Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1718 - 1717: Farewell Ball at Yordle Palace
The weather in Tobesk City is great tonight, with the spring starry sky hanging upside down above Yordle Palace. In the garden, only Angelina, Shard, and the Little Princess’s maid remained. The princess glanced back, and Miss Maid instinctively turned around to wait at the garden entrance.
Suppressing the thrill in her heart and gratitude towards her sister, Angelina took off the small Silver Crown on her head and placed it on her arm. Then she put her right hand behind her head, letting her previously bound red hair loose, and slightly shook her head, letting it fall behind her.
This made her appear noticeably more mature than just now:
"Knight."
She looked at Shard beside her, and Shard also looked at her.
"The moonlight is really beautiful."
She looked at the man seemingly favored by the moonlight, who appeared even more extraordinary under the night sky:
"My sister said you know a lot about the moon and how to use it. Can you talk to me... about the moon?"
Her lively eyes seemed to speak, containing the shades of Lecia and Miss Galina in every expression, yet distinctly different. She rose slightly on her toes, their lips lightly touching, both keeping their eyes open and seeing reflections of themselves in each other’s gaze.
Night, 9:40 PM, Yordle Palace Banquet Hall.
"What are you thinking about?"
As the music for the ball played in the banquet hall, Galina Cavendish, wearing a purple gown and a Silver Crown, was embraced by Shard and led onto the dance floor.
The beautiful witch noticed Shard’s contemplative expression and couldn’t help but tease:
"Don’t tell me, for more than an hour just now, you and those two ladies were in a room studying mathematics or philosophy."
"No, no, of course not."
"So, have those two ladies finally figured out how to counter your transcendent constitution? Is this what they call the most rational time for men?"
She teased, and Shard shook his head slightly, whispering something in her ear, which made the witch’s face immediately blush:
"Alright, alright, I know you’ve just only begun. I’ll let you go back after this dance. Geez, knowing I can’t keep you tonight, you still say such things."
She adjusted her steps to the slow rhythm and then slightly leaned in to take a sniff:
"It doesn’t smell like you did nothing, this scent... Has Lecia changed her perfume recently? This is the light scent of the newly launched Golden Lily III Perfume this spring, very similar to the ’Witch’s Scent’ I use. Isn’t she confident? Why is she mimicking me?"
Shard didn’t want to discuss perfumes; he couldn’t just say that Lecia not only deliberately changed her perfume but also got similar lingerie and then had him call her ’my Duchess,’ before... Although he was in quite a good mood, eager to return after the dance, he didn’t want to spoil the witch’s current good mood:
"I was just thinking, what the Lunar Eclipse means to me. Just now, Angelina and I were walking in the garden..."
"You were with Angelina earlier? Are you sure you didn’t say the wrong name?"
The witch raised an eyebrow.
"It was just a walk."
"No, no, I’m not surprised you were with Angelina. Who can’t see Angelina’s little intentions? I’m surprised that Lecia is so generous; it’s the first time I’ve seen a protective tiger willingly offer its prey... But then, a tiger does have a sister... Please continue. Be careful not to step on me, Knight."
She gently reminded him, but the smile on her face didn’t fade.
"Sorry."
Shard looked down at his feet and continued:
"Angelina invited me to discuss the topic of the moon... just consider it as the moon. Her inspiration is really strong; she said I’ve always looked like the moon, but lately, like the moon in the sky, I’ve been dimming. More than one person said this Lunar Eclipse is significant for me. Sister Delphine and the Guardian of the Earth said so, but Miss Danester said I should avoid this Lunar Eclipse."
"So, does Angelina also have the talent of a Diviner?"
The witch laughed but didn’t seem to be very concerned:
"I’m not as good as your teacher, who is known as the ’Red Moon Witch,’ but I’m quite certain the Lunar Eclipse is part of the lunar phases. I heard that some people—like the one who sits in the Moon Seat during meetings—even have ways to enhance their power in the face of a Lunar Eclipse. A Lunar Eclipse is just a disappearing moon, the shadow of the moon, what are you worried about?"
In each other’s arms, she whispered softly into Shard’s ear, as if she were flirting.
"It is indeed flirting."
As if seeing through Shard’s thoughts, the witch smiled gently, enjoying this kind of ball:
"On the night of the lunar eclipse next Wednesday, I’ll probably already be at Green Lake. If you’re worried, why don’t you come and spend the night with me?"
"If there’s nothing urgent, I’ll stay at home. It’s safer there."
