"Blunt"

Madame Pualis... Lumian jumped, seized by the irrational feeling that someone had come to his home to silence him.

Remembering that his sister was upstairs and possessed supernatural powers, he calmed down considerably.

Lumian slowly exhaled, walked over, and opened the door.

Two women stood outside. The one in front wore an exquisite, pure black, waist-cinched dress, a matching shawl draped over her shoulders, sheer long gloves, and a small round hat tilted at a slightly jaunty angle.

She was dressed entirely in black, save for the gold-set diamond necklace hanging at her chest.

The lady had rather sparse eyebrows, bright brown eyes filled with amusement, and long brown hair swept into a high bun. None of her features was particularly outstanding on its own, but together they formed a fresh, alluring beauty. Her elegant bearing and graceful posture seemed to freshen even the faintly crimson-tinged night outside Lumian's door, and a delicate fragrance wafted from her.

She was Madame Pualis, wife of Beaost, Cordou Village's administrator and territorial judge.

Of course, in Lumian's mind, she also carried such descriptions as "the Parish Priest's mistress," "suspected Warlock," "suspect behind the letter seeking help," and "that naked white body in the church." None of these was fit to say aloud, however, unless he wanted Madame Pualis's expression to change on the spot.

Then he would certainly succeed in making her angry, but disaster might follow.

"Madame Pualis, is something the matter?" Lumian deliberately glanced at the sky outside, hinting that this was hardly an appropriate hour for a visit.

Madame Pualis's moist red lips curved slightly. "I've come to discuss something with your sister, Aurora."

Judging by her appearance alone, she hardly looked like a woman over thirty with two children. She looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight at most.

After a moment's consideration, Lumian stepped aside.

He told Madame Pualis as she entered, "Aurora is upstairs, writing a column for a newspaper."

Pualis nodded and told the maid beside her, "Cassie, wait downstairs."

"Yes, madame." Dressed in a black-and-white maid's uniform, Cassie took a few steps toward the warm stove.

Lumian led Madame Pualis through the kitchen and onto the staircase.

As they reached the turn in the stairs, Madame Pualis stopped.

"What is it?" Lumian turned around, feigning bewilderment.

Madame Pualis asked with a smile, "Did you deliberately take those three outsiders to the church?"

She's here to confront me... Rather than panicking, Lumian felt considerably calmer.

His experience with countless pranks that had angered others told him that, at a time like this, he must never answer the other person's question directly or defend himself. The best option was to accuse them-accuse them of having done something wrong!

Of course, that still depended on the situation. Turning tail and running was his backup plan.

Lumian quickly put on an angry expression and looked at Madame Pualis. "You actually had an affair in God's church!"

He immediately spread his arms in the gesture of "embracing the sun":

"My God, my Father, please forgive this sinful couple's blasphemy."

Madame Pualis watched quietly, then curved her lips into an exceptionally lovely smile.

"I think God will forgive us.

"I once read a book that said: a lady who shares a bed with her true lover can wash away all her sins, because love makes pleasure innocent, as though it came from the purest of hearts.

"Being with Guillaume Béné makes me happy and brings me joy, so the Eternal Blazing Sun shouldn't be angry about it either. It isn't a sin."

What sort of books have you been reading, madame...? Lumian couldn't help grumbling inwardly.

Madame Pualis continued, "Still, it was indeed disrespectful to Saint Sies."

Every region in Intis had one or several patron angels or saints. They either came from the scriptures of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, or were widely renowned figures in Intis's history who had made special contributions and gained the recognition of both churches.

In the Dalege Region, the patron saint of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun was Saint Sies. In other words, every church of the Eternal Blazing Sun here could actually be called Saint Sies Church. To distinguish between them, however, only the largest and most central church bore that name, while the others used different names in its place.

Thus, Madame Pualis and the Parish Priest having an affair in the church was equivalent to Saint Sies's steward secretly bringing someone home, occupying his master's bedroom, and doing something immoral there. It was a grave insult to this patron saint.

"Exactly." Lumian nodded solemnly. "Doesn't the Parish Priest feel ashamed?"

Madame Pualis burst out laughing.

After she finished laughing, she told Lumian, "I did try to dissuade him at the time. I said, 'Oh dear, how can we do such a thing in Saint Sies's church?'

"Guess what the Parish Priest said?

"He said, 'Oh, Saint Sies will just have to put up with it.'"

With no experience in such matters, Lumian momentarily had no idea how to respond.

"He's blaspheming against a saint!" he finally managed.

Madame Pualis looked nostalgic.

"That's the kind of man he is. Bold and direct, like a bandit, swearing as he kicks down the door to your heart. Completely unlike those gentlemen in Dalege.

