Edward had barely finished putting on his clothes and hat and picking up his silver-inlaid cane and pocket watch when he sneezed several times in succession. He stroked Lilith, who lay on his shoulder, and asked, "Lilith, were you bad-mouthing me?"
Lilith stretched lazily and rubbed against his cheek.
"Well, I almost wish it were you."
Edward opened the door, stretched in the sunlight, and headed toward the public carriage stop. Before long, he noticed someone tailing him-Leonard. He made no attempt to hide it, instead quickening his pace to walk alongside Edward.
"Where are you off to, Mr. Edward?"
Edward snapped his fingers twice, and a little bird suddenly flew out of his hand.
"As you can see, I'm a conjurer. I perform at the circus in Civic Square for two or three hours every day."
Leonard slung his discarded police uniform over his shoulder, looking utterly nonchalant. "Oh, I thought you were making a run for it."
"A run for it? Where would I go?"
An idea suddenly struck Edward. "Wait a moment. I've just thought of a very interesting trick."
"What?"
"Watch closely."
Edward took out a gold coin and rolled it rapidly between his fingers. Once he had successfully drawn Leonard's attention, his movements paused. He suddenly brought the coin toward his right eye, and at the same time, it turned transparent, taking on the appearance of a lens.
While Leonard was still wondering what he was doing, a powerful surge of dread washed over him-it came from Pallez, who resided within him. He... this mysterious powerhouse who had lived for who knew how long was actually feeling dread?!
The lens stopped a little over ten centimeters from Edward's eye and turned back into a gold coin. He smoothly closed his hand around it-he wouldn't dare actually put on a monocle. Supposedly, Amon could sense everyone who wore one.
Just then, the public carriage rolled slowly up.
"The carriage is here. Want to come watch my performance?"
"Don't go!"
Pallez barked the warning inside Leonard's mind.
"What's wrong, Old Man?"
Pallez fell silent for a moment before saying, "This man... something may be wrong with him. He seems to know about me, and that I'm residing within you."
"But aren't you someone from the Third Epoch?"
"I don't know. Hopefully, I'm just overthinking it."
Watching the carriage recede into the distance, Leonard gritted his teeth. "There really is something wrong with that guy!"
Edward leaned back in the carriage and let out a long breath. "Whew... no wonder Klein always likes tempting fate. Just that one little trick advanced my potion digestion by a huge amount!"
"A few more times, and I should be able to finish digesting it."
He casually tossed the gold coin in his hand. "Unfortunately, it probably only works the first time."
Noon.
Edward had just finished his performance when Evans, the circus director, came over. Beside him was a man in his fifties, his graying hair neatly slicked back and his mustache trimmed into two elegant points.
"Mr. Edward, this is Mr. Dape, the director of Tingen Asylum. He has something to discuss with you."
The director of an asylum? What does he want with me?
Though curious, Edward still took off his hat and bowed. "Hello, Mr. Dape."
Dape returned the greeting with gentlemanly courtesy, a gentle smile on his face. "Mr. Edward, next Tuesday, our asylum would like to hold an evening gathering for all our patients as a gesture of compassionate care, to show their families that their loved ones are doing well there. But as you know, those patients have little interest in conventional dances, so I'd like to invite a highly skilled magician to perform for them."
"Could I have some time to consider it?"
A trace of concern appeared on Edward's face. "I'm not trying to turn down your kind offer. It's just that I've never performed in front of... forgive my bluntness, psychiatric patients before. If something went wrong..."
"One hundred pounds."
Dape smiled faintly. "We're willing to pay one hundred pounds to have you perform."
One hundred pounds? That's no small sum! Just for a magic show?
Edward immediately gave a slight bow and smiled. "It would be an honor to be of service."
"Excellent. You can come over at three next Tuesday afternoon. If there's anything you need, let us know in advance so we can prepare it. The performance will begin around seven in the evening."
"No problem."
After briefly explaining a few precautions concerning the asylum, Dape promptly departed.
Director Evans said enviously, "A hundred pounds for a single performance. Mr. Dape certainly is generous."
Edward laughed. "Personally, I don't really care about money. Performing tricks is just a hobby of mine. Money and all that aren't important."
Evans froze, then asked tentatively, "So I don't need to pay you for today's performance?"
"...That's not happening."
"Hahahaha!"
Evans burst out laughing.
Tsk. So much for showing off.
When Edward left the circus with Lilith, he found someone entirely unexpected standing in front of him.
Christine.
She wore a loose trench coat and a velvet top hat, and held a cane in her hand. Beneath the coat was a white shirt. Her chest had probably been bound with bandages, leaving it as flat as a runway, and a brown mustache was stuck beneath her nose. At first glance, she looked like a rather short gentleman.
Seeing her watching him with a cool expression, Edward approached and asked in surprise, "Chris... sir, did you happen to be passing by... or did you come specifically to see me?"
Christine waved her cane, pointing ahead. "Let's talk while we walk."
Near Civic Square was a shopping street popular with residents of the Tingen district, so foot traffic was heavy. That was also why most circuses chose to set up there.
