Chapter 53: Trissy’s Discovery

Chapter 53: Trissy’s Discovery

Böklund Street, No. 100. Portland Moment’s residence, in a corner of the garden.

The many ants and tiny insects that had been converging there began to scatter. The gloomy, cold sensation grew weaker and weaker.

The supernatural ability user here probably doesn’t have much experience… Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Hazel gave the faintest nod, almost invisible, then lightly turned around and began strolling through the garden path.

She did not hurry back into the house. Alone, she enjoyed the crimson moonlight, the crisp, cold air, and the faint scent of flowers.

Only after quite some time did Hazel give up her walk, leave the garden, and enter the first-floor hall.

At this time, aside from the guests playing Texas hold’em, quite a few gentlemen and ladies had already taken their leave. Hazel had just found her mother, Madam Liana, when she saw her father, Councilman Macht, descending from the second floor with several gentlemen, chatting as they went, his expression quite pleasant.

“Ready to go home? You still need to visit a very important guest tomorrow morning,” Liana said, gesturing for her daughter to come closer while walking toward her husband with a smile.

Councilman Macht nodded.

“If not for that matter, I think I would have another of Portland’s cigars.”

Liana’s gaze swept over Willis, Dawn Dantes, and the others nearby. She asked casually, “What were you all talking about? The topic seemed very interesting.”

Macht turned slightly and laughed.

“Dawn said that while he was in the Southern Continent, he once encountered a ghost.

“He and his companion suddenly woke in the night. They wanted to open their eyes, but couldn’t. Their bodies felt terribly heavy, as if someone were pressing down on them.

“They used a great deal of strength and finally broke free of that state and left their beds, only to discover that the room was extremely cold. You may not know this, but the weather in East and West Balam is hot most of the time.

“Then Dawn and his companion each took a double-barreled hunting rifle and kept watch through the night. The moment the sun had just risen, they hurriedly left that small town.”

After listening, Madam Liana looked at Dawn Dantes’s face with great interest.

“Is that true?

“Do ghosts really exist?”

Klein smiled and shook his head.

“I cannot be certain. Perhaps my companion and I had only just gone through an adventure, our mental states were unstable, and our physical conditions were poor, so all sorts of problems arose.”

The story he had told actually came from one of Anderson’s experiences. That strongest hunter of the Fog Sea had encountered a ghost while exploring a temple deep in the primitive jungle, producing a grand-scale night run.

A ghost… Hazel turned her head and glanced toward the garden. The corner of her mouth curved slightly, only to be swiftly restrained.

She said nothing, quietly listening as her parents bid farewell to the acquaintances around them, then returned home together.

Deep into the night, Hazel, now changed into a nightdress, walked to the balcony. Standing behind the gap in the curtains, she gazed toward the sewer entrance on Böklund Street.

As she watched, her face gradually paled, as if she had once again recalled that experience filled with pain and fear.

She forced herself to withdraw her gaze, took two deep breaths, then turned around and walked toward the bed.

During this process, she lightly bit her lip and muttered soundlessly, “That should have been a Wraith… It must have been…

“I need charms or items in the domain of the Sun…”

While Hazel was looking toward the sewer entrance, Klein was also observing it.

So many days have passed. I wonder how that Witch Trissy has recovered, and whether she has left… Good thing Hazel was frightened by me and hasn’t dared approach the sewer entrance recently…

Klein’s gaze swept over the iron-black gas streetlamp posts, and he gave a very small nod.

He then opened the iron cigarette case, allowing his Wraith marionette to appear in the full-length mirror.

He had already decided to send Senor into the sewers to check once and confirm Trissy’s condition, lest that Witch create some kind of trouble.

Moreover, that sewer was too close to Dawn Dantes’s identity. Klein did not want Trissy staying nearby for long. He only hoped she would recover soon, start acting, and leave Böklund Street behind.

Mm. Having Admiral of Blood Senor appear every so often fits the character setup I made earlier: that he does not live around here, but often drifts over to search because secrets are hidden in these sewers…

As Klein thought, he made the marionette wearing the old tricorn hat use a mirror jump to leap onto the surface of a gas streetlamp beside the road. Then, in Wraith form, Senor passed through the manhole cover and swiftly approached the concealed side passage where Trissy was hiding.

Before reaching the end, Admiral of Blood Senor, who possessed night vision, saw that the place was empty.

Has she already recovered and left? Klein thoughtfully controlled the marionette to continue forward, stopping at the area where Trissy had previously sat against the wall.

He discovered that the place had been cleaned very thoroughly. Not only was the ground no longer muddy and wet, even the moss on the walls and in the corners had vanished.

