Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 1071: The "Sick" Duchess

Chapter 1071: Chapter 1071: The "Sick" Duchess

"He has a faint scent of demon on him. It seems that on the night of the Princess’s attack, besides witnessing Sir Plisha conversing with a demon, he was indeed on the rooftop of the concert hall and also met Vanny. But I can be certain that the Sir did not accept the demon’s power, at most he just had some contact with the demon. Even the Desire Multiplying Demon could not tempt him to fall, what are you worried about? He is a very resolute person at heart."

The doctor asked with a smile, then prepared to say goodbye and leave. Shard opened the door to see the doctor out, but before descending the steps, the doctor added:

"Of course, there are other possibilities."

"What possibilities?"

"Even the demon couldn’t satisfy his craving for knowledge, so he chose to ignore the demon’s offer. He wants more, he desires more."

Shard nodded slowly, pondering in his heart.

Nothing else happened this Monday. In the evening, Princess Margaret’s servant delivered an invitation to Shard, formally inviting him to attend the banquet at Canary Estate tomorrow night.

The news had already been published in the newspaper, as long as there isn’t a snowstorm, the Casenli visiting group will leave Tobesk City by steam train at ten o’clock Wednesday morning, then transfer to a steam hover zeppelin, first returning to Huntington City in the United Kingdom of Carsonrick, then taking a train back to the Royal Capital Velindale.

Margaret Anjou’s visit to Tobesk has finally come to an end.

Shard invited Luviya as his companion, the purple-eyed girl planned to visit Shard’s home in the afternoon. So on Tuesday morning, Shard intended to pack his luggage at home.

Luviya confirmed that the Chosen One Ceremony would not be held in Tobesk, but likely in the Pantanal Region. Since the exact time of the ceremony was unclear, after Sir Plisha left with the visiting group, Shard needed to be ready to set off at any time. Packing at the last minute would certainly be too late.

But changes are always faster than plans. At eight o’clock in the morning, Tifa appeared downstairs at Shard’s home and then took Shard, who was holding the cat, to the estate outside the city.

When Shard met Miss Galina in the third-floor study, Miss Sylvia was smiling and talking to her, the book "Immortality Magic" was placed on the tea table, Miss Galina had been studying it recently. Even a witch worries about her aging appearance.

"Good morning, Shard."

The young witch greeted first, and Miss Galina also smiled, motioning for Shard to sit down and talk:

"I saw the note you left me on Sunday, do you have anything you want to ask me? Oh, and I’m not attending tonight’s banquet, enjoy yourself."

"Something else happening tonight? Has another Keeper of Secrets appeared?"

Shard asked in surprise.

"Of course not, it’s because I am ill."

The red-haired Duchess indicated for Shard to touch her forehead. After Shard did reach out to touch her forehead, Miss Galina showed a satisfied smile:

"I caught a cold during the snowfall a few days ago, so I must be bedridden until the end of the year."

Shard withdrew his hand, looking at her suspiciously. Not to mention the improbability of an Eleventh Rank Witch catching a cold, even if it were a cold, a very ordinary magic potion could cure it, a potion Shard could make himself. Even if potions couldn’t help, he recently acquired a Plague Doctor’s Ring, now worn on Mia’s tail.

"I will not see guests during my illness, daily affairs will be handled by my personal maid, Tifa."

Miss Galina took the opportunity to hold the hand of the black-haired Miss Maid:

"Servit, everything is in your hands."

Typically, she wouldn’t address her maid this way.

"Yes, Miss."

Tifa replied with a smile.

"So what exactly is the situation?"

Shard asked the nearby Miss Sylvia, who chuckled lightly:

"Miss Galina plans to accompany me with the visiting group to Carsonrick. But given her status, it would be odd to remain absent in public for a long time, so she plans to feign illness and rest for a while. Shard, you could stop by occasionally to visit Miss Galina, making it seem more realistic."

"That’s a good idea."

Miss Galina nodded, glancing at Tifa, slightly worried what might happen when she’s absent.

"Going to the Kingdom of Carsonrick?"

Shard raised an eyebrow.

"The Speaker confirmed the ceremony is not in Tobesk, but further south, and now that the Chosen One appears to be still in Tobesk City, the group about to leave becomes suspicious."

The Duchess said:

"There are two male Circle Sorcerers with the visiting group. Apart from Lakin Prisia, there’s another, a bodyguard employed by accompanying nobles, who only has Two Rings."

She snorted:

"Of course, recently leaving this city to winter in the south will certainly not be limited to these two. Although it’s uncertain the Chosen One is among them, Sylvia and I are together, and should anything new happen, she can use spatial power to reach the incident more quickly with me. The Speaker also agreed with our plan, and now Hevy is heading toward Huntington City, with a bit of luck, this incident will involve three Grand Witches."

