Chapter 261: Edessak’s “Story”

Chapter 261: Edessak’s “Story”

Red Rose Manor, inside the sunroom.

Edessak Augustus stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window, his face dark. He looked at Trissy, who sat opposite him with an indifferent expression, as though he wished to devour her. His voice carried a volcano on the verge of eruption.

“Why did you try to escape again?”

Trissy’s gaze passed beyond him, falling outside the window. She laughed softly and asked instead of answering, “Did you see the meteor shower just now? Did you feel the earth tremble?”

Behind her, the porcelain and other objects inside the museum cabinet had already fallen onto the thick, soft carpet. The old butler, Finkel, stood respectfully to one side.

“That is not especially rare,” Edessak answered in a deep voice.

Trissy raised her brows slightly.

“You are very slow.

“Then I will tell you plainly. I am a Demoness!”

Prince Edessak’s expression did not change in the slightest. He turned instead toward the old butler and said, “Go stand guard by the door. Do not allow anyone in.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Finkel glanced coldly at Trissy, turned around, and left the sunroom.

Hearing the door close, Edessak slowly breathed out.

“Trissy Cheek. Heh. You prefer being called Trissy.

“I know you are a Demoness. The person helping you purchase Beyonder materials did not succeed. Everything you obtained was provided by me!

“I do not mind whether my princess consort is a Witch or a Demoness. I have even seen your wanted poster!”

Trissy was stunned at first, then revealed a mocking smile.

“You know quite a lot…

“Then do you know that I used to be a man? My real name is Tris.”

“…What?” Edessak’s eyes widened. His head tilted slightly, as though he could not believe what he had heard.

Seeing this, Trissy immediately burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she bent forward and backward, violently, like a madwoman.

“Haha! You heard correctly. I used to be a man! I used to be the same as you, with something down there longer and thicker than yours! But the Witch potion forcibly changed my sex!

“Isn’t that disgusting? Don’t you already have goose bumps?”

She spoke the words that had been pent up for a long time as though venting, and took two steps forward.

Edessak instinctively retreated, his throat bobbing once without him noticing.

“No, no. That is not it… You are a true woman… There is no problem at all… I can confirm that completely!” At first he muttered to himself. Then he raised his voice. “From the moment I met you, you have been a true woman. I do not want to know what you were like in the past! I can pretend nothing like that ever happened! The person I like, the person I love, is the you of now!”

Trissy froze. She lifted a hand and wiped away the tears she had laughed out a moment earlier.

“You really are pitiful.

“Do you still not understand? Our meeting was not a coincidence. Even your liking—”

She paused as though sick to her stomach, then continued, “Even your falling in love with me was arranged by someone else. Do you not feel that everything happened too quickly, too abruptly? I believe in love at first sight, but I do not believe it has such tremendous power. You behaved like the protagonist of a third-rate romance novel, madly falling in love after seeing someone once, falling in love with a stranger like me, forgetting the target you had once liked. That is too insane!”

Prince Edessak stared blankly, his mouth opening without words.

His body suddenly swayed, as though he had finally awakened from a long dream.

“You… You really are the type I like… But my reaction really was—really was too exaggerated…”

The corners of Trissy’s mouth rose. She tilted her head and laughed mockingly.

“What a pitiful person. Even something like the person you like was arranged by others, like a puppet pulled by strings.

“Do you still not understand? You are someone who can be sacrificed, while I am both a hostage required for the cooperation between the royal family and the Demoness Sect, and a disguise necessary for deception.

“I carry an important item of the Demoness Sect, and I am under your strict supervision. I can be destroyed at any time, and the treasure can be lost at any time. This is the sincerity of cooperation we are displaying. And once the matter is exposed, once it becomes known to the three Churches or to other factions in the military, the development will become very simple: Prince Edessak, obsessed with beauty, secretly kept a Demoness. Knowing the depth of his sins, he shot himself. Then all problems will be covered up.”

“No!” Edessak shouted before he realized it.

Then, face contorted, he asked, “What are they cooperating with the Demoness Sect on?”

“How could a hostage who may be abandoned at any moment possibly know?” Trissy laughed self-mockingly. “That is every reason I wanted to escape.”

She lowered her head and laughed repeatedly, her body trembling slightly from it.

After a few seconds, she lifted her head again and outlined a smile.

“What do you plan to do with me? Strip off my clothes and throw me onto the bed? No. You should already have a psychological barrier. Actually, I would not mind giving you some warmth now. There is nothing shameful about two pitiful people comforting each other.”

Prince Edessak watched Trissy in silence for nearly a minute, his rounded face dark.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes and pointed to the other side.

“Leave.

“Leave through that door.”

Trissy raised her brows in astonishment.

“You are letting me go?”

“Mm.” Edessak turned to look out the window, answering slowly. “I will stop Finkel. As for whether you can escape the other pursuers, that will depend on your own strength and luck.”

Trissy’s eyes were lost for several seconds. Then she quickly ran toward the hidden door.

