Chapter 1926: Chapter 1926

Of all the rituals Jenkins had ever encountered, this was by far the most bizarre. He had a nagging feeling that while it related to time, it definitely wasn't a ritual developed by some master of time.

It was most likely an occult ritual passed down from a more distant past, perhaps from the very first epoch.

In any case, Jenkins committed the ritual to memory but didn't share it with Hathaway or Alexia. It was best he kept this sort of thing to himself; he couldn't guarantee what kind of history was entangled with it.

After sorting through everything he'd acquired that afternoon on the eastern outskirts of Nolan, Jenkins noticed how late it was getting. He said a few words to the women at home, planning to head to the church and explain the day's events in his guise as a leader of the Believers of Lies.

Alexia couldn't spend the night on St. George Avenue. She was still concerned about her student, so she left the house with Jenkins.

Hathaway stood at the door, waving them goodbye. Then she turned to look at the women still inside: Briny, Julia, and Jessica.

When Jenkins had revealed he was a god, only Hathaway had been present. She had asked him why, and in doing so, learned just how grand the ambitions of that petite woman were.

As for the others in the house, Jenkins felt they had no connection to the Believers of Lies or the God of Lies. The matter could be revealed to them later, at a more appropriate time. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel~fire~net

Hathaway, of course, agreed. Most of her reason was that she shared Jenkins's opinion, but a small part of her was secretly pleased that only she and Alexia knew his deepest secret.

Jessica's eyes met Hathaway's for a fleeting moment before she quickly looked away. She knew why she was here tonight, and she could still recall her mother's shocked expression when she'd told her she wouldn't be coming home. More than that, she knew that to the other two women standing here, she was indeed playing a rather disgraceful role.

"I'm going to go check on the neighbor."

With that, she padded off in her slippers toward Silver Flute Miss's house, feeling that any interaction with Hathaway and Briny would be too awkward.

"She finds it awkward to be around us."

The blonde girl leaned against the doorframe, watching as Jessica knocked on the neighbor's door. Briny's face was clouded with a wistful expression.

"Oh, what a silly girl, letting Jenkins win her over so easily."

"Yes, it certainly wasn't this easy when I was pursuing you," Hathaway remarked, watching Jessica being welcomed inside by Silver Flute Miss.

"Were you pursuing me? I seem to recall I was the one pursuing you," Briny retorted, before Hathaway pulled her into the house.

Hathaway pushed the door shut behind her. Only a small, wall-mounted gas lamp lit the entryway. In its dim yellow glow, Hathaway braced one hand against the wall, pinning Briny against it.

"What are you doing?"

The blonde girl blushed, her eyes darting away as they met Hathaway's.

"Don't. Since we've both chosen to marry Jenkins, if you want to... at least we should let Jenkins know. Otherwise, he might feel uncomfortable."

Although she made a motion to push Hathaway away, her effort was so soft and feeble that she probably couldn't have budged Chocolate.

In their relationship, the blonde Briny had always been the more assertive one. But now that they had both committed to Jenkins, and Hathaway had revealed her identity as a Benefactor, their dynamic had undergone a subtle shift, leading to the scene now playing out.

"What are you thinking, Briny?"

She traced a fingertip along Briny's smooth chin. Just as Briny was about to close her eyes, Hathaway let her go.

"While it's just the two of us, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Hathaway spoke as she walked into the living room. Briny touched her chin.

"What is it? Are you planning to smooth things over with Jessica Windsor? We could wait until Jenkins is finished with his business this weekend, and then the two of us could take Jessica out for dinner, or shopping."

"No, no, that's a minor thing, it doesn't matter. I wanted to ask you a question."

Instead of returning to the sofa, Hathaway stood by the window, gazing outside. The windowsill in Jenkins's house used to be kept clear, as Jenkins knew Chocolate liked to perch there.

But since Julia's arrival, she had selected a few small potted plants and placed them in the corners of the sill. They didn't get in the way of the petite cat's relaxation, and they made the house look a little nicer.

"I wanted to ask you, if you were to one day discover that Jenkins isn't human, what would you do?"

Hathaway didn't intend to reveal the secret, but she wanted to give Briny a chance to prepare. She knew how flustered she herself had been and figured that Briny, being an ordinary person, would find it even harder to accept. That was why she had to prepare her mentally in advance.

"He isn't human to begin with. Isn't he a half-elf?" Briny asked, confused.

"No, I mean... something more complex. Something beyond what an ordinary person could possibly imagine."

Hathaway's phrasing was odd, so Briny thought for a long moment, still unable to grasp what she was trying to say. Suddenly, a terrifying possibility dawned on her. She let out a small gasp and quickly covered her mouth.

Hathaway turned and saw her reaction, wondering with some alarm if Briny had somehow guessed the truth already.

"You mean, Jenkins is actually a cat? Who can just turn into a person? Is that why he's so close to Chocolate? Then who is Chocolate? His daughter, or his wife? But Chocolate is so small... you don't mean that cat Jenkins..."

"Oh, please stop, that's absurd," Hathaway cut off the increasingly ridiculous speculation, worried that Briny's wild imagination would lead to an even stranger conclusion. "I assure you, Jenkins is absolutely not a cat."

"How could you possibly think Jenkins is a cat? Although his relationship with Chocolate... Oh, let's just drop the cat topic. Alright, what I really wanted to ask is, if you found out Jenkins wasn't mortal, what would you think?"

Limited by her perspective, Briny didn't even come close to guessing the truth—that Jenkins was a god. She thought for a moment, trying to find the answer on Hathaway's face.

"I've heard you two mention before that he's the Saint of a Righteous God. Is that what you mean?"