When Shad came to Cassandra Auction House in the rain with a bouquet of flowers, the first-floor lobby that was almost smashed to pieces by the vampires on Wednesday night had returned to its former bustling appearance.
Even though it was raining today, the well-dressed merchants and nobles were still happy to walk around the auction house, chatting with each other about the items they were interested in, or joking about the latest news in the city.
As Shad folded his umbrella and handed it to the waiter beside him, he even heard people talking about the tree on the top of Mount Sikar.
The witch's apprentice, Miss Rita Swift, who had beautiful flaxen hair, happened to be on the first floor, directing people to rehang the paintings and photos on the walls of the auction house. When she saw Shade coming, she greeted him enthusiastically:
"Mr. Watson, my mother-in-law told me this morning that you would certainly come today or tomorrow."
She seemed to be in a particularly good mood and took Shade to the top floor of the auction house to meet Grandma Cassandra.
When the two of them walked up the stairs and there was no one else around, she blushed and excitedly told Xia De:
"The teacher now lets me try to manage the auction house. Although it is just the logistics and financial auditing work of the headquarters, it is also a good start. The teacher said that I did a good job on Wednesday night and this is a reward for me."
This somewhat unconfident girl smiled happily at this moment:
"I know, this must have something to do with the teachers you saved."
"No, no, the one who rescued them was that one."
Shade pointed upwards, referring to the gods:
“I just made a small contribution to it.”
"That's also amazing, you know? After I learned about what happened that night from my mother-in-law, it really felt like a myth recorded in the books of the True God Church."
She lowered her voice slightly:
"Before you left the auction house that night, you knew that the great one was coming, but you still rushed to Mount Sikar... It's amazing, Mr. Hamilton, you are the most amazing man I have ever met."
Shade shook his head:
"By the way, is Mr. Armand Bernhardt still imprisoned in the basement?"
"Someone paid the ransom on Saturday, and Granny erased a small part of his memory of Wednesday night, made him sign a special contract to promise not to reveal the secret, and then let him go."
Mr. Bernhardt was seriously injured that night and his memory was not clear, so doing this would not harm him.
"He only remembers meeting you, but doesn't remember what questions you asked. In addition, he left you a letter... Mother-in-law checked it and it basically said thank you for your help and he wanted to invite you to visit his estate when you have time. Mr. Bernhard's family runs a large winery in Carsenrick and controls many good vineyards."
Before going to see Grandma Cassandra, Miss Swift went to get the letter. Mr. Armand Bernhardt brought the embodiment of the God's Descent, the prince of the blood-sucking species, to the city, but he himself didn't know much about the God's Descent itself. Therefore, Shade didn't have any bad feelings towards him, but thought he was a good person. After all, before Shade was ready to go into the mountains on Wednesday night, Mr. Bernhardt had repeatedly persuaded him not to take risks.
If there was a chance to go to Carson Creek in the future, Shad would go and visit this gentleman. He had heard many times from Luvia and Dorothy about the scenery of the southern vineyards, which would probably be very nice.
The battle on Wednesday did not cause too many injuries to the two witches. Mother-in-law Cassandra was still the same. When she saw Shad coming, she stood up to welcome him.
The old witch heard from Sister Devlin what happened in the mountains that night. Shad didn't know whether she believed the slightly modified and polished story completely, but at least Mother-in-law Cassandra believed it all on the surface.
She warmly invited Shade to stay for lunch today, and then took Shade to meet Grace and Helen. Sister Defulin took them back to the city that night, and then they stayed in the auction house to rest.
But this time they were not in the room with a strong seal in the basement of the auction house. The Red Butterfly Twins were now living in a room on the top floor of the auction house. That room had been converted into a special ward, with two four-poster beds placed between wooden bedside tables, and two red Phalaenopsis orchids in a porcelain vase at the head of the bed.
The curtains were drawn, and outside the window was the rainy sky and street, but if you look out from here on a sunny day, you should be able to see a nice view.
When Shad pushed the door open, Grace was lying on her bed, holding a newspaper and telling a story to her sister. Shad was sure that the newspaper was the Steambird Daily because the story Grace was reading was the Hamilton Detective Stories.
Neither Granny Cassandra nor Miss Swift came in, so Shade walked into the room alone. Although it was daytime, it was raining outside, so the gas lamp was on in the room. The warm yellow light unexpectedly made the room feel cozy.
Grace stopped reading the story and looked at Shad with Helen. The two pairs of blue eyes were so clear and they seemed to be in good spirits.
