Going Home with You
Suddenly, time seemed to slow down, and the black veil swirling around Sylvia began to surge like waves, distorting the space in front of her.
The gray-haired doll stretched out her right hand, reaching into the depths of the black veil. A swirling mist spun across her arm.
The instant she touched the veil, her hand also dissolved. The fabricated skin covering her palm turned transparent, revealing the metallic skeleton within, covered in a starlight shine.
The next second, she uttered a heavy, cold snort and withdrew her hand.
The surging black veil calmed down, and in her right palm, a black feather lay.
Upon closer inspection, tiny dark purple symbols could be seen interwoven across its surface, emanating an ominous aura.
The scent of death.
The moment she saw it, her fake skin crawled in recognition.
The aura from this feather was the same as the death god's divinity she had just put away.
Was that thing outside spying on them?
Able to escape from her hand — even if it was not an Apostle, it must have been close to that level.
Moreover, it was likely related to the death god. If that was the case, then its target was Isabella?
No, that might have been the case before, but now it was very likely that she had also become a target. If not the bigger one.
Whether it was her separating the Death God aura from Issbella, or her possessing that divinity now, both would attract unwanted attention.
Thinking of this, Sylvia glanced at Isabella, who had a puzzled expression, and sighed lightly in her heart.
She had been too reckless, making a move without fully understanding all the information.
She needed to be more cautious next time.
Then, she looked at Loruze, who was holding two boxes:
"Put the boxes on the chair first."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
Loruze respectfully complied, then looked at the feather in Sylvia’s hand with some confusion:
"Your Eminence, what just happened?"
"Nothing — just a little feathery spy."
Sylvia said calmly.
After a brief thought, she continued asking:
"How much do you know about the death god?"
Hearing this, Loruze’s face froze for a moment, then he showed a look of realization.
However, the surprise in his eyes did not affect his answer:
"The death god is one of the Nine True Gods, standing alongside the Lord of Radiance, and purple is his symbolized color."
"However, this True God does not have a direct church, only some random folk beliefs."
“He is the most mysterious among the Gods. As far as I know, there are no direct records of Him in the scriptures of either the Church of Radiance or the Church of Industry and Machinery."
"The death god’s messengers in reality are called 'Death Spoken Ravens.' They appear in the form of crows and hold a status equivalent to us ministers of the Church."
Listening to his words, Sylvia’s eyes narrowed little by little:
"Alright, I understand."
Her mood was now rather complicated.
Based on Loruze’s words, she now confirmed that the creature outside the cathedral earlier was a Death Spoken Raven.
Theoretically, this guy could be considered a colleague of the Church of Radiance.
Had it noticed the anomaly here?
Very likely.
Which made things even more troublesome.
Thus, she needed to verify the situation and resolve this hidden danger.
If that did not work, she would consider running away.
Feeling a headache, Sylvia turned her head toward Isabella, who sat innocently on the bench, and asked:
"Shouldn't you be going home?"
"Huh?"
The blonde girl tilted her head slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in her lake-blue eyes.
"I said, shouldn't you be going home?"
Sylvia casually picked up one of the boxes and showed a kind smile, her remaining eye flickering with a mischievous glint.
...
The carriage raced along the stone-paved road, and Sylvia sat leisurely beside Isabella, watching the scenery outside the window.
Opposite her sat a maid who looked to be no more than twenty years old.
However, this maid acted as if she could not see the extra person in the carriage, chatting away with Isabella.
Their relationship seemed quite good.
Sylvia’s gaze swept over the two of them before she once again looked toward the street outside. Strays of light reflected on falling snowflakes, flickering under dim street lamps.
Not long after, the carriage entered the Lancasters’ estate. With the maid’s assistance, Isabella carefully got down from the carriage and sat into the wheelchair that the servant had brought over.
As they moved toward the main house, Sylvia followed behind them, entering the mansion.
After all the others, including the maid, had left the room, the doll girl went to the window, looked up at the broken moon, and said with a hint of amusement:
"Why do you keep going to the cathedral at night? Don’t you find it troublesome?"
"Moreover, your attendants are believers of Radiance. Why not have them wait inside with you?"
It was a question she had wanted to ask back at the cathedral.
Isabella remained silent for a moment, then answered softly:
"That would be too dangerous."
"Hm?"
"I know the kind of existence I am praying to. Should I receive a response, any subsequent anomaly could trigger a disaster, potentially endangering those around me."
"Therefore, I requested my father to pray alone after nightfall. After discussing with Uncle Loruze, he agreed to my request."
"How thoughtful of you."
Sylvia commented, then turned around with a peculiar smile:
"Then, aren’t you worried about me?"
"As the Apostle of an Evil God, I might be even more dangerous."
"No, I believe Your Eminence would never do such things."
Isabella shook her head gently, but Sylvia keenly caught the fleeting tension across her face.
She chuckled softly and replied:
"Relax, I won't do anything."
"My purpose in coming here with you is to find that little crow."
As she spoke, she idly rubbed the unsocketed eyeball, which she cleansed with magic.
"What is your Eminence's meaning?"
Isabella asked, somewhat perplexed.
"Do you know what your curse is related to?"
The doll girl sat on a chair near the bed and asked leisurely.
The blonde girl shook her head.
"The death god."
Sylvia pinched the eyeball of her left eye between her right index finger and thumb, lifting it up to observe its color under the ceiling gas lamp.
"The death god?"
Isabella’s mouth slowly opened wide.
"That is correct."
Sylvia’s lips curled up slightly into a smile, and then she pressed the eyeball back into her left eye socket with a soft "pop."
At that moment, under the light, the difference between her two eyes was visible—
Though both were purple, her right eye appeared much clearer, while her left eye looked slightly murky.
"This..."
At that moment, Isabella could hardly believe it.
"Don’t believe me?"
The doll-like girl smiled indifferently and then turned her gaze toward the window.
In the deep night, something ominous was approaching the house.