Witch’s Night: Chapter 5 Gods
A young woman stared blankly at Luo Yan and Hua Qingling, her gaze shifting back and forth between them, her pupils trembling in disbelief.
“Sister Qingling… he, who is he?”
“…A friend.”
Hua Qingling murmured, seeming somewhat uneasy for some reason.
“Yes, I’m Sister Qingling’s friend,” Luo Yan politely extended a hand towards the young woman. “Nice to meet you.”
She had a good impression of this young woman, but not because she was beautiful.
It was impossible to tell anyway. The young woman wore a thick mask and sunglasses, and a large, exaggerated gauze hat, as if afraid of being recognized.
What made Luo Yan even more curious was the clothes the young woman wore.
…An Old Era Lolita-style dress.
Not to mention Luo Yan’s mysterious attachment to dresses since her time in Ghost Town, Little Tini’s dresses were mostly of this style, and the young woman’s clothes evoked memories for Luo Yan.
Many things in Spencer Manor felt quite familiar to Luo Yan, the architectural style, the decorations… and so on. It was hard not to remind her of Ghost Town, where she had lived for an unknown amount of time, and Natalie Manor, which held her memories.
After all, Luo Yan had only left Ghost Town for a few months, but she had been entangled with that illusory yet real fragment of time for a long time in the first half of her life.
Initially, she was only dissatisfied with Lannister’s possible surveillance, but now Luo Yan had decided that the trip was worthwhile.
Regardless of the Lannister nobles’ attitude towards these legacies, at least they had achieved a high degree of restoration.
Compared to Luo Yan, the young woman’s impression of her… him wasn’t so pleasant.
Although her good upbringing allowed her to quickly calm down after the initial shock and anger, and she didn’t lose her composure, no matter what, how dare he get so close to Sister Qingling…
So what if he was good-looking? She had to humiliate him severely!
The young woman gave a proper smile, extending her white-gloved hand to lightly touch Luo Yan’s palm, as a handshake.
“This gentleman, my full name is Chris Tina Elizabeth Lequista, representing myself, my parents, and the heritage of our glorious family. I hope you can remember my name; it’s basic respect for me.”
“Alright, Miss Chris.” Luo Yan replied immediately.
“…..”
Chris’s expression twisted almost imperceptibly. She had never seen such a shameless noble!
Although it was somewhat deliberate, at least… it was in line with noble etiquette!
According to old noble etiquette, when meeting, one had to address the other party by their full name and title, along with a series of cumbersome greetings.
However, most of these had been simplified by now.
Chris’s upbringing limited her humiliation to the scope of nobility, otherwise she would have wanted to immediately take off her gloves and throw them at Luo Yan’s head!
“I must throw these gloves away when I get back…”
Chris took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
Of course, Chris didn’t show any of these feelings. On the surface, she had only had a friendly interaction with Luo Yan.
“However… I seem to have seen this name somewhere before?”
Luo Yan touched her chin and started searching through her memories.
“Miss Chris is a very popular idol in the Free Federation,” Hua Qingling explained, then looked at Chris and smiled slightly. “Miss Chris, long time no see, still wearing the same clothes.”
“Long time no see, Sister Qingling! It can’t be helped, it would be troublesome if I were recognized.”
Chris immediately beamed, but her smile seemed to stiffen slightly when she saw Luo Yan next to her.
“By the way, Sister Qingling… you haven’t properly introduced this gentleman to me yet.”
For some reason, Luo Yan felt that Chris’s gaze towards her seemed somewhat hostile.
But thinking about it carefully, she had been staying put in Lannister recently, so there was no reason to offend someone she had never met before.
Moreover, she also knew Sister Qingling…
And after being reminded by Hua Qingling, Luo Yan also remembered where she had seen Chris’s name.
…It was in Anna’s fashion magazines.
As a tailor, or rather, a fashion designer, Anna had many fashion magazines in her shop. Luo Yan had also browsed through some out of curiosity, but she hadn’t read much, and she wasn’t interested in them either.
That was why she didn’t have much of an impression of Chris’s name.
