When Xia De arrived at the Cassandra Auction House from the rain, carrying a bouquet of flowers, the first-floor hall, which had been almost completely destroyed by the Vampires on Wednesday night, had already been restored to its former bustling appearance.
Even though it was raining today, well-dressed merchants and nobles still enjoyed moving about the auction house, discussing the items they were interested in, or joking about the latest news in the city.
As Xia De put away his umbrella and handed it to a nearby attendant, he even heard someone talking about the tree on top of Sicar Mountain.
Miss Lita Swift, the Witch's apprentice with beautiful flaxen hair, happened to be on the first floor, directing people to rehang the oil paintings and photographs on the auction house walls. Seeing Xia De arrive, she enthusiastically went to greet him:
"Mr. Watson, Grandma Cassandra told me this morning that you would definitely come today or tomorrow."
She seemed to be in a particularly good mood, leading Xia De to the top floor of the auction house to see Grandma Cassandra.
When the two of them went up the stairs and there was no one else around, she excitedly told Xia De with a blush:
"My teacher is now letting me try to manage the auction house. Although it's only logistics and financial auditing for the headquarters, it's a very good start. My teacher said I did well on Wednesday night, and this is my reward."
The somewhat unconfident girl smiled very happily at this moment:
"I know, this must be related to you saving my teacher's teachers."
"No, no, it was the great one who saved them."
Xia De pointed upwards, referring to the God:
"I only made some insignificant contributions."
"That's still amazing! Do you know? After I learned about that night from Grandma Cassandra, I really felt like it was a myth recorded in the Orthodox Church's books."
She lowered her voice slightly:
"You knew that a great one would descend before you left the auction house that night, but you still rushed towards Sicar Mountain. That's truly remarkable, Mr. Hamilton. You are the most remarkable man I have ever met."
Xia De shook his head:
"Speaking of which, is Mr. Armand Bernhardt still locked in the basement?"
"Someone paid the ransom on Saturday. Grandma Cassandra erased a small part of his memory from Wednesday night, made him sign a special contract to ensure he wouldn't reveal secrets, and then let him go."
Mr. Bernhardt was severely injured that night, and his memory was already unclear, so doing this wouldn't harm him.
"He only remembers seeing you, but doesn't remember what questions you asked. Also, he left you a letter. Grandma Cassandra checked it, and it's basically thanking you for your help. He wants to invite you to his manor as a guest when you have time. Mr. Bernhardt's family runs a large wine estate in Carson Rick, controlling many excellent vineyards."
Before seeing Grandma Cassandra, Miss Swift went to get the letter. Mr. Armand Bernhardt brought the divine descent's vessel, that Vampire Prince, to this city, but he himself didn't know much about the divine descent. Therefore, Xia De had no ill will towards him; on the contrary, he thought he was a good person. After all, before Xia De prepared to enter the mountain on Wednesday night, Mr. Bernhardt repeatedly advised him not to take risks.
If there's an opportunity to go to Carson Rick in the future, Xia De will visit this gentleman. He has heard about the scenery of the southern vineyards many times from Luvia and Dorothy; it would probably be very nice.
The great battle on Wednesday did not cause too much injury to the two Witches. Grandma Cassandra was still the same, rising to welcome Xia De when he arrived.
The Old Witch had heard about what happened in the mountains that night from Sister Devlin. Xia De didn't know if she completely believed the slightly embellished and refined story, but at least Grandma Cassandra outwardly believed it all.
She enthusiastically invited Xia De to stay for lunch today, and then took Xia De to see Grace and Helen. Sister Devlin brought them back to the city that night, and they had been recuperating at the auction house ever since.
But this time, it wasn't in the room with powerful sealing effects in the auction house's basement. The Red Butterfly Twins now resided in a room on the top floor of the auction house. That room had been converted into a special ward, with two four-poster beds separated by a wooden nightstand, and two red phalaenopsis orchids in a porcelain vase on the nightstand.
The curtains were drawn, and outside the window was the rainy sky and street, but if one looked out from here on a sunny day, they would surely see a beautiful view.
When Xia De pushed the door open, Grace was lying on her bed, holding a newspaper and telling stories to her sister. Xia De was sure the newspaper was the Steam Bird Daily, because the story Grace was reading was the hamilton detective story collection.
Grandma Cassandra and Miss Swift did not enter. Xia De walked into the room alone. Although it was daytime, the gas lamps were on in the room because it was raining outside. The warm yellow light unexpectedly made the room feel somewhat cozy.
Grace stopped reading the story and looked at Xia De with Helen. Their two pairs of blue eyes were so clear, and they looked to be in very good spirits.
