If that's the case, then if I insist on setting out to sea next…won't it be extremely dangerous?
Roselle hesitated. Or perhaps…
The thought of backing down barely surfaced before he immediately denied it. If I get scared off like this, wouldn't that make me, a transmigrator, unbearably pathetic?
With that conviction, Roselle asked seriously, "Your Excellency, how may I obtain your protection?"
Edward was slightly surprised. Haven't you always been extremely cautious around me? Why now suddenly seek my protection?
"Isn't Stiano's protection enough for you?"
"But His protection requires me to keep running to the Church. Isn't that just another form of restricting my freedom?"
Edward feigned a thoughtful pause, then said, "The rule is still the same as before: you help me with one matter, and I can grant you protection to a certain extent."
"Please, tell me."
"Go to Stiano's church. Take a Sealed Artifact—any one will do. As long as it's a Sealed Artifact, it will suffice."
"!!!"
Ha! So the evil god finally reveals His true motives. What He wants is a Sealed Artifact from the Church, isn't it?
This time, it's 'any one.' Next time, it will be narrowed to a specific one. And the time after that…maybe He'll demand a Grade 1, even a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact!
Step by step digging pits for me to jump into, that's what this is!
Roselle's reaction was clear to Edward. A sharp man like Roselle could naturally see the scheme. But what he didn't know was that this so-called "evil god" wasn't after some terrifying Grade 1 or 0 artifact at all—what Edward really wanted was simply a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact: the Bootlicking Mirror.
"Anything else?"
Roselle hesitated for a few seconds, then asked in a low voice, "May I ask…are there others like me in this world?"
"Others like you?" Edward repeated blandly, then said lightly: "No. You are the sole special existence right now."
"This answer…is free."
With that, he severed the connection with Roselle.
And it wasn't even a lie. The previous one who left Sefirah Castle, Amanises, had already ascended as the Evernight Goddess, dwelling in the Astral Plane. The next one, Klein, wouldn't appear for nearly two hundred years. And Edward himself came from the Harry Potter world, utterly different in nature.
So, at this point in time, Roselle truly was the only unique existence.
Roselle opened his eyes in the study.
"Did He catch what I was really trying to ask at the end?"
"Does this world truly have no other transmigrators? Then…that doll He gave to Bernadette, was I just overthinking it?"
"Or did He merely follow my lead, giving yet another vague and ambiguous answer?"
Roselle pinched his fingers together, gritting his teeth. "Damn it, I really am sick of this endless game of guessing."
"Next time…maybe I should just come right out with it."
If my transmigration truly was orchestrated by Him, then all this suspicion, this acting and second-guessing—it's nothing but a joke, isn't it?
And if it has nothing to do with Him, then what does it matter if He knows? Could He slice me open, research me, and discover a way to Earth?
If it were that easy, He'd have acted long ago. He doesn't need my confession at all.
——
While Roselle agonised, Edward sat within Sefirah Castle, calmly observing his reaction.
He could more or less guess what Roselle was thinking now. If it were him, he would probably fall into the same mindset.
But there was no helping it.
For the sake of my own path, I can only let you suffer for now, Emperor.
In the future, I swear, I'll do everything I can to help you back up again!
Until then…may you have good mornings, good afternoons, and good nights. May peace follow you through the years.
———
At Count Clair's mansion.
When the old Count Cleir repeatedly confirmed that his grandson had indeed been crippled, he smashed everything in the room he could lay his hands on, completely consumed by maddened rage.
"I want everyone involved to die!!!"
"That woman, her employer, those responsible for protecting the Wells, and everyone else who was there…don't let a single one of them escape!"
"Quick! Immediately! Right now! Go!"
The butler cautiously reminded, "That woman's employer was already bailed out this morning by Roselle."
"What did you say?"
Count Clair glared, his cloudy pupils flashing with vicious light. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"At that time, you were accompanying young master Wells…"
"Roselle!!"
He roared like a wounded lion, beard bristling. "I understand now, I understand!"
"All of this was designed by Roselle! He planned every step of this, all to retaliate for the suppression I dealt him before!"
"Good, very good! If that's the case, then I won't bother giving the Church any more face!"
"I'll offer a huge bounty for those damned Beyonder—the bounty being Roselle's head!"
At that moment, muffled screams echoed, followed by several attendants carrying in a blond young man in his twenties on a stretcher. His face was pale, twisted with madness.
"Grandfather, I want…I want to kill that woman with my own hands! Hurry! Take me to her, quickly!"
"No, Wells."
