Whispering Verse

"Wouldn't it be weird to attend your own funeral?"

Shade raised his eyebrows and asked in a low voice.

The guardian shook his head slightly. He was dressed similarly to Shade, but slightly more old-school. Hillis, who was standing next to the priest and delivering a eulogy, obviously noticed this new guest, but she did not stop speaking.

Hillis was followed by Shade, who briefly expressed his respect for Mr. Lathans and acknowledged that he laid an important foundation for the glory of the "Golden Dawn Opera Company" today.

Shade thought that after he finished speaking, Siris would ask the guardian to say a few words, but in fact he did not. The priest announced that everyone should stand up, and he led the people in a final prayer, praying for the soul of Willon Lassers to rest in peace.

After the church activities, the coffin was moved to the grave under the big tree. Led by Siris, everyone threw a handful of earth into the coffin in the tomb, and then the tomb was filled, leveled, and surrounded by a circle of small stone pillars. According to Randall Valley custom, the highest point of the grave should be level with the ground.

Everyone stood in silence in front of the grave for a while, and then parted again. Next, the church's search and investigation of the entire city will intensify, and no one will see each other again in a short period of time.

Seeing that Sirius had no intention of talking to him, the guardian walked a little further and waited for a while to talk to Shade.

Shade said goodbye to the girls one by one. Although the moment of departure is always melancholy, he knew that this separation meant that the countdown to the next reunion had begun.

"This is a letter to Helen and Grace. After I finish handling the matters at hand, I will go to Middleburg to see you."

Shade gave the letter to the girl with flaxen hair. Miss Swift nodded lightly and put away the letter. Then, without paying attention to the eyes of others, she kissed the side of Shade's face:

"You have worked really hard on the Randall Valley. In the spring, don't forget to visit us at Fort Midhill. The Sikal Mountains are beautiful in the spring."

Shade smiled and nodded.

Then came Miss Aurora. The arrogant witch didn't seem to care about the separation, but when Shade reached out to hug her, there was still some reluctance on her face:

"You should pay attention to safety and don't always run to various dangerous places."

She warned Shade, but didn't say anything else. As for Miss Hayley Aurora, she quietly waved to Shade. Although she didn't have much communication with Shade, she had a good impression of him.

Miss Carina and Tifa will return to Tobesk today with the help of Miss Sylvia, so there is no need to say goodbye. However, she told Xia De to make some time tomorrow, that is, Tuesday, because she might have some things for Xia De to do.

When Miss Carina said these words, Tifa stood behind her and winked at Shade. This was an obvious hint, but Shade wasn't quite sure what it meant. He wanted to ask Tifa for details, but after that, the black-haired maid smiled and refused to speak.

Finally, there is Miss Sylvia and Margaret. Because of the ribbon-cutting at the shipyard, they will stay here for a week. Although this is not the first time to say goodbye, Margaret is still very sad:

"During my time in Randall Valley, you always helped me with various things, and I also thanked you for handling the Masons' Association. I'm always busy, and I'm really sorry that I don't have time to spend more time with you."

She bit her lip, hugged Shade and said goodbye to him, feeling really sad about this:

"Next time we meet, no matter what time or place, I will definitely put down everything."

Although he blushed a little, he still kissed Sha De and looked at Sha De from close range:

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, my love."

Shade clearly felt that the eyes of the ladies around him had changed.

"Margaret, you have to meet Countess Hattiers later, so don't waste your time."

So Miss Sylvia gently pulled her, and then said to Shade with a smile:

"Take care of yourself, don't worry about our business, Margaret will help me. Oh, I didn't take the finished product to Randall Valley. When we return to Willendale, I asked Margaret to send it to You, you’ll like it.”

Everyone knows what “finished product” she’s talking about.

“Remember to come to Randall Valley often.”

Miss Benenice said finally, but she had an appointment with Shade at the opera house tonight, and it was not time to say goodbye, so she looked the least melancholy on her face.

Sirius did not talk to Shade. She knelt down on one knee and looked sadly at the tombstone in front of her. The text on the tombstone was very brief:

【Willon Garland Lassers】

[The second director of the Golden Dawn Opera Company and a good father. 】

【Born in the earth, died in the earth, buried in the earth. 】

[May the earth be with you and me. 】

"Are you okay?"

