Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1988: The Adventures of the Butterflies (Part 2)

Although letting ordinary people come into contact with relics is quite irrational, Angelina’s awakening is imminent, and now there are so many Circle Sorcerers in the building that those high-perception ladies can know if something happens to Angelina even from across the floors.

"Okay, Aunt."

The Little Princess obediently nodded, and as she left, she overheard the three witches discussing their respective plans for later.

Even though the night was deep, there were still many people moving about in the Green Lake Hotel on the island. Angelina did not recognize most of them, but she knew that these people would become her "companions" in the future.

While going up the stairs, she wondered what her sister might be doing at that moment. When she reached the third floor, she guessed whether Shard might be in the bedroom. But as she pushed open Shard’s unlocked door, she immediately saw Shard’s figure jumping down from the upstairs through the window.

So Shard wouldn’t be in the room.

Although the room Shard stayed in at the hotel was of the best kind, its actual size wasn’t large—at least not larger than Angelina’s dressing room at Yordle Palace.

She could also feel her awakening approaching, planning to follow the method she heard from Lecia, trying to use inspiration to capture traces of the element instead of looking for the relic’s location with her eyes. For Circle Sorcerers, knowing the name, traits, and appearance of relics makes capturing Whisper Elements not difficult.

Following what the storybook says: close the eyes and make other senses more acute. Soon, she successfully found the [Concord Sword] placed on the bedside table. But searching for the Invisibility Cloak was not smooth; she finally discovered that it was unknowingly moved to the bedroom corner by the [Hide-and-Seek Wardrobe], interfering with her perception... At least that’s how Angelina explained it to herself.

She eventually relied on her eyes to find the neatly folded silver Invisibility Cloak on the second shelf under the window sill, guessing it was folded by her aunt’s maids. Having found two relics, she curiously looked at the unnoticeable wardrobe in the corner.

The wardrobe looked quite ordinary, but the more she looked at it, the more a strong fear from within arose, as if something indescribable was lurking inside.

"I’m not curious, just want to overcome my fear; otherwise, I’ll keep wondering what’s inside for a long time."

Angelina told herself this, and after convincing herself, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and opened the wardrobe for a glance inside.

Of course, the wardrobe was empty. The Little Princess slightly let out a sigh of relief and then naturally stepped inside, closing the door from within.

"Oh?"

Almost simultaneously, Miss Galina in the basement looked up at the ceiling and shook her head helplessly.

"What’s wrong?"

Miss Sylvia asked, and the Red-Haired Witch sighed:

"Angelina has been influenced by the relic, she’s gone inside the [Hide-and-Seek Wardrobe] herself."

Miss Aphrola slightly frowned:

"Should we get her out?"

"No need, it’s not in an uncontrolled state; she just won’t be able to come out by herself. We’ll get her out tomorrow morning—a lesson for Angelina to know just how dangerous the world of Circle Sorcerers is. Honestly, I was wondering if she could resist her curiosity... This lesson is very necessary; after remembering this incident, she won’t repeat it."

After speaking, she smiled and said to the other two:

"Speaking of which, when I first met Shard, he accidentally activated a relic too. I remember it was the [Box of Darkness] at the Lucky Southern Cross Club..."

Meanwhile, Shard had jumped from the rooftop, causing surprise among the girls at the door; but fortunately, he clarified that there were no enemies on the rooftop and he wasn’t being chased, which was why he had jumped.

Thus, returning indoors from the hotel’s main entrance, he contemplated as he climbed the stairs about how to handle the relationship with Grace and Helen. "She" in Shard’s mind laughed, seemingly mocking Shard for being confused about such matters:

"Not confused again; Grace and Helen are different from other girls."

Soon, Shard met a Miss Maid at the stairway on the second floor who passed on a message that Lecia was waiting in his room.

And when Shard returned to his room, he saw the girl with long red-gold hair standing in front of the window. On the windowsill was a tray with two glasses of red wine.

Lecia, or Dorothy, turned around, handing one glass of wine to Shard and playfully winked at him:

"Knight, tonight, you don’t have anything else planned, do you?"

Her emerald eyes rippling like water, the blush on her slightly reddened cheeks was quite charming. Her eyes showed some shyness and boldness, along with an almost undetectable urge:

"There are about five hours left until the Day of the Red Butterfly ends. Shard, you only get one chance every 21 days; you don’t want us to miss it, do you? Knight, oh Knight, show your loyalty to your Princess."

She gently clinked her glass against Shard’s, and he turned to ensure the door was closed before looking back at the girl in front of him:

"Loyalty, yes, indeed."

She snapped her fingers, and the gas lamp immediately turned off, yet mysteriously, her eyes glowed in the darkness with a shade of emerald green:

"Tell me, am I actually very charming right now?"

