Chapter 7 Part 9
Translator : PolterGlast
The
city of Anemomylos was illuminated by the morning sun. This town was developed
as a trading city leading to Arcazam.
This
city, originally a small rural town, became a transit point for goods and
supplies in the construction of Arcazam, and it quickly came to life due to the
large amount of money that came in.
This
city, where not only the human race but demihumans and various other races came
and went, was like a smaller version of the Arcazam.
A
group of horse-drawn carriages in a formation passed through the central street
that ran through the city.
The
white-colored carriages were luxurious. The people riding in the carriages must
be of high status, judging from the armored knights guarding the front and rear
of the carriages.
The
carriage continued to run along the street toward Arcazam, attracting the eyes
of passersby.
"Sir,
we should be arriving at Arcazam soon."
It
was a middle-aged female servant dressed in maid clothes who uttered these
words in the carriage.
Her
master sat in the back seat of the carriage, nodded at the maid's words, and
looked out the window at the knight guarding him.
The
robe and equipment the nobleman wore can be recognized as the highest quality
at a glance.
His
handsome face was deeply chiseled as if to testify to his years of experience,
and his neatly trimmed golden hair and beard added color to his appearance.
His
name is Victor Barenz Francilt.
He
is the current head of the Francilt Household.
"Umu.
It took quite a long time, but it looks like we made it in time. When we arrive
at Arcazam, please use this to make sure the soldiers get enough rest. I've
pushed them too hard."
While
saying so, the nobleman took a small bag from his pocket and handed it to the
maid in front of him.
The
maid accepted the Lord's alms in a reverent manner.
Although
small, a heavy weight was felt on the maid's arms. The contents were probably
gold coins.
"The
soldiers will be pleased, since they had to change horses many times during the
forced march. Well, we did arrive a few days earlier than we expected..."
The
maid's gaze turned to the carriage behind her.
The
horse carriages were full of local goods from every region that the nobleman
had purchased on the way to this point.
Moreover,
it was not just one or two carriages carrying the goods, but a total of six
large two-horse-drawn carriages, each fully loaded with goods.
But
even so, this was still considered modest.
In
fact, Mena's master was trying to purchase twice as many items as this. Of
course, he did it secretly behind her back.
Normally,
he is a fair and just man, a famous lord, and serving him is a source of pride
for Mena, but he has a bad habit of changing into a different person when it
comes to certain matters.
In
fact, twice a year, this bad habit manifested itself and caused a great deal of
trouble.
Fortunately,
in the last few years, this bad habit didn't manifest because the cause was not
with him.
"Mena,
did you say something?"
"No,
it's nothing ... But we are also troubled by Jihad-dono. How dare he suddenly
summon Master ......."
The
nobleman sneered at the maid who looked the other way and muttered something to
herself.
However,
the maid, who was called Mena, immediately turned to her master and suddenly
revealed an indignant expression.
"According
to the letter sent by Jihad-dono, there was a scandalous incident involving a
student of the school. It is indeed a problem, but I don't think there is a
need for Master to come ..."
"But
he delivered that tightly sealed letter directly to me. Either the mentioned incident
is that deep-rooted, or there may be something serious happened ......."
The
maid in front of him did not know the contents of the letter.
The
nobleman stated that the letter was only about an incident that occurred at the
school, but the actual content of the letter was not something that could be
spoken of in a casual manner.
In
fact, that was why this nobleman was moving in secret, even from the maid who
was his trusted confidant.
While
stroking his beard, Victor smiled thinly so as not to be noticed by Mena.
"That
old man, he suddenly appeared in front of Master and suddenly handed over a
letter... To be honest, his impolite attitude is too much."
“Well,
I was suspicious at first too, but Jihad-dono's seal was firmly stamped, and
the secret word and handwritings were genuine. Either way, I had originally
planned to stop by Arcazam. I also wanted to check on my daughters."
He
remembered a gray-haired old man who suddenly appeared in the mansion.
The
old man suddenly appeared in the office, and in front of the two who froze in
surprise. He gave them a lazy expression and handed over a letter he had taken
from his pocket.
The
letter contained information about the incident involving a student at the
school, the escape of Abyss Grief, and the events of the previous incident.
This
caused this nobleman to hasten his visit to Arcazam.
