160 Böklund Street, Dwayne Dantès's residence.
Klein stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the pattering rain fall with the wind, hitting the ground and the glass, interweaving into a net.
Ever since autumn, Baekeland began to rain again. This brought about a lingering cold and humidity.
Klein didn't move for a long time. He silently looked into the distance under the blurry rain, his eyes unfocused.
Only when his spiritual perception was triggered did he rein in his thoughts that were like a drizzle. He turned his head to the side.
Reinette Tinekerr, who was carrying the four blonde, red-eyed heads, walked out of the void with a letter in her mouth.
"Who's it from this time?" Klein habitually asked Miss Messenger.
The last letter he received was from Sharon. This lady told him that she had successfully passed the ritual and advanced to Sequence 4 Puppet of the Prisoner pathway.
Klein first sincerely congratulated her before apologetically telling her that he had already obtained what he wanted and that he wouldn't be heading to Calderón City in the spirit world anytime soon.
Of course, he also indicated that there was quite a sizable secret hidden there that might be related to him. There was a high chance that he would still head there after a period of time. When the time came, if Miss Sharon was free and willing, he hoped to receive her help.
To Klein, on the one hand, he might still need to go there to find the ingredients for his advancement in the future. On the other hand, he believed that the magical city involved the ancient Death, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace. Perhaps it hid a way to treat Mr. Aztec's Spirit Body Deficiency. Even if this Death Consul didn't have a chance of advancing, he hoped that he wouldn't suffer the torture of amnesia again and again.
Of course, Klein also had a backup plan for this. It was to wait until he advanced to Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore and prepare more Yesterday Once More charms for Mr. Aztec. Or, he could directly apply the corresponding Beyonder powers to help him recover from his amnesia quickly.
At this moment, Klein had already received the letter. Reinette and Tinekerr's four heads replied one after another.
"That … Undying … Fool … Undying … Idiot …"
… Patrick Bryan from the Charismatic Order's Artificial Death faction … Klein easily understood who Miss Messenger was referring to. This was because Patrick was the one who had written to him the most frequently in the past two months. Basically, he would report and ask for instructions on any important matters.
After this happened a few times, Reinette Tinicle gave him a nickname.
Miss Messenger didn't show any interest in this aspect in the past. I wonder when it started … Most of the people who often write to me have nicknames, except for Miss Sharon … As Klein muttered to himself, he unfolded the letter and quickly scanned it.
In the letter, Patrick Bryan said that the orders from the Southern Continent were no longer for him to make various attempts to awaken Death. Instead, he was to prepare a special ritual to help the angel of the Death domain in the mausoleum, the leader of the Artificial Death faction, Haiter, further recover, allowing "He" to temporarily leave the land of "self-sealing."
On the surface, such an order didn't seem too problematic. It was just a little abrupt, but Klein still sensed that something was amiss.
The Southern Continent's Charismatic Order's Artificial Death faction had previously gotten Patrick to continue holding strange and dangerous rituals in an attempt to awaken Death, but I instructed him to use the excuse of not being able to gather all the ingredients or the experiment ultimately failing to fool them. Now, they finally suspect that there's something wrong with Patrick? Klein nodded in thought.
He suspected that this was a test aimed at Patrick Bryan, a ritual that pointed at the angel!
The range of an angel's response to the ritual was the entire World.
Yes, it's fine as long as they don't suspect that there's something wrong with Artificial Death. After all, they inherited a huge inheritance from the ancient Balam Empire. Who knows if there's a way to affect the Goddess's control of the Death pathway's Uniqueness, preventing both sides from benefiting … Klein analyzed for a moment before heaving a sigh of relief.
As for the Death domain's angel's probe, he didn't find it too problematic. This was because The Fool could also use powers that were close to this level to interfere with it in the form of Angel's Embrace. As long as the High Priest named Haiter didn't directly descend and instead exerted his influence through space, he could ingeniously mislead him.
After figuring out this matter, Klein flicked his wrist, igniting Patrick Bryan's letter with a scarlet flame. He returned to his desk, took out a pen and paper, and wrote:
"… You can follow your teacher's instructions, but before the actual ritual, you have to report to me and obtain my permission …"
As the interval between the replies was very short, it was very likely that Patrick Bryan hadn't left his original location. Klein didn't summon the other party's messenger. He blew the adventurer's harmonica and handed the folded letter to Reinette Tinekerr.
…
In the drizzle, Xio was wearing a simple raincoat made of tree sap. She hid in a dark corner and stared at the side door of Viscount Stratford's house.
It wasn't evening, but the street lamps had already been lit up, emitting a blurry halo in the rain.
After a while, a rental carriage drove over from afar and stopped in front of a remote side door.
The viscount's valet, who was hiding in a sheltered spot, immediately jumped out and opened an umbrella.