“She… he, is actually a friend of my younger sister, staying with me for a while.”
As for Luo Yan’s name, Hua Qingling hesitated for a moment and didn’t say it, because it sounded like a girl’s name…
“Sister Qingling’s younger sister? I remember she’s in that… what’s it called, Yan City…”
“Yes, my hometown. She hasn’t traveled much.” Hua Qingling nodded. “I’ll introduce you sometime; she’s quite cute.”
Cute…
Luo Yan was a little startled. She couldn’t associate Hua Qiling with the word cute at all.
And since Chris hadn’t met Hua Qiling, based on Hua Qingling’s image, she could only imagine Hua Qiling as a more youthful and petite version.
It seemed… indeed quite cute.
“Mm-hmm, I’ll look forward to it.”
Chris nodded repeatedly.
Just then, a woman in a straight formal suit hurried over, stopping breathlessly in front of Chris, panting,
“Mi-, Miss Chris, why did you come here? You must go and prepare immediately…”
“I know, I know. Can’t I even say a word to my friends?”
Chris frowned slightly and said with dissatisfaction.
“Bu-, But… today’s banquet, Chief Magistrate Norian of the Council of Elders will attend in person… It’s very important!”
Hearing this, Chris didn’t react much, but Hua Qingling and Luo Yan exchanged glances.
It seemed that today’s banquet… might be more lively than expected.
“Oh, I understand.”
Chris pouted, but she still knew the importance of the matter.
She looked apologetically at Hua Qingling, her voice immediately softening,
“Sorry, Sister Qingling, I have to excuse myself for a while… After the performance, I’ll come find you immediately!”
“Mm, good luck.”
A standard, gentle, big-sisterly smile appeared on Hua Qingling’s face, but Luo Yan couldn’t help but think of how she drooled and kicked off the covers while sleeping.
The gentle and considerate big sister image that she had left on Luo Yan during their brief interaction in Yan City had been shattered during these few days of living together.
Finally, Chris glanced at Luo Yan almost imperceptibly and turned to leave with the woman in the suit.
“Does she seem to dislike me?”
Luo Yan asked. She was quite sensitive to emotions. Even though Chris hid all her emotions with good manners, Luo Yan still sensed them.
But this dislike… didn’t seem to be resentment or dissatisfaction. It was another emotion that Luo Yan had never encountered before.
A bit sour…
“Miss Chris seems to be a bit spoiled with strangers, but after getting to know her, you’ll find that she’s actually quite a cute girl.” Hua Qingling chuckled. “Speaking of which, it was quite a coincidence that I met her…”
“Oh?”
Luo Yan raised an eyebrow.
“Remember I said before that a thief, famous for his thieving methods, inexplicably paid me a visit, and only took the silver coins I had prepared for the next day’s meal, leaving other more valuable things untouched?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“The next day, I was so hungry that I had no choice but to pick a less valuable piece from my works, intending to sell it.” Hua Qingling recalled the embarrassment at the time, her expression still carrying a hint of helplessness.
“Then I happened to run into Miss Chris, who was out buying clothes. She fell in love with my work at first sight, not only buying it directly at a price far exceeding the market price, but also treating me to a meal at… Linglong Mansion, yes, that high-end restaurant where one meal could cost me a month’s food expenses.”
Luo Yan nodded thoughtfully,
“I see… that really is a coincidence.”
The silver coins happened to be stolen, she happened to run into Miss Chris, and the two became acquainted because of this…
It felt like it had been planned.
“You don’t suspect that Miss Chris stole my silver coins, do you?” Hua Qingling couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Luo Yan’s contemplative look.
“How could that be? First of all, with her noble heritage and status as a popular idol, there’s no need for her to do such a thing. Even if she wanted to, her strength isn’t even at ‘Ruin’ level. How could she steal my silver coins right under my nose?”
Because she often lost money, Hua Qingling kept a close eye on her purse and never let it go.
…Although it was useless, what was lost would still be lost.
“Indeed, impossible.”
