13 Mink Street

Veynar lifted his teacup and took a sip, then supported the saucer with his right hand while his left curled around the body of the cup.

Tafmann held his cup one-handed, took a large mouthful, then slowly rotated it between his fingertips.

"Ophelia was corrupted," Tafmann said. "You could tell. She was poisoned, and she looked very weak."

"Yes, I saw that too." Veynar nodded. "But when Ophelia appeared before us, there was not the slightest scent of corruption on her."

"In future, arrangements and plans of this sort cannot be made again. Fortunately, nothing happened to Ophelia this time."

"No matter how good an arrangement or plan may be, unexpected variables will always occur. That is very normal. As long as the result is good, that is enough."

Tafmann smiled faintly and asked in return, "But is the result truly good?"

He drew in a deep breath, then slowly sighed it out. "Perhaps we can call Ophelia over now and ask her for the details."

"Why add ‘perhaps’?" Veynar asked.

"And why ask me that?" Tafmann smiled bitterly. "Ever since that unknown Light vermin activated the ritual array in the master bedroom of my villa and was transported to that snake island, I could tell Ophelia was hiding something from me. For instance, why was Karon in my villa at that time? My guards have no record of any outside visitor. At that time, Ophelia sat before me and told me she intended to sever what little fondness she had for Karon, and then it became the two of them secretly meeting in my villa.

"I can understand the impatience that sometimes arises between young men and women; They may disregard time and place and do something improper, but I cannot understand a girl bringing her boyfriend to her uncle's home for a private tryst, especially when that girl is our Ophelia."

"She has grown up. She has learned to protect someone," Veynar commented.

"But after we arrived on the snake island, the battle traces at the scene, the phantom of Miss Poelle atop the stone coffin, all of it was so real and so meticulous. It was too natural, and that made it strange.

"The strangest part was that, based on the scene, the Light vermin who activated the ritual array, heh, that host of Phileas, suffered an accident while trying to seize Karon's body and was burned to ash in the cave. Yet two days later, I met someone outside. Although he wore a mask, and although I did not deliberately investigate his background for fear of alarming him, I felt that the Phileas host had not been burned away. He still exists and is still active."

"That gathering of Light?"

"Yes."

"Was he the one who proposed changing the plan to attack Ancestor Bernard's tomb?"

"That was him. Even among the Light Vermin, Phileas's line is an isolated branch. Because of the grave mistake their ancestor once committed, they have been rejected by others who believe in the Light. So I do not believe the secrets of Phileas could have become common knowledge at some point. The Covenant Conch, that is something mentioned only in the two journals left behind by Ancestor Bernard and Phileas.

"Although Ancestor Bernard's statues are everywhere on the island, who would guess that the conch tied at the ancestor's waist was a holy relic used for awakening? A normal person would only think it was an ornament."

"Make arrangements for the Palace of Remembrance."

"I know."

Veynar took another sip of tea and said, "If the Phileas host who burned away and the person who guided the Light vermin on the island to change their plan are the same person, what was his purpose in doing this?"

"That is the part I have never been able to understand. If he and Karon already knew each other, if they were colluding, then the result of his actions was probably only that Karon managed to save Ophelia."

"Pfft... heh." Veynar could not help laughing. "You mean Phileas returned to Darkmoon Island simply to help a young man named Karon win a girl's heart, and that girl happens to be of the Darkmoon bloodline?"

"That is precisely the problem. It cannot be explained."

Veynar froze, then said, "No. There is one possibility that can explain it."

Tafmann looked at his brother.

Veynar's gaze fell on the carpet ahead. "Phileas is now Karon's servant."

"That..." Tafmann had not expected his brother to give such an explanation.

"You said Ophelia once told you that Karon did not seem to have strong feelings for her. He has a fiancée, and the boy also seems rather committed to the principle of one husband and one wife. If Karon wanted to pursue Ophelia, he would not need to use these methods at all, because our Ophelia is still very young. Youth is her greatest weakness. No matter how intelligent a woman may be, when faced with the first man for whom she develops affection, she is always prone to falling.

"But this is like those sailors under your command. In name, they are Darkmoon Island's offshore fleet, but in reality, they obey your orders rather than those of me, the clan leader. They would even incite and coerce you into launching a military coup to replace me.

"If Phileas is now Karon's servant, then all of this becomes very reasonable. He wants to please his master, but acted with a servant's perspective, ignoring his master's own convictions and choices. In his view, helping his master leave a deeper impression in the heart of Darkmoon Island's princess would be a contribution, but he could not understand what his master truly wanted deep down. That is why such an illogical matter occurred."

Tafmann licked his lips, nodded, and said, "That explains it."

