Chapter 1423: Winter Flower and Autumn Flower

"Although the marriage contract drawn up by old Watson was harsh, murdering the whole family is still very impolite," Xia De said softly. The Doctor smiled:

"That really is your style of doing things. This is fine, too; you didn't dirty your own hands. Just like in Louisa's *Hamilton Detective Stories*—he watched the man fall off the sea cliff, then turned and left in silence amidst the sound of seagulls. If a detective one day becomes a killer, perhaps he would be the most elegant killer."

"Doctor, please don't mock me."

Xia De said, and Doctor Schneider tossed the small stone mirror he had been playing with to Xia De:

"The demon remains you wanted. Xia De, please allow me to express my gratitude. Also, this demon had some other private stashes, all of which I've sealed into the mirror. However, don't use this as a long-term spatial item; demon remains are even more terrifying than relics."

"No need to thank me; it should be me thanking you." Xia De put the small mirror away:

"Although I really want to tell you about what happened tonight and also want to know how Goethe actually died, my time is very tight."

He stood up and collected the heart that originally belonged to Lady Hela from the ground. Although the heart had been cut out by hand, due to the existence of special power, its integrity had not been affected.

Xia De's third-floor 【Soul Cemetery】 could be safely opened once by sacrificing a "Heart of the Living Dead," leading to a two-way door to true death. And the Heart of the Living Dead referred to this; it was not merely the soul of a resurrected person, but also required the most fervent emotions and the saddest story:

"Doctor, I'm going upstairs to handle some things myself. You wait here for my friend. That black-haired lady is Miss Emma Sylvia; she might be quite cold to you, but don't mind it, she just doesn't like strangers."

Temporarily bidding farewell to the Doctor, Xia De walked toward the entrance of the mansion. Compared to the last time he entered here, now that it was completely free from the control of the demon's power, the Osenfort Manor looked as dilapidated as if no one had lived there for a hundred years.

The house was almost just a frame, with traces of fire and smashing everywhere. When Xia De found a path that was barely walkable and reached the third floor, he found that the master bedroom, the only one with a light on, still maintained basic decency.

【Hela Osenfort's soul power is supporting the final scenery.】 "She" explained softly in Xia De's ear.

Entering the room, the illusion of the wedding had disappeared, leaving only Hela Osenfort, wearing a black dress and a veil, standing by the window.

Although the cold bedroom was also somewhat old, it was at least much better than the outside. Xia De walked to her side:

"It's over." "Thank you."

The woman turned around, and only then did Xia De see that her skin color was now very close to that of a real corpse, and her lips had truly turned purple.

Although there was no visible wound on her chest, Xia De knew that the woman before him was already dead. It was just that, compared to when she had that Stone Heart in her chest, now that she was heartless, she seemed more like a normal person.

The demon's power had vanished, and she was going to leave too. In fact, when Xia De entered the room, the color of the entire room had begun to peel away piece by piece.

The woman looked at him:

"My soul now belongs to you." "I said, I don't want souls."

So the veiled woman held up the stone heart that had suddenly appeared in her hands: "Then, please at least accept this."

Inside the stone heart, the black rose she had been holding in her hand just now was pierced through. The stem of the rose punctured the heart, damaging its integrity. But this also looked as if the withered rose had been planted into the heart.

"Also, in the last few months, Schluch has been helping cultists who worship evil gods hide locally. Yesterday, they came to the manor and took away the statue Schluch had made. That statue was not finished; it was still missing its final eyes."

Hela Osenfort said again.

Xia De pursed his lips and nodded, watching her figure grow fainter, peeling away piece by piece along with the scenery in the room: "Although this question, at this moment..."

"It no longer has any meaning, but I am still very curious—after losing the Stone Heart, do you still love him?"

"Yes."

The woman closed her eyes and said. The tear that fell from the corner of her eye slid down her cheek and landed on the black rose. The withered rose bloomed again, and Xia De took it from the woman's hand.

"Finally, in the back garden, I left a gift for you."

Hela Osenfort said at last, reaching out to wipe the tears that continued to fall, then opened her eyes to look at her own moist fingertips:

"So, my tears also have temperature."

Her figure continued to fade, then disappeared completely. The bedroom became dilapidated, the wall embedded with the window broke open into a large hole, and Xia De was now standing in front of the hole.

