"Of course. Jenkins will be there... How many Savior candidates do you have?"
Miss Bevanna pressed, expecting him to dodge the question, but she received a direct answer:
"Twin Demons, Undying Man, Real Illusion, Fate's Stage, The Stranger, and Hero."
Although they had long known these titles belonged to the Believers of Lies, receiving an official confirmation still made the mbers of the Sage's Church sigh at the unfairness of fate.
"Alright then, six of them?"
"Not necessarily six people."
Jenkins had ant to imply it might be a single person, but Miss Bevanna, Papa Oliver, and the Keeper of Secrets all seed to understand it as him suggesting a seventh Savior candidate might also belong to the Believers of Lies.
"Just how many King Souls has Jenkins found?"
Miss Bevanna wondered, but she kept a smile on her face, betraying none of her anxiety.
Before leaving, Jenkins asked the Church about the sixth floor of the tal tower. However, the Church had no significant discoveries to report. They only shared their speculation that each floor might correspond to a Savior's identity and warned the Believer of Lies before them to never again attempt to enter the tower.
But Jenkins already knew all this, so he'd basically gained nothing from the exchange.
It was midnight when he returned ho, and he could see from outside that all the lights were out. He opened the door carefully and tiptoed to his bedroom. As expected, the cat, which had scurried upstairs ahead of him, was baring its fangs and claws at the door, "roaring."
If the door were rely blocking its path, it would have been scratching at the wood. This ant soone else was in the room.
"Let guess who's inside."
He thought to himself as he bent to scoop up the cat. By the ti his hand closed around the doorknob, he already had a guess:
"Let's see... there are four ladies in the house. The chances of it being Julia are the lowest. Jessica... well, I invited her over today, but she wouldn't just co into my bedroom on her own. So, is it Briny or Hathaway?"
He turned the knob, pushed the door open, and saw the red-haired Hathaway. She was in her pajamas, leaning against the headboard and reading by the moonlight.
"You're finally back. I heard Chocolate a mont ago. What were you doing, just standing outside the door?"
She greeted him wearily, closing her book and setting it aside.
"Nothing much. Just wondering who might be in here."
"I sent Jessica off to bed early. You must be disappointed."
She slipped off the bed, her bare white feet finding her slippers. She walked over to the desk, picked up a glass of water, and took a sip. As she tilted her head back, the moonlight traced the pale curve of her neck.
"Why would I be disappointed? You can't possibly think I'm a creep, can you?"
"Of course you're not."
Hathaway shook her head, her tone tinged with regret.
"I actually invited Briny to co over as well."
Jenkins's eyes instinctively scanned the bed for a second person. Seeing no one, his gaze drifted to his wardrobe.
"Why are you looking at the wardrobe?"
Hathaway feigned annoyance but still walked over to help Jenkins out of his clothes. Seizing the opportunity, Chocolate leaped from Jenkins's shoulder to the bed. The cat contentedly kneaded the spot next to the pillow, and only after confirming its softness did it curl up and lie down.
Whatever else happened tonight, the cat was not about to abandon its territory.
"Marquis Mikhail called Briny away. Apparently, he had sothing to discuss with her."
"Hmm?"
Jenkins glanced toward the blonde girl's room. As he suspected, he couldn't see the telltale aura of life.
"What could be so important this late? Why didn't she wait for to get back? I could have taken her."
"Don't worry. Jessica and I asked our two neighbors to see her ho. But it got so late that Briny decided to stay the night at her family's place, so she didn't co back."
"Right. It's not safe to be wandering around the city so late. These are hardly peaceful tis."
He turned, changed into his pajamas, and planted a soft kiss on Hathaway's forehead before heading to the washroom to clean up.
"What a sha. Every ti I plan sothing like this, I'm always the only one left in the end."
Hathaway fell back onto the edge of the bed. Kicking off her slippers, she swung her legs and complained to Jenkins.
"It's fine. I don't really mind."
To keep her from seeing the lie on his face, he walked to the door with his back to her, and so missed the smile that touched her lips.
Jessica was at the Williamses' breakfast table early Wednesday morning. As the weekend drew nearer, she seed to grow more tense.
Her agenda for the day involved visiting the nobles who would be supporting them over the weekend, followed by a discussion with Jenkins to iron out the details.
In short, the tight schedule was putting Jessica under imnse pressure. Fortunately, she had two excellent helpers by her side. The only problem was that these two helpers loved to interject whenever Jessica spoke, forcing Jenkins to constantly re-evaluate who he was actually talking to.
Briny didn't return until after breakfast. Marquis Mikhail, wanting to avoid suspicion, couldn't et with Jenkins directly. Of course, with his daughter now living in Jenkins's house, there wasn't much suspicion left to avoid. Nevertheless, Briny served as the courier for all confidential decisions between the two n. This ti, however, even Briny didn't know what her father was planning; she had only brought back a slip of paper.
Jenkins glanced at the note before handing it to Jessica, who nodded in satisfaction.
"This way, even if we fail, we'll still have a fallback plan."
"What does that an?"
asked Hathaway, who was spreading butter on her bread.
"The navy will ensure that even if this weekend's events don't go as planned, we'll still have a Plan B."
Jenkins explained vaguely, and Hathaway raised an eyebrow.
"That doesn't sound like you. You must be in a real hurry."
"Extrely. Miss Brolignans is expected to arrive in Nolan this weekend. Once the matter of the throne is settled, I have to speak with the two diviners imdiately. That's why this weekend absolutely cannot go wrong."
He tore off a small piece of his bread and set it before Chocolate. The cat rely licked off the butter, then tilted its head, refusing to eat the rest.
"Don't waste food."
Jenkins wasn't one to spoil a pet, especially when he knew the cost of keeping his cat could feed so many of the city's poor.
"Don't waste food."
he repeated to Chocolate. Seeing that Jenkins was genuinely annoyed, the cat imdiately opened its mouth and swallowed the little piece of bread whole. Then it rubbed its face against the back of Jenkins's hand. It was, truly, a very obedient cat.
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