"Perhaps that's precisely why I slept with him."

"That's just how some men normally behave when they're horny. Never mind Saint Sies-even if a god were there, he'd ask Him to wait." Although Lumian lacked experience, he had read Aurora's novels, and more than one of them. "That's his lower half controlling his brain. No, by that point, his head was already empty and filled with a different fluid."

Madame Pualis gave a faint smile.

"I know that's the reason, but in that situation, he really did seem charming.

"Heh, you really are an inexperienced boy. You don't know that the same words can make someone feel differently depending on the setting and atmosphere.

"I remember the first time I slept with the Parish Priest. He stood there, looked into my eyes, and told me directly, 'Pualis, I want to know your body and soul more intimately.' At any other time, I would have thought him a crude, vulgar lecher and hurried to call someone in to stop him. But at that moment, my body went weak. It was because the atmosphere was just right."

As she spoke, Madame Pualis's smile turned seductive.

"It's like this. If a man catches my fancy, I'll say to him, 'Come to my house tonight, all right?'

"If he really comes, I'll take him straight to the bedroom and tell him, 'I want to sleep with you. I love you.'

"Lumian, at a time like that, how would you respond as a man?"

Lumian often traded dirty jokes with the village men. Although he felt somewhat uncomfortable now, he could still hold his own. He tried to recall the stories his sister had written and novels by other contemporary authors. After some consideration, he said, "I'd say, 'Madame, you are my sun.'"

"Quite talented..." Madame Pualis praised him.

As she spoke, she leaned forward, her eyes turning moist.

A warm breath brushed Lumian's ear, followed by a soft, slightly husky feminine voice:

"I want to sleep with you..."

At that moment, Lumian couldn't stop his heart from trembling. His body tingled all over, as though he had touched a faulty electric desk lamp.

He abruptly climbed another step and told Madame Pualis, "Aurora should be waiting for you."

"Mm." Madame Pualis straightened again, a faint smile on her face, the watery gleam in her eyes receding.

It was as though nothing had happened.

This woman... Lumian suddenly felt a little afraid.

He hurriedly turned around and reached the second floor in a few strides. Madame Pualis followed at her usual unhurried pace.

Having heard the doorbell, Aurora was already waiting outside her bedroom.

"What took so long?" she asked, looking at Lumian.

Lumian offered an oblique explanation. "We talked about what happened in the church."

Aurora understood at once and gave her brother a look that said, "Pray to the Eternal Blazing Sun for good luck yourself."

She turned to Madame Pualis, who had just reached the second floor, and asked with a smile, "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to discuss some preparations for Lent. We may need your help with one of the celebrations," Madame Pualis said, smiling.

"I've been very busy lately..." Aurora searched for an excuse to decline.

Madame Pualis pointed at the study door. "Why not hear me out first?"

"All right." Aurora had at least that much courtesy.

Watching his sister and Madame Pualis enter the study and close the wooden door, Lumian gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"She's behaving fairly normally. No guilty conscience from returning to the 'scene of the crime'..."

Just then, a thought flashed through his mind:

"There's a fairly good chance Madame Pualis is a female Warlock. Could I obtain supernatural powers from her?

"That would be much easier and safer than facing that owl to uncover the truth about Warlocks or exploring those dangerous ruins in my dream...

"Besides, I have to explore those dream ruins and try to unravel their secrets as soon as possible to eliminate the hidden danger. Going there after gaining supernatural powers would be less risky."

At that thought, Lumian suddenly grew wary and shook his head.

He immediately began examining himself inwardly:

"How can I think like that?

"I still don't know whether Madame Pualis is a friend or an enemy. How could I recklessly seek supernatural powers through her?

"Yes, she didn't seem like a good person just now either. She even made me feel threatened...

"What's gotten into me lately? Haven't I been far too impatient and reckless in pursuing supernatural powers? As though I'll die if I don't get them soon..."

It had been nearly two years since Lumian discovered that his sister was a Warlock. Although he had tried to obtain supernatural powers before, he had never put in as much effort as he had over the past few days. Whether an opportunity was good or bad, whether it was dangerous or not, as long as it looked promising, he couldn't wait to pursue it-like someone who had been starving for so long that he would eat anything.

"Phew... Luckily, I noticed the problem in time. Otherwise, I might have strayed further and further down an increasingly dangerous path." Lumian let out a long breath, relieved that he had regained his normal frame of mind.

Of course, he couldn't stop pursuing supernatural powers. He simply had to be selective. After all, that dangerous dream had already revealed itself in earnest, and the undercurrents in the village were growing ever more turbulent.