Ignis sat waiting by the window. Perhaps because she had lost herself in her memories, she only realized the time had already reached three-fifteen.
Outside, the sun had already begun to sink in the west, casting long shadows from the trees lining the street outside the convent.
Ignis stared at the shadows, a faint feeling of unease creeping over her.
Why wasn't Solana here yet? Didn't she say she was going to kidnap the Saintess...?
Standing up from her chair, Ignis scattered a handful of ice crystals out the window. The moment they touched the ground, they began to spread throughout the entire convent.
As the crystals blanketed the convent, they began to sprout dense, fine prism-like structures, refracting the light and shadows within the grounds.
Ignis peered through these prisms, but she still couldn't find even a trace of Solana.
Why wasn't she here? Where on earth did she go?
Could she have already captured the Saintess?
That was impossible. She had already given the Interference Compass to Camilla, and Camilla's divination had shown that Solana wouldn't arrive for another hour.
In theory, it wouldn't take Camilla an hour to take the Interference Compass and hide the Saintess somewhere else. Even if Solana tried, she shouldn't have been able to locate the Saintess with the compass in play...
Right then, Ignis suddenly realized the most bizarre detail of the entire situation.
Where did Camilla get that letter from?
If the Witch of Flame hadn't arrived yet, then who had delivered it...?
Then, the words from the letter flashed through Ignis's mind:
“...I will walk in through the front door in broad daylight, and walk out of this quiet room just as openly... But I bet you won't notice at all...”
Entering the quiet room, and then leaving it... during that entire time, she had only seen one person...
Camilla.
With a jolt, she pushed open the door and hurried outside.
The empty, quiet corridors only fueled her growing unease.
Scanning her surroundings, she noticed another letter resting on the seat near the door.
The envelope was a vibrant, fiery red that seemed to burn like a flame, held down by a single, dew-kissed red rose.
Yet, this romantic sight only caused Ignis's heart to plummet.
She snatched the letter, tore it open, and began to read:
【Hehehe, Big Sister... Thank you for your generosity... I've already taken the Saintess away... Also, don't blame me for playing dirty... I really did follow the instructions on this plan step by step... I didn't lie to you...】
【—With love, Solana.】
The further she read, the more Ignis felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her, freezing her to the core.
By the time she finished, her calm facade had cracked, replaced by a surge of anger.
The temperature in the corridor began to drop rapidly.
Anxious and desperate, Ignis dashed through the long corridor, intent on pursuing the direction they had taken.
Dammit, how could she have been kidnapped just like that? She actually disguised herself as Camilla. How did she even pull that off? Why didn't I notice anything?
As she rounded a corner, a Sister happened to step out of the prayer room.
The Sister was visibly startled by Ignis's dark, ominous expression, nearly dropping the holy scriptures cradled in her arms.
Ignis didn't care about politeness. She immediately blocked the Sister's path and asked coldly, “Have you seen Camilla and a pink-haired girl? Which way did they go?”
Frightened and nervous, the Sister hesitated for a moment before pointing to a fork on the right at the end of the hallway. “I... I think I saw them just now. They seemed to head toward the library...”
Without a second thought, Ignis hurried off toward the library.
However, the moment Ignis's back was turned, a sly grin spread across the Sister's face.
In front of the library door, a purple-haired figure was about to push the door open and step out.
Noticing someone outside, Camilla paused, then peeked out.
“Eh, Ignis? Why is it you...?”
With a sharp shhhk, shhhk, shhhk!
Before Camilla could finish, Ignis raised her hand.
Countless ice spikes instantly materialized around her, hurtling toward Camilla!
Having only poked half her head out, Camilla watched in horror as an ice spike grazed her hair and slammed into the doorframe. She shrieked in panic, “Hey! What are you doing?!”
Reacting with incredible speed, Camilla immediately whipped out a scroll.
The moment she unfurled the scroll, a burst of golden light erupted, and a flame barrier rose out of thin air. The incoming ice spikes shattered against it, showering the floor with crackling shards.
Sensing danger, she threw out several more scrolls in quick succession, stacking a golden barrier, a water curtain, and a wind wall around herself before finally daring to look Ignis in the eye.
“Where did you hide the Saintess, Solana?”
