Chapter 72

Facing his sister's concern, Lumi An shook his head:

"No."

He looked around and said, "Let's talk inside."

When they reached a spot near the stove, he briefly recounted his exploration with Rayn and the others. Then he told his sister that if Mrs. Pualis were to attack them, she must not hesitate and should surrender immediately, betraying the three outsiders.

Given his experiences and observations in the castle, Lumi An did not think that the two of them together could defeat Mrs. Pualis, let alone the midwife.

Aurore listened quietly and couldn't help but laugh:

"Rationally, your strategy is indeed the best, but why does it feel so strange? It's like we've become the villains in a novel, and not even the main villains, the charming ones."

"The result is what matters," Lumi An emphasized to his sister. "As you would say, endure the humiliation, bear the burden, preserve the useful body, and wait for the future to show its value."

"..." Aurore couldn't help but raise her hand to her forehead. "Do I usually teach you too many strange things?"

"Yes," Lumi An nodded "sincerely."

Aurore rolled her eyes:

"Alright, I understand. I won't fight Mrs. Pualis unless it's absolutely necessary.

"Earlier, when Mrs. Pualis discovered the alarm had been triggered and wanted to leave, I didn't force her to stay. I just showed some reluctance and chatted with her for almost a minute more.

"Tell me the details of your search."

She walked to the dining table, sat down, and adopted a listening posture while keeping an eye on the surroundings, ready to defend against Mrs. Pualis's possible angry questioning.

Lumi An pulled out a chair from the other side of the table and began to recount their exploration and the battle in detail.

As he spoke, Aurore's expression gradually became peculiar, more and more so.

"What's wrong?" Lumi An noticed his sister's unusual reaction.

Aurore pondered for a while and, with a peculiar expression, asked:

"Mrs. Pualis has a photo of a man in her bedroom, and the man looks a lot like her, possibly her brother?"

"Yes, those three outsiders said it might be a missing member of the Rochefort family, named Prit," Lumi An relayed their words, including the "Dandyism" and the numerous illegitimate children.

He added, "According to their investigation, the Rochefort family does not officially have anyone named Pualis."

Aurore nodded lightly and sighed:

"Then I can almost confirm my guess is correct."

Her peculiar expression did not fade but became more pronounced.

"What guess?" Lumi An was puzzled.

Aurore looked at him and said:

"Perhaps, Mrs. Pualis is the missing Prit."

"Ah?" Lumi An was shocked. "One is male, the other is female... Mrs. Pualis even had two children!"

"Who knows if she gave birth herself? Maybe it was the administrator?" Aurore chuckled. "Even if she did give birth, it doesn't prove anything. In the world of mysticism, anything is possible. Think about it, Louis Lund, a man, can give birth, so it's not impossible for Prit to become a woman."

"Logically, that's true, but..." Lumi An still found it hard to accept.

Aurore smiled teasingly:

"The reason I can make this guess, and those three outsiders can't, is because I've heard, no, witnessed something.

"Do you remember the adjacent pathway to the 'Hunter'?"

"The 'Assassin'." Lumi An answered without hesitation.

He had once been attracted to this name, which sounded better than 'Hunter.'

"In our organization, uh, the Curly Baboon Research Society, there was a man who really liked being an 'Assassin' and chose that pathway," Aurore said with a peculiar expression. "Later, at a gathering, he told us with a melancholic and troubled face that at Sequence 7 of the 'Assassin' pathway, the potion required is called 'Witch.'"

"Witch?" Lumi An, upon hearing the potion's name, anticipated what would follow.

"Yes, 'Witch.' In the world of mysticism, 'Wizard' and 'Witch' are entirely different concepts. You always confused them, calling me a witch from time to time, which made me feel strange," Aurore took the opportunity to educate him. "Clearly, drinking the 'Witch' potion turns you into a witch, playing the role of a witch, and your body will completely transform into a woman."

Sigh... Lumi An took a deep breath, feeling particularly grateful that his first material was the 'Hunter' Beyonder characteristic.

If he had obtained something related to the 'Assassin,' given his urgent and unselective mindset at the time, he would likely have already embarked on that irreversible path.

"What happened to him later?" he couldn't help but ask.

Aurore smiled and answered:

"He struggled for a long time, not wanting to become a woman but also unwilling to stay at Sequence 8. Until someone persuaded him, 'Life is short, why not give it a try?'

"During a subsequent gathering, I met him again, no, she was a very beautiful and charming woman by then."

"..." Lumi An was speechless.

Aurore smiled at him:

"In the future, when you reach Sequence 5, if you can't get the Sequence 4 material for the 'Hunter' pathway, you can consider the 'Sorceress' pathway, yes, the 'Assassin' pathway is also called the 'Sorceress' pathway..."

She had a look of enjoying the chaos.

"Sorceress"… Lumi An deeply felt that the name 'Assassin' was truly misleading.

The world of mysticism is full of dangers!

