“That’s interesting. You were only gone for three seconds, but not only are you completely soaked, you also have a very peculiar perfume scent on you.”
This was the first thing Xia De heard after walking out of the white mist door, clutching two leaves.
Leia, holding Mia, was still standing by the door; aside from a subtle change in her expression, everything else was the same as when she had seen Xia De off earlier.
She twitched her nose, a smile on her face:
“Yes, my sense of smell isn’t wrong, it’s definitely perfume.
Judging by the scent, the perfume’s owner is a bit older, and quite confident, quite wealthy.”
She twitched her nose again:
“High-ranking and very powerful.”
Xia De didn’t know how she could deduce so much just from the scent of perfume.
Perhaps royal princesses were more sensitive in this regard, but this ability seemed a bit too magical.
“It’s Miss Violet Marshall, whom I mentioned before.
You know, the Witch Emperor of the fifth epoch.”
Leia pouted:
“Xia De, it seems your time adventure has led to another interesting story.
What’s in your hand?
No, I’m not talking about the leaves, I’m talking about that ring.”
She noticed the hand Xia De was holding.
Xia De opened his palm, letting the golden ring of power lie in his hand.
Time leaves its mark on mortals; the originally smooth and shiny ring now carried a sense of historical weight.
Miss Violet Marshall must have applied a secret art to the ring to prevent it from being easily corroded by air, but such mortal methods were insignificant before the mighty power of time.
The once gleaming golden ring had now turned dull and black, which once again brought a sense of melancholy to Xia De.
“You have another collectible.
It looks like a ring of power.
Can such a thing be given away as a gift so casually?”
Leia asked curiously.
Xia De nodded, but didn’t dare mention the forced kiss at the end:
“I helped her fulfill a very important wish, so she gave this to me as a gift.”
He handed the ring to Leia, and the Golden-haired girl let go of the cat, curiously taking the ring to examine it.
This was a genuine antique from the fifth epoch.
Although its value couldn’t compare to the fei lian anna notes, it was still an extraordinary treasure for people of the sixth epoch.
Out of curiosity, after getting Xia De’s permission, Leia found an inkpad from the study, put on the ring and pressed it onto the inkpad, then stamped the seal onto a notebook.
Seeing the seal, which represented the highest authority of the Witch Emperor of the fifth epoch, truly stamped on the paper, Xia De felt—whether it was an illusion or not—that in the moment, the Princess’s eyes seemed to burn with a fervent flame:
“This is really nice.”
The Golden-haired girl praised softly, took off the ring, weighed it in her hand, and then returned it to Xia De.
Xia De was very glad she didn’t say something like, “Sooner or later I’ll forge one myself” at that moment.
He found a jewelry box, placed the precious ring inside, and then put it into the hidden room in the basement, alongside the fei lian anna notes, the future man card, the black and white hair tie, and Miss Olanorde’s cloak, commemorating the end of the sixth time key.
Miss Violet Marshall, Miss Schultz Teresa, and the six unnamed maidens had already turned into the dust of history at the beginning of Xia De’s adventure.
The Outsider, who witnessed all of this, once again felt the loneliness of looking back at the upstream from the downstream of the river of time.
Of course, he absolutely did not wish to see those ladies again in this epoch, because that would mean more tragedies.
Before returning to the second floor from the basement, Xia De conveniently picked up milk and a newspaper from outside the door.
Unexpectedly, there was also a letter tucked under the newspaper.
It was sent by Princess Margaret through someone; she had originally agreed at Wednesday’s salon to come to Xia De’s place today to discuss Sir Prisha’s matter, but due to a sudden meeting arrangement, she would come tomorrow instead, and the letter expressed her apologies for breaking the appointment.
This didn't matter to Xia De; a rare day off was also good.
When he returned to the second floor, Leia was grooming herself in the washroom.
When the Princess came to the living room, she saw Xia De sitting on the sofa, holding the Night Watchman.
“What are you going to do?”
Leia asked, preparing to make breakfast.
Xia De tapped the sword’s body:
“I discovered something in the past.”
With Leia helping to hold the sword, Xia De used a small knife to cut the skin of his finger.
Fearing he might cut too deep, he only cut the surface of his finger, thus having to press hard to make the blood seep out.
Then, he smeared the blood from his thumb onto the runes on the sword’s body.
The Night Watchman required less blood than Xia De had imagined; after each rune touched the blood, the crimson blood seemed to be absorbed by the silver sword, permeating into its interior.
“What kind of phenomenon is this?”
Leia asked.
Xia De gripped the hilt, swung the night watchman a few times, then got a cup and drank a few sips of water:
“Using this sword after drinking water grants nearly infinite stamina for a certain period.”
