Sick

If Pons Béné really entered Naroka's house to take away hair and nails, that would mean Naroka was most likely murdered by a relative. She had a good reputation and was the pillar of her family, and she was in fairly good physical and mental health, so suicide was unlikely... Lumian quickly formed a series of conjectures.

If Naroka really was murdered by a relative, what was the reason?

Seeing her brother lost in thought and silent for quite some time, Aurora assumed he had been frightened by the people turning into sheep and the possible murder of a member of the Berri family. She offered a few gentle words of reassurance:

"Although this is serious, it doesn't affect us yet.

"It looks like I need to reflect on my approach. Constantly forbidding you from learning real mysticism can easily leave you frightened and panicked when you encounter something like this, with no idea what to do. Hmm, in this world, supernatural incidents have become more and more frequent over the past few years, and I can't always be at your side. You'll grow up eventually, and you'll have a life of your own..."

I've never heard that growing up means you have to leave your family... Lumian silently retorted.

He could tell that the people turning into sheep had softened Aurora's attitude toward letting him learn mysticism.

One more push, and I can tell her outright that I've already become a Beyonder... Before Lumian could speak, Aurora had made her decision:

"Go pack your luggage right now. We'll use Novel Weekly's invitation to leave Cordu immediately.

"We're really lucky. A telegram arriving at this critical moment gives us a perfectly legitimate reason to leave without arousing anyone's suspicions.

"Hmm, when we're alone during the journey, I'll teach you some real mysticism. But don't even think about becoming a Beyonder. It's too dangerous."

That wasn't luck. We sent the telegram because we'd already discovered a problem. The reply just didn't arrive until this loop... Lumian grumbled silently, while feeling relieved that his sister was still as decisive as ever.

Although he was not optimistic that the two of them could leave Cordou Village smoothly, or escape the loop that way, they still had to try.

"Uh, what about those three sheep-those three people? Aren't we saving them?" Lumian asked tentatively.

Aurora shook her head.

"That could bring us into conflict with Pierre Berri, and I don't know how strong he is or how many accomplices he has. Rushing blindly to rescue them would be too dangerous.

"Let the authorities handle it. That's their responsibility. Hmm, once we reach Dalege and buy our steam train tickets, we'll send the authorities an anonymous letter and have them deal with it."

"But what if they don't believe us?" Lumian deliberately pressed.

Aurora smiled.

"When it comes to mysticism, you really are illiterate.

"If we describe the people turning into sheep clearly enough in the letter, they'll naturally get specialists to perform divination. Even if they don't receive any detailed revelations, they'll discover that something is wrong in Cordu."

"I understand." Lumian wasted no more time and went upstairs to pack.

Before long, the siblings came downstairs, each carrying a brown suitcase.

Aurora glanced outside the door and said, "We'll go see Madame Pualis now and borrow her carriage. We need to reach Dalege as quickly as possible."

An ordinary person would need an entire afternoon to walk from Cordou Village to Dalege. As a Hunter, Lumian certainly would not, but in Aurora's eyes, he was not yet a Beyonder.

He hesitated over whether to take this opportunity to confess to his sister. Then he thought that escaping Cordou Village was almost certainly impossible anyway, so he might as well use the opportunity to look around Madame Pualis's home for clues. Lumian gave a grunt of assent.

"All right."

He reached out and took his sister's suitcase, then headed for the door carrying both.

Aurora first nodded in satisfaction and relief, then said with a hint of puzzlement, "You've gotten stronger. You're carrying those so easily."

She instinctively started to raise her right hand to rub the sides of her eyes, but Lumian had already gone outside. She abandoned the attempt and hurried after him.

On the way to the administrator's residence, quite a few villagers saw Aurora heading out with luggage and curiously asked what was happening.

With a legitimate reason, Aurora answered quite openly.

Lumian, on the other hand, made up seven or eight stories over that short stretch to deal with different villagers.

He claimed that Aurora had received Intis's Legion of Honor medal and was going to Trier for the ceremony, that he had been specially admitted to Trier's École Normale Supérieure and could enroll right away, or that Aurora had gone bankrupt speculating in stocks and had to flee before her creditors came knocking. The villagers, who had little experience of the world, were left utterly bewildered.

Thanks to Lumian's reputation, once they recovered, they all chose not to believe him.

Before long, the siblings reached the black building converted from an ancient castle.

Looking up at the two towering turrets, Lumian smiled and said, "I wonder what's inside those. Aurora, have you ever been in?"

"Why would I wander around someone else's home?" Aurora rolled her eyes at her brother.

Lumian muttered under his breath:

"I thought Madame Pualis would invite you on a tour of the castle. Don't people like them love showing guests their grand houses and valuable collections?"

