Chapter 113: Such Times, If Only They Could Last Forever (Two-in-One)
When Helen came out of the divination shop, half an hour had already passed.
The sunset slowly took away the light from the earth, and the color of the sky was shifting from fiery red to pitch black.
Rast was waiting outside the shop; under the sunset, his shadow seamlessly merged with the deepening night.
“You’re out?”
“How did it go? Is that diviner reliable?”
Rast asked as he watched Helen come out, holding a little notebook.
However, he already had the answer in his heart.
This was because he had communicated with the team members in advance to arrange for the “Divination Club” segment—
Thus, Rast had already disclosed some details about Her Majesty the Queen’s daily life to his teammates through the agreed-upon code.
After all, a woman’s questions when seeking divination were usually just those.
What is the name of her pet? What is her favorite color? What is her favorite piece of clothing? And so on.
Later, it would just be about predicting financial fortune, relationships, and studies… It just required agreeing with the client’s needs and providing some emotional value to wrap things up.
No matter who the team sent for the task, with the intelligence provided by Rast, becoming a diviner was no problem at all.
As he thought this, Rast noticed a line of elegant ice blue writing appeared on his sleeve.
“Very reliable.”
“I really like… the future she predicted o(^▽^)o”
The final emoticon resonated with the excitement sparkling in the girl’s eyes.
The predicted future?
What exactly did Grey discuss with Her Majesty the Queen in the divination shop?
Rast’s thoughts stirred slightly.
In the next moment, he saw the girl before him, stepping lightly to his side.
She reached out her hand and, just like in the daytime, took Rast’s hand.
Immediately afterward, Rast felt a slight weight on his shoulder as someone gently rested their head on it.
At that moment, darkness fell, and boundless night engulfed the world.
Under the black sky, their silhouettes looked like carved sculptures.
“Such times…”
“If only they could last forever…”
The writing on Rast’s sleeve glowed softly with shimmering blue light in the darkness.
…
As night fell, the long streets of the royal city gradually lit up.
At first, it was just a few scattered lights, but soon it spread out.
In this era, electricity was not yet widespread, so it was naturally impossible to recreate the modern-day illusion of night as day.
Various lanterns and oil lamps swayed, casting their soft glow; the world at this moment felt as though it was divided into two sides of a mirror, with the skyline serving as a mirror reflecting the starry sea.
“We should go home.”
“If we are late, Anna will discover we’ve sneaked out.”
Helen wrote to show Rast, but she kept looking back reluctantly, gazing at the pitch-black mountain outside the city.
This was the place where fireworks had been set off that night; the hillside was covered with lush forests, and from the top, one could see the ocean on the other side… resembling the place where the protagonists of “Chronicles of Silver Wings” went into hiding at the end of the story.
Helen had wanted to go there to play from the very beginning… But the scenery within the city had already dazzled her, consuming an entire day, and by the time she came to her senses, it was very late.
“If we keep sneaking out for a few days, Anna will soon become suspicious.”
“Let’s go back and have a good rest for a few days. Next week, when Anna takes her turn, we’ll go there.”
Rast did not speak but wrote on Helen’s notebook as well.
Anna was the head maid in the palace and was nominally Rast’s superior, seemingly having served as a maid since Helen’s mother was still in power.
Thus, even Helen sometimes respected Anna’s opinion.
If she discovered that he had been aiding in the Queen’s abduction… it would undoubtedly pose a significant obstacle to Rast’s actions.
Hearing this, Helen obediently nodded.
She saw Rast raise his hand and wave toward the end of the street.
In the next moment.
A shiny, well-maintained taxi carriage quietly stopped in front of them.
…
“Well done, Little Grey!”
The curtain of the diviner’s hut was pushed aside.
The petite Yannis rushed over like a bear.
“News has come from the captain; Her Majesty is quite satisfied with this divination.”
“Our plan is progressing smoothly, and the target has completely trusted the captain.”
“Next, the ‘Lost Paradise’ plan can advance to the third stage, which is the final stage.”
