Chapter 89: Inheritance

Chapter 89: Inheritance

Hearing Cattleya’s words, the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette silently looked at her for several seconds before saying, “This is your choice, and also your freedom.”

Cattleya did not back down. She met the Queen’s gaze for a long while, then pressed her lips together and said, “I know you must have already destroyed every clue, leaving me no chance to follow your tracks…

“To you, this is the ending to everything in the past, whether you return or not.”

Bernadette, whose chestnut hair fell loosely around her shoulders, did not speak. She maintained her silence, as though confirming Admiral of Stars’ guess through that very silence.

Seeing this, Cattleya gave a bitter smile.

“I will not say again that if you do not return after half a year or a year, I will use every means available to search for you. I only want to ask you to remember to recite Mr. Fool’s honorific name at the most dangerous moment.”

She spoke that title frankly.

The Queen of Mysteries Bernadette slowly nodded.

“I will remember.”

Only then did Cattleya reveal a smile, mist covering her eyes as she said, “What items and matters do you wish to entrust to me?”

Bernadette turned her palm and, from some unknown place, took out an item.

It was golden throughout, like a miniature kettle. Its surface was covered in mysterious, complicated symbols, and a length of wick protruded from its mouth.

“It is called the Wishing Lamp, numbered 0-05. It may date back to the First Epoch. Even true gods are unable to shatter it. Normally, it presents no danger and shows no effect at all, but through dreams, hallucinations, and other means, it will continuously tempt you to rub its surface and summon the genie inside.” The Queen of Mysteries Bernadette briefly introduced the origin and effects of the item in her hand. “The genie claims to be eternal and can grant any ten wishes. But those wishes are often fulfilled in extremely twisted ways, or come with terrifying consequences. My father once said that a holder can use language and preparations to avoid the harm attached to the first two wishes, but one must absolutely never make a third wish.”

At that point, Bernadette emphasized once more, “Absolutely never!”

“It sounds rather easy to avoid…” Cattleya’s thoughts shifted. “After you make two wishes, give it to me. I’ll make two more wishes, then pass it to Frank, Heath, and the others in turn. That could accomplish many things.”

She was merely using Frank as an example. She had no intention whatsoever of letting that fellow touch something so dangerous.

Holding the Wishing Lamp, Bernadette gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

“A holder and an owner are not the same. Before I die, even if you receive the Wishing Lamp, you will only be its owner. The first wish you make will be counted as both my third wish and your first wish.

“Also, although we can use wording and preparation to avoid the harm attached to wishes, that does not mean the genie lacks intelligence. On the contrary, He is extremely clever, extremely cunning, and possesses strong autonomy.”

Cattleya gave a soft “Mm.”

“Then are there wishes He cannot grant?”

“At present, it seems there are none. But if a wish involves the level of true gods, the degree of distortion will exceed your imagination. To put it simply, if you wish to become a Sequence 0 true god, your body and soul will merge with an evil god of unknown origin. Remember: the genie requires wishes to be concise. Otherwise, He will refuse the wish and treat it as already spent,” the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette explained.

After speaking, she had an invisible servant carry 0-05, that terrifying sealed artifact, toward Admiral of Stars Cattleya.

Only after Cattleya reached out and accepted the Wishing Lamp did Bernadette continue, “If you dream of the genie and are bewitched by Him into making a wish, that means I am no longer able to return. At that point, you will be its holder. I hope your first wish will be to recover all items Bernadette Gustav carried before she set sail, including her own Beyonder characteristic. Mm, when making the wish, it would be best to add the specific date.”

Cattleya lowered her head to look at the golden lamp and blurted out, “Can I wish for your resurrection?”

The Queen of Mysteries Bernadette fell silent for several more seconds before saying, “The me who is resurrected may only be a monster.

“If you truly wish to do that, you may ask Mr. Fool for His opinion.”

Cattleya nodded faintly.

“All right.”

“This is the item I am giving you, and the matter I wished to explain. Everything else I possess will be left to Element Dawn. They will have a new leader, and will not collapse because of one person’s disappearance.” Bernadette did not speak at length. She indicated that this was the primary reason she had summoned Cattleya to the Emerald City.

The status and level of the Wishing Lamp were extremely high. There was no way to send it by messenger.

Before Cattleya could reply, the Queen of Mysteries’ expression suddenly softened a little.

“Haven’t you always wanted to share with me the things you encountered over these years?”

Admiral of Stars Cattleya froze, then nodded with a quiet “Mm.”

“Yes.”

She then walked to the Queen’s side, pulled over a chair, and sat down facing the blue sea beyond the emerald railing.

Bernadette sat beside her, listening as she spoke of every experience after leaving the Dawn, just as she had in the past.

Some of these matters Cattleya had already mentioned in letters, only never in detail due to limited space. Others she was sharing with another person for the very first time.

At some unknown point, Cattleya fell asleep and dreamed of many years ago.

At that time, she had still been only a girl, stubbornly walking down from the Dawn without turning back.

Suddenly, she woke with a start. She discovered that no one remained beside her, and that, before she knew it, night had fallen—and even the morning glow had appeared.

Cattleya abruptly reached out and threw a not-quite-real illusory ball of thread.