"If Phileas is Karon's servant, then the Curse Insect failing to contaminate Ophelia also makes sense."

"Mm. At least it is easier to accept than a true god descending." The curse Phileas left on those insects back then was something that, unless a true god descended, anyone from the Darkmoon clan would stand no chance of surviving the corruption brought about by the Curse Insects.

Veynar set down his teacup and clasped his hands before him. "But now another question arises: what exactly is Karon's identity? You have interacted with him. What do you think?"

"He is very proud."

"Compared with Leon? Wolfram's grandson."

"Are you insulting Karon, or praising Leon?"

"Yes. Phileas is such a proud man. For him to willingly do something to this extent, how much power must the person behind the curtain possess?"

"Brother, do you still insist that someone stands behind Karon?"

"Whether I insist on that or not no longer matters. From the moment I saw Karon's name on the Church of Order delegation list, along with the name of Karon's squad, I knew something was wrong.

"The matter between Ophelia and Karon was surrounded by rumors in York City. It was even said that our Ophelia boarded the return ship while stroking her belly. But the original plan at that time was to promote a marriage alliance between Ophelia and Leon. Although it was only a plan, the Church of Order had nodded to it, and York City's Archbishop Wolfram had permitted it.

"On that foundation, rumors about Ophelia and Karon spread...

"And as a result, Karon's squad was actually arranged to come to Darkmoon Island together with Archbishop Wolfram. Now they are even staying in the same courtyard. What kind of existence could force York City's Archbishop to swallow such humiliation without daring to flare up?"

"Unless a powerful hand interfered, one strong enough to ignore even Wolfram's face."

"Do you remember the Church of Pamireth?"

"I remember."

"Order's infiltration of the Church of Pamireth began long ago."

"Brother, you mean this is Order's infiltration of Darkmoon Island?"

"We have no room to choose, do we? Even if I emptied the island's coffers and contributed every resource to you, even if your offshore fleet doubled in size, would you dare go to war with one of Order's Knight Regiments?"

"If it were at sea..."

"Hm?"

"I probably would not be completely annihilated."

"Ha!"

Tafmann stood and said, "The Church of Order did not annex the Church of Pamireth. Instead, they support its development. Although saying this disgraces our ancestor, from another perspective, ever since the ancestor's time, Darkmoon Island has developed step by step until now, and finally... finally, we have gained the qualification to be grasped and controlled by Order."

"An excellent self-consolation. And impossible to refute."

"For you, for me, and for Darkmoon Island, as long as the next heir is Ophelia's child, Darkmoon Island will still be Darkmoon Island."

"This is why I like daughters. You can always be certain your daughter's son is your daughter's son, but you can never be certain your son's son is your son's son."

"Enough. You should rest. I will continue keeping watch tonight to ensure those small fish do not leap ashore."

"With you keeping watch, I am very reassured."

Tafmann walked toward the door. Just as he reached the drawing room entrance, his brother called to him from behind.

"Tafmann, earlier, you suggested that I call Ophelia over and ask her carefully about the details."

"It was only a suggestion. Fundamentally, I do not quite agree with elders adding too much deliberate interference between two young people. If we do not interfere, if we do not reach in, they may feel that they get along better. If Ophelia knows more, if we force her to tell us secrets that belong to Karon, then she and Karon may truly have no chance at all. Because I know Ophelia's character."

"That is not what I am worried about. The reason I chose not to do this is because I am afraid Ophelia will tell me..."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me that she drank Karon's blood, and that was how the curse was lifted."

In an instant, the entire drawing room fell into silence.

That silence lasted a very long time.

Tafmann raised his hand with some difficulty, wanting to pull the door handle. When his hand finally rested on it, he drew in a deep breath and said, "Then what meaning was there in everything we just discussed and analyzed?"

In the end, it had still returned to the most terrifying possibility.

Veynar lifted his teacup and drank the remaining tea along with the leaves at the bottom.

"Before a god, what can truly be called meaningful?"

"I want... to ask Ophelia."

"But you do not dare."

"Yes. I do not dare. It is the same as testing with the Curse Insect. The correct answer and the wrong answer represent completely opposite outcomes."

"Keep this matter silent. Everything related to Karon, even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we must bet on it. Do not interfere any longer with Ophelia and Karon. Just as you said, matters between young people should be left to the young people themselves. Because no matter what we do, it will only make their relationship worse.

"Youth is also Ophelia's advantage."

Tafmann said, "But the feeling Karon gives me is that he does not seem young."

Veynar laughed, then said, "All the better. What mature man of age can refuse a young and lovely girl?"

***

"Captain, that’s what happened. Tonight was rather eventful. I suspect the clan leader and the general are very clear about the people below them, only that certain reasons caused the situation to change. Ophelia drank the poison. That insect—"

"Karon, do you remember what I told you about my experience beneath the sea?"

