However, if she does not want to, I have no right to say otherwise," Lin Ye hummed, "You must understand where I am coming from, no?"

Kieran understood Lin Ye's words

Business was business.

Anything personal was not something the Doctor cared about at the moment.

Kieran didn't expect that Lin Ye, a seemingly simple and honest person, also had a cold side to him.

Even with how polite he was, this man just threatened him without even hesitating.

The best that he could do now was to continue their meeting.

However, Kieran's view of this person was completely different compared to earlier.

Lin Ye smiled as they talked about having a partnership between Laterano and Rhodes Island.

Kieran revealed what Laterano wanted from Rhodes Island as well as what he expected they would give in return.

Lin Ye did the same on his part.

Lin Ye did not need to think much in this department. Kal'tsit already gave him a couple of things that Rhodes Island could provide to them. He even had a file full of the benefits of partnering with them and gave them to the angel.

Luckily for them, they talked as long as they wanted. No one was going to church today. Although it made Lin Ye curious, he pushed this question back for later as he was more focused on negotiating.

As they discussed more in this topic, Lin Ye noticed that they were talking a bit longer than he expected.

"We already discussed this long enough, I believe," Lin ye smiled at the man, "I hope Laterano will consider working alongside us in the future."

Kieran also seemed more relaxed now with the previous topic being lost in his mind.

"From what I heard from you, I do believe the chance of our parties working together is high," Kieran said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow I will bring this contract to the council and discuss this alongside the Pope. If there is no problem, I can directly make an appointment with you at a later date."

Lin Ye couldn't help but glance at the clock on the wall and found that an hour had passed since they talked.

Way longer than he expected this meeting would take.

This made Lin Ye think about this meeting altogether.

Although he liked to think this was purely for the good of this city, Lin Ye knew better. Both sides wanted something more selfish.

So? Was this meeting a lie?

Lin Ye did not really know.

Nor did he care.

As long as Laterano was willing to work with him, Lin Ye's goal would go smoother.

That was what was important to him.

What was Lin Ye's goal? You may ask.

That was for him to know and no one else.

Lin ye held out his hand to Kieran.

"For the best of both sides?" Lin Ye offered.

The Sankta stared at him and returned to his calming smile.

Kieran noticed how… welcoming this man's presence was. It was like, nothing in this world would harm him if he were near this man.

He felt…

Safe.

After debating with himself, Kieran smiled back at him and took his hand.

"For the best of both sides," He repeated his words as he firmly shook his hand.

This reply put a smile on Lin Ye's face. He pulled his hand away from the Angel and nudged towards the bored-looking dragon behind him.

"Let's go and discuss our earlier topic," Lin Ye hummed, "I think she is bored. For your own good, you don't want to make her wait. An impatient Nian is not something you want to have a talk with."

Kieran's eyes widened when he said this. If the Doctor did not remind him about this, he might completely forget about this topic.

"I understand," He nodded, "Let's go then."

With that, Lin Ye brought the man to Nian. He was also curious about this topic. Only Nian knew what was going on with Kieran's body.

Nian hummed on her own as she was already done eating the chocolate bar. She was starting to get bored. Luckily, she saw Lin Ye walking towards her. At first, she had a grin on his face but it stiffened when she saw another person walking behind him.

"Hey there Nian," Lin Ye greeted her. He then waved his hand towards Kieran, "He wanted some explanation on what you meant before."

Nian leaned back on the bench and raised a brow at the angel.

"It's nothing new," She commented, "He had the same thing as every Sankta has."

"A curse."

Lin Ye raised a brow at what Nian was saying.

A curse.

The other person beside him had a different reaction.

A corpse had more colour in its skin than Kieran now.

"You know…" Kieran asked in a shaky voice, "No one should—."

"But I do," Nian interrupted him harshly, "You mortals always like to take things you cannot control. Naively thinking that you are the master of the universe and do anything you like without any consequences."

Her eyes narrowed at the man. She was looking at him like he was just a child.

"I am even impressed by how your city is still standing," Nian said, "If this entity really is as strong as I heard it to be, that demon of yours would easily destroy this place. You people must bargain with that thing, no?"

Lin Ye looked back at the man and what he saw impressed him.

He did know that a person can be this pale.

Learned something new every day it seemed.

Kieran's eyes were wide open and Lin ye noticed that his body was even shaking now.

"If you know this, you might know how to undo this too," He said to Nian, "How?"

Nian smirked upon hearing this. She pushed herself up and walked toward Lin Ye.

"Simple," Nian said, "The thing in your body is the mark of the monster. Either you let the monster wipe the mark, or you can find someone stronger than the monster to help you wipe the mark."

This did not help Kieran though.

"What is more powerful than that thing?" He desperately asked her, "That thing… He's been terrorizing us for millennia ."

This only made Nian chuckle.

"Have you heard of the God of Karlan?" Nian patted Lin Ye's shoulder and said, "Here's her man."

{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}

Draft: Jaq

Proofread: Discord

Edit: Jaq