Chapter 142: Workshop

Aljie's figure slipped out the window like a wraith, vanished into the night, leaving only a faint, lingering chill.

Robin inhaled deeply, steadied the lingering memory fragments in his mind, and walked toward the door.

"Wait a moment."

He quickly slipped the ice crystal pendant Aljie had left into his chest, sheathed his Tang Sword, and the silver‑blue etched glow faded away.

The door opened, and Ailina stood in the corridor's shadow, her golden hair loose, having shed the daytime Knight armor for a simple linen nightgown. Her gaze passed over Robin and swept the room.

"Was someone just here?"

Robin's expression remained unchanged: "Just the night wind was strong; the window wasn't fully closed."

Ailina's eyes lingered a moment on the gently fluttering curtains, then withdrew, saying lightly, "There's something wrong with the garrison at Northwind Fortress."

She stepped into the room, shut the door behind her, and lowered her voice to a whisper:

"I inspected the fortress armory—its weapon stockpiles far exceed the normal border garrison standards, and… there are traces of the Mechanical Church."

Robin's gaze hardened: "Are you sure?"

Ailina drew a twisted metal fragment from her sleeve, its surface etched with fine gear patterns.

"Found it in a hidden compartment of the storehouse, set into an Arrowhead."

Robin took the fragment, and his Tang Sword immediately emitted a faint hum—things of the Mechanical Church indeed trigger its response.

Ailina stared into Robin's eyes: "You've known all along?"

Robin was silent for a moment, then said, "Aljie Frosthawk just passed by."

He didn't conceal Aljie's warning, but omitted the part about Meilinda's memory.

Ailina's brows knit after hearing, "The Frosthawk family is indeed involved… but why would Aljie help us?"

"Profit, or betrayal," Robin replied calmly, "Either way, we need him for now."

Ailina stepped closer suddenly, the nightgown's collar slightly open, revealing a silver necklace—the pendant a miniature Knight sword, its blade entwined with thorns.

"Robin." Her voice, unusually soft, added, "Whatever your plan… don't hide it from me."

Robin's fingertips unconsciously brushed the Tang Sword's hilt, the silver‑blue etching warming slightly.

"Fine."

Ailina's fingertips traced Robin's neck, sending a subtle shiver through his tense muscles. Her breath was warm, scented faintly with wine—the distinctive ice‑berry wine of Northwind Fortress's dinner.

"What are you still hesitating about?" Her voice was light, yet like a dull blade slowly cutting through Robin's forced composure.

He gave no reply, silently lifting her into his arms.

Ailina's weight was tangible, her warm body pressed against him, her hair exuding a familiar soap‑bark scent—everything reminded him of the summer nights in Viscount Weierke's domain, of moments that required no thought of the future, only immersion in the present.

Robin hoisted her by the waist and carried her toward the bedside.

Because they might have to leave in two years, Robin was reluctant to grant Ailina a formal status, though they had long ago become husband and wife in practice.

Before departing Northwind Fortress, Robin had Zhang Bolun send the fortress's readiness report to Viscount Weierke.

He trusted the Knight Guild and the Round Table Council would receive the news soon.

Aljie also set out, and after about a day's travel arrived at his fief—a baronial domain. Because the Northlands are the empire's second developed region, it has a three‑century history, making land extremely scarce.

Aljie's barony is actually smaller in area than a knightly fief granted by Viscount Weierke.

Aljie's fief—Frostdew Barony—lies on barren permafrost, its crude stone keep encircled by towering ice pines, torches on the walls flickering in the cold wind, casting light on the rust‑spotted gate.

"Welcome to the Northlands' most shabby barony," Aljie said with self‑deprecating hands spread, a sharp glint flashing in his ice‑blue eyes, "but the 'specialties' here are far more interesting than Viscount Weierke's wine."

When Robin dismounted, the silver‑blue etching on his Tang Sword warmed slightly—the stone keep's underground concealed something resonating with the Mechanical Church.

The interior of the stone keep was far more refined than its exterior. Candleholders along the corridor were intricate gear mechanisms, their flames trapped within crystal domes, never extinguishing.

"My father granted me this land," Aljie said, casually turning a gear on the wall as a hidden door slid open silently, "in name it's a punishment, but in reality…"

Behind the hidden door lay a descending spiral staircase, a blast of cold mixed with the scent of machine oil hitting his face.

At the staircase's end stood, astonishingly, a small mechanical workshop!

Dozens of broken gear‑eyes were nailed to the wall; on the central workbench, a still‑beating human heart was entwined with silver‑blue mechanical veins—a clear miniature soul furnace!

Ailina instantly drew her sword: "You're also of the Mechanical Church—"

"Traitor? Exactly." Aljie grinned, raising both hands, "But I'm not the same madman as my father." He pointed at the heart furnace, "I'm researching… how to kill them completely."

Aljie ripped open his collar, revealing beneath his clavicle a gear mark similar to Robin's, only its hue was a dark, stagnant blood.

"The Frosthawk bloodline was branded three hundred years ago," his voice unusually grim, "the nearer we get to the mechanical core, the faster our bodies disintegrate… unless we regularly feed it with living human hearts."

The heart on the workbench suddenly convulsed violently, crimson light flashing through the mechanical veins.

Aljie slammed his hand onto it, pulled a small vial of silver powder from his chest and sprinkled it— the powder sharing the same energy source as Meilinda's Key.

"Your sword…" he panted, looking at Robin, "could you give me a bit of 'fragment'?"

Robin's Tang Sword autonomously sprang three inches from its sheath, a strand of silver‑blue light peeling off and drifting toward the heart furnace.

The moment the light strand touched, the entire workshop shuddered violently!

Aljie let out a horrendous scream and fell to his knees; his gear mark began to fracture, oozing black, oil‑like blood. The heart furnace thrashed wildly, silver‑blue and crimson veins interlacing in a deadly clash.

"So that's it…" Aljie cackled amid pain, "The Watcher's Key can not only seal… but also 'purify'!"

When the shaking subsided, the heart furnace turned completely silver‑blue, the mechanical veins receding to the core like the tide.

Aljie's mark faded away by most, but on Robin's Tang Sword, a dark red etching spread a little further.

System warning: 【Container Sync Rate +5%】

"Below Frostwind Fortress lies the original furnace in slumber," Aljie leaned weakly against the wall, "my father intends to awaken it with the blood and flesh of all Northland life, to secure the Frosthawk family's 'immortality'."

He pointed northeast—through a vent, one could see strange gear‑shaped clouds on the horizon.

"But the Watcher left more than a key back then… also a 'spark.'" Aljie's eyes glimmered with silver‑blue, "Those purified gear‑eyes will become our weapons."

Ailina suddenly pressed her temple; her thorn pendant was heating up, "The Knight Guild's report… Grand Duke Frosthawk has blocked all routes to Frostwind Fortress!"

(End of Chapter)