But compared to when Xia De parted with them in the early hours of Thursday, the girls now looked like they had shrunk by one size. This not only referred to their figures but also to them changing from young women in their twenties to appearing fifteen or sixteen years old. Although they were a bit older than when Xia De first saw them at the God's banquet, they still looked very youthful:
"Grace, Helen, how are you feeling?"
Xia De greeted them as he walked in, trying to put the flowers he was holding into the vase.
"Good morning, sir. I feel pretty good, like a huge mountain has been lifted from my back."
Grace said, wanting to get out of bed to pour water for Xia De, but Xia De stopped her:
"You just stay in bed."
He pulled a chair over himself and sat between the two sickbeds.
"Good morning, sir, you've finally come. We've lost a lot of our power, and a lot of our memories, but instead, we feel freer."
Helen also said, with a bright smile on her face that Xia De had never seen on them before:
"The blurring of those memories, on the contrary, makes the earliest memories clearer. Although we are still relics, at least at this moment, we feel like we have become human again."
"But it's not without a price. Although my sister and I no longer have to guard the seal, nor do we have to perform the twenty-two-year cycle ritual. But from now on, we also cannot leave the Sicar Mountain area casually."
Grace added.
While recuperating in bed, they were both wearing pajamas. Grace's pajamas, with lace trim at the neckline, were mostly white, while Helen's pajamas, with a butterfly pattern embroidered on the neckline, were black and dark purple. They really liked this color combination style.
"There's always a price to pay. After all, you are Red Butterflies that flew out of Sicar Mountain."
Xia De said, then extended his hand, and after getting their consent, he held their fair hands separately. After waiting a moment, he got the answer:
【Due to a quarter of their souls and bodies being taken by the Evil God, in addition to age regression, their souls are now extremely fragile. They cannot engage in any combat for a short period and should ideally not use their power.】
They must have known this, but they didn't tell Xia De.
【Furthermore, as the price for the 'sleeping princess' Mystic Lock, their power has greatly declined, and the concentration of their whisper element has become very weak, at least no longer at the angel-level relic level.】
"The relic's level has been permanently downgraded because of this?"
Xia De was slightly surprised.
【Of course not. Their power was plundered by the Evil God, and they paid the price for the Mystic Lock, but unlike your 【Red Moon】 which requires specific methods to unseal, as they recover, the Red Butterfly's power will eventually fully return.】
"Why? Is this a different treatment for the Mystic Lock? Why is it stricter for me, the caster?"
"She" chuckled:
【Outsider, don't you understand yet? The Red Moon is your power, while the Red Butterfly is their power and also a curse. This curse has long been rooted in their souls; as long as they exist, it will never disappear.】
"So, how fast is the recovery speed of the whisper element and the curse?"
【Roughly estimated, it will return to its original state within a hundred years. But you need to have further contact with them before I can give you an answer.】
"Further contact..."
Xia De glanced at Helen, who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, on his right, and then asked:
"Besides these, are there any other conditions?"
【The incompleteness of their souls leads to them needing to be close to each other and complement each other to prevent their souls from continuing to shatter. Therefore, before their power returns to its peak, they cannot be separated by more than 100 feet (about 30m). Also, in addition to only being able to stay in this area, they can also follow you or move around at Saint Delan Square Six.】
"Why?"
【You have been contaminated with too much power from the souls of this region and can be regarded as a part of this region. Saint Delan Square Six is regarded as your residence, and therefore can also be regarded as a part of this region.】
"She" explained all this.
Xia De nodded and told these things to the two black-haired girls. They had already realized these costs, but they didn't mind them. On the contrary, they were very happy about the last point Xia De mentioned:
"Sir, when you have time, take us to see your home. However, we'll need to find a way to perform long-distance spatial movement; there will always be a way."
"Of course, but you'll have to wait until your condition improves a bit. I can take you to the ruined tower in the mountains. Perhaps you can also use the power there, after all, that Old God…"
He didn't continue speaking. The twin gods very likely inherited the Twin Union power of the ancient God of space, 'cracks of origin', and the Red Butterflies, who accepted the power of the Old God 'twin gods', should also be able to use the power of the Space Labyrinth.
However, Grace and Helen had not established a landmark in Saint Delan Square, so Xia De would still need a relic similar to the traveler's travel door to allow them to temporarily go to Saint Delan Square, verify the conjecture, and then achieve the crossing of the two regions.
And that, too, would have to wait until the Red Butterflies' bodies were better. They now had plenty of time together and were waiting for the upcoming visit. Time would not leave too many traces on them; although not completely free, at least Grace and Helen, the Red Butterflies who flew from the fifth epoch to this era, had achieved the freedom in their hearts.
Xia De was very much looking forward to it, looking forward to them creating more stories. Living freely, with memories of those from the past and aspirations for the future.
