"I understand. Even for her, I will hide well. This is my only chance to atone for my sins."
Durut Giles clenched his fist and nodded. Shade waved at him:
"I'm glad you understand. Also, remember to go to the Three Cats Inn at nine o'clock on Sunday morning to get the potion to lift the curse. After you get the antidote, you have to stay on the first floor for an hour."
"Yes, sir."
The man nodded immediately, but he didn't know that Shad wanted to find Sister Defulin and Priest Augustus to help see what was going on with Rusty Edwards' soul.
He turned around and prepared to leave, but the girls with fiery passion were still waiting for him to return to the room. But after taking two steps forward, he turned around and looked at Durut Giles, frowned slightly and asked:
"Viscount Chris Randall... a very familiar name... Did he participate in the Tobesk City Horse Riding Competition this spring? (Chapter 1551)"
Durut Giles was stunned:
"Oh, yes, I also went to watch the game at the King Edward III Arena. But Uncle Randall didn't get a good ranking, so no one would mention it to him."
Xia De nodded thoughtfully, turned around and left.
The enthusiasm of the girls was always hard to refuse, and the enthusiasm of Resia and Dorothy made the stranger intoxicated. Shade did not go to the banquet hall again, but turned into a cat and walked through the Yodel Palace and returned to Resia's bedroom. After knocking on the window in cat form, the arm behind the curtain almost immediately grabbed him in.
He originally thought that he could leave Yodel Palace after the banquet, but Leicia thought that Shad and Dorothy had finally come to her bedroom - this opportunity was really rare, and of course she couldn't leave like this.
Therefore, after the banquet that night, although Shad and his female companion left the Yodel Palace with other guests, he then returned here in a carriage secretly arranged by Her Royal Highness the Princess.
It had to be admitted that the big bed in Resia's bedroom was indeed very comfortable. Although it was a little too soft, it was not a big deal. Only the three of them knew what happened in Resia's bedroom that night, but the soft bed and the soft girls did cause Shade to not get up on time early on Saturday morning.
It was not until Ajelina entered the room to greet Resia on Saturday morning that Shad finally said goodbye to Resia and Dorothy, breaking free from the "spider web" woven by long red hair and long golden hair. When saying goodbye to Shad, no one cared about what happened last Saturday night. They all felt that Shad's enthusiasm had not changed at all compared to the past.
"Red Butterfly Day ends this afternoon, Xia De. Although there is a meeting in the afternoon, if you are free after the meeting, we can meet again."
This was the last thing Resia said to Shade. Ajelina had deliberately reminded him that she and Miss Carina were leaving by train this afternoon, so they would definitely have to see off the group of people, and there was no time to "continue".
For various reasons, by the time Shad arrived at the Green Lake Hotel to meet Megan, it was already 9:30 in the morning.
"If you don't show up, I'm leaving."
The beautiful lady behind the newspaper said, and after putting down the newspaper, she let Xia De see her somewhat impatient expression. Xia De really made her wait too long. The two of them had agreed to go and get the Ring of Mood today, but Xia De made her wait here for a full hour.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Xia De, who was holding Mia, kept saying that it was not his intention to take Mia out today, but the cat had not seen Xia De all night, so it insisted on following him this morning:
"I encountered some unspeakable things, so I was delayed. How about I treat you to lunch at noon?"
"I don't really mean to challenge you, but you don't need... lunch? Is that a formal invitation?"
Megan suddenly asked again, as if her mood had improved, and tapped the side of the teacup with her fingers:
"Then let's set off as soon as possible. Our destination is the lake, and we still have a long way to go."
The carriage of Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals was already waiting outside. After getting on the carriage, Shad described the test results of the four blood samples. Megan was not surprised at all because she had guessed that her father was really Edwards' bloodline.
She also told Shade about what happened in Green Lake City in recent days. She seemed to have confirmed that Shade was not in the city during the period of absence:
"I told you last time that the thirteenth ring 'White Dove Messenger' Minsk Toddles of the Peace Church has arrived here. In the past two days, the thirteenth rings of the Nature Church and the Sun Church have also come here. They are the 'Dream Witch' and the 'Son of Light'. This is the first time in the past five hundred years that so many thirteenth ring warlocks have come to the Green Lake area. Together with my ancestor and the hidden mirror man, there are five of them now."
"Is the church still searching the island?"
