Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1771 - 1770: Familiar Faces and Strangers
Because it’s too far away and covered by curtains, the Witch couldn’t make out whether the man behind the curtain could trigger the Witch’s Curse, but she felt the silhouette was definitely her partner for the night. She didn’t understand how Shard ended up kissing a princess of Draleon just after going to the bathroom:
"Is it really him?"
Megan followed Miss Galina to the end of the corridor, where the Duchess "rebuked" her niece who emerged from behind the curtains, wiping her mouth and keeping her head down, silent:
"Look at you, Angelina, have you thrown the honor and dignity of the Cavendish Family out the window? What were you doing just now?"
Megan knew why Miss Galina was so angry and instinctively defended:
"Galina, perhaps you shouldn’t be so harsh on Angelina; noble girls at this age often have their own admirers."
The Red-Haired Witch turned to glance at her:
"Megan, do you know what you’re saying? Have you forgotten the Speaker mentioned grooming Angelina to be one of us? Can we, so easily, mingle with men? Angelina, do you realize the enormity of this error! How shameless of you! Kissing a man, oh my dear Angelina, the whole family is shamed by you, the Council members will hide their faces in contempt, how will your family and friends look at you?"
The Red-Haired Witch’s expression was serious. Though these words were meant to scold Angelina, Megan felt they were directed at her. She was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.
"Tell me, who was that man just now?"
The Duchess asked sternly:
"I will deal with him immediately; if he’s gone, today’s incident can be considered not to have happened."
"But..."
The Little Princess wearing a blue and white long dress kept her hands behind her back, head down, unwilling to speak, so the Red-Haired Witch took a deep breath:
"Won’t say, huh? Megan, come with me. Let’s hope you can forget what happened tonight, it’s truly awful."
With that, the group started moving in the direction where the silhouette had gone. Miss Galina and Megan walked in the lead, with Tifa, Angelina, and a group of maids following behind.
The seventeen-year-old Princess looked at the tall black-haired Head Maid, finding her also looking back. They exchanged glances, pressing their lips, seeing a similar expression in each other’s eyes.
As the Duchess hurried ahead, she lamented:
"If our respected Excellency learned that our members had dallied with men, I can’t imagine what would happen. Megan, wouldn’t you agree? His Excellency is quite close to you."
"I... Her Highness Angelina isn’t... His Excellency would probably intervene personally..."
Megan felt increasingly heavy-hearted, frustrated and confused, trying to stop the group from advancing further and thinking about inquiring Miss Galina’s intentions, but the Red-Haired Witch asked first:
"Megan, if you discovered others in the Council romantically involved with men, what would you do?"
They briskly crossed the corridor, turning left at the next corner as Miss Galina sniffed lightly.
The smart Megan, along with Audrey, should have noted the peculiarity of the situation, but Miss Galina’s constant suggestions and mental pressure had cost them their usual reasoning and wisdom:
"Is it true love?"
"Of course."
The Duchess nodded affirmatively, prompting Megan to hesitantly say:
"If I found someone with unusual tastes, liking foul things, while I would find it repulsive... yes, certainly. But I’d probably pretend not to see it, even hoping the lady could be with the man she likes... I respect every sincere love."
If she released her perception, she would find the maids behind her, like the Little Princess, displaying strange expressions, yet everyone endured.
"Even if this love conflicts with your interests?"
Miss Galina asked again, and Megan assumed she meant interfering with the Witch Council, so she nodded:
"If I truly found such a thing, as long as it’s true love, I’d give my blessing even if it conflicted with my interests."
That made the Duchess thoroughly satisfied.
Following the trail, the group returned to the banquet hall. Since Miss Galina was the protagonist of the event, she couldn’t lead her maids around searching, so she temporarily took Angelina upstairs to the lounge for questioning, letting Megan wait in the banquet hall.
The brown-haired Witch found the arrangement odd, but before she figured it out, Miss Galina left. Walking forward alone, as wisdom and inspiration were about to burst forth, she saw Shard standing by the window, waving at her.
"Oh, sir, do you remember you’re my partner?"
Originally sceptical, in an instant turned to fury, Megan fiercely stormed over:
"Don’t tell me, you were just in the bathroom earlier!"
