When Shade arrived at the Cassandra Auction House from the rain, carrying a bouquet of flowers, the first-floor lobby—which had been nearly smashed to pieces by the vampires on Wednesday night—had already returned to its former bustling state.
Even though it was raining today, well-dressed merchants and nobles were still happy to weave through the auction house, chatting with one another about the lots they had their eyes on or joking about the latest news in the city.
As Shade folded his umbrella and handed it to a nearby attendant, he even overheard someone discussing the tree atop Mount Sicar.
Miss Rita Swift, the witch's apprentice with beautiful flaxen hair, happened to be on the first floor, directing people to re-hang the oil paintings and photographs on the walls. Seeing Shade arrive, she greeted him enthusiastically
"Mr. Watson, Grandmother told me this morning that you would surely come today or tomorrow."
She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood as she led Shade to the top floor of the auction house to see Grandmother Cassandra.
Once the two of them ascended the stairs and were away from others, she told Shade with a flushed, excited face
"Teacher is letting me try managing the auction house now. Although it's only the logistics and financial auditing for the headquarters, it's still a great start. Teacher said I did well on Wednesday night, and this is my reward."
The once somewhat insecure girl was now smiling happily
"I know this must have something to do with you rescuing Teacher's teachers."
"No, no. The one who rescued them was that one."
Shade pointed upward, referring to the deity
"I only made some insignificant contributions."
"That is still remarkable. Do you know? After I learned about that night from Grandmother, I truly felt as if it were a myth recorded in the books of the Orthodox Church."
She lowered her voice slightly
"Before you left the auction house that night, you already knew a Great One would descend, yet you still rushed toward Mount Sicar. That is truly amazing. Mr. Hamilton, you are the most remarkable man I have ever met."
Shade shook his head
"Speaking of which, is Mr. Armand Bernhardt still locked in the basement?"
"Someone paid the ransom on Saturday. Grandmother erased a small portion of his memories from Wednesday night and had him sign a special contract to ensure he wouldn't leak any secrets before letting him leave."
Mr. Bernhardt had been severely injured that night and his memories were already blurred, so doing this would not harm him.
"He only remembers seeing you, but not what questions you asked. Additionally, he left a letter for you. Grandmother checked it; it's mostly thanking you for your help and inviting you to visit his manor when you have time. Mr. Bernhardt's family operates a very large wine estate in Carsonrick, controlling many excellent vineyards."
Before going to see Grandmother Cassandra, Miss Swift went to retrieve the letter. Armand Bernhardt had brought the vessel for the divine descent—that vampire prince—to the city, but he himself didn't know much about the descent itself. Thus, Shade felt no ill will toward him; on the contrary, he considered him a decent person. After all, before Shade prepared to enter the mountains on Wednesday night, Mr. Bernhardt had repeatedly urged him not to take the risk.
If there were an opportunity to visit Carsonrick in the future, Shade would pay this gentleman a visit. He had heard about the scenery of the southern vineyards from Luvia and Dorothy many times; it would likely be quite wonderful.
The great battle on Wednesday had not left the two witches with too many injuries. Grandmother Cassandra was the same as ever, rising to welcome Shade upon his arrival.
The old witch had heard about the events in the mountains from Sister Devlin. Shade didn't know if she fully believed the slightly polished and embellished version of the story, but at least on the surface, Grandmother Cassandra believed it all.
She warmly invited Shade to stay for lunch before leading him to see Grace and Helen. Sister Devlin had brought them back to the city that night, and they had been recuperating in the auction house ever since.
However, they were no longer in the room with the powerful sealing effects in the auction house's basement; the Red Butterfly twins were now residing in a room on the top floor. The room had been converted into a specialized infirmary, with two four-poster beds separated by a wooden nightstand. In the porcelain vases at the head of the beds were two red Phalaenopsis orchids.
The curtains were drawn open, revealing the rainy sky and streets outside the window, but if one looked out from here on a sunny day, the view would likely be splendid.
When Shade pushed the door open and entered, Grace was lying in her bed, reading a story to her sister from a newspaper. Shade was certain the newspaper was the *Steam Bird Daily*, because the story Grace was reading was *The Collected Detective Stories of Hamilton*.
Neither Grandmother Cassandra nor Miss Swift entered; Shade walked into the room alone. Although it was daytime, the gas lamps were lit because of the rain outside. The warm yellow glow gave the room an unexpected sense of coziness.
Grace stopped reading and, together with Helen, looked toward Shade. Their two pairs of blue eyes were so clear; they appeared to be in good spirits.
