Chapter 315: Returning Here
In the evening, Evie and Kaluoer rode in a carriage, passing through several districts, and finally arrived at the Tulip Manor.
The sky had already completely darkened, and the nearby streets were very quiet. In fact, there was not much noise here during the day either, as there were relatively few residents nearby.
Evie took a look at the Tulip Manor in front of her and smelled a strong fragrance of flowers.
The scent of tulips.
"This manor... looks decent. So, the man who saved you is a nobleman."
In these years, as the "princess" of the Kingdom of Dark Light, Evie had seen all kinds of luxurious houses, especially the residences of the Four Great Families, Nine Small Families, and Thirteen Families. The level of extravagance was unimaginable for ordinary people.
Even though they all live in the city of Annottales, the people living in the First District and the slums are living in completely different worlds.
The Temple of Dark Light and the main residences of the thirteen families are all located in the First District.
In the First District alone, there are tens of thousands of servants serving the members of the various families, and if you include the farmers and craftsmen who serve these nobles, the number is even higher.
The First District has a population of several million, nearly half of which are related to the Temple of Dark Light and the thirteen families, while the other half are mostly members of fallen families who once produced saints.
For the saint families, there is only one thing that matters most to the entire family.
And that is the saint themselves.
Once the saint, who serves as the core of the family, dies or has their identity erased by the gods, the status of the entire family will plummet, and even if they are not expelled from the First District, they will no longer have any influence.
This is a world where power is concentrated.
The quality of the extraordinary individuals is undoubtedly their "military authority".
Generally speaking, even though they may occasionally encounter battles, saints rarely experience true despair, and their average lifespan is over two hundred years.
The "Heart of Dark Light", this existence that has lived for at least five hundred years, has multiplied over the years and has become a super-sized family with tens of thousands of members.
"Rurik".
The Rurik family, as the largest of the four major families, has at least seven to eight thousand family members living in the First District of Annottales.
The longest-living "Incarnation of Dark Light" and the "Head of Dark Light", the two strongest and oldest saints, have no relatives and have not continued corresponding families.
Because of this, they have become extremely transcendent.
This situation only changed when Evie was adopted by the "Incarnation of Dark Light".
Many people realized that if anyone could marry her, who is the only relative of the "Incarnation of Dark Light", they would have a chance... to produce a super family that surpasses the four major and nine minor families entirely!
It is meaningless to communicate such matters with the transcendent "Incarnation of Dark Light", so the members of the four major families are almost all licking dogs for Evie... trying every means to hope for a marriage with her.
However, Evie doesn't care about these matters at all.
The only thing she cares about in this world is the person she holds tightly in her hands right now.
"Why, why couldn't I find you before? I've already sent enough people to find you..." Evie was full of confusion and brought up this important question.
Although she wasn't foolish enough to say something like "I'll marry whoever finds my sister", she still tried various methods and mobilized many people to find Kaluoer, even her lofty adoptive father, the "Incarnation of Dark Light", tried to find Kaluoer too.
Kaluoer responded without hesitation, her expression blank, "The host of the Mercury Ball unleashed a forbidden soul curse in our souls... making us difficult to be found... The forbidden soul curse is called 'Cognition Filter'."
The deep jealousy rooted in her soul was naturally lifted after death.
"Cognition Filter..."
Damn Mercury Ball!
Evie gritted her teeth and felt a strong hatred towards the ancient assassin organization. She even considered resurrecting them just to kill them all over again.
In the next moment, a steady male voice echoed in both of their minds.
【Welcome to the Tulip Manor】
【It's cold outside, please come in】
Evie froze for a moment, feeling a little scared, and realized something.
The owner of that voice seemed older than she expected.
She thought the person would be a young individual... that's how she imagined it. After all, both she and Kaluoer were young.
The gates of the Tulip Manor opened.
Evie immediately focused her attention and noticed a black-haired maid holding a cat walking towards them. She bowed to the two of them and smiled at Kaluoer, "Welcome back, Kaluoer... The master is waiting inside."
Huh? Someone familiar? Evie looked at her sister, but she didn't answer.
Kaluoer nodded and led Evie into the manor with ease.
There were many servants in the Tulip Manor, all energetic and well-dressed. It was clear that they were well-treated.
As they walked along, Evie silently observed and soon realized that the hierarchy in this place wasn't very strict, as many people greeted the black-haired maid normally.
In theory, this black-haired maid should be like the mansion owner's personal maid, holding a much higher status than ordinary servants.
