Mystery: The Silver Key

Chapter 416 Punishment

At the entrance to Backlund Steam Train Station, Lawrence, carrying a suitcase, walked out of the station with the flow of people.

cough~

He took a breath, then coughed uncomfortably.

Having just returned from Constance in Intersea County, he was still adjusting to Backlund's poor air quality.

"The situation regarding air pollution control in Backlund is far from as good as it appears in the newspapers."

"A place like Jianhai County is more suitable for an old man like me..."

"7

With a sigh, he tugged at his heavy woolen coat and followed the crowd toward the public carriage.

After finding a seat in the carriage, he turned his head to look out the window. Even though it was already a cold winter, the streets of Backlund were still bustling.

As he looked around, a familiar figure that left a deep impression suddenly came into his view.

He was a man with slightly curly brown hair, deep blue eyes, wearing a long black tailcoat and a top hat, holding a walking stick, looking like a gentleman strolling down the street.

Lawrence's eyes narrowed, his half-clenched right hand suddenly tightened, and then he casually shifted his gaze to a bakery behind the gentleman.

After the carriage and the gentleman passed each other and slowly drove away, he caught a glimpse of the gentleman's darker shadow, which was thicker than that of an average person, out of the corner of his eye.

Lawrence withdrew his gaze from the car window, lowered his head, and his azure eyes revealed obvious emotional fluctuations.

"Butis...."

My spiritual intuition told me, "Perhaps it wasn't just him, but an astrologer," that the fleeting shadow in the corner of my eye was not normal.

As the carriage slowly made its way to the end of the street, Boutis, dressed like a gentleman, suddenly stopped, turned around, planted his walking stick on the ground, and leaned forward slightly.

Beneath his feet, the pitch-black shadow twitched almost imperceptibly, then a young-sounding voice echoed softly in his ear: "What's wrong?"

Boutis raised his hand to adjust the top hat on his head, shook his head slightly, and smiled, "It's nothing, I just felt like I ran into someone I knew."

"From the unknowable sublimity, you are the gateway to dimensions, you are the embodiment of art and fantasy."

"The Great Silver Key," the Mysterious Saint of the Aurora Order, Butis, has arrived in Backlund, accompanied by what appears to be another hidden saint.

"Lawrence ran into them while riding in a public carriage. He wasn't sure if Boutis had noticed them, but they knew each other well."

"I will gather more information as soon as possible, set traps, and then hunt them down..."

The echoing prayers around him faded away, and Cyril leaned back, letting out a long breath.

"Butis...could he have been heading to Backlund when I bumped into him in the spirit world before?"

He muttered something to himself, rose from the high-backed chair, stretched his body slightly, and then pushed open an illusory door out of thin air.

In the town of Dawn of Elements, a phantom door covered with mysterious patterns and symbols rapidly appeared in the room, and then Cyrien stepped out from behind the door.

He glanced at the wall clock, converted the time to Backlund time, then sat down in the armchair by the fireplace, closed his eyes slightly, and waited for today's tarot reading to begin.

After about two or three minutes, a thick gray fog suddenly appeared before his eyes, and a deep red and illusory light emerged from the fog.

After suppressing his instinctive resistance to the pull of the spirit body, his vision blurred slightly, and then he saw a magnificent and ancient palace supported by towering stone pillars.

On either side of the mottled, ancient bronze table, streaks of deep red light faded into blurry figures.

To his side, Miss "Justice" rose cheerfully, lifting her skirt slightly, and greeted Mr. "Fool" at the head of the table with a lighthearted "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool!"

After receiving a nod of agreement from Mr. Fool, she turned to her companion across the weathered table and greeted them in the order of the tarot cards: "Good afternoon, Ms. Magician; good afternoon, Ms. Hermit; good afternoon, Mr. Destiny..."

"6

After everyone had finished their greetings and responses, Audrey turned to the head of the table, "The Fool," and said in a light and cheerful tone, "Mr. 'The Fool,' I received and memorized two new pages of Russell's diary last week."

"Very good." Klein, the "Fool" at the head of the table, nodded slightly in response.