He quickly steered the conversation back on track:

"From this, it seems Mrs. Pualis could indeed be the playboy Prit."

If an 'Assassin' can become a 'Sorceress,' a pathway that allows a man to give birth is likely to also allow a man to become a woman.

Aurore nodded and glanced warily out the window:

"I suspect Mrs. Pualis became a woman at a specific sequence, and had to leave the family as a missing person to avoid official scrutiny. Yes, according to that mysterious lady, the powers granted by the gods can also be divided into sequences.

"Her abnormal pathway likely includes the ability to promote fertility, manipulate life, and control the undead."

"Manipulate life, control the undead" were her deductions based on Lumi An and the others' battle with the midwife.

This also aligned with the 'Lady of the Night' in the Otherworld, who was followed by numerous undead, and who looked a lot like Mrs. Pualis.

At this point, Aurore suddenly said, "Uh."

"What's wrong?" Lumi An asked cautiously.

Does she have another terrifying truth in mind?

Aurore frowned at her brother:

"During afternoon tea, Mrs. Pualis suddenly said something about love being unpredictable, that she wanted him to die for his mistakes, but when he faced death, she couldn't help but save him and wouldn't tell him.

"At the time, I was confused but didn't pay much attention. Now, thinking back, was she hinting at something, deliberately saying it?"

Lumi An was also puzzled:

"Who did she save...?"

Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Aurore.

The siblings simultaneously recalled the incident in the Otherworld where the 'Lady of the Night' took away the undead, indirectly saving them.

"But that was from the previous cycle..." Lumi An wanted to deny it but couldn't.

He and Aurore looked at each other, seeing shock and fear in each other's eyes.

If Mrs. Pualis was referring to that incident, it meant she could retain memories in the cycle, at least partially!

"No way..." Aurore muttered, "Forget it, let's assume it's true. Better to overestimate the enemy than to be careless."

Lumi An agreed and then thought of something:

"Aurore, uh, sister, considering Mrs. Pualis might originally have been a man, could the person she loves be you?"

"I haven't done anything wrong. It was you who spied on Louis Lund giving birth. Mrs. Pualis must love you," Aurore reflexively countered.

Lumi An said instinctively:

"Maybe she thinks I was acting on your orders.

"I don't interact with her much, only once when I interrupted her affair with the priest and was toyed with. You, on the other hand, often discuss literature and trends with her, and occasionally borrow her pony."

"Hmm..." Aurore's tone rose, showing disgust, "Then why did she introduce me to marriage prospects? You said they weren't good, even bad?"

Lumi An thought for a moment:

"Maybe she wanted to destroy your interest in men and gradually lure you towards her..."

"What strange things do you read?" Aurore glared at her brother.

Lumi An was both righteous and confident:

"Your novels.

"One of your novels has a similar plot."

"Is that so..." Aurore fell into thought.

After a while, she looked out the window:

"It's been so long, and Mrs. Pualis hasn't come to trouble us, and the cycle hasn't restarted..."

"Maybe she doesn't want to kill the three outsiders. They are official investigators, and if they are truly killed, it might bring even bigger trouble. And she doesn't know I was involved, so she doesn't suspect you," Lumi An speculated.

The witness is dead, and no one else saw him.

Aurore nodded slightly and said sarcastically:

"This wait has made me lose my appetite for dinner."

Lumi An suddenly had an idea:

"Should I go check the castle?"

"Return to the crime scene?" Aurore laughed.

Lumi An nodded:

"I'll check the situation at the castle. Mrs. Pualis doesn't suspect me.

"Ah, right, I haven't picked the tulips yet. I can use the excuse of making a fragrance for you to ask for a few."

Publicly, Aurore and Mrs. Pualis are friends, so Lumi An's actions are not suspicious.

Aurore thought for a few seconds:

"You can try, but wait a bit. We can't be sure Mrs. Pualis won't come to trouble us.

"If you don't return within half an hour, I'll trigger the cycle at the edge of the village, restarting it."

"Okay." Lumi An agreed.

...

When he arrived at the administrator's castle again, the sun had set behind the mountains, and the sky was filled with red clouds.

Lumi An walked through the garden to the open main gate and said to the male servant standing there:

"My sister Aurore plans to make a fragrance. Can we borrow a few tulips from Mrs. Pualis?"

The male servant, dressed in a red shirt and white pants, answered without any suspicion:

"I'll ask the lady."

He hurried into the castle and returned after a while:

"The lady said you can go to the garden and pick them yourself."

She really doesn't suspect me? And it's as if nothing happened... Lumi An didn't try to enter the castle but walked into the garden to look for tulips.

As he searched, he noticed a maid trimming branches in the shadows.

As they passed each other, Lumi An casually glanced at the maid.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

The maid was in her forties, with brown hair and brown eyes, a beautiful face with no wrinkles, and was clearly the midwife who had fought with Valentine and the others and was ultimately killed by Rayn!

At that moment, she was standing alive beside Lumi An, her face seemingly shaded by the plants.

PS: Votes, please!