Lord of the Mysteries

Klein stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching as the rain began to descend along with the wind. The rain hit the ground and the glass, intersecting to form a mesh.

Ever since autumn, Backlund had started to rain again. It brought with it a lingering coldness and humidity.

Klein stood there motionless for a long time, watching silently into the distance through the blurry rainy scene, his eyes unfocused.

Only when his spiritual perception was triggered did he stop his wandering thoughts and turned his head to the side. Reinette, with the four blonde, red-eyed heads in her hand, had a letter as she walked out of the void.

“Who is it from this time?” Klein asked Miss Messenger out of habit.

The last letter he received came from Sharron. The lady had told him that she had successfully completed the ritual and advanced to Sequence 4 Puppet of the Prisoner pathway.

Klein first sincerely congratulated her and apologetically informed her that he had already obtained what he needed and didn’t need to visit Calderon City in the spirit world anytime soon.

Of course, he also indicated that there was a huge secret there that might have something to do with him. He would probably head there one day, and when that time came, if Miss Sharron had the time or was willing, he wished to obtain her support.

For Klein, on the one hand, he might have to head there to find the future ingredients he needed for his advancement. On the other hand, he believed that the magical city that involved ancient Death, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, also might contain the method to heal Mr. Azik’s incomplete Spirit Body’s. Even if this Death Consul didn’t have the means to advance, he hoped that by doing so, the former didn’t need to repeatedly suffer the torment of losing his memories.

Of course, Klein had prepared a plan for that. It was to wait until he advanced to Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore. He could prepare more Yesterday Once More charms for Mr. Azik, or he could imbue him with the corresponding Beyonder powers to speed up the recovery of his memories each time.

At that moment, Klein had already received a letter. Reinette Tinekerr’s four heads replied one after another, “From...” “That...””Undying...””Idiot...”

...Patrick Bryan of the Numinous Episcopate’s Artificial Death faction... Klein easily understood who Miss Messenger was referring to. This was because Patrick was the one who wrote the most to him over the past two months. He reported almost anything of slight importance and asked for instructions.

After a few times, Reinette Tinekerr gave him a nickname.

Miss Messenger never showed interest in such matters before. I wonder when it began... Most of the people who write to me have been given nicknames except Miss Sharron... As Klein silently mumbled, he unfurled the letter and gave it a quick scan.

In the letter, Patrick Bryan said that the Southern Continent’s orders were no longer about getting him to make various attempts to awaken “Death.” Instead, they got him to prepare a special ritual and help the Death domain angel inside the mausoleum, Artificial Death faction’s leader, Haiter, recover. It was to allow “Him” to have the means to temporarily leave the “land in which ‘He’ sealed ‘Himself.’”

Such an order didn’t seem problematic on the surface, but it was a little sudden. However, Klein still sensed something amiss.

The Artificial Death faction of the Numinous Episcopate in the Southern Continent had previously made Patrick continue the strange but dangerous rituals to awaken Death. I managed to trick them by instructing him to use excuses such as the inability to gather the materials or the ultimate failure of the experiment. Now, they’ve finally suspected that there’s something wrong with Patrick? Klein nodded in thought.

He suspected that this was a test directed at Patrick Bryan, a test that pointed towards an angel!

An angel’s response to rituals covered the entire world.

Yes, it’s good as long as they don’t suspect there’s a problem with Artificial Death. After all, they’ve inherited a huge inheritance from the ancient Balam Empire. Who knows if they have a way to affect the Goddess’s progress in controlling the Death pathway’s Uniqueness. It could be a bane for both sides... Klein analyzed for a moment before heaving a sigh of relief.

As for the test by the Death domain angel, he didn’t think much of it. This was because The Fool could also direct power at the same level. With Angel’s Embrace, a disruption effect could be made. As long as the High Priest named Haiter didn’t descend in person and only exerted influence remotely, he could carry out misdirections in an ingenious manner.

After figuring this out, Klein flicked his wrist, igniting Patrick Bryan’s letter with scarlet flames. As he returned to his desk, he took out a pen and paper and wrote:

“...You may proceed according to your teacher’s instructions, but before the actual ritual, you must report this to me and gain my permission...”

As the interval between the receiving and sending of letters were short, Patrick Bryan likely remained in his original spot. Klein didn’t summon Patrick’s messenger and instead blew the adventurer’s harmonica and handed the folded letter to Reinette Tinekerr.

Amidst the drizzle, Xio draped a simple raincoat lined with tree sap over her and hid in the shadows, staring at the side door of Viscount Stratford’s residence.

It wasn’t even evening, but the street lamps were already lit up. They emitted a faint glow in the rain.

After a while, a rental carriage drove over from afar and stopped in front of the side door in a remote area.

The viscount’s valet that had been hiding immediately ran out, opening an umbrella.