Ignis demanded coldly, her hand rising once more.
The ice spikes solidified again.
“Huh? What Solana...? I'm Camilla! Camilla! What on earth are you doing?!”
Camilla stamped her feet in frustration, her boots clattering loudly against the stone floor.
She quickly pulled out a Protection Sigil and slapped it onto herself, then grabbed another scroll, ready to teleport and flee at a moment's notice.
Seeing her familiar, practiced movements with the scrolls and sigils—exactly like the Camilla she knew—Ignis's expression wavered with uncertainty. She asked, “Are you really Camilla?”
“Of course I am! How else would I have all these items? Don't you know I specialize in arcane spells, sigils, and magic?” Camilla snapped crossly.
“Then where is the Saintess?”
“What Saintess? Weren't you the one guarding her?” Camilla rolled her eyes.
“But that Sister just now said...” Ignis furrowed her brows, and then the truth dawned on her. “No, could that Sister have been Solana in disguise as well?”
Realizing she had been tricked yet again, Ignis looked at Camilla with a grim expression and asked, “Can you still divine Solana's exact location?”
“Solana... Let me try.”
As Camilla spoke, she pulled a coin from her dress pocket and flipped it. It spun several times in the air before she caught it deftly, closing her palm over it.
She closed her eyes and murmured a silent prayer. When she opened her hand, the coin was heads up, its edge slightly warm to the touch.
Seeing Camilla open her eyes, Ignis immediately asked, “How is it?”
“No good. They seem to have some sort of anti-divination measure. I tried several times, but they all failed,” Camilla sighed.
“What about the Saintess?”
“I tried that too, but still nothing...” Camilla shook her head, then began to mutter in self-doubt, “Strange, why would it fail...?”
Ignis pondered the situation. It was then that she suddenly realized she had given away the Interference Compass along with the Saintess.
Recalling the words from the previous letter, understanding finally dawned on her.
The other party had deliberately mentioned having a divination method in the letter just to trick her into giving away the Interference Compass!
But that still didn't make sense. Solana indeed knew where the Saintess was, so she must have used some kind of divination herself.
Furthermore, the Interference Compass wouldn't be fully effective unless the target was captured willingly and chose to cooperate with its use.
Given the danger, the Saintess should have resisted...
So how could she be completely untraceable to divination?
It was too bizarre. How on earth did Solana pull this off?
Shaking off her dismay over the failed divination, Camilla asked, “What do we do now?”
“To the main entrance. They would have to pass through there to leave, and the Sisters are stationed nearby. We can ask them which way Solana went,” Ignis said.
With a clear direction, the two quickened their pace.
Along the way, Ignis spotted the Sister she had questioned earlier. However, the Sister couldn't remember a thing, as if her mind had been temporarily dominated by some external force.
They had no choice but to let it drop and made their way directly to the main gates.
“Eh? Lady Ignis, why are you here? And Lady Camilla too...” A Sister sorting hay by the entrance turned around in surprise.
“Should I not be here?” Ignis asked.
“No, no, that's not what I meant. It's just... didn't you just leave with the Saintess?” The Sister stammered, looking thoroughly confused.
“I left? When was this?” Ignis's expression darkened.
“Eh? You didn't take her out? But I could have sworn just now...” The Sister's voice trailed off.
At that moment, a bolder Sister nearby stopped her work and stepped forward. “Yes, yes, I saw it too! Lady Ignis, you definitely went out. And before that, Lady Camilla, you came back from outside looking quite upset. We all thought you had been dumped again!”
“N-Nonsense! When have I ever been dumped? I'm incredibly charming, who could possibly bring themselves to leave me? Besides, I didn't go out either. I've been inside the convent the entire time!” Camilla retorted immediately.
Ignis remained silent for a moment, her eyes narrowing sharply. She asked, “Which direction did you see 'me' go in the end?”
“Um, it should be...” The Sister hesitated, thinking for a moment before pointing in a certain direction.
They all looked toward where she was pointing.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Right at that moment, a massive explosion erupted from the clock tower next to the distant cathedral in the direction she pointed!
“My god! Who blew up the church's clock tower?!” Camilla cried out in shock.
Rate on N.U.
