Whispering Verse

In short, no matter what happens in Schluch Lake, Shade has followed the witches back to the lounge on the third floor of the manor house. It was already close to eleven o'clock in the evening, but the atmosphere of the banquet was getting more and more lively. Most people here probably won't leave until after midnight, so there's still a long time left tonight.

After Shade sat down on the sofa, he let out a deep breath. He seemed to be slumped on the sofa, looking up at the crystal lamp in the center of the room, with a contented expression on his face. But then his face was covered by shadows. It was Mia's little head that obscured his face. The cat seemed to be observing Shade's expression.

The gain from the battle at Schluch Lake is not only the further changes in the [Thunder] Spirit Rune and "Ragglai's Jump", but also the divinity. Divinity is the foundation for foreigners to live a stable life. Whether this drop of divinity is used as the fourth ring to sublimate the fifth ring, or to burn divinity and become a god, it is the confidence that Shade can walk freely in this world.

Tifa and the maids prepared tea and snacks again, and the two great witches took their seats respectively. The experiences of Shade and Tifa were explained clearly on the way back, and the witches also learned about the relationship between the important material [Wise Pyroxene] in the Chosen Ceremony of the fourth Chosen One and the so-called Keeper of Secrets. .

"The Trials of Vinals: Searching for the Unseen 'Man' in the Tobesk Region."

As Shade spoke, he stretched out his hands to hug the protruding cat, and then sat up straight again:

"The epic story of the fourth chosen one has finally begun. Invisible people, what does this mean?"

"Since it's some kind of trial, I'm sure there won't be any clues for several months. There will definitely be a lot of ring warlocks who heard about the trial tonight, and what's interesting is"

The Duchess looked at Shade:

"The chosen one must have appeared here tonight. Maybe he or she landed on the island, maybe he or she just appeared in the banquet hall. Sylvia's maid and I are both on the third floor. Since they heard Yes, the ring warlocks in the courtyard, garden and the first and second floors should also be able to hear it. The question now is, which camp does the chosen one belong to this time?"

The church's high-circle warlocks had arrived from the city at this time, but instead of checking the identities of all the guests at the banquet, they sealed Lake Schluch for investigation. But it is obvious that after this banquet, the church and the witches will conduct a detailed identity investigation of all guests who appear at Lakeview Manor. However, considering the large number of people and the chosen ones cannot be found through divination, this is probably a big project.

But at least it can be regarded as a direction of investigation.

The dance started when Shade was playing Rhodes. Shade still remembered that he promised Miss Writer that he would dance together, so he said goodbye to the two witches soon after and planned to go to the first floor for a walk. Of course, he kept little Mia. After all, you couldn't dance while holding a cat. Besides, he was worried that something else would happen soon, so it was safest to let the witches take care of it.

After Shade left, Miss Carina hugged the reluctant cat and glanced at Tifa standing behind her with a smile:

"Put on your formal dress and dance with Shade below."

"Miss"

Tifa felt a little embarrassed.

"Don't show this expression. Am I a very harsh person to you?"

She waved her hand urgingly, and Tifa was about to change clothes.

"Miss Carina, you are so generous."

The young witch sitting opposite her said, a smile appeared on the duchess's delicate face:

"Tifa is mine, and Shade is mine, how generous is this?"

After a deliberate pause, he said softly:

"I wouldn't be so generous to other people."

She looked at Miss Sylvia, who seemed not to understand this "warning":

"Before coming to Tobesk, I always thought that Hamilton was the one taking advantage of you in your relationship. From tonight, it seems that Mr. Hamilton is the one who helps."

"You did discover part of the truth. Shade defines our relationship as cooperation. Sometimes I think I owe him. This is really a wonderful relationship."

Miss Carina said that she knew that Miss Sylvia was curious about many things, but she was willing to watch this witch with a strong thirst for knowledge wonder alone:

"We need to inform the council as soon as possible about what happened tonight. It seems that we will be busy this winter too."

When Shade returned downstairs and saw Dorothy again, Lesia was not with her. Shade had made an appointment to dance with Dorothy in advance, so it was easy for Shade to find her.

The blonde girl had been waiting for Shade. When she saw Shade coming, she couldn't wait to hold his hand, and then walked towards the dancing crowd together.

After many dances, Shade can't be said to be proficient in dancing now, but at least he won't accidentally step on girls' feet anymore. After finishing the dance with Dorothy, Dorothy also praised Shade's progress in dancing skills. Before she asked further about Shade's training methods, Shade took out the small round gold-plated box that had been in his pocket all night. After opening it, there was the heart-shaped ruby ​​inside:

"For you, Dorothy."