He protected the cloaked woman who got off the carriage and quickly passed through the side door. As for the rental carriage, it stopped in its spot and didn't leave, as though it had received enough money.
Xio still couldn't see the woman's face clearly, but she wasn't depressed at all. She patiently waited in the cold rain, as though she had become a motionless statue.
She planned on waiting until she came out before attempting to tail her and confirm her identity.
This was not only an opportunity for her to obtain the Judge potion formula, but it also concerned her goal in coming to Baekeland — to investigate the truth behind her father's death!
It was also because of this motivation that Xio had persisted in monitoring Viscount Stratford to this day. The other intelligence personnel of MI9 had long ended their missions after nothing had happened in the past few months. Even the golden-masked man, who had given the mission, hadn't asked about it for weeks. Clearly, he didn't take it to heart.
In Viscount Stratford's bedroom, a beautiful brown-haired girl dressed in a silk nightgown sat in front of the dressing table, fiddling with the skincare products and cosmetics as though she had discovered a treasure trove.
The middle-aged Viscount Stratford was wearing a male nightgown. His hair was wet as he walked behind the beautiful girl and smiled at her reflection in the mirror.
"Shermane, you no longer need them to add to your luster."
"It's just a female instinct." The girl named Shermane smiled as she raised her hand and grabbed the viscount's palm that was on her shoulder.
Viscount Stratford smiled gently.
"When you were fiddling with them, there was a sense of innocence and purity. Heh heh, you made me regain my youth, as though I was seventeen or eighteen years old."
Without waiting for Shermane's response, he continued speaking.
"My wife has already passed away for several years. I thought that I would continue living until the Lord summoned me, but who knew that I would meet you. After some time, the accumulated pressure in Baekeland will be released. I'll find an opportunity to enter the temple of marriage with you."
"Marriage … You want to marry me?" Shermane was taken aback as she asked in disbelief.
Viscount Stratford smiled.
"Meeting you is a gift from the Lord. Although your background isn't noble enough, I've already been married once. I don't need to care too much about such matters. Of course, I'll think of ways to raise your status. Hmm, I'll first find a merchant and get him to acknowledge you as his illegitimate daughter … "
As he rambled on about his plan, he saw Shermane's eyes gradually turn misty in the mirror.
"What I find most precious about you is that you will treat me more than ten times better when I treat you well. You don't hide it at all." Viscount Stratford smiled as he lowered his head and kissed the top of Shermane's head.
Shermane opened her mouth as though she was crying, but also as though she was laughing.
Only when the drizzle stopped and night fell did Xio finally see the woman in the dark red cloak come out and board the carriage.
After memorizing the characteristics of the carriage, Xio tailed it from afar. She relied on her Beyonder powers as a Sheriff and the fact that the streets were wet and empty at night to track her target by walking and running.
All the way from Empress Borough to the Baekeland Bridge area, the carriage finally came to a stop just as Xio's stamina was about to collapse.
Xio perked up as she switched her target from the carriage to the woman in the dark red cloak and continued tailing her.
During this process, she was slightly surprised to find that the woman had a very strong anti-tracking ability. Sometimes, she would circle around, and sometimes, she would use obstacles to make a stop.
However, this wasn't a problem for Xio. She was an experienced Sheriff. She patiently followed from afar and didn't approach.
Just as she instinctively believed that the woman wasn't too far from her final destination and was about to chase after her, she suddenly caught a whiff of a sweet and ethereal fragrance.
Amid the fragrance, Xio was dazed for a moment before she completely lost track of her target.
As for the fragrance, it vanished as though it had never appeared.
"…" Xio's pupils dilated slightly. She didn't dare to search her surroundings for any traces.
In a rented apartment, the gentle and sweet Trissy looked at Shermane, who was looking at herself in the mirror.
"You seem to be in a good mood.
"How is it? This final mission isn't too difficult to accept, right?
"Once it's completed, you can leave Baekeland and live the life you want."
Shermane was taken aback as her expression turned complicated. She looked a little disappointed, as though she had suddenly woken up from a beautiful dream.
She didn't turn her head as her lips quivered for a while.
"He said that he wants to marry me …"
Trissy immediately pricked up her brows.
"A man's words can't be trusted at such times. You and I should know this very well.
"If he really wanted to marry you, he wouldn't be wary of you. He would want to have a child with you. Heh heh, is that what he did?"
Upon hearing her question, Shermane's expression dimmed bit by bit.
Trissy stood up and smiled.
"I won't stop you from pursuing your love. If you wish to make this mission a lifetime, then you should think about what to do."
After saying that lightly, she walked to the door and left the rented apartment.
When she was going down the stairs, Trissy suddenly looked at her shoes and chuckled. She seemed to be mocking herself.
"Love …"
PS: Thank you, CZB, for your Silver Alliance Master tip!
Lord of the Mysteries
Lord of the Mysteries
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
