Chapter 2134

"A Heart of Justice? Is this some specific item, or does it refer to the character of justice?"

"Justice itself."

Luweiya said, then looked at Xia De seriously in the darkness of the bedroom. Xia De felt as if he could truly see those beautiful purple eyes glowing.

"The information obtained in exchange for that coin is more than just this. Listen: pulling out the Sword of Light is the Chosen ritual to become the 'Chosen of Light'. Yes, this ritual is simply pulling the sword. But for the time being, it is impossible to divine how to obtain that sword, and even less is known about what else is required to pull it out, aside from possessing justice itself."

Xia De sat on the edge of the bed and gently hugged her:

"A Chosen related to 【Dragon and Justice】, with a ritual involving a sword—this is truly fitting... Don't worry, this sounds no more difficult than dealing with the insane Guardian of the Earth or the diviner who surpassed the Thirteenth Ring."

"But we both know that the stories of the Chosen only get more dangerous each time. Do you remember Iluna's story from last summer? The most dangerous part of that was merely a crippled Silver-Eyed One."

Luweiya also wrapped her arms around Xia De's neck:

"It's not that I don't trust your abilities, but I am truly worried about you."

Aside from worry, this sentence also carried a hint of coquettishness. Xia De gently patted her back and asked with a smile:

"Speaking of which, do you think Iluna and I are people of justice?"

"Of course. Although Iluna's ideas can be a bit extreme at times, she is undoubtedly a good girl. As for you, Xia De, I have never seen anyone as upright and gentle as you."

She released her hold on Xia De, pressed her nose against his, and looked at him with her purple eyes.

Xia De stopped speaking as well, looking into those charming and beautiful eyes before him. And when Luweiya's eyelashes trembled and those eyes slowly closed, Xia De pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently.

(Little Mia is running...)

Time arrived at Wednesday. The morning at No. 6 St. Deran Square welcomed the Duchess and her maids, so Luweiya did not need to busy herself with making breakfast.

Emilia was still in the bedroom and hadn't gotten up, while Little Mia lay on Xia De's lap, waiting for food very obediently. Xia De sat on the sofa with Miss Galina and Luweiya, but as soon as the red-haired witch opened her mouth, it caused Luweiya, who had just picked up her teacup, to choke:

"Xia De, we held a meeting last night, and Bella, Emma, and Vanessa talked about your situation."

Princess Lei Qianya had already informed her about Xia De turning into a dragon, so this was not what she had come to say:

"Later, Vanessa chatted with me again. What Bella said—that she held you in her arms and fed you milk..."

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

Luweiya really did choke, and Xia De hurriedly patted her back. The young lady diviner, ignoring the fact that she was still coughing, looked at Xia De with a strange gaze:

"You have this kind of hobby? I thought you only liked girls' legs recently."

The Duchess laughed very happily, while Xia De explained:

"That was in cat form, and it was pink essence used to restore Qi, fed to me via a baby bottle. I remember telling you about this."

He looked at the red-haired witch, who was clearly saying this on purpose:

"Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't lie. Bella is truly lucky. You refuse to turn into a cat in front of us, and Princess Lei Qianya says you won't be able to turn into a dragon for a short time. So whether it's feeding a cat or riding a dragon, Bella has become the first."

"If you want, later... You came here so early in the morning, surely not just to tease me?"

Xia De asked with a sigh, knowing that he would be teased by the girl beside him for quite a while about turning into a dragon and then a cat.

"I certainly wouldn't be that bored, but is that young elf living here with you now?"

She raised an eyebrow. After Luweiya briefly introduced the situation, she didn't say anything more, as she didn't believe Xia De would actually do anything to an underage elf:

"The witches held a meeting yesterday. The Speaker heard Bella's report on Moon Bay and accepted the conclusion that the Chosen of Light is about to appear. However, this time the Council will not be sending as many people to Moon Bay as they did for the Green Lake incident. Moon Bay is a major diocese, and the Church's supervision is relatively strict. Moreover, Bella's own influence in Moon Bay far exceeds the influence the Audrey sisters had on Green Lake or Vanessa had on the Randall Valley. If so many people go again this time, I'm afraid it will arouse unnecessary suspicion from the Church."

"Are you not going this time?"

Xia De asked, and the Duchess nodded regretfully:

"Yes. If I, the Duchess, were to disappear from the public eye for a while for various reasons every time a Chosen appeared, it would be too suspicious. Grandma Cassandra will not participate this time either; after all, she is too old, and this time it does not involve the safety of the Council witches. Megan and Audrey are still dealing with their own affairs, so whether they can make it depends on them. Currently, only Vanessa and Emma are confirmed to be going to Moon Bay, but it is estimated they won't set off immediately."