However, on their way, she didn't notice one thing. The cat in the black-haired maid's hands was secretly observing the two of them.
"Meow."
A kind of smirk appeared in the cat's eyes, as if it had seen a very useful "prop."
Finally, the three of them, along with the cat, entered the mansion and went upstairs to Viscount Edmond's private study.
After pushing open the door, Evie saw a middle-aged man with gray on his temples, calm and composed, standing by the window with a black cane supporting him, his back turned toward them.
"Welcome back, Kaluoer."
"..."
Kaluoer looked at this mysterious man without saying a word.
It was Evie who spoke, questioning, "Are you the man who secretly gave me the note, saved my sister, and even destroyed the Mercury Ball?"
"Yes." Bai Yan did not deny anything. It was indeed all him.
Evie nodded and immediately continued, "Good, I will owe you a favor... Since you are my benefactor, tell me, whatever you want, I will do my best to fulfill it."
"I don't want anything..."
Bai Yan really wants the key to the Ultimate Ritual inside the Temple of Dark Light, but he knows that Evie can't give it to him, and if he can hypnotize Evie, he won't need her repayment at all.
No desires, no expectations?
Evie frowned, and suddenly her face changed.
Oh no!
Could this guy want Kaluoer to marry him?
No way! Absolutely not!
How could I accept something like this? Evie's face turned extremely ugly. Hmm, can I just break his fifth limb to forcefully stop all of this?
To be honest, Bai Yan, who was standing by the window with his hands behind his back, had always been in possession of Power Possession "Psychic Dancer". He knew exactly what the two sisters and the maid were thinking.
So he could hear Evie's thoughts.
But Bai Yan didn't show any embarrassment or awkwardness on his face.
"So, you want to stay?" He turned around and looked at the expressionless Kaluoer.
Just now, Bai Yan heard Kaluoer's thoughts, she wanted to stay.
"I can't find a reason to live."
Kaluoer spoke plainly.
"My former safe haven has been destroyed by you, and now I have nowhere to go."
No reason to live, nowhere to go? Bai Yan clearly felt that Evie felt a bit sad after hearing these words, but she tried her best not to show it.
In fact, Evie had known since she found Kaluoer.
Her sister didn't care about her as much as she cared about her.
Otherwise, even with the interference of taboo spells, she wouldn't have had such a hard time finding her these years.
But Evie didn't mind.
She felt it was all her fault, that her sister had suffered inhuman torture and pain over the years, and it was normal for her to change so much. After all, even she, who had lived a princess-like life in these years, had become increasingly irritable because of the pain, let alone the already hopeless Kaluoer...
Thinking of this, Evie actually blamed herself for her sister's suffering and almost cried.
Bai Yan, who silently listened to their thoughts, understood this guy's mindset.
Sister is always right. Those who hurt her should die, and everything else can be dealt with later.
He nodded slightly and looked at Kaluoer, saying, "You can stay, just as before. Well, you can take her place and become my personal maid again."
"You will get the 'task' you want."
This time, it wasn't me forcing her, but she came looking to be a free laborer... isn't it foolish to refuse?
The "she" in Bai Yan's words refers to the black-haired maid.
【I am like you, a member of Babel Tower, the subordinates of the savior... My nickname is 'Keeper of Secrets'... Welcome to our organization, dedicated to saving the world, newcomer】
This sentence was a private conversation through psychic power, and only Kaluoer heard it. She nodded slightly, not surprised at all by the special identity of the person in front of her.
As for organizations that claim to save countries or the world... in her impression, all such organizations in history have killed a lot of people.
"Saving, it's just killing."
Fair enough.
Bai Yan's current personal maid is that black-haired maid named "Dai."
She was holding the mysterious cat named "Cola" in her arms when she heard the news of her replacement.
"Master, what did I do wrong?" Dai asked in a sad tone.
"It's not that, just a minor personnel change." Bai Yan shook his head and said, "Dai, you can learn from Carson the butler for a while. Maybe in some time, you will take over the position of the estate's steward."
Dai immediately stopped feeling sad and instead looked forward to it.
Being a servant was never a glamorous position, but being a noble's steward definitely meant having status and identity.
Evie, who silently watched everything unfold, frowned slightly, feeling that something was off.
Wait, why is the situation not romantic at all?
Surely he didn't fall in love with Kaluoer, did he?
Bai Yan finally couldn't contain his confusion and a huge question mark appeared in his mind.
Hmm?
What has been on her mind all this time?
"I disagree!"
