The kiss under the moonlight lasted for a long time. When they finally walked away, Shad and Miss Lathers appeared.
Miss Lathers looked at their backs, while Shade bent down and picked up the two pages of paper on the ground, folded them carefully and put them in his pocket. These two pages of paper were still very useful to him:
"If we judge it by the standards of a play or an opera, the tension and impact of the final scene are clearly insufficient."
Shade commented.
"But real life is not acting. A peaceful and peaceful life is the main theme of life. I really like the ending of this story, but I didn't expect that Maggie would do such a thing in Willendell."
Miss Lathers said as she watched them go away.
"Let's go back. Margaret will probably be out soon."
Shade said, Miss Lathers nodded, but suddenly asked again:
"Come to think of it, I've been curious since a while ago. Why did you run to the stable? You said yourself that you were the first to arrive at the stable, and then Mr. Enriquez suddenly showed up."
Shade could have used Stone Oxenfurt as an excuse to evade the subject, but he didn't.
He stopped and looked at Miss Lathers's delicate face under the gaslight:
"I just met the Guardian again. But it wasn't the Guardian's real body, but an incarnation of clay. He told me that something went wrong with the Heart of the Earth. I'll explain it to you after the banquet is over and we return to the manor. And... Guardian, let me give you this."
He took out the golden stone:
"Touch this stone and you will gain the power of the earth."
While trying to help Shad extract the Time Key from the Night Temple, Miss Lathers accidentally obtained the memories left by Ms. Blackett, a witch from the previous era and Shad's friend who met in the Worm Cave, and thus obtained information about the magic - Power of the Earth, Memory of the Earth.
As long as she comes into contact with the power related to the power of the earth, she can learn this magic. Although Shade does not want Miss Lathers to become a part of the guardian after her death, because the chosen ceremony requires inviting five holders of the power of the earth, Shade must give this stone to her.
But Miss Lathers did not take the stone, but asked:
"Are you hiding something from me?"
The beautiful eyes looked at Xia De in the cold night.
"Why do you say that?"
"Recently, you've been looking at me with very strange eyes, as if you were worried that I would suddenly die. Also, last time in the Night Temple, you said something very strange to me, asking me not to give up my life easily. Although I can't guess what you know, it's obvious that you're hiding something very important from me."
The blonde looked at Shade, who didn't know what to say:
"Luvia must also know what you're hiding from me. Although Vanessa doesn't know all the details, she probably guessed it. You told me that I'm the third candidate for the Chosen One. What you're hiding from me must be related to the Chosen One, right?"
Xia De still didn't say anything.
"Is this matter related to my father? He sent me this stone specifically so that I could completely master the power of the earth and have the possibility of becoming the chosen one. This is definitely not because he still cares about me, but because it is beneficial to the earth... I understand."
The young girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes and looked at Xia De again, there was a kind of sympathetic emotion in her eyes that Xia De couldn't understand:
"The Guardian wants me to die and become a part of him?"
Although she did not think of the devil's conspiracy, she had already thought of the reason why the guardian sent the stone:
"And you and Luvia refused to tell me because my death would benefit everyone."
"Your death can indeed change some things, but I have other means to achieve the same result."
Xia De directly put away the golden stone:
"So, if you really die as the guardians wish, that will lead to the worst outcome. Miss Lathers..."
"Call me Sirius."
She said firmly.
"Okay, Sirius."
Xia De pointed in the direction of the manor house:
"There are many paths in front of me, and I don't want to choose the one where you die. The guardians are crazy. Even if they are not crazy, they are not normal. You have seen your father, and you know that they regard the earth as the most important thing. They don't have normal emotions like living people. Therefore, they are wrong, and you should not agree with the path they choose for you."
Hillis just looked at him:
"Even if the earth might be destroyed, you are unwilling to let me sacrifice?"
She must have a spirit of sacrifice, otherwise she would not have had the final conversation with long-haired Luvia in the fragment of the past life and the Sixth Era that Shad saw.
"I said, I have other ways. The earth will not be completely distorted so easily without your sacrifice. Sirius, I know my words may be a bit harsh, but you are not that important to this world."
The young girl was not angry, but smiled:
"Can you promise me one thing?"
"What is it?"
