Li Yue hesitated at the entrance for a while, finally deciding to plan her next move carefully. She meticulously handled any traces she might have left from her visit.
She turned and looked at the desolate scenery around her. A sense of bleakness crept into her heart. Following a small path, she soon reappeared in front of the room where the children had been reciting poetry. She stood at the door, lowering her eyelids as she listened intently.
Before long, the sound of high heels clicking against the floor approached from a distance. The children inside began to recite even more vigorously, as if an excellent performance might earn them some kind of reward.
“Have you made up your mind?” The nun’s voice was heavy and distant. By the time Li Yue snapped out of it, she found the woman already standing beside her.
The setting sun gradually sank, its light dissipating. The glow began to retreat from Li Yue’s feet back into the corners. Li Yue turned, her entire face submerged in shadow, her expression unreadable.
“I need to think more.” Li Yue shifted her gaze to the ground, slowly moving toward a corner. Amidst the solemn and grave recitation, she gave a slight bow as an apology for the inconvenience caused.
“Give my regards to Lord Caesar.” The nun smiled, and Li Yue returned the gesture with a smile of her own.
For some reason, her heart was growing increasingly heavy. She boarded the return carriage, watching the monastery gradually disappear into the shadows in the distance. She felt an indescribable sense of suffocation.
As the carriage slowly drove into the city, amidst the bustling noise of the streets, she thought of the girl she had met that morning. She felt her current mood was just like the girl’s—heavy and lost.
She stopped by a sweet shop. On the counter, loaves of bread were arranged in layers, with prices decreasing from white bread to black bread. She stepped into the shop, and the bell at the door gave a crisp chime.
“Hello, miss. What do you need?” The shopkeeper looked enthusiastic. If Li Yue hadn't previously witnessed him kicking a beggar out of the shop rather than giving away a piece of black bread he was about to throw away, she might have returned the smile.
“Do you have any ready-made cakes?”
“We only take orders,” the shopkeeper hesitated. “However, there are some small cakes left over from the afternoon tea that didn't sell.”
“Perhaps you didn't realize that not many people around here have the luxury of afternoon tea,” Li Yue remarked sarcastically. The shopkeeper didn't seem to care and, following Li Yue’s instructions, had two large pieces of cake packed, even including a candle.
Li Yue paid the bill, glanced at the small villa nearby, tidied her hair, and walked out of the shop.
“Manager, didn't you hear her mocking us?” a clerk tidying the shop couldn't help but ask.
The shopkeeper shot him a glare.
“That is the lady who rode in the noble’s carriage the other day.” The shopkeeper stopped halfway, holding back the rest of his sentence in front of a worker who had just entered to buy black bread.
Li Yue looked back at the cake shop. Though they thought they were whispering, she had caught the general gist of their conversation. She furrowed her brows, a wave of disgust rising in her heart.
Vague sounds of playfulness came from the card room on the first floor. Li Yue stretched her tired body. Carrying a mix of excitement and fear, she trotted toward her room.
She opened the door. As she expected, the young girl was sitting by the desk, holding a picture book she hadn't finished reading.
She pushed the cake to the front of the table, lit a candle, and sang a birthday song to the flame. It was a melody that sounded pleasant enough, though it had never been popularized in this world.
The girl looked a bit lost, staring at the candle flame. With Li Yue’s help, she made a wish and blew out the candle.
“You must remember this day,” Li Yue said, stroking the girl’s head. She didn't arrogantly think she had given the girl a new life, making today her birthday. She simply felt that the girl should have something meaningful to commemorate for herself.
In a moment of daze, the candlelight seemed to flare up again as if it had never been extinguished. In that brief flicker, she thought she heard the girl mimicking her tune and singing.
With a sharp puff, she blew out the flame completely. She rubbed her eyes and saw the girl smiling happily. Today seemed to have gained a special meaning for her as well.
She affectionately stroked the girl’s white hair, feeling her suppressed mood from the day lighten considerably.
She watched the girl finish the entire cake in small bites, then they bathed together. She gently coaxed the girl to sleep and blew out the lamp. It wasn't until the door was completely closed that she moved her gaze away from the girl’s sleeping face.
She changed into a set of black clothes, just like the ones she wore when Roland first took her on a mission. She walked quietly to the door of the armory. Usually, there were personnel on guard here, but due to the manpower shortage and the current lax management, Li Yue guessed the staff on duty were in the card room.
It seemed everything would only return to normal once Roland and those reliable personnel who had been dispatched on duty returned.
Li Yue entered the storage room and picked up a short blade and a piece of parchment engraved with defense magic. She hid them in her sleeve, changed her hat, and tucked her white hair inside.
