“Yes, you brushed past Leia during your last trip to Coldwater Port City. You didn’t see her, but she saw you.”
Louisa nodded:
“Later, she sent people to investigate all the hotels nearby, checking the information of all the guests, and finally found three possible lodging points, which she had people keep an eye on. It wasn’t until yesterday, when you were going to Coldwater Port again, that I told her about it, and she indeed found you. Leia is a princess; she has plenty of manpower. Finding you isn’t a matter of luck, but a matter of time.”
“Then why did she meet me under a false identity?”
This was Xia De’s most puzzling point:
“Yesterday, I really thought she was a local Letter-based Ring術士.”
The Golden-haired girl smiled:
“The one who frequently touches her ear is her. The ruby earring she wears on her ear is a sage-level relic, the 【Saint’s Curse-Breaking Stone】, a gift from her teacher when she enrolled. The negative characteristic of that relic is very severe; while the holder is awake, they must touch the relic once every half hour, otherwise the suppressed curse will be released. Fortunately, on the morning of the day we first exchanged, she hadn’t even had time to get ready when I went to Leia. Because of this, Leia developed a small habit that is very difficult to correct. Even when using my body, she still subconsciously performs that action. Based on this, you will find that Leia has actually only met you through my body a few times.”
She blushed, as if she had thought of something:
“I trust you very much, and Leia is also willing to trust you. But she wanted to determine what kind of person you truly are, and how you would react when you encountered her soul and her body. That’s why yesterday’s events happened.”
“Then, Your Royal Highness—”
“Don’t use that address.”
“Then, after yesterday’s adventure, what does Princess Leia think of me?”
Xia De was quite curious. Although his performance yesterday was unremarkable, and he didn’t display any particular strengths or charisma, he believed he could generally be considered a “good person.”
“She thinks you’re quite good, oh, and speaking of which, it makes me angry. For most of yesterday that you spent with her, she kept refusing to switch with me. In fact, I only found out what happened to you two yesterday morning.”
This was the reason she seemed a bit displeased when she entered just now.
“Meow~”
Louisa’s emotions were a bit too agitated, which startled Mia. Even after spending a whole day with Louisa, the cat still didn’t show much affection towards her.
Xia De quickly reached out and stroked its small head to comfort it.
“Xia De, thank you for saving her yesterday. I heard from Leia that if you hadn’t been there, she probably wouldn’t have made it out. That ship blocked the connection between us; when you were in distress, I didn’t feel anything at all.”
“Is there a need to thank me for this?”
Xia De shook his head:
“Do you know the severity of the Mermaid’s curse on her?”
“Of course, I know, but there’s no need to worry. The information you obtained on the Pirate Ship is very important, but even without it, Leia is a Ring術士 who once officially studied at Zaras Academy, a collaboration between the Royal Family and Zaras Academy. Even if she’s now a Letter-based Ring術士, if the problem truly can’t be solved, Leia can still seek help from Zaras Academy.”
Xia De finally relaxed. Louisa then took out a letter:
“This morning, before I came to see you, we had a brief exchange. She only left this, asking me to give it to you. She didn’t tell me the detailed events of yesterday at all.”
The letter was in Leia’s handwriting, explaining what happened after Xia De left early this morning.
First, regarding the cruise ship, the Church and the Delarion Navy took control of the ship and brought it, along with the bodies, the mad, and the half-mad people infected with the Mermaid’s song curse, back to Coldwater Port. The people who died on the Pirate Ship last night were also sent back by the captain as agreed, with the deceased accounting for one-third of all ordinary people on board.
This delighted the Church. Similar incidents had never before had such a high survival rate. Although all the survivors were afflicted with the curse and most were mentally unstable, this could still be considered a Miracle.
Although time was tight, Leia still managed to gather some information. No Ring術士 who jumped into the sea were found by the Church, and the Church, from the mentally traumatized people, managed to piece together the cause and effect of the incident, and learned about the auction and the “Fishbone Pirate Ship.”
Even the unusual snowfall after the incident made the Church in Coldwater Port think of more things. However, as of now, there is no evidence to prove those miraculous conjectures.
