“Ken Territory is their chosen sacrifice. The entire territory, everyone, from the nobles inside the city walls to the peasants outside, not a single soul will be spared.”
Agathe and the others turned deathly pale in that instant.
Darian did not look at them, continuing on.
“This matter has already passed preliminary approval. At the Great Sage Council, several Great Sages have reached a tentative consensus. They are just waiting for the official meeting on the 30th of the Golden Ear Month to notify the Tower of Stars on the Plains of Truth to execute it. Of course, the ritual items were also handed over to Orphee to prepare.”
She paused, a trace of a smile in her voice.
“Since the items were right in front of me, I had no choice but to take them all.”
“I originally only planned to see them one last time.” Her gaze swept over Agathe, then over the people crowded in the corner.
“And then take those items into the corrupted wasteland, going as far away as possible. Since the ritual requires those tools and I've taken them, they won't be able to scrape together a second set anytime soon. It would buy at least a few months.”
“I didn't expect to get caught by you like this.” Her gaze returned to Wu Yao's face, wearing an expression that showed she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. “My pursuers were completely wiped out by you, the tools aren't lost, the secret letter is still here, and I'm still alive.”
“I really don't know whether to call myself lucky or unlucky.”
Wu Yao had been spacing out, staring at the progress bar of her special quest as it slowly rose.
Until Darian mentioned the “meeting on the 30th of the Golden Ear Month.”
This date was nailed precisely into her mind. She remembered that a meeting invitation was still lying in her Inventory, scheduled exactly for the 30th of the Golden Ear Month.
She sat up straight.
“Your luck is actually quite good.”
Darian blinked, a layer of confusion rising in her eyes. “...What?”
Wu Yao pulled two items from her Inventory: the meeting invitation and the Tower Master's Credentials.
Darian's eyes suddenly widened. Her lips opened and closed, then closed and opened again, like a fish that had been hauled onto dry land.
She stared at the credentials for a full five or six seconds before abruptly looking up at Wu Yao. The expression on her face shifted from confusion to shock, and then from shock to an almost fanatical excitement.
“These are the Tower Master's credentials—” Her voice cracked as her finger trembled, pointing at the credentials. “H-How did you—”
“I have a plan.”
Darian took a deep breath, as if trying to force down the countless thoughts surging up all at once.
A strange light burned in her eyes. “What plan?”
Wu Yao toyed with the unbound Tower Master's Credentials in her hand, her thumb brushing over the pattern of stars and a high tower on the base.
The bronze seal reflected a dim luster under the oil lamp, the flickering light and shadow reflecting in her eyes.
Dawn was just breaking.
The first light of morning climbed over the eastern wall of the Ken Manor, painting the crown of the old oak tree in the garden with a pale gold.
The servants of the Ken Manor had already begun their busy day.
The crackling of the stove fire echoed from the kitchen, and someone carried a copper basin down the corridor with light, swift steps.
The master of this manor always woke up early.
Her personal servant, Ruth, carried a copper water basin and waited outside Lady Margaret's bedroom door at her usual time.
She lowered her head, quietly waiting for a call from inside the room.
She had waited too long today.
She hesitated, wondering if she should speak up and ask.
Just then, a somewhat weary-sounding “Ruth” finally came from inside the room.
She pushed the door open and entered.
Lady Margaret was already sitting in front of her dressing table, her hands folded over her lap, watching Ruth enter through the mirror.
There was no smile on her face, and her brow was slightly furrowed.
Ruth's heart tightened.
She rarely saw Lady Margaret make such an expression.
The last time she had seen it was the day Young Master Darian left the manor for the Tower of Stars on the Plains of Truth.
“My Lady,” Ruth placed the water basin on the low stand, clasped her hands in front of her, and bowed slightly. “Would you like breakfast?”
“No rush.” Margaret raised her hand, gently massaging her temples with her fingertips before letting her hand fall and turning to look at her. “Go and fetch Housekeeper Sarah. I have something to discuss with her.”
Ruth nodded in agreement, her peripheral vision catching the corner of the dressing table.
There was a small box of pastries sitting on it.
It was a wooden box with its lid half-open, revealing a few neat, square honey cakes stamped with the pattern of two plump bees.
It was a very common snack in the city—cheap and sickeningly sweet, but it had been Young Master Darian's favorite treat when she was a child.
It was also the souvenir that Young Master Darian would always bring back whenever she returned to the manor.
Ruth remembered clearly that when she came to deliver a hot towel last night, there had only been the silver-bordered mirror and a row of combs on the dressing table.
Had Young Master Darian returned?
The question flashed through her mind.
Ruth didn't ask further. She bowed her head, exited the room, and quickly went to find Housekeeper Sarah.
The door closed.
Margaret was left alone in the room.
Margaret looked at her reflection in the mirror, finally unable to resist raising her hand to press her thumb against her temple, massaging it firmly.
Anyone who was suddenly jolted awake in the middle of the night by their window flying open would feel like they were cursed with a hard life.
She could never have imagined that her already lawless adoptive daughter would become even more reckless after studying at the Mage Association for six years.
Not only did she break into her adoptive mother's room in the dead of night with a witch in tow, but she also woke her from her sleep to assign her a pile of tasks.
Margaret closed her eyes. Recalling the words that little troublemaker had said while standing by her bed at five in the morning, she felt her heart begin to ache.
“Lady Margaret, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that I've come back to see you. The bad news is that I'm now a wanted fugitive of the Mage Association, and the arrest warrant is probably already on its way here, so you should prepare yourself.”
At the time, Margaret had just sat up from under her covers, her sleepiness not yet fully faded, when she was hit by these words, making her head ring.
Darian stood before her bed. She had grown much taller, and her entire bearing seemed much sharper.
“Those Archmages from the Mage Association wanted to catch me, but they couldn't. Hehehe.” Darian plopped down on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs, her tone smug.
Perhaps the sharpness was just an illusion; this silly streak of hers remained entirely unchanged.
“This is all thanks to Lady Wu Yao—”
That was a young woman dressed in a black robe. She didn't bow, nor did she speak, only standing there quietly.
“Lady Wu Yao is a genuine, 100% real witch, you know! She wiped out eight pursuers all by herself!”
“Darian,” Margaret interrupted her. Her habit of babbling was also completely unchanged. “Get to the point.”
“Oh, right. The point is—” Darian reined in her giggling slightly, though she still looked rather unserious. “We are going to rescue Ken Territory from the depths of fire and water! Lady Margaret, as the master of Ken Territory, surely you won't be stingy with your help?”
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