Backlund, at the villa on 28 Kinster Street.
After bringing Xio back, Ebner arranged for her to rest first, while he returned to handling his backlog of official and business matters.
After all, his territory of Belden was still in the early stages of recovery, and his "film company" in Loen lacked subordinates as capable as Elaine. Even though Ebner had organized a professional team to help him with management, his resources still felt stretched thin.
Right now, he was in urgent need of employees who were competent, well-connected, and—most importantly—trustworthy.
"There are far too few people like Elaine—someone from a prominent family, yet dedicated and efficient," Ebner sighed inwardly before immersing himself back in work.
Meanwhile, Xio Derecha, after putting down her luggage, did not immediately rest. Instead, she asked the servant who had prepared her bath, "Which room is Fors Wall staying in?"
—Ever since Ebner became a viscount and hired the professional butler Walter, the household staff had been given clear and proper duties, unlike before when the Skade couple and a few maids had to take care of nearly everything themselves.
The maid, who had worked in Ebner's household for a long time, clearly knew the relationship between Miss Xio and Miss Fors. Without hesitation, she pointed Xio in the right direction.
After thanking her, Xio took a quick bath, then followed the maid's directions to the indicated room.
She knocked once—no response. So she directly opened the door and stepped inside; after all, she carried several charms Ebner had prepared for her, and "Open Door" was among the most basic of them.
The bedroom wasn't large, but its décor clearly matched Fors' preferences—it had her personality written all over it.
For instance, there was a sofa pressed up against the writing desk—clearly for her to collapse onto after writing fatigue set in;
and beside the sofa were two small tables—one piled high with magazines, the other stacked with snacks and drinks, obviously prepared for her moments of "slacking off."
On the desk, scattered pages of a manuscript lay about. On the topmost page, Xio could faintly make out the words "The Shipwreck of the Ice Sea."
She glanced over the pages, then turned her gaze to Fors—still curled up on the bed, sound asleep. Xio's frown softened slightly as she guessed her friend must have stayed up late writing before a deadline, which explained why she was still asleep at this hour.
Casually picking up one of the loose pages, Xio skimmed a few lines—and was stunned to realize that it described a scene in which the male and female protagonists were chased and hid inside a carriage together…
The imagery Fors had written was vivid enough to make Xio's heart race, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she quickly picked up the earlier pages to read from the beginning.
Once she confirmed it was a normal romance story, Xio finally let out a sigh of relief.
After all, with the rapid growth of the film industry, some of the newer companies—unable to compete with Brain Film Company—had turned to indecent tactics, producing scandalous films for secret theater screenings.
Xio had already shut down two such companies in East Chester County, personally carrying out "disciplinary punishment."
She had just been worried that Ebner might have decided to tap into that market and asked Fors to write the scripts—but now it seemed she had been overthinking.
"Of course, how could Ebner be so filthy? Fors is proud of being a serious writer; she would never write that kind of filth!
"Besides, I doubt that sort of movie even has a script…
"Ugh, after over a month of high-intensity 'disciplinary' missions, even if the results were good, I might have developed some mental issues—like seeing everyone as a criminal and wanting to punish everything I see…
"According to Ebner, isn't that called 'post-battle psychological syndrome'?
"No wonder both Ebner and the 'Sun' emphasized during discussions of the 'acting method' that you must remember—you are only acting!"
Lost in thought, Xio decided that after giving Ebner his birthday surprise at midnight, she'd probably book an appointment for a "psychological consultation."
But for now, she had to wake Fors up. Even if Fors had been up all night writing, sleeping into the afternoon was too much.
With that in mind, Xio walked up to the bed, pulled off Fors' blanket, and nudged her. "Fors, it's time to get up!"
Fors, dressed in a light yellow nightgown, instinctively reached for the blanket—but grasped at empty air. Half-asleep, she mumbled, "Just let me sleep a little longer," curling up into a tighter ball.
Watching this, Xio stood silently for a few seconds. Then, an invisible spiritual whip raised itself high above Fors' "spirit body."
Half in a dream, Fors instantly felt the overwhelming sense of danger from her intuition—her inspiration screamed at her. She shivered violently and woke up completely.
Still groggy, she rubbed her eyes and only became truly alert when she saw who was standing at her bedside. "Xio? You're back?" she asked in surprise.
"So, who did you think it was?" Xio raised an eyebrow.
Fors gave an awkward laugh, didn't answer, and quickly put on her slippers before heading to the washroom. After freshening up, she returned carrying a large Feynapotier meat pie and a glass of Dixie Bay iced sweet tea, placing them on the desk as she ate and asked,
"Didn't you just get back this afternoon?"
—The Feynapotier meat pie was the same kind Miss Judy had once mentioned as being tastier than Dixie pies. Out of curiosity, Ebner had teleported to Feynapotier City to buy some.
"It is already the afternoon! Can't you see what time it is?" Xio replied irritably.
Fors glanced at the wall clock, then smacked her forehead. "My sleep schedule's completely messed up. I've lost all sense of time lately."
Xio took the opportunity to scold her a few more times before eyeing the food on the table. "You shouldn't eat this stuff too often—it's not healthy."
"Why do you say that?" Fors asked, taking a bite of the fruit-and-ham-stuffed pie.
"I read it in a magazine. If you want to stay in shape, you should eat less oily food like that," Xio replied.
"As long as you exercise more, it's not a problem!
"And you're a combatant—you'll stay in shape without even trying," Fors said with a grin.
Xio gave her friend a long, up-and-down look, then asked dryly, "So… have you been exercising a lot lately?"
Fors blinked for a moment, then said matter-of-factly, "Of course! I've been traveling across half the Northern Continent for my acting practice!"
After finishing the pie, Fors tidied up, then pulled Xio over to sit by the bed, clearing her throat.
"To celebrate your return, I've decided to give you a gift."
"…You got into trouble again, didn't you? Or did you do something you're guilty about and want to hide from me?" Xio asked suspiciously.
"…" Fors blinked, suddenly reflecting on her own behavior.
She coughed lightly, then took a sheet of parchment from the nightstand drawer.
Xio glanced at it—and her expression immediately changed. "Where did you get this?" she asked sharply.
The parchment clearly contained information—information about Sherman.
It said that Sherman had been discreetly inquiring about the preferences of Viscount Stafford, the Captain of the Royal Guards.
"I got it accidentally during an astrology reading. Since it concerned that viscount who might be linked to your father's case, I made sure to record it."
"So that means, in the future, Sherman—or rather, Snowman's lover—is Viscount Stafford? He really does know the truth behind my father's injustice!" Xio nodded thoughtfully, then said solemnly, "You shouldn't get involved in this any further—it's dangerous.
"And if you must go out, make sure you have Ebner with you."
Seeing Xio's serious tone, Fors obediently agreed. In truth, aside from her role-playing sessions with Ebner, she rarely went out anyway.
Then, after Xio pocketed the parchment and thanked her, she added, "Tomorrow is Ebner's birthday. Since you prepared a gift for me, don't tell me you forgot his?"
"Of course not!" Fors grinned and took out a small box from the nightstand. Inside was a delicate cufflink engraved with mysterious patterns.
Xio stared at the cufflink for a long time. When Fors finally asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?", Xio reached into her waist pouch and pulled out a small case.
When she opened it, inside was a cufflink identical in every way—same design, same engraving.
…
Late at night, just after midnight.
While Ebner was projecting the "Despair Nightingale" and studying the mythical form of the "Demoness" pathway, he suddenly heard simultaneous knocking—on both the door and the window of his bedroom.
(End of this chapter)