Celeste withdrew her gaze and looked at Grey Cat.
“Knowing is for the best. Even I don’t know how deep the waters are in Hela City, so you’d better be careful. Besides, the grudge between you two is pitifully small.”
To be honest, for the Count’s daughter, Celestia, being targeted by Grey Cat could be considered an undeserved misfortune.
This cat was simply far too vindictive.
Grey Cat snorted at those words.
“Pitifully small? Nightingale, you don’t understand. She destroyed the trust between me and Snake Eye!”
She spoke one word at a time, each word sounding as if it were being squeezed through her teeth.
“That was the first time I ever failed a commission from them!”
“A commission?”
“Yeah.”
Grey Cat explained, “They asked me to find a piece of land in the city — the kind that neither the Inquisition nor the City Guard could find.”
“Using the connections I’ve built over the years, I found that trash’s territory.”
The “trash” she mentioned was, of course, the boss of the criminal underworld in the slums who had eventually provoked Tia, leading to his entire hideout being uprooted.
Celeste nodded slightly, signaling for her to continue.
Grey Cat gritted her teeth and said, “Who knew that trash would go and provoke the Count’s daughter? And Snake Eye actually went behind my back to contact him privately. They even started those disgusting human experiments…”
Celeste’s eyebrows shot up.
She had originally thought the human experimentation lab belonged to Grey Cat.
Now it seemed Grey Cat was clean; at most, she had been used by Snake Eye.
However… since she could be used by Snake Eye, it was probably better to stay away from her.
Grey Cat didn’t catch the meaning behind Celeste’s gaze.
After blinking, she suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, right, Nightingale. You should be careful lately. You’ve been targeted by Snake Eye’s people!”
“Hmm?”
Celeste’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint, hard-to-capture glint flickered within those blood-red pupils.
“What do you mean?”
Grey Cat opened her mouth, but after a moment of hesitation, she said with some struggle, “Uh, I… I can’t really say exactly who it is. After all, he and I are still cooperating.”
“But I can warn you to watch out for the Inquisition lately. They’ll definitely come looking for trouble again!”
As she finished speaking, she suddenly froze.
She tapped her head, suddenly remembering something she had overlooked.
“Oh, you’re a Grand Witch. I forgot.”
She shrugged with a hint of self-mockery.
“That guy thinks he can deal with you, but he’s really just a clown. I don’t need to worry about you at all…”
Before she could finish, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs.
The Inquisition’s lackeys had already reached the second floor.
Grey Cat’s smile stiffened.
Just as she was about to react, Celeste had already moved to the window.
She chuckled softly, an indescribable light appearing in her eyes.
That glint carried a bit of trust and a sincere warmth.
“Anyway, thanks for the warning, Grey Cat.”
As the last word fell, her figure leaned back out the window.
A dark shadow flashed, and she vanished from Grey Cat’s sight without leaving a trace.
Like a bat in the night, she came without a shadow and left without a footprint.
Grey Cat felt a stir in her heart, and her eyes suddenly felt a bit stinging.
Even though Celeste was a Grand Witch, she had no arrogance whatsoever and was even constantly looking out for her…
To meet such a Witch, she felt she was truly lucky…
‘Nightingale, you’re such a good person.’
Her voice was very soft, like a breath of wind.
*Thud!*
At that moment, the door was slammed open.
Several figures in Inquisitor uniforms burst into the VIP room, their lanterns illuminating the entire space.
However, the room was already empty.
There was only an open window where the night wind blew in, cold enough to bite through the bone.
—
Deep in the night, Harris Manor was enveloped in an unspeakable silence.
In the second-floor hallway, Earl Harris, draped in a thick coat, followed Margaret to Tia’s bedroom door.
He raised his hand, preparing to knock, but his knuckles hung in the air for a moment.
Thinking that his daughter might already be fast asleep, he changed his mind.
He gently gripped the doorknob and turned it slowly.
With a barely audible click, the door to Tia’s bedroom opened.
He pushed the door open and looked inside.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, outlining a vague silhouette on the bed.
The quilt was slightly raised, and a mass of silver hair was scattered across the pillow.
The figure was lying on its side, breathing steadily, seemingly in a deep sleep.
Earl Harris watched for a few seconds, the corners of his mouth relaxing slightly.
He gently closed the door and turned to leave.
“Hmph.”
His voice was low, carrying a hint of satisfaction.
“She really is behaving now.”
Only after he left did the cold wind from outside blow into Tia’s bedroom, ruffling the girl’s hair and revealing her somewhat vacant face.
The one lying on the bed right now was nothing more than Tia’s Magic Substitute.
—
Margaret followed behind the Earl with her lantern, smiling slightly at his words.
“I told you, how could the Young Lady still sneak out at night?”
Her voice was equally soft, carrying the comfort of an elder.
“After everything she’s been through, it’s time she grew up.”
Earl Harris walked ahead with steady steps, though his tone was somewhat complicated.
“Grew up? I’d rather she grew up enough to find a noble to marry soon, leave Hela City, and find her path elsewhere.”
Margaret was slightly stunned but quickly kept pace with him.
“My Lord, a matter like this cannot be rushed…”
“Cannot be rushed? There isn’t that much time to waste…”
Earl Harris was about to say more when hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.
A young servant ran up, out of breath, stopped before the Earl, and bowed.
He looked up with a nervous expression.
“My Lord, Lady Mephia has arrived at the manor to visit.”
Earl Harris’s brow furrowed instantly.
“…What is she doing here?”
The servant lowered his head and reported, “She said she’s here for Lady Tia.”
“I won’t see her!”
The Earl blurted out, his voice suppressed with irritation.
Margaret quickly stepped forward.
“My Lord! It wouldn’t be proper to treat an Inquisitor from the Imperial Capital like this, would it?”
Earl Harris fell into silence.
Indeed, no matter how he felt, this Inquisitor was a high-ranking figure from the Imperial Capital.
If he dismissively refused to see her, it would be equivalent to a total fallout.
After thinking for a moment, Earl Harris finally took a deep breath.
“…Tell her to wait in the drawing room for a while. I’ll be there shortly.”
—
The drawing room was brightly lit.
Under the servant’s guidance, Mephia arrived.
She stood by the window, gazing at the deep night outside, her eyes growing increasingly profound.
Moonlight spilled in from the window, outlining her cold silhouette with stark clarity.
Soon, after she had waited for about 15 minutes, footsteps echoed behind her.
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