Chapter 7 Moonlit Conversation: The Butterfly Effect
Heligalo had always been gentle, and Ancia had never seen him so obviously uncomfortable.
“I was out playing and one earring was missing, so it doesn’t look like a pair.” Ancia simply took off the other earring as well.
Heligalo visibly relaxed after she took off her earring.
Huh?
Ancia tentatively put it on again, and Heligalo frowned.
Heligalo removed his earrings and calmed down.
Heligalo frowned as he put on the earrings.
Ancia's eyes lit up, and she parted her middle-parted bangs into a 3/7 split, while Herrigalo covered his eyes with his hand.
"You have OCD? I thought you only had a cleanliness fetish." Ancia chuckled softly, as if she had discovered something new. The plot didn't mention that Herigalo had OCD.
“Ancia…” Heligalo sighed helplessly.
"Sorry, you can open your eyes now." Ancia took off her last remaining earring, and her bangs returned to their original shape.
Heligalo removed his well-defined hand, and what came into view was Ancia's smiling face, her accessories and hair now perfectly symmetrical.
"Would you like to sit over there for a while?" Ancia invited.
Ancia walked to the center of the courtyard and sat down, casually leaning against the bench. At the other end of the bench, Herigalo was still sitting upright, his hands neatly placed on his knees.
The evening breeze rustled through Ancia's hair, carrying a variety of scents: Ancia's own fragrance, the smell of face powder, and the scent of men's cologne.
"Is it fun outside?" Heligaluo turned his head slightly and asked softly.
Considering that Heligalo was an excellent listener, self-disciplined and strictly adhered to doctrine, and would not relay what he heard, Ancia spoke the truth directly to him.
"Hmm...not bad, more fun than the Holy See." The Holy See has very few side quests, and players can only trigger quests about asceticism after becoming a saintess. The NPCs there are all cut from the same mold, which is a bit boring.
Heligalo lowered his gaze. "Is the Nightingale Salon fun too?"
The words "Nightingale Salon" coming from Heligaluo's mouth immediately evoked a sense of absurdity, as if a deity had been defiled.
Ancia was startled, feeling a sense of panic as if she had been caught in the act. "How did you know?"
Heligalo hesitated before saying, "The scent is quite obvious." He found it difficult to speak; he seemed particularly sensitive to the scent emanating from Ancia.
Ancia raised her sleeve and sniffed it, but after a few sniffs she couldn't smell anything, so she had to give up in disappointment. "I went to the Nightingale Salon with Mrs. Aurora."
Heligalo tapped his fingers on his leg. "Judging from your reaction, her counterattack should have been successful."
How does this person know everything? Are they cheating?
Sensing Ancia's shocked gaze, Heligalo calmly explained, "The Papacy and the royal family have a close relationship. Divine authority and royal authority are inseparable. Every flow of power in the empire occurs under the Papacy's surveillance."
Under the moonlight, Heligaluo's profile remained pristine, yet the words he uttered were laced with an aura of power. "The laws of the Augustinian Empire stipulate that if a couple has no children, the spouse is the first legal heir. Count Seidel and Lady Aurora are locked in a life-or-death struggle; only the sole winner can gain the approval of high society and enter the center of power. Count Seidel underestimated his opponent, didn't he?"
Ancia's gaze toward Herigalo changed. This Herigalo was no longer a symbol of purity and asceticism; he seemed somewhat different from the image she knew from the story, but also more real.
“Aurora has issued two commissions to the Dark Night Guild, one for an assassin sent to kill her, and the other for her husband.” Ancia didn’t think Heligalo would be unaware of this information tomorrow, so she decided to tell him directly.
“As expected, she is an excellent politician.” Heligalo was not surprised at all; from the moment he received the intelligence, he did not think Seidel would win.
He pondered for a moment, "Was the assassin she hired Murtrey Vessas?"
Ancia wasn't surprised that Herrigallo had guessed the specific client. Any normal person would make the best choice in a life-or-death situation. "Aurora chose the number one assassin as her guarantee for a fatal blow. She's now stepping on her dead husband's head to get home and will soon become Count Aurora. Her dead husband didn't want to hire the best assassin, so he saved the money to hold his own funeral."
Heligalo was amused by her sarcastic remarks and coughed twice to suppress his laughter. "Count Seidel doesn't think much of beautiful ladies."
His words were very tactful, and Ancia understood what Heligalo meant, saying calmly, "So he died."
The loser will pay the price for his prejudice with his life.
I hope he will realize in his next life that strength has nothing to do with appearance, but only with character and methods.
However, given his intelligence, he probably wouldn't understand even in his next life; perhaps the programmer forgot to add a line of intelligence code when designing him.
A snow-white carrier pigeon flew to the middle of the courtyard and landed on Heligaluo's shoulder. Heligaluo took the note from the pigeon's leg, read its contents, then lit a sacred fire in his palm and burned the note completely, leaving not a single ash.
"Lady Aurora returned home to find her dead husband. Overwhelmed with grief, she invited Miss Ancia to her husband's funeral and her succession ceremony in three days," Heligallo relayed the message from the note.