"Since
the discovery of the secret agreement with the Waziart Household, Master has
not had time to rest. I am sure the young ladies will be pleased with your
visit."
"Yeah……"
A
few months ago, Victor read a letter sent to him by his eldest daughter, which
surprised him as if he had been struck by lightning.
The
letter contained information about a secret agreement that the past Francylt
Household had made with the Waziart Household several hundred years ago.
The
butler of the Waziart Household suddenly appeared on the birthday of the second
daughter. The butler, Rugato, was sent to fulfill the agreement, and with the
help of the eldest daughter's friends, they managed to fight and repel him.
When
Viktor learned of this fact, he hurriedly checked the items related to the
previous heads and discovered that the contract was in fact true.
Viktor
immediately sent a secret messenger to the Waziart Household and negotiated
with the head himself.
He
continued to negotiate while performing his duties as the head of the family
and kept his pen busy day and night without a break, and just the other day he
finally reached an agreement with the Waziart Household.
"But
I was surprised that young lady, with the help of her friends, was able to
defeat a powerful S-ranked person."
"According
to Irisdina's letter, they are quite capable students. Everyone deserves an A
rank, and one of them is so capable that he can reach an S rank. When I saw the
letter, I was surprised to learn that such talented students had gathered in
the third year."
Victor's daughters
have been exposed to the social world, where many kinds of bad people abound,
from an early age.
He used to feel sorry
for that. They lost their mother, and it was a lonely and painful time for
them.
But that was why
Victor trusted the way his daughter looked at people. The fact that they were
blessed with such promising friends was a true testament to the girls' ability
to see a person's character.
"Sir. Have you
told the young ladies about your wife..."
"I haven't talked
about it. I can't bring myself to talk about it... My daughters have no
responsibility in that matter. I'm the only one who should bear the
burden."
About the magic tools
which were entrusted to the Francilt Household at the time of the secret
agreement with the Waziart Household. It was Somia's mother, Firana Francilt,
who implanted the [Furnace of Spiritual Flame] in Somia's body, which was one
of the magic tools and the cause of the dispute.
Somia was born with a
frail body. In order to save her, Firana offered her soul to Somia with
[Furnace of Spiritual Flame] as the medium.
The [Furnace of
Spiritual Flame] is a magic tool that gains enormous power by offering one's soul.
Firana drew the power
of the [Furnace of Spiritual Flame] with her own soul and fused it with Somia's
soul to sustain Somia's life.
Magic related to the
soul is extremely difficult magic. The success rate is as low as picking a
grain of sand.
Nevertheless, the
technique succeeded at the cost of Firana's life. It was as if Firana's strong
wish for her daughter to live at any cost was realized.
As a result, her
second daughter was growing up very well and healthy.
Neither Irisdina nor
Somiliana knew about this fact. Victor thought that if he told them, he might
deeply hurt the hearts of his gentle daughters.
"I'm also
troubled by our ancestors who impose their mismanagement on their descendants and
then die on their own accord, well, I'm one to talk..."
What he did to help
his daughter. As a result, he had to put his daughters through a lot of
hardship.
The nobleman slumped
his shoulders and sighed.
"... I can
understand your feelings."
"Fortunately, we
managed to negotiate with the Waziart Household. We have lost a lot, but it is
for the sake of our daughters. I'm sure Firana will forgive me ..."
"My Lord
..."
The man looked out the
carriage window while thinking of the gentle smile of his wife who had already
passed away.
The streets of the
bustling city of Anemomylos were lined with stalls of all sizes.
On the other side of
the road that cut through the dense forest, a small, shining cityscape peeked
out, bathed in sunlight. It was their destination, the academic city of
Arcazam.
"It's about time
..."
A small murmur melted
into the summer breeze.
The trees of the
forest stretch to the horizon. Beyond them, the huge outer wall of Arcazam came
into view.
=========================================
Arcazam's parliament is
composed of members sent from various countries, and although it is mixed with
the intentions of other countries, this basically does not impede its
operation.
The new technologies and
human resources created by the goods and personnel brought in from each country
undoubtedly benefit each country. Therefore, stagnation in the operation of the
city itself can only create disadvantages.
However, the number of
pies that can be created is limited. Therefore, they are planning to get as
much of the pie as possible.
TL
note : 'Pie' here probably means new technologies and human resources)
It was the chairperson,
Haibao Fouka, and Jihad, who put together such leopard-like council members.