"The Magician" Fors followed with a slight raise of his hand: "I also jotted down a page of Russell's diary."

"The Hermit" Cattleya observed the speeches of the two ladies, "Justice" and "The Magician." After Mr. "The Fool" nodded in response, she also raised her hand in their manner and said, "Mr. Fool, I have also collected a page of Roselle's diary."

Only one page? You should be able to get a stack from the "Mysterious Queen".

Is this still in the stage of doubt and probing?

After letting his thoughts wander for a moment, he nodded slightly and replied, "Very good. You can now think about what kind of knowledge, items, or help you can exchange this diary for."

Since it's only one page of the diary, it certainly won't be able to be exchanged for anything of high value, and I don't need to worry about not being able to afford it.

In this light, it's actually a good thing that the "Hermit" only submitted one page of her diary. If she had exchanged a stack of Roselle's diaries for the blood of the mythical creature, I really wouldn't have been able to complete it.

Suppressing his wandering thoughts, he helped the three ladies, "Justice," "Magician," and "Hermit," to materialize the Roselle diaries they had memorized and put them into their own hands.

After receiving Russell's diary this time, he did not read it as eagerly as before.

Having learned about a great deal of secrets and knowledge, witnessed the "Dice of Probability," and learned about the "Source Matter," which even the Ancient Gods had never encountered, he believed that Emperor Roselle's diary was no longer enough to shock him as much as before.

Unless the Emperor were to write something outrageous like "the taste of a witch is really good"... After letting his thoughts wander for a while, he finally focused his attention on the parchment in his hand and began to read it casually.

After a while, "The Fool" Klein made the parchment in his hand disappear, glanced around, and said in a calm tone, "What do you want to exchange for Roselle's Diary?"

After speaking, his self-glow lingered briefly on "Hermit" Cattleya, somewhat curious about what kind of request this "Admiral of the Stars" would make.

Ask some questions, or in exchange for some help from Mr. Fool?

With her head down, Gadriya's gaze inadvertently swept over Mr. "Fool," but she could not penetrate the layer of gray mist. She could only vaguely see that he was dressed in a style similar to the most popular gentleman's attire in Rune at the moment.

Upon hearing the voice of "The Fool," she snapped out of her reverie, glanced at the silent "Justice" and "Magician," and after a moment's thought, said, "Mr. Fool, may I ask you a question?"

"The Fool" Klein leaned back and said in a flat tone, "Sure, as long as it's of equal value."

Cattleya nodded slightly, and after considering her words for a moment, asked, "Mr. 'Fool,' my question is, how did Emperor Roselle view his children?"

Hmm? Klein raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Did she know that the page of the diary she had just submitted contained entries about his three children written by Emperor Russell?

They probably just had some guesses about the contents of the diary, otherwise they wouldn't have asked this question.

Was she asking out of curiosity herself, or was she asking on behalf of the "mysterious queen"?

It's most likely the latter. Unless she had ever met Emperor Roselle, the "Hermit" wouldn't have made such a guess and asked this question.

But why would the "mysterious queen" be curious about this? Is she connected to Emperor Roselle or one of his children?

In order not to let Mr. Fool remain silent for too long and arouse suspicion from others, he did not delve into the question, but instead pondered how to answer Ms. Hermit's question.

After a brief silence, he chuckled softly and said, "They are the bond that sustains his emotions and humanity, and they are his most important anchor in this world."

"The most important anchor..." Cattleya repeated softly, then turned slightly to face the "Fool" at the head of the table.

The gentleman nodded earnestly and replied, "Thank you for your answer, Mr. Fool."

"The Fool" Klein maintained his relaxed posture and said in a nonchalant tone, "You can ask Him if He is satisfied with this answer."

Cattleya's expression suddenly froze, her pupils contracted slightly beneath her thick glasses, and beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

Mr. Fool knew of the Queen's existence, knew that I had communicated with her, and revealed some information about the Tarot Club.

"I..." She opened her mouth, then fell silent.

