Chapter 97: June Arrives

Chapter 97: June Arrives

In the black night, within the forest of pea-green vines, Klein kept his eyes closed, listening to the melody that seemed to drift from the edge of the sky.

His body and mind were both serene and peaceful, yet he also felt a faint gloom and sorrow growing, spreading, and echoing.

After an unknown length of time, that melodious tune finally vanished. Between the hanging pea vines, a gentle night breeze slowly blew.

Klein sighed soundlessly and opened his eyes, looking upward. He saw the Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, handing the “human skull” riddled with holes to the “servant” whose upper body was human and lower body was wind.

“It is done,” Bernadette said in a soft, calm voice.

“Thank you for your help.” Klein bowed once more and controlled the Wraith Senor to walk back to his side.

At that moment, strand after strand of pea vine retracted upward and gradually faded. The pea-green forest soon disappeared completely.

Klein and Senor landed simultaneously at the entrance of the bridge. The surroundings were quiet and deserted, with only a squad of bridge guards not far away standing with their backs to them, no different from before.

The fairy-tale-like scene just now seemed only an illusion.

Only then did Klein have the leisure to examine his marionette. He discovered that Senor looked even more like a dead man than before. His face was pale, his aura cold, and he carried an obvious sinister, hair-raising feeling.

This should be the result of a single large-dose corrosion… If he were merely guarding Chanis Gate once or twice a week, each time for one day, it should not be this serious. It would be impossible for him to become unable to endure it in only two months… If that were truly the case, even the orthodox Churches would be unable to bear such consumption… I estimate normal internal caretakers can survive several years, even more than ten, but during that period they are prone to mutation and loss of control… Sigh. When they chose to become internal caretakers, they should already have known this would be their final outcome…

Klein sighed emotionally and had the Wraith Senor project himself onto the gold coin inside the iron cigarette case.

Immediately afterward, he used Travel several times in succession. First, he went out to sea to choose food for Creeping Hunger. Only then did he return to the master bedroom washroom at 160 Böklund Street.

…

June 5th, Sunday, inside the Hall family castle.

Audrey sat before her desk, admiring the mystical item she had just received.

It looked like a long, black gauze glove extending all the way to the elbow. As if born from royalty, it naturally carried a noble, elegant bearing.

It came from the Chaos Mentor Beyonder characteristic sold by the World, Gehrman Sparrow, crafted into form by an Artisan after a certain period of time.

Before purchasing it, Audrey had consulted her father, Earl Hall, and received the reply, “You may buy it and use it yourself. The thought of filial devotion is already enough.” Because of that, she had specifically instructed Mr. Hanged Man to have the Artisan make it into an item suitable for a lady to carry.

This also made her somewhat suspect that her father either carried an even better mystical item, or that the Evernight Church provided him with protection of quite a high level.

According to Mr. Hanged Man’s relay, the gauze glove could grant its wearer several Beyonder effects.

First, it enhanced majesty and physique, making surrounding living beings unconsciously lower themselves and wish to obey.

Second, it granted the ability to Distort the target’s speech, actions, and intentions, thereby constructing certain rules favorable to the wearer.

Third, through symbolic “bribery,” it could make the target develop a strong favorable impression, making hostile intent difficult to arise and even making them unwilling to fight the wearer. If the conditions were suitable, the one who received the bribe had an extremely small chance of turning to attack their companions. Audrey had heard Mr. World say this was one of the Bribe Beyonder powers, called “Bribe—Charm.”

Fourth, it could cause a selected target or a certain area around them to fall into Disorder, making attacks difficult to land on the wearer and making enemies easily “choose” incorrectly.

Audrey was very satisfied with all these effects. What troubled her, however, was that because the Artisan’s own level was not sufficient, the negative effects of the Sequence 5 mystical item he had produced were rather significant.

First, it would gradually darken the carrier’s mind, causing them to constantly wish to take shortcuts, employ conspiracies, and rely on dishonorable methods. Second, after wearing it for more than three minutes, the user would also fall into a state of disorder. Audrey had tried it earlier, only to make a mistake without realizing it while bathing.

The normal process should have been to first have the maid fill the bath with hot water and adjust the temperature, then undress herself, enter the bathtub, and finally wash. Yet Audrey had entered the bathtub first, then let cold water run in. Only after her clothing had been soaked did she remember she needed to take it off.

The only thing she was thankful for was that she had ultimately controlled herself and not called a maid in to witness her embarrassment.

That made me like a curly-haired baboon!

Audrey thought with some shame and irritation.

Regarding the first negative effect, she felt she could still accept it, because she was a Psychiatrist. She could often examine herself and eliminate some gloomy thoughts. Besides, Susie could provide help from the perspective of an observer. But the second effect was somewhat unbearable.

The second negative effect is very problematic. I can only carry it with me first and wear it for use at critical moments. Ah, right, I also have Lie. It can magnify my emotions, and if paired with this glove, it will make the darkness inside my heart very severe. The current me may not be able to resist it…

Audrey’s green eyes shifted as she thought of a solution.

Just then, she heard a knocking at the door.

Her personal maid, Annie, said from outside, “Miss, the Earl has something to speak to you about.”

Audrey left the black gauze glove on the desk and directly rose, arriving at the door and opening it.

At home, wearing only a shirt and vest rather than a coat, Earl Hall stroked his beautiful little mustache and laughed softly.

