Chapter 3204: The Coin Game

"With Fanny—ahem, sorry, I mean with Miss Benares—I came to know her when I was traveling and paid a visit, out of admiration, to the 【Golden Dawn Opera Troupe】's station in Randel Valley. While watching a performance at the local Wylde Opera House, that lady discovered something special about me. She wanted to lock me up and study me at the time, but in the end it was the kind-hearted Miss Lasses who stopped her.

After that, a few things happened. She made me stay in Randel Valley and wouldn't let me leave, and when spring came she forced me to travel with the troupe on tour. During that time we went through many, many stories together, and before we knew it our relationship had improved."

Xia De stroked little Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya and sighed as he spoke the lie against his conscience:

"One day, she suddenly said to me: Go away, never let me see you again, the farther the better. I was helping the troupe's young ladies pick out costumes for the performance at the time, so I took it as a test and didn't leave. Later our relationship grew better and better, until that autumn when I took the initiative to bid her farewell. She cried and gave me a hug, and on behalf of everyone in the troupe invited me to come back and visit often."

This was the script of a romantic story Vanessa had written for herself, starring herself, under the assumption that "the first one to meet Xia De was not Miss Jia Lin Na but me." One had to admit she really did have a gift for screenwriting—every part of the story's beginning, development, turn, and conclusion had been carefully conceived. Even the Sun's Great Witch, listening to the story at this moment, had understood the inside story from just this short passage:

"So you and her..."

"The next time we met was early this morning, which is why she said it's been a long time."

Thus Claire Reinhardt believed she now understood everything completely, and that she herself did not seem to be at too great a disadvantage.

"As for meeting Miss Sylvia, that was something that happened in Wielendale."

He then launched into the story Sylvia had written, a story that fully reflected her personality:

"I went to visit a vampire friend of mine who runs a Jiuzhuang at the local school, and on my way out I happened to see her giving an academic presentation through the classroom window. I was immediately drawn to this young lady, so young yet so well-versed in number theory, so I slipped to the back of the classroom to listen, and then she spotted me. But unlike Miss Benares, Miss Sylvia didn't reveal her identity right away—she invited me to be her research assistant instead.

She had originally intended to use that excuse to uncover my secret, but the longer we spent together the more harmonious we became. One day, when an important paper of hers was accepted, she invited me to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Wielendale. During the meal she told me about witches, curses, and the like, and wanted me to become her student.

Xia De drew a deep breath—he knew he would definitely have to apologize many times in the future for telling these lies:

"That's pretty much how it went, except I didn't agree, she wouldn't let me leave, and so we fought. She was only Tenth Ring back then, just one level above me, so we called it a draw. We were both worn out, so we lay together on the hill outside the city watching the moon through the night, and after that she let me go."

The Sun's Great Witch nodded lightly, thinking that the youngest lady in the Parliament did indeed have more tricks up her sleeve, though in the end she had only kept the relationship at the level of "friends":

"Speaking of which, may I ask how old you are?"

She asked Xia De curiously again. Discussing a man's age was no taboo topic, so Xia De answered according to his usual public story:

"Twenty-two."

The Great Witch across from him nodded. Although she had long known he was young, she hadn't expected his real age to really be as young as his appearance. To prevent herself from being drawn into a discussion of age—she was clearly much older than the Outlander—she promptly steered the topic away again, chatting with Xia De about a few political matters.

Over the past two days the newspapers of the Lagerson Duchy had been promoting the news that representatives from Draguilla and Carson-Rick were preparing to meet in the duchy for talks. Whether the meeting place would be Romari City or Time Wheel City, there was no firm conclusion, but the newspapers considered the former more likely.

And when that topic too came to an end, the main course and salad had already been cleared away, and the waiter had brought the dessert—blueberry pudding—to the table. The witch lifted her wine glass and clinked it against Xia De's once more, then turned to look out the window at the night view of Time Wheel City. A few seconds later she unexpectedly raised an eyebrow.

After the waiter left, she said softly:

"Just now I saw someone I know."

"Someone you know? Someone from the town?"

Xia De inquired. The witch shook her head gently:

"A friend I used to play with when I was a child, back when I was still on the island. Later her family moved into the city, and I haven't seen her in over ten years... Just now I saw her passing through the square dressed in men's clothes..."

"Shall we go after her to take a look?"

Xia De asked again. The witch's pale-gold eyes then shifted from outside the window to the face of the young man sitting across the table, holding his wine glass with a smile on his face. She admitted she had been dazed for a moment. In the candlelight and the light of the crystal chandelier, to the strains of the restaurant's violin, she felt she was gazing at the moon of her dreams:

"No need. Everyone has their own secrets, just like you."

Xia De set down his wine glass, the smile on his face growing softer:

"Then, what else would you like to know?"

The witch winked at him, then took a one-kron coin from her clutch:

"How about we play a little game? Guess heads or tails of the coin. Just three rounds. The loser has to answer one question from the winner—of course, nothing too outrageous. It'll help us get to know each other better. I know you're curious about me too, aren't you?"

Xia De was not curious—Jia Lin Na and the others had already said everything they should and shouldn't have—but he thought of his "undercover mission":

"That sounds very interesting, but I should declare in advance that my luck is very good."

Miss Reinhardt covered her mouth and laughed in a very ladylike manner:

"At the foot of this snowy mountain, my luck is also quite good. Then I'll take that as your agreement to play. Which side will you choose?"

"Please allow me to gather some luck first."

Xia De said as he stroked little Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya. The cat purred obediently, and when she looked up at Xia De, candlelight glimmered in her amber eyes.

"The numbers side."

"Very well, then I'll take the other side."