No food crumbs either… Did that fellow develop mysophobia after becoming a woman? No, perhaps he had it all along…

Through Wraith Senor’s vision, Klein examined the surroundings and judged that Trissy had either not left yet, or had departed less than a day ago. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the place to remain so clean.

Just as that thought flashed through his mind, soft footsteps entered the Wraith’s ears.

Under Klein’s control, Senor turned and walked outward. As expected, he saw Trissy in a dim black dress.

This Witch’s smooth black hair fell loose. Unlike other young women her age, she wore no elaborate hairstyle. Simple. Plain.

Together with her now blood-colored yet still fair face, Trissy at that moment looked like a dreamlike flower quietly blooming in the night.

As expected of a Witch… Good thing there is a marionette between us, or I might lose composure and stare at her a little… Heh, the dead are not tempted! No matter how charming a Witch is, she can’t make the deceased turn into a living corpse and crawl out of the grave…

After a few inward grumbles, Klein addressed Trissy through the marionette, who appeared blank but was in truth secretly guarded and releasing invisible threads.

“Where did you go?”

Trissy raised an eyebrow.

“Do you like solving personal needs where you sleep?”

Uh… I thought Witches didn’t need to visit the washroom…

Klein mocked himself and had Wraith Senor chuckle.

“You mean pissing and shitting?”

He deliberately had the marionette speak that way to match Admiral of Blood’s rough pirate persona.

Trissy’s delicate brows drew together faintly.

“What else could I mean?”

Wraith Senor did not continue on that topic and instead said, “You seem to have recovered well.”

Trissy smiled lightly.

“Not bad. I will leave here tomorrow.”

She paused. Her somewhat long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly.

“To be honest, sometimes I very much doubt whether you are really Admiral of Blood.”

Of course it’s real! You should ask whether he’s dead or alive…

With some amusement, Klein made the marionette Senor say, “Why do you say that?”

Trissy’s gaze swept over the Wraith’s face.

“It is said that Admiral of Blood was a man who indulged his desires and had no resistance toward beautiful women or men.

“But when you face me, I see not the slightest spark of desire.

“I thought that the real Admiral of Blood would have added a clause forcing me to submit when we reached our cooperation agreement last time.”

Klein considered for two seconds, then made Wraith Senor laugh self-mockingly.

“I fear becoming addicted to Pleasure and being controlled by you.”

Trissy’s expression changed at once. That was indeed one of the reasons she had taken the initiative to raise this topic.

For Witches who controlled Pleasure, Beyonders accustomed to indulging their desires were natural prey.

Klein took the initiative to skip over the topic and had the marionette say, “You intend to search for the target tomorrow?

“Clearly, that Chamberlain will certainly know you and recognize your appearance.”

After all, you were arranged by them to be beside Prince Edessak… Klein silently added inwardly.

Trissy lowered her head, looked at the tips of her shoes, and gave a low laugh.

“You can rest assured. I have a complete plan.”

As she spoke, she turned slightly sideways and casually pointed toward the depths of the sewer.

“From here, at the end of the sixth left-turning passage, there is a hidden tunnel. There are also traces of long-term human activity. Heh. I discovered it while wandering around these past few days.

“I imagine this has something to do with that girl from last time…

“And it is also the reason you came here?”

A hidden tunnel? Klein neither confirmed nor denied it. He made Wraith Senor smile.

“Did you discover anything?”

Trissy shook her head.

“Nothing. Perhaps only people from a specific pathway, or people carrying a specific item, can find the clues.”

A Marauder’s intuition, or the item on Hazel? Klein did not have Senor continue the subject. Pressing a hand to his chest, the marionette smiled and gave a bow.

“Since you have recovered, I can rest assured.”

The moment his voice fell, his entire person suddenly vanished.

Trissy stared carefully but gained nothing. Only when the far end of the invisible threads she had spread outward was brushed by a faint “breeze” did she withdraw her gaze, confirming that Admiral of Blood had truly left.

At this moment, Klein had already controlled the Wraith back to the sewer entrance. He did not attempt to explore the place Trissy mentioned.

He made that choice for three main reasons. First, it was already beyond one hundred meters. Second, he suspected he would very likely discover nothing; after all, he was not of the Marauder pathway, nor did he have the corresponding item. Third, Trissy was still there.

…

Sunday morning, Fors, having slept until she naturally woke, finished washing up and bit down on a slice of toasted bread. Then she opened the door and retrieved a pile of items from the letter and newspaper box.

As she walked toward the coffee table where her coffee had been placed, she casually flipped through the items in her hands and discovered a reply she had been awaiting for several days.

Throwing down the newspapers, bills, and other letters, Fors opened the one in her hand.

“…Teacher has already arrived in Backlund?” Fors quickly scanned it once, then murmured in surprise.

At the same time, she saw the toast between her teeth drop straight toward the floor.