“Not ready yet? We will be returning to Backlund soon.

“Tomorrow night is your eighteenth birthday ball.”

As he spoke, Earl Hall glanced at Annie and the other maids, making them consciously withdraw some distance.

“Sigh. It is the social season again.” Audrey pretended to be mature and nodded. (Note 1)

Earl Hall looked at his daughter and asked with a smile, “Have you thought about how to use that item?”

Audrey pursed her lips into a smile.

“Of course.

“I plan to fold it up and place it inside a small bag, and have Susie carry it on her back.”

In that way, because Susie would not be wearing or using it, she would not fall into disorder in her actions. As for the problem of psychological darkness, Audrey could soothe and treat it. More importantly, without Lie amplifying it, Susie, who was herself a Psychiatrist, could likewise examine herself and adjust her mental state from time to time.

Earl Hall froze slightly, then praised with a laugh, “A clever method.”

Audrey felt a burst of delight, though outwardly she remained quite reserved.

“I plan to name it Hand of Fear.

“Dear Earl, thank you for the birthday gift~”

And in a few more days, I can mix the potion and attempt advancement!

Audrey joyfully added the thought in her heart.

…

Sunday night, 160 Böklund Street.

Klein stood on the balcony, looking at the street outside through the gap in the curtains. He could not keep a little nervousness from welling up in his heart.

If nothing unexpected occurred, he would soon begin the operation to steal the Antigonus family notebook.

Ever since he borrowed the Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette’s help and made his marionette display a corroded state, then went frequently to the cathedral to pray, listen to scripture, and make donations, thereby figuring out the internal caretakers’ duty rotation pattern, only one preparatory matter remained for Klein’s theft plan.

That was how to quietly and unnoticedly replace his target!

According to Klein’s understanding, those internal caretakers would head underground at the break of dawn. At that time, the cathedral had not yet opened. If one wanted to directly infiltrate, one would have to risk being discovered by a demigod like the Archbishop of the Backlund diocese. It could be said that there was essentially no chance of success.

Therefore, Klein’s plan was to sneak into the cathedral one day in advance and patiently wait for an opportunity.

This undoubtedly required sufficient disguise, but it was no difficulty for a Faceless.

After observing for some time, Klein discovered that on Sunday nights, the Church also held a Grand Mass, because both Sunday and night were symbols of the Goddess.

After the Grand Mass ended, the servants would be busy for a while, clearing trash, miscellaneous items, and other things outside.

Klein’s plan was to seize that opportunity, quietly knock out one servant, disguise himself as him, enter the cathedral, and sleep in the servants’ room.

For this, he had purchased from the Moon Emlyn, in advance, a sleeping potion of appropriate dosage that could make a person sleep for ten hours without causing physiological harm. It had cost him a full five pounds.

Whew…

After several minutes, Klein slowly breathed out, drew the curtains shut, and returned to the room. Taking four steps counterclockwise, he entered above the gray fog.

Sitting in the Fool’s seat, he pondered for nearly a minute, then manifested pen and paper and wrote a divination statement:

“There is danger in this attempt to steal the Antigonus family notebook.”

Setting down the dark red, round-bellied fountain pen, Klein removed the pendulum from inside his left sleeve and held the silver chain in his left hand, letting the citrine pendant hang above the paper, almost touching it.

He entered meditation, closed his eyes, and silently recited the divination statement seven times. Then he slowly opened his eyes and saw the pendulum rotating clockwise, with ordinary amplitude and normal speed.

There is danger, but within the normal range…

Klein swiftly completed the interpretation.

Truthfully, he was somewhat worried whether the result had been interfered with by someone again, just like the Mother Tree of Desire had once done. But that could not be confirmed, nor could it be disproved.

Therefore, when the divination result, the plan, the contingency preparations, and his own readiness all met the necessary conditions, Klein had already made his decision.

Looking at the citrine pendant, which gradually stopped rotating, he spoke in a low voice in his native language:

“The arrow is already on the bowstring. It must be loosed.”

No sooner had his voice fallen than Klein wrapped himself in spirituality, simulated the sensation of falling, and returned to the real world.

This time, he planned to carry only three items with him: Creeping Hunger, Senor’s gold coin, and Azik’s copper whistle. Their common trait was that they could all be placed inside the iron cigarette case, with double concealment provided by the Paper Angel and a wall of spirituality.

As for the other items, they most likely could not pass through Chanis Gate and would easily trigger a mutation from the sealing core. Therefore, Klein threw them all above the gray fog, together with his cash, having made preparations to flee at once if something went wrong.

It’s just that the three percent Coim Company shares I bought for 12,800 pounds can only be bound to Dawn Dantes’s identity…

Klein swiftly restrained his thoughts, took a mirror, and placed it on his pillow.

Then he drew the mysterious symbol used to summon the Magic Mirror, Arrodes.

Note 1: Historically, the London social season lasted from after Christmas in December until June. When setting up this book, considering certain plot arrangements and the fact that Loen high society mainly believes in the Lord of Storms, the period for discussing matters of state was placed during the storm-prone months of June to September. The social season therefore naturally became June to the New Year. Of course, on weekends in autumn and winter, the nobles certainly go fox hunting in the countryside. Please do not mix this up, and do not answer in the exact opposite way if someone asks about London’s social season.