"Please trust me, absolutely do not drink too quickly."
Seeing Miss Jialinna take the water glass, Xia De, who had learned his lesson, kindly reminded her. The Duchess looked at him in confusion, then held the cup and took two small sips. As she swallowed, her fair neck's throat subtly moved.
She followed Xia De's advice and only drank three sips before closing her eyes. After a full half-minute, she placed the cup on the coffee table:
"It has some effect."
She offered no other comments, indicating that while there was an effect, it wasn't very significant.
Xia De no longer brought up the matter of helping with the treatment. After taking out the jewelry box containing the necklace, he began to talk about what happened in the ruins last night.
He omitted key information about the fight, only stating the final result, but still mentioned how the Ancient Magic Witches' golden necklace suddenly glowed when he was grabbed by the neck and lifted by the Vampire.
"Two things are wrong: first, I was in direct contact with him at the time, but I didn't have a severe allergic reaction; second, what's with the necklace glowing? Does this necklace have that kind of effect?"
The Black-haired maid took the necklace out of the jewelry box and put it on Miss Jialinna. The Duchess, however, was not surprised by this:
"This necklace bestows an amplified version of the Witch's Curse's negative traits upon the wearer. It's useless for Witches themselves. Otherwise, wouldn't it be ridiculous for a necklace meant to protect Witches to instead worsen our curse?"
"Useless for Witches themselves, then me—"
Xia De was surprised and only thought of himself, saying in his mind:
"You still say you're not—"
He listened.
"You are definitely not a Witch. Witches' sensitivity to their own kind is even sharper than their reactions to men. My current speculation about you is that your gender is conceptually ambiguous; you could be male, female, or even a Witch. That's why the Witch's Curse, gender potions, and this necklace all have peculiar reactions to you."
The Duchess said.
"No, no, I'm definitely a man."
He added, "God said so," in his heart, then shook his head, not wanting to discuss the topic:
"So what was that golden light?"
"Of course, it was a Miracle I left on the necklace to protect you. Otherwise, why would I ask you not to lend the necklace to anyone else? Is it merely because I don't want others to touch my jewelry? Of course not just that. My Miracle, while protecting you, will affect anyone else, as I don't have the ability to make it precisely judge who touched the necklace."
Miss Jialinna said, and seeing Xia De about to thank her, she told him not to speak:
"I'm providing you with so much help because your actions this time were valuable. So, did you bring what I asked for?"
"Of course I did."
In front of the two ladies, Xia De used a handkerchief to restore the Silver-Eyed One's corpse and the Vampire that were hanging from his waist, identifying them:
"This headless one is the Silver-Eyed One; his head was evaporated. This one, whose original appearance is unclear, is a Vampire, called Mr. Maidis by the Mercury Blood people, from the Blood Spirit School. Although the corpse is incomplete, but—"
Miss Jialinna sat up straight, her face flushed with excitement:
"Vampire? Maidis? Oh, I think I know who it is. It's useful, very useful."
She didn't mind Xia De tossing the corpses on the study floor. Instead, she took the gloves offered by the maid, bent down, and reached out to examine the corpses:
"You said he was originally active near Tobesk? Then, the two Blood Spirit School members who came to this city from the New World, although they have disembarked in Coldwater Port, probably won't continue according to plan. But with this corpse, I can account to the Witch Council. Very good, Detective, very good. This Vampire is an important member of the Blood Spirit School, which is incredibly valuable."
For the first time today, she smiled. Then she took the letters from the Vampire's body from Xia De. She couldn't decipher the ciphers yet, but the Witch Council had ways to understand the contents of the letters:
"The harvest is even greater than expected. It seems lending you this necklace was the right decision. This way, we might be able to directly get information about the 'Creation Birthing Chamber' from this Vampire. That's really good. Detective, you're really good. Of course, my judgment is also really good."
She then heard about the relics Xia De obtained from the enemies: a blood-stained pair of scissors and a small bottle containing Mercury. She didn't know what they were, but she recognized the fangs in the Vampire's mouth:
"Document-level relic, Vampire Fang. That fang is one of the inherited tokens of the Vampire race. It can be used by implanting it into the body. For the Vampire race, it strengthens their inherent racial talents. For other creatures, it can grant the user some Vampire abilities. This fang is said to be related to an Old God. Implanting the fang into the body will not only cause fear of sunlight and hematophagy but may even lead to being influenced by the Old God's power remaining in the world. Detective, sell this fang to me. The Silver-Eyed One's corpse was what I originally promised you, but the Vampire's corpse is an extra you gave me. The fang, letters, and corpse combined, I'll give you—"
She glanced at Xia De's attire. Xia De didn't have many outer coats; apart from his symptoms, he seemed to wear the same outfit every time he met Miss Jialinna:
"1200 pounds? That amount should be enough."
"Oh, yes, that's enough. You are very generous."
"You are worth that value."
relics like the Vampire Fang, which require implantation to be used, were useless to Xia De and the two ladies, so selling it to Miss Jialinna was most suitable. He knew that the 1200 pounds price was actually on the higher side, because the corpse, relics, and letters held significant meaning for the Witch Council, which was why the Duchess was so generous, or perhaps she was always generous.