"What's there to tour..." Aurora's voice grew quieter as she realized that it would be a great help when describing old castles in her writing. "Ah, we'll see if there's a chance later. Who knows if we'll ever be able to return to Cordu."

She then led Lumian through the garden's colorful blooms toward the castle's main entrance.

After a few steps, Aurora slowed down and glanced around, saying in puzzlement, "The flowers in this garden are blooming awfully early..."

Cordou Village was in the mountains, with highland pastures nearby. Normally, the first spring flowers would not appear until mid-to-late April.

"Maybe Madame Pualis's gardener has some special method." Remembering that the lady was a Beyonder of an abnormal pathway, Lumian suspected some supernatural phenomenon was involved, but he could not say so aloud.

Aurora had only made an offhand remark and gave it no further thought. She arrived at the castle with Lumian, where Madame Pualis welcomed them warmly.

The lady wore a blue dress with a cinched waist that day, with the same gold-set diamond necklace hanging at her chest. Half her long brown hair was pinned up and half hung loose, making her look younger than usual.

Seated on an armchair in the small sitting room, she listened quietly to Aurora's request, then said with a faint smile, "There's no need to be so formal. We're friends."

Ha... Lumian scoffed inwardly.

What kind of friend sets you up with such an unsuitable marriage prospect?

He had barely finished his silent mockery when he saw Madame Pualis looking at him, amusement rippling like water through her bright brown eyes.

Lumian immediately recalled their conversation in the previous loop and grew uncomfortable.

"All right." Aurora, meanwhile, looked resigned.

Whenever she borrowed the carriage, she offered to pay, but Madame Pualis invariably refused. So she usually brought the lady gifts on her return that were neither expensive nor cheap, and gave the coachman a small tip.

While they waited for the coachman to get ready, Madame Pualis invited the siblings to sample desserts made by her cook.

Lumian tried a piece of muffin, looked around, and asked, "Where is Monsieur Lund?"

Louis Lund was Administrator Beaost's butler and had accompanied him from Dalege to Cordou Village.

Lumian had evidence of his affair with a woman in the village and his secret sale of certain collectibles from the castle. He had used it to learn that Madame Pualis was the Parish Priest's mistress.

The story about accidentally catching the Parish Priest and Madame Pualis having an affair in the church had all been a lie to fool outsiders!

At that moment, Lumian wanted to find Louis Lund and give him a tongue-lashing: "You son of a sow, why didn't you tell me Madame Pualis was a Warlock?"

Madame Pualis sighed.

"Louis is sick. He's resting in his room."

Sick? For some inexplicable reason, Lumian felt there might be something wrong with that.

While his sister chatted with Madame Pualis, he excused himself to use the washroom, left the small sitting room, and headed straight for the stairs.

The castle was large, and the administrator and his wife had brought few servants. Everywhere seemed empty, and footsteps even echoed in certain places. This gave Lumian better conditions for sneaking around.

With his powerful senses, he easily avoided a manservant and a maid, made his way quietly to the second floor, and found Louis Lund's room.

Rather than knock immediately, he tilted his head and pressed his ear to the wooden door.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Painful male screams came from inside the room.

He really is sick? It sounds pretty serious... After a moment's thought, Lumian moved aside and opened another servant's door-Administrator Beaost and Madame Prias lived on the third floor.

Slipping inside, he gently shut the wooden door, crossed the room in a few steps, and opened the glass window.

Lumian glanced down. Seeing no one below, he immediately braced himself with both hands and vaulted nimbly out, hanging from the castle's outer wall.

Then he made a light leap, like a wildcat, and landed soundlessly on the windowsill of the butler Louis Lund's room.

Standing at the edge of the glass window, Lumian turned sideways and peered into the room.

He saw Louis Lund lying naked on the bed, his belly bulging so high that it looked ready to burst at any moment.

The butler was over forty. His black hair was drenched in sweat, his face contorted with pain, and he let out agonized cries from time to time. Lumian could not help frowning.

What kind of illness is this?

It looks terrifying. His belly has swollen so much...

A woman in her forties was also standing beside Louis Lund's bed.

She had brown hair and brown eyes, attractive features, and few wrinkles. Wearing a grayish-white dress, she called excitedly to Louis Lund, "Almost there, almost there."

What's almost there? The thought had barely crossed Lumian's mind when he heard a scream and saw something thrusting up sharply against a spot on Louis Lund's belly.

Almost in the blink of an eye, that spot split open. Louis Lund's belly had burst!

A tiny, blood-covered hand reached upward.

"It's born! It's born!" the woman cried joyfully.

She immediately bent down and lifted a wrinkled, filthy, blood-covered baby from Louis Lund's belly.

Lumian froze completely.

"..."