Chapter 427 Let’s celebrate the New Year together

"Want to celebrate New Year's Eve together tonight, Aiwass?"

After lunch, Isabel immediately invited Aiwass.

Tomorrow is the Candlemas Day on January 1st. A few days ago, when Bishop Mathers came to the Temple of Silver and Tin to carry Queen Sophia's coffin, Aiwass returned the key to St. Guinevere's Chapel to him.

Otherwise, Bishop Mathers would not have been able to open the door of the chapel, let alone let Queen Sophia stop there first.

Tomorrow, Bishop Mathers would call upon the Apostles of the Lord and the deceased members of the Du Lac family to bless Avalon. This was the most important ceremony in Avalon, and therefore it would inevitably be presided over by this bishop, who held the highest rank, status, and holy order in Avalon.

After the candle ceremony, Queen Sophia's funeral will begin.

According to Avalon's tradition, the Queen was buried seven days after her death. However, because the national funeral coincided with the Candle Festival, the Queen's funeral had to be postponed for one day.

In most countries of the world, the Candle Festival is the most important day of the year and also the beginning of the new year.

Although Sizhu has been a pillar deity dedicated to the path since before the Age of Dragons, most people don't know what kind of dedication Sizhu has made to firmly occupy the position of pillar deity since ancient times.

In the version circulated in Avalon, it is said that Candlestick is the original god who created the world and illuminated the world in a world without sun and moon; in the legends of the Star Antimony People and the Iris People, Candlestick is the origin of all intelligent life; and the mages and monks of the Path of Wisdom believe that Candlestick's greatest achievement is to find the source of the River of Dreams and divide the other eight among other gods.

In short, everyone has their own opinion.

But this is also normal.

After all, all true knowledge directly related to the Nine Pillars of Deity is of the highest order. Whether it's the Beast Lord falling in love with Hengwo or the Crown Lord defeating the Supreme Heaven, these are secrets that cannot be put down on paper and are only passed down orally by a very small number of people.

Yet, despite this, people still respected Sizhu. Aiwass even knew that even the other Celestial Officials of the Path of Devotion held Sizhu in high esteem. Neither the Celestial Officials of Candle nor the Celestial Officials of Dawn had any interest in the position of Pillar God. Even the Celestial Official of Flame, possessing transcendent power and ranked second in the Path of Devotion, held no hostility toward Sizhu.

Because of this, Aiwass believes the church's version is closest to the truth.

The Church of the Nine Pillars believes that the candlelighter ignited a great fire in the cold, dry dream world, which was filled with sinthorns, illuminating the eternal darkness and allowing the nine dream rivers that had been drained by sinthorns to flow again. From that time on, material life with "souls" began to appear in this world.

Because of all the Pillar Gods Aiwas knew, they all became Pillar Gods later than Sizhu. Only the Hourglass and the Twin Mirror were less certain... Assuming that Sizhu was the original Pillar God, then everything would make sense.

Because customs vary from country to country, the contents of the Candle Ceremony also vary. Anyway, the Candle Ceremony doesn't care about these things, and he won't blame you if you don't do it.

This is just a festival for people to politely express their respect for the pillar god - or in other words, to express their respect for the elves who believe in the candle.

In Avalon, people try to return to their homes the night before the Candle Festival; if this is not possible or there is a conflict with their family, they will go to spend time with their friends.

Just like Sherlock.

Even the poorest people would try their best to cook something delicious on this day, a little extravagant, not only to honor the candlelight master, but also to reward themselves.

The most important ceremony on the eve of the Candle Festival is to boil a large pot of hot soup.

Any soup will do. Rich people have their own way of making it, and poor people have their own way of making it. Ultimately, it's just boiling a pot of water.

After the soup boils, each family member can throw some of their favorite things into the pot, and then the family will drink the soup together. This soup is Sizhu's blessing to people... Even if a person is seriously ill and dying, he will stay in the world for two more days.

Although the candlelighter doesn't care about people's respect for him, he will also protect those believers who pray to him for peace on this day. If there are homeless people who only need to light a candle or even just strike a match, the candlelighter will share some of their power, allowing the flame to continue, allowing their bodies to gradually recover and avoid freezing to death in the cold wind, so that they can safely see the sunlight tomorrow morning.

Because of this, even the most ruthless killers will not kill on this day.

It is not only a constraint of conscience, but also a reverence for the Pillar God.

And obviously, Edward won't work overtime either.

If Aiwass stayed in the Palace of Silver and Tin, then only Julia and Edward would be left at home; if Aiwass brought Julia with him, then only Edward would be left at home.

——It’s too lonely.

"There's definitely no problem with Julia," Aiwass pondered, "but as for Edward...can I bring him along?"

"Anyway, I have no objection."

Isabel shifted her hips nervously, then sat up straight and said calmly, "I want to meet Brother Edward, too."

"He should only dare to call you Her Majesty."

Aiwass teased, "Don't dare call you sister."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

Ligeia held the hot beer she had prepared, sipping it in small sips and looking at the two of them with her dead eyes.

After that spontaneous kiss, the atmosphere between the two of them subtly changed.

The most obvious thing is that Isabel has become bolder.

Before, she obviously didn't dare to joke with Aiwass or act coquettishly. She only dared to take the initiative to find Aiwass when discussing serious matters... The rest of the time she waited for Aiwass to come to her.

Aiwass had previously treated Isabel with respect and distance, treating her more like an elder or teacher than a friend.