He held out the gem, and this time Dorothy accepted it reservedly.

"Knight, this gem is really beautiful. It matches Miss Louisa very well."

Lesia's voice appeared from the side, and the princess wearing a silver crown came over with a smile and her maid.

Shade pretended to adjust his collar, and then stretched out his hand:

"Your Highness, may I have the honor to invite you to dance next."

There were many people around, and Shade's voice could be heard.

"Yes, of course. I just hope Aunt Carina won't blame me."

Lesia raised her neck and said, her hand wearing a white lace glove also placed on Shade's hand.

After Lesia, Shade saw Tifa walking in a blue dress and black high heels. Shade rarely saw Tifa wearing a formal dress. She seemed a little shy and did not speak when she came in front of Shade, so Shade took the initiative to invite her again.

However, after finishing the brisk dance with Tifa, there was still no reminder in his ears that he had proven his charm.

The banquet was approaching late at night, and Shade, who was still a little impatient before the banquet started, felt that he had let go of this obsession at this moment.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he has successfully obtained a drop of divinity.

Since his plan failed and dancing with the beautiful girls at the ball proved nothing, Shade allowed himself to temporarily forget about the so-called mission and concentrate on enjoying the remaining time of this grand wedding ceremony.

After dancing with Tifa, Lesia was called away by her sister, Liana Barov, who was married to Marquis Barov. Dorothy saw Dr. Schneider and temporarily went to talk to the doctor.

Shade took Tifa back to the courtyard, and then somehow walked into the shadow of the hedge and kissed each other.

But Tifa didn't stay by Shad's side for too long. When the long kiss ended, she kissed the side of Shad's face again, and then returned to the manor in a good mood with her hands behind her back.

“It’s really lively”

Everyone has left their side temporarily, even little Mia is not here for the time being. Shade stood alone in the courtyard, looking at the tents illuminated by gas lamps and the colorfully dressed people walking among them, and sighed unconsciously in his heart.

Whoosh~

A sudden sound was heard above the head, and then it suddenly exploded.

Shade raised his head and saw beams of light flying into the night sky, then exploding into fireworks. The fireworks illuminated his face, and Shade let out a breath of relief:

"Although I have no plans to go back, I feel homesick for some reason."

[At least you didn’t leave any regrets at this banquet. 】

"She" said softly in Shade's ear:

[Many years later, when you reminisce about this night spent at Lakeview Manor, you will get more than you imagined. 】

"Yes, this is really the best memory. Since you are comforting me, does this count as comforting yourself?"

Shade raised his head and asked in his heart, the light of the fireworks illuminated his eyes:

"But there are still regrets."

[Failed to prove intelligence and charm? 】

"of course not."

Shade whispered in his heart:

"Divinity is an otherworldly power. The acquisition of any drop of divinity is related to fate and cannot be forced. I regret that there is a person who I want to dance with, but he cannot dance with me at this time."

He looked at the moon in the starry sky, his hands nervously clasped behind his back.

There was a smile in his ears, "she" did not answer immediately, but Shade knew that "she" was looking at the night sky with fireworks exploding with him.

Rays of light shot into the sky, and the fireworks exploding under the starry sky were so gorgeous. The noisy sounds in the banquet courtyard and the music playing in the inner model lake of the mansion behind were so loud in the middle of the night.

Although Shade didn't like drinking, he wanted to pick up the wine glass at this time and quietly watch the fireworks under the stars with "her":

"I will probably be very emotional when I recall this night many years later."

He turned around and returned to the manor house, but after entering the door of the mansion, he suddenly felt the wind blowing something cold on his ears. Shade was stunned suddenly, and then heard people in the manor courtyard talking excitedly.

"This is"

Turning back, he walked quickly and returned to the courtyard. With his back to the brightly lit mansion, Shade raised his head and looked at the deep sky, then spread out his left hand that was not holding anything. A small piece of crystal snowflake fell on Xia De's bloody palm from the dark night, and then quietly melted.

A surprised smile appeared on his lips, and he looked up in front of him. In just a few minutes, the tiny snowflakes that were floating like sugar grains were already falling down.

"Oh, it's snowing!"

In the Sixth Epoch, 1853 in the Universal Calendar, the first snowfall in Tobesk came quietly on the night of Tuesday, the 19th day of the Frost Moon.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

PS: There are several chapters that I feel will be very discussed, but it is not available in this chapter, which is really a pity.