Chapter 1218

"A demon? What does that have to do with that god?"

Xia De asked, slightly puzzled, and the witch explained:

"Some people often confuse the evil god 【Stone Heart Demon】 with the legendary ancient demon 【Stone Mirror Demon】, but in fact, the two are completely different. The former is an ancient deity famous since the Second Era, often using stone statues rather than living people as vessels for divine descent; once it appears, any non-stone material in the vicinity, whether physical or non-physical, will turn to stone. The latter is an evil spirit demon of the Third Era, quite ancient, fond of playing with contracts, petrifying people's hearts before taking them away to imprison their souls. In this era, this demon even destroyed a kingdom in the southwest of the Old Continent through clever contracts."

Xia De didn't know about this, as he had only been investigating the evil god.

"We can't deal with the evil god cult for the time being; the Orthodox Church won't let them succeed. The key now is still to stop the spread of the mad earth. Thomas Granger and Wilen Lathers definitely know more than we do. It's just that they seem unwilling to appear easily before the living."

After Xia De left the manor just now, Mr. Lathers' soul purified the earth at the black mud spring and then immediately disappeared.

"Now with the intervention of the evil god cult, the future is becoming increasingly difficult to judge. The evil god 【Stone Heart Demon】... their activities here are likely also for the sake of the Chosen One, but I don't know what they did tonight."

Because of the Butterfly God's warning, the gloom in Xia De's heart was even greater than Miss Benanice's. That little flower with six pink-white petals had now turned into a toy and was lying in his pocket. It was truly just an ordinary item; otherwise, it couldn't have become this "souvenir." Therefore, this flower was not enough to counter what might happen, and he had even more reason to get his hands on that drop of divinity.

The dangerous existence that the Butterfly God said might come to the material world through the banquet couldn't possibly be the 【Lord of the Blood Banquet】 again.

Miss Benanice sighed with great annoyance, then looked at Xia De again.

"Speaking of which, is your body really..."

"No problem, did you see me show any abnormality on the way back to the city?"

The witch shook her head slightly, and the hand that had been resting on the chair moved to his thigh. She looked at Xia De expressionlessly, her fingers dancing like little people, tapping on his knee until she saw a satisfactory phenomenon before withdrawing her hand:

"You see, I knew it; it's not just me who reacts strongly to that essence, you're the same."

"Where did this meaningless comparison come from?"

Xia De muttered, and the blonde witch smiled triumphantly:

"This isn't a comparison; I want to prove that the embarrassing performance last time wasn't because my resistance was low. Besides, you didn't show any expression just now—are you questioning my charm?"

"Miss Vanessa Benanice, I will never question your charm. Even among all the witches I have met, your beauty is unique."

Because every witch's beauty is unique.

"You should save such sweet words for Galina."

Although she said this, a smile still appeared on her lips. She wanted to say something else to Xia De, but noticed that the sound of Miss Lathers' soft sobbing had become filled with pain.

The two hurriedly stood up to check and found Miss Lathers slumped on the ground. The witch went to support her, and Xia De's expression changed; disregarding Miss Benanice's surprise, he pulled up Miss Lathers' skirt.

Sure enough, the legs wrapped in white cotton stockings under the skirt already showed signs of petrification for a full two-thirds of the way below the knees.

Xia De said "sorry" softly and reached out to touch her leg, actually feeling a hard sensation:

"Was this caused by touching the black mud during the battle at the manor?"

"Oh, Ciris, why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't you... on the way here... oh, I won't say it, cry, young girl, I give you the right to cry."

She helped Miss Lathers sit on the bench, letting Miss Lathers rest her head on her

knees while sobbing. The witch gently stroked her hair, then signaled for Xia De to prepare the elixir.

The rune on the Holy Grail of Mud that Xia De obtained this time was "Warm Food," probably because he hadn't completely finished the purification, so its effect was only to reheat cold cooked food.

Besides this, he had also obtained four other Holy Grails: "Pure Water," "Bountiful Fruit," "Healing," and "Sweetness." Pure Water and Bountiful Fruit had already been used when treating the witch and Iruna, so this time he used the "Warm Food" he had just acquired.

The preparation of the "Earth Mother's Elixir" was very simple, and he carried the materials with him.

Once the preparation was complete, he brought over the Holy Grail containing the elixir. Miss Benanice helped Miss Lathers, whose petrification had reached above her knees, to sit up, letting her lean on her shoulder. Xia De also sat on the other side of Miss Lathers and handed over the Holy Grail:

"Drink it quickly; I'm not sure if permanent damage will occur if the petrification spreads too much."