Before leaving, she could not help looking back.

“What about you?”

Edessak did not turn his head. He continued gazing outside the floor-to-ceiling window, as though searching for shadows of the past.

He smiled and said, “Me? Let me live inside this beautiful story and greet its final ending, whether good or bad.”

Trissy drew a breath, lingered no longer, and entered the hidden door.

…

Saint Samuel Cathedral, inside a quiet room.

Saint Anthony Stevenson, one of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the person in charge of the Backlund diocese, received an urgent telegram sent from Earl Hall’s residence.

This old man, whose face was clean-shaven and whose eyes were deep, had an extraordinarily neat appearance. Even dressed in the black-and-red robes of an archbishop, he did not give others any sense of gloom.

Yet anyone who directly faced him would tremble from the depths of their heart, as though their spirituality had been ruled by fear, or as though they were facing an unknown existence watching them from the depths of darkness.

Trissy Cheek… Primordial Demoness… Saint Anthony lightly tapped the paper and immediately stood.

The light around him suddenly vanished, as though swallowed by the dimness inside the room.

For an instant, every praying believer in the entire cathedral felt night descend.

Everything quickly returned to normal. Saint Anthony appeared before Chanis Gate beneath the cathedral.

The one leading the squad on duty today was Spirit Medium Daly Simone.

Before she could ask anything, Archbishop Anthony gave an order in a deep voice.

“Prepare yourselves. Enter procedure. I am going to awaken a Sealed Artifact.”

What he intended to use was 0-17.

He intended to borrow that terrifying Sealed Artifact to confirm and handle the matters related to Trissy Cheek.

And this was the only Grade 0 Sealed Artifact preserved outside the Sanctuary. In the entire Church, only two high-level figures knew it was in the Backlund diocese.

“Yes, Your Grace.” Daly froze for a second, then immediately responded.

As he waited, Saint Anthony closed his eyes. Part of the information on Sealed Artifact 0-17 naturally surfaced in his mind:

“Number: 17.”

“Name: XXXXX.”

“Danger Grade: ‘0.’ Extremely dangerous. Highest priority. Highest confidentiality level. Do not inquire. Do not spread. Do not describe. Do not spy.”

“Confidentiality Level: Pope; Group A researchers; and the archbishop responsible for the Backlund diocese. (Note: When the archbishop is transferred away from the Backlund diocese, Sealed Artifact 1-29 must be used to erase related memories.)”

“Sealing Method: Complete the seal through the joint use of 1-29 and 1-80.”

“Description: This is not an item.

“This is a living angel.

“She has a beautiful appearance. Her hair and eyes are black. She appears to be a young woman, but her actual age cannot be estimated.

“…She does not possess the wings recorded in ancient texts. Judging only from her appearance, she lacks sufficient distinction from an ordinary human.

“…She has no ability to think and has lost all intelligence.

“…Any person or object that approaches Her will completely vanish… Through divination and other methods, it can be confirmed that they are still alive and truly exist, but they cannot be found. At present, 1,825 methods have been attempted, all ending in failure.

“…The range of 0-17’s influence expands and contracts irregularly. It has currently caused more than seventy researchers to vanish.”

…

“Warning: She cannot be used!”

“Appendix 1: This Sealed Artifact first appeared in the Pale Era of the Fourth Epoch. Specific year: missing. Specific date: missing. Specific location: missing.”

“Appendix 2: Records show that She has been awakened five times.”

…

Using the pretext of passing on information and searching for the fake Ince Zangwill, Klein, with the aid of divination, overcame the interference of the Master Key and ran all the way toward the exit location shown in the revelation.

He knew very well that, under a carpet search, the corpse in the empty room would soon be discovered. Therefore, he had to race against time and reach the exit as quickly as possible.

The Faceless ability really should be paired with a mystical item capable of destroying corpses and removing traces… Practice produces true knowledge. It did not take long for Klein to pass checkpoint after checkpoint and patrol after patrol, arriving at the exit indicated by divination.

But to his great surprise, there were no guards there at all. Only a heavy double stone door stood alone.

What is this situation? Why is there no one guarding the exit? Was my divination misled, or are the guards outside? Amid churning thoughts, Klein found a corner, removed the armor on his body, and restored himself to a light and agile state.

Then he came before the double stone door and groped his way to the corner on the left side of the wall.

After cautiously confirming with a gold coin, Klein took out the ancient-looking brass-colored key, pressed it to the wall, and twisted it gently.

Ripples emerged and lightly swayed. Klein silently passed through the wall, not using the proper door.

What first entered his eyes was natural light falling from a dome overhead. This meant that this place was indeed an exit.

Klein cautiously did not move. He quickly adapted to the light here and saw neat but mottled gray stone slabs beneath his feet, with thick pillars ahead.

This was a hall. At its center, around something that looked like an altar, knelt four hooded figures.

Immediately afterward, a gentle but low female voice entered Klein’s ears.

“Mr. A, are you ready?”