Chapter 9 Rose Festival 03
After Mrs. Lucia said these three sentences, Zhu Yu no longer had the heart to continue tasting the wine.
She had originally guessed that the other party had invited her over tonight because they must have something to discuss, but she didn't expect things to be so serious!
She put down the crystal wine glass in her hand and asked:
"Tell me about the secret society first."
Mrs. Lucia leaned against the terrace fence and sighed:
"You should have heard that a distinguished guest has recently arrived in Beleriand. In order to prevent accidents during the celebration, the Inquisition and the Public Security Team are patrolling more frequently than before."
"Although I have warned the members of the Secret Society to be careful during this period, an accident still happened a few days ago. A new member of the Secret Society had just awakened his magic power and was unable to fully control his power. The Inquisition detected the fluctuation of his magic power."
She paused and continued, "However, fortunately, there was a white-robed wizard who happened to be near the girl at the time. After realizing that something was wrong, she arrived in time and managed to protect her before the people from the Inquisition arrived..."
Zhu Yu: "What happened next? Did the two of them escape successfully?"
Madam Lucia nodded first, then shook her head, and said with a complicated expression:
"The new member successfully escaped pursuit, but the white-robed wizard was captured on the spot by the Inquisition."
Zhu Yu's heart suddenly tightened.
Now she finally understood why Mrs. Lucia said that the secret would be discovered.
If only a new member who had just awakened his magic power was targeted, the situation might not be so bad.
She had just joined the secret society and probably didn't even know all the names of the members, so she couldn't reveal any key information.
But the white-robed wizard is different.
In the secret society's system, the status of the white-robed wizard is second only to the black-robed wizard. Not only does he know all the affairs of the society, he may even hold some core secrets.
If she can't survive the interrogation of the Inquisition, the situation of the Secret Society in Beleriand will be in real danger.
Zhu Yu: "Where is the black-robed wizard from your secret society? Doesn't she care about these things?"
Madam Lucia smiled bitterly: "What a coincidence! Our black-robed wizard received an urgent letter a few days ago. He has been to Villanova for many days and has not returned yet."
Villanova, the royal city of the Kingdom of Lodevia, is where the royal court and the Privy Council are located.
Zhu Yu frowned slightly. Although she was somewhat curious about why the black-robed wizard suddenly left Beleriand at this critical moment, now was obviously not the time to dwell on this issue.
She suppressed her curiosity and came to her senses to look at Lady Lucia - the black-robed wizard of Belran City was far away in the royal city, and one of the remaining two white-robed wizards was being held in the prison of the Inquisition. No wonder Lady Lucia was in such a hurry to find external help.
Zhu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Mrs. Lucia's expression.
Her relationship with Elena was clearly not deep enough for them to be open and honest with each other.
It seemed that she had no idea that this white-robed wizard had no magical power at all before.
Otherwise, she would have probably turned to other external aid instead of pinning her hopes on her.
"So, you want me to help rescue the white-robed wizard?"
There was a hint of hesitation in her tone:
"But the Inquisition is heavily guarded. It's almost impossible for me to succeed alone."
"No, no, no," Mrs. Lucia shook her head quickly, "I have already made arrangements for this matter. Every year on the eve of the Rose Festival, people will be busy preparing for the festival, and the prison guards will be much more relaxed than usual."
She added in a brisk tone, "It just so happens that the father of one of our secret society members is also imprisoned. Although he was sent to prison by his own daughter, I think he would be very happy to see his family come to visit on such an important day as Rose Day."
Zhu Yu understood Mrs. Lucia's plan.
Did she intend to have the members of the secret society disguise themselves as visitors, sneak into the prison, find the white-robed wizard, and then escape together?
She expressed her guess.
"Oh, that's about it." Mrs. Lucia nodded, but then a look of sadness appeared on her face.
"But you're wrong about one thing."
"Once a wizard is caught, he will usually be forced to drink a 'de-wizarding potion' within a short period of time."
"This is a specially made potion. Ordinary people will not feel any unusual effects after taking it, but it is fatal to wizards. It will completely deprive the wizard's magic power and completely exhaust the wizard's ability. A wizard who loses his magic power will soon become extremely weak and will die within a few days."
She paused and sighed, "By then, perhaps all we can find is her body, or a dying person."
Zhu Yu lowered his eyes and stared at the deep red wine in the glass.
As a white robe wizard, Elena should know this kind of treatment method.
She was careless just now.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lucia was so immersed in her grief that she didn't notice this tiny flaw at all.
"So, we must act before the Rose Festival." Lady Lucia took a deep breath. "Besides the fact that the prison guards are the most lax on that day, there is another more important reason - the day after the festival, the Inquisition will burn the bodies of all wizards."
"If she had not died by then, she would have endured even more horrible torture in the flames - it was pure torture!"
At this point, Mrs. Lucia gritted her teeth and sighed:
"Gods, since you have given us magical powers, why don't you give us bodies that are not afraid of fire?"
Zhu Yu did not respond.
She had only recently entered this dungeon and had never truly experienced the oppression and fear endured by the wizards in this world, so naturally she could not empathize with Lady Lucia.
All she could do was wait quietly and give the other person time to sort out his emotions.
After a moment, Mrs. Lucia gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and sat down opposite Zhu Yu.
"I'm sorry." She said in a hoarse voice, "That wizard in white robes is my close friend. I lost my composure for a moment."
Mrs. Lucia adjusted her expression and the topic returned to the right track.
"Now, let's talk about the Rose Festival in three days."
The Rose Festival has not yet arrived, and what Lady Lucia wants to mention at this moment must be her prophecy.
