Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 663

Young Wellington was the nobleman who had been possessed by one of the twin demons. In the aftermath of that incident, a large number of people had been arrested by the Church because of their connection to him. This wasn't something that could be forgiven, unlike Miss Lindsay's illegal seance. As far as Jenkins knew, not a single person taken into custody had ever regained their freedom.

He hadn't expected Quake to bring up the events of the autumn, but it seemed he knew a thing or two about that group.

"Speaking of which, I still don't know who owns that villa in the mountains. Since we're borrowing someone's place for our holiday, we ought to thank them in person."

The fourth card had been dealt. Jenkins felt his odds of winning were high. Quake looked as though he was sure to lose, while Garcia, on the other hand, appeared quite confident.

"The villa belongs to the Mandela family, but young Mandela and his sister didn't come this year. I heard they caught that flu going around the city. May the gods watch over them; this year's flu has been truly terrible."

Garcia mumbled, his eyes gleaming as he waited for the final card. Latest content publıshed on novel·fiɾe·net

"The flu isn't the only strange thing that's happened this winter. A few days ago, a meteorite actually fell in the city. I've never heard of such a thing."

Quake added his piece, shrugging as he ignored his final card, probably convinced he couldn't win anyway.

"It's almost as if the city is cursed."

Quake, realizing his slip of the tongue, just gave an apologetic smile.

"The Fabry fraud, the meteorite, the flu, the earthquake, the factory explosion, the silver vertigo, the serial disappearances in the summer—the octopus—the kidnapping in the fall—the demon incident—the recurring blood moons, that time last year when all the clocks stopped—when Jenkins broke that clock—and the air in the city getting worse and worse... Gods, now that you mention it, Nolan City really has suffered a lot of misfortune in the last six months."

The ladies, who had been listening to the men's lamentations, exchanged raised eyebrows.

"But no matter how terrible things get, they always get resolved in the end. I have absolute faith in that."

By now, the three men at the card table had each received their five cards. Garcia smiled and showed Jenkins his hand.

"See? After losing all afternoon, the Hermit has finally decided to smile upon me."

Quake revealed his hand as well. All five of his cards were of the same suit.

"Look, I think mine is a bit better."

He had been pretending to have a terrible hand the whole time. It was clearly a ruse to make Jenkins and Garcia lower their guard.

Jenkins hadn't looked at his last card either. He was attempting the inspiration-based divination that Miss Audrey had taught him.

"I believe I've won. Oh, your hand is certainly strong, but by the rules we're playing, it isn't the strongest."

He pressed his right index finger onto the back of the card, closed his eyes, and hesitated for a moment before flipping it over and slapping it onto the table with a loud smack.

Once again, he was the victor. Unfortunately, he still hadn't correctly guessed the card's identity.

Even card games grew tedious after a while, especially on a train where movement was so restricted.

Two hours after the train departed, the snowflakes outside the window disappeared. It was a clear sign that they had left Nolan's weather system far behind and were pressing onward.

The carriages for this short-haul trip had no dedicated kitchens or lounges, and Jenkins could sense his friends slowly succumbing to the low spirits that often accompanied travel.

He felt a wave of boredom himself and went to stand by the window, gazing out at the passing landscape.

Before reaching the mountains, the train had a long journey across a vast, endless plain. There were no scheduled stops along the way, so there wasn't even a chance to step outside for a breath of fresh air.

"The boredom of travel is a little more than I expected."

A woman's voice came from behind him. It was Hathaway.

"We'll be at our destination in another two hours. I think I can bear it. Compared to the tedious journey to Bel Diran, at least I can talk with all of you now. I should count my blessings."

"Why didn't you ask someone to go with you to Bel Diran? Receiving an award from the Queen is a great honor. No one would have refused if you'd invited them."

"But I don't have any friends," he replied.

Jenkins felt her draw nearer, and his heart began to beat a little faster. But she didn't press up against his back as he might have half-expected; she simply took a single step closer.

"From the very first day I met you, you've always seemed so lonely."

The light both inside and outside the carriage was bright, and the glass only reflected a sliver of Jenkins's face alongside Hathaway's eyes. Those eyes were so incredibly beautiful that Jenkins hardly dared to look directly at them.

"Is that so? No, I'm not lonely."

Yes, he still had Chocolate.

"I've always wanted to know what it is you're so worried about. For someone your age, Jenkins, you seem to carry far too many burdens."

She took another step forward. For a fleeting moment, Jenkins thought he could feel the warmth of her body. It was an illusion, of course; his senses weren't nearly that sharp.

"Excuse me, I think I need the restroom."

He fumbled for an excuse, leaving Hathaway and the cat, which was perched on a nearby table, to stare at each other. He didn't know when it had started—recently, perhaps—but he'd noticed that his feelings toward Hathaway, and hers toward him, had grown strange. It could be love, or it could be just friendship, but Miss Mikhail was also his friend. What was he supposed to do?

"He's always , isn't he?"

the woman asked the cat.

Which was, presumably, a yes.

Tobie was an ordinary town in the Kingdom of Fidektri. It had an ordinary name, ordinary residents, an ordinary location, and ordinary scenery. It was said that there hadn't been a single violent crime there in thirteen years, and that the town's police force had even been downsized. Jenkins had no idea if that was true.

The train glided smoothly to a stop at the town's station while the sky was still light. Eager to escape the stuffy carriage, the young travelers hurried out to breathe in the fresh country air.

Without any large factories, Tobie Town was a picturesque place, though it was hard to appreciate that in the winter. The station only serviced three trains a day, so it was very small. The bald stationmaster merely stood with his flag until the train pulled away, then retreated back into the warmth of his office without so much as a glance at the newly arrived guests.