She didn't toss the coin, but gave it a gentle twist, sending it spinning across the tablecloth. Xia De wiped his hands with a handkerchief and set it aside just in time to see the coin gradually come to rest—sure enough, the numbers side was facing up.

The young lady with platinum-blonde hair shook her head regretfully:

"Well then, Mr. Watson, as a gentleman, what question would you like to ask me?"

"Do you like cats?"

He asked, and the lady across the table made a slightly annoyed expression:

"I accept my loss gracefully—lost is lost—don't ask me questions like that. Oh, Mr. Watson, you think of yourself as a gentleman, but you really don't know how to win a young lady's favor. Faced with a pretty girl who has clinked glasses and shared a drink with you, aren't you even a little curious about her?"

Seeing that the preliminary groundwork had been laid, Xia De put on a thoughtful expression and asked:

"Alright then, I'll ask—if you don't want to answer, you don't have to—back then why did you quarrel with Elder Harald, and then leave this island?"

He didn't think he could only win once, so at the start he hadn't asked that potentially very sensitive question. And the witch was not surprised by Xia De's question. She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes shining as she looked at Xia De with a slight quiver of her brows. Even the most accomplished painter could not have imagined from thin air the scene in Xia De's eyes at this moment:

"It wasn't all that complicated. When I was young... I mean, when I was still very small, I studied in Wielendale City. After graduation, my grandfather wanted me to stay there and inherit his work—or rather, his duty.

But I didn't want to be stuck in such a small place. I wanted to see a wider world, to experience more stories. So I had a big quarrel with my grandfather and, in a fit of anger, left home directly."

She lifted her wine glass again; only a shallow sip of red remained at the bottom. She angled the bowl of the goblet toward the candle on the table, looking through that layer of red at the flame and at Xia De. Although a Tier-Eleven Great Witch couldn't get drunk, she felt strangely tipsy:

"That was three years ago. But actually my grandfather and I didn't have that big a falling out, and I've been looking for a chance to apologize to him. So when I received his letter this time, I hurried back at once... But after All Souls' Day, I should probably leave again."

Xia De thought she most likely wouldn't be able to leave. Judging from the strange things that had happened one after another in the past few days, Xia De was almost certain the Ninth Chosen One was on this island.

"What about you? What are your plans after All Souls' Day?"

She set down her glass and asked Xia De with a slightly hazy look in her eyes. The atmosphere was very pleasant—after eating and drinking one's fill, people always tend to have thoughts they normally wouldn't. But before Xia De could open his mouth to answer, she smiled and shook her head:

"No, I haven't won yet, so you don't need to answer me—shall we guess the numbers again?"

"Yes."

The coin was spun a second time, and once again Xia De won. Miss Reinhardt, with her long platinum-blonde hair, smiled gently. She tilted her head slightly as she looked at Xia De, and the meaning in her pale-gold eyes was clearly an invitation for Xia De to continue asking.

"Let me think... Miss Benanis and the others all think you're going to the New Continent with Miss Larson, so why lie and come here instead? The Parliament shouldn't discriminate against tribal people, should they?"

The witch curled her lips and smiled;

"Of course not, I just have some personal reasons... alright, it's not a complicated question. I just don't want them to realize that I'm someone with a happy family. You haven't met that many witches yet, so you probably don't know—most of the great witches live all alone, and I'm the one with the happiest family among them."

Thinking carefully, it really was the case. Although Miss Jia Lin Na had a bunch of grand-nieces and nieces, her parents had long passed away, and the only remaining older brothers and sisters were all advanced in years; Grandmother Cassandra needed no further mention; Sylvia and Vanessa had long lost both parents; the 'Edwards Family' of Megan and Audrey now only had the second generation's ghost, the fifth generation's ghoul, and the sixth generation's 'young people' remaining; Hevi ran the household, and in the Aurora family there were no relatives older than her; as for Bella of Moon Bay, her mother was still alive, but only her mother remained.

【And there's the 'Owl'.】

"Yes, because of her mother's death, Flora hates her father to death—hasn't she been busy lately trying to strip her father of his right to inherit the title?"

Xia De thought to himself, and Miss Reinhardt across the table not only had both parents alive—living as ordinary people in a small town—but even her maternal grandfather and grandmother were still living. The town was full of relatives and childhood playmates of hers. Although compared to other witches she didn't have as much wealth and power, she was indeed very happy compared to the others.

"Then I wish your life can continue to be happy."

Xia De raised his glass again, and Claire Reinhardt likewise raised hers. After drinking the last sip of red wine in one gulp, she was about to pick up the coin again, but was stopped by Xia De:

"I concede. For the third round, you ask me."

So when the young Miss spoke, there was a hint of reproach in her tone:

"Are you going easy on me?"

Golden eyes reflecting the candlelight looked at him, and Xia De likewise gazed into her eyes:

"There are some things one cannot win too much of. I've always believed that fate is a double-edged sword, so before one blade swings at me, I'll make my move first... Winning two out of three rounds is already enough."

"Sweet talk. It still sounds like you're deliberately going easy on me."

Though complaining so, she still smiled:

"Then once the current matters in hand are dealt with and All Souls' Day is over, what will you do?"

"I'll probably stay for a while. I came here to look for a certain dangerous fellow, and right now I still have no leads at all."

"Then I'll stay too and help you. After all, I don't have anything important going on lately either."

She blinked lightly:

"This counts as my thanks to you."

Xia De thanked her softly, and when he lowered his head to eat dessert, he asked inwardly once more:

"I keep feeling Miss Reinhardt's state tonight is very off—is she alright?"

【No elemental anomalies detected.】

"She" said with a gentle laugh:

【Perhaps you should look for the reason in yourself.】

"Mm... for example?"

【Stop smiling at her like that.】

(End of this chapter)