Chapter 254 Queen Mystic
"Cattelya betrayed you? Why do you think that?"
Bernadette's tone held a hint of surprise; the turn of events seemed to differ from her expectations.
"Is she—doing well?" Lorne didn't answer her question, but instead asked one in return, his voice carrying a dryness he hadn't even noticed.
Bernadette nodded lightly, then her cherry lips parted: "I think you seem to have misunderstood something."
"..." Lorne didn't speak, but his fists unconsciously clenched tighter.
His greatest fear had still come to pass.
The trouble from the sea had still followed him to Backlund.
The identity of Monqi Brando itself wasn't much of a disguise, just a change of name. Being found wasn't entirely impossible. However, Lorne hadn't expected it to be in this manner.
Beyonders of the "Monster" Pathway inherently possessed extremely strong anti-divination abilities. The world was vast, and Monqi Brando could be anywhere.
For the other party to find him so precisely in Backlund, and even directly intercept him on the street, he couldn't think of a second, more reasonable explanation besides an insider actively betraying him.
Lorne could sense that Bernadette in front of him wasn't lying, or rather, with her strength, she had no need to lie to him.
This meant that the letter was real, Cattelya telling the other party his location was also real, and moreover, Cattelya did so voluntarily.
Lorne clearly remembered that before leaving the sea, he had solemnly instructed her not to expose his whereabouts to anyone. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, she had told his information to others.
He had risked his life to save her from the Blood Admiral, and she—actually turned around to harm him?
Tracy—
In Lorne's mind, the beautiful face of Vice Admiral of Disease suddenly appeared. He had also saved her back then, and what was the result? He was met with pursuit and a bounty.
Repaying kindness with enmity! Exactly like Tracy!
I was truly too naive—
Few people who roam the seas are truly loyal, especially the smarter ones; they are even less to be trusted!
Thinking this way, after all these events, it was actually the fool stupidest and most honest Danitz who was the most loyal. Lorne sighed inwardly, suppressing his chaotic thoughts, and refocused all his attention on Bernadette in front of him. Now was not the time for sentimentality.
"What do you want?" he asked in a deep voice. "Are you here for the bounty, or—for revenge?"
The other party's strength was definitely above Cattelya's, at least Sequence 4, possibly even a Sequence 3 Saint. Head-on, he had no chance of winning. All he could do now was to probe her true intentions first, to see if he could find a chance to retreat.
"Your misunderstanding of me seems very deep." Looking at the undisguised wariness and hostility in Lorne's eyes, Bernadette sighed softly.
"The news of you being in Backlund was indeed told to me by Cattelya. But I am not here to harm you today."
Lorne cautiously scrutinized her, tentatively asking: "Are you—Queen Mystic?"
"Many people call me that." Bernadette nodded calmly, directly admitting her identity.
So that's how it is—
Thinking this way, it made perfect sense. How could the status of a savior compare to that of a foster mother who raised her from a young age? Even if that foster mother had once "abandoned" her at the most critical moment. "Then, Your Majesty, what business do you have with a person like me? I shouldn't have—offended you, right?"
Bernadette didn't answer, but simply waved her hand. The next second, several pages filled with square characters appeared out of thin air around Lorne, slowly rotating.
This—this is—Rosell's romantic history?!
Lorne recognized them at a glance; these were the Rosell historical materials he had fabricated—no, carefully compiled—and then sold!
"These Rosell records, you wrote them, didn't you?" Bernadette's tone was calm, her azure eyes revealing a hint of certainty.
What!!!
Bernadette's words were like a thunderbolt, striking Lorne's heart.
How could she know?! Did she see that the content inside was fabricated by me—impossible! In this world, no one should be able to understand Chinese!
Lorne's brain was working rapidly. He had to say something immediately, otherwise, silence would be tantamount to admission.
"No."
Facing Bernadette's probing gaze, he resolutely shook his head. But then, he immediately added: "These few pages of diary were indeed sold by me. But these were also something I accidentally bought from other places—"
The fact that Queen Mystic could find him through these few pages of diary indicated that there must be some connection between him and these diaries. If he claimed to be completely unaware, he certainly couldn't fool the other party. Therefore, Lorne chose this compromise.
He didn't deny that the diary was sold by him, but he absolutely wouldn't admit that the diary was written by him.
This concerned the greatest secret of a Transmigrator; he absolutely couldn't admit it! No Transmigrator would actively admit to being a Transmigrator. Lorne estimated that even Rosell had never told anyone about this.
"You didn't deny that these are diaries." Bernadette's tone suddenly became somewhat cold, and she immediately seized upon the loophole in Lorne's words.
"I—" Lorne was instantly speechless, a drop of cold sweat uncontrollably trickling down his forehead.
He forced himself to calm down and explained: "I am an admirer of Emperor Rosell, so I once tried to decipher those mysterious symbols. I know that some of these symbols represent numbers, so I guessed that this might be some form of a diary."
"Then," Lorne decided to turn the tables, "how did you know that this is a diary?"
"You are lying."
Bernadette didn't answer his question, but spoke in a factual tone with little emotional fluctuation.
"I—"
"You indeed possess some kind of special characteristic," Bernadette continued, "My inability to make predictions about you is the best evidence. But even so, I can see your evasion and guilt on this matter from your reactions."
Special characteristic!
Bernadette's words instantly made Lorne's eyes light up!
He knew that he possessed some kind of special characteristic. Otherwise, his numerous escapes from death couldn't be explained. He had previously attributed it to the special nature of transmigration—
Could it be that this special characteristic of mine has an anti-detection ability—
She can only rely on experience and observation, but she cannot directly determine whether I am lying through Beyo