"Xia De, Vanessa, thank you both."

The girl, who had already accepted the fact of her father's passing, said while sobbing. Xia De was very worried she would accidentally spill the elixir in her hands.

"Don't thank me; Xia De investigated the truth, and the Holy Grail used to prepare the elixir is also his property."

Miss Benanice said, watching Miss Lathers drink the potion while sobbing.

"How is it? Have you recovered?"

The witch asked with concern. She was being leaned on by Miss Lathers and couldn't bend over, while Miss Lathers was trying hard to calm her emotions, tears blurring her delicate makeup; she had no mind to feel her own body:

"Much better."

This sounded like a perfunctory answer.

"Xia De, check it."

The witch said, and Xia De thought she was joking:

"But I..."

"Do you think either of the two ladies here would mind this?"

So Xia De had no choice but to bend over, lift Miss Lathers' gorgeous banquet skirt again, and look at her legs under the hem.

Miss Lathers, whose mood was gradually recovering, blushed immediately and struggled to stand up, but because of the ischemia caused by the long-term semi-petrification of her legs, she sat back down as soon as she stood up.

"Sorry."

Xia De apologized softly again and reached out to touch the cotton stockings, and this time he felt skin with warmth. Of course, because stockings in this era were still quite thick, he didn't feel the actual texture of her skin.

But even so, Miss Lathers' face was still as red as if it were dripping blood.

(Little Mia is running...)

The morning sunlight of Monday spilled over the Yodel Palace in Tobesk City, and the roofs of the palace complex reflected the golden sunlight, seemingly indicating that the royal family would have a good mood today.

In Princess Rhesia Cavendish's bedroom, even though it was early morning, the gas lamps were still on. Her Highness the Princess was sitting in front of the mahogany vanity table pieced together from four giant vanity mirrors, in quite a good mood. The room was quite warm, and she was only wearing a thin nightgown, while two personal maids were helping her tidy her hair, and one was guarding the door.

Her Highness the Princess tilted her head, looking in the mirror as she put on red earrings, which were the Sage-level relic 【Curse-Breaking Stone】:

"So, is this the reason you broke into Yodel Palace yesterday and forcibly..."

She asked in a good mood, her peripheral vision looking at Xia De in the mirror.

Her Highness the Princess's large bed with silk curtains was behind her, and at this moment, Xia De was yawning while buttoning his shirt. The cat, having just been let out of the walk-in closet, was lying unhappily on his lap, while on the red wool carpet at his feet, men's and women's clothes were scattered.

The maid blushed slightly, a smile on her lips, while Xia De complained:

"A royal lady shouldn't say such things. Besides, how do I remember it was Dorothy who wasn't feeling well, so you asked me to come find you? You were the one who opened the window for me."

He recounted what happened last night, which was also his first time spending the night in Rhesia's

boudoir. It had to be admitted that the Princess's bed was indeed very soft and warm.

He picked up the cat and let go; the cat indeed bounced on the bed, then looked curiously at the bed beneath its feet. Xia De shook his head with a smile and went to look for his clothes on the floor.

"No need to look; why be so polite when you're with me? I'll have someone get you new clothes; I was already prepared that you would eventually spend the night here one day."

Rhesia said, feeling that such a morning was the life she yearned for, but it was a pity that the two people waking up together were not three.

As they spoke, the maid's voice sounded from outside; it was the little Princess Ajelina at the door. Rhesia let her sister in and instructed the maid who was tidying her hair to urge Xia De's clothes, then let Ajelina continue to help her tidy her hair.

The little princess actually didn't know Xia De was there. Today, she probably didn't intend to leave Yodel Palace or meet guests in the morning, so she was wearing a relatively simple three-layered petticoat and a beige corset inlaid with gems.

After entering the door and seeing Xia De dressing by the bed, Ajelina blushed, greeted him awkwardly, and looked at the messy clothes on the floor before hurriedly coming behind Rhesia to help her comb her hair; it could be seen that she often helped Rhesia comb her hair.

"You were really interesting last night."

Rhesia continued the topic just now. She had put on the relic earrings and also put on the ruby earrings Xia De had given her:

"It's the first time I've known you were so interested in a girl's legs."

Ajelina pursed her lips and listened, while helping her sister comb her hair, subconsciously looking at her own skirt hem.

Xia De blushed; Rhesia wasn't exaggerating:

"There's a reason for this."

After all, although he could withstand the side effects of that bottle of pink essence, he was only barely enduring it, not completely unaffected.

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