Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Homecoming
Funis was flattered and quickly lifted her cloak to curtsy in return. “Thank you for making the special trip to escort me. You’ve worked hard, Miss Bernia, Miss Gratina.”
The three girls before her eyes looked perfectly normal, yet all were witches. From Sera’s former perspective, this would be unthinkable, but Funis had lived on the Golden Rose for nearly a year and knew that witches weren’t always mad and chaotic.
Bernia laughed and also made a clumsy curtsy, earning another tap on the forehead from Gratina.
“Lady Cynthia spoils you too much—you can’t even learn basic etiquette properly. Good thing Miss Funis is a sister from our academy, or it would be truly embarrassing if this were in front of outsiders.” Gratina sighed.
“Ah, but precisely because she’s a sister from the academy, Lady Cynthia allowed me to come.” Bernia took Gratina’s arm and shook it coquettishly.
“Lady Cynthia was afraid Sister Bernia would embarrass herself if she went out. Why does Sister Bernia still look so proud?” Veronica wasn’t naive—she could even tease Bernia about this.
“You little glutton dragon! Who was it that got cream all over her face during afternoon tea and got scolded by Lady Cynthia?” Bernia had no dignity as she argued with the little dragon.
“I saw you sneaking to the kitchen to steal roasted chicken legs at midnight. Dare mess with me and I’ll tell Lady Cynthia!” Veronica’s tail slapped the ground heavily as she made faces at Bernia again.
So one big and one small beautiful girl chased each other in circles around Funis and Gratina.
“Please excuse them—they’re always like this.” Gratina wiped sweat with her handkerchief.
“It’s fine. Having energy is good.” Funis said.
She wasn’t being sarcastic but genuinely felt this way. Young girls having energy was quite mood-lifting, especially when Veronica and Bernia were both so beautiful.
Another gust of wind from the broken canyon suddenly blew from behind. Funis happened to be unprepared, and her hood inadvertently slipped off.
Brilliant silver light broke free like liberated luxurious silk, flowing freely in the wind and forming beautiful arcs. The kerosene lamps hanging on the airship’s exterior illuminated this silver-white radiance magnificently, like a brilliant Milky Way streaking across the night sky. The transparent horns on either side were like the most precious, dazzling diamond jewelry on display, crystal clear and translucent.
In this moment, time seemed frozen.
The two girls who had been chasing and playing both stopped to admire this sight. They were intoxicated, as if witnessing this absolutely beautiful moment alone was satisfying enough.
When the wind subsided, the mercury-like long hair finally settled calmly, flowing gently down her shoulders to her knees.
Funis apologetically tucked the silver strands by her cheek and bowed lightly to the stunned Gratina. “I’m sorry, Miss Gratina. I wore this cloak to sneak out of the city inconspicuously, but I kept forgetting to remove it. This was very rude.”
But in the eyes of the three young girls already deeply captivated by Funis’s gorgeous appearance, this didn’t matter at all.
They gathered around her again.
“My goodness, Miss Funis, how do you maintain your hair? Why does it sparkle like a gemstone?” Bernia came forward first to hold Funis’s hand, her eyes shining. “And these horns—are you also a dream demon like Lady Cynthia? And they’re transparent too, much prettier than Lady Cynthia’s black ones.”
“Sister Funis, so beautiful.” The little dragon tugged at a corner of Funis’s cloak, her eyes full of admiration, generous with her praise.
“Indeed, someone connected to Lady Cynthia. I heard that dream demons are nearly extinct in this era… This must be why Lady Cynthia values you so much, Miss Funis.” Gratina covered her mouth to hide her surprised expression.
Funis didn’t quite understand. She only knew that Cynthia had somehow created a dream demon body out of thin air, and that body was currently being occupied by Funis.
“Gratina, I’m saying, two dream demons together… uh, don’t look at me like that! Think about it carefully—Lady Cynthia never makes moves on the academy sisters and has hardly gone hunting this past year. It’s hard to explain otherwise, right?” Bernia covered her blushing face like a lovesick girl, speaking to Gratina at an alarming speed about incomprehensible things.
“Don’t speculate wildly!” Gratina also blushed, lightly pushing Bernia. “Miss Funis is most likely a relative of Lady Cynthia!”
“Eh? So she really is Lady Cynthia’s little lover locked in her room?” Veronica asked with pure innocence.
Only now did Funis understand what these three were gossiping about. She immediately recalled those nights over the years spent playing the role of a bed fountain, her face instantly burning red from her cheeks to behind her ears.
The three chattered away, occasionally letting out low squeals, leaving Funis standing alone in the wind, bewildered.
She wanted to interrupt their conversation to defend herself, but realized it wasn’t just rumors—it was true. Cynthia indeed only made moves on her to obtain magical power, but logically speaking, wouldn’t two dream demons supplementing each other’s magic be quite against the rules? This was already in perpetual motion machine territory.
But thinking more carefully, Funis wasn’t an ordinary dream demon either.
First, this body concentrated the essence of all those dead dream demons. Second, this body contained a human soul. These two special factors combined could reasonably explain some rule-breaking.
“Um, ladies, I’m very sorry to interrupt you… but it’s getting late. Shouldn’t we return to the Golden Rose soon?” Funis collected herself and interrupted them with forced composure and cold voice.
Indeed, it was nearly full night, and a banquet was waiting for them on the Golden Rose.
Only then did Gratina react, frantically pushing Bernia and Veronica away from her side and stepping forward to bow apologetically to Funis. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Miss Funis! I should have stopped their wild speculations, but instead I…”
“It’s alright, Miss Gratina. I don’t mind.” Funis’s heart was in chaos, but her expression remained cold and indifferent. “It’s normal for you to be curious since I usually hide and avoid meeting you.”
“Alright, our good big sister, it’s already been said that it’s getting late—time to bring Miss Funis aboard.” Bernia teased the slightly older Gratina while pulling Funis toward the airship. “Come on, Miss Funis. Lady Cynthia has been lonely these days—you’ll have to comfort her well when we get back.”
Funis really didn’t know how to interpret this statement, so she simply kept her head down and remained silent.
Veronica pulled on Funis’s cloak from behind as they followed, her fire-red dragon tail banging loudly against the hull. Gratina watched these two troublesome girls and sighed alone before finally boarding the airship last.
The valve slowly closed tight with the sound of transmission rods friction, and the wings and propellers resumed operation, blowing the field of lilies flat.
Like a golden dragonfly, it gently rose into the sky, finally disappearing into the hazy night.