Chapter 649: Chapter 217: Seeing Master Merlin Again
Lion City’s train station.
A steam-driven carriage bearing the brass clan emblem of the Lionheart family stopped at the entrance of the VIP passage.
With the face of the Lionheart family behind them, they had not encountered any accidents along the way.
In the back seat, Leonard Churchill and Catherine Carter sat side by side, occasionally engaging in idle conversation.
Everything had gone smoothly tonight, and both were in a good mood.
Lion City was in a period of rapid development, with a great deal of pedestrian traffic and trains departing for Sinless City nearly every half hour.
After waiting for just a few minutes,
outside the window,
three whistle blows sounded, “Whoo, whoo, whoo.”
Upon seeing this, a hint of regret flashed across Catherine’s face as she said goodbye, “The train is about to leave. I can only see you off here, please be careful on your own.”
Leonard nodded, “Thank you, Miss Carter.”
That she had personally escorted him this far was already a great kindness.
Hearing this, a faint blush emerged in Catherine’s pale blue eyes, and she spoke with no hint of regard, “You’ve saved me many times. Such a small favor is nothing; you don’t have to be so polite. Besides, I think we are already friends, aren’t we? If you need help in the future, you can come to find me. I should be able to help in some way.”
“Alright.”
Leonard gave a slight smile.
He stepped out of the car, closed the door, and waved goodbye to the blonde, stunning Elder Miss of the Lionheart family inside.
Catherine also responded with a soft smile and whispered, “Until we meet again.”
As Leonard turned around for a moment, the corner of his eye lifted slightly as he pondered.
He then headed straight for the train.
He had to admit, he had enjoyed their time together.
In fact, Leonard had already noticed some changes in Catherine when they were in the study.
That the Elder Miss of the Lionheart family was completely at ease with him, comfortable enough to change clothes openly, might not have been without ulterior motives.
Not minding was true.
Doing so intentionally was also true.
Not minding because they had shared life and death situations together, she truly regarded him as a good friend;
And since he had already seen her figure, showing it a bit didn’t seem like a big deal.
But the possibility of doing so intentionally, perhaps out of mood, but maybe also with a sliver of motive?
After all, Leonard knew that his current identity was somewhat special, especially given his close relation to the “Thirteen Masked Knights.”
Beyond being friends, she definitely was an excellent strategic ally.
The respectability of a mature woman, the transparency of a friend, along with a hint of coquettish teasing borne from a slight stirring of the heart, Catherine executed it all just right.
Even though Leonard had noticed, he did not think poorly of it.
From the first moment he learned of her identity at the Flood Gang gambling hall, Leonard could tell that the Silver Mist Rose was highly capable and scheming.
But back then, she was still somewhat naive.
Now, with a hero’s fate bestowed, she had transformed into someone befitting of higher status.
The ability to “manage and control” power and everything around was becoming slowly more prevalent in her.
Beneath that elegant and stunning exterior, there also lay a domineering air that looked down upon the world.
Just like how she had coolly eliminated a few of her threatening cousins in the chaos of the banquet hall earlier.
All those in high positions necessarily possessed this trait.
An absolutely kind person could not maintain that position.
From the beginning, Catherine did not hide her motives from him.
So when Leonard noticed, he did not think it was a problem.
This perfect degree of approachability, in fact, made him feel her personality was quite charming and a pleasure to be around.
However, Leonard had absolutely no interest in politics or power; what he cared about more was Extraordinary Power.
He neither liked nor disliked it.
Catherine indeed was a good friend.
After tonight, changes were likely coming to the Lionheart family.
His friend was probably about to shine in her own right.
A thought flashed through Leonard’s mind as he boarded the train.
…
Leonard was traveling in a VIP carriage arranged by Catherine.
This also spared him a lot of trouble.
At least he did not have to deal with the probing attention of various powers, as he would have in a regular carriage.
The VIP carriage had its own dedicated serving maid, who, after serving a pot of hot tea, was not asked to stay in the carriage by Leonard.
The train ride back to Sinless City would take the better part of the day.
Leonard skimmed through the latest special edition of the noble newspaper to catch up on some recent events in upper-class society.
Before long, having finished reading the newspaper, he finally took out the gift that Camilla had given him when they parted.
Let’s not talk about the blood-colored card.
Leonard was more curious about the contents wrapped in the Curse.
Thinking that the train had already left Lion City far behind, he finally opened the package.
To his surprise, inside was a floating grey-black feather.
“Angel Feather?”
Leonard recognized the feather from the Angel Wings just by looking at it, with its overflow of light and dark energy.
This was not the first time he had come into possession of such a feather.
But this one had Extraordinary Traits that were several times denser than the last one he’d encountered.
This small feather might not look like much, but when the Hunchbacked Old Cook last touched it, he got his hand scorched black by the dark flame on it.
Leonard didn’t dare to be careless, covering his palm with Hellfire in an instant and then lightly touching the feather.
As soon as he touched it, he felt a burning pain, but fortunately, it was not fatal.
He mused to himself, “It seems to be a flame of a higher existence than ‘Hellfire’…”
This was the source of energy and legal principle used by Queen Catherine when she easily employed the Fire Series Forbidden Curse.
Having not had the chance to observe it himself before, Leonard thought of something, put on the Clown mask, and his Curse Power surged, “Demonic Solution!”
A terrifying aura swept through the carriage, and behind him appeared the Illusion of a Clown.