But recently, due to
recent incidents, Jihad's influence in parliament has weakened.
The
spearhead of this assembly is a beautiful
woman who is giving a speech on the stage.
"Now, ladies and
gentlemen. The flaws in Arcazam's security system revealed by the recent
incident cannot be overlooked."
A charming voice echoed
throughout the majestic capitol building.
"Yes, that's right.
Certainly, the school's recent response has been too late."
"I'm sure that even
the great hero has become senile. If that's the case, we need to think again
about whether or not Jihad-dono is going to retire..."
Following Mekria's
statement, the council members who agreed with her voiced their impeachment in
their own words.
The council members who
followed Mekria's lead with smug smiles on their faces were ready to pursue
Jihad's responsibilities once again.
However, their voices
were interrupted by the words of another council member who was standing next
to them.
"If we were to let
Jihad-dono retire, there will be a further gap in the school's security.
Besides, the school officials, including Jihad-dono and the others, have
already been given appropriate punishments. The responsibility of Jihad and the
others should now be over."
"That's right.
Punishment is essential to an organization, but it is meaningless to get too
caught up in it."
"The cause of the
damage caused by this incident was the spy who infiltrated the Starlight. As
you all know, this city has been infiltrated by many people who have the
support of many nations."
"I suppose we'll
have to do something about that first."
The council members who
didn't follow Mekria's lead warned the council members who tried to pursue
Jihad's responsibility.
"We also have to do
something about the demon beast that was sealed in the lowest level of the
Gloaurum Institute.”
"Currently, the
Gloaurum Institute is dedicated to sealing and researching the Abyss Grief that
has parasitized a Solminati Academy student..."
"It is the demon
beast that has been shrouded in mystery until now. The importance of this demon
beast, including its involvement in the Great Invasion, is unparalleled. As for
the responsibility of Jihad-dono and the others, let's leave it at this for
now, and it will not be too late to decide whether to proceed or not after
looking at their future work."
As a matter of fact, the
importance of this city had soared more than ever since the Abyss Grief
specimen was obtained.
Furthermore, now that
the Abyss Grief had parasitized a person and the person had been secured, the
new nature of this demon beast had been revealed. Several countries have also
promised more assistance than ever before.
"No! First of all,
the responsibility for the previous incident should be made clearer! That's why
we must first......"
But those who shouted
loudly for the impeachment of Jihad refused to back down.
They spit at the council
members who were trying to "put back the luggage they had just unloaded
from the shelves".
But their enthusiasm was
unexpectedly interrupted.
"Excuse me"
Suddenly, the door of
the Capitol was thrown open. Interrupting the heated discussion was Jihad who
had been the topic of discussion just a few moments earlier.
His sudden appearance. A
tense atmosphere leaked from the white armor he wore and instantly filled the
hall.
The council members were
hushed by the tension.
In the midst of this
silence, the chairperson, Haibao, asked Jihad.
"Jihad-dono. What
on earth is the matter, that you suddenly entered the assembly hall in the middle of an assembly?
"I apologize for
the sudden interruption, Chairman-dono. Actually, there's something I need to
tell you as soon as possible..."
Perhaps it was because
they had just been discussing the demon beast of disaster. The council members'
faces grew grim, as they were reminded of the bad news in Jihad's words.
"No way, did the
demon beast appear again?"
"No, no, this time
it is good news. The other day, we conducted an investigation of those who were
conducting espionage activities in Arcazam, and we have detained a few of
them."
Jihad's words, which
suddenly put an end to the tension he had just released and loosened his
expression, caused the council members to look at him in surprise.
As previously mentioned,
spies from various countries who had infiltrated Arcazam became a problem.
"Hoho~, so how
many rats did you catch?"
"Well, let alone
stealing the leftovers in the kitchen, I'd hate it if they were to bite us. It
would be good for the rats to know what the risks are."
A council member who
had just tried to pursue Jihad's responsibility was now looking down at him
while lifting his mouth.
Some of the council
members, who had been raving about Jihad until a while ago, raised their
eyebrows in front of the man in question.
On the other hand, the
council members who were being stared at by Jihad were snickering and snorting
as if they didn't care about the stare.
"So, Jihad-dono.
How many have you captured?"
"Yes, there are
about 250 people."
"Wha~!"
"~ !?"