But compared to when Shade had parted with them in the early hours of Thursday, the girls now looked as if they had shrunk a size. This referred not only to their stature but to the fact that they had changed from young women in their twenties to the appearance of fifteen or sixteen-year-olds. Although they were older than when Shade first saw them at the God's banquet, they still looked very youthful
"Grace, Helen, how are you feeling?"
Shade greeted them as he walked in, attempting to place the flowers he held into the vase.
"Good morning, sir. I feel quite well, as if a great mountain has suddenly been lifted from my back," Grace said. She tried to get out of bed to pour water for Shade, but Shade stopped her
"Just stay in bed."
He pulled up a chair himself and sat between the two hospital beds.
"Good morning, sir. You've finally come. Much of our power is gone, and many of our memories are lost, but we actually feel more free," Helen added, a bright smile on her face that Shade had never seen before.
"The blurring of those memories has actually made the original memories clearer. Although we are still relics, at least for now, we feel as if we have become human again."
"But it didn't come without a price. Although my sister and I no longer need to guard the seal or perform that cycle ritual every twenty-two years, we can no longer leave the Mount Sicar region freely from now on," Grace added.
While recuperating in bed, they both wore nightgowns. Grace's nightgown, with its lace-trimmed collar, was mostly white, while Helen's, with a butterfly pattern embroidered on the collar, was black and deep purple; they were very fond of this color combination.
"There is always a price to pay. After all, you are the Red Butterflies who flew out of Mount Sicar," Shade said. Then, after obtaining their consent, he reached out and held their fair hands. After a moment, he received an answer
【Because a quarter of their souls and bodies were stolen by the Evil God, aside from the age regression, their souls are currently extremely fragile. They cannot engage in any combat for a short period and should avoid using their powers.】
They surely knew this, but they hadn't mentioned it to Shade.
【Furthermore, as the price for paying the "Sleeping Princess" maze-lock, their power has declined significantly. The concentration of their whisper elements has become very weak; at the very least, they are no longer at the level of Angel-grade relics.】
"So the grade of the relics has been permanently downgraded?" Shade was slightly surprised.
【Of course not. Their power was plundered by the Evil God and the price of the maze-lock was paid, but unlike your 【Red Moon】, which requires a specific method to break the seal, as they recover, the power of the Red Butterflies will eventually return in full.】
"Why? Is this a difference in how the maze-lock treats people? Why is it stricter for me, the caster?"
"She" chuckled softly
【Outlander, do you still not understand? The Red Moon is your power, but the Red Butterflies are their power as well as their curse. This curse has long been rooted in their souls; as long as they exist, it will absolutely never disappear.】
"Then, how fast is the recovery speed of the whisper elements and the curse?"
【Rough estimate: they will return to their original state within a hundred years. But you will need further contact with them before I can give a precise answer.】
"Further contact..."
Shade glanced at Helen, who looked only fifteen or sixteen, and asked
"Aside from these, are there any other conditions?"
【The incompleteness of their souls means they must stay close to one another to supplement each other, otherwise their souls will continue to shatter. Therefore, until their power returns to its peak, they cannot be separated by more than 100 feet (approx. 30m). Additionally, besides being restricted to this region, they can follow you or move within No. 6 St. Delan Square.】
"Why?"
【You are tainted with too much of the soul-power of this region; you can be regarded as a part of this region. No. 6 St. Delan Square is regarded as your residence, and thus can also be regarded as a part of this region,】 "she" explained.
Shade nodded and told the two black-haired girls about these matters. They had already noticed these costs and didn't mind them; instead, they were very happy about the last point Shade mentioned
"Sir, when you have time, please take us to see your home. However, we'll have to find a way to perform long-distance spatial movement; there's always a way."
"Of course, but we'll wait until your condition improves a bit. I can take you to the ruined tower in the mountains; perhaps you can use the power there. After all, that Old God..."
He didn't continue. The Twin Gods most likely inherited the dual-unity power of the spatial ancient god "Primal Rift," and the Red Butterflies, who accepted the power of the Old God "Twin Gods," should also be able to use the power of the 【Spatial Labyrinth】.
However, Grace and Helen had never established a landmark at St. Delan Square, so Shade would still need a relic similar to the 【Traveler's Travel Gate】 to let them briefly go to St. Delan Square. Only after verifying this hypothesis could they achieve a leap between the two regions.
And this would have to wait until the Red Butterflies' bodies were better. They now had plenty of time to spend together and wait for the upcoming visits. Time would not leave too many marks on them. Although it wasn't complete freedom, at least Grace and Helen—the Red Butterflies who flew from the Fifth Epoch to this era—had achieved the freedom in their hearts.
Shade looked forward to it—looking forward to them creating more stories. Carrying memories of the people of the past and longing for the future, living their lives freely.
(End of Chapter)