“I'll help you with your eyes.”
Seeing Miss Bei Ya Si understand more and more, Xia De quickly spoke, trying to take out the water bottle from his pants pocket with his right hand, but was immediately grabbed by the wrist by Miss Bei Ya Si.
This seemed to be the second time he had been grabbed by the wrist tonight.
The brown-haired girl’s lifeless eyes looked at Xia De:
“Detective, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
“......Of course.”
“Alright then, be sure to explain clearly what exactly happened later.”
She nodded, released Xia De’s wrist, and gestured that he could begin the treatment.
The damage to Miss Bei Ya Si’s eyes was similar to that of Miss Louisa a week and a half ago. However, Miss Annette’s eyes were completely unharmed. Xia De believed this wasn't due to her closing her eyes in time, but very likely related to her own eyes.
“Could it be a Demonic Eye? But there’s no whisper element.”
The treatment method was also the same as with Miss Louisa. Last time, Miss Louisa teased Xia De about “wanting to do something bad,” but this time, after Xia De asked Miss Bei Ya Si to look up, the seventeen-year-old girl blushed and said nothing.
After the treatment ended, the three of them didn't stay there long, but were led by Xia De to the second floor.
The rooms on the first floor outside the banquet hall were for staff, while the rooms on the second floor outside the banquet hall provided private spaces for guests to talk.
They found an empty room. After Xia De locked the door, he saw Miss Annette sitting on the sofa and Miss Bei Ya Si standing with her arms crossed, scrutinizing the two of them. To attend this banquet tonight, both girls wore formal gowns and high heels. Miss Annette’s gown was purple, matching her eye color well, while Miss Bei Ya Si wore a light gold gown.
There were no crinolines, allowing the skirts to fall naturally. The gowns, combined with their well-proportioned figures, light makeup, and carefully styled hair, made the two ladies truly rare and pretty girls.
Xia De had noticed when they were going up the stairs that Miss Bei Ya Si actually wasn't accustomed to such shoes; she probably rarely attended such banquets.
Of course, no matter how much Xia De praised the girls' prettiness in his heart, it couldn't change the current awkward atmosphere. Seeing no one speaking, he took the initiative:
“You both look really pretty tonight.”
According to Xia De’s logic, praising ladies' prettiness was always right, no matter the situation.
“You look quite good too, but please directly answer what I want to know.”
Miss Annette smiled at Xia De, while Miss Bei Ya Si spoke rather impolitely, her serious expression indicating that she was not in a good mood.
So Xia De said:
“Just now I saw you being pulled away on the second floor. I thought it was some bad person... It’s good that it wasn’t a bad person; I was already prepared for a fight.”
Having just been praised for her prettiness, and now realizing that Xia De had burst in earlier intending to help her, Miss Bei Ya Si’s serious expression relaxed slightly.
She still stood by the sofa with her arms crossed:
“Miss Annette and I just had an argument, but it’s fine, it’s over. I didn’t agree with her taking risks, but she insisted on doing it, which is why she dragged me to the first floor. When you burst in just now, we thought someone had discovered our plan. Oh, Detective, don’t change the subject; please explain what I want to know.”
“You sit down first.”
Xia De said, and so the three of them sat down together, but there were a few more seconds of silence. The purple-eyed Diviner and Xia De exchanged glances, and finally, Xia De spoke:
“Alright then, Miss Bei Ya Si, I admit I’ve known Miss Annette for a long time; we are Ring術士 in the same group. You probably know something about The Chosen as well; we approached you for that reason. If you want to know, all of this can be told...”
“Wait a moment, that’s not what I want to know right now.”
Miss Bei Ya Si shook her head, interrupting Xia De, her eyes slightly narrowed:
“You and Miss Annette are both good people; I’m very clear about that. What I want to know most right now is, Detective, are you The Masked Man Under the Silver Moon?”
“What?”
Xia De was stunned, not knowing how the conversation had turned to this topic. But then he immediately realized that Miss Bei Ya Si was also a witness to the Lakeview Manor incident, had seen that unique silver Moonlight, and even seen his physique.
After the “Light Spell” just now, she connected the two lights, and then connected the two people. Although this was not easy, it was not entirely impossible either.
“Detective, are you actually a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer?”
She asked again, her face flushed red, a sign of anger. She probably thought of that leisurely snowy afternoon at Saint Delan Square No. 6, and the trust she had given.
“No, no, no, although I am that Masked Man, I really only have one ring.”
Saying this, he summoned his Destiny Ring from behind him. It was an unremarkable one-ring Arcanist’s Destiny Ring; apart from the slightly bright spiritual light of the three Ling Runes, there was nothing noteworthy:
“The Orthodox Church believes I am a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer; I didn’t say anything myself.”
At this point, he added:
“That day, I directly prevented the descent of an Old God. Miss Bei Ya Si, I didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, in some ways, we saved this City.”
“So it was you all that day...”