For a moment, everyone
present opened their eyes wide and was shocked in astonishment.
There were just too
many.
Since the council
members thought that Jihad had captured only a few of them, a dozen at the
most, it took a few seconds for everyone to understand what Jihad had said.
"250 people, you
say?"
"Yes. And with
this, we have completed the cleanup of almost all of the external forces
operating in this city. From now on, there is almost no need to worry about
outside sabotage, as was the case in the previous incident. Of course, we need
to continue to be more vigilant than ever before ..."
Jihad began to report
on the details of the matter, leaving the dismayed council members aside.
Spies from another
country who had been involved in the previous incident. The betrayal within
Starlight was caused by them.
The betrayal within
the Starlight, which could not be overlooked, led to the identification of all
those involved with the Solminati Academy, including the Starlight, and at the
same time, the planning and execution of a sweeping operation to clean out the
spies who had infiltrated Arcazam.
The result was the
number mentioned by Jihad earlier.
This number is almost
equal to the number of spies allegedly hiding in Arcazam. In other words, in a
single operation, Jihad and Starlight almost completely wiped out the external
threats that were hiding in Arcazam.
Even Mekria, who had
been smiling, had a slight shock in her eye.
Unbeknownst to the
council members, behind this result was the detailed information Zonne had
brought to Jihad about the intelligence agencies of each country.
This information was
also one of the prices that Jihad demanded from Zonne for his cooperation
regarding Nozomu.
"I-I see ... well
done, Jihad-dono."
"Yes. Once again,
thank you."
The council members,
who had been trying to impeach Jihad until a while ago, began to put on air
while breaking out in a waterfall of greasy sweat.
On the other hand, the
rest of the council members were beyond shocked and were so completely taken
aback that all they could do was sigh.
Jihad lightly brushed
off the gazes and bowed. Everyone present understood that this was only a
ceremonial gesture.
"Thank you very
much. Actually, there are still other matters ...... For that reason, I hereby
request permission for a certain person to attend this assembly."
Who? The chairman of
the council quickly said, "permitted," and allowed Jihad to have his
guest in the council.
Prompted by Jihad, a
military police officer reverently opened the heavy doors, and slowly a
nobleman entered the assembly hall.
"Excuse me"
"Y-, you are
...!"
Being prompted by
Jihad, Victor, the current head of the Francilt Household, stepped into the
Capitol building.
All the council
members present were opening their eyes wide at the sudden appearance of the
aristocrat.
Victor glanced at
those seated at the council members' table and smiled.
Ten years ago, he was
one of the first to take countermeasures against the great invasion and was one
of the first to send his country's army to ward off the invasion.
His quick response was
the precursor to stopping the invasion of demon beasts, and as a result, the Kingdom of Forsina's voice was greatly enhanced on this continent.
He is also a
benefactor to many countries and, like Jihad, is a well-known figure on the
continent.
In the presence of
such a true nobleman, the philistine council members were simply overwhelmed.
"Oh, it's been a
long time, Sir Tardo. How is your daughter, who was a student at the academy,
doing?"
"N-, no. She's
fine. Ha ha ha ..."
The council members
who had been vigorously denouncing Jihad just a few minutes earlier became
quiet.
Victor bowed deeply to
the council members around him.
"Chairman-dono.
And all the members of the Council. I have received a word from my king. I
would like to share it with you here, if I may."
A word from King
Forsina. All of the council members present gasped.
The chairman allowed
Victor to speak, as he politely made his advice in a manner that would stand up
to the assembly.
"Well then,
"We would like to thank you for your hard work on the Abyss Grief case. We
are very sorry for the victims of this incident. Our heart is aching for your
loss. However, we cannot be dragged down by our own grief. I am sure that the
Chairman, the Council Members, and everyone involved in the school, including
Jihad-dono, will work together to overcome this situation.""
After Victor finished
reading all the words from the King, he walked over to the chairman's seat and
politely handed the letter of intent to the chairman. He then bowed and
returned to his place next to Jihad.
The assembly hall
remained silent.
"These are the
words of my Lord."
The council members
who had denounced Jihad earlier were speechless.
In particular, the
council members from the countries that were exposed to the great invasion were
looking at Victor with respect, trust, and gratitude.
For them, Victor, who
was the first to dispatch troops, and the current King of Forsina, were
irreplaceable benefactors.
