Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1719 - 1718: Shard’s Tardiness

"I understand, even for her, I will keep it hidden. This is my only chance for redemption."

Durut Giles clenched his fist and nodded. Shard waved his hand at him:

"It’s good that you understand. Also, remember to go to the Three Cats Inn at nine on Sunday morning to get the magic potion that lifts the curse. After taking the antidote, you need to stay on the first floor for an hour."

"Yes, sir."

The man nodded immediately, unaware that Shard intended to bring Sister Delphine and Priest Augustus here, to have them help see what was going on with Laster Edwards’s soul.

He turned to leave, as the passionate ladies were still waiting for him in the room. But after taking two steps, he turned back to look at Durut Giles, frowned slightly, and asked:

"Viscount Chris Rendall... That name sounds familiar... Did he participate in the Tobesk ring city horsemanship competition this spring? (Chapter 1551)"

Durut Giles was taken aback:

"Oh, yes, I went to the Edward III Stadium to watch the competition. But Uncle Rendall didn’t get a good ranking, so nobody mentions it in front of him."

Shard nodded thoughtfully and turned away from there.

The enthusiasm of the ladies was always hard to refuse, and Lecia and Dorothy’s passion was especially intoxicating for the Outlander. Shard didn’t return to the banquet hall but transformed into a cat and slipped through Yordle Palace, returning to Lecia’s bedroom. After knocking on the window in cat form, an arm from behind the curtains immediately pulled him in.

He originally thought he could leave Yordle Palace after the banquet, but Lecia felt that since Shard and Dorothy had made it to her bedroom, such an opportunity was really rare, they certainly couldn’t leave just like that.

Hence, after the banquet that evening, Shard left Yordle Palace with his female companions and other guests, but later returned on the carriage secretly arranged by Her Highness the Princess.

One had to admit, the large bed in Lecia’s bedroom was indeed very comfortable. Although a bit too soft, it was not a matter to worry too much about. Whatever happened in Lecia’s bedroom that night was only known to the three of them. Still, that soft bed and the gentle ladies prevented Shard from waking up on time early Saturday morning.

It was not until Angelina entered the room Saturday morning to greet Lecia, that Shard bid farewell to Lecia and Dorothy, and broke free from the "web" woven of red and golden long hair. When saying goodbye to Shard, none of them paid any mind to what happened last Saturday night, as they had already felt Shard’s unchanged passion compared to before.

"The Day of the Red Butterfly ends this afternoon, Shard. Although there’s a meeting this afternoon, if you’re free after the meeting, we could meet again."

These were Lecia’s last words to Shard, Angelina intended to remind that this afternoon, she and Miss Galina would depart by train, so the accompanying group definitely wouldn’t be able to "continue" after that.

For various reasons, by the time Shard reached the Green Lake Hotel to meet Megan, it was already half-past nine.

"If you hadn’t shown up, I was about to leave."

The beautiful lady behind the newspaper said, putting down the paper to reveal her somewhat impatient expression. Shard did indeed keep her waiting too long; they had agreed to get the Mood Ring today, yet she was kept waiting here for a whole hour.

"Sorry, truly sorry."

Holding Mia, Shard kept apologizing. It wasn’t that he purposely brought Mia out today, but this cat hadn’t seen Shard all night, and insisted on following him in the morning:

"I encountered some things I can’t talk about, which caused the delay. How about I treat you to lunch?"

"I’m not really trying to question you, no need... Lunch? Is this a formal invitation?"

Megan suddenly asked again, seemingly cheered up, her fingers lightly tapping the side of the teacup:

"Then let’s set off quickly, the destination is the lakeside, and we have a long way to go."

The Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals carriage was already waiting outside. After getting on the carriage, Shard talked about the test results of the four blood samples. Regarding the fact that his father truly was of Edwards’ bloodline, Megan wasn’t surprised at all, as she had suspected it long before.

She also talked to Shard about the events in Green Lake City over the past few days. She seemed to have confirmed the period when Shard wasn’t appearing, as he was definitely not in the city:

"Last time I told you, the Thirteen-Ring ’White Dove Messenger’ Minsk Toders from the Peace Church has already arrived here. In the past few days, the Thirteen-Rings from the Church of Nature and the Sun Church have also arrived. It’s that ’Nightmare Sorceress’ and ’Child of Light.’ In the past five hundred years, this is the first time so many Thirteen-Ring sorcerers have come to the Green Lake Region. In addition to my ancestor and that Mirror Keeper, there are suddenly five.