Yannis hugged Grey, who was dressed as a diviner, and rubbed her pristine white cheek.
“Good job, Little Grey.”
“When you volunteered to play the diviner at the beginning, the vice-captain and I were a bit worried that you would shy away and expose your true identity, but we never expected you to perform so brilliantly.”
“Even with the previous insider information provided by the captain, it still shows that you have a talent for acting.”
“And… that was a queen of a nation who could rival a legend in her own domain!”
“You managed to keep a straight face while interacting with her… even the vice-captain said that your calmness in the face of such overwhelming pressure is a model for all of us new guardians to learn from.”
Yannis looked quite excited.
It was no wonder she was so animated; as a new guardian, she had been assigned a high-level task right from the start, playing an important role in helping the team push the plan to its final stage.
Regardless, this was an achievement worth her pride.
However, on the other side.
Grey, hidden beneath her hooded cloak, felt none of the excitement or pride that Yannis displayed.
She merely stared blankly at the crystal ball on the wooden table before her, which was clear and translucent.
Originally, this was just a prop casually found by the guardian team to assist Grey in playing the diviner…
But at this moment, the previous dazzling silver gleam within the crystal ball had not faded; there was still some residual light.
This was the resonance of “Fate” in the real world.
The questions and answers exchanged between her and Helen had indeed been arranged based on the insider information provided by Rast.
Any guardian could have fared nearly the same.
However.
The last question posed by Helen, along with her response, was not as simple as acting.
Recalling earlier, the scene she had seen in her mind—
A hint of confusion flashed in Grey’s green eyes.
Whether it was the plan of “Lost Paradise” or the result of that prophecy, including her involvement as a witness to this grand performance…
For some reason.
What Rast was doing in Paradise City at this moment appeared in Grey’s eyes…
But there was a slight disconnect and a sense of incongruity compared to the figure in her memory that had rescued her from the despairing cycle in Frozen Water Town.
It felt as if something was hidden in the fog, yet to be unveiled.
…
In the real world, at the Tower of Secrets.
The light screen shimmered with ripples, reflecting the scenes within.
The royal city shrouded in night suddenly began to rain.
But it wasn’t like the previous storm; it was a light drizzle, and the yellow lights along the streets were sprinkled with rain as fine as cow hair.
The evening breeze intertwined with the drizzle, adding a touch of loneliness to the city that had returned from its clamor to tranquility.
The carriage carrying Rast and Helen sped across the flooded streets of the imperial capital, splashing up water.
“They’re returning to the palace.”
Mr. Silver chewed on his grilled fish cake, pointing at the scenes in the light screen.
His food had upgraded from little fish snacks to grilled fish cake, as even Ophelia had grown somewhat hungry after watching the live broadcast for so long and instructed her subordinates to bring some food to the Tower of Secrets.
And Mr. Silver had cleverly, or shamelessly, seized the opportunity and had a chance to indulge in some takeaway funded by the Second Princess.
“Anyone can see this; if you don’t speak, nobody will think you’re mute, Little Ferret.”
Ophelia shot Mr. Silver a glance.
But Mr. Silver clearly wouldn’t stop making comments just because of Ophelia’s words.
For someone like him, being able to watch live streams without commenting was akin to watching videos without being allowed to send b*llet comments, or reading novels without the ability to post discussions; it would rob him of much of the fun.
“So—does this guy have such good luck with girls?”
“If they hadn’t boarded the carriage early, they would be soaking wet by now.”
“Not luck.”
Ophelia shook her head, her wine-red eyes locked onto everything in the light screen.
Behind her, the immortal metal glowed, and the mechanics’ auxiliary intelligence automatically performed a slow-motion analysis of the previous images: “That coachman is suspicious.”
“Although dressed as a coachman, there are no signs on his hands of years of holding the reins and being exposed to wind and sun.”
“Moreover, the coachman’s breathing is very steady and balanced—a trained soldier or someone with a similar profession.”