She slightly lifted her head, with an air and demeanor of arrogance.

"Of course."

"Familiar with Dorothy, familiar with Lecia, my most loyal knight, tonight, let’s not waste any time."

In the darkness, she kissed the corner of Shard’s lips, then took Shard’s hand and led him to the bedroom.

The cat held by Shard remained silent, hoping not to be locked in the wardrobe. Luckily, this time it was just placed in the cat bed on the table, watching the interactions between the two with frustration.

"Help me check carefully."

She whispered softly in Shard’s ear, her face flushed, still visible at such close range:

"Have I mentioned to you? Every time we merge, our state returns to the most perfect moment."

She was currently back to the cat, thus the cat’s amber eyes could see the tiny butterfly wings hidden behind her. The cat tilted its head slightly, uncertain if it should remind Shard.

"So..."

Shard blinked in confusion, not understanding why she brought this up now. So, the girl in front of him lightly tapped Shard’s arm, her emerald green eyes showing a playful expression:

"Don’t understand? I’m just inviting you tonight, please once again be our... groom."

Shard felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest in an instant. The two of them fell onto the bed just like that, while the cat boredly turned to look at the wardrobe in the corner. Although the wardrobe was very close to the bed, apart from the cat, no one noticed it. After all, he and she were too focused, and that’s the trait of the "Hide-and-Seek Wardrobe."

The wardrobe went unnoticed, but through the gap in the wardrobe, the eyes of the person locked inside unable to come out were watching them. The curtains were tightly shut, and there was no light in the room; she could only see the vague shadows entangled, could only hear some voices.

Excitement, bitterness, thrill, pain, and a certain uncontrollable emotion, increasingly strongly affecting her. The object of her affection was so close yet unattainable; the loyal knight was ridden by another before her, and she could only watch.

Lips seemed to be bitten until they broke, the taste of blood making the mind more twisted and exhilarated. Angelina Cavendish heard a certain shattering sound in her mind, the abnormal growth of spiritual power and the extreme twisting of emotions. Amid the entanglements of love and desire, emotion and indulgence, longing and unattainability, passion and bitterness, she perfectly reached the final step of awakening.

(Mia running...)

On the eve of midnight, when Shard realized the time was near, separating the lazy girl in his arms in time, she continued to brush Shard’s chin with her hair tips:

"Really, it makes me feel like Cinderella who must return home before midnight."

Because they were in the woods, not worried about anyone looking over, the curtains unbeknownst to them had been opened. The moonlight on the island seemed brighter than in the normal world; the March glimmer shone into the unlit room, illuminating the face that combined Lecia’s and Dorothy’s advantages.

That face carried laziness and flush, with a smile of happiness and contentment.

"Cinderella? Although I’m not a prince, your crystal shoes are already with me."

Shard said with a smile:

"So, I will find you again; your crystal shoes will forever belong to me."

The girl gently kissed his side face:

"You always know what to say. Oh, Shard, don’t tempt me; otherwise, the thought of our next meeting being 21 days away would make the pain in my heart stronger."

"Then you should separate now. The way you are, I don’t even know how to address you. I certainly won’t call you Miss Princess, which would make me feel like there’s a fourth person among the three of us, and that would be quite odd."

When Shard mentioned "separation," the girl he held showed a slight look of panic on her face. But she buried her head in Shard’s embrace, not letting Shard notice:

"There’s still five minutes left, hold me for a little longer."

"But if you wait until the end of the five minutes, one of you has to go to the living room outside the bedroom to change clothes."

"Really, you’re so annoying."

She lightly tapped Shard again, the force very gentle. But it still allowed Shard to support her as she sat up, then gently brushed Shard’s cheek with her right hand:

"Actually, this is also nice, but it’s not as fun as having three people. This experience is enough, next time will still be three people, but in between, we can try this kind of game."

She gave Shard one last side face kiss, beckoning her clothes from the carpet to fly over. Shard naturally picked them up to help her dress; Her Highness the Princess certainly wouldn’t refuse.

Turning her back to Shard, lifting her hair while laughingly said:

"This temporary outing was really interesting, seems like staying in Tobesk all the time isn’t a good thing. It’s just that such opportunities will be fewer in the future; I don’t know how the subsequent negotiations will be arranged..."

"Negotiation, yes, this troublesome matter continues."

The moonlight outside the window made the already fair back seem to glow, but Shard’s hand paused slightly.

As Lecia reached back to lift her hair, seeing Shard hesitate to act, she turned her head slightly in confusion:

"What’s wrong? My lingerie wasn’t torn by you just now, was it?"

Suddenly widened her eyes, as if realizing something. Wanting to turn and cover her back, but already held by Shard’s shoulders.