Because his physical constitution was extremely strong, Xia De barely felt this brand-new characteristic from simply swinging the sword like this.
But calling it “brand-new” wasn’t entirely correct; chronologically, the new effect bestowed upon this sword by the Old God in the fifth epoch was much earlier than the new effect given to it by the Lake Goddess in the sixth epoch.
“Infinite stamina?”
The Golden-haired girl raised an eyebrow, not knowing what she was thinking:
“Is this something you did in the past, which then led to some great existence bestowing new power upon the sword?”
“Yes, and I believe that when I first saw this sword stuck in the campfire in the cave on Sicar Mountain, it should have already possessed this power.”
The Night Watchman connected Xia De with the Witch Emperor.
Whether Xia De first grasped this sword to begin the story, or if the Witch Emperor on the other end of time was destined to wait for Xia De because of this sword, no one could say for sure.
“Did you compose the story of time, or were you merely pulled onto the stage to enact those destined stories?”
She brushed her hair back, facing the morning light:
“The mysteries of time are truly fascinating.
Your story with the Witch Emperor is like an infinitely looping cycle.
If Dorothy heard the ending of this story, she would surely write an even more interesting one.”
She saw the melancholy on Xia De’s face at the moment and understood his current feelings.
The Golden-haired girl stood up from the sofa and patted Xia De’s shoulder:
“The past story is over.
Why not think about the present, for example, what do you want for breakfast this morning?
I want to show you my cooking skills; I learned quite a bit from Dorothy.”
“I never pick at food someone else makes for me; as long as someone cooks for me, I will always be very grateful.”
Xia De said very “obediently,” and Leia smiled:
“You can check your two leaves first; breakfast will be ready in about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll check the leaves after eating.
I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back soon.”
Xia De also stood up from the sofa; he hadn’t forgotten another important matter.
Tobesk this morning was as hazy as usual.
Of course, it wasn’t natural morning fog, but the urban smog that symbolized the City of this epoch.
Mia stayed at home with Leia, while Xia De braved the winter chill to visit 21 Ikem Street in the University District, which was the local outpost of Apner Library.
Earlier this week, Xia De had agreed with them to trade a book and the translation of ancient texts for an ancient stone tablet with ruby corners from the Library.
This was originally a “compensation” Old John had negotiated from Apner Library to make up for Xia De’s unexpected encounter during the delivery.
Therefore, when Xia De arrived at 21 Ikem Street on Sunday morning with the translated texts, Mr. Leiberte, who had handled the previous transaction with Xia De, readily handed over the agreed-upon stone tablet in the reception room with a roaring fireplace.
Due to this friendly transaction and Xia De’s impressive proficiency in ancient texts, Mr. Leiberte even warmly invited Xia De to continue trading with the Library in the future.
Besides finding them at 21 Ikem Street, the Black Raven Library two streets away was also their property.
Xia De wasn’t surprised by this point; what truly surprised him was that when he left 21 Ikem Street and was about to go home, he actually brushed past Sir Leikins Prisha, the Guiding Moon, on Ikem Street.
Sir Leikins Prisha was disguised, his head bowed, looking like a middle-aged man forced to work on a winter Sunday morning due to apartment rent and his wife and children’s food, but Xia De still recognized him.
Because of this, after leaving Ikem Street, Xia De waited a moment and then turned back.
Relying on the footprints in the snow, he confirmed that Mr. Prisia’s destination was also 21 Ikem Street.
“He contacts Apner Library more frequently than he contacts Cerces’s local group,” he muttered to himself, tightening his clothes and hurrying in the direction of his home.
Even though Xia De’s physical constitution made him immune to colds, he still disliked staying outdoors for too long on such a cold morning.
He believed his clothes must have absorbed a lot of chill, evidenced by Mia waiting for Xia De to stand by the fireplace for a while before coming over to let Xia De hold her when he returned home.
By this time, Leia had already prepared breakfast and was trying to arrange the bacon and bread beautifully on the plate.
Given Leia’s status as a princess, there was no way she would have known how to cook before “meeting” Dorothy.
But she had indeed learned cooking skills from Dorothy; although there was still a certain gap compared to the genuine Golden-haired girl’s cooking, Xia De wisely did not point this out:
“It tastes very good.”
The Outsider, who disliked lying, said with a very sincere expression.
Leia smiled and sat beside him, watching the man she had chosen eat the breakfast she had made at home, with their pet beside them.
For a moment, the Princess thought she had found eternal happiness.
But she quickly smiled and shook her head, picking up her cutlery to eat.
Love was sweet, but what she wanted was far more than just love.
