Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 835: Ceremony, Opera, and Princess

Chapter 835 -835: Ceremony, Opera, and Princess

This Saturday was also an important day for Dr. Schneider, as tonight, on the full moon of the Yellow Moon in mid-March, it was destined to become the “Yellow Moon Shining Day,” the day Dr. Schneider had long planned for his ascension from Five Rings to Six Rings. Coincidentally, Dorothy had paused her classes for the week, so Shard stayed at the clinic to help him with the ascension ritual.

Compared to Dorothy’s complex ritual of combining the Sublimation Incantation to ascend from Four Rings to Five Rings, Dr. Schneider’s ascension from Five Rings to Six Rings seemed relatively simple.

In the attic of the doctor’s clinic, when the moonlight from the Yellow Moon illuminated the blood-stained circular ritual circle on the floor, the three overlapping isosceles triangles within the circle emitted red, blue, and green lights respectively. In the center of these geometric patterns, Demon Runes alternated with contemporary ritual runes.

The night was clear, and the stable moonlight shone through. In the outer ring of the nested double-layer circle, the illuminated runes flickered with a unique frequency of glimmer.

With Shard’s help, Dr. Schneider was suspended upside down with one foot above the glowing ritual on the ground. His eyes were tightly shut, and his wrists and ankles were adorned with three, five, seven, and nine silver bracelets respectively.

At 7:23 PM, Shard, standing at the door in a black robe, immediately shook the rattle bell in his hand. Amid the resonating hum that seemed to make one’s forehead vibrate, Dr. Schneider bit his own tongue, and the Ring of Fate behind him became visible.

The yellow muddled moonlight passed through the Ring of Fate, making its shadow perfectly coincide with the nested double-layer circle on the ground. Strange black substances emerged from the suspended doctor, wrapping him like a cocoon.

This was a sublimation ritual Dr. Schneider had modified with demonic knowledge, incorporating elements provided by the Academy. In that moonlight, Shard clearly saw that when the black cocoon fully closed, it was not Dr. Schneider inside but some terrifying, indescribable phantom monster.

The suspended cocoon made the already narrow attic even more eerie. Shard snapped his fingers, lighting up eleven white candles carved to resemble worms around the floor’s ritual circle one by one.

With the whoosh whoosh whoosh of igniting flames, Shard quickly took two steps forward, lifting the front of his robe and drawing out thirteen short silver daggers, stabbing them into the black cocoon to form a constellation-like pattern. These thirteen silver daggers, made of pure silver, were custom-made at a high cost by the doctor. Each dagger’s handle bore different twisted red demon runes, inscribed with a substance that wasn’t ruby, but a Forged Philosopher’s Stone.

The Forged Philosopher’s Stones, which Dr. Schneider had sought for this ritual, could be considered the catalysts for all the stories after the outlander’s arrival in this world. And now, they were finally put to use.

As the thirteen silver daggers fully pierced the giant black cocoon, an eerie darkness descended upon the attic, leaving only the red glow from the dagger handles floating in the darkness.

Shard silently counted to nine in his heart, and the moonlight and candlelight reappeared. By this time, Dr. Schneider had landed on the ground, smiling and twisting his neck within the blood-red ritual, showing Shard the Ring of Fate behind him.

He had successfully ascended to Six Rings.

Shard breathed a sigh of relief, dismissing the impulse to draw the Moonlight Greatsword. Dr. Schneider had warned him in advance that his ritual might attract some troublesome entities, including but not limited to Evil Spirits and spirits:

“Your ritual is more sinister than most cult rituals I’ve seen.”

Shard casually turned on the gas lamp in the attic, and the warm, yellow light dispelled the eerie atmosphere. Then he went out of the room to fetch the Night Watchman, waving it around inside the attic to make sure there was no reaction, and then pointed it towards Dr. Schneider, scaring him for a moment, but nothing happened. Only then did Shard confirm that the ritual had been successful.

The doctor smiled and said:

“There’s no other way; the demon is within me. If I want to ascend, I have to consider its power. Yet, tonight went smoothly. I recall you mentioning Luisa encountering a Mirror Ghost during her ascension; I thought I would also run into trouble.”

“If you had run into trouble too, it wouldn’t be just your bad luck but mine as well, since I was present both times.”

Shard was genuinely happy for the doctor.

They tidied up the attic, which would surely be mistaken for a cult ritual scene, planning to go to a tavern in the city to have a drink. Though Shard rarely drank, tonight, to celebrate the doctor’s ascension, he didn’t mind having a bit.

Just as they were about to leave the clinic together, someone delivered a letter to Shard, specifically mentioning it was from Miss Cavendish.

“Which Miss Cavendish?”

Shard instinctively asked while holding the letter, as the doctor standing next to him looked at him in astonishment.

Shard then sniffed the envelope: frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

“Oh, Lecia’s perfume scent, unmistakable.”

