“You’ve been driving all day. Go ho tired and sleep. You earned 4 shillings more today than yesterday. You bought so wine to drink at ho, then slept until tomorrow, forgetting everything that happened today...”
“Yes... I... I’ve been driving all day...”
Gem Avenue, across the street from a jewelry store. Ciel stepped out of the carriage. The coachman quickly turned the carriage around and headed ho.
Just before getting out, Ciel’s save file transformation also happened to end. She now stood under the morning sun, her gaze penetrating the bustling street towards the jewelry store opposite.
Inside the store nad “Crystal Clear,” a woman wearing an ornate jeweled mask and a standard dress ticulously wiped every speck of dust in the shop with a cloth, working diligently and attentively.
A woman dressed sowhat plainly entered the store. The woman with the jeweled mask greeted her, seemingly unconcerned by her attire, and began introducing the jewelry inside.
Ciel stood there, smiling as she watched the figure in the jewelry store across the street. Only when her body swayed unconsciously did she lower the brim of her round-brimd straw hat and walk towards the right side of the street, blending into the crowd.
About twenty minutes later, Ciel’s figure appeared at the entrance of the Roswell Estate.
She skillfully pushed open the iron gate, closed it behind her, and walked towards the interior of the estate.
A reflection from the study window caught Ciel’s eye. She looked up towards the second-floor study and saw a suit of armor by the window watching her.
Ciel gave the armor a gentle wave, then walked directly into the manor house.
She could have chosen to return to her house in Clock Tower Alley to rest, but her spirit was simply too weak at the mont.
In previous simulations, Ciel had experienced sleeping through an entire simulation without waking up. This ti, Ciel decided to co to Avena and Adele’s side, so if she overslept due to excessive weakness, soone could wake her.
She couldn’t drag her sister into this, nor could she involve Amy, who was just an ordinary noble. Now, even for such a small matter, Ciel could only rely on Avena and Adele for help.
It seed Nia had spotted Ciel’s return earlier and inford the others. Avena and Adele ran out from the study and saw Ciel ascending the stairs in the main hall.
“Ciel!” Adele saw Ciel and hurried towards her, saying with a mournful face, “You disappeared when I woke up. If you hadn’t co back soon, Avena and I were about to go out and look for you...”
Adele initially intended to take Ciel’s hand, but upon getting closer and slling the thick scent of blood on Ciel, she couldn’t hide her emotions, froze on the spot, and after a mont, stealthily moved back a few steps.
Ciel’s condition seed sowhat strange...
Avena had also walked up beside Ciel by now. Slling the scent of blood, her expression didn’t change much. She simply asked, “My room’s bathroom still has hot water. Do you want to go wash up?”
“Thanks.” Ciel nodded.
Avena didn’t ask further questions, simply saying, “Did it go smoothly?”
“Quite smoothly.” Ciel replied, then swayed as she walked upstairs, disappearing from the three’s sight.
“Avena...” Only when Ciel’s footsteps faded did Adele cautiously ask, “Ciel... what exactly... did she go out to do?”
Adele was a “Physician.” For her Reconstitution Ritual, she often worked like a normal doctor, seeing patients and performing surgeries. She was extrely sensitive to the sll of blood.
This thick tallic scent clearly couldn’t be explained by blood splattered from just one or two people.
It was as if she had rolled around in a sea of blood.
Coupled with Ciel’s calm expression, as if nothing had happened, Adele, who previously had a very positive impression of Ciel, felt a flicker of fear.
“I don’t know either.” Avena shook her head.
Although she didn’t know what Ciel had just experienced, the exhaustion in her eyes was impossible to hide.
She must have gone through a major battle...
But where would a battle occur?
Surely she didn’t go to Deton Manor and slaughter everyone.
That was impossible; there was still a second-tier transcendent guarding Deton Manor.
This situation inevitably made Avena worry.
All three of them were in danger of being investigated by the cultists, yet Ciel shouldered everything alone. This gave Avena a slight sense of frustration.
A feeling of being a burden. If she didn’t work harder, she might not even be able to keep up with Ciel’s shadow.
anwhile, Ciel was in Avena’s bathroom, soaking in the bathtub. Her canvas bag hung on the door.
The pure copper bathtub gently swayed on its gilded cast iron fra. Using this type of rocking bathtub for the first ti felt slightly unfamiliar to Ciel.
She was almost completely subrged in the tub. After a while, she slowly lifted her head, breaking the surface of the water.
Ciel looked down and saw that the originally clean water in the tub had been dyed slightly pink, radiating outwards from her.
This bathwater was unusable.
Knock, knock, knock—
A knock sounded on the bathroom door. After a mont, Avena’s voice ca from behind the door.
“Ciel, may I co in?”
“Please co in.”
The bathroom door opened. Avena entered, holding a set of clothes in her left arm and a bottle of pale green potion in her right. She walked to Ciel’s side and handed her the potion.
“Adele gave this to you. She said it can wash off bloodstains without leaving a sll.”
After saying this, Avena placed the clothes aside, turned to leave, and closed the door for Ciel on her way out.
Ciel opened the stopper, brought the bottle opening to her nose, and sniffed lightly. A faint minty fragrance drifted from the pale green liquid inside.
As expected, still mint flavored...
After washing her body with the potion Adele provided, the sll was indeed gone, leaving only a faint mint scent.
At this rate, Adele would eventually invent sothing like essential balm... perhaps she already had.
Changing into the slightly larger black and white dress Avena gave her, Ciel picked up her satchel and walked out of the bathroom, seeing Avena and Adele sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
“I need to rest.” Ciel looked at Avena and said, “Study or here?”
“Here is fine.” Avena fetched a clean towel and handed it to Ciel. “Dry your hair first.”
Ciel put down her canvas bag, took the towel, and began drying her hair.
Washing off the blood sll and changing into clean clothes slightly improved Ciel’s mood, but also intensified the drowsiness in her mind.
After drying her hair sowhat, Ciel groggily walked towards the bed, took off her shoes and socks, rested her head on her own pillow, and pulled the covers over herself.
“Avena...” Ciel’s voice ca from the bed. Avena looked towards Ciel and asked, “What is it?”
“Can you do a favor?” Ciel’s eyes were already closed. Even she didn’t notice that she was no longer bartering with benefits when asking Avena for help.
“I can.” Avena nodded, not even asking what it was.
“When the invitation arrives, wake up...”
“What invitation?”
“Deton... Manor...”
Avena’s pupils constricted slightly.
Deton Manor? Invitation?
Weren’t the cultists entrenched in Deton Manor trying to investigate Adele? Had news of Adele being here already leaked?
As Deton Manor’s highest-level black gold mber, Avena often received invitations from Deton Manor, usually for new gambling gas or newly arrived goods.
But receiving an invitation at this particular juncture inevitably made Avena think more.
And... how did Ciel know an invitation was coming?
Before Avena could ask, she realized Ciel had already fallen fast asleep.
Although curiosity gnawed at Avena’s heart, she couldn’t bear to wake the seemingly exhausted Ciel at this mont and had to swallow her questions.
Adele was also full of questions, but seeing Avena didn’t press further, she didn’t dare ask either, instead picking up the “Physician” and “Plague Doctor” spiritual notes she had taken from Avena’s bookshelf and starting to read again.
Ti passed, minute by minute...
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