The ball rolled into the void, leaving behind a strand of vivid wool yarn.

Following this strand, Cattleya walked through the spirit world as though she had mastered Teleportation, arriving at the outer layer of Lasha Island.

She stood at the edge of the cliff and cast her gaze into the distance. Upon the deep-blue sea, still carrying a trace of blackness, a splendid, enormous sailing ship bore the orange-red dawn light on its back as it sailed toward the horizon.

Cattleya slowly sat down. Her body leaned faintly forward, her arms wrapping around her knees. For a long, long time, she gazed in that direction.

The sun gradually rose, scattering a little radiance upon her body.

…

Backlund, at a food distribution point.

Stelyn Sammer, wearing a veil, no longer kept lowering her head as she had in previous months, afraid that someone would recognize her. She anxiously gazed forward, worried that the free food would run out before it was her turn.

Vaguely, she seemed to hear gunshots echoing in the distance. She did not know whether they came from Feysac, Intis, and Feynapotter troops who had broken through the defensive line, or from police officers handling those who tried to seize food.

End it… Let this war end quickly… Stelyn, who had already run to three relief points today, prayed soundlessly.

Just then, a staff member several meters away raised his voice and shouted, “The food here has been distributed!”

Stelyn’s face instantly turned gray and pale. She raised her head to look at the already dimming sky, then dragged her feet in despair and numbness, returning to the house at 17 Minsk Street.

The moment she opened the door, the two children at home ran over and lifted their innocent faces.

“Mama, did you buy bread?”

“Mama, I’m hungry…”

They were twins, one boy and one girl, both adorable.

Stelyn’s nose stung. Forcing out a smile, she said, “Yes.”

She immediately entered the house, dug out the little bread that remained from a hidden place, and divided it equally between the two children.

Watching the children eat the bread with no regard for etiquette, Stelyn’s expression shifted again and again, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes pained.

Before long, her husband, Luke Sammer, also returned home, likewise carrying no food.

Ever since Coim Company had been taken over by the military under wartime laws, this former manager had lost his job. He could only rely on past savings and government relief to maintain the family.

“I didn’t receive any…” Seeing his wife look over with eyes full of hope, the burly man with messy beard lowered his head in shame.

Stelyn, in her thirties and still quite pretty, inhaled deeply.

“I’ll go line up again. There should be other places still giving out food!”

Without waiting for her husband to reply, she rushed out the door.

Luke immediately turned and called to her back, “I’ll look again too!”

Stelyn did not stop. She crossed two streets and arrived before a house with a garden.

It was not long before she met the owner there, a wealthy man in his fifties.

“I want—I want to buy some food.” Stelyn took out a stack of wrinkled banknotes.

The gray-haired old man smiled.

“Why should I sell to you?

“I remember you refused me last time.”

Stelyn’s face turned deathly pale. She said nothing. Lowering her head, she used her other hand to undo the belt at her waist.

With a slap, that small calfskin belt, once exquisite but now stained in many places, dropped to the ground.

…

Luke Sammer wandered aimlessly through the streets, not knowing where he could obtain food.

Looking at the few pedestrians who passed, looking at the bags they protected with all their strength, the knowledgeable gentleman who loved machinery gradually reddened around the eyes.

Unknowingly, he began following one person, trailing him as he turned into another street.

There was less than an hour before curfew began. This was one of the few chances he had left.

That person stopped before a house and walked toward the door with unsteady steps.

Just then, the person suddenly fainted and collapsed to the ground.

Luke instinctively retreated several steps. Then he quickly approached and tested the pedestrian’s breathing.

His gaze involuntarily fell upon the paper bag clutched tightly in the man’s arms. The aroma of baked bread reached his nose.

Luke swallowed and was about to reach out and take the bag.

As his hand moved, he turned back fearfully and looked at the house the pedestrian had been trying to enter. On the bay window, he saw a childlike crayon drawing pasted to the glass.

Luke’s movement froze. Several seconds later, he stood, walked to the door of that house, and rang the bell.

The housewife and children inside quickly opened the door and came out, seeing the weak father and that bag of bread.

Curfew soon arrived. Luke returned to Minsk Street in dejection and self-loathing.

He had just opened his own door when he saw his wife smile at him.

“I received food!”

That’s good… Luke breathed out in relief and hugged Stelyn tightly.

…

Audrey walked through streets and alleys. No one could see her.

She did not speak. She walked all the way back to Queens Borough, all the way back to that luxurious villa, and smelled the fragrance of pan-fried foie gras and other delicacies.

She silently stared for a while, looking at the male servants and maidservants hurrying to and fro. Then she went upstairs and returned to her own room.

In the middle of the night, draped in a cloak, she entered her parents’ bedroom and came to the side of their bed.

She looked at them deeply for a long time. Then Audrey knelt on one knee and pressed her forehead beside her father’s hand.

Drop after drop of water slid down, spreading dark stains across the carpet.

Then this blond-haired, green-eyed noble girl slowly lifted her head. Facing her sleeping parents, she choked out, “Father, Mother, thank you. Thank you for teaching me what compassion is, what kindness is, and what virtue is.”

The moment she finished speaking, she closed her eyes briefly, abruptly stood, turned, and walked toward the door. Not the slightest expression remained on her face.