“Additionally, though subtle—”
“When the two boarded the carriage, this coachman exchanged slight eye contact with Rast.”
Dark streams of data flowed quickly through her wine-red eyes.
Then she concluded with a credible determination: “This coachman is in cahoots with my brother-in-law.”
“Moreover, this coachman, or his team behind him, must have mastered some ability to predict future weather, foreseeing the upcoming rain.”
“Thus, they arranged for the carriage to pick them up in advance.”
“Given the context of the Sixth Epoch, I suspect this is some sort of ability.”
“Wow, that’s terrifying! Is it an ability similar to ‘weather forecasting’?” Mr. Silver exclaimed in shock.
“Thankfully we’re still in the Sixth Epoch… If this were the modern world, he’d probably only get to host at a meteorological station.”
Ophelia ignored the snowy ferret’s remarks and directed her attention back to the swirling data streams.
After a long moment, she spoke softly: “There’s more than just that coachman.”
“All their actions today, from the circus to the final divination club, were orchestrated by this team behind the scenes.”
“This is an entirely staged performance, except for… the main female character in the story.”
“Yes, but what exactly is their goal?”
Mr. Silver finished the last piece of his cake, reaching out his little paw to lick off the crumbs, the teasing in his voice became somewhat subdued:
“It’s apparent they went through so much trouble to stage such a romantic story; there has to be a reason.”
“Who knows? Making a queen, who is close to a legend and a ruler, fall in love with oneself has its benefits,” Ophelia remarked coolly.
“Attracted by beauty, wanting to live off a soft touch, coveting some treasure in this land, or a con… all are possibilities.”
The conversation between the two suddenly paused.
Because in the light screen, that speeding carriage slowed to a stop.
This was a nondescript alley in the inner city, a street away from the central palace.
Rast jumped down first, holding up the umbrella he had taken from the carriage.
Then a slender white leg extended out, a girl with ice blue hair leapt out from the carriage, her toes lightly touching the ground, avoiding the puddles.
They ran towards the alley leading to the palace underneath the umbrella; the girl’s steps were light, while Rast’s pace was steady. The black umbrella perfectly covered the girl’s entire body while only covering half of himself.
In the gently swaying umbrella tip and the ice blue strands of hair blowing in the wind, the sound of rain seemed to fade in an instant.
In the fine drizzle, that small alley extended infinitely into the darkness.
Mr. Silver opened his mouth, wanting to offer commentary on the live broadcast as usual, but when the sharp critique reached his lips, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
He turned to look at Ophelia beside him, only to find that the little princess was also looking at him.
In silence, the two shared a glance; they wanted to say something but realized they had nothing to say.
After a day of wild fun with friends, when exhaustion sets in on the return journey, sitting in the carriage listening to the rain outside, feeling the city’s night silence along with their own souls… in this silence, their hearts felt so close that even their breathing was clearly audible.
This was a beautiful scenery that could only be fairly judged by those who had personally experienced it.
But unfortunately, neither the eternally homebound Mr. Silver nor the seemingly mature yet underage little princess had ever had such experiences.
So, the duo of commentators could only watch the light screen quietly in silence.
“So beautiful…”
After a long while, Ophelia spoke softly.
“Yeah, very beautiful.”
Mr. Silver nodded, suddenly feeling less confident about his earlier guess.
This scene was so beautiful that it was hard to bear to destroy.
Even if Rast’s heart was as deep as a black hole that devours light… he should be able to feel this beauty too.
This was a story beautifully reminiscent of a fairy tale, and it should have a fairy tale-like ending.
“Playing with emotions, causing chaos in hearts, deceiving naive girls… this guy can’t really do something that spoils the mood, can he?”
“A playwright like you would be scorned by thousands, reviled by the masses, and hunted down by everyone, you know?” Mr. Silver muttered a few words.
His murmurs were very quiet, but they were caught by Ophelia beside him.
Her wine-red eyes gazed at the scenery in the light screen, pondering something.
“If that’s the case…”
“Then he might just be a good match for my sister.”
(End of Chapter)