Before his grandson, Count Clair calmed somewhat. "What you need most now is to rest well. Don't worry. Ordinary doctors may not be able to help you, but don't forget the Beyonders—some of them may have special methods."
"I don't care! I want…to kill that woman right now! Hurry, take me to her!"
He thrashed wildly, rolling off the stretcher, the motion tearing at his wounds and wringing new screams from him.
"Take Wells back to rest."
"Grandfather, Grandfather!!! Leave that woman to me, I must…I must kill her myself! You must let me kill her with my own hands!!"
"If not, I will never forgive you!"
———
Midnight
Akasha fled like a phantom through the darkness, cursing under her breath.
"Good thing I didn't believe their bullshit and actually go kill that old bastard, otherwise I'd have died on the spot!"
"Four Sequence 5s guarding inside and out, and they expected me, a Sequence 6, to assassinate him? What a goddamn joke!"
Suddenly, a blinding beam of light descended from above, aiming straight for her head.
She halted sharply, swerved, and darted off in another direction.
But another Sequence 5 had been lying in wait. His rifle roared—one bullet tearing through the night with overwhelming force. Though only a single round, it sealed every possible escape route.
Spectral wings burst from Akasha's back. She shot into the air, barely dodging the bullet.
But before she could flee further, her skull throbbed as if struck by an invisible hammer. Her vision spun, and she plummeted straight to the ground.
Three Sequence 5 Beyonders instantly closed in. If the count hadn't demanded she be taken alive, there was no way a Sequence 6 like her would have left the courtyard of that estate alive.
Just then, all three of them staggered into a daze. By the time they blinked themselves clear again, they were standing exactly where Akasha had fallen—but—
"Where is she?"
The spot was empty. She had vanished as if into thin air.
Disbelieving, they tore through the grounds in a grid search. Ten minutes later, they had no choice but to admit: she had truly escaped.
The three men's expressions darkened, ugly as thunderclouds.
"She must have used some kind of Sealed Artifact."
"No shit."
"This time we've really messed up."
Three Sequence 5s chasing a Sequence 6, and still she slipped away—the disgrace was crushing.
They exchanged looks, none of them knowing how to explain this to their master.
Just then, another figure descended rapidly from afar—the count's fourth Sequence 5 bodyguard.
"Well? Where's the woman?"
"...She escaped. She must have had some Apprentice Pathway Sealed Artifact."
"Ha. And saying that does us what good? Better think about how we'll face Count Clair."
The newcomer gave them a strange smile. "I've got one good news, and one bad news. Which do you want first?"
"...Are you kidding? Is this the time?"
"The good news is, you don't have to worry about explaining it to Count Cleir anymore."
"Why?"
"The bad news is…Count Clair is dead. Just after you chased her out."
"..."
"The worse news is…we're unemployed."
"..."
———
Akasha blinked awake, utterly confused.
The room looked awfully familiar—
Wait. Isn't this Mr. Sparrow's study?
How the hell did I end up here?
"You really went and tried to assassinate Count Clair?"
Edward's voice came from nearby. He was leaning against the edge of his desk, vest and suspenders neatly in place, arms folded, his expression complicated.
He had known beforehand this scheme involved the Twilight Hermit Order, but he hadn't expected them to move so fast. Akasha had only been arrested in the morning, and by nightfall, the assassination attempt was already underway.
Fortunately, when he'd checked on her earlier, he had left a contingency in place.
"Of course I wasn't that stupid!"
Akasha puffed herself up indignantly. "I only pretended to agree to that guy, acted like I was going to assassinate the count—but in reality, I was just looking for a chance to bolt!"
"But even though I was already being careful, those three bastards still caught me and chased me down."
She frowned. "What happened afterwards? I just remember my head suddenly exploding with pain, then blacking out. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."
Edward said flatly, "What else could have happened? I got there in time and pulled you out."
Akasha grinned. "I knew it! No way would Boss ever leave me to die. You'd already left a backup in place, huh? Mm! You're as reliable as me!"
"Reliable my ass."
Edward shot her a glare. "Do you realise you were nothing but a tool from start to finish?"
"What do you mean?"
"Count Clair is dead. Right after you lured off those three bodyguards, someone else assassinated him in his bedroom." Edward's tone was cool. "They never counted on you to succeed. You were nothing but bait."
"What?!"
Akasha immediately flew into a rage. "So even if I had somehow killed that old bastard, that guy still wouldn't have given me what he promised?!"
"..."
So you really were planning to assassinate him…only you chickened out because you weren't strong enough?
———
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