Chapter 1889: Chapter 1889
Compared to Jenkins's subtle thought manipulation, Magic Miss's methods were far more direct. She turned her back to Jenkins and Miss Windsor, placed a hand on Jessica Windsor's head, and quietly recited an incantation. Immediately, the king's illegitimate daughter began to struggle, her face contorted in terror.
The process lasted for ten minutes. By the time Magic Miss released her, Jessica Windsor was so drenched in sweat she looked as if she had just climbed out of a pool.
She awoke from the elaborate illusion Magic Miss had woven, her face pale as she trembled and cautiously surveyed her surroundings. One might have believed her if she had claimed to have just escaped from a psychiatric asylum.
"What did you show her?"
"Things that normal people shouldn't see. You're not the only one with extraordinary experiences. Before I settled in Nolan, I too traveled to every corner of the material world, witnessing its wonders and secrets."
Magic Miss said, then turned to Jessica Windsor:
"What is your relationship with Jenkins Williams?"
"A partnership. I provide him with live sacrifices, and he offers me protection and accepts my commissions."
Jessica Windsor's voice trembled. This time, it was not a lie.
"Healthy men between the ages of twenty and forty who work in the mechanical manufacturing industry."
Jenkins suddenly looked up:
The purpose was the same as that of the arcane lock he had helped break not long ago.
"What does he want these men for?"
"It's said to be related to a large-scale ritual."
Magic Miss asked. Jenkins had commissioned her to investigate the "Reverser of Fate" ritual, so she naturally knew what he was most concerned about.
"I don't know the details. I only know it involves the Mysterious Realm."
"The Mysterious Realm?"
This was a completely unexpected answer. So far, there had been no evidence linking the Reverser of Fate ritual to the Mysterious Realm.
"Is the Reverser of Fate ritual connected to the Mysterious Realm? Or does the Difference Engine in the real world want those brains and cerebral specimens for a purpose other than the ritual?"
Jenkins wondered, then quickly asked:
"Do you know any more details?"
"No, we're just partners. Our contract doesn't stipulate that we must be completely transparent with our information."
Realizing he would get no more out of her, Jenkins fell silent, his mind racing as he mulled over whether the information obtained in this possibility would have any impact on reality.
Seeing that Jenkins had no more questions, Magic Miss returned to her previous line of questioning:
"So, the reason you killed the woman in the photograph wasn't because she discovered you were Isabella's illegitimate daughter, but because she found out about you and Williams?"
"Yes. Magic Miss was hired by Her Majesty last year and subsequently came into contact with me. She's too clever. It would have been better if she had feigned ignorance, but she insisted on investigating thoroughly."
Jessica Windsor answered timidly. Magic Miss's lips twitched, and then she abruptly raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap across the other woman's face.
The slap stunned the other two.
Jenkins, who had been lost in thought, was startled by the sharp sound. It was the first time he had seen Magic Miss resort to such an unrefined method. On reflection, he realized he had never seen any of his female friends strike an enemy with a slap.
"I won't kill you. You're nothing but a fabrication."
Magic Miss snorted, then gestured for Jenkins to continue his questioning. Jenkins stared at her hand for a moment before sighing inwardly. Women were definitely not to be trifled with.
Magic Miss had already brought the woman to the brink of a mental breakdown, so Jenkins's interrogation proceeded without any difficulty. Since there was still no sign they could return, Jenkins questioned Jessica Windsor in detail about the Jenkins Williams and the Magic Miss she knew.
Magic Miss's personality and methods were not significantly different from the real Magic Miss. This Jenkins Williams, however, shared almost no common ground with the real one.
Jenkins specifically asked if the Jenkins here had a cat. Upon receiving a negative answer, he became even more certain that the Williams of this so-called possibility world was definitely the original Williams, whose body had not been taken over by an outsider.
What was most astonishing were Jessica Windsor's methods. Her style was remarkably similar to Queen Isabella's—both were the type of person who cared little for the cost of achieving their goals.
When Jenkins spoke to her sarcastically, she remained silent, cowering in fear. But when his words betrayed a hint of disrespect toward Queen Isabella, she seemed to instantly overcome her terror of the three of them, and a retort sprang from her lips:
"Her Majesty is never wrong."
