"Where did I get that notebook..." Miss Gwen pondered for a moment before carefully replying, "This notebook drifted down from the mountain with the hot spring water and ended up in my grandfather's hot spring pool. I happened to pick it up while playing there at the time...
"I noticed its special paper quality—it hadn't been damaged despite being soaked for so long. Out of curiosity, I kept it, though I forgot about it for a long time afterward.
"It wasn't until I studied ancient Feysac, the origin of the languages of the northern continent, at the Backlund Girls' School that I remembered the notebook... because the writing on it was in ancient Feysac."
It drifted down with the hot spring? Not excavated from underground? It seems the information gathered by that "Theosophy Order" woman named Paji might not be accurate after all...
Ebner thought for a moment and then asked, "Annie... if I may ask, in what year did you pick it up?"
—Miss Gwen's full name is Annie Gwen.
"About 12 years ago, when I was six..." Miss Gwen answered confidently.
That year was also when she left Feysac with her parents and moved to Backlund, so it left a deep impression on her.
Twelve years ago... I remember from the "police diary" I obtained from the "Dream Labyrinth Tower," the first time fishermen discovered the ruins with the dragon skeleton was also twelve years ago...
Is this a coincidence?
Or is there some connection between the castle of the giant descendants and the ruins related to Mr. Azik?
Sigh, after exchanging information with Ms. Closfia, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of those ruins... but now it seems there might be other secrets hidden there.
As his thoughts raced, Ebner met Miss Gwen's curious gaze and briefly told her about the "Giant Descendants' Castle" being destroyed by a mysterious disaster at the end of the Fourth Epoch.
However, he didn't reveal the source of this information.
After all, Miss Gwen couldn't personally go to Feysac, and telling her this now would only cause her unnecessary worry without any benefit.
Moreover, with the death of Paji from the "Theosophy Order," most of the troubles her grandfather's family faced had already been resolved.
"So there's such a secret hidden in the Tamik Mountains..." Miss Gwen exclaimed in surprise, then, as if remembering something, murmured worriedly, "Mr. Bryan... no, Ebner, if you could uncover those secrets, others might too... No, I must write to my mother and persuade my grandfather to sell the hot spring inn as soon as possible!"
Hearing Miss Gwen's muttering, Ebner nodded with satisfaction. His intention in telling her this was partly to pave the way for buying the inn as a base.
This wasn't him taking advantage of the situation, as her grandfather's family would indeed find it hard to stay in Indor, and the inn would have to be sold sooner or later.
In that case, it might as well be bought by him—at least he wouldn't lowball the price.
...
Backlund, Red Rose Manor
After several days of rest, "Vice Admiral of Ailment" Tracy had finally recovered from her injuries and was back in peak condition.
—She had sustained some injuries before being captured by the Rose School of Thought, and her soul had been "suppressed." Even with the support and purification from "Iceberg Admiral's" singing, her mind and astral body had still been somewhat contaminated.
Despite her ferocity in hunting down the vengeful spirit that had "possessed" her, she had actually been at her limit, which was why she had accepted the prince's kindness.
Fortunately, the source of the contamination—the middle-aged "wraith"—seemed to have perished, or else she wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly.
Now that she was healed, Tracy had no intention of staying any longer at Prince Edessak's manor.
Although the prince was a good man and harbored no ulterior motives toward her, Tracy had sensed the "terrifying" undercurrents around him during her stay!
Moreover, her intuition told her that staying here any longer would be extremely dangerous.
However, leaving without a word didn't seem appropriate either... After weighing her options, Tracy finally made up her mind. She entered a state of "invisibility" and, under the cover of night, bypassed the terrifying old butler, slipping into the prince's bedroom.
Prince Edessak was still awake, sitting by the bedside, frowning as he read through a piece of intelligence.
The content of the intelligence was about his younger brother, Mountbatten.
"Mountbatten voluntarily gave up his status as a prince? Why? What exactly did he do?"
Just as Edessak was filled with confusion, a pleasant female voice reached his ears:
"Your Highness, it's me... I mean no harm. Please don't speak for now, and it's best not to react... Just listen to what I have to say."
Edessak was indeed startled at first, but he quickly recognized the voice as belonging to the young woman who had suddenly appeared in his sunroom, bearing a resemblance to Triss. After a moment of hesitation, he chose not to raise an alarm and quietly waited for her to continue.
"Very good, Your Highness...
"I have three things to tell you tonight, as repayment for your hospitality these past few days... You can choose to believe me or not...
"First, I am a witch, and the woman you admire is also a witch... And witches, more often than not, have blood on their hands.
"Second, your butler is not trustworthy, and your steward is secretly monitoring you.
"Third, and most importantly, according to my mirror divination, you will soon face a life-threatening danger, and your only chance of survival lies within this week...
"That's all I have to say... Your Highness, goodbye... No, farewell."
After speaking, Prince Edessak only noticed the window seemed to have been slightly opened by the wind, and then the room fell into silence.
He sat motionless on the bedside for a while before picking up the intelligence again, silently muttering to himself:
"One prince has already been sacrificed... It's not impossible for another to follow...
"But death... surely not? Mountbatten survived, which means Father wouldn't be so ruthless...
"However, the first thing she mentioned... I feel like I've heard something similar before... Why can't I remember?"
...
In an unknown room, Ince Zangwill, with his sculpted features but missing an eye, lay weakly on a bed.
Beside him sat a strikingly beautiful woman.
She was slowly applying various substances to her face while asking, "Is that quill still unusable?"
"I used the 'Umbilical Cord of the Evil God's Descendant' in the previous battle. If I use '0-08' now, it will most likely make me hear the voice of the 'True Creator' directly..." Ince Zangwill sighed.
"Without its help, I've had to frequently intervene to disrupt that girl's escape plans and even request that royal advisor to meet with the prince regularly... All of this greatly increases the risk of exposure... And I've paid a hefty price for it...
"And all of this is because of your unauthorized 'arrangement.'" The woman's tone was not harsh, and her voice remained sweet, but to Ince, it felt like a severe reprimand. He even sensed a hint of danger.
"One week... at most one week, and I'll be able to regain control of the situation using '0-08,'" Ince said solemnly.
"Good." The woman suddenly smiled and chuckled softly. "Until then, I'll help you fend off the wrath of the Aurora Order."
Hearing this, Ince finally let out a long breath of relief.
...
(End of Chapter)