But compared to when Shad left them in the early hours of Thursday morning, the girls looked a size smaller. This was not only in terms of their size, but also in terms of their appearance from being in their twenties to being fifteen or sixteen years old. Although they were a little older than when Shad first saw them at God's wine party, they still looked very young:
"Grace, Helen, how are you feeling?"
Xia De walked in while greeting and tried to put the flowers in his hand into the vase.
"Good morning, sir. I feel pretty good, as if a huge mountain has been lifted off my back."
Grace said, wanting to get out of bed to pour water for Xia De, but was stopped by Xia De:
"Just lie down on the bed."
He pulled up a chair and sat between the two beds.
"Good morning, sir. You are finally here. We have lost a lot of our powers and memories, but we feel freer."
Helen also said, with a bright smile on her face that Shade had never seen on their faces:
"The blur of those memories makes the original memories clearer. Although they are still relics, at least now we feel like we have become human again."
"But it's not without cost. My sister and I no longer have to guard the seal or perform the twenty-two-year cycle ritual. But from now on, we can no longer leave the Xikar Mountain area at will."
Grace added.
While they were recovering in bed, they both wore pajamas, Grace's with lace at the collar, mostly white, and Helen's with butterflies at the collar, black and dark purple, a color combination they liked.
"There is always a price to pay. After all, you are the red butterflies that flew out from Mount Xikar."
Xia De said, then stretched out his hand, and after obtaining their consent, he held their fair hands respectively, and after waiting for a while, he got the answer:
Because a quarter of their souls and bodies were taken away by the evil god, in addition to age degeneration, their souls are now extremely fragile and unable to engage in any battle in a short period of time, so it is best not to use their strength.
They must have known this, but they didn't tell Xia De.
Furthermore, as a price to pay for the "Sleeping Princess" puzzle, their power declined significantly, and the concentration of their own whispering elements became very weak, at least no longer at the level of angel-level relics.
"The relic's level is therefore permanently downgraded?"
Shade was slightly surprised.
Of course not. They had their powers plundered by the evil god and had to pay the price for the maze lock. But unlike your Red Moon, which must be unsealed using a specific method, as they recover, all of Red Butterfly's power will eventually return.
"Why? Is this considered differential treatment by the puzzle lock? Why is it more stringent towards me, the caster?"
"She" chuckled:
Outsider, don't you understand? The Red Moon is your power, and the Red Butterfly is their power, but also a curse. This curse has long been rooted in their souls, and will never disappear as long as they exist.
"So, how fast are the Whispering Elements and the Curse recovering?"
Roughly speaking, it will be restored within a hundred years. But you need to contact them further before I can give you an answer.
"Further contact..."
Xia De glanced at Helen, who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, and asked:
"Apart from these, are there any other conditions?"
The incompleteness of their souls means that they must stay close to each other and complement each other to keep their souls from breaking. Therefore, before their strength returns to its peak, they cannot be separated by more than 100 feet (about 30 meters). In addition, in addition to staying in this area, they can also follow you or move around in St. Teresa's Square No. 6.
"Why?"
You have been imbued with so much of the power of the region's soul that you can be considered part of it. Number 6, Saint Teresa's Square, is considered your residence and therefore can be considered part of it.
"She" explains it all.
Xia De nodded and told the two black-haired girls about this. They had also realized the cost, but they didn't mind it. Instead, they were very happy with Xia De's last point:
"Sir, if you have time, take us to see your home. However, there is always a way to move long distances."
"Of course, but you have to wait until your condition gets better. I can take you to the abandoned tower in the mountains. Maybe you can use the power there. After all, the old god..."
He did not continue speaking. It is very likely that the Gemini Gods inherited the dual power of the ancient god of space "Original Rift", and the red butterflies who accepted the power of the old god "Gemma Gods" should also be able to use the power of the space maze.
But Grace and Helen did not set up any signposts in St. Teresa's Square, so Shad needed a relic like the Traveler's Gate to allow them to go to St. Teresa's Square briefly to verify their hypothesis before they could achieve the crossing between the two areas.
This would have to wait until the Red Butterflies were in better shape. They now had plenty of time to spend together, waiting for the next visit. Time would not leave too many traces on them. Although they were not completely free, at least Grace and Helen, the Red Butterflies who had flown to this era from the Fifth Epoch, had realized the freedom in their hearts.
Xia De is looking forward to them creating more stories, living freely with memories of the people in the past and visions of the future.