Chapter 87: Admonitions

Chapter Eighty-Seven
Admonitions

“It is truly resolved?”

Elizabeth still could not quite believe it.

Klein nodded with a calm smile.

“Yes.

“The matter was not difficult.”

That last sentence is a lie…

He silently added in his heart.

Perhaps because Klein had behaved with such composure throughout, or perhaps because he was the only plank of wood left floating on the water, Elizabeth no longer doubted him. She patted her chest and breathed out deeply.

“Thank you. You really are a gentleman worth trusting. I was almost scared to death just now.

“How is Selena? Is she all right?”

“She may sleep for several minutes, but there should be no other problems. Mm. Weakness for two or three days is normal.”

At this point, Klein’s expression suddenly turned stern.

“Who is her mysticism teacher? Did that person never tell her the most basic taboos?”

Elizabeth immediately stood straight, like a student scolded by a teacher.

After some thought, she said, “Selena mentioned that her mysticism teacher is Hynas Vincent. A year ago, she went to the Divination Club in the Howes Street area for a divination and met that gentleman there.”

Hynas Vincent…

On the surface, he was guiding harmless magic mirror divination, while in private, he was teaching “black divination”…

I should have reported this to the Captain earlier. I should have checked his gas meter earlier…

Klein felt a little regret and asked in a deep voice, “Was Selena’s magic mirror divination also taught by him?”

For Klein, the most frightening part of the incident was that it had nearly affected his sister Melissa.

Elizabeth nodded carefully.

“Yes. But Selena tried magic mirror divination several times before and did not succeed. Uh—today she told me that she secretly looked at an incantation her teacher had hidden away, and that it would definitely work.”

Little expert at courting death…

Klein pinched his temples with a headache.

“Do you still remember the incantation she recited?”

Although Hynas Vincent did not proactively teach dangerous knowledge to Selena, it was obvious he himself was experimenting. And to provoke unknown, hidden existences meant disaster was only a matter of time. This had to be handled as soon as possible to prevent the situation from worsening and affecting others.

“I remember part of it,” Elizabeth said, recalling. “She used Hermes, the language of mysticism. You know, I have only studied it for a little while. I only remember the words ‘wandering,’ ‘heroic spirit,’ ‘Creator,’ and ‘dependent.’”

Creator? The True Creator? Many underground mysticism enthusiasts do indeed worship this ancient existence revered by quite a few secret organizations… Right. An ancient existence that appeared at the beginning of the Fifth Epoch, more than a thousand years ago…

Klein nodded thoughtfully.

“When Selena wakes, remember to ask her the complete incantation, then find an opportunity to tell me.”

“All right,” Elizabeth answered readily.

But immediately afterward, she asked with doubt, “Mr. Moretti, why not ask her directly yourself?”

“I do not wish Melissa to know that I am interested in mysticism. Can you keep that secret for me?” Klein asked instead of answering.

Elizabeth lightly bit her lip, her eyes brightening.

“No problem. Melissa truly does like machinery more than mysticism, and reason more than intuition.”

Klein pressed the hand holding his hat to the left side of his chest and gave a gentleman’s bow.

“Thank you for your understanding. And Selena, as you know, is not someone very good at keeping secrets.”

“A more accurate description is that she likes sharing secrets with others,” Elizabeth agreed.

Klein put his hat back on and, after thinking, said, “When Selena wakes, remember to tell her that she suddenly fainted and broke the mirror in the fall. I believe her memory will definitely stop not long after she first began the magic mirror divination.”

Seeing Elizabeth nod, he once again made his expression stern.

“Remember: whether you are performing divination or attempting other mysticism knowledge, do not pray to any existence other than the seven deities! If you see an incantation that does not belong to that category, burn it immediately and stay far away from whoever provided it!

“If I had not discovered it in time today, then after another ten minutes, Selena would have become a monster—an evil spirit. No one present would have survived, myself included!”

Thinking of that cold, sinister “Selena” in the mirror, Elizabeth did not doubt Klein’s words at all. With lingering fear, she sighed.

“I know. I will remember. I will supervise Selena too.”

“Good. Go in and take care of Selena.”

Klein raised his silver-inlaid black cane and walked toward the staircase.

As he walked, his eyes darkened, his gaze turning inward. With his right hand, he drew out a one-penny copper coin and flicked it into the air with a ding.

“Selena has no more problems.

“Selena has no more problems.

“…”

Klein swiftly repeated the statement. Reaching out, he caught the falling copper coin and saw that King George III’s head was facing up.

This was not a simplification of the pendulum method, but a simplification of dream divination. In that brief instant, Klein used meditation to force himself into sleep, allowing his spirit to roam the spirit world. The coin’s heads and tails served as the outward symbolic sign.

Heads was correct; tails was incorrect.

Good. There is no problem now…

Klein let the brass-colored coin spin cheerfully across his fingertips.

