Whispers Hidden in the Dark Night (4)

That night, Fatenai went downstairs to wash up as usual. She didn't see anything she shouldn't have. Upon returning to her room, she thought nothing of it, lay down, closed her eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

Tranquility enveloped the entire room. A thick, inky darkness spread from the doorway to the corners of the walls, so heavy it made breathing difficult. She could even hear the sound of sand grains rolling on the floor. This was an exceptionally dense darkness, often signifying the lurking of many unknown things—it was their time.

The girl on the bed heard none of it, or perhaps she was used to it. She had pale cheeks and long, platinum-blonde hair spread out. Her thin frame made her look more like a frail patient lying in a hospital bed—at times, she seemed as if she might shatter at the slightest touch.

Thump—!

A crisp sound came from a metal object falling onto the wooden floor in the room. Fatenai's eyes snapped open. Startled like a cat, her body tensed, and she tightly gripped her longsword.

"Who's there?" Fatenai narrowed her eyes and whispered.

Of course, no one answered.

Fatenai remained still, holding her breath, her eyes narrowed as she tried to gather information about the intruder to prepare for an attack.

Finally, she heard footsteps, but they were...

Fading away—had they escaped?

Fatenai didn't understand but quickly jumped off the bed and pursued. Familiar with the path, she could run with ease even without seeing clearly.

Patter... patter... patter patter...

The sound of her bare feet was practically negligible, allowing her to focus on the other party's sounds—the footsteps sounded scattered.

Seemed like panic?

Fatenai chased while guessing, but the sound suddenly vanished.

Abruptly, as if suddenly plunged into the void and extinguished, Fatenai lost her target and stopped. She now stood in another corridor of the academic building. Moving further would lead to the washroom, the place where she had previously seen the corpse.

Should she proceed? Fatenai's answer was to lift her leg and move forward slowly. Compared to the swiftness of her chase, she now moved like a cat, her steps quiet and elegant.

She walked towards where she had last seen the corpse. The useless lighting made her feel dizzy. Holding her sword, Fatenai advanced step by step.

The void could evoke unpleasant emotions.

Why did the sound stop so suddenly here? Was it accidental, or intentional? Perhaps the other party wasn't fleeing, but merely luring her here?

Fatenai suddenly stopped. Alarming thoughts flooded her mind—she wouldn't doubt what she saw, nor the person she saw dead. Then, why did that dead person die here... an argument? But she hadn't heard any sounds when she was in the washroom. So, did they die silently?

Silently, like now...

Clang—!

Fatenai spun around sharply, swinging her sword. The sound of metal colliding sent ripples through the air.

"Miss Frayton, don't be too agitated." A calm, pleasant voice came from Ed Ansendil—he had appeared behind Fatenai at some point. What drew attention was the glove on his right hand—it was inlaid with bronze, the bronze twisted into intricate patterns that extended to his long fingers. It was precisely the bronze that had struck the glove, producing that sound.

Fatenai's sword-wielding posture froze in place. Dressed in a bathrobe, she appeared frail and powerless compared to his rigorous and formal attire, but her gaze was far more determined than his slightly casual one.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Fatenai never believed that Ed's presence meant she could let her guard down; on the contrary, it demanded more attention.

Of course, she didn't suspect Ed was the one who attacked her—with his abilities, she was confident that the genius mage could kill her in a single blow, even if she were prepared.

Facts always felt helpless.

"A walk." Ed's reply lacked sincerity. "Your sword is quite unfriendly."

Fatenai was silent for a moment and slowly lowered her sword. Ed's expression seemed unchanged, even carrying a smile, but his deep blue eyes, reminiscent of the ocean's depths, grew "deeper." This meant that if she continued to confront him with her sword, the outcome might not be favorable.

There was no need to fall out with him now.

"Have fun." Fatenai gave up on conversing with him and, similarly, had no intention of staying there any longer—she turned to return to her room.

"I heard you're working for Professor Lyteta?" Ed said.

Fatenai didn't respond, as if she hadn't heard, and continued walking forward.

"Then it seems we can have breakfast together tomorrow morning. See you tomorrow morning." Ed chuckled lightly—there seemed to be a hint of ironic helplessness towards Fatenai in his laughter.

Fatenai offered no opinion, but her hands clenched into fists.

The next day, she indeed saw Ed.

When Fatenai opened her eyes, he was sitting on the bench in her room, stretching his legs and flipping through a book in his hand, looking quite at ease.

"Good morning, Miss Wisdom." Seeing Fatenai sitting on the bed, looking groggy, Ed greeted her with a smile.

"Mr. Ansendil, you said your family's education couldn't compare to the Wisdom Family's. Does this lacking education refer to etiquette?" Fatenai, feigning grogginess, delivered a sharp sarcasm.

"Isn't etiquette something only nobles concern themselves with? I recall you're a commoner?" Ed replied unhurriedly.

"Nobles shouldn't associate with commoners." Fatenai ignored his distortion of the concept, threw off the covers, and walked a few steps towards him.

Slap—!

Fatenai grabbed Ed's collar—he was indeed frail; even Fatenai could easily close the distance between them. The book in his hand fell to the floor. Her tone was more serious than ever, unconsciously exuding an air of superior pressure: "Don't look for fun with me—don't push me too far. I'm not afraid of anything, understand?"

"Alright." To her surprise, Ed seemed to agree with her.

"Then get out now." Fatenai released her grip, turned, and pointed towards the door.

Ed got off the chair and walked towards the door, not appearing as if he were being kicked out. He soon disappeared from the room.

Fatenai breathed a sigh of relief. After changing her clothes, she tried to calm her mood before opening the door. As she went downstairs, she saw Ed talking with Shirey.

She wasn't interested in either of them, though for different reasons, and prepared to walk past them downstairs.

Creak.

As Fatenai walked down, she suddenly saw a puppet. The puppet had an ancient design, holding several books in its hands, and was slowly and clumsily climbing upwards.

"That's Shirey's specialty," Christie said, following behind the puppet. She was holding a book and greeted Fatenai, as if sensing her confusion. "She's always been very good at it."

Christie was clearly referring to the puppet. Nodding, Fatenai thanked her for the introduction—though this rather ordinary mage was comfortable to talk to.

"Mages all have their own specialties. I envy that you've found yours—what is your specialty? May I know?" Fatenai relaxed a bit and asked Christie.

"It's nothing important," Christie smiled.

The conversation between the two ended quickly; Fatenai still had to find Lyteta.

Ed didn't reappear until the afternoon when Fatenai saw him in Lyteta's laboratory.

"Oh, you two know each other," Lyteta said, continuing with his research as he saw Ed and Fatenai talking, seemingly a little surprised.

"Is the professor surprised?" Ed asked the question for Fatenai.

"Heh, you're asking me these things too... If two mages are together, people might think they're up to something," Lyteta said nonchalantly.

Fatenai remained silent, opening a book.