"What about Miss Aphra?"

Luweiya asked.

"According to the materials left by Laplace Howard, she is accompanying Sister Daifulin to the New Continent to search for the flame. They are still there now, and it is uncertain when they will return. Don't worry, that information is fine. It's just that in the ruin where the First Flame is hidden, other clues related to the fragments of the Poem and the Witch Emperor were discovered, which is why they have been delayed for so long."

"So, this time the Witch Council is not as urgent about the seventh Chosen as they were the previous times?"

Xia De asked with a frown.

"It's not that they aren't urgent; it's that the Council did too much the previous times. Look at the seven known Chosen: Iluna is a member of the Church, Ivan Darkness is dead, and although Sister Daifulin cooperates with the Church, the Church actually knows that the 【Spirit Cult】 and the 【Witch Council】 have always been in contact. Leigins Pulin has gone insane, the Guardians of the Earth basically ignore everyone, and the Chosen of Space is now nominally one of our people."

The red-haired Duchess counted them off:

"You see, on the surface, the number of Chosen the Witch Council can influence is actually greater than all the Five Gods Churches combined."

"And in reality, that is indeed the case."

Luweiya said with a smile. The witch nodded complacently and looked at Xia De gently:

"Yes, so this time the Speaker has decided that we should keep a low profile. Furthermore, although the Speaker has always been dissatisfied with Bella's attitude of over-relying on divination, she trusts Bella's abilities. It would be better if the Chosen of Light also stands on our side; if that cannot be done, at least Bella must determine the other party's detailed identity."

Having said this, both Xia De and Luweiya understood. Xia De then spoke about the current progress of the investigation. She already knew that the Chosen needed to possess the power of various "dragons," and the matter of the "Sword of Light" was currently top secret.

But unfortunately, although Galina Cavendish had heard the story of that sword, it was only hearsay. However, the Witch Council had a vast collection of books, and she certainly hadn't read every single one:

"I will have Audrey and Megan investigate it. They hold the seats of Wisdom and Knowledge, and they have read the most books."

Since she had come here early in the morning, the witch naturally wanted to have breakfast at the house. Therefore, when Emilia was woken up by Difa knocking on the door, the sleepy-eyed elf girl had only just walked out of the room when she saw the Duchess she feared sitting at the table, and she thought she hadn't woken up yet.

At the breakfast table, because Miss Galina did not want to expose her identity as a witch and a Ring Mage, she did not discuss those sensitive topics with Xia De and Luweiya. However, she asked about Xia De's plans for the day, and upon learning that Emilia, who was staying here temporarily, had nothing else to do besides meeting her two friends at the Three Cats Hotel, she took the initiative to suggest:

"Xia De, you just said that Emilia and Little Agerina have become friends? It just so happens that I remember Agerina has nothing to do today. Let her take your friend and client for a tour outside the city to see Tobesk in the summer. Although the scenery of farms, horse tracks, and lakes is something the locals are used to, it is still quite good in the eyes of outsiders."

"Of course, that's great. Emilia, do you want to go?"

Xia De also asked for the elf's opinion. She naturally had no problem with it, fearing that if she chose to stay here, Xia De would assign her more translation work.

After breakfast, the once-lively house was left with only Little Mia to look after it, but the cat was quite satisfied with this.

Xia De set off from the basement and headed to Moon Bay again. After meeting Mr. Bernhardt at Spider Alley, who was yawning and looked like he hadn't slept well, they took a carriage together and set off again for the Steam Bathhouse in the north of the city.

"Did you have insomnia last night?"

On the slightly bumpy carriage, Xia De asked curiously, thinking that vampires were the kind of race that could sleep whenever they wanted.

Mr. Bernhardt yawned again:

"Ha~ sorry, for us, the concept of insomnia does not exist; falling asleep quickly is our instinct. It's just... I had a nightmare."

He sat in the carriage with his back hunched:

"Perhaps it was because I thought about too many things before going to sleep. Last night, I dreamed that I was constantly walking forward on a dark body of water. I knew the end was right in front, but I could never reach the destination. So I walked and walked, walked and walked, until even my soul was completely numb. That feeling cannot be described in words; it was truly..."

Mr. Bernhardt shuddered violently, then shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Xia De had originally thought he was stimulated by the scene of seeing off the black cat yesterday evening, but later he thought that in the Past Era—the Sixth Era, Armand Bernhardt, who was melted by light in a city with arched bridges, had a soul that could no longer rest after death because the concept of death itself collapsed, just as he was describing now.

"Is this Mr. Bernhardt's precognitive dream? Or did he sense the memory of the 【Calamity Card: Undead Ghost】 because he has been in contact with me for too long? Or, was it really just a dream?"