An air of relief and
warmth filled the Assembly Hall. Of course, no one could denounce Jihad in such
a situation.
Mekria, who had been
inciting the other council members, could not say anything.
Mekria's master is
also a vassal of King Forsina. There was no way that he could block the words
of such a person.
The content of the
letter of intent is not a threat to Arcazam's independence and is only polite.
It simply stated, "Please continue to cooperate with all of us in our
endeavors."
It was neither an
order nor a request. Not even a demand. It was a simple greeting.
However, if these
words were coming from the king of a country on the continent, and the person
who brought them was the current head of the Francylt Household, who had rushed
to help many countries during the Great Invasion, there was no way the council
members could ignore them, even if they were only a greeting.
Perhaps Mekria, too,
had decided that it was impossible to agitate the situation any further, could
only bow deeply to the letter of intent, then closed her mouth.
With Mekria's silence,
the denouncers completely lost momentum.
From then on, there
were no more angry shouts in the hall, and the assembly proceeded solemnly to
reach their conclusion.
After the council
members left the assembly hall, Jihad invited Haibao and Victor to his office.
"Thank you very
much, Victor-dono, for this opportunity."
"No, neither my
lord nor I want this school to be unstable. I'm sure that many problems have
surfaced and accusations against you have been made, but in a sense, it's a
good thing that we find areas for improvement. What matters is what comes
next."
Haibao also gave a
small nod at Victor's words.
In fact, King Forsina
was also concerned about the recent incident. With the appearance of the Abyss
Grief, it would only be disadvantageous to mess up Arcazam badly.
It was because he
thought so that King Forsina wrote the letter in his own name.
Thanking Victor and
the King, Jihad and Haibao bowed deeply once again.
The important thing
was not to leave the problems as they were.
If they were to
denounce Jihad, that would not be enough to improve things.
Solminati Academy is
10 years old. This academy, which was created out of fear of demon beasts, is
still not mature enough. Rather, many problems will be discovered in the
future.
That is why they need
people who can take these problems seriously and change them.
In that sense, Jihad
was a good human resource. He is a knight and does not turn away from the
mistakes he has made. At least, he is much better than the council members who
were ranting in the assembly earlier.
It was also
commendable that he took the emergence of defectors from his own people
seriously, quickly regained his footing, and captured the spies of various
countries who were hiding in Arcazam.
There would be much
more to come. Victor, for his part, could not afford to let Jihad lose his
footing at this point.
Besides, Victor still
had something to confirm.
"So, Jihad-dono.
Now that we're done talking about the earlier incident, the letter you gave me
says there's still someone else you want me to see..."
Actually, the letter
that Jihad sent to Victor through Zonne stated that there was someone he wanted
him to meet in person.
An extraordinary
person who excelled in katana technique and is a promising student, but he
seems to have some special circumstances.
And most importantly,
he is a male student with whom Victor's daughters have a close relationship.
The letter contained no other details.
Victor puzzled over
it. However, he was also intrigued by the similar information he received in a
letter from his daughter.
"By 'a person who
excelled in katana technique,' I assume you mean the student who crossed blades
with you at the Martial Arts Garden. Sure, I was impressed by his mastery of
the katana technique, but does he have something more to offer?"
Following Victor,
Haibao also showed interest in it.
Perhaps reading their
intentions, Jihad gave a small nod and quickly looked around.
When Jihad was sure
that there was no one around and no presence of anyone, he quickly brought his
face close to Victor's.
"Yes, I will be
able to show you that later in the evening. Would the two of you please come to
this office without telling anyone about this?"
Jihad was careful to
keep himself and Victor's body in the shadows so that even the movement of his
lips was as invisible as possible to those around him.
Victor and Haibao
frowned at this almost morbid vigilance.
".... It is not
something we can talk about right here right now, is it?"
Jihad nodded his head
in agreement with Victor's mumbling.
At this point, the two
were convinced that the situation was more urgent than they thought.
"Well, then I
will come to this office at that time."
Once convinced, Victor
and Haibao acted quickly.
The two briefly
conveyed their answers to Jihad and quickly left the place.
What was he hiding?
However, looking at Jihad's behavior, one can imagine that it was an extremely
confidential talk.
While thinking that it
might be necessary to put on a disguise later, Victor headed for Mena, who was
waiting for him in front of the main gate of the school.