Zhu Yu sat up straight and waited for her next words.
"The images in the prophecy are... very confusing. Very confusing."
Mrs. Lucia said:
"Too many people were affected by this disaster, and I can only see some broken fragments."
The next moment, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhu Yu's arm.
Zhu Yu was startled by her sudden action. At this moment, Mrs. Lucia looked like those mysterious gypsy fortune tellers on the street, with a dazed look in her eyes and a hurried tone:
"I saw many candles... It was night, and the darkness was lit up by candlelight..."
"The silk skirt, the luster of pearls, the blood-red gems... Yes, that's right, it was at the ball, with bright lights and clinking glasses, everything was so beautiful that it seemed like a dream..."
She murmured and repeated:
"But what went wrong...?"
Suddenly, her expression changed, and the force of her grip on Zhu Yu's arm suddenly tightened, her fingertips dug into her skin, pinching her so hard that it hurt.
But Zhu Yu couldn't care about these at the moment. She could feel that Mrs. Lucia's voice was getting lower and lower, almost like a dream. She had to concentrate all her attention to barely hear it clearly.
"The crown falls to the ground... Death descends... Flames burn... Blood stains the roses red... The flower god is angry..."
Mrs. Lucia's lips trembled slightly as she continued to utter new passages:
"Black vines, withered petals... hands with spots... crying children, open graves... the plague spreads..."
Plague? You don’t mean the plague!
Zhu Yu's pupils shrank slightly and his heart skipped a beat.
Just as she was about to ask something more, Mrs. Lucia's expression suddenly froze, and the strength in her hands suddenly loosened, as if she had come out of some strange state.
She paused for a few seconds before blinking, seemingly not fully awake yet, with a hint of apology in her tone:
"I'm sorry... every time I enter the divination state, I can't control myself... unconsciously."
She looked down and realized that she had used too much force, leaving a circle of red marks on Zhu Yu's fair skin.
"Oh my God," Mrs. Lucia exclaimed, and immediately took out a silk handkerchief from her skirt and wanted to bandage Zhu Yu.
"It's okay, just a minor injury, it will be healed in one night."
Zhu Yu waved his hand, his tone showing a hint of urgency: "I seem to have heard from your prophecy that someone will die at the ball, and then there will be an outbreak of plague in Beleriand."
Mrs. Lucia nodded: "That's right, and that's my interpretation as well."
Zhu Yu: "Do you know what the connection is between the two?"
She couldn't understand how a death at a dance party could be related to the plague.
Mrs. Lucia: “This is exactly where I would like to ask for your help.”
"Since the White Wizard was captured, I no longer dare to contact other members of the Secret Society except for a few reliable people. Right now, all the manpower I can mobilize has been invested in the prison rescue, and there is no more manpower to explore and study this prophecy."
Zhu Yu: "...I can help, but the clues you gave are too few."
After hearing this, Madam Lucia hesitated for a moment and said:
"Since the predicted event takes place at the ball, I will give you a complete list of ball guests tomorrow morning. Perhaps you can find some clues from it."
After saying this, she hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice:
"In the prophecy, I saw a crown inlaid with rubies falling to the ground and rolling into the shadows... Roses withered in the moonlight, and blood-stained thorns surrounded the throne... What do you think this picture means?"
Zhu Yu was confused. She was not a fortune teller, so how could she interpret the prediction?
So she gave up guessing and answered very sincerely:
"I'm sorry, I don't know. Why don't you just tell me?"
Lady Lucia: "I think this is very likely to indicate that someone of noble descent will be the first to die at the ball."
! !
Nobles? There are only a handful of nobles in Beleriand.
And those who can attend the Rose Ball and dance on the dance floor...
How did this prophecy become related to her?
Of course, this may also be related to other people, such as the family of the lord of Beleriand, or the distinguished guest who suddenly visited.
But Zhu Yu thought of the secret envoy of the Draka family hiding in the dark.
She was silent for a moment.
If the prophecy really refers to her——
She couldn't tell for a moment whether it was because Lady Lucia's divination made her come to Beleriand, which led to the realization of this prophecy, or was it that the gears of fate were already running, but the divination unveiled its veil, making her inevitably step into it?
The confusion of cause and effect gave Zhu Yu a headache.
She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes fixed on Lady Lucia.
If there was no plague in this copy, it would seem quite interesting to have a divination skill that could foresee the future.
Mrs. Lucia saw that Zhu Yu remained silent for a long time after hearing her reminder, and she knew what was going on.
She whispered, "I think you could start with the nobles in the city. Maybe someone has a grudge against them, or...some of their secrets would make this ball a place where murder is hidden."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
The more Zhu Yu listened, the more she felt that Mrs. Lucia's prophecy was pointing at her.
If this is true, even if she did not intend to intervene in the incident at the beginning, she would eventually be forced to be involved.
Mrs. Lucia kept this matter to the end, probably to test her attitude and prevent her from refusing to cooperate.
Zhu Yu frowned.
The drinking made her upset.
Seeing that Mrs. Lucia had told her everything, she shook the wine glass, drank the remaining wine in one gulp, and stood up to say goodbye.
Before stepping out onto the terrace, she suddenly stopped and asked casually:
"By the way, you haven't told me the name of the white-robed wizard, and who is the new member whose magic power is out of control?"
"Dinah, my close friend's name is Dinah."
"As for the newcomer who caused trouble..."
Madam Lucia paused for a second, as if she was reluctant to say the next name, but finally she spoke:
"She's from the Colin family, Cecilia Colin."
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