"I won't inquire about other matters in the ruins, whether it's the genesis - balance you mentioned, or the Old God cult relics you're preparing to hand over to the Orthodox Church. You handle all of those yourself. I am very satisfied with you, Detective, very satisfied—"
She suddenly coughed violently, and the maid worriedly patted her back. After a long moment, the Duchess raised her head, brushed aside the red hair covering her eyes, and continued speaking:
"Although your actions this time were dangerous, they were indeed very valuable. If I had known this Vampire was also in the ruins beforehand, I would have had Tifa go with you. Cough, cough, I called you here this time, not expecting you to give me such a surprise. What I truly wanted to talk to you about was the metamorphosis ring."
She pointed to the red velvet ring box on the coffee table. The box clicked open automatically. The familiar pebble-shaped ring lay inside the ring box; this was the beginning of Xia De's contact with the extraordinary.
"Detective, look closely."
In front of Xia De, the Duchess picked up the ring and slowly brought it closer to her right index finger. None of the three spoke, but they all saw cracks appear on the pebble's surface as the ring approached the Witch's finger. When the ring was almost about to slip onto her finger, the pebble on the ring was nearly split in two.
She sighed and took the ring away; the cracks on the pebble slowly healed.
"See, I cannot use this relic. It would rather self-destruct than be worn on my hand. Detective, I promised you that if you brought me the metamorphosis ring, I could tell you all the secrets of the Witch Council. But the arrival of this ring was a plan I conceived and you executed. Therefore, for now, I can only tell you one secret about the Witch Council."
"Please tell me."
Xia De looked at the ring curiously, and then at her, also curiously.
"The thirteen Great Witches of the Witch Council do indeed possess both the fifth epoch Witch system and the sixth epoch Ring術士 extraordinary system simultaneously. We are Witches living in the sixth epoch. Although different from the Witches of the fifth epoch, we are indeed still Witches. The existence of the Witch Council is not merely Witches banding together for survival; the Witch Council has two common goals."
She paused, signaling Xia De to listen carefully. Although she was only telling Xia De one secret, the Duchess was determined to give Xia De the utmost trust this time because he had shown his value:
"First, to find The Chosen foretold in the whispering chapters. I will discuss this with you in detail later. The other goal is to find a way, using the power of this epoch, to break the curse on us without our own power declining. Just like the 'Creation Birthing Chamber,' just like this ring—"
The Duchess glanced at the metamorphosis ring:
"This is just a small attempt, and as expected, it won't be that easy."
She suddenly smiled again, her complexion looking increasingly healthy, and her dark golden eyes met Xia De's. Her tone suddenly became extremely soothing:
"Detective, would you like to try this ring? You just suspected you were a Witch, isn't this an opportunity to prove it?"
Xia De raised an eyebrow, picked up the ring, and brought it close to his finger, but there was no reaction:
"See, I am indeed male."
While sighing in relief, Xia De directly placed the ring back into the ring box on the coffee table. Miss Jialinna raised an eyebrow:
"What I meant was, put on the ring and recite the incantation, 'The transformation of positive and negative is the beginning of a new life,' and see what happens. I am quite curious whether a man like you, who doesn't trigger the Witch's Curse, also cannot use similar relics, just like us."
"No, I'm sorry, I won't use it."
Xia De shook his head, refusing. This was a matter of principle; he would never turn into a woman.
"Try it, and I'll give you compensation. Like, a kiss?"
She tilted her head, joking.
"No, no compensation will do."
Xia De continued to shake his head, not only because of the ring's negative traits, but also because its two previous owners had both died unnatural deaths, and more importantly, because he had a psychological barrier and would absolutely not turn into a woman.
He had expected Miss Jialinna to offer more tempting conditions, or even force him to wear the ring, but unexpectedly, she stopped there.
The Duchess said regretfully:
"Is that so? Well, alright. However, this ring is useless to me, and although Tifa is not yet a true Witch, I also don't want her to turn into a man. The metamorphosis ring is yours, Detective, as a reward for showing concern for me."
This strategy of retreating to advance was very clever. Although Xia De would not use the metamorphosis ring, he would not refuse to temporarily keep it. And this ring was, strictly speaking, stolen goods. Not to mention selling it locally, even if he ran to Coldwater Port City to sell it, he would likely be caught by the Orthodox Church, which was now determined to catch all Cultists. And selling it to the Academy, which exchanged information with the Orthodox Church, would require explaining the ring's origin, which would then involve Witches.
Miss Jialinna probably thought that if the ring stayed in Xia De's hands for a long time, he might eventually use it.
The Witch made no attempt to hide her thoughts but waited with considerable curiosity for Xia De's decision. Xia De pursed his lips in thought, his fingers on his knees trembled slightly, his face conflicted, but in the end, he bent down and picked up the ring box from the coffee table.
After all, this ring was truly valuable.
"Thank you for your generosity. I'll take the ring, but I won't use it. After the commotion dies down in half a year, I'll sell it."
Xia De emphasized again. Seeing him like this, even the Black-haired maid standing behind Miss Jialinna smiled.
"Detective, I never said you would use it."
The Duchess said playfully, and the maid's smile behind her became even more pronounced:
"But remember, if you accidentally, or coincidentally, use it, remember to tell me if it was useful to you. Regardless of the outcome, I will give you an experimental fee. I like that phrasing."
"No, I won't use it."
Xia De emphasized again, then carefully placed the ring box into his pocket.
"I believe you."
The Duchess was in a very good mood now.
I believe you too.
The whispering chapters in his ear also carried a hint of a smile.