"I have come to the last step of my father's life. Tomorrow, Friday, accompany me to the Forgotten Church again. Although this matter now seems to have no other meaning except making me feel sad about the past, I still want to understand my father's thoughts in his last moments and see the scenery he saw at the end."
Those eyes looked at Shad, and Shad instinctively felt that rejecting this invitation would probably have very bad consequences in the upcoming finale of the story.
The crossroads of destiny. The choice you are about to make will have a significant impact on your future.
The whispering sounded gently in Xia De's ears, which made Xia De make a decision immediately:
"No problem, you can do it anytime tomorrow. However, I will not give you the stone that the guardian asked me to pass on to you for the time being... In order to prevent... the thing I want to prevent from happening."
The young blonde pursed her lips and looked at him. After a long while, she said softly:
"I roughly know why the witches of the Witch Council... Thank you."
Winter had not yet completely passed, and standing in the open courtyard and chatting at night was definitely not a good choice. Shade and Hillis did not stay by the fountain, but returned to the mansion where the banquet was being held.
"What did you do?"
As soon as they entered the lively banquet hall, Miss Sylvia and Miss Benanis came over together. The two gorgeous witches were holding wine glasses in their hands, but Miss Sylvia was holding champagne, while Miss Benanis was holding red wine.
"We went outside to talk about tomorrow night and early Saturday morning."
Xia De said calmly, while Hillis smiled and ignored the topic:
"Her Highness Margaret hasn't come out yet?"
"Coming soon. I just came from the study. The final negotiations went smoothly."
Miss Sylvia said, walking towards the sofa by the wall with the other three people:
"Margaret increased the amount of compensation, but divided it into three installments. The first installment is paid now, and the remaining two installments are paid every six months. Prince William also paid a sum of money for this contribution. With all these added up, the representatives of the Stonemasons Association roughly agreed."
"What form the apology will take in the end, and the king's request for repairs to the royal mausoleum."
Shade asked, and Miss Benanis smiled and said:
"My future apprentice is really capable. We are actually trapped in a thinking trap. Is it really such a hard job to maintain the royal mausoleum?"
"If the wages are right, even if it is a bit of a loss to maintain the royal mausoleum, it will be very helpful in improving the reputation."
Miss Lathers said, and then gave a hint:
"What the royal family wants to achieve is that the Stonemasons Guild works for free in the eyes of the outside world. It doesn't really matter what happens in reality."
Xia De understood a little:
"Although King Lion said that the Stonemasons Guild would repair the mausoleum for free, this was for the sake of the royal family's reputation. In fact, Margaret could have paid the Stonemasons Guild in other ways... Outsourcing? I mean, she set up a shell company, and the royal family assigned the task to this empty company, and then this company hired the Randall Valley Stonemasons Guild. As long as this relationship is not exposed, it is clear that the Stonemasons Guild did not take the royal family's money, but still repaired the mausoleum."
Miss Sylvia looked at Xia De in surprise:
"I didn't expect you to be able to think of this. With your life experience, you haven't experienced anything similar, right?"
“I read a lot of books.”
The stranger spoke very modestly, so Miss Benanis asked:
"Then Mr. Knight, who reads a lot of books, guess how are we going to get over this apology?"
"this... ... "
"Oh, don't move!"
The blonde witch suddenly said, and then reached out and hugged Shade's left arm with both arms:
"There's someone taking pictures over there. Just like last time, help me disguise myself."
She leaned forward with her whole body, her head slightly tilted, resting on Xia De's shoulder:
"The Council provided too much help in the Randall Valley incident. This will definitely make the Five Gods Church suspect that there is a great witch from the Witch Council stationed in the area, otherwise many things cannot be explained. So, help me get rid of the suspicion. No one would have thought that the women of the 'Handkerchief Lovers Association' that is widely circulated in the outside world also have close relationships with men."
"Did they often do this before we came?"
Miss Sylvia, who was holding a glass of champagne, raised her eyebrows and asked Hillis who was sitting next to her. The young blonde girl looked at the two of them, smiled and shook her head:
"It's only in the last few weeks that Vanessa has become bolder."
Then she was threatened by her best friend with her beautiful big eyes that were golden with a hint of emerald green.