"Then how did she let her daughter turn into... this? I believe you still have a basic sense of right and wrong. You should understand that a normal mother would never have the heart to let her daughter become the wreck you are now."
Magic Miss could not help but retort sarcastically.
"No, it's not her fault."
Jessica Windsor was visibly terrified, but she still mustered the courage to contradict Magic Miss:
"Becoming what I am today is entirely my own fault. It was my upbringing that made me this way, not her."
"Are you saying the Duke of Windsor's family made you this way?"
Miss Windsor could no longer stay silent. This was a slander against her family.
"Yes, it was caused by the environment I grew up in. I believe that even if someone from a completely different background were raised there—even if the Duke of Windsor had a daughter of his own—she would have become just like me."
"No, that's absolutely not true."
Miss Windsor immediately shook her head. She herself was the perfect example.
"Even if she didn't show it as I do, anyone raised there would have violence and a willingness to do anything to achieve their goals latent in their character. It's hidden within them from the very beginning. It's inevitable."
Jessica Windsor looked at Miss Windsor. Of the three of them, she feared Miss Windsor the least.
"I know the Windsor... children. They're not like that."
Jessica Windsor gave her a somewhat morbid smile:
"Then think carefully. Would you ever disregard morality and the interests of others to obtain something that doesn't belong to you?"
Miss Windsor was about to object immediately, but then she glanced at Jenkins, and the protest died on her lips.
At the same time, she asked herself from the bottom of her heart if there was truly any difference between her and the somewhat unhinged woman before her. Of course there were differences, but what terrified Miss Windsor was the realization that she could actually see a shadow of herself in this woman.
It was not just their names and gender. As their eyes met, she saw in those eyes another woman who was, to the very bone, similar to herself.
She raised a hand to her heart again, but Jenkins had already noticed something was wrong and stepped directly between Miss Windsor and Jessica Windsor.
"Don't look into her eyes. She's using an ability,"
"Is that so... Yes, that's right."
Magic Miss had not detected any sign of an ability being used and was about to ask, but when she saw Jenkins repeatedly blinking at her, she immediately nodded in agreement with his assessment:
"Yes, she's lying. She's influencing you with a mental ability."
Jenkins gave Jessica Windsor no chance to object, summoning vines to gag her mouth like a mask, and then said to Magic Miss:
"You two rest in the next room for a bit. I'll handle the rest."
Jenkins had never entered a Mysterious Realm with a Level 0 Enchanter before, and his own experiences as a Level 0 were hardly a reliable benchmark. Therefore, he did not know if Miss Windsor's susceptibility was a normal phenomenon, a side effect of the Dark Soul, or simply a sign of her own low resistance to mental influence.
In any case, with just him and Jessica Windsor left, things became much simpler. They continued their question-and-answer session, and Jenkins learned even more about this world.
If in the last possibility, the trio had found the key piece of information from Queen Windsor and thus met the conditions to leave, then in this world, it was purely an accumulation of too many minor, trivial differences that finally granted them the right to depart.
The doorframe began to glow with white light. Jenkins paid no more attention to the woman, who was now verging on hysteria, and stepped through the doorway with his companions back into the corridor. Behind them, the world immediately collapsed.
The dry, desolate corridor was lined with doors. The three-armed, bald old man watched the three of them from his high stool. Magic Miss's expression was composed, Jenkins was impassive, but Miss Windsor still looked unwell, leaning against Jenkins and unwilling to say a word.
"It's okay. Only one more to go."
He comforted his companion again. Miss Windsor nodded. For some reason, her chapped lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing. It was then that Jenkins realized they had not had anything to eat or drink for a long time—probably five or six hours.
Neither he nor Magic Miss were bothered by hunger or thirst, but Miss Windsor was a different matter.
"Here, drink some water."
He did not use Psychography; after all, the ability could only be used once. He took out the holy spring water bottle, carefully supported Miss Windsor's chin, and helped her drink the sacred water. Although there was only a mouthful in the bottle, the holy spring water, which nourished both body and soul, seemed to instantly restore all her strength.
Miss Windsor's complexion improved considerably, and the old man above them began to summarize:
"You killed yourself again without a moment's hesitation. Do you truly have no reservations?"
"None." Check latest chapters at N0velFire.ɴet
That was not him, so why would he hesitate? He was well aware of the difference between himself and that other Jenkins. He had come to understand it completely during the incident with the stranger.