He thought to himself and opened it, finding that it was indeed Lecia inviting Shard to watch the opera at Draleon Royal Opera House in South Tobesk at 8:30 PM. It was already close to eight, so Lecia must have checked Saint Delan Square and, not finding Shard there, inquired Dorothy before sending the letter here.

“Doctor, I’m afraid I will…”

Shard looked apologetically at the middle-aged doctor with blue eyes, who was still doubting whether he had heard the surname “Cavendish” correctly.

“It’s okay, go handle your business.”

He shook his head, looking Shard up and down in surprise. Shard tried to ask, but the doctor refused to say anything:

“Young people nowadays are remarkable.”

Hastily, Shard went home to change into formal attire, took his cat, and rode a carriage to the opera house in South Tobesk City, luckily not arriving late.

That evening, when Shard saw Lecia in the box with the best view on the top floor of the Opera House, Princess Angelina was indeed dressed in full regalia beside her. Seeing Shard walk in breathlessly, Lecia warmly invited him to sit down and, before the opera started, mentioned her sister, Angelina’s elder sister, Princess Mona Cavendish’s wedding.

Lecia had already mentioned this once last Saturday on that stormy night.

The wedding of a royal princess would naturally be quite lively. Not only Angelina but even Lecia was eagerly anticipating the occasion. The wedding was scheduled for the eighteenth or nineteenth day of the Frostfall Moon at the Peace Chapel in this city, and the preliminary preparations were currently underway in full swing.

During the discussion of this topic, Lecia sat formally as if her relationship with Shard remained unchanged. But when the contemporary famous romantic tragedy opera “Murder at the Wedding” began, the blond princess suddenly stopped the conversation, waved her hand, and her maid, along with a group of servants, proceeded to the next box from the side door of the room.

Then, the princess sitting on the sofa, smiling with pursed lips, looked at Shard:

“Knight, did you miss me?”

She reached out to embrace Shard, touched the ruby earring on her ear with a smile, and, without giving Shard a chance to speak, kissed him.

“Here we go again.”

Sixteen-year-old Angelina Cavendish murmured softly, but she noticed something was off about their actions.

“A week ago, that stormy night, you performed really well. This past week, I don’t believe she hasn’t sought you out. It’s really frustrating; she knows I can’t casually stay out overnight, yet she refuses to let me use her body temporarily.”

Lecia whispered her complaints, already loosening her skirt’s tie. Her face flushed with excitement, she covered Shard’s mouth with her right hand, gesturing for the young knight to remain silent. She slid off the shoe on her left foot with her right foot, kicked off the high heel on her right foot, now bare except for white strap stockings.

With a wave of her hand, the gas lamps in the box dimmed gradually, and with her eyes bright, she kissed Shard again.

“Sister, you guys…”

Angelina, sensing something was amiss, immediately intervened.

“Oh, Angelina, you’re still here?”

After releasing Shard from a deep kiss, an out-of-breath Lecia raised both hands, tied her red hair back with her belt behind her head, gently pushed Shard to lie down, and said to her sister:

“Take Shard’s cat and exit through the side door, guard the door for us. I placed a Silence Charm, don’t worry about any strange noises.”

The little princess covered her mouth in disbelief:

“Sister, you really… but Shard is Aunt Galina’s… you are sharing one…”

“My dear Angelina, there’s still an hour and a half till the opera ends. After accounting for cleaning and grooming, I don’t actually have much time. Now, either lock the door from the inside and watch us here, or exit through the side door and have the servants guard the door.”

Lecia was quite stern with her sister:

“Don’t waste my time.”

“But…”

Dressed in finery, the princess reluctantly picked up Mia, pitifully standing in the dim indoor light, starting to understand why the incense had been lit in the box earlier today.

She bit her lip, watching the seemingly “helpless” Shard being subdued by her dominant sister on the sofa. For a moment, the girl’s budding feelings of sorrow burst forth, nearly making her cry.

“Hamilton Knight…”

She wished to help the handsome but vulnerable knight, yet the psychological shadow cast by her sister Lecia over the years only made Angelina clench her fists, dejectedly holding Mia with one hand and carrying the prepared supper for Mia, walking towards the door on the side wall.

“Close the door tightly.”

As Angelina reached the doorway, Lecia didn’t forget to remind her, but her voice was somewhat muffled. Angelina pursed her lips, wanting to scold Lecia for tarnishing the family’s reputation, but instead said:

“Do you need supper prepared for you two?”

She didn’t receive an answer, as the light in the box had completely gone out. Standing in the darkness, Angelina listened to the loud singing outside praising the tender love of a young girl, reflecting joy in the song.

Only after a long while did she leave holding Mia.

As for the cat she was holding, it seemed to somewhat understand the young girl’s feelings, curling up gently in her arms, though actually, it too didn’t want to leave.