Mage Manual-Chapter 605 - 489: Exposed!

Seeing that her sister was about to end the conversation, Qinna quickly said, "Then should I set a limit? A thousand times... five hundred times, just five hundred! I’ve already given up half! It could be handled in three months if things go fast!"

"Qinna, are you out of your mind!?" Nona couldn’t help but curse, "Can’t you—"

"No."

Qinna put down her spoon and said, "I’m kind of sick of this cake, I’m not eating it anymore."

"To me, many things in this world are like this cake. Most things don’t even qualify to interest me, and even the things that do interest me, I soon get tired of. All these years, the only thing that has continuously brought me joy is you and Hanna."

"It’s rare that I find someone who interests me. Of course, I want to enjoy them as much as possible before letting go," Qinna said. "But there is a more important reason."

Nona was stunned but then realized, "The future of the family?"

"Since Gospel really likes me being with Ash, might as well be with him," the Elf Clan Leader said while propping up her chin. "If it helps Senheiser safely navigate through the coming chaotic times, I don’t mind sacrificing Hanna a bit."

Whether it’s the formal ’Family List’ or the uncontrollable ’Happiness List’, Gospel had strongly linked Senheiser, Qinna, Nona, and Ash. Now, with the future being chaotic, Ash truly was Gospel’s officially designated lifeline, and Nona couldn’t refute Qinna’s excuse—compared to Senheiser, Hanna just wasn’t as important in her heart.

"Wait," Nona suddenly realized something. "I’m also in the future weaved by Gospel!"

"That’s why when I heard you say you wanted to take Hanna and Ash away, I thought you wanted to hog everything to yourself."

"Get lost, I’m not you!" Nona exclaimed, ears red with anger.

After quite the effort in persuasion, Nona not only failed to convince her sister but ended up convincing herself.

"Speaking of which, don’t you ever want to experience love?" Qinna asked. "If things develop as they do in the first three lists, then we don’t have many safe days left. I actually want to give you a year off. You’ve given too much for Senheiser. Before the apocalypse arrives, you should go out more, admire the scenery you overlooked before, savor the joy of total harmony, and perhaps break through to the Holy Domain even faster."

"I am not you."

"I’m not criticizing your decision to stay single, it’s purely sibling concern," Qinna said with a smile. "You’ve sailed the waves of the Sea of Knowledge, traversed the ends of the Time Continent, but you haven’t really enjoyed life."

Nona was silent for a moment. "I’m not actually into being single, it’s just... do you remember a story Mother once told?"

Qinna: "She never told me any story."

Interestingly, their mother wasn’t an elf but a human, and their elf lineage came from their father’s side. Qinna had never been close to their mother, partly because she was the first child and didn’t know how to interact, and partly because Qinna wasn’t ’interested’ in an ordinary mother.

In contrast, Nona had been very attached to their mother. When their mother’s fog threshold reached a critical line and she was sent to the mermaid scent farm to meet her end in a beautiful dream, the grown-up Nona broke tradition and went to sleep at her sister’s place for several nights, while Qinna remained calm throughout.

"Mother wasn’t from Vatican Mura. She met Father when he was a thief..."

"A thief?"

Nona decided to ignore her sister’s questioning, knowing that there would be even more questions to follow.

"She was a daughter of a big family back then, attending a gathering at another family’s mansion, when she accidentally saw her father sneaking in to gather information. However, her mother had her own agenda as well and was looking for opportunities to crush this rival family. So, they hit it off right away and conspired together. To ensure her father would commit to the task, and as a price for sparing him, her mother made a contract with him. He had to do his best to bring down the enemy family, and she would assist him." Nona explained, "My father agreed straightforwardly: ’Just do your best, and I will give it my all.’"

Qinna was captivated: "And then?"

"They ended up together," Nona continued. "They stopped caring about the rival family long ago."

"...So what’s the point of the story you’re telling?" Qinna inquired. "Do you long for love at first sight?" ƒreewebɳovel.com

"No, I wish I were the opposing family in that story," Nona replied. "But it’s just love, and haven’t I been living just fine without it?"

...

When they arrived at the gates of the Imperial Palace, a Deacon was already waiting for them.

"Miss Qinna, Miss Nona, your exclusive dressing rooms are ready, with a variety of evening dresses tailored specifically for you. Would you like to change and freshen up?"

Both Qinna and Nona were wearing Red Hat uniforms and had no intention of changing: "No, thank you."

"Please follow me."

They walked through an array of palaces and had hardly had a chance to admire the internal decor of the Imperial Palace before the Deacon led them to a resplendent hall: "This is the banquet hall, feel free to enjoy yourselves. Should you need anything, the nearby Deacons will respond immediately to your requests."

People in the hall looked around as they heard the announcement. Qinna spotted many familiar faces: Mercury, Cai Serai, Roland, Lapulakin... Representatives from different cities under the rule of Gospel, with Qinna representing Vatican Mura.

Such social events were natural breeding grounds for exchanging intelligence, and Qinna considered striking up a conversation with the representatives about the future development of the cities.

Among the politeness and clinking of glasses, two solitary figures stood out distinctly—a blue-haired girl and a red-haired young woman—the Belladett sisters.

Although it was confirmed later that it was all Igula’s trickery, families like Mercury ultimately fell under Belladett’s control at Belladett Manor, and repugnance towards Belladett was inevitable. Moreover, dealing with Belladett required utmost caution. Without a Spirit Mage to supervise, no one dared to interact with Belladett privately.

That evening, Qinna was also a victim and secured substantial compensations as a condition.

Despite her eagerness to plunge into the brewing pool of intelligence, Qinna’s gaze was inevitably drawn to the massive, volcano-like cake at the banquet.

A server stood beside the cake, wearing a mask probably for fear of saliva landing on it. It was clear that no one at this kind of event would attempt to try the cake, which remained intact up to that point.

As Qinna approached, the server hesitated for a moment before carefully serving a piece of the cake onto a plate. Qinna began eating, her eyes nearly squinting with sweetness. As she ate, she felt cream on her face. Trying to lick it off but unable to, she looked at the server.

The server hesitated for quite a while before realizing he should get a tissue, then nervously reached for it and wiped the cream off Qinna’s face. Qinna didn’t flinch, letting him clean her face, then she looked down to continue eating the cake. Once finished, she handed the plate back, and the server accepted it with evident relief—

Just then, Qinna playfully stuck out her tongue at him. The server instinctively pulled his head back, but the Elf Clan Leader wasn’t licking his face, just cleaning the cream off her lips.

Noticing the playful look in Qinna’s eyes, Ash knew he had been exposed.

Σ(っ°Д°;)っ Damn it, I disguised myself so well, how did she uncover me!?

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