When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

"I just saw a friend and on impulse I chased after him... but I didn't catch him, and I almost fell into a sewer drain!" Richard replied awkwardly.

Juliet's eyes conveyed a hint of "Do you think I'm a fool?"

But she didn't bluntly call her out on it!

Juliet said to Richard with lingering fear, "If I hadn't testified for you, people would have thought you were a thief who stole goods from the store and were about to call the police to arrest you..."

So, he almost got arrested as a thief? Well, thank you so much, Miss Juliet… Richard thought to himself.

At this moment, Juliet sighed, hands on her hips, and scolded Richard in the tone of an adult reprimanding a child: "Don't be so reckless in the future! Even if you meet a friend, you can't run so fast! What if you fall? There's so much moss in this alley; it's so dangerous to slip!"

Richard, with a respectful and obedient attitude, replied, "Understood, Miss Protector!"

Juliet glanced at him, and seeing that Richard had shown some remorse, she stopped dwelling on the matter and went to the base of the wall, where she found a wooden plaque among a pile of broken planks.

She placed the wooden sign next to the well, blocking the opening: "Alright! This should warn others so they don't almost fall in like you." She patted the dust off her hands with great satisfaction.

Richard watched her do these things and suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling:

This guy is a bit slow... but he's definitely a good person! But I have the strength to put the manhole cover back, why couldn't I just put it back on... and why did those two patrolmen just leave without doing anything!

"Let's go, the store manager has just returned. We've been out for so long, we can't keep her waiting."

Juliet pulled Richard back.

The two walked through the narrow alley, turned a few corners, and returned to the familiar street. The sunlight shone down from above, warm and comforting, casting their shadows into tiny huddles beneath their feet. The aroma of roasted chestnuts lingered in the air, drifting from the old man's stall at the alley entrance—sweet and soft.

Richard followed Juliet, thinking as he walked.

Was that person Luke?

If so, how could he be here? Wasn't he imprisoned in the abyss? Anna said he couldn't get out, and Naansanho said he was now the palace's energy core, locked in that silver cage. But now…

If not, then who is it? How can they look so alike? That face, that nose, that look in their eyes, they are exactly the same.

And Juliet. Did she see that person just now? Why didn't she react at all? Isn't she very close to Luke? Wasn't she praying in her room facing the ritualistic diagrams Luke had drawn?

As he was thinking, he suddenly asked a question.

"Juliet, do you know any other students from the University of Tehran?"

Juliet paused for a moment.

It was just a brief moment, but Richard noticed. Her shoulders stiffened for a second, then she continued walking forward without looking back.

"Why are you asking this?" she said, her voice sounding different than before. It wasn't as crisp anymore; it sounded a bit muffled.

Richard said, "It's nothing, just asking casually. My friend is going to your store, and I just wanted to know if your store has any special preference for students from Tehran."

Juliet shut her mouth, her expression suddenly becoming somewhat wistful.

The two walked for a while longer.

The streets became more crowded. A child ran by with a windmill in his hand. The windmill spun around and almost bumped into Juliet, prompting her parents to apologize repeatedly.

After a few minor incidents, the two were almost back at the beauty store when Juliet finally spoke up: "I haven't seen my friends in a long time..."

It seems Luke's disappearance has been a huge blow to Juliet...

He suddenly remembered Juliet and Luke's relationship.

Juliet lit candles in the room for Luke and performed a mysterious ritual over the ceremonial patterns on the bed. She believed Luke was a good person and that she had discovered the truth of the world…

But actually... she knew nothing.

Richard opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Finally, all I could manage to say was, "I'm sorry, I brought back painful memories for you."

Juliet turned around and glanced at him.

Her eyes looked different than usual. They weren't as bright; they were a bit dark, as if veiled by something. But it was only for a moment. The next second, she smiled, a bright and radiant smile, exactly as she always was.

"It's okay, it's all in the past," she said, pushing open the door of the beauty store.

The bell on the door jingled once.

Sure enough, there was one more person in the shop.

A woman stood behind the counter, appearing to be in her forties, wearing a dark gray suit. Her hair was neatly styled, without a single stray hair. She wore light makeup, with finely shaped eyebrows and dark red lipstick. She was looking down at something, holding a stack of papers in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed.

She looked up when she heard the door open.

His gaze fell on Richard.

Richard stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe.

Juliet had already run over, grabbed the woman's arm, and beamed with joy, like a child who had just received candy.

"Manager! Manager!" Her voice was full of excitement. "This is the friend I told you about, Lauran!"

The shop manager looked at Juliet, then at Richard.

"Is it the friend who helped you ask?" she asked Juliet.

Juliet nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, that's him. He's so helpful. His friend wanted to intern at our store, and he came over himself to help ask about the salary, so his friend wouldn't have to make a wasted trip."

The store manager grunted in agreement and came out from behind the counter.

She walked up to Richard, standing three steps away, and looked him up and down. Her gaze moved from his face to his body, then back to his face, finally settling on his eyes.

"What's your friend's name?"

Richard said, "Richard."

"Richard," the shopkeeper repeated, nodding, "from Tehran?"

"Yes, my friend is from Tehran, majoring in Faith and Theology."

The store manager raised an eyebrow: "That department even studies painting?"

Richard said, "The history of religious art must be painted."

The store manager glanced at him again, a slight smile playing on his lips, whether from satisfaction or something else was unclear.

"Okay," she said. "Let him come for an interview when he's free. Juliet recommended him, so I'll give him a chance."

Juliet cheered and jumped, almost bumping into the shelf.

The store manager glanced at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of helplessness and doting affection. Richard had seen that expression before; Rosalie sometimes looked at him with the same look.

"Go back and tell your friend," the store manager turned to Richard, "bring a few of your own works to the interview, anything goes—sketches, drawings, watercolors. What you draw doesn't matter; we're just looking at your basics. If your basics are pretty good, you can come start working right away."

"no problem."

The store manager glanced at him again, then turned and walked back behind the counter to continue looking at her stack of papers.

Juliet leaned closer to Richard and whispered, "See? I told you our manager is a good person. She's usually so serious, but she's very kind to new employees."