Evie coldly said, "I can repay you with endless wealth, give you beautiful women, give you a better status and position... but you cannot touch my sister!"
"It was her choice to stay." Bai Yan remained silent for a moment before saying this.
"It was my choice to stay." Kaluoer nodded in agreement.
Evie felt like she was about to faint.
She held her head for a while, took a deep breath, and said, "Fine! But I will come frequently to see her, remember! If you dare to harm her, I will take your life!"
[Whimper... how did it come to this...]
"Since you were able to give me a note, you should know who I am! Be careful!" Evie snapped like an angry cat.
Because Evie looked fierce, she had been crying the whole time, almost rolling on the ground, but Bai Yan didn't bother to argue with her.
And so, Evie left with mixed emotions.
Kaluoer stayed.
"Well, Master, I'm going to change my clothes."
She turned to go to her former room, intending to change into her maid outfit again.
Dai also wanted to leave, but Bai Yan stopped her.
"Wait a minute."
"Hmm? Master, is there something else?" She was slightly puzzled at the door.
Bai Yan nodded expressionlessly and commanded, "Dai, expose your arms and let me see."
"Yes."
The black-haired maid fell silent for a moment, nodded, and gently put down the blue and white British Shorthair cat named "Cola". After it fell to the ground, it ran away very quickly as if fleeing for its life.
She gently pulled up her sleeve, revealing two snow-white arms covered in red cat scratches, which looked slightly intimidating.
Bai Yan waved his hand to heal the wounds, then took out some money. Instead of throwing it directly, he stood up and calmly handed it to the black-haired maid.
"You've been working hard during this time. This is a small compensation from me. Don't be polite, take it."
"Thank you, sir."
Dai lowered her head, her face seeming to blush.
When the black-haired maid also left, Bai Yan's eyes turned cold and he quickly caught the escaping "Kaluoer".
"Meow! Meow! Meow! Master! Master!"
The blue and white British Shorthair struggled madly in Bai Yan's hand, even the sound it made became distorted, but it was futile.
Bai Yan remained indifferent and silent.
It could only look at Bai Yan with tears in its eyes, begging for forgiveness.
"Meow~"
Bai Yan merely asked, "Does it make you happy to hurt others?"
"Kaluoer" sighed, knowing that it was useless to resist or run away, so it nodded gently.
Yes, it was quite enjoyable.
Bai Yan flipped the smelly cat over on his lap, raised his hand and delivered a blow, causing it to meow and curse!
"Ow! Ow! Meow!"
He only let go after he had enough fun, and the angry cat with its fur standing on end quickly ran away.
"Meow meow meow meow!"
There was a sense of humiliation and unwillingness in that voice, as if there was an unprecedented anger... but there was no way to change anything.
Bai Yan believed that it should have learned its lesson, but if it didn't, he would find an opportunity to beat it up again.
"Let Kaluoer take care of it in the future. This cat is definitely not ordinary, since it can block all my scanning methods... a strange existence."
Next, it was time to do the real work.
"Vanish into the void... This skill is just right for you, Hidden Azure..."
Instead of taking out his phone directly in the study, Bai Yan had the incarnation in Babel Tower operate the phone and grant "Hidden Azure" new abilities through the "Babel Tower."
After being precisely disrupted twice by the mysterious person named "Ji", Bai Yan's vigilance had greatly increased.
Although he had psychic powers and strong perception and would usually scan his surroundings for anything unusual or surveillance, he still dared not expose the most important special aspect of himself in the manor.
"He must be flushed out." Bai Yan muttered to himself and suddenly paused.
Could it be that the smelly cat was "Ji"?
No, his thoughts went off on a tangent. It should not be. Bai Yan shook his head gently.
He had almost no information on this person called "Ji" and could only rely on guesses and imagination at the moment.
At the same time.
Kaluoer, who had just taken off her clothes and was about to change into her maid attire, froze, feeling a strange sensation emerging within her body.
She felt that a certain special power had been bestowed upon her.
A beyond-ordinary understanding formed in her mind, turning into a power that she had never imagined before. It was as if some forbidden knowledge had upgraded Kaluoer's cognition.
She was now able to comprehend the forbidden knowledge contained within.
Then the voice rang out again.
[Hidden Azure, this is your reward]
Vanish into the void.
This was the new ability bestowed upon Kaluoer, Hidden Azure, a power that was perfect for an assassin-type extraordinary individual.
Kaluoer was silent for a moment and tried out her new ability, "Entering the Void."