"See, you refused me again. Come, enough of this gloomy talk, let’s keep dancing. I know Angelina is still waiting for your invitation over there, but she can wait a little longer. Lecia is very generous with her, but I’m not. Witches, you know, never understand what it means to be modest."
She kissed the side of Shard’s face, leaving the people secretly observing them greatly surprised. Shard also unexpectedly raised his hand to cover his side face, looking at the beautiful red-haired lady in front of him with eyes full of shyness and joy:
"Shard, I’m warning you in advance, once we reach Green Lake City, I’ll arrange the meeting with Megan as I see fit. Don’t stop me. It’s been a long time since something this interesting happened, you must let me arrange it."
Underneath the shyness and joy, there was uncontainable excitement.
"Actually, just meeting directly and saying it would be fine, don’t make it too awkward for Megan."
Shard said, somewhat worried.
"No way, since she likes role playing so much, let her play it to the end. Don’t worry, I want to trouble her, not you."
Miss Galina said as, following with the music, she spun around in Shard’s arms and then leaned in to look up at him:
"Tonight, if Little Lecia hadn’t booked you in advance, I wouldn’t have let you go no matter what."
Originally, Shard planned to dance two dances with Miss Galina and then invite Angelina. But it wasn’t until the end of the third dance, during the band’s short break, that the witch reluctantly let go of Shard:
"Remember to come see us off at the train station tomorrow evening."
She reminded, before walking toward Tifa who was waiting on the side. Meanwhile, the anxiously waiting Angelina, not bothering to maintain her decorum, smiled and walked towards Shard. However, when the music started again, she quietly told Shard:
"Just now, your aunt’s head maid, that well-built Miss Servit, told me to inform you that there’s a very strange person here. He’s carrying a soul."
"A soul? Here?"
Shard was slightly surprised, considering this was Yordle Palace, and he couldn’t imagine what kind of soul could enter such a place filled with church-led exorcism and blessing rituals.
"Is that person still here?"
"Yes, I can’t see the soul, but Miss Servit described the person. He’s not dancing, just watching others play the Roder card. Put your arm around my waist, yes, spin, yes, gently... now turn your head to the left. Do you see him? That frail-looking person."
Now Shard saw, it wasn’t a stranger, it was Durut Giles, who had once robbed a tomb on Green Lake Central Island, and the little girl spirit Tifa had discovered was naturally Miss Laster Edwards. However, she wasn’t openly floating beside him but was hidden inside Giles’s body, occasionally peeking out to look around. She was unlucky enough to be noticed by Tifa.
Such harmless and reality-ineffectual spirits are hard to see for low ring and even most inner ring sorcerers unless they use arcane techniques or drink magic potions. For her to be noticed by the already eight-ring-in advance Tifa, she must have had terrible luck.
"It’s fine, he’s a familiar face. I’ll go talk to him later."
Shard wasn’t sure why this guy would be here. If he remembered correctly, Durut Giles, due to a curse, was always struggling with poverty like other tomb robbers. Attending this banquet didn’t mean escaping poverty, but it surely wasn’t a place he’d expect to find him.
So after finishing three dances with Angelina, Shard went to the restroom to inconspicuously alter his appearance, then patted Durut Giles on the shoulder from behind, leading him to the hallway outside the banquet hall.
As the dance began, the banquet reached its busiest moment. Only after His Majesty the King finished speaking and handed over the full authority letter for the negotiations to Miss Galina would the banquet come to an end. So everyone was still gathered in the banquet hall, and the gas-lit hallway was deserted.
The soundproofing of the banquet hall was excellent, making the corridor and the adjacent room seem like two different worlds. Durut Giles looked nervously at the stranger who brought him out, tentatively asking:
"Are you... a friend of the professor?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Yes, you are bold indeed, bringing her to a place like this."
Shard leaned against the wall, shaking his head as he said.
"I had no choice, she wouldn’t wait for me at home."
The man, even with makeup, still looked pale as he said helplessly:
"It was my relative, Viscount Chris Rendall, who gave me the invitation letter. He told me not to always be cooped up at home, to come out and walk around once in a while. This distant uncle is really enthusiastic, and Laster also wanted to come out for a walk. I thought it might help with her recovery, so we came... Shouldn’t have been noticed by anyone, right?"
"Look, didn’t I notice you?"
Shard didn’t intend to waste more time here, instead offering a warning:
"You’d better be careful, although the church doesn’t bother much with harmless souls, if it’s discovered that you’re a circle sorcerer, it could be troublesome."