His destination was
the Francilt mansion he built here in Arcazam.
There were numerous
things to do. He needed to do a lot of preparation until the appointed time.
"Good grief, I
want to see my daughters' faces as soon as possible..."
Even though he had
come all the way to Arcazam, he still couldn't see his daughters.
With his dignified
face contorted in disappointment, Victor let out a rueful sigh.
======================================
After she returned to
her room, Mekria had a stern expression on her face as she looked out the
window.
A report that was
brought by Jihad just now. Indeed, she had lost contact with the spies under
her command since the other day, and she didn't think it was possible.
"So what was the
situation?"
As if to answer
Mekria's question, a man appeared from the darkness of the room.
This man was
originally one of the spies whom Mecria had ordered to infiltrate the city, and
was the coordinator.
He bowed his head
while being terrified and, with a tremor in his voice, described the situation
at the time of the attack.
"I-I am deeply
sorry. Our hideout was suddenly attacked and we had no way to do anything about
it..."
Mekria's sharp gaze
pierced the man making the report.
His voice trembled,
perhaps because he remembered the fear he felt when he was attacked, or perhaps
because he was pressured by his master's anger that was now in front of him.
Mekria, on the other
hand, kept her sharp gaze on her subordinate for a few seconds, but then, as if
she had lost interest, she crossed her arms and began to indulge herself in
thought.
"They got us ...
I didn't think they could destroy our forces so quickly ... I was a little too
optimistic ..."
"... Should we
counterattack?"
With a look of fear,
the subordinate called out to Mekria.
Mekria shrugged her
shoulders as if she had no choice and exhaled heavily to switch her mind.
“From the start, I had
guessed that we wouldn't be able to weaken Jihad-dono's footing any further
after the recent incident. However, at present, we are in our enemy's grasp,
and they are holding our hands and feet. For now, it looks like we have no
choice but to be satisfied with the current situation."
As for Mekria, she did
not expect to be able to weaken Jihad's footing completely with just this level
of agitation.
Originally, it was
only a matter of preserving her own forces and reducing her opponents' forces,
even if only a little.
However, the price she
paid this time turned out to be considerable.
She lost almost all of
her forces, and all of the forces that she should have been preserving were
crushed.
Obviously, she
suffered more damage than she thought, and to be honest, she was in a state
where she was completely unable to move at all.
On the other hand,
even if she tried to interfere from the inside as she did in the previous
incident, Jihad's side had completely solidified its wobbly footing. It was
almost impossible to break them down from the inside.
"But I'm not
willing to sit still."
As spoke so, Mekria
tossed the papers she had spread out on her desk to the subordinate in front of
her.
"This is……"
The subordinate picked
up the documents spread out on the floor.
It contained basic
information on students belonging to Solminati Academy, including their names
and grades.
"The following is
a list of the students who played an active role in the recent incident. I
looked them up, and they seem to be quite interesting kids."
“…………”
The subordinate
silently ran his eyes over the documents thrown at him.
Names, appearance,
grades, hometowns, and so on. He quickly put it all in his mind in less than
ten seconds.
"You must gather
information about these students. They are all promising students. I want you
to expose all of them to me. Do you understand?"
"...
Understood."
Her men heard the
command and quickly disappeared from shadow to shadow.
"...... That one
won't be useable for long. Should I prepare something just in case? "
Mekria's monologue
echoed softly in her room, which was completely devoid of human presence.
She went to the window
of her room and gently raised her right hand.
She opened her hand
after a small squeeze.
The next moment, with
a loud rustling sound, black feathers scattered around the room.
What appeared in her
hand was a small bird, dyed in black.
Despite its cute
appearance, its vermilion eyes which were inorganic like ore gave the
impression of dolls to those who looked at it.
Mekria took out a
small piece of paper from her pocket and wrapped it around the bird's leg,
tying it to the bird's foot.
"Please deliver
this to the [Dead Raven]. I leave it to you."
After she told this to
the little bird perched on her hand, Mekria opened the window and released the
black bird into the sky.
The little black bird
flapped its tiny wings and disappeared into the clear blue sky.
"An existence
that can destroy that demon beast ... Whatever happens, I have to find
out."
Mekria watched the
little bird fly away and then returned to the dimly lit room.
A horrifyingly
bewitching smile appeared on her mouth.