She walked quickly to the front door.
“Where are you planning to go?” Kelly’s voice came from behind her. She turned slightly, her blood-red eyes meeting Kelly’s for a second. The latter froze, seemingly unsure of what to say for a moment.
“Investigating a place I discovered during the day.”
“Your eyes...”
“A side effect of magic. I’ve found the magic that belongs to me.” Li Yue paused. “I picked up a child earlier today. She’s in my room. While I’m away, I’ll leave her to you.”
“Why does it sound like you’re entrusting me with your final wishes...” Kelly’s gaze still hadn't left those eyes. She saw a hint of killing intent within those pupils. “Be careful.”
A child in the room during the day? Why didn't I see her when I was tidying up today?
The question flashed through Kelly’s mind. She watched Li Yue’s back, feeling that she was no longer the same girl who had joked with her when they first met.
To be safe, Kelly called a driver who specifically served demon hunters to take Li Yue to her destination.
With a trace of unease, she stepped off the carriage. One hand held her hat while the other adjusted the position of the short blade in her sleeve.
The monastery still stood there in the night, solemn yet grave, looking as if it had been abandoned for many years, as if no one had ever set foot in it again.
The daytime route was no longer an option, as she couldn't enter through the main gate openly now. As for why she chose today, it was because she didn't want to give the other party any more time to prepare.
She easily cleared the fence, even though in her memory, this type of building shouldn't have so many measures to isolate it from the outside world.
Relying on her life-force perception and her ability to sense magic circles, she easily bypassed the patrolling personnel and the formations hidden among the flower bushes.
As for why she suddenly possessed these abilities, it seemed she had naturally learned them the moment she was forced to learn that magic.
It was now close to midnight, yet there seemed to be quite a few personnel on duty. Nuns walked through the monastery carrying candles. Li Yue leaned against a French window, observing the internal movement routes and the timing of their patrols.
According to her daytime observations, the layout of this complex was very strange. Different buildings were connected by walls, seemingly surrounding a central courtyard. Hidden within the thickets of thorns beside it was a dark, inconspicuous building connected to the dormitory area.
Like a ghost, she followed an outdoor patrol member inside. The other party seemed completely unaware that a girl with blood-red vertical pupils was following behind her.
Her eyes seemed to adapt to the darkness quickly. The candlelight in the nun’s hand caused her slight discomfort, as if her pupils were unconsciously dilating slightly, though her focus remained unaffected.
Is night vision also part of the magic?
She slowed her pace, following unhurriedly behind the nun. Apparently due to a shift change, after a brief conversation between two nuns, the other one walked out of the room.
An orphanage needs this many people on patrol?
The excessive security seemed to be telling Li Yue that something was wrong here. As for what it was, she couldn't yet judge.
She passed the recitation room she had seen during the day. Now the doors were tightly shut; the solemnity was gone, replaced only by a sense of eeriness.
She walked soundlessly through the darkness. According to her memory, if she kept going, she should reach the tallest central building of the outer perimeter. Li Yue guessed that some secret records or items might be hidden there.
That place was also connected to that black building.
However, the path required passing through the dormitory area. The nuns lived here as well, seemingly two to a room, while the children appeared to be a dozen to a room, judging by the size of the chambers.
There was a faint candlelight in the laundry room, perhaps because someone had forgotten to extinguish it.
Li Yue suddenly thought of a method, though she felt a bit of inner resistance.
Whatever, I’ve already worn a formal dress before.
A short while later, Li Yue appeared in the corridor wearing a nun’s habit. Although it made her movements slightly inconvenient, it increased the success rate of her infiltration.
As for her original clothes, she had placed them in the ring Clo had sent. As for why it could store items, Clo had mentioned it in their casual letters; otherwise, she would have had to figure out where to hide her original outfit.
Passing through the quiet long corridor, she arrived at the bottom of a spiral staircase. She looked up; the second floor was pitch black, except for a nun standing in front of one room, yawning. She held a candle and looked extremely exhausted.
“Hello,” she stepped forward. “It’s time for the shift change.”
“So early today, ugh—” The nun let out a yawn and handed the candle to Li Yue, seemingly completely unaware that the nun before her was not her colleague.
No key? Then again, she didn't even notice me; I was ready to knock her out.
Li Yue placed the candle on the floor, carefully sliced her finger, and held the bleeding tip to the keyhole. After a moment, she gently twisted her finger and pulled it out; a blood crystal key had appeared in her hand, and the door naturally opened.
She pushed the door open. A faint, metallic scent wafted out from the gap as the door moved, which Li Yue keenly detected.
Blood?
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