Free Web NovelChapter 2019: Chapter 2019: Lecia’s Confession
Lecia spoke while lightly scratching Shard’s palm, the pace neither too fast nor too slow:
"I’m not like the detectives at Saint Delan Square, who are clearly very relaxed every day, yet don’t visit their Princess."
"I..."
"I’m just kidding. I know you’re busy. Have you finished dealing with the matters at Green Lake?"
Applause and cheers rose around them as the chestnut horse and rider who first crossed the finish line received the loudest acclaim. Of course, it might also be the nobles who bought the right horse betting tickets cheering for their thickening wallets.
"It’s pretty much taken care of; there’s only some books left to sort."
Shard replied softly, as Lecia put down the binoculars, looked around, gently kissed Shard’s lips, covered her mouth with a laugh, and started a new topic:
"I’m sure Galina has already told you about Angelina’s matter."
She looked over at her sister sitting next to her, who immediately gave Shard a sweet smile:
"Good morning, Mr. Hamilton."
Lecia raised her eyebrows:
"How come this time you’re not calling him Shard? Shard, I know your perception is strong, so I’d like for you to meet Angelina and take a look at her situation. Plus, I became a Circle Sorcerer earlier than you did, but your experience is clearly richer, so any advice for her would be good."
These are all excuses; with Miss Galina around, they wouldn’t even need Shard. She was just finding a reason to meet with Shard.
"Her Highness Angelina, please give me your hand."
With that, they held hands in front of Lecia. The Red-Haired Princess raised an eyebrow again; while Shard was feeling the temperature of Angelina’s delicate right hand, the "she" in his ear spoke softly:
[There’s not much of a problem; let her avoid cold foods and drink more hot water recently.]
"There’s not much of a problem, avoid cold foods..."
Shard instinctively repeated "her" words, realizing halfway that something was off.
The "she" in his ear laughed gently, and Shard let go of Angelina’s hand, with Lecia looking suspiciously at Shard:
"You can even tell this? Is this some kind of Ancient Magic?"
"Of course not, how could Ancient Magic have such an effect?"
Since there wasn’t much happening today, Shard spent the morning with the two princesses in the carriage. At half-past eleven, the three of them returned to the city and had lunch at a secret club.
During the meal, Shard took out two "Butterfly Paper Cards" sealed from Green Lake and Randall Valley Region, gesturing for Lecia to try them.
Lecia threw the card containing the mask upwards, "transmitting" it to Dorothy, and then tried the card with the "Dagger."
The dagger originates from the Ancient Fairy Tale "The Jester and the Swan," specifically the Jester Higgs. Lecia used the technique Shard taught her, touching the card with her spirit, then unleashed the card’s power. In a burst of glimmering light, the card scattered into bronze light dots, and then the blood-dripping dagger appeared in front of her.
She reached out to hold it, with the smell of blood instantly making Shard and a watching Angelina frown.
However Shard could tell that unleashing "Butterfly Paper Cards" looked very similar to when he released "Calamity Cards." Considering "Calamity Cards" appeared due to "Yggdrasil’s Staff," tied closely to Luviya, it’s possible "Butterfly Paper Cards" are indeed the prototype for "Calamity Cards."
"How does it feel?"
Shard asked her, and Lecia took a few steps in the club room, then suddenly lunged forward with a thrust, her body accelerating rapidly for five meters.
"This card is quite nice."
Angelina lightly applauded from the side, while Lecia returned the dagger to card form:
"Holding the dagger, I can clearly feel my stamina and athletic ability increasing sharply. Also, arcane techniques related to assassination and concealment get a slight enhancement. The power of this card truly aligns extremely well with my power. With it, learning arcane techniques related to ’The Jester and the Swan’ story and even obtaining Spirit Runes becomes much easier."
She then inquired about Dorothy’s side, who had already tried the mask’s power while working on a draft at home, reaching a similar conclusion.
But what mattered more to Shard was whether the Butterfly Paper Cards could really inhibit their merging tendency. Such matters aren’t felt with a single use, thus both cards were kept close by Dorothy and Lecia, expecting a conclusion after a week or two.
Shard was able to find sealed items of "Butterfly Paper Cards" in Green Lake and Randall Valley Region, so it should also be possible in Tobesk.
Lecia had just returned here, but she previously collected many story-related antiques to learn the Enlightenment Element’s power. Those antiques were in her private storage room at Yordle Palace, so she invited Shard along with her and her sister to look in the afternoon.
Of course, Shard couldn’t enter in human form.
"I get the feeling you’re just making me turn into a cat."
Lecia laughed but said nothing in response:
"Father knows I’m a Circle Sorcerer, and at Yordle Palace, I have my own extra room that my other siblings can’t compare in this regard."
"I used to think, sister’s rooms were her secret study."
Angelina commented from the side, her eyes fixed on Shard, also anticipating his transformation into a cat.
In the end, Shard relented, but once Lecia carried him into Yordle Palace, Shard unexpectedly discovered that the Butterfly Paper Card had no reaction to the antiques Lecia collected.
Even though Laplace Howard mentioned only a small portion of antiques is effective, the successes at Green Lake and Randall Valley made Shard think the probability wouldn’t be that low.
Nevertheless, Lecia seemed unconcerned about this; she only wanted Shard to spend the afternoon with her here.