"Yes, for safety reasons, everyone will be cleared out after each investigation, and people will be sent to the island ten hours later. But even so, once space is lost, it will take longer to return to normal. Yesterday afternoon, the church seemed to have encountered the Mirror Man on the island, but there was no fight, and both sides were very restrained. I think it is unlikely that we will land on the island this week, but there will be no problem getting the fourth key next week."
She said confidently:
"Also, people from the Prophet Association arrived yesterday. They were sent directly from the Prophet Association headquarters, and this time they are led by a 12th-ring vice president. If that's not enough, the current 13th-ring president will also come. With so many people, I'm afraid my ancestor won't be able to hide no matter how powerful he is."
She also regarded the "Mirror Man" as an enemy of her ancestors, which was actually true. Although the Mirror Association was not a good group of people either, their goal this time was also to uncover the secret of the Central Island of Green Lake.
"In fact, things are not that easy. Don't forget that there are demons around your ancestors."
Xia De didn't think that the enemy this time was just a simple Thirteenth Ring.
"Since we mentioned demons, the place we are going to next might actually be related to demons."
The carriage carried the two men south out of the city. After crossing the countryside between the city and the lake, it did not head towards the village of Pukhov, which Shad was very familiar with, but headed northeast of Green Lake, which Shad had never been to.
The smooth dirt road soon became bumpy, until the carriage could no longer move forward, and the two got off and continued along the country road. At nearly 11 o'clock in the morning, a fork appeared in the road ahead, and the tattered road sign pointed to their destination, which was the abandoned lakeside manor.
Maybe this place was once prosperous, but now the bottom of the fence surrounding the manor has been completely covered by weeds. The weeds in the courtyard have covered the fountain, walkways, and swings, but the tree in the yard is still standing tall.
Green moss climbed up the walls of the manor house, and in the darkness of the glassless windows, it seemed as if something strange was peeping at the outside world. Desolate and gloomy, this was the most obvious feeling that Shade had about this place.
"This used to be the holiday estate of the local Earl Gaiman, and it was also once the best holiday estate outside the city. When it was at its peak, it hosted banquets for more than 100 nobles from both the north and south banks of Green Lake at one time. But that was more than 50 years ago."
Standing outside the gate, Megan said to Shade who was looking up at the mansion. Mia stood on Shade's shoulder and turned to look at the squirrel standing on the big tree next to the manor gate.
The squirrel looked at the cat and was scared away by the cat's cry. This made the orange cat very satisfied, as it was not afraid of anything smaller than itself.
“How did this place become abandoned?”
Shade asked, reaching out and clicking the lock, then pulling off the chain and throwing it aside.
"In the autumn of 1801, Count Gaiman accidentally fell off his horse and died. When his children were dividing the property, some accidents happened and attracted the attention of the local church - bloodstains in the basement and so on, you know. Later, after investigation, it was found that Count Gaiman suddenly became rich and was able to build such a luxurious manor because he made a wish to something very dangerous. I didn't get the specific investigation report, but I only know that not long after the earl's death, the Gaiman family declined and the title was stripped away."
The witch entered the manor in front of Shade and led the way for him:
"Because of the precedent of Rotten-Eye Barry, I knew that my ancestors must be in the cities on both sides of Green Lake, and there are more traces. I asked my girls to investigate the strange things that have happened in the local area in the past hundred years, and immediately discovered the past of the Gaiman family. Then I found some definite evidence that the Ring of Mood was once held by Count Gaiman.
But the last time I told you about the ring, I didn't know where it was. It might have been taken to the grave, it might be in the hands of descendants, it might be in this abandoned holiday estate, it might have been donated to the city museum as an ordinary item, or it might be lying in the evidence storage room of the police station. Be careful..."
She waved her fingers, and the black snake that swam in front of her suddenly flew up, and then the snake was split into two parts:
"Fortunately, no one else has found the ring. Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals found his descendants, pieced together the details, and finally locked onto the manor through an old photo. But we don't need to look for it ourselves. I have confirmed that the ring is under the floor of the bedroom on the third floor."
In fact, she could have sent someone to get it, but she just wanted to be alone with Xia De again, so she invited Xia De to come with her.
Shade had explored many abandoned manors, and when he was in the Randall River Valley, he had also explored the Oxenfort Manor in various states. However, the one in front of him was far away from the city and the village, and was exposed to the water vapor by the lake, so its building structure and interior decoration had become extremely dilapidated.