Although they haven't officially confirmed their relationship verbally, the atmosphere and way they interact have actually changed.

Ligeia easily noticed this change in atmosphere.

It's not like she had never been in love when she was young. Looking at the smile on Isabel's face, she just felt a little sad.

—Tsk, there's too much lemon in this beer, it's a bit too bitter, Ligeia thought.

On the other hand, Aiwass actually had some work piled up, waiting for Isabel to handle it.

After the new king ascends the throne, he will tour the country for five days and will inevitably have a lot of work piled up when he returns.

The half day I came back early was used to deal with the backlog of work.

The contract with Grandet, Emma's affairs, the new Minister of Trade who was killed by Aiwass, the pressure on the Minister of Camelot, the gifts given to her by those ministers... Aiwass originally kept these things for Isabel.

Because in Aiwas's previous view, the relationship between him and Isabel as king and subject must be maintained well.

Isabel trusted Aiwass enough, so Aiwass couldn't waste this trust at will. Therefore, although he could do some things on his own will, he still had to make up for the process that needed to be completed.

...But now, Aiwas feels that he can be busier.

For matters that generally required Isabelle's approval and signature, he could also confirm them in advance and sign them himself, such as Grandet's business contract.

The main reason was that Aiwass began to feel sorry for Isabel.

After all, this is the last day before the New Year, so we should at least give her half a day off... She will be busy for two days tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Let her have a good rest this afternoon. When she has some free time, I'll give Isabel a summary report.

"Lily," Aiwass instructed, "you'll go to the Inspectorate later. Have Edward come directly to the Temple of Silver and Tin after get off work... or give him a phone call. Forget it, just call directly so you don't have to make another trip."

"Okay." Lily nodded in agreement.

"Lulu, have you decided where to go this afternoon?"

Aiwass turned to look at Isabel and reminded her, "But we're still in mourning, so it might be difficult to watch entertainment like opera. Besides, the New Year is coming soon, so there might not be many orchestras on Glass Island."

"Need not."

Isabel shook her head slightly and said obediently, "I want to accompany the teacher."

"Master Yanis..."

Aiwass suddenly realized: "Speaking of which, where did she go today?"

He suddenly realized that he didn't seem to see this always noisy elf today.

You can always hear her cheerful yet elegant laughter from the paintings.

Today he even kissed Isabel in the bedroom... If it were normal, Janice would have popped up with a smile on her face and smacked her lips.

Even at the lunch party, she didn't show up.

After the funeral is over the day after tomorrow, Master Janice will leave.

Now it’s years ago... She is not in the Palace of Silver and Tin, so where did she go?

"I have no idea."

Isabel shook her head. "But I guess... she should be where she first met my grandmother. She should be in the Red Queen District, but I don't know exactly where."

"Then I'll go look for it with you."

Aiwass chuckled and extended his hand to Isabel: "I'll visit the teachers by the way..."

"But you're not suitable to go out with this look. And when you went to investigate those people, you shouldn't have worn this face, right?"

"Of course!"

Isabel puffed out her chest proudly, as if begging for praise. "I have mastered the power of [Strong Illusion]... My appearance can be changed at will."

As she spoke, a green light of the path lit up in her pupils.

Isabel placed her hands on her face, the light pink glow blossoming between her fingers. As she gently stroked her face, Isabel's appearance instantly changed.

Under the influence of the illusion, Isabel's hair turned white and her pupils turned blue, making her look several times smaller.

——Except that her eyes are blue instead of red, she looks very similar to Yulia.

Aiwass tentatively reached out and touched her head, and Isabel also smiled and leaned her head forward for Aiwass to touch.

It's very magical. There is no clipping through the model and no touching of invisible heads in the void.

Aiwass was indeed at a lower position than Isabel and felt a touch almost exactly the same as Yulia's hair.

Obviously, it was because Isabel had enough contact with Yulia that she could become her appearance with incredible precision.

“…Is this the illusion of resilience?”

Aiwass sighed, "If I hadn't seen the illusion you used, I would have been fooled for a moment."

The reason why I said it was a moment is because Yulia would never be so coquettish and smile like a kitten.

"I left it there on purpose," Isabel said, somewhat unconvinced. "If I had completely transformed into Yulia and focused on acting, I don't think you'd have been able to see through me. I'm a 'jack of all trades.' Acting is also my forte."

But when she said this, Aiwass suddenly realized: "Then whose appearance did you use when you asked questions before? It couldn't be Yulia, right?"

"...Hey?" Isabel suddenly started to act stupid.

"It can't be me, right?"

Aiwass guessed it immediately.

Isabel defended herself, "I did make a lot of changes! If they run into you later, they'll just think you look familiar, but they won't recognize you!"

If it were in the past, she would probably apologize cautiously. She wouldn't have the energy to argue with Aiwass now.

But this way of getting along can actually make Aiwass more relaxed.

Aiwass then reached out with a smile and ruffled the hair of Isabel, who was playing "Yulia": "Then we are even now."

Isabel held her head and twisted back into her original form, her hair now messy.

"...Humph." Isabel wrinkled her nose, but couldn't help laughing.

She usually doesn't like to laugh that much, but today she couldn't stop laughing. It was like seeing a sunny day, she felt relaxed and happy.

Next time I’ll use your face!

Isabel covered her head and thought viciously in her heart.

Another update of nearly 7,000 words, updated!

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(End of this chapter)