Chapter 35: Another Force?

Simon pushed the door open and immediately called out to Belinda.

“Belinda!”

Soon, hurried footsteps sounded from upstairs.

When Belinda appeared on the stairs, Simon finally felt relieved.

Seeing her rush down, he immediately stepped forward and hugged her.

Although fear still lingered on her face, Simon’s arrival had clearly stopped her from trembling.

“What exactly happened outside? Are they after me? And that girl with the white mask—how could she stand unharmed among those terrifying ghosts?”

Simon pressed further in curiosity, “You can see her?”

“Among the black shadows, her white figure stood out—how could I not see her!”

Belinda had noticed the Masked Girl’s presence the moment she glanced out the window.

But she couldn’t understand why the blood-red knights around only blocked those black Vengeful Spirits, without a single one attacking her.

If Simon hadn’t appeared in time, the Masked Girl might have entered the house and taken her away.

Anyone with eyes could see she wasn’t on the same level as those horrifying Vengeful Spirits, and should have been dealt with first.

Belinda’s words planted doubts in Simon’s mind.

He could see the Masked Girl, likely because of a magical device on his body.

It was understandable that the blood-red knights, not as fully equipped as him, couldn’t see the Masked Girl.

But for Belinda to see her was strange.

She didn’t possess any extraordinary power like he did, nor had she come into contact with magic.

She didn’t even have any magical devices.

She was an ordinary person.

In that case, how could she possibly see the Masked Girl?

Simon knew Belinda’s situation inside out.

She had not awakened any unusual abilities; by rights, she shouldn’t have noticed the other party.

Unless there was something special about being able to see her.

“Did she look at you?”

Belinda froze.

Even without her speaking, Simon could tell from her reaction that the other party had definitely seen her as well.

That made things even more interesting.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here…”

Simon gently stroked her back.

“I told you, no matter what, I’ll protect you.”

After calming down, Belinda finally spoke.

“She didn’t look at me, but I could feel she was aware of me.”

“Alright, Belinda, don’t think about those frightening things anymore.”

Simon comforted her.

As Simon prepared to stand up, Belinda tightly grabbed his hand, looking up at him pitifully.

Her intention was clear—she wanted to stir his protective instinct, to keep him by her side.

But Simon knew very well that passive waiting was never the best plan. He needed to take the initiative.

He bent down toward Belinda again.

“I’ll take care of this. Until then, if they appear again, I’ll show up immediately too. So don’t be afraid, Belinda, I’ll always be by your side.”

He had to go to the palace to find Alexia at once, organize the existing clues, and solve this problem completely.

—

One minute later, Simon arrived at the imperial city from the manor.

The moment he entered Alexia’s chambers, a clear voice tinged with reproach came from inside.

“Simon, you’re really impressive. Was Chimera supposed to appear so openly now? That would make those people too scared to show their faces.”

Alexia still sat by the fireplace, holding an Ancient Book in her hands.

Simon walked forward as he explained.

“The situation was urgent at the time. If I didn’t return to the manor immediately, Belinda might have been taken away.”

From Alexia’s desire to have Belinda attend the birthday banquet, it was clear she now valued her.

“Belinda… Well, I suppose that’s understandable.”

Alexia accepted this explanation.

If Belinda was lost, things would indeed become difficult on her side.

Besides, Simon’s appearance would make those people wary, preventing further reckless actions.

“So you came to the imperial city in such a hurry—have you found some useful clues?”

Alexia asked Simon.

“There are some things I wanted to report to you, Alexia, for your decision. But before that, I have a question to ask you.”

“What is it?”

Alexia tilted her head, curiosity in her eyes as she looked at Simon.

This was the first time Simon had taken the initiative to ask her a question, making her curious about what could puzzle someone as omnipotent as him.

“All the ones who tried to take Belinda this time were ghosts. Among them was one ghost that the blood-red knights couldn’t see.

I can see it—probably due to a magical device from September Nine—but for some reason, Belinda could see it too, even though I’m certain she has no magical devices on her.”

“Ghosts, huh…”

Alexia closed her eyes, pondering.

After a moment, she opened them and replied.

“To see means you can be touched. You specifically mentioned that others couldn’t see it, but Belinda could. That means the target was extremely clear—someone was aiming directly for Belinda.”

“If Belinda was grabbed by that ghost, she would be dragged straight into a Preset Coordinate Vortex. As the disappearance time increased, even I would have trouble pinpointing the exact location.”

With that, Alexia praised Simon.

“You did well, Simon.”

Such decisiveness was one of the qualities she admired in Simon.

Looking at it now, revealing one card to protect a trump card was entirely worthwhile.

She didn’t have the energy to search for another completely missing person.

Simon heard Alexia’s explanation, but his expression did not relax—instead, he grew more solemn.

“Alexia, this is exactly what I wanted to discuss with you—the most urgent matter right now.”

Alexia paused, immediately realizing something was wrong.

“Bang!”

She closed the Ancient Book in her hands.

“You mean those ghosts don’t belong to the Witch Council! They belong to another force?!”

Pandas’ side could be ignored—they barely had any mages, and Necromancy was generally considered taboo in the secular world, making it impossible for them to command ghosts for crimes.

Alexia had also fought against Pandas’ side for a long time.

If they could really control undead creatures, would they still have to hide from her? Reviving legions of the dead would be enough to match her power.

Simon nodded heavily.

“I’m afraid that’s exactly it, Alexia. I’d been wondering why the Witch Council was always targeting Pandas.”

“The most important person in the Empire is clearly you. If they wanted to kill you, why target Belinda as well? Besides, Belinda isn’t even known to the public by name yet, so why would the witches pay attention to her?”

He couldn’t exactly say that few witches in the council knew Necromancy, could he? Anyone hearing that would find it odd.

Besides, the witches genuinely didn’t know of Belinda’s existence.

“The other side clearly knows what Belinda means to the Empire—her priority might even be above yours, Alexia.”