They walked several hundred meters along the pedestrian street before Christine finally spoke. "Could you let me have the chance to perform at the asylum?"
"How did you know about the asylum..."
Edward instinctively began to question her, then realized what had happened. "Were you pulling strings behind the scenes?"
Christine's tone was calm. "I merely gave the director a little psychological suggestion. A simple evening gathering-the patients get some happiness, their families get peace of mind, and the asylum gets a good reputation. Several benefits in one stroke."
"Oh, aren't you a kind soul."
Edward rolled his eyes. "Joining the Claire Circus, hypnotizing the asylum director, arranging a stage magic show-you didn't go through all that just to perform a little magic at an asylum, did you?"
She neither confirmed nor denied it, merely saying in the same even tone, "Name your price."
"Come on." Edward shrugged. "Director Dape has already met me. How am I supposed to hand it over to you?"
"Any excuse will do. Diarrhea, illness, kidnapping, whatever. All he cares about is having a performance, not who performs it."
Edward laughed, gently stroking the fur on Lilith's back. She purred in contentment: (?'?`?)
"So you'll turn the asylum upside down and make your escape, leaving me to take the blame? How about next time? If they can hold one show, they can hold another."
"Someone is hunting me."
Christine stopped walking. "I can't wait that long."
"Then I'd advise you to hurry up and run for your life. What could possibly matter more than staying alive?"
"Revenge!" She lowered her eyes slightly, her voice filled with grief and resentment. "Although I come from the Abraham Family, my parents were ordinary people who had never taken potions. Several years ago, they were brutally murdered. All these years, I've lived for just one purpose: revenge. Recently, I finally found the man who killed them-he's hiding in the asylum!"
Her eyes reddened as she stared straight at Edward. "Please... help me."
They looked at each other for a moment before Edward suddenly chuckled and began clapping. "Such a heartfelt, emotionally charged string of lies, and you didn't even blink. Oh, your eyes really have gone red. That must have taken some effort... it's just that the story's a little thin. It doesn't even have a proper setup, development, or conclusion."
"..."
Christine tightened her grip on her cane. After a series of changes, her expression became impassive again. "I'm going to the asylum to steal a book. It was lost during the Abraham Family's earlier internal strife. After passing through several hands, it was brought into the asylum by a Beyonder who had gone mad."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Go on. This new story of yours is a little more interesting."
"Supposedly, that book contains every formula of the Apprentice Pathway."
"Oh? What book? What's it called? What does it look like?"
"Do you think I'm that stupid?" She gave a cold laugh. "All I can promise is that if you help me, I'll share the formulas with you once I get the book."
"I rather suspect you'll simply disappear. Wait a moment-if you're from the Abraham Family, why do you need to find the Apprentice Formula yourself?"
Christine's gaze sharpened as she stared at Edward. "You seem to know quite a bit about the Abraham Family."
"Just a little."
Edward held his thumb and index finger slightly apart, then continued, "Hmm, how about this? Tell me what the book looks like, and I'll find a way to get it. Don't worry. You know where I live. I can't run away."
She stared coldly at Edward for a while, then turned to leave.
"Hey, wait."
Edward hurried forward to block her path, smiling. "I'm curious. Before you lost that notebook, you could easily have recorded a supernatural ability to change your appearance and infiltrated the asylum. Why go through such a roundabout process?"
She didn't answer, walking straight into the crowd.
"What a shame."
From the memory fragments he had just seen through Legilimency, he discovered that she actually hadn't lied about the book. She had merely concealed some important information. Just as he was about to pry into more of her memories, Christine sensed something was wrong and decisively ended the conversation and left.
"Why were all those members of the Abraham Family Fors met so honest and kind, while the one I ran into can't say a single truthful sentence?"
And to think he'd initially believed Christine was foolish and naive. It turned out he was the fool. In the world of mysteries, no one was simple-minded.
Still, he had little interest in performing for a group of psychiatric patients. He might as well trade the opportunity for a favor-besides, perhaps he could become the hidden hunter waiting to reap the rewards.
"Hey, I'll agree to it."
Edward's voice carried through the crowd to Christine's ears. "But those hundred pounds are mine. And just throw in another eight or ten thousand pounds for me."
She paused, then nodded after a brief consideration. "I'll come find you again."
"Hey, you haven't said anything about the eight or ten thousand pounds!"
Tulip Street.
Holding a small gift box in his left hand and a pizza-like meat pie in his right, Edward walked toward the terraced house at number 5 while eating. The pie felt like a Desi meat pie topped with a thick layer of cheese. Its texture was softer and fluffier, but it became cloying after just a few bites.
Lilith rather liked it, but her mouth was too small. Once a little piece of cheese went in, it was like chewing gum. She chewed for ages without managing to swallow it, growing so frustrated that she practically wanted to jump up and slap herself twice: "(╯‵□′)╯"
"Ah, I miss my hot pot, spicy dry pot, crayfish, fish-fragrant shredded pork, stir-fried potato, eggplant, and pepper..."
Edward first went to number 4 on Tulip Street, intending to give Priscilla the small gift, but found no one home. Mr. Steven Green probably hadn't finished work yet.
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