"Oh my god, poor Aurora, she's had to go through so much all at once. I need to comfort her properly that day." Ancia's voice was full of emotion, but her faint smile remained unchanged.
A hint of a smile flickered in Heligaluo's azure eyes, like the hardest glacier in the North melting under the moonlight.
The God of Light above should not rejoice in the deaths of His followers.
After Ancia finished her performance, she asked curiously, "I've never attended a count's funeral before, Heli, will you be there that day?"
Heligaluo shook his head. "I can't go. The Holy Son won't be at the Count's funeral. You can go and have fun, and tell me when you come back if the funeral was fun."
What fun things could happen at a funeral? It's just that Heligalo has been to so few places that even a funeral outside the Vatican seemed novel to him.
The identity of the Holy Son of Light is both an honor and a constraint. The Holy Son must strictly abide by the precepts of the doctrine, and all his words and deeds will be watched by all the clergy. Over time, the Holy Son becomes a walking idol in the church.
"Ancia, you are my most interesting friend."
Do you have many friends?
"Not many, only two including you."
Ancia suddenly wanted to invite him to go somewhere else, to some really interesting place, but seeing Heligaluo's eyes as calm as a lake, she felt that Heligaluo wouldn't agree.
“Okay.” Ancia finally agreed to Heligaluo’s suggestion without saying another word.
Without Ancia's laughter, the atmosphere on the bench fell silent.
"It's getting late, I'm going back to rest now. Goodnight, Heli." Ancia stood up, her skirt falling naturally.
Herigalo's gaze fell on the undulating curve of the skirt, a fabric completely different from the papal robes, as light and free as its owner.
"Good night, Ancia," Heligalo said softly.
After Ancia left, he remained sitting on the bench for a long time before finally standing up.
The moon was high in the sky, and its light shone directly on the courtyard. The changing angle of the light caused a noticeable halo to appear on a spot on the bench.
Heligalo walked over and discovered that it was the blue earring that Ancia had left behind.
Her slender fingers picked up the earring and gently placed it in her bosom.
*
Count Seidel's funeral was held on a fine, sunny day. His body lay in state in a small chapel in the Eternal City. The funeral was presided over by an unfamiliar bishop. Although Count Seidel was a nobleman, his rank only allowed him to invite a bishop from a diocese outside the Eternal City. The Holy See of Light did not send anyone else.
The coffin was kept at a low temperature by a magical device to keep the body in a normal state. The body was dressed in the noble robes it wore in life, and the fur robe with mink trim on the collar made it impossible to tell that the head and body had ever been separated.
The ladies who had previously attended the Nightingale Salon whispered among themselves, looking at Aurora with envious eyes, "Oh my, what good luck!"
“Who can argue with that? They don’t have any children or other relatives yet, and they can inherit their titles and property themselves.”
"The three great things for middle-aged women are promotion, wealth, and the death of their husbands. Aurora has them all."
Aurora's face was pale, and she looked as if she had lost her husband. She gently wiped the corners of her eyes, which were dry, with a handkerchief. "Thank you. If you work hard, you can be like me."
After the lay of sleep ceremony, the coffin was closed, and the procession of mourners began at the church and ended at the cemetery.
The moment the coffin was lifted, Ancia clearly heard a slight knocking sound coming from inside the coffin; something had hit the inner wall of the coffin.
Ancia: "…………"
She quietly approached Aurora, who was wiping away tears, and whispered, "Aurora, didn't you sew that back on?"
Aurora also heard the sound and frowned as she replied, "I never did any needlework for him while he was alive."
The implication is, not to mention what happens after death.
Ancia gasped. At the cemetery, they would pay their last respects before the burial. The guests would gather around to watch Seidel's body being dismembered; the scene would be too much to bear.
“I have a plan,” Ancia whispered in Aurora’s ear, briefly explaining her suggestion.
"Okay." Aurora nodded slightly.
The coffin arrived at the cemetery quickly, and just as it was opened, Aurora suddenly rushed over, lay on the coffin, and wailed loudly.
"Sidder! Sidder! How could you leave me all alone!"
Aurora's large shawl and parasol completely covered the coffin. Ancia quickly went to help her and comforted her, "Don't be too sad, Aurora. Your husband also hopes that you can live a happy life in the future."
While gently patting Aurora's shoulder, Ancia secretly helped her pull Seidel's head back and straighten it.
"What a rare and loving couple." Everyone present sighed at Aurora and Seidel's beautiful relationship, and symbolically shed tears of emotion.
After the funeral, Aurora put on her countess dress and hosted a banquet for the guests.
[Congratulations to the player for completing the side quest [Count Black Butterfly].]
The player receives 1000 gold coins, 1500 experience points, and levels up to level 3.
Has Black Widow turned into Black Butterfly? Will the side quests change as well?
Before Ancia could think things through, Aurora's toast interrupted her thoughts.
"Little Ancia, the start of school in Gracia is in three days. This is to honor our future top priest."
"A toast to our future marquis."
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