In the rainy night, a girl with black and blue long hair, wearing a noticeably oversized black trench coat, stood on the edge of Westminster Square. A pair of pince-nez spectacles were clipped onto the girl’s nose. This name originated from the Pharos word for “nose clip.” It was a type of glasses that were clipped onto the wearer’s nose bridge using a clip or spring mechanism. Her dark purple pupils looked through the lenses, gazing up at the magnificent church before her. Before her was the largest church in the Westminster District, the Church of the God of Order. This was the traditional burial place of the Ansu royal family, but besides burying royal family members, many areas were used for the burial of other great nobles, divided into “Poets’ Corner,” “Nobles’ Corner,” and “Kings’ Corner.” The Roswell family’s burial ground was not inside the church, but in a private park outside on the south side… This was clearly a place arranged by Avena. Perhaps Ciel had lingered here for too long, attracting the attention of the night guards. One of the church guards, wearing silver armor, had already started walking towards Ciel. “Miss, are you lost? It’s late at night now.” The horrifying bone vines wrapped around Ciel’s arms were hidden beneath the wide trench coat. The other party didn’t seem to notice anything. “Thank you for your concern,” Ciel smiled and nodded, saying, “I am just about to head back.” “Do you need any help?” The guard seemed a little worried that Ciel might be in danger walking alone in the rainy night and asked. Ciel shook her head and walked directly towards the Roswell family’s private park. The night guard was just an ordinary person. Ciel had no intention of continuing to talk to him. A dusty gray rat emerged from Ciel’s pocket. It seemed to have smelled something. It jumped directly out of Ciel’s pocket and ran in a certain direction under the street light. Ciel quickly followed the small rat’s pace and came to a park. The park at night seemed to have no guards on duty. After feeling that there were no eyes on her, and after the little rat returned to confirm it was safe, Ciel lifted her leg and walked directly into the park. The little rat always remained half a step ahead of Ciel, leading Ciel forward. Soon, a cemetery appeared before Ciel. Besides the cemetery, there was also a flickering, dim yellow light. That was a gravedigger wearing a black poncho, patrolling the cemetery. Asking him might yield some information. Ciel walked directly into the dark cemetery, following the path towards the place where the flame was flickering. Hearing footsteps behind him, the gravedigger, carrying a lantern, was startled. He suddenly turned around and took several steps back, raising the lantern in his hand. The firelight illuminated the appearance of the young girl before him. “Phew… you scared me to death… Miss Avena, so late at night, you… uh?” The gravedigger looked at the similar height and took a few steps forward, but when the flame penetrated the rain curtain and completely illuminated the person before him, the gravedigger was stunned again. Although she had the same black long hair and similar height, the appearance of the young girl before him was quite different from Avena. Moreover, her expression itself gave off a gloomy and strange feeling, especially appearing in a cemetery at this hour… Could it be a ghost…? The gravedigger subconsciously took half a step back. Ciel lowered her head and saw the little gray rat stopping beside an unmarked tombstone in the corner, raising its upper body to look at Ciel. “I am a friend of Miss Roswell. I came to pay my respects to a friend we shared.” Ciel turned to look in the direction of the gravedigger and said with a smile, “I just came from out of town… and couldn’t see her one last time.” 【Art of Conversation】 had a significant effect on ordinary people. Upon hearing Ciel’s words, the gravedigger, who had been somewhat nervous, breathed a sigh of relief. “Sigh… please accept my condolences, Miss.” The gravedigger sighed and said, “The dead cannot be brought back to life. She will surely be in a good place in heaven.” Ciel smiled and nodded, then said, “Sir, I would like to ask, when did Avena leave?” “Miss Roswell left about two hours ago with her friends.” The gravedigger replied. Ciel nodded slightly. That was roughly the time when she died. “Who did she come with? Those should be my friends,” Ciel looked at the tombstone, seemingly talking to herself, “Ironclad Knight Nia… Green-haired maid Tara… Deton Group Director Lucy… Golden-haired noble lady Amy…” “They all came, they all came.” The gravedigger nodded repeatedly. He said, “Besides them, there was also a lady wearing a half black iron mask. Oh, and… I don’t think I heard of any Miss Amy. The one who came seemed to be… yes, named Isabella?” Half black iron mask, Seraphim? It seems being buried here was the result of Avena’s negotiation and compromise with her family. The daughter of Edward Stuart, the owner of the Stuart Art Exchange, was also just an ordinary person. But she shouldn’t have been here… Ciel had only had a brief encounter with her in Berren City… Perhaps she had also come to Avena’s housewarming banquet, but their relationship shouldn’t have been that close. Not to mention, her father Edward was a puppet of a high-ranking member of the Society of Merriment… With her appearance, Ciel could almost be certain that the high-ranking member of the Society of Merriment had made a move… Could it be that they are not a “Subverter,” but a high-level member of the “Poison Master” path? If it was the Society of Merriment, this was not an impossible matter. Isabella’s visit was definitely arranged for certain tasks, tasks that Isabella herself might not even know about. For example, carrying something that could detonate the virus, ensuring that her “corpse” could be “finished off.” The reason that person from the Society of Merriment dared to do this was because, from their perspective, they had not been exposed at all, which was why they dared to directly have Isabella come and execute the task. But how could she expose them…? The gravedigger looked at the young girl before him, who seemed to have lowered her head and fallen into thought. He asked a few questions. The gravedigger’s voice interrupted Ciel’s thinking. She slowly raised her head and calmly looked at the gravedigger before her. The gravedigger, being stared at, felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing that look. “You are a good person.” A faint smile appeared on Ciel’s face. She asked, “What is your name?” The gravedigger’s voice returned to a somewhat trembling state. “York… A good name. I will send your family a check for 50 Su Pounds, as compensation for your help.” Ciel turned around, raised her hand, and waved without looking back. “Oh my goodness… Miss, I didn’t help you with anything. This is just what I should do. This money is too much…” York shrugged, somewhat flattered. 50 Su Pounds. His job only paid 10 shillings a week. 50 Su Pounds was almost two years’ worth of his salary. Even the Duke had never given him such a generous tip. “You haven’t helped yet.” Ciel stopped. She slowly turned back and glanced at York behind her. “I want you to keep this secret for the next 22 hours…” Squeak squeak squeak— With the squeaking of a small gray rat, countless gray rats swarmed from all directions of the cemetery. Four or five rats directly crawled into his mouth, making it impossible for him to make any more sounds. Large numbers of rats began to gather at Ciel’s unmarked grave, quickly digging away the soil above it, revealing the luxurious wooden coffin inside. Then they began to gnaw at the wood, completely devouring the layer of boards and flowers on top. Under Ciel’s control, the gravedigger’s bone fragments, in front of her own grave, were arranged by the rats into terrifying blood-colored words. 【I have come for you】 The people from the Society of Merriment like to play hide and seek, do they? You are in Ansu City, and in a place where you can give hints or instructions to Edward and Isabella at any time. You like to watch other people’s struggles and suffering, but when you are the one being targeted, what will you think? Will you be excited? Or will you… be afraid? Anyway, she had only 22 hours left. So she would start this game of hide and seek. This time, Ciel and the other party were on the same starting line. Neither of them had information about the other’s location. Ciel slowly raised her hand. A raven landed on Ciel’s arm in the rainy night, gently shaking the rainwater off its feathers. It tilted its head, looking at Ciel. The birds, ants, insects, and beasts, the flowers and trees of the entire city, might all be my eyes. Oh, no, not the flowers and trees.