Looking at the Destiny Ring and hearing Xia De’s words, Miss Bei Ya Si’s expression gradually returned to normal. She raised an eyebrow, and even her gaze towards Xia De held some admiration:
“A One-Ring Arcanist facing an Old God directly? No, you shouldn’t have seen it, otherwise it would be impossible for you to be sitting in front of me, unless I too had gone mad long ago. Then you...”
She still wanted to ask.
“Would you like to hear my story?”
Xia De asked:
“If you want to know, we can tell you everything: the truth of Lakeview Manor, The Chosen, and the whispering chapters. Everything, as long as you want to know, can be told to you.”
He looked at Miss Annette, and the Diviner finally spoke. She leaned back against the sofa, her expression very relaxed as she patted the soft cushion beside her, gesturing for Miss Bei Ya Si to sit closer:
“Iluna, wasn’t this what we were going to talk about before the Detective’s unexpected intrusion? He just interrupted us. If you want to continue listening, we can tell you everything you want to know. And if you need our apology, you can make your demands after the story ends.”
Miss Bei Ya Si seemed to have little interest in Miss Annette, and instead looked suspiciously at Xia De again:
“Are you really a One-Ring Arcanist? You’re not lying to me.”
“Of course, that is absolutely true.”
Seeing Xia De’s sincere expression, she nodded, ready to listen to the story.
Over the next half hour, Xia De recounted the detailed specifics of the Lakeview Manor incident. Given the premise of trust, there was nothing that couldn’t be told. He only slightly concealed the source of the final kick's power, attributing it to the Puppeteer's Script.
Miss Bei Ya Si didn't seem suspicious, only curious about Xia De's silver Moon:
“Have you been blessed by an Old God related to the Silver Moon? This power looks very strange.”
Then Miss Annette recounted the story of the whispering chapters and The Chosen again, and clearly explained the reason for her acquaintance with Miss Bei Ya Si:
“That’s right, Iluna, I approached you with ulterior motives, solely to be able to help you in the future, until the very end, when I witness you push open that door.”
Miss Annette’s attitude of “this is how it is, so if you want to blame me, just listen here” really gave Miss Bei Ya Si a headache. Although the initial concealment was definitely wrong, the other party had indeed done nothing bad, but rather had been helping her everywhere.
So she pointed at Xia De:
“Then what about him? What role did the Detective play in this?”
Miss Annette also spoke truthfully:
“Iluna, if my acquaintance with you was with ulterior motives, then I think Xia De’s acquaintance with you and your gradual familiarity was entirely you pushing the progress of your relationship.”
Xia De quickly nodded in agreement. Miss Annette smiled, gradually taking control of the conversation:
“I told Xia De a long time ago not to contact you, to prevent him from being dragged into the trouble you encounter and losing his life because of his weak power. But you see, he deliberately avoided you, yet you always met him. This wasn't anyone’s arrangement.”
“Of course I know that. He completely passed my test of four questions; he is absolutely trustworthy.”
Miss Bei Ya Si said, tilting her head, indicating that Xia De had once again earned her complete trust:
“That snowy afternoon, I already fully trusted him.”
Seeing that the other party’s attitude was no longer so resistant, and that she knew everything, Xia De nodded and extended his hand to Miss Bei Ya Si:
“In any case, for different reasons, we all want to witness the final door mentioned in the whispering chapters. And now, if you are willing to accept our help and together witness and experience the epic of the sixth epoch, it is necessary to reintroduce ourselves to express trust. Xia De Hamilton, currently possibly 21 years old, a Detective part time MI6 agent, with a knight title, a One-Ring Arcanist.”
Miss Bei Ya Si looked him over, then reached out and took his hand. Her grip was strong:
“For now, I am willing to maintain this trust, but Detective, you understand, I hate deception... Iluna Bayas, 17 years old, an Orthodox Church Ring術士 part time Black Stone Security Company employee, a Second-Circle Arcanist.”
Their hands clasped together, shook gently, and then released.
Miss Bei Ya Si looked at Miss Annette again:
“Miss Annette, I trust the Detective because he is trustworthy, so how will you regain my trust?”
“The Chosen are destined to advance to Thirteenth Ring, but that doesn’t mean they won’t die along the way. The life of The Chosen is bound to be a magnificent adventure, and there will definitely be no shortage of troubles, big and small. Iluna, you need help, so, do you think you need my help?”
She also extended her hand to Miss Bei Ya Si, who hesitated for a moment before taking it:
“You brought information about the Silver-Eyed One’s location, so I think you are also trustworthy.”
Miss Annette winked at Xia De, probably meaning not to expose the source of the information:
“Do I need to introduce myself? Luvia Annett, a Diviner from the Prophet Association, a Three-Ring Arcanist. The past deceptions were for mutual trust in this matter, and I promise similar situations will not occur in the future.”
Xia De noticed that Miss Annette did not mention her age, but he was also wise enough not to ask that question at this time.
The lights in the room were bright, and the three people in the gaslight all had their own thoughts.
Xia De looked at them, wondering what the unknown and dangerous path ahead would be like.
He only hoped that when this path reached its end, the two girls beside him tonight would both be able to witness the opening of that door with him, unharmed.