"I remember. So that insect..."

"Yes. That was the insect. I remember it vividly. Beneath the sea, I once ate seaweed that carried their eggs. The same insects developed and grew inside my body. Although they later left my body, I could never forget them.

"Now I remember. Those were Curse Insects, a curse condensed from Phileas's hatred for the Darkmoon clan. Heh. These insects seem to possess intense corrupting power only against the Darkmoon bloodline."

"Then why would the people of Darkmoon Island keep them instead of choosing to exterminate them completely?"

"Because they are useful. For example, during internal struggles. What? Is that hard to understand?"

"No. I can understand." Karon nodded. It was human nature. Even weapons that could destroy oneself along with everything else were things humans still delighted in and obsessed over. For example, in ecclesiastical circles, there were many forbidden spells. They were clearly forbidden spells, yet how many people still yearned for them?

"You used your blood to save Ophelia. Do you know what the consequences would be if the clan leader and the general learn of this from Ophelia?"

"My identity may be exposed because of it, but I still don’t regret doing it."

"No, not only would your identity not be exposed, you would instead become the most honored existence on Darkmoon Island, because Phileas once left a curse on those insects. They should remember that curse."

The captain took a wineglass from the drawer beneath the bedside table, held it upside down above his head, and ran a hand over the bottom of the glass. Only after confirming there was no issue did he pour red wine into it, swirl the glass, and take a large mouthful. "With you around, my happiness is reduced by a great deal, because you always attract attention, and then I get dragged in along with you. They say gold will always shine, but you are a lightbulb."

"Captain..."

"I’m not blaming you. Sometimes, without attention, half the fun is lost as well. I rather enjoy it."

"Captain, are you afraid your identity will be discovered by the Church of Order?"

"Honestly, not very. Although I know that once my identity is exposed, my end will certainly be miserable. I am not afraid, because I have always been loyal to Order. The people above are probably too lazy to care whether Light vermin like me is loyal, but I know it myself. What about you? Are you afraid?"

"I have thought about this question. I am not afraid. Hiding is for the sake of seeing a more beautiful view, not merely curling up in a corner and not daring to meet anyone's eyes."

"Fundamentally, you and I are the same kind of person. By the way, in your description just now, when Tafmann cut off his nephew's head and kicked it like a ball to your feet, did you feel an urge to kick the ball back to him?"

"No."

"Really?"

"How could I possibly have such a perverted thought?"

"Heh."

"Captain, do you intend to continue with tomorrow's Palace of Remembrance?"

"Yes. Why not? That is the greatest amusement I have prepared for myself."

The captain raised his glass, stood, and made a light turn around the room before continuing, "Not only before the Darkmoon Clan who betrayed me back then, but also before the two orthodox churches, the Church of Order and the Church of Reincarnation, Torathos will release the roar of Light's return!

"It will be just like when people of the next epoch compile and summarize the great events of the previous epoch. Your grandfather blowing up the Temple of Order will be the prelude to the return of the gods, and on this island, the roar of Torathos, divine beast of Light, will sound the true horn of the gods' return! Light shall descend upon the world once more, and bring this world a new Order—”

Nio froze, then reached up and knocked himself on the head. “Damn it. How did Order get dragged into this too?”

A moment later, he laughed again. “Mad, aren’t you? I’m doing this just to piss you off. Hahaha.”

Sometimes, Karon truly could not tell whether the captain's derangement was real or feigned. Perhaps the captain simply enjoyed this sense of truth and falsehood mingling, just as those who liked drinking and smoking enjoyed the feeling of alcohol and nicotine's harmful effects on the brain.

Karon lay down on the bed and placed his crossed hands beneath his head.

The captain kept drinking while speaking drunken nonsense to himself for a long time. Eventually, he quieted and also lay down on the bed.

"Mr. Karon, do you think the God of Light still exists?"

Karon and Nio had shared many secrets with each other, but even now, Nio still did not know all of Karon's secrets, because there were far too many secrets on him. For instance, the captain did not know about the thing hidden in Pu'er's cat tail.

When even a finger had already been left behind, could such a person still be alive? Even if he was a god.

"Light exists in each of our hearts."

"A very proper answer, but I know Phileas would definitely be very depressed if he heard it." The captain turned over as he spoke. "Rest. Looking forward to tomorrow."

"All right. Rest."

"Good night, you scum who plays with people's feelings."

"Good night, you madman who messes with everything."

"Good night, Grandpa Tiz's precious good grandson."

"Good night, Phileas's pitiful host."

"Good night, Karon."

"Good night, Captain."

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