Luo Yan nodded in agreement, but within the absolute impossibility… there was always a sliver of possibility.
Of course, this matter had happened a long time ago, and there was no need to dwell on it further.
The banquet was about to begin. Many nobles in the manor were walking in twos and threes, and many servants were bustling about, preparing to go to the banquet hall.
At the same time, there were some indistinct gazes sweeping around, seemingly observing every guest attending the banquet.
Seeing this, Hua Qingling reached out and gently held Luo Yan’s arm, lowering her voice,
“Do you mind this? We should act more intimately when walking together, so as not to arouse suspicion.”
“I don’t mind,” Luo Yan shrugged. “Hua Qiling seemed to want to hold me like this before, but unfortunately, she’s too tall. This posture looks like she’s trying to put me under her arm, so we had to give up.”
Hua Qingling imagined the scene and chuckled.
Indeed… quite comical.
However, regarding her younger sister, Hua Qingling rarely had the opportunity to meet and interact with her. She had gradually changed a lot without her realizing it.
“After the matters at hand are settled, I’ll go back to Yan City for a vacation.”
Hua Qingling put aside her sentimental thoughts and walked towards the banquet hall with her arm around Luo Yan.
Behind them, an imperceptible gaze disappeared.
……
“Magistrate Norian, this way please.”
Count Spencer, the host of the banquet, personally opened the door for Norian, his attitude even bordering on humble.
Although Norian seemed somewhat worn out in front of Luo Yan and Granny Zoya, no matter what, he was undoubtedly the number one person in Lannister, holding the highest authority. Even the elders who opposed him in the Council of Elders couldn’t deny this.
Count Spencer was indeed a so-called noble, but unfortunately, the nobility passed down from a thousand years ago had actually changed quite a bit, only the Council of Elders remained standing.
Before the Council of Elders, even the most esteemed nobles had to lower their heads.
“Thank you, Count Spencer…”
But the current Norian looked somewhat haggard and exhausted. As soon as he entered, he sat directly on the sofa, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.
Seeing Norian’s appearance, Count Spencer hesitated for a moment and said,
“Magistrate Norian, if it’s inconvenient for you to attend…”
“No, I never change my schedule easily.” Norian opened his eyes and exhaled. “Besides, there was indeed quite a bit of chaos in Lannister before, and many nobles fled in panic… At least my presence at the banquet can put your minds at ease.”
It was precisely because of this that Norian had unusually decided to attend this kind of noble banquet.
Because the news of his decision to attend the banquet had been released, almost all the families in Lannister had immediately decided to attend and sent carefully selected family members to participate.
But unexpectedly, before this banquet was held, Lannister encountered more trouble.
Norian’s haggard appearance showed that he had been troubled by these matters.
“Magistrate Norian, I shouldn’t be asking you this, but now I have to understand some of the situation,” Count Spencer took a deep breath and carefully chose his words, saying what he had already prepared. “There are rumors that Devil’s Minions have appeared in Lannister…”
“The rumors are true, but please don’t spread them.”
Norian glanced at the middle-aged man. He knew at a glance that these questions were asked on behalf of his noble class.
Just a few Devil’s Minions… Even Yan City could handle them. How could these nobles be so frightened that they had to ask him about the situation?
Most of these nobles were fat and oily, good-for-nothing waste who only knew how to enjoy themselves, but unfortunately, the backbone of Lannister was made up of this waste. They were the ones supporting Lannister and preventing it from collapsing.
Hearing this, Count Spencer’s expression became even more serious, and he said in a low voice again,
“Forgive me for asking again, Magistrate Norian, there are other rumors that these Devil’s Minions come from an ancient cult that has been hidden within humanity for thousands of years, impossible to eradicate.”
“—The Church of the End Gods.”
“Indeed, but so what?” Norian snorted coldly, his tone quite displeased. “They are just some insignificant remnants, a group of sewer rats who only dare to hide. Can they actually make you nobles, who also claim to have a thousand-year heritage, feel panicked?”
“There is only one end for them coming to Lannister, and that is to meet their ‘Gods’!”
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