Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 537: The Overturned Candlestick

After saying goodbye to Miss Galina, Shard, holding the cat, followed Tifa from the second-floor study across the corridor to the guest room where Luviya resided. Along the way, they saw servants, who had awakened, tidying up the manor that hadn't been cleaned earlier in the day, each nodding and greeting Shard as they saw him.

It was already 10 p.m., but they still had a while to be busy before they could rest. However, this wasn't because Miss Galina was harsh on her servants, but because everyone had almost slept the entire day, so it was difficult to fall asleep now.

"The lady has told the servants that from now on, you're considered one of the masters here, so please treat this place as your own home."

Tifa whispered as she continued to lead Shard forward, yet instead of leading Shard directly to Luviya, they increasingly veered off course, even lighting a candelabrum and approaching an area where the light grew dimmer,

Eventually, they stopped in a corridor where the lights were off. Judging from the location, this was in a secluded area on the east side of the manor mansion.

Miss Galina certainly wasn't lacking the Gold Pounds to pay for the gas lamps, so even at night, most of the corridors inside the mansion were lit. The lights were off here, which could only mean it was rarely frequented, so it was unlikely that Luviya was assigned a room nearby.

Just as Shard was wondering, Tifa, who was carrying the candelabrum in front, turned and looked at Shard, then slightly bowed, turning sideways to place the candelabrum on the floor.

"Hm..."

Shard didn't know what else was happening.

"Shard, there's something I need to make clear."

The girl in the maid's dress held her hands together in front of her body, her eyes looking toward Shard. There was no light here, only the wavering flame of the candelabrum at her feet.

"If I had agreed earlier, it definitely wouldn't be just because it was to thank you."

Her beautiful eyes looked at Shard. Shard slightly opened his mouth in surprise and took at least three seconds to understand what she meant.

"Yes, I wasn't ready yet. After becoming Miss Galina's maid, I never thought I would have any intimate contact with a man again."

She spoke softly, then raised both hands and began unbuttoning her top. Shard was even more surprised; he had always thought those silver buttons extending from the collar to just above the chest were decorative. It seemed this dress was more complicated than he thought.

"Also, please don't think that I can only take orders from the lady and don't have any opinion of my own."

Those dark brown eyes looked at Shard, the corners of her red lips curled up in a smile. She unbuttoned four buttons from the collar downward, revealing a lady's shirt underneath. It being late summer, the shirt was quite thin, and Shard could see the skin below her neck.

With both hands, she then unbuttoned four more buttons:

"To prevent being discovered by others, we can stay here for three minutes. While I can't offer you a feast, a small snack is still possible."

She spoke softly, her neck exposed as she looked at Shard. Shard examined the curve in front of him, hesitatingly saying:

"I still hope you don't do this kind of thing just because you want to thank me. That gift was from Miss Feliana, not me."

The black-haired girl laughed softly, her smile mixing shyness, allure, and a variety of complex emotions that Shard couldn't fully understand.

"I knew you would say that. How about this for an apology? For earlier when I obeyed the lady's commands and restrained you."

She spoke softly; her dimples were quite evident.

"Hm..."

"We have two minutes and 49 seconds left."

Tifa walked up to Shard, slightly thrusting her chest, then her right hand pressed Shard's nape, attempting to push his head down.

"Hm..."

[Two minutes and 42 seconds left.]

Shard didn't resist, and his head was pushed down.

Tifa's right hand pressed Shard's nape, biting her lower lip with a flushed face and a smile. With her left hand, she pulled up the side of her dress, exposing her left foot, which she kicked backward, knocking the candelabrum over, extinguishing the flame:

"Maybe we can stay here for five minutes."

"Meow?"

The cat, being held by Shard and feigning sleep, was surprised by the sudden darkness.

Then it was placed on the ground because it was in the way.

(Mia is running...)

"Why is your face so red?"

When Shard walked into the room, Luviya lying on the bed asked curiously. When he sat down on the chair by the bed, she frowned and sniffed:

"What is this smell on you, why is it so... fragrant? Oh, it's the perfume scent from that beautiful maid."

"Can you also smell it? That's the perfume used by witches, only a very few can detect it."

Shard lightly twitched his nose; he couldn't smell anything on himself.

"I can smell it, and it's really nice. But what were you doing just now that you got such a strong scent on you?"

She asked laughingly, seeing Shard's embarrassed face not knowing how to respond, she laughed even more joyously:

"Look, I knew it, men always like pretty girls with that kind of figure. Shard, I bet you were up to no good just now. But harassing someone's maid in their home, that's not very gentlemanly," she said.