Afterward, Leia arranged for people, in the tone of an eyewitness, to fully inform the Church of the information obtained from the ship. She explained in detail the connection between the Sea Offering Ritual and the sage-level relics 【Mermaid’s song】 and 【Fishbone Pirate Ship】, even revealing its association with the Evil God 【lord of the scarlet spiral】. This way, the impending conspiracy could be left for the Church to handle.
Her Royal Highness told Xia De not to worry about the situation in Coldwater Port. As a member of the Cavendish Family, she would naturally protect her kingdom. Moreover, after the second Divine Descent incident in Tobesk’s summer night, the Five Gods Church spared no effort in investigating the active cults in various dioceses of the Old Continent. That so-called ritual would definitely not succeed.
“I will go to Coldwater Port City again on Wednesday to discuss the curse with her. I am very concerned about the ‘Sea Return’ ritual.”
“Leia welcomes your visit. So, what do you think of Leia?”
As Xia De returned the diary to the Golden-haired girl, she seized the opportunity to ask, her emerald eyes, very similar to the princess’s, appraising Xia De.
“She feels very pretty.”
Louisa raised an eyebrow:
“And?”
“She’s very suitable to be a friend. She’s easy to get along with and very enthusiastic. However, thinking about it now, it’s really strange. Princess Leia and I are probably very familiar strangers.”
Louisa was very satisfied with this answer and corrected him with a smile:
“You will become friends with her. Leia and I have the same opinion of you. I originally planned for her and me to teach you together once she returned to Tobesk, but now it seems we might have to wait a while longer. Very good, Xia De, get to know Leia as soon as possible. In my opinion, instead of relying on Jialinna to muddle through in Tobesk, it would be better to use Leia’s power to legitimately enter the upper class.”
Seeing Xia De about to say something else, Louisa shook her head:
“I don’t have an issue with your closeness to Jialinna; I just want to remind you that that woman might have mental problems.”
As she spoke, the Golden-haired girl stood up, preparing to say goodbye, and Xia De also rose.
“In Coldwater Port, you can spend more time with Leia. She’s been quite bored lately.”
Xia De suddenly remembered something he needed to say:
“Please wait a moment. This time, I bought a very nice souvenir from Coldwater Port City. No, this time it’s not free fish.”
Louisa was amused by his words. Xia De quickly took a few steps and retrieved the string of shell bracelets, contained in a box, from the study table:
“It’s not valuable, just a thank you for the Wednesday lessons.”
Louisa took the box, opened it, glanced inside, and then said with some hesitation:
“Next time, if you want to give me a gift, it’s best if you choose it yourself.”
With that, she tied the bracelet onto her hand.
Xia De looked at her in confusion, then slowly nodded after a moment of thought, guessing that Louisa was not very pleased with Princess Leia’s taste.
“Oh, I also have a request. Can I see more of your diaries? This is truly more interesting than knight novels and court novels.”
Xia De asked again, genuinely interested. But the Golden-haired Writer pursed her lips, her emerald eyes looking at him, her mouth twitching slightly:
“You can ask Leia. My diary only has this much.”
The Outsider realized, as soon as he spoke, that the request was a bit impolite, and he smiled apologetically:
“Alright then, when the princess returns, we can meet here together. Please be sure to tell me your stories then.”
The Golden-haired Writer had pushed open the door, ready to go downstairs, but her movements suddenly paused when she heard Xia De say this as she held the doorknob.
She paused there, then turned around. The morning sun shone into the room, illuminating her face. Her expression seemed a little off. She had been smiling just now, but at this moment, she seemed somewhat sad:
“Those lunchboxes, wash them clean and return them to me on Saturday.”
“Okay.”
It shouldn’t be because of the lunchboxes that she was sad.
“Also, from now on, just call me by my name. Don’t call me Louisa anymore.”
Xia De nodded again:
“Okay, Dorothy.”
He still didn’t understand. Dorothy looked at him, pursed her lips, and offered an explanation:
“I really want to meet you here with her, but Xia De, that’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because although our souls are connected, and our powers can even be communicated to a limited extent, we cannot get close, we cannot look at each other. Once we get close or look at each other, there will be a soul-shattering pain.”