"I..."
"Do you know who you’ve troubled? You’ve really caused a big mess."
"I..."
"No more talking. Come with me, I’ll introduce you to my friend now. You’ll soon know who I really am."
With that, her tone softened a bit, looking at Shard’s eyes where unease gradually appeared:
"I hope you can accept."
Shard then held her hand, blinking quickly:
"I’ve always been by your side... and I hope you can accept."
Sadly, she didn’t understand Shard’s last warning.
The banquet hall’s rear door led to a resting area not open to common guests, where stairs at the far end of the corridor led straight to the third floor, which was also the room Miss Galina had prepared for herself.
So Megan took Shard to the third floor, and at the grand lounge entrance saw Tifa and the other maids keeping watch.
"Miss is inside."
The black-haired Head Maid volunteered without needing her to ask.
Megan took a deep breath, feeling that tonight’s events were different from her original plans, but eventually, she arrived at this step.
She introduced to Tifa:
"This is the lady I mentioned."
Megan pointed to Shard, and Shard and Tifa exchanged glances, both restraining their expressions.
"Let her wait here for me, I have matters to discuss with Galina."
Then the door opened, and amidst Shard’s worried look, Megan entered alone.
Inside the room, the Duchess was in conversation with the Princess. Upon seeing Megan enter, the Little Princess bowed her head and temporarily retreated to the corridor.
The door closed, Witch and Witch sat across from each other, Megan facing away from the entrance, a glass coffee table between them, overhead the light of the crystal chandelier illuminated every detail on their refined faces.
The Duchess asked suspiciously:
"What’s wrong with you? Coming in so suddenly, did something happen downstairs?"
"No, I want you to meet my male companion right now."
Megan asked with a serious expression.
"That young lady?"
Miss Galina asked, then gently nodded:
"Alright, I’ll also let you meet the person I mentioned that I fancy. This is a good opportunity to introduce each other, perhaps they have something in common to talk about..."
"Galina!"
Megan transformed into Audrey, suddenly raising her voice, her eyes wide as she looked at the other, her heart pounding rapidly:
"I’m not joking with you, I really have something important, I’m not interested in seeing the beautiful female bard you randomly found from who knows where."
"You still harbor stubborn bias against me..."
The originally composed twin Witches could still remain calm, but the mental suggestions since tonight, the pressure she endured, and the other person’s indifference finally led to a rare emotional outburst:
"Listen to me! This matter is very important, very important! I met an extraordinary person, yes, he’s right outside the door! Right here, I am fed up with the banquet, fed up with your little girl’s youthful romance, fed up with the increasingly strange things happening tonight. Now, I want you to meet him!"
She stood up abruptly.
"You’re too excited, my dear Megan."
Miss Galina showed a look of compassion on her face and gently comforted:
"No matter what happens, I will support you. Look at you, where’s the elegance and nobility of a lady? Megan, we are members of the Council, I will always support you. You’re too excited, calm down, aren’t you the holder of the seat of Wisdom and Knowledge? You must remember, controlling emotions is the most important condition for possessing wisdom."
The red-haired Witch took a few deep breaths:
"Come, breathe in and out with me, this can help adjust your mood."
Audrey also followed with deep breaths, then slowly sat down, covering her face with her hands
"Galina... I’m sorry, I just lost my composure."
Then she looked up, feeling like she was meeting the woman in front of her for the first time. In some corner of her heart, she felt sorry for her previous bias against her, and also knew she got too excited:
"I will calm down.."
"It’s okay, have a drink."
Miss Galina stood up proactively, retrieved a bottle of unlabelled red wine from the cabinet behind her, poured it into three glasses, and let one of them float towards Audrey.
"Thank you."
The latter whispered her thanks, curious about why there were three glasses. Miss Galina held one glass herself, and placed the remaining one on the coffee table. She sat back down and suggested again:
"You are so agitated, no matter who you want to introduce to me later, I guess it will be hard to solve the problem rationally. Calm down first, have a sip of wine, I’ll let you meet my companion first, don’t forget to compliment me a bit, then wish me happiness."