Shard found it hard to explain who exactly had been harassed just now.

"Let's go out for a walk; lying here all the time is so boring. Let's walk in the courtyard, it looked beautiful from the window," she suggested.

"Sure, a walk outside would be nice. But have you had dinner? I just ate with Miss Galina, and you were still asleep then."

"The servants have already brought it; this is my first experience of noble life."

"How are you feeling?"

"Quite well, don't worry about me, I just couldn't join you for..."

Shard knew that Luviya wanted to walk in the courtyard because she preferred not to discuss sensitive matters inside the manor. Shard had only mentioned that she was helping him, not her connection with the 'Whispering Verses' or that Luviya herself did not want the witches to know her secret.

So, together they walked from the second floor to the first and then out into the courtyard. There were quite a few servants working in the darkness of the night. The dark corruption on the plants caused most of them to wither, something not even "Feliana's Witch Light" could fix, so the servants were pruning the flower beds.

As they stepped into the courtyard under the gentle moonlight, Shard recounted everything that had happened after they had parted ways at the manor.

Luviya's face showed worry when she heard about the High Ring Sorcerers being crystallized by Human Pus; when Shard mentioned throwing up the "Weak Angel Potion" but still being blown away with Iluna, she quietly asked about his health; when the "Box of Darkness" went out of control, Shard swallowed the darkness, and she tightly grabbed Shard's arm; hearing about Mia stealing the Fish Training Ring necessary for demons to speak, the girl with purple eyes then smiled at the cat sitting on Shard's shoulder, bathed in moonlight.

Mia looked up, her pink nose towards the sky, amber eyes gazing at the moon. Under the moonlight, the cat appeared quite mystical.

"Your cat is not normal."

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The two turned a corner by the flower bed, walking along the path through the blossoms.

"Last time, it definitely wasn't me who made it turn from a toy back into a cat while I was unconscious; it might have absorbed a trace... of my power."

Shard pet Mia on the head from behind, and the cat immediately made a soft sound:

"However, this time we owe it to her; she somehow climbed into the box at the right moment. Miss Galina helped me check her, and for now, the cat seems normal," he said.

While talking, he noticed the Transmutation Ring and Fish Training Ring strung on the cat's tail:

"Mia is now 'Two Rings', and I have reached Three Rings," Shard joked.

"Two and a half months to Three Rings," she said softly, before listening to Shard discuss matters relating to the Witch Council. Hesitant, he did not mention the examination done by Miss Galina.

"What knowledge did Miss Feliana leave you with in the 'Witch Echo'?"

She was curious about this, but Shard shook his head:

"Some basic knowledge. The time Miss Feliana was in was shortly after she founded Saint Byrons. She gave me some basic Circle Sorcerer knowledge, which I think will help cover my basics."

He had reached Three Rings but couldn't apply at the Academy to advance to the third year, as there were no examinations in autumn.

"However, the most significant gain this time, apart from killing the second Chosen One, was this," he said.

Seeing no one around, Shard took out a deck of Roder Cards under the moonlight, then pulled out the "Genesis: Darkness."

"Can you control 'Genesis: Darkness' like you did 'Genesis: Balance'?" asked Luviya.

"Not yet, at least not for now. But look at this," Shard said.

He pointed at the card face, and Luviya looked for a long time before realizing this card was quite... tactile.

It was different from all other Roder Cards, even from "Genesis: Balance" and "Genesis: Silver Moon"; the card face was more three-dimensional, as if it truly contained a whole scene.

"What's this about?" Luviya asked.

"I found this when I came back to the manor, it must be related to killing Daknis. But the other me has already caught some information, and I think I've guessed what this is," Shard explained.

He took a pocket watch out of his pocket, opened the cover, and pulled out the "Ever-Youth Leaf."

He had two leaves when he entered the "Dark Realm"; after completing the key task, he got two more. One was consumed by Iluna, one was in Luviya's hands, and the one from the "Sigh of Ages" had just been returned by Tifa.

"After what you just did to me, and saying you want to give me a very precious relic, it makes me think we're engaged in some illicit trade," said the black-haired Maid Miss, insisting that Shard take back the leaf.

Thus, now Shard had two leaves, and the one in his hand at the moment contained a piece of knowledge, "A Segment of Truthful Information - Dark Dungeon."

Gazing up at the starry sky, Shard held the green leaf in front of his eyes.