At the same time, the bloodshot eyeballs floating around rapidly expanded, seeming as if they were about to fill the entire space.
At this rate, Klein might not be able to retrieve the Black Emperor card!
Without the Black Emperor card, whether or not it could be borrowed was secondary—the crucial issue was that Mr. Fool wouldn't be able to use the Paper Angel. Without the Paper Angel, the Tarot Club would be in serious danger after each gathering!
Realising this, Edward gritted his teeth, suddenly reached out to lift the glass cover, and made a move to snatch the bookmark that Klein had already mostly enveloped. As he did so, he shouted, "I'll help you get the bookmark back!"
Klein inwardly groaned: Edward, we're on the same side!
Just as Edward's fingers were a few centimetres from the bookmark, he silently activated the [Specter] ability of the Resurrection Stone. His spirit body fingers slipped through his physical hand, lightly brushing the bookmark and nudging it toward Klein's own spirit form.
"!"
Klein immediately understood, seizing the fleeting opportunity to fully envelop the bookmark within his spirit body. Then, he flashed a wide grin at Bernadette.
In the next second, the nearly transparent figure, along with the Azik copper whistle and the two bookmarks it held, vanished instantly—returning to the world above the grey fog.
Edward hurriedly waved his hands at the empty air, putting on a look of exaggerated shock.
"Damn, he got away!"
"..."
Bernadette simply stood there, watching him silently.
Under her gaze, Edward's scalp tingled with numbness. He stammered, "Uh...aren't you going to chase after him?"
"You're still the same. You haven't changed one bit."
Leaving behind only this faint remark, Bernadette's figure also disappeared.
Edward stood frozen on the spot.
Still the same? Haven't changed?
Was she...acknowledging me as Emperor Roselle?!
What a damn surprise fatherhood moment!
If Audrey found out she had suddenly gained a 'daughter' who was over a hundred years older than her, she would probably be very surprised.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps approached from afar. Edward's figure immediately twisted and vanished.
———
Meanwhile.
Above the grey fog, in the grand and ancient palace.
Klein's figure abruptly materialised at the head of the mottled long table, and he let out a long, quiet breath of relief.
Since his spirit body was anchored to the grey fog, he could summon and respond to himself.
As long as the enemy didn't kill his spirit body instantly or knock him unconscious, he had no fear of not being able to return.
But if he had come back empty-handed—and leaked information about the bookmarks possibly being the Cards of Blasphemy in disguise—it would have been a huge loss!
Fortunately, Edward secretly helped me at the last second.
"So he really recognised me after all?"
Even with my face painted like this, he still recognised me? Could he actually be the true Spectator Pathway Sequence 1?
Still, it was precisely because he recognised me that he knew how to help. Without his last nudge, tonight would definitely have been a bust.
"Let's head home first, and study the bookmarks slowly later."
Without further hesitation, Klein left the grey fog and returned to his room, slipping out quietly into the night.
Little did he know—the real excitement of the evening had only just begun.
---
After returning to the villa, Edward grabbed a water jug and chugged it dry.
Earlier, when he told Bernadette that his throat was dry from talking too much—that hadn't been just an excuse.
Hearing the noise, Lilith, who had been in the bedroom, scampered out.
"Edward, you're back～"
She glanced around. "Where's that woman?"
"No idea, probably off chasing the thief."
"Thief?"
Lilith jumped into Edward's lap, kneading softly with her little paws as she asked, "What were you two doing? Why are you catching a thief now?"
"Uh, it's a long story."
Edward set down the empty jug with a wry smile. It really was a long story—who could've imagined that telling a few stories could lead to such a complicated mess?
No wonder Bernadette treated me so kindly—even willing to lend a Grade-0 Sealed Artifact.
Sigh...for Roselle to have such a good daughter, he must have saved the world several times in his past lives.
But I am really not him!
As for Bernadette's misunderstanding, Edward decided to play dumb for the time being. He'd have to find a way to hint indirectly that he wasn't Roselle.
If all else failed...he could just shift the blame onto Mr. Fool.
After all, in the original story, Bernadette had suspected that Mr. Fool was Roselle. Wasn't that misunderstanding eventually cleared up?
Better yet, if he could take her to that island in the Fog Sea, and show her the real Roselle's 'corpse'—that would be perfect.
In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to make a little use of Bernadette's current 'goodwill'—For instance, using it to deal with Saint of Secrets, Botis.
At last, Edward understood what Will Auceptin's other piece of advice had meant—find someone even better at prophecy to help.
And who could be better at prophecy than a Sequence 3 Clairvoyant like Bernadette?
Now, he had two things to do: First, find Botis; Second, eliminate him before Botis made a move!
Nice and simple—just like putting a dead body into a refrigerator: three easy steps.
———
Half an hour later.
There was a knock at the door.
Bernadette had arrived.
"Did you catch him?"
She shook her head lightly.