He looked down at the heart and rose he was holding. Under the blowing wind, the black rose actually drifted out tiny white snowflakes, just like when Xia De first observed Hela Osenfort using "Demon Sight" (Chapter 1300).

He held them with his right hand and carefully touched the rose petals with his left. In an instant, a cold feeling shot from his fingertips toward his heart, and then the feeling of heartache and sadness almost made Xia De cry.

【The demon's power, the soul's power, and some wonderful emotions that cannot be clearly stated grew that rose.】 "Then, does this count as a winter flower?"

Xia De asked, turning to prepare to go downstairs.

【Of course it counts... You planned this long ago?】

"How could that be? Originally, I was prepared to use snowflakes. 【Call Snowball】 is related to that winter god, after all."

After leaving the mansion, Xia De went to the back garden on his way, wanting to see the final gift Lady Hela mentioned. The back garden remained as Xia De had seen it last time, because it was already dilapidated enough.

Even in the snowy night, Xia De saw the oil painting easel standing in the snow at a glance. That position was exactly where Lady Hela had once painted an oil painting for Xia De.

"It couldn't be..."

He stepped through the snow, walking with uneven steps, and then saw that there was indeed a completed oil painting on the easel.

On the canvas, a young man was smiling, standing in the snow, his right hand resting on a very familiar shovel. Although the winter back garden was desolate, it was embellished by the gardener's hut in the distance, the half-exposed restored nursery on the left, and the white clouds in the azure sky.

The background in the oil painting was depicted quite delicately, and Xia De Hamilton, located in the center of the frame, was even more exquisitely rendered. More importantly, that face was not Xia De's disguised face, but his real face:

"She..."

Xia De turned to look at the mansion in the wind and snow, sighed softly, and put the painting away, intending to frame it and hang it in his own home.

Xia De did not return to the front courtyard to meet the Doctor directly from the back garden, but turned into a butterfly, flew over the wall, and arrived at the small pier by the Schluch River.

The originally frozen lake surface had shattered the moment 【Desire】 was summoned by Xia De, and now that he had arrived at the riverside again, even those floating ice chunks were nowhere to be seen.

Xia De didn't even need to call out; the sound of ripples paddling in the deep lake under the night sky appeared directly. Then came the woman's gentle smile, but that smile was not the "She" in his ear, but the "She" in the lake.

Splash~

Because it was on the side of the Osenfort Manor, the burning forest could not illuminate this place. Xia De stood on the small pier used for smuggling, watching the black-haired woman's head appear close to his feet in the night.

He looked down at her from above, and she looked up at him from below in a delicate posture. Although there were no words, just that expression was enough to make one's heart race.

"Look at you, how did you end up in such a state?"

The woman's head in the water asked. The voice sounded like a wife concerned about a husband returning home, but also like lovers complaining to each other while having an affair:

"It seems it will be a very, very long time before we see Goethe again."

With the sound of water

ringing softly, a fair, bare arm reached out from the water, and in that hand, she held a small yellow flower: "Do you need me to congratulate you on defeating the enemy?"

"Autumn flower, what price do I need to pay for you to give it to me?"

Xia De asked. The flower-selling girl he had met with Iluna not long ago had said that 【Desire】 could provide autumn flowers. And obviously, 【Desire】 was quite clear about the desires in Xia De's heart.

"What an unromantic man. How can you directly ask ladies for flowers?"

The head in the water said with a smile. If Xia De weren't currently in the recovery stage from serious injuries, he doubted whether he could continue to endure this voice:

"What do I need to pay?"

He asked again, so the beautiful face in the water made a gesture of biting her lip:

"If you could treat me as gently as you treat that girl with purple eyes, I might be willing to help you directly."

Xia De really wanted to hum a laugh, but he felt it was better not to do such things at this time:

"I know that all along, although you seem to have designs on me, you have actually helped me a lot... I won't say things like 'thank you', but I am also willing to do some things for you, just like before."

A series of laughs came from the water, and the sound was so light and alluring. Even without looking at that face, one could imagine what kind of beautiful woman could make such a moving sound:

"You can deceive so many witches; it's really not just because you can approach them at will. Fine, tell me, have you met any interesting people in this city recently?"

"I've met a witch who excels at acting, a demon-man who is evil but crazy for love, a friend who can propagate bloodlines into half a city, and I've also met..."

"Then, perform for me." ===== CHAPTER 1424 =====