"Are the churches still searching on the islands?"

"Yes, for safety reasons, every investigation clears everyone out, and after a ten-hour interval, people are arranged to enter the island again. But even so, if a space is lost, it takes even longer to return to normal. Yesterday afternoon, the church seemed to have encountered the Mirror Keeper on the island, but it did not turn into a fight; both sides were very restrained. I see that our chance to board the island this week is not great, but next week we will definitely be able to get the fourth key.

She spoke with confidence:

"Additionally, people from the Prophet’s Society arrived yesterday. They have been dispatched directly from the Prophet’s Society headquarters, and this time a Twelve-Ring Vice President is leading the team. If this isn’t enough, the current Thirteen-Ring President will also come. With so many people, even my ancestor’s craftiness may not be able to hide.

She regarded the Mirror Keeper as an enemy of her ancestor, which wasn’t wrong. Although the Mirror Association wasn’t good either, this time their goal was also the secret of Green Lake Central Island.

"Actually, things aren’t that simple. Don’t forget your ancestor is also accompanied by a demon.

Shard didn’t believe the enemy this time was just a simple Thirteen-Ring.

"Since we’re talking about demons, the place we’re heading to next might really be related to demons.

The carriage carried the two of them south out of the city, across the countryside between the downtown and the lakeside, moving not towards the direction Shard was familiar with, Puhov Village, but heading northeast of Green Lake, an area Shard had never visited.

The smooth country dirt road quickly became rough and uneven until the carriage could no longer continue. Only then did the two alight and proceed forward along the country path. As they approached eleven in the morning, a fork in the road appeared ahead, and a dilapidated sign pointed towards their destination, the abandoned lakeside manor.

Perhaps this place was once very prosperous, but now the bottom of the fence around the manor had been completely covered by weeds. Weeds covered the fountain, the path, the swing, yet the tree in the yard remained tall.

Green moss climbed the walls of the manor house, and inside the dark glass-less windows, it felt like something strange was peeping at the outside world. Desolate and eerie, this was Shard’s most impressionable feeling about here.

"This used to be the holiday manor of the local Earl Gaiman, and at one time, it was the best holiday manor outside the city. At its most prosperous, it hosted banquets for over a hundred nobles from both shores of Green Lake, although that was over fifty years ago.

Standing outside the fence gate, Megan said to Shard, who was looking up at the house. Mia stood on Shard’s shoulder, turned her head to look at the squirrel standing on the tree by the manor gate.

The squirrel met the gaze of the cat, and was subsequently scared away by the cat’s meow. This made the orange cat quite pleased, as it was never afraid of creatures smaller than itself.

"How did this place become abandoned?"

Shard asked, reached out to tap the lock, then tore off the iron chain and tossed it aside.

"In the autumn of 1801, Earl Gaiman died from a horse fall accident. While his children divided the estate, some accidents brought the local church—things like bloodstains in the basement, you understand. Later, upon investigation, Earl Gaiman suddenly amassed great wealth, enabling him to build such a luxurious manor, because he wished for something very dangerous. I haven’t obtained the full investigation report, but after the Earl’s death, the Gaiman family quickly declined, and their titles were revoked.

The witch entered the manor ahead of Shard, leading the way for Shard:

"Because of the precedent set by Rot-Eye Barry, I know my ancestor must have left traces in the cities on both shores of Green Lake. I had my girls investigate strange events that occurred locally over the past hundred years, and immediately discovered the history of the Gaiman family. Subsequently, I found some solid evidence proving the existence of the ’Mood Ring’ in the possession of Earl Gaiman. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

However, when I mentioned that ring to you last time, I didn’t yet know its specific location. It might have been taken into the grave, might be in the hands of a descendant, might be in this abandoned holiday manor, or might have been donated to the city museum as a regular item, or lying in the evidence storage of the police department. Be careful...

She waved her finger, and the black snake flying in front of her suddenly split into two segments:

"Fortunately, no one else discovered that ring; Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals found his descendants and pieced together details, eventually locking onto this manor through an old photograph. Also, we don’t need to find it ourselves; I’ve already confirmed that the ring is under the floor of the third-floor bedroom.

Actually, she could have sent someone to get it, but she wanted to be alone with Shard again and so invited him to come along.

Shard had explored numerous abandoned manors, having also explored the Osenfort Estate in various states when he was in the Randall Valley. But the one before him, due to its distance from the downtown and villages, coupled with its lakeside location being battered by moisture, its building structure and interior decor had deteriorated to the extreme.