"How does the Council plan to deal with the Chosen One this time? The Poem Chapter Fragment already indicated he is male."

Shard asked again.

"Trying to resist fate will only lead to being toyed with by it. The appearance of The Chosen One is destined to happen in the Sixth Era. Moreover, from Sister Delphine of the Spiritual Practice Order, we learned that candidates for The Chosen One still exist. Even if a male candidate is killed, we’re uncertain of the gender of the second candidate or which force they belong to, so the Council is requesting us to observe for now and refrain from taking action."

Miss Galina smiled at Shard and said:

"But I know, no matter where the ceremony is eventually held, you will end up appearing mysteriously, just like the previous three times, right?"

Miss Sylvia raised an eyebrow, Tifa had a smile on her face, and Shard sat comfortably on the sofa:

"Then, Miss Galina, we’ll meet in Huntington City. The climate there is indeed better than Tobesk... speaking of which, if there’s a chance, I would really like to try and see what it’s like to ride a Steam Hover Zeppelin."

After discussing The Chosen One, taking advantage of the presence of both witches today, Shard asked them a question:

"I did come this weekend for some matters. Ladies, do you know Miss Chloe from around Year 903 of the Fifth Era of Life? She’s also a witch, once visited a snow mountain."

"Is this another witch you’ve met in past times?"

Miss Galina laughed, recalled for a moment, then shook her head:

"Information from the early Fifth Era has been lost too severely, and just by name, without even a surname, it’s very difficult to identify who you’re talking about."

"She’s short, with long silver-white hair, red eyes, extremely beautiful..."

Seeing the two witches show unhappy expressions, Tifa coughed quickly, hinting at Shard, who hurriedly added:

"Of course, still not as beautiful as you two. Oh, Miss Chloe was a formal member of the Council."

She certainly left behind the Witch Echo.

"A member of the Council?"

Miss Galina glanced at Miss Sylvia; both fell into thought:

"Is there no more information about her life?"

"No."

Shard slightly shook his head.

"At least I can’t think of any corresponding figure."

The Duchess regrettably said, so Shard then looked at Miss Sylvia, who thought for a long time before slightly shaking her head:

"I don’t remember either... how about taking you there to find out?"

"What?"

Shard asked, puzzled, as Miss Galina stood up:

"The Council has information about former Grand Witches, though it’s incomplete. In theory, only His Excellency the Speaker has the qualification to browse those records, but the current Speaker has opened up qualifications for us; we can check those not very important contents. It’s Tuesday morning, ten o’clock, everyone is busy, probably no one in the Council... I’ll go in first, make sure no one is there, then call you out."

The witch’s song is the first key to opening the Council, entering the narrow and ancient passage with the gentlest melody. And after crossing the white Mist Gate at the end, the real key to opening the Council is the witch’s jewelry.

So far, among the four witches Shard has encountered, Miss Galina possesses the Ancient Witch’s Golden Necklace of the thirteen Sage-Level Relics, Miss Hevy Aurora has the Ancient Witch’s Golden Ring - Right One, Granny Zina Cassandra has the Ancient Witch’s Golden Button, and this time Miss Emma Sylvia possesses the Ancient Witch’s Golden Ring·Left Two.

The ring is very similar to Miss Aurora’s ring, with differences only in the surface pattern and the runes surrounding the band.

After using the witch’s jewelry to open the door to the Council, indeed, there was no one inside. The empty stone round table was located at the bottom of the circular open space, surrounded by tiers of dilapidated steps leading up to heights shrouded in chilling darkness.

An unknown source of white light only illuminated the round table and the area immediately surrounding it.

Behind each white stone-backed chair around the round table, a symbolic emblem representing a witch’s seat was present. Miss Galina’s emblem was "Balance," Miss Aurora’s was "Light," Granny Cassandra’s was "Darkness," and Miss Sylvia’s was "Space."

If disregarding the stairs shrouded in darkness, the Council’s domain was almost completely visible, with no apparent place for storing documents.

"Are we to climb the stairs upwards?"

Before Shard could voice his question, Miss Galina was already holding her necklace, approaching the chair corresponding to the "Moon" seat, raising her jewelry toward the steps behind the chair.

As the golden necklace emitted a soft glow, the once-solid stone steps appeared to ripple like a phantom, quickly revealing a square opening, allowing them to proceed inward.

[There is a hidden wall ahead.]

"She" whispered softly in Shard’s ear, smiling; this scene indeed resembled Shard opening the hidden space beneath his own home.

"Emma, Shard, follow me."

Miss Galina beckoned, leading the way inside. The square opening was one and a half times Shard’s height, and entering with the two witches, the passage inside was also spacious.