Whispers Hidden in the Dark Night (2)

"Looks like the other party is a coward," Fatenai, lost in thought, heard Ed's voice. He glanced at the ground.

"What did you say?" Fatenai couldn't help but turn to look at him.

Ed's words hid a lot of information. Seeing Fatenai's eyes suddenly light up, he instead said, "It's time to go back and rest. I remember you still have work to do."

The light in Fatenai's eyes gradually faded. Snapping back to reality, she couldn't help but look at Ed and say, "Don't you think you're toying with me?"

"You guessed right, I am toying with you," Ed replied, turning and walking forward, completely unconcerned with Fatenai's mood at that moment.

"No, you know something." Fatenai quickly walked up and blocked Ed's path, her eyes fixed on his. "I know how awful you are, but you'd better not treat me like a child and play games. And about Wickel, who exactly did you kill back then?"

"That was Wickel. Didn't you already see?" Ed answered.

"What I want to know is the truth." Fatenai's gaze turned fierce. She was usually easygoing, but Ed could easily push her to her limit.

Ed let out a light chuckle, which sent Fatenai's heart sinking to the bottom. Her vision blurred, and Ed's voice drifted from behind her, "What a person knows is consistent with their power and status."

Fatenai frowned. Ed knew where she came from. Speaking of the eldest daughter of the Wisdom Family, any noble would be aware of the fact that this young lady couldn't use magic.

This was sarcasm, mocking her for trying to show off here despite her inability to use magic.

She really couldn't consider this person's words to be of any use.

"Alright, as you say," Fatenai took a deep breath. "But let's give it a try. What exactly can I find out?"

"Heh... lovely young lady, the world of mages is not God's garden. Attempting to know unnecessary things will only twist you," Ed's voice grew more distant. He walked down the central staircase, and Fatenai couldn't see him.

Fatenai was silent for a moment, then turned and walked away, no longer paying attention to Ed. This action showed that she didn't agree with anything Ed had said.

"Perhaps you'll push that mage too far. Be careful how you handle things next," Ed said one last thing, and then his voice never sounded again.

He really... knew something.

Arriving suddenly, leaving suddenly.

Fatenai didn't even know the reason for Ed's appearance, but out of her dislike for him, she didn't try to understand the matter.

Before leaving, Fatenai glanced back in that direction again and sighed almost inaudibly.

Life could no longer be like it was in the past.

The next morning, Fatenai went downstairs for breakfast as usual.

"Good morning, Fatenai." The greeting was the same as yesterday, but it didn't come from the same person. Fatenai turned around and found Shirey. She looked the same as when Fatenai first saw her, her face devoid of expression. "Has life been relatively peaceful lately?"

"Very peaceful, thank you for asking," Fatenai replied, though she didn't understand why this girl, who had always been distant, would suddenly care about her.

"She's just fulfilling her duty, no need to be too surprised." At this moment, Shirey's only friend spoke. Fatenai instinctively looked towards the owner of the voice, her pupils contracting for a moment.

It was a gentle-looking girl, taller than Shirey.

That wasn't the point.

The point was.

She had the same face as the corpse from last night. Exactly the same.

"Hello, my name is Christie," Christie said friendly. Her appearance, which didn't really have any distinguishing features, made one feel comfortable.

"Hello," Fatenai extended her hand. As their hands clasped, her eyes were fixed on the other person. "Do you have any sisters?"

"No, Shirey and I are both orphans," Christie said frankly. "But she and I are like sisters, relying on each other."

Christie's smile was sincere, but when such a smile overlapped with the face filled with terror that Fatenai had seen last night, it sent a shiver down her spine.

So painful...

So tired...

Why...

The endless darkness in her vision made her think she was in an abyss. The exhaustion and confusion in her heart were greater than the fear, because she had never seen the light.

Without expectation, there is no fear.

"What is... what is this..." She felt a slight itch on her palm and couldn't help but raise her hand. She saw a thin red line. Confused, she brought her eyes closer, her eyes widening, bloodshot veins spreading upwards from beneath her eyeballs... until the line began to crawl towards her wrist and suddenly "drilled" into her hand.

"It's you... haha." She narrowed her eyes and smiled, her smile very stiff, her face seemingly unaccustomed to such an expression.

But in the next second, her expression changed immediately. Screaming, she clutched her wrist until flesh and blood were mangled. "No... ahhh... no!"

The fear on her face consumed her exhaustion. Then, the exhaustion gathered into a dense mass, covering her brow, causing her to fall to the ground, hugging herself in pain. Blood from her wrist slid down her face. "Please... don't... don't ahhhhhhh!"

Hoo—!

Fatenai suddenly woke up, looking at her palm.

There was nothing there.

Wearing a bathrobe made her appear even more fragile. Her platinum blonde hair was scattered. Fatenai took a deep breath, her hands inexplicably still trembling.

Why would she have such a dream?

The feeling from the dream washed over her mind, accompanied by darkness. Everything made her feel an boundless weariness. Her eyelids felt like something submerged in water, rising and falling, with the amplitude of the movement gradually decreasing—she wanted to close her eyes and sleep forever…

Knock, knock, knock!

Fatenai's eyelids, about to close, were once again "startled" awake.

"Who is it?" Fatenai frowned.

"Oh, it's me," came the creak of a door opening, and a small face peeked in. Fatenai clearly saw her smiling face—Chris. "Oh my, you're not awake yet?"

"What do you need me for? It's way too early," Fatenai shook her head, trying to clear her head. Sleep after a nightmare was never good, and it was also very unsettling for her, as she usually never dreamed. She glanced at the pocket watch on her bedside table and spoke.

"Of course, I just wanted to see if you slept well," Chris's answer made Fatenai frown.

This time wasn't even considered early by normal standards; she was really too…

"Oh, what a humorless person," Chris waved her hand. "I wanted to ask if you know where Professor Lyteta's lab keeps the Divine Language?"

"Mages read the Divine Language? I wouldn't know. You know that place is always a mess," Fatenai's tone was a bit cold. "And why don't you ask her yourself? If you have nothing else, please leave."

Seeing that Fatenai was in a bad mood, Chris pouted, then smiled. "Alright, then have sweet dreams."

Fatenai looked at the inexplicable person, her thoughts drifting elsewhere.

How could she possibly fall back asleep?