During the tarot session, even the usually oblivious "Sun" and "Moon" sensed the change in atmosphere and looked at the "Hermit" with curiosity, doubt, and a touch of apprehension.

Him? An evil god, or an angel?

After a brief moment of surprise, Audrey became angry again.

Mr. Fool's words just now indicated that Ms. Hermit's question was asked on behalf of someone else, and Ms. Hermit did not deny it.

Did she tell others about the existence of our Tarot Club?

This is absolutely outrageous! I even kept it from Susie!

Alger, the "Hanged Man," frowned, a sudden mix of schadenfreude and curiosity stirring within him. Who could possibly persuade the "Hermit" to take such a huge risk, going against the wishes of Mr. "The Fool," to reveal the Tarot Club's secrets?

Cyril's gaze swept over them lightly, then he shifted to a more comfortable position.

Feeling the gazes falling upon her—some curious, some angry, some relieved—"The Hermit" Cattleya let out a soft breath and looked at Mr. "The Fool" at the head of the table.

"I will not make excuses. I did indeed disobey your wishes and reveal certain things to the Mysterious Queen. I am willing to pay the price and accept the punishment."

By deliberately mentioning the "mysterious queen," he was trying to tell me that he not only had the Morse Order behind him, but also another hidden force, and that he had more than one angel as his backer.

Klein resisted the urge to rub his temples, feeling somewhat troubled.

Those who go against the wishes of the "fool" must be punished, otherwise not only will they fail to convince others, but it will also create hidden dangers for the future. If everyone does this in the future, will I, the "fool," still have any dignity?

The punishment cannot be too lenient, otherwise it will not be convincing, but it also cannot be too severe. It cannot actually expel the other party from the Tarot Club, or seriously injure them to the point of death.

He also plans to soon travel to the ruins of the God War east of the Sunia Sea aboard the other party's "Future".

As he pondered, his gaze fell upon Cyril, who was sitting quietly in his chair, watching the show with an air of detached amusement.

"6

""

Aren't you quite familiar with the "Mysterious Queen"? Are you just going to watch like this?

The "Mysterious Queen" apparently learned about the "Fool" from the "Hermit" lady, but it was you who told me.

He sighed inwardly and looked at the "Hermit" Cattleya, who looked at him with a somewhat worried yet calm expression, noticing that she was trembling slightly.

It seems the "Star Admiral" isn't as calm as he appears on the surface...

As he pondered this, he thought of a way to punish the other person, just like the unexpected encounter the other person had when they first participated in a tarot gathering.

As the thought crossed his mind, "The Hermit" Cattleya suddenly felt a lightness on the bridge of her nose.

Before she could react, she saw the grayish-white mist in front of her disperse slightly.

Her "Eye of Secrets" activated instinctively, and she saw in the dissipating gray mist light and shadow that were beyond comprehension and indescribable.

In that instant, she felt the air around her, the flesh and blood on her body, and even her spirit gradually transform into worms that could only wriggle and feel fear.

"what!"

Cattleya bent over in pain, and warm, bright red liquid, as if containing countless tiny insects, slid out of her eyes, ears, and nostrils.

Her skin had abnormal bumps and depressions, as if many tiny lives were about to hatch.

At the very top, Klein, the "Fool" shrouded in gray mist, paused for a moment, then quickly severed the connection between herself and the "Hermit," shutting down all her senses.

He feared that if he had been any later, the "Hermit" lady would have lost control on the spot.

hiss~~

Am I that terrifying with Cyril together? Even a "Pirate General" couldn't withstand it for a moment.

I should have known better than to graft Cyril and the gray mist around me together for the sake of effect.

If I had been even a fraction slower, today's tarot session would have started with the expulsion of a member.

The two of us together are practically a killer of "secret voyeurs"...

At that moment, he suddenly began to doubt the words of the councilor, Rachaud, who was under the bridge on Oravi Island.

A demigod could certainly see more in me than the "Hermit" lady, who was only Sequence 5, even though the "Hermit" lady's "Eye of the Secret" was very powerful. This was something that Senator Rijold had said himself, and that Admitor of Tingen had personally verified it on me.