"No. It was as if he had evaporated into thin air." After a brief pause, Bernadette asked, "Do you know where he went?"
Edward shook his head without hesitation. "How could I possibly know?"
She stared quietly at Edward, her cerulean blue eyes giving no hint of emotion. Lilith, who had been lounging on Edward's lap, silently retreated, crawling under a chair and crouching low as she stared warily at Bernadette.
Half a minute later, Bernadette sat down across from Edward.
"You know who I am?"
Edward quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He gestured with his fingers, forming a small gap between his thumb and forefinger.
"By sheer coincidence, I happened to learn a little about you. You must be the legendary Queen Mystic, the eldest daughter of Emperor Roselle—Lady Bernadette Gustav."
She didn't ask for details. Instead, she said calmly, "The favour I owe you still stands. Have you decided what you want?"
"I'm currently being hunted by a Saint of the Aurora Order." Edward got straight to the point. "At the moment, I don't know where he is, nor do I know if he's plotting something in secret. But I was fortunate enough to consult an angel, who warned me that if I don't take the initiative, I'll likely end up dead."
Her voice was soft yet even, "Who is it?"
"Saint of Secrets Botis of the Aurora Order, a Sequence 4 Secrets Sorcerer."
"You want me to kill him for you?"
Edward nodded. "If possible, of course, that's what I would hope for. But the first step is to find him—and for that, I'll need your help."
Bernadette shook her head slightly. "My prophecy abilities can't precisely locate a person.
At most, I can glimpse certain secrets hidden in the river of fate."
Otherwise, she would have long used prophecy to find Emperor Roselle.
"Then…can we change the angle of the prophecy?" Edward suggested.
"Hunting Botis will definitely trigger at least a demigod-level battle, and that will inevitably cause destruction. Could you perhaps prophesy where in Backlund such a disaster is about to happen?"
She thought for a moment.
"I can try."
"At that time, I'll set up in advance at the predicted location and lure Botis out for the final strike." Edward smiled. "That way, the loop closes perfectly."
Bernadette frowned slightly. "A closed loop...?"
But soon, she smoothed her brows and asked indifferently, "Are you confident you can handle a demigod?"
"Hey, now, that's a bit much." Edward shrugged. "I'm only Sequence 7. What could I possibly use to deal with a demigod? All I can do is run around begging others, owing favours, or paying a price to seek help from various people or forces."
He chuckled, looking a little sheepish. "So...if you're willing not to count this prophecy toward the favour you owe me, I'd also love for you to lend a hand when the time comes."
Bernadette gave a rare smile. "Fine."
Edward froze in surprise. "Really?"
"But I have one condition."
With a slight flip of her palm, a stack of papers materialised out of thin air and landed on the coffee table.
"Help me translate these Roselle Diaries."
"..."
Edward's face stiffened.
He forced a laugh. "Milady, surely you jest. The language used by the Emperor is a mystery that hasn't been cracked for over a hundred years. How could I possibly know how to read it?"
Bernadette gazed at him serenely. "I've named my condition. You can consider it at your leisure."
Tch.
After a long while, Edward sighed. "Let's do the prophecy first."
Bernadette waved her hand gently. The diary pages disappeared.
Then, her deep blue eyes suddenly became even more unfathomable, momentarily losing focus, as if gazing across the currents of fate beyond Edward.
"The location is in the Bridge District of Backlund…Somewhere in the East Borough."
Two or three seconds later, Bernadette abruptly closed her eyes, as if a dazzling light had burst in front of her.
A faint trace of bloody tears seeped from the corners of her tightly shut eyes, making her already pale complexion look even more ghostly.
Still keeping her eyes closed, she spoke in a slightly ethereal voice.
"I have seen it—Backlund is about to suffer a great catastrophe, a truly apocalyptic disaster."
Bernadette's eyes snapped open, and her gaze was as vast and profound as the night sky.
In a soft murmur, she said, "I have seen…the hope for my advancement."
Backlund is about to face an apocalyptic disaster?
Hold on.
All I wanted was to cheese the system a bit to find Botis. How did a full-blown disaster pop out of nowhere?!
A smog apocalypse?
No...the timeline doesn't match!
Edward suddenly slapped his forehead.
Now that Trissy had fled, Lady Despair was injured, and Prince Edessak had fallen for another witch, the original storyline was already completely off track!
"Are you sure this disaster has anything to do with me? I just wanted to deal with just ONE Saint!" he asked, exasperated.
"If you hadn't found me today," Bernadette said calmly, "you would have been ambushed in a month—and on the same day, the disaster would unfold."
In other words, while those evil gods, Outer Deities, and royal fuckers were stirring up chaos, they had conveniently decided to clean me up too?
What an honour, huh!
At that moment, Edward finally understood why the Snake of Mercury, Will Auceptin, had urged him to strike first.
———
[Note]: The promised Extra Chapter. Enjoy~If you guys want another one tomorrow, we'd need to hit 255 Powestones. Go, VOTE!
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