Shade asked softly behind her, and Sirius shook his head slightly. She had already become strong:

"Everyone will grow old. This is something you should understand when we meet. My father chose his own path, and I am very happy for him. He did not abandon me, but to better protect me."

She turned to Shade and said:

"You will leave one day, right?"

"She" chuckled in his ears, and Shade shook his head. Together with all the ladies around him, he looked up at the now bare tree:

"Look at this tree, it has no leaves in winter, but in summer, the dense leaves will shield the tomb from the blazing sun, and the warm wind will make it play the sounds of summer. Then comes winter again, withering and death again, After that, it will be another vibrant spring.”

"You want to say that this is the law of nature and we have to face all this?"

Sirius asked, Shade shook his head again:

"This tree will always change, but the ground under your feet will remember what it looks like every year. Siris, whether people leave does not depend on me, but on you. As long as you still remember us, we will always be with you. around."

The ladies around him all smiled, and the blond-haired young girl also stood up, smiled and nodded, as if she wanted to engrav the figure in front of her in her heart forever:

"I will always remember you and never forget you."

"I will never forget you either, or all of you."

So, Sirius gently left a kiss on the side of Shade's face.

Just like what Shade said, the shade of the trees will soon cover this small grave. Because spring has really come.

The witch and the apprentices left. After the simple funeral, Shade waved goodbye to everyone, then put his hands in his pockets and went to find the waiting guardian.

Two men, or at least it looked like two men, were walking together on a path paved with square stone slabs in the cemetery. The hazy fog makes this cemetery seem a bit unreal, but it is indeed a good place for confidential conversations.

Shade asked:

"You didn't come here specifically for this funeral, right? I thought you would contact Luvia directly if anything happened."

Just like Sister Devlin gave Luvia the flame that could directly contact her, Shade also asked the guardian to give Luvia the way to directly contact him. Of course, if Shade wants to find the Guardian, he doesn't have to go directly to the passage under the Night Temple and walk that road again. He just needs to stand on the ground and shout the Guardian's name in the Randall Valley area. will appear directly.

"There are other things. If it is not necessary, I actually don't like to appear on the ground."

The guardian said that although there were many people in the city's public cemetery during this time, it was also silent in the misty fog. Shade is not the chosen one of death, but he can still feel the "breath of death" with his own perception. This is a feeling that is difficult to describe, and in his feeling, the Randall River Valley, filled with the smell of death, is being illuminated by the morning sun, and the fog is about to dissipate.

"It's a matter of curing the petrified plague and the ring warlocks contaminated by sludge."

The guardian said, his tone was very calm:

"These people must be dealt with as soon as possible. Even if the source of the distortion is eliminated by you now, the pollution can still spread."

Shade's expression also became serious, this is indeed a big trouble:

"But the problem is that even if we solve the root distortion of the earth, we still haven't found a convenient and cheap antidote. Moreover, I don't have a Holy Grail in my hand."

Shade said regretfully:

"You can't really break off a small piece from the current Heart of the Earth, right? This should be regarded as the most wasteful way to use the Heart of the Earth besides wasting money."

"The current power of the Heart of the Earth must not be lost any more."

The guardian said that this is a fact, otherwise he would not be able to leave Randall Valley easily because of this:

"The Righteous God Church has discussed this matter through the chosen ones of Balance. They have methods to deal with petrification, but neither the high-level potions, the table in the consecrated open space by the river, nor the relics are It can be mass-produced and used to treat thousands of people.”

Shade nodded to express his understanding:

"I can directly cure the petrified plague, and even the petrified symptoms that have been contaminated with black mud, as long as they are not dead. But I don't want to expose my identity, and my own spirit is not enough to treat an entire city. "

Shade sighed and said, and the guardian asked:

"What method is it? Spells? Thaumaturgy? Unique rituals? Or some kind of high-standard relic that can be copied and has low negative characteristics?"

So Shade described his "activated clay" and then realized that there was no prefix of "power of the earth" in front of this thaumaturgy. In other words, the Guardian who has held the Chosen One Ceremony and now fully controls all the power of the earth cannot learn or use this spell.