He sheltered the cloaked woman down the carriage and quickly passed through the side door. As for the rental carriage, it remained in its spot without leaving. It had apparently been paid a sufficient amount of money.

Xio still failed to see the woman’s appearance, but she wasn’t disheartened by it. She patiently waited in the cold rain as though she had turned into a motionless statue.

She planned on attempting to tail the woman once she came out to confirm her identity.

This was both an opportunity for her to obtain the Judge potion formula, and it was also the reason why she came to Backlund—to investigate the truth of her father’s death!

And it was because she was spurred by such motives that Xio had persisted in monitoring Viscount Stratford to this day. MI9’s other intelligence officers had already ended the mission due to the lack of any developments over the previous few months. Even the golden-masked man who had designated the mission hadn’t asked about this in weeks. Clearly, he didn’t place any importance on it.

Inside Viscount Stratford’s bedroom, a beautiful brown-haired girl wore a silk gown and sat in front of a dressing table. She was fiddling with the skincare and makeup products as if she had discovered a treasure trove.

Viscount Stratford, who was already middle-aged, wore a male nightgown and walked to the beautiful girl with his hair still moist. He smiled at her reflection in the mirror and said, “Shermane, you no longer need those to add to your beauty.”

“It’s just a type of female instinct.” The young girl named Shermane raised her hand with a smile, pressing down on the viscount’s palm that had been placed on her shoulder.

Viscount Stratford smiled gently and said, “When you touch them, you have a pure and innocent air to you. Heh heh, you make me discover my youth, like the days when I was only eighteen.”

Without waiting for Shermane’s reply, he continued, “My wife had already passed away for years. I always imagined I would live until the Lord beckons for me, but who knew that I would meet you. In a while, when the pressure accumulated in Backlund is relieved, I will find a chance to walk down the wedding aisle to the altar with you.”

“Wedding... You want to marry me?” Shermane was taken aback as she asked in disbelief.

Viscount Stratford smiled and said, “Meeting you is a gift from the Lord. Although you aren’t of noble birth, I’ve already married once. I don’t have to consider such matters anymore. Of course, I’ll think of means to raise your standing in society. Yes, I’ll first find a merchant to recognize you as his illegitimate daughter...”

He droned on about his plan until he saw Shermane’s eyes filled with tears in the mirror’s reflection.

“The most precious thing about you is that you treat me ten times better than how well I treat you, and you don’t hide it.” Viscount Stratford smiled as he lowered his head and kissed the top of Shermane’s head.

Shermane opened her mouth, seemingly crying and laughing.

Only when the drizzle stopped and night fell did Xio finally wait for the woman in a dark red cloak walk out and board the carriage.

After memorizing the carriage’s traits, Xio tailed it from afar, using her Beyonder powers as a Sheriff and the empty streets at night to follow the target simply by walking or running.

She went all the way from Empress Borough to the Backlund Bridge area. Even with her stamina, she was almost at her limit, but thankfully, the carriage finally came to a stop.

Xio brightened up as she switched her target from the carriage to the cloaked woman and continued tailing her.

During this process, she was surprised that the woman had very good anti-tracking abilities. She would occasionally take detours and pause using obstacles.

However, this didn’t stump Xio, since she was already an experienced Sheriff. She patiently tailed from afar without coming too close.

Just as she sensed that the woman wasn’t too far from her final destination and that she was finally about to catch up to her, she suddenly caught the scent of a sweet, ethereal fragrance.

Xio’s mind went into a daze amidst the fragrance before she completely lost track of her target.

As for the fragrance, it had vanished as though it had never appeared.

Xio’s pupils widened slightly. She didn’t dare to search her surroundings for any traces.

Inside a rental apartment, Trissy, with a gentle and sweet face that made one unable to resist looking at her, looked at the mirror reflecting Shermane and said, “You seem to be in a good mood.

“How was it? This final mission isn’t too unacceptable, right?

“Once you complete it, you can leave Backlund and start your own life.”

Shermane was taken aback as her expression turned complicated as though she was disheartened. It was as though she had suddenly snapped out of her dreams.

She didn’t turn her head as her lips quivered while replying, “He said that he wishes to marry me...”

Trissy immediately pricked up her brows.

You mustn’t believe a man’s words during those times. You and I should know this very well.

“If he really wishes to marry you, he wouldn’t be wary of you. He will wish to have a child with you. Heh heh, did he do so?”

Upon hearing her question, Shermane’s mood turned sullen.

Trissy stood up and said with a smile, “I’m not stopping you from pursuing your love. If you wish to turn this temporary mission into a permanent one, you should think about what needs to be done.”

After ethereally finishing her sentence, she walked to the door and left the rented apartment.

While heading down the staircase, Trissy suddenly noticed her shoes. She chuckled and said in a seemingly self- deprecating manner, “Love...”