Catastrophe Card King
Chapter 1947 - 588: Marriage Alliance Has Always Been the Best Pact

Chapter 1947: Chapter 588: Marriage Alliance Has Always Been the Best Pact

The passage of time always slips by quietly.

The leaves of the black spruce outside the window turn yellow and then green again, unnoticed, how many years have passed, with the vegetation growing ever more lush.

Leonard Churchill watched through the attic glass, as the young woman writing letters at the desk gradually aged before his eyes.

From a girl with a radiant smile, she slowly became an old woman with white hair.

Vera Williams poured her longing into letter after letter, recounting the romantic encounter she had in the prime of her youth.

She would still often talk to herself in front of the window, to the lover she was certain would come to see her in the River of Time, expressing her longing.

Fate, like a Joker, played a trick on them.

While giving them a fateful surprise, it also brought endless yearning and regret.

On the long road of life, Leonard Churchill accompanied Vera Williams for a time;

And Miss Anne remembered him for a lifetime.

Time is like sand slipping through fingers, disappearing in an instant.

A long hundred years, yet in the blink of an eye.

Leonard Churchill stood silently by the window, accompanying her through what felt long, yet looking back seemed to pass in a flash.

Leonard Churchill looked at Vera Williams, now with white hair, and his gaze became increasingly tender.

Eventually, the girl’s image in front of him gradually dissipated.

The light in the treehouse suddenly extinguished.

Leaving all the beauty in the River of Time.

She was always there,

Never leaving.

...

Leonard Churchill looked at the dim, dilapidated treehouse before him, and lingered amidst the forest breeze for a long time.

A myriad of thoughts finally condensed into a gentle sigh: "Miss Anne..."

For a long time.

For a long time.

The dissipated gaze gradually focused.

Leonard Churchill looked at the letters in his hand and the [Super Spacetime Postage Stamp] whose radiance had completely faded, with a greater sense of relief on his face.

Once again, he traversed back a hundred years to witness Miss Anne’s life, relying on the transcendent power of this postage stamp.

But this time was different from the last.

He participated not in a way to "alter" that history, but bore witness to it from the perspective of an "Observer."

The second wondrous journey through time allowed him to touch upon the true Secret of time.

Meaning, when he eventually stabilizes those insights about the Time Rule in his heart, he can return to see Vera Williams anytime.

That girl will still be there, waiting for him.

Time is relative.

At a sufficient height, time is like a book, capable of flipping through the past and future.

"So that’s how it is..."

Who knows how much time passed, Leonard Churchill murmured.

He didn’t understand.

But he had already touched the Secret of time.

Just as he became aware that someone was coming down from the treehouse, Leonard’s thoughts collected entirely.

Someone had arrived for a while, standing under the treehouse as though waiting for something.

Leonard Churchill was curious about who it could be.

Logically, no one knew he was here, nor had anyone noticed his presence, so why would someone come?

Glancing back at this treehouse filled with many beautiful memories, a hint of emotion flickered in Leonard’s eyes; perhaps it was the last time he’d be here in this lifetime.

If he comes again in the future, it will be when he searches for this memory again in the River of Time.

"Miss Anne, I’ll come to see you next time."

Leonard murmured and, without much thought, leapt down.

....

Under the treehouse stood an elderly figure, stooped and leaning on a cane.

Leonard Churchill recognized at a glance; it was the old steward of the Song Family, "Mr. Dove."

Since the last parting at Flood Gang, this "Pigeon" he had known a hundred years ago had aged considerably.

Leonard saw that he was already at the end of his life.

This old servant, loyal to the Song Family for a lifetime, after the great war in the East Wilderness, returned to this estate where he had spent most of his life, withstanding his last breath.

Like withered leaves, finally wanting to fall beside the roots that once nurtured him.

Like so many years ago, when his young mistress used to rest in the treehouse.

He waited quietly under the tree.

As if by waiting, he could see the young mistress descend.

As Leonard descended from the treehouse, the old man seemed to sense something.

He looked up, a glimpse of expectation flashing in his cloudy eyes, muttering to himself, "Miss, are you calling for me?"

A hundred years, it was a loyal memory etched in his bones.

Yet, the glimmer in his eyes quickly faded, he muttered to himself, "Oh, the young mistress is long gone..."

This sigh revealed endless loneliness.

While he was murmuring, suddenly, a figure gradually appeared in front of him.

The old man, startled at first, thought it was his own hallucination.

Before the expectancy in his eyes could dim again, he heard the person before him call, "Mr. Dove."

The old man couldn’t help but weep, immediately recognizing, trembling as he raised a hand in greeting, "Mr. Leonard Churchill...you...have you come to see the young mistress..."

"Yes."

Leonard nodded, his tone carrying an ethereal sense as if straight from the River of Time.

Looking at the old man before him, he said once more, "Mr. Dove, long time no see."

"You..."

Mr. Dove, listening, showed deep comfort on his aged face, his eyes moistening uncontrollably.

As if returning to a hundred years ago, the scene of their first meeting in the refugee camp.

From this greeting, he heard a farewell.

It was likely the last meeting in this lifetime.

Mr. Dove felt immense emotions remember it all.

He was no longer the decisive and iron-willed steward of the Song Family but rather a common elderly man in his twilight, softly voicing the last lingering concern in his heart: "You still look as young as a hundred years ago. Alas, the young mistress is gone. I have aged. This is probably the last time I see Mr. Leonard Churchill..."