"You look troubled."
Papa Oliver ca down the stairs, making almost no effort to hide his smug expression. He saw Jenkins opening a cake box for an impatient Chocolate. After carefully undoing the flaps and tabs, he revealed a cream cake decorated with tempting strawberries.
"I feel like I'm caught in an emotional swamp."
Jenkins said listlessly.
"It's a phase every young man has to go through. You'll get used to it."
Papa Oliver remarked cheerfully, taking the text he had just put away back out onto the counter.
"Jenkins, a promising young nobleman like you is bound to get tangled up in the troubles of being pursued by young ladies at your age."
"Are you making fun of , Papa Oliver?"
He leaned against the counter, holding Chocolate's special spoon, and brought a scoop of cream to the cat's mouth. The cat sat obediently on the counter, tilting its head back with wide eyes. The mont the spoon approached, it opened its mouth wide, its short whiskers twitching on its furry cheeks.
"It would be so much better if won were as easy to understand as Chocolate."
He couldn't help but sigh. The movent of his hand paused as he spoke, and the cat imdiately patted his hand with its little paw, urging him to hurry up.
Papa Oliver chuckled and shook his head, not bothering to refute the statent. Jenkins fed his cat a little more cream, then prepared to deal with the cake beneath it.
"Speaking of love, what happened to that cursed couple from a while back? The one trapped in a cycle inside and outside the painting."
Jenkins asked out of boredom. His focus had been entirely on the undead recently, so he hadn't been following the matter.
"I heard the Church consulted the Sage, and the Sage issued a divine oracle, agreeing to help them lift the curse. I don't know the specific details. If you're interested, you could ask at the church."
"Are the woman and the painting still in Nolan?"
"They are. The woman is living at the church, though her movents are restricted. Because of the curse, the painting can't be near her, so it's currently in the Evergreen Forest. As for the Enchanter who was hunting her, the curse on his family wasn't severe. The Church has already purified it with divine arts. He registered his Enchanter status and left Nolan about two weeks ago."
"I see."
Jenkins nodded. He wanted to go to the church and thank the woman; it was thanks to her that he'd discovered the "Real Illusion" stored within the Unshadowed Lamp.
The day passed peacefully until closing ti. Jenkins had finished the first twenty pages of the book. At this rate, he probably wouldn't finish the whole thing until the middle of the month.
As for Chocolate, after her dessert, she'd had a sweet nap. By the ti Jenkins said goodbye to Papa Oliver, she was full of energy, owing in anticipation of dinner.
He had to transport the batch of antiques to the art exhibition tomorrow, so Papa Oliver told Jenkins to co in a little early. The items were already loaded onto a vehicle. In the morning, it would be brought from the warehouse district to the antique shop for a final inspection by Papa Oliver before Jenkins delivered it to the exhibition venue.
After leaving the antique shop, he headed ho. While the maid, Mrs. Mahat, prepared dinner, Jenkins sat in the living room writing replies to so reader letters.
As dusk fell and the lamps were lit around seven, Jenkins settled last week's wages with Mrs. Mahat. While seeing her out, he ran into his neighbor, Mr. Goodman, who was just returning from work.
Jenkins imdiately recalled eting his neighbor's reflection in the mirror world. He smiled, greeted him, and they exchanged a few words about the recent quarantine asures.
The house of his other neighbor, Mrs. Mistala Folant, was dark. She wasn't ho, apparently out on so business.
He took a mont to feel the early spring night breeze. Just as he pulled the gate shut and was about to turn back to the house, he heard the sound of a carriage in the distance. He looked up and, sure enough, saw an old-fashioned carriage turn onto St. George Street from the intersection and pull up in front of him.
"Miss Audrey, Miss Broniaons, good evening. Please, co in."
They were unexpected visitors. Jenkins had planned to visit them over the weekend, but since they were here, he had to invite them in. Still, after what happened last ti, Jenkins felt a certain wariness toward the two diviners.
The visitors had brought dessert as a gift. It could serve as a late-night snack for Jenkins, but it was far more likely that Chocolate would be the one to benefit.
After exchanging so pleasantries about the weather and other small talk, they sat down. Jenkins prepared tea, and they finally got to the point.
"Mr. Williatte, your 'performance' in the Evergreen Forest was magnificent, and your performance at the opera was quite impressive as well. I believe you've already obtained what you were ant to."
Miss Broniaons was remarkably direct. The middle-aged woman's voice was gentle, but her tone was forceful. Miss Audrey gave Jenkins an apologetic shake of her head; she was in a very awkward position.
"What I was ant to obtain..."
He mused, looking at the won. He knew she was referring to the "Savior's Emblem."
"I am very grateful for your help, Miss Broniaons. I won't deny that."
His fingers tapped lightly on the soft cushion of the sofa as Jenkins carefully considered what he wanted to say.
"I have so understanding of the task fate has assigned , and it is an honor... But I'm more interested in knowing what you stand to gain from ."
"Our school of thought pursues destiny, gaining power and understanding the world through its great tide. By helping you, we are helping the tide of fate flow in the most correct direction. That is what I wish to obtain."
The woman replied. She glanced at the teacup Jenkins had provided, picked it up to take a small sip, and then added:
"Take, for example, Audrey's prophecy of the black cat, the cetery, and the elder wood. That was her observation of destiny. Through your efforts, that observation beca reality, and as a result, she gained new power and insight."
"I think I understand."
This was not unexpected. In fact, even before Miss Broniaons appeared, Jenkins had suspected the real reason Miss Audrey insisted on teaching him divination.
"When it cos to divination, even with Miss Audrey's dedicated teaching, I still haven't grasped the basics. But I have my own understanding of fate. Those who deliberately pursue it often end up with nothing... Miss Broniaons, what you are doing feels less like yielding to fate and more like manipulating it."
"That is not important. What's important is that we are helping you."
The middle-aged woman pointed this out, but it still made Jenkins deeply uncomfortable.
He looked toward his divination teacher, Miss Audrey. She nodded.
"Teacher..."
Miss Audrey was clearly no longer trying to hide her relationship with Miss Broniaons.
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