“What?”
Xia De’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
That’s why Saint Byron’s couldn’t find any connection between Dorothy Louisa and the Royal Family, because she had never formally met the princess.
“Yes, we have the closest connection, but we also have a barrier that prevents us from ever meeting.”
The sadness was becoming uncontrollable. Dorothy forced a strained smile onto her face:
“This should be called black humor, right? Two people with such an intimate relationship can use each other’s bodies, but no matter how much they miss each other, they can never see each other with their own eyes. So, I really hate tragedies.”
“This…”
“No need to comfort me, I’ve already accepted this fact. It’s just that we can’t meet, but writing letters using each other’s bodies is also interesting. Xia De, I still have to go back and write my manuscript. The Detective story will be serialized next week, so remember to provide me with more material. Goodbye then.”
“Goodbye, Dorothy.”
She didn’t let Xia De escort her downstairs but left alone. Xia De stood by the sofa, listening to footsteps go downstairs, then the opening and closing of the door, and suddenly felt a sense of loss:
“The two most intimate souls, forever unable to meet…”
He couldn’t find any words to describe this matter.
“Meow~”
The cat, lying on the sofa, let out a soft meow and closed its eyes. Not being in a familiar environment yesterday, it hadn’t slept well all night. Now that it was finally back in its familiar home, Mia was going to sleep.
After all, no matter what happened, to the cat, as long as Xia De was still there, it didn’t matter.
Seeing Dorothy leave Saint Delan Square from the living room window, Xia De sighed.
By now, he had once again learned the secrets of his fellow Ring術士. It now seemed that among the five people, everyone’s “other self” likely had problems.
But at least he was now certain that Dorothy was not the “academic spy” suspected by the Academy. The Academy’s suspicion had some basis; she was indeed connected to the Delarion Royal Family, and thus to students of Zaras Academy, but this connection was not active, and Dorothy was not stealing the Academy’s Knowledge.
It was just a pity that the Writer considered her secret connection with Princess Leia as their deepest secret and did not want anyone other than Xia De to know. Otherwise, Xia De could have helped her clarify the matter to the Academy.
In fact, regarding Dorothy’s secret, Xia De had already guessed most of it after returning from Coldwater Port last night. What he was most worried about at the time was that Dorothy’s exchange with the princess was not only a spatial exchange of souls but also a temporal exchange, and then meteorites would fall, and so on…
Now it seemed that these were unnecessary worries. And compared to Evil Gods, meteorites were not a threat to this world at all. Although Thirteen Ring Sorcerers had no great advantage over ordinary people when facing gods, solving meteorites was still very easy for them.
As for the gains in Coldwater Port City yesterday, it was not only the secrets of Dorothy and Leia, nor the valuables found in Lemeir’s safe house, but the potion “Merman’s Elixir of Immortality” and that bag of coins.
Seeing Mia asleep on the sofa, Xia De, wearing slippers, went behind the hidden wall in the basement.
The potion “Elixir of Immortality” was won during a gamble with the captain. Xia De wasn’t very sure of its specific effects, so he planned to ask someone about it.
As for the bag of coins, after Xia De returned to Saint Delan Square, he immediately put them into the 【god’s gift box】 for containment.
He knew there were ten coins inside, but he didn’t even dare to open it to check what they were. According to the Knowledge obtained from the Diviner Annette, coin-type relics usually carried curses, so keeping them in a containment tool was most suitable.
He planned to write to Annette, asking her to come tonight and use these coins for Divination. It was better to use these dangerous items as soon as possible. Keeping them in the basement always felt like constantly placing steam bombs under the house.
“Oh, I almost forgot this.”
Xia De reached into his pocket and took out the Poet Grade relic 【Universal Currency】, then also threw it into the 【god’s gift box】. This was won from gambling with Darkness at the tavern. Not counting the one blood money that needed to be kept to detect other blood money, Xia De now had eleven coins to spend.
Even if his luck was bad, these coins should be enough to find the missing part of the God-Summoning Ritual—contacting the 【yaobian gate】.
