"Shard, I need to take you to a town. We'll set out from Coldwater Port Station on a steam train and arrive at our destination three hours later. If we can accomplish our goal before evening, we can return the sa day. If not, I fear we will have to spend the night in a small country town."
It seed obtaining the Vibration Spirit Rune required contact with so immovable object.
"Very well, Miss Aphrola, when do we depart?"
Shard asked, as he fortunately had no plans for the next few weeks. The commission from Detective Sparrow could be postponed, the Spirit Rune was most important.
"If it's convenient for you, we'll depart tomorrow morning at nine."
Shard calculated his ti:
"That works. However, where exactly is the location? Do I need to prepare anything in advance?"
Shard asked again.
Miss Aphrola pointed to the map of the Coldwater Port Region on the wall of the study:
"The town on the outskirts of Klein City in the eastern part of Coldwater Port, Hercules Town. Just prepare the Spellcasting Materials in advance, nothing else is needed... However, I need a favor from you."
Witches always liked to add conditions.
"Please speak."
"I would like to invite you to a ceremony, right here in the manor, right now. You only need to stand behind ."
She said this, sizing up Shard as if judging whether he was qualified to participate in the ceremony.
"Will there be any danger?"
"Absolutely not, I swear by the reputation of the Aphrola family, how about that?"
The witch asked with a smile, and Shard felt sowhat relieved.
But Miss Aphrola was not Miss Galina, and Shard did not fully trust her:
"So, what do we need to do?"
He assud Miss Aphrola wanted to test so ceremonies that required an assistant.
"It's very simple. Just follow , and leave your lovely cat here; the servants will take care of it."
Thus, Shard followed the lady out of the study, walked through the corridors inside the three-story manor, and arrived at the outermost corridor near the edge of the mansion.
On one side of the corridor were doors tightly shut, and on the other side were windows allowing the warm breeze to blow in.
They did not continue moving, and Miss Aphrola hesitated for a mont before quietly saying to Shard:
"Follow
through the corridor in front of us."
The corridor in front was not peculiar, and Shard had walked through here three or four tis. He let the voice in his heart feel out the surroundings, but he detected no trace of any elents.
"I just need to follow you, right?"
"Of course, the ceremony is very simple."
Miss Aphrola nodded:
"But rember to keep up with , and be sure not to get lost."
"Get lost?"
Shard asked in surprise, but Miss Aphrola did not seem inclined to answer him.
"So, are you ready, Mr. Hamilton, please follow ."
She coughed to clear her throat,
"Be sure to keep up with , I am going to start."
The witch took a deep breath, and she actually began to sing:
"The princess in the castle cannot understand, the freedom of walking in the world, that is our pursuit."
"At the crossroads filled with lavender, you et the witch, where are you going, to pick that bunch of herbs."
Suddenly, the wind from outside blew through the window, causing the blue handmade woven curtains on the side of the corridor to flutter up and down. Miss Hevy Aurora, wearing a red dress, walked forward, crossing the floor, and from the shadowy corner of the corridor into the sunlight, Shard imdiately followed.
The sunlight from the window poured onto the scrubbed hallway floor, causing the clean floor to reflect a dazzling light. The shadows of the window fra divided the sunlight on the floor into irregular blocks, and Shard and the witch coming through the fluttering curtains, the wind made the witch's skirt sway, standing behind her, Shard could sll the scent on the witch's hair.
It was the special perfu known as "Witch's Scent," detectable only by very few people. However, unlike Miss Galina and Miss Servit's perfus, Miss Aurora's perfu seed to have other spices mixed into it.
"Pick up the snow atop the snowy mountain, gaze at the sun deep in the desert."
"If you can et us, dear girl~~"
She continued to sing, this was not the common language of the Sixth Era, but Shard had heard this song before, and rembered the lyrics. Under the giant trees of the Forest of Thousand Trees, Miss Feliana had once sung this song in solitude.
The singing was soft and soothing, yet carried a hint of lancholy. Through the fluttering curtains, Shard saw the light ahead in the corridor suddenly dim, and as they moved forward, the surrounding light gradually disappeared, even the appearance of the corridor transford:
"Please call our na softly, please ask your doubts."
"In the blooming lily flower bed, or, where the sunflowers face west."
This was no illusion, at so unknown ti, they had moved from the sunny mansion corridor into a narrow brick pathway. There was no clear boundary between the corridor and the pathway, in a certain area, the windows and bricks seed to be completely rged, and moving forward, they fully entered into the pathway.
Shard wanted to turn his head to look back, to confirm how the two had rged, but worried about "getting lost," so he could only keep his eyes on the witch's back, steadily following her forward.
The ground was covered with white ash, leaving clear footprints behind. Torches were placed on the walls, illuminating the narrow and dilapidated brick pathway, which seed like an ancient ruin that had endured long years. But Shard felt strangely familiar with this place:
"Not the rman's Temple, although similar in style, it clearly isn't, this place isn't damp. Nor is it the corridors of Horror Fortress, the walls there have spaces for oil lamps, this place has torches."
And when his eyes moved over Miss Aurora's shoulder to look ahead, he finally understood that feeling of familiarity.
"Please put on your beautiful dress, hold the purple thy."
"The one who loves you and the one you love, both are here, in this hall bathed in sunlight."
The song ca to an end, as did the pathway. Ahead, white mist drifted like cotton fluff from that incredibly familiar Mist Gate, Miss Aurora stopped, sighed softly, then turned to look at Shard.
In that mont their gazes t, Shard was sure he saw a look of surprise in her eyes.
"Good, you haven't gotten lost,"
the witch said, examining Shard up and down. Suddenly she reached out, wanting to touch his face.
"Oh, Miss, that is quite impolite."
Shard caught the witch's wrist, which she likely allowed.
"Yes, it is a bit impolite."
She suddenly leaned closer to Shard, and as their eyes t, it allowed Shard to catch a more distinct whiff of that peculiar perfu:
"I am just very pleased, you really haven't gotten lost."
With that, she withdrew her wrist from Shard's hand, then, facing the Mist Gate, she smiled and gestured invitingly:
"Now, Knight, please, co in with ."
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