She smiled as she took a sip of the wine, her bright smile made Audrey and Megan once again instinctively feel something was off.
"No problem, your smile is quite strange. Let’s meet her, I do indeed need to calm down first. I’ve finally found my happiness, I will bless you both."
Audrey whispered, also taking a sip of wine. Instantly, the taste of the red wine filled her mouth and surged through her mind, leaving her momentarily stunned. She instinctively felt she had tasted this almost perfect wine somewhere before.
Galina Cavendish smiled and said:
"Megan, Audrey, you said it yourselves."
"Hmm?"
The brown-haired Witch froze:
"What did I say?"
Having been anticipating this moment all night, the Duchess would not give her a chance to react. Miss Galina finally spoke to the door:
"Tifa, let my young and handsome Knight, the champion of the Horse Riding Tournament across the city, the great detective of Tobesk, the ace agent of MI6, the one favored by the Moon, the victor of the Blood Feast in Tobesk, the Nemesis of Mermen in Coldwater Port, the hero behind the balance of life and death in Midshire Fort, the archenemy of the Pantanal Evil Creatures, friend of the Earth in Randall Valley, the Cat People of Saint Delan Square, the man beloved by Witches, come in. I want to introduce Shard to my colleagues in the Council."
"How many people do you like exactly? And, what did you just say?"
Audrey asked suspiciously, as Miss Galina got up and walked quickly towards the door. As the door was pushed open, the red-haired Witch embraced the man who walked in.
Shard and Audrey locked eyes, Shard could clearly see from the Witch’s eyes the instant confusion, followed by a tsunami of shock. She looked as if she had seen the moon suddenly fall to the ground, a pet cat transform into a young woman, and King Larus III and King "Lion Ryan" holding hands and dancing a waltz.
The excessive shock numbed her mind, unable to immediately clear the logic of all these events, while Shard, realizing he might not have to endure a punch, pursed his lips:
"Good evening, Galina, good evening, Megan, Audrey. And, I don’t like the title "Cat People of Saint Delan Square."
Audrey looked again at the red-haired Witch holding Shard’s arm, the latter unable to suppress the smile on her face:
"Megan, Audrey, thank you so much for bringing my lover to the banquet. Oh, please bless us, we truly love each other, the divine arts of the Old God, the God of Love, have proven this."
Audrey took a few steps back, raised her right hand to cover her forehead. She looked at the delighted Galina Cavendish, turned and looked at Shard with a face full of apology. For a moment, all the oddities of the evening flooded her mind, and the strange conversations from before all had answers.
"I wish you happiness, Galina... if indeed you favored the person I brought over, I wouldn’t oppose... I hope the Witch and the man she loves can be together... even if there’s a conflict of interest between us, I will still bless..."
"He is... you all long ago... I’m not the first to discover him..."
Remembering her own troubles and dilemmas, and everything she had just said, Audrey’s face changed dramatically, and she made a strange noise from her throat:
"You all, you all..."
The color of her face changed from red to white, from white to black, then from black to yellow, from yellow to green, and finally back to red. Anger, joy, shame, pleasure, doubt, anxiety, and other emotions she couldn’t identify surged together, making Audrey feel dizzy. Seeing her strange expression, Shard hurriedly wanted to come over and support her, but Miss Galina wouldn’t let go and instead teased Shard’s chin, giving him a soft kiss.
Seeing this scene, Megan took a deep breath, subconsciously grabbing the fabric at her chest with her right hand.
Galina Cavendish smiled and looked at Audrey Edwards and Megan Edwards, posing the question she had prepared for half a month:
"This is the person I want to introduce, Shard Suren Hamilton, my lover, my beloved. By the way, last summer, about a year ago, I unexpectedly met him in Tobesk City."
She arched an eyebrow:
"Speaking of which, he has been investigating in the Green Lake Region recently, claiming to have encountered another Witch, but that Witch has always been disguising her identity and age, so I had him investigate who it is, who could it possibly be? It makes one curious... but let’s not talk about that for now, Audrey, earlier you said you were about to introduce someone to me, who might that be?"
After a deliberate pause, she placed a hand on Shard’s shoulder, her smile particularly radiant:
"Dear Miss Apothecary."