That simplified method was something only a Seer could complete.

…

Elizabeth watched Klein’s back. She saw the flying penny and saw him catch it casually.

Only after Klein disappeared at the stairwell did she turn back and enter the bedroom. She saw Selena unconscious on the floor, surrounded on one side by shards of glass.

Holding her breath, Elizabeth stood on tiptoe and glanced at the mirror fragments, confirming that they no longer contained the cold “Selena” and instead reflected the ceiling.

Hoo.

Elizabeth finally relaxed completely, letting out a long breath.

However, despite several attempts, she failed to help Selena onto the bed. Instead, she woke her friend.

“Elizabeth… What happened to me? Did I get drunk?” Selena asked weakly. Her bright eyes had dimmed considerably and were full of confusion.

Elizabeth thought for several seconds, then answered with unusual seriousness.

“No, Selena. Something went wrong with you. Your magic mirror divination attracted something bad.”

“Is that so?”

With Elizabeth’s support, Selena sat weakly on the edge of the bed and rubbed her temples.

“I only remember I had just begun the magic mirror divination.”

Half-truth and half-lie, Elizabeth said, “Just now, you were practically like another person. The you in the mirror and the you in reality were even somewhat different… I was very afraid, so I used the excuse of giving you a surprise to bring you to the bedroom, snatched your mirror away, and smashed it on the carpet. Then—then you fainted.

“By the Goddess’s blessing, you are normal now!”

“I—I do not remember…”

Selena’s face was pale as she murmured.

The more she tried to recall, the more her mind was blank, and the more afraid she felt.

Almost instinctively, she raised her head and looked toward the desk, discovering that the arrangement there was clearly different from before.

What exactly happened…

Selena thought bitterly. She only vaguely remembered a figure dressed in a black tailcoat and wearing a half-top silk hat. He was not strong, not tall, yet his back looked rather straight and upright.

“Selena,” Elizabeth said solemnly, “the last time I went to the underground market to buy an amulet, I met an expert in mysticism. He told me that no matter when, you must never pray to any existence other than the seven deities. Otherwise, disaster will inevitably come. Promise me. Do not try this again. Just now, I did not even know whether I could save you!”

Selena had been frightened as well. She hurriedly nodded.

“I will not. I will never try again!”

“Mm. What exactly did the incantation mean when you performed the magic mirror divination? If I have the chance to meet that mysticism expert again, I will ask for you,” Elizabeth asked, feigning casualness.

Selena rubbed her temples and thought for a moment.

“A wandering, lingering heroic spirit; a dependent of the True Creator; the eye that gazes upon fate.”

…

Tap. Tap. Tap.

As Klein descended the stairs, he carefully straightened the creases in his clothing and brushed away the dust.

Then he removed his half-top silk hat, carried his silver-inlaid black cane, and slowly returned to the long dining table.

“Where did you go? You were gone nearly ten minutes,” Chris, Selena’s elder brother, happened to fold and asked with a sideways glance.

Klein smiled.

“The washroom. Then I went to the second floor and met several young ladies and ladies.”

“I appreciate your honesty,” Chris said with a hearty laugh.

He had red hair and the Wood family’s hereditary lack of height. A pair of gold-rimmed spectacles sat on his face, and his bearing was quite capable and efficient. He was an excellent solicitor.

If you knew I had gone upstairs and knocked your sister unconscious, you definitely would not say that…

Klein said humbly, “We were merely discussing some academic questions.”

In mysticism…

He put away his hat and returned to his seat. When the next hand began, he received two hole cards.

Lifting one corner, he saw a king of spades and an ace of diamonds.

My luck has improved? Is this my reward for doing a good deed?

Klein took out copper coins, preparing to bet.

Since the incantation was not proactively revealed to Selena by Hynas, I do not need to be too urgent in reporting it to the Captain…

He thought this way.

During the hands that followed, he maintained a tight playing style. He bet only when he had good cards and did not attempt bluffs without confidence. His overall gains and losses were not large. By the time the game ended at ten-thirty, he had won six pence.

“I won two soli and eight pence.”

Benson played with the banknotes and pence in his hand.

“I did not expect you to be a poker expert,” Klein praised with a smile.

“No. I do not play cards much. But I know this is the same as negotiation: one must hide one’s own cards, see through the other person’s cards, and then use all kinds of methods to frighten or tempt him…”

Before Benson finished, he saw Melissa and the others come down from the second floor.

“It is time to go home,” Klein said, glancing at his sister and her friends while rubbing his temples.

The ache in his head still lingered.

After that, Klein went to the washroom once. Using a chance brush past Elizabeth, he learned the complete incantation from her.

Returning to his elder brother and younger sister, he smiled and said, “Right, I suddenly remembered something. I need to go to the company. Shall we stop by Zouteland Street first? It will be quick.”