Angelina had just returned to Yordle Palace and was "shooed away" by Lecia, who urged her sister to go read:
"The textbooks sent by Zaras Literary Academy, haven’t you opened even a single one? Go study, Angelina, that’s the only way to make you stronger." freewebnσvel.cøm
So the Little Princess could only leave with her Maids, looking back repeatedly.
"Shard, are you free in the evening? I’ve already booked the opera tickets, how about we go watch the opera together tonight?"
Once the door was closed, Lecia smiled and sat beside Shard, having moved from across the coffee table. Naturally, Shard would not refuse:
"However, since the antiques here aren’t suitable, let’s go see Old John. I think he might have what we need."
"Don’t say such dispiriting things. We just came back to Tobesk, we should relax a bit. And since I’m the Princess of the Royal Family, I should indulge in such a life without constantly mentioning serious matters."
She waved her hand, and the Maids retreated.
Lecia laughed and wrapped her arms around Shard’s neck on the sofa:
"Finally home, it feels so good."
She spoke while trying to unbutton Shard’s shirt, but Shard caught her hand:
"Wait a moment, before you left Green Lake City, you all avoided me, I didn’t get the chance to ask: why did you agree to Grace and Helen’s request?"
This referred to Thursday evening last week, Shard still hadn’t forgotten the surprise of seeing the butterfly wing tattoos on the pale back through the Moonlight:
"Such an outrageous thing, you actually agreed?"
"You still remember that? Then tell me, why shouldn’t we agree?"
Her Highness the Princess looked at him with a smile in her emerald green eyes:
"The story of Grace and Helen, the sisters, is even more painful and convoluted than mine and Miss Writer’s. You know, although we agree that tragedy can elevate a story to some extent, we both hate tragic endings in reality. You twisted the butterflies’ Fate but didn’t give them an ending, so Dorothy and I gave them a hand."
She winked at Shard:
"Besides, weren’t you quite happy that night? Why regret once you left the bedroom?"
"Of course there’s no regret."
Shard shook his head and then told Lecia about what happened after they left Tobesk, with Grace and Helen, on that snow-covered woodland.
"That’s more like it. Since you chose to save them from the clutches of Fate, you should take proper responsibility. Speaking of, I quite like Grace and Helen, becoming family wouldn’t be bad."
She sniffed at Shard’s neck:
"Looks like you had an enjoyable weekend, Megan and Audrey, that pair of Grand Witches, you’ve managed to gain their favor too?"
Shard didn’t know how she could tell, but he didn’t lie, so he admitted:
"Yes."
"You really do like sisters, don’t you?"
Her Highness the Princess teased but wasn’t angry:
"Alright, enough about other girls, can you finally focus your attention on me? I’m the Kingdom’s Princess, isn’t it fine to have a secret liaison with my lover at home? The indulgent life of Kingdom Nobles is just like this, after experiencing so many dangers in the Green Lake Region, I should be allowed to enjoy myself."
Saying that, she again reached for Shard’s buttons.
The secret liaison with Her Highness the Princess never failed to be delightful, the gentle sunlight could only illuminate the back of the sofa, the glaring light making the afternoon become dreamlike and mysterious.
Although facing one person, Shard always had the illusion of facing two people. Perhaps it wasn’t just an illusion, after each held one-fourth of the Chosen of Space identity, Dorothy and Lecia’s relationship became even more mystical, their skill in swapping souls had been turned into novel tricks.
However, this power unique to them had been used by Lecia to an effect that somewhat displeased Shard. When the dim Sunset illuminated the flowers in the flowerpot on the windowsill, while Shard lay on the sofa holding Lecia, he confusedly asked:
"Just now, at the end, I mean... at the very end, the Spatial Power you suddenly used, what did you do?"
Shard could only feel she used her power, but hadn’t perceived any abnormalities around.
Red hair damp with sweat, sticking to the side of the cheek, the Princess with a blush on her face listened to Shard’s heartbeat, speaking in a lazy tone:
"Shared half with Dorothy."
Her tone sounded like she was talking about something trivial.
"What half... Wait, don’t tell me you..."
Shard tried to sit up but was pressed down by Lecia.
"No, don’t speak yet, my Knight. The vibration of your thoracic cavity while speaking makes my eardrums uncomfortable."
She gently moved her head:
"This matter involves the three of us. Though Dorothy isn’t here, she’s actually been here all along. If you don’t like it, we can stop doing this in the future. But since this is the first experiment, we all wanted to try if it truly is interesting... Yes, it really is interesting. Do you want to hear Dorothy’s feelings? Oh, even without looking at your face, I can guess your current expression."
"You all..."
"We always do this, don’t we? Or would you, Knight, want to punish your Princess?"
She laughed happily, that momentary little feeling of happiness truly was more important than anything. Raising her head, her emerald green eyes looked at Shard, her face smiling, her gaze holding emotions that even Shard couldn’t fully comprehend:
"Shard, you’re the Light of my Life, you’re the Flame of my desires, my sin, my soul. The luckiest thing in my life is Dorothy meeting you at Dr. Schneider’s place. I can’t imagine one day we would be separated, I can’t bear the days without you anymore. Shard, Shard Suren Hamilton, my beloved, I’d rather give you my soul. Do you know how much I truly love you?"
