Chapter 61: Chapter 61
With his book successfully published, preparations to move out of the Williams family home were also underway. Mary Williams was still reluctant, but after some persuasion from the family, she finally accepted the fact.
Back in his bedroom that night, Jenkins finally had the chance to take the ring from his pocket.
It looked familiar—the very one worn by the figure on the golden throne. The entire ring was gold, its surface carved with intricate patterns that coiled together to resemble a python stretching its body.
Jenkins cautiously channeled his spirit into it, but nothing happened.
He thought of the black robe, which had appeared in the same way, and tried to absorb the ring into his body. Just as he suspected, it too was a Bestowal.
“What is this? Does entering a Mysterious Realm guarantee an equipment drop?”
Jenkins muttered to himself, tracing the patterns on its surface.
He now had three Bestowals. The black robe could conceal his identity and interfere with divination and prophecy, making it perfect for when he needed to operate incognito. As for the candle that never seemed to burn down, it appeared to be related to clearing abnormal statuses. Although it hadn't helped him shake off the extreme cold that night, Jenkins suspected that was only because he wasn't strong enough.
“What can the ring do?”
“You have that expectant look on your face. What are you thinking about?”
After finishing his daily task of copying the tadpole-like script a hundred times, Jenkins was slumped boredly over the counter, waiting for Miss Mikhail to arrive. But by the time Papa Oliver returned that afternoon, there was still no sign of her.
Papa Oliver had hired a horse-drawn cart early that morning to return to the castle and bring back the antiques he had purchased.
“I was just imagining some beautiful, literary young lady, or perhaps a disillusioned middle-aged man browsing a bookstore, stumbling upon my book. He'd be utterly amazed, proclaiming that its author is a literary genius, the kind you only see once in a century.”
“But you wrote a book of fairy tales...”
Papa Oliver tossed his overcoat to Jenkins to hang up, his words bluntly deflating the young man's enthusiasm.
“Please, just let me have my fantasy.”
“Mikhail isn't here yet? Well, on to business. The Church has completely sealed off the castle and conducted a thorough inspection.”
Jenkins turned his head. “That evil spirit...”
“They found nothing. We even brought in a great diviner who's visiting Nolan City to help, but she couldn't find anything either. She said all she could see was a black fog obscuring the truth, and behind that fog, something truly terrifying must be lurking.”
His expression grew serious. “Jenkins, this whole affair is strange. Very strange. Be careful where you go for the time being. We still don't know why that evil spirit forced us into the Mysterious Realm, but it certainly wasn't for anything good.”
Jenkins's focus shifted to another detail. This was someone who could potentially uncover his true identity.
“Didn't Miss Orlando from the royal capital already return home?”
“Not her. This is another young lady of high standing. She is a close friend of Miss Evergarden from the Church of the Starry Sky and Equilibrium and is here as her guest.”
“I don't know her true name. Diviners never reveal their true names to strangers. She generally goes by Miss Audrey. She's a believer in the 'Hermit of Destiny.'”
This was the first time Jenkins had ever heard Papa Oliver use the descriptor “of high standing” for anyone. He could only hope she wouldn't divine his true identity. The black robe was powerful, wasn't it?
“And what about the deceased Mr. Sanders and Mr. Chewell...”
“The official story is that they're missing,” Papa Oliver said slowly. “After all, an unexplained disappearance is the best excuse.”
It wasn't until dusk, just as Jenkins was about to leave for the day, that Briny Mikhail, her long golden hair dazzling, stepped out of a carriage. She pulled a shy, red-haired girl along with her as she hurriedly pushed open the door to Pops Antique Shop.
The carriage at the door must have been the Mikhail family's private property. Its pure white body was trimmed with sky-blue lines, glowing like white jade in the fading sunlight. A solemn, longsword-shaped family crest adorned the center of the door. Even passersby instinctively gave it a wide berth, afraid of disturbing the important people who rode in it.
Just as Papa Oliver had said, Briny Mikhail was an absolute beauty. In all the time since his transmigration, she was undoubtedly the most stunning girl Jenkins had ever laid eyes on.
The shy, red-haired girl whose hand she held, while not as immediately eye-catching next to Briny's radiance, possessed a poise and attire that clearly indicated she was no commoner.
The golden-haired girl greeted him with familiar ease, while the red-haired girl shyly added, “Good day, Mr. Oliver.”
“Excuse me, you must be Mr. Williams, correct?”
Miss Mikhail gave Jenkins a polite nod, her demeanor neither overly familiar nor distant, a sweet smile on her face.
Papa Oliver gave him a nudge from behind, and Jenkins finally snapped out of his daze. He flusteredly pulled the red velvet box containing the badge from his pocket.
He opened the box and slid it in front of the two young ladies, silently berating himself.
“Don't be nervous, don't be nervous!”
He had imagined that after transmigrating, he would be like the heroes in chivalric novels—able to gracefully approach a beautiful noblewoman and effortlessly start an interesting conversation.
But now it seemed that whether it was his past self or the current Jenkins, his reaction when faced with a girl of such refined bearing was exactly the same.
Miss Mikhail stifled a small laugh behind her hand. Reaching out with a hand clad in a white lace glove, she adjusted the badge nestled in the box's lining, then gently pushed it toward the red-haired girl.
“Hathaway, take a look. Do you like it?”
Jenkins wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he sensed a deep note of affection in her voice.
He admonished himself internally and gave the red-haired girl a polite nod. She, in turn, excitedly lifted the badge from the box and held it up to examine it closely.
“This is it! It's the badge bestowed upon believers during the Mother Goddess's Harvest Banquet. This is wonderful! I missed the last one because I was sick... I can't believe I actually get to see one...”
Miss Mikhail looked delighted as well. Her right hand slipped behind Hathaway and, catching her off guard, snatched the badge away.
The red-haired girl shot her a playfully reproachful look.
“Haha, it's a birthday present! You're not allowed to have it until the day itself.”
Miss Mikhail laughed, then turned to Jenkins. “Little brother, how much is this?” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveIＦire.net
Jenkins was taken aback. That couldn't be right. Hadn't Papa Oliver said Miss Mikhail was nineteen, over a year younger than he was?
Papa Oliver's voice came from behind him, sounding suspiciously like he was holding back a laugh.
“Miss Mikhail, my apprentice here may look young, but he's actually a bit older than you.”