Chapter 62
Chapter 62: Until We Meet Again
“I thought you would force me to go back.” Funis fiddled with the small bow on Cecia’s sleeve. “Why are you allowing me to stay by Charlotte’s side?”
Cecia let the girl play with the various small decorations on her dress. “You’ll come back. I’m not worried you’ll run away, and I might come find you at any time. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Is it also because you want to keep me at the branch as a spy?” Funis looked up.
“Michel Rosetti is an honest man. The Temperance Academy here is clean and upright—I don’t need to plant you there.” Cecia gently raised her right hand, and a shapeless blood sphere hovered in her palm. “But perhaps having one more identity and perspective could yield more information. You following that blonde girl and continuing to lurk in the Temperance Academy isn’t a bad thing. Besides, this is what you used to do anyway.”
This was oddly phrased.
As if the Temperance Academies in other places weren’t so clean.
“But the prerequisite is that you must return to the Golden Rose frequently. Don’t forget about the society’s sisters—I make the same request of every girl who goes far away seeking development. Do you remember Beatrice?” Cecia’s palm gradually formed the blood sphere into a girl’s bust.
“The sister with light brown hair? The one with some freckles on her face… When she came to see you and saw me, she gave me a milk candy made by prairie nomadic tribes.” Seeing this not-very-clear blood sculpture, Funis remembered some things. “She actually… went so far away but still occasionally rushes back… Even with airships, the journey takes quite a bit of time, right?”
“The society’s sisters have no blood relations, but we all see each other as family. No matter how far they go, they still miss home. Even if I didn’t make this requirement, they would definitely want to come back and visit.” Cecia said softly, her eyes full of nostalgia. “More than ten years ago, we didn’t have such a good dwelling as the Golden Rose. Our hiding places changed from city to city, country to country. During moves we’d lose quite a few sisters, but no matter where we relocated, the birds who left home could always weather the storms and fly back to their nest.”
Funis was momentarily speechless. They were both silent for a while.
She thought of those witches she had personally sent to prison. Before they fell into madness, had they also once been just a group of girls with tragic fates but simple, kind hearts?
Unfortunately, there was no longer any chance to know their pasts.
The madness brought by whispers was irreversible and irreparable. In another sense, they were already dead—they had died the moment they were forced to drink the whisper potions.
The society gave some girls who still had hope the chance to experience a new life. Of course they would see this place as their home.
“Lady Santina, is she also a witch of the society?” Funis suddenly asked.
Cecia paused, and the blood mass in her hand twisted and nearly collapsed. “Her… Actually, the society was founded by her. I was just pushed to the front by her as this scapegoat.”
“Lady Santina founded the society?” Funis immediately sat up from her leaning position, somewhat surprised.
“That’s right.” The blood mass gradually formed into a napping kitten again. “To be precise, she dragged me along to found the society together. The original intention was to shelter girls who hadn’t completely lost their sanity but were homeless.”
“But Santina is only human after all, with limited lifespan. She used supernatural abilities to hide her true appearance—what you saw was how she looked at forty, but actually Santina is already one hundred and four years old.” Cecia lowered her eyes slightly, her tone melancholy. “For a human witch, living to this age without going mad is practically a miracle. This is her final stop. She chose to stay here. Opening a small inn with a difficult, awkward name in a city full of smokestacks that’s neither expensive nor cheap—she said this was her childhood dream. She also complained that Gray Cloud Fortress should have gained independence and driven out the Church earlier, so she wouldn’t have had to live such a wandering life in the first half of her existence.”
“I know she carries a heavy blood debt, and you don’t think well of her… But regardless, I’m warning you in advance—don’t investigate that tragedy from ten years ago. It’s not good for anyone, whether for you or that blonde girl.” Cecia shot a cold glance at Funis beside her.
The girl couldn’t help but shiver all over. “I… I understand…”
This was practically a threat. Cecia rarely threatened Funis like this, so there must be quite a few secrets involved. Though she was curious, it was still better to stay away.
Perhaps for Charlotte, the best outcome would be to forget her hatred.
Santina was already elderly, an old creature approaching death. Maybe if left alone, she would die naturally in a few years. Charlotte didn’t need to be drawn into this cycle.
“This so-called murder case—leave it to you and the Temperance Academy to solve. They need to establish a foothold in Gray Cloud Fortress. Joseph has been pressuring them too hard.” Cecia transformed the blood mass into the shape of a sky fortress, with a full-body statue standing on the fortress. “That old fox is truly cunning. Everyone who cooperates with him gets used by him, without exception.”
Funis looked at the statue. In the blur, she could barely make out that it belonged to an old man. She guessed this was the famous Joseph Carroll, the nominal master of Gray Cloud Fortress.
Cecia’s meaning was probably to have Funis help the Temperance Academy gain this achievement to ease their awkward situation in Gray Cloud Fortress.
If Joseph intended to squeeze out the Temperance Academy, then regardless, Michel and the others would be driven away. But if that were truly the case, Joseph wouldn’t have welcomed the Church delegation so publicly in the first place.
Was it because someone was press