Whispering Verse

"Before we set off, His Majesty was worried that we might encounter useful relics but not be able to recognize them, so he asked me to carry an illustration of the relics. Although there is no conch - [Immortal Longing] in it, there is this - [ Golden Memories]. The blood is mixed with ink and then gold powder is added, and then three of the most profound memories of someone are recorded here, then the person in the memory can return. It can be a living person or a soul. This The only restriction is that the soul cannot be completely destroyed. Other than that, there are no restrictions."

Miss Higgins was actually worried that the souls that were not attracted by the conch last time were destroyed, but she did not dare to say it, and Shade certainly would not mention it:

"What about the negative traits?"

"When writing down memories, everyone around you will passively enter the memories. This kind of entering other people's memories is quite dangerous, but fortunately, Mrs. Miles is an ordinary person, and you and I are both demons."

She couldn't tell what Shade was, so after thinking about it for a moment, she simply ignored the topic:

"Mrs. Miles, we will get a glimpse of the real scene in your memory later, please don't mind."

The old man smiled and shook his head, took the notebook, and gently touched the cover with his palm:

"It doesn't matter. I would be happy if I could see him in my memory in advance. You have worked hard too. No matter what the final result is, I can accept it."

Shade glanced into the thick fog around him:

"Let's try it now. Do you have ink, pen and gold powder?"

Not much time was wasted in the camp this time, and there was still a lot of twenty minutes left. He had enough time to watch the old woman try the second relic again. Since the devil was paid to point out the direction, Shade thought there should be no problem this time.

"Yes, it's in the backpack."

So the witch took out the ink, and after adding gold powder, Grandma Miles cut her index finger with her own hands, squeezed out the blood and dripped it into the ink.

After everything was ready, she wrote the pen herself, and recalled the past for a moment, and then told the young people the story of the past:

"This is not a very interesting story. The first time I met him was in the spring. I was working as a helper in the village and helped the village chief's wife to fetch a floral skirt that she ordered from the town. At that time, everyone was not rich. , that skirt is so beautiful, in that good weather, it almost seems to be able to shine. It is said that this is a modified shape imitating the skirt worn by Her Majesty the Witch Emperor. At that time, I always believed this ."

The ink fell, and in the sky shrouded in black fog, a ray of sunlight shone on the tip of the pen, and then the fog in the entire sky was dispersed.

Shade and Miss Higgins squinted and looked up. In the blue sky, the sun was slightly in the east, and large white clouds were slowly floating in the blue sky. Looking around again, Granny Miles was still sitting by the campfire writing her memories. On the other side of the path at the feet of Shade and Miss Higgins, a young girl with her hair wrapped in a scarf and wearing a faded floral skirt was writing. Walking towards here holding a paper bag.

Her appearance was ordinary, and she even had some freckles on her face. But it was obvious that she was in a good mood, humming a tune that Shade had never heard of while walking.

"Mrs. Miles's cousin, our Majesty, only sat on the throne and seat of parliament more than ten years ago. My mother-in-law's story happened at least fifty years ago. Look, Mrs. Miles was really young at that time."

Miss Higgins reminded Shade in a low voice.

"Madam, did you meet Mr. Richard Jackman on this road back to the village?"

Shade asked curiously. The black fog completely dissipated. It was really a sunny day, and the wind was warm and comfortable. Shade wasn't sure whether it was the memory of old Mrs. Miles that beautified the environment here, but it was really nice here.

The old man sitting by the roadside bonfire also raised his head and looked around, his old eyes seeming to be shining. A smile appeared on her face, a smile from the bottom of her heart:

"Yes, I will never forget it. I was 15 years old and he was 17 years old. He was the youngest son of a knight from the next village. He came from behind me on a horse. I walked to the side of the road and let his horse go. When he passed me, I caught my eye immediately."

The young girl had reached Shade and Miss Higgins, but could not see them at all. Behind her, the cheerful sound of horse hooves came, and a thin young man with black hair and a sword on his waist appeared not far away, riding a maroon horse.

To be honest, this young man looks ordinary. Although Shade is not very narcissistic, he knows very well that the other person's appearance is probably in the middle of the pack even if it is compared to him in terms of appearance.

Just as Mrs. Miles described, the young man rode his horse and passed by the young girl who had given way to the roadside, and then left in the distance.

The old man temporarily stopped writing on his face, raised his head, and watched the figure go away with his younger self. The folds on her face were piled together, but the happy expression could not be concealed:

"so good"

"He didn't stop, so you met again later?"

The witch asked curiously, and the old man shook his head:

"No, look."

As soon as the words fell, the boy who had gone far came back on horseback. He carefully controlled the horse, jumped down in front of the young girl who did not dare to raise her head, and then issued an invitation:

"Excuse me, are you going to Little Hangleton Village?"

"The 17-year-old jumped off the horse. His black hair shone in the sun and his teeth were very white. He asked me very gentlemanly if I wanted to give me a ride. Later, he took me back to the village on horseback. Then he put me at the entrance of the village. I found out only a long time later that he wanted to stop beside me immediately. The reason why he walked for a while and then came back was because he couldn't control his father's horse at all."

The old man looked at the words he had written in his notebook, and felt in a daze that he was following the girl sitting sideways on the horse not far away.

The boy was very gentlemanly and did not mount the horse. Instead, he held the reins and walked in front. They talked and laughed, the young boy was very cheerful, while the girl held the paper bag and lowered her head, blushing in response to the topic.

They gradually fade away with memories.

The black mist enveloped the surroundings again, and in the blink of an eye the three of them returned to the outskirts of the black mist camp. The bonfire was crackling, and Mrs. Miles had a happy expression on her face. Although Miss Higgins despised men, she longed for such an encounter and love:

"It's a pity that I have passed the age of such young love. Why didn't I meet her when I was young?"

She whispered, not knowing that Shade, who had excellent hearing, could hear it completely. Of course, Shade pretended not to hear anything and after seeing other people's happy memories, his own love story naturally emerged.

"You don't have a lover, do you?"

Miss Higgins asked in surprise, Shade, who had a pensive expression. Shade nodded:

"Of course, I'm pretty popular."

The young witch pursed her lips and stopped talking. She realized that she was the only single person here. Instead, Mrs. Miles asked:

"Young man, did you also meet on a sunny spring day?"

"this"

The first thing Shade thought about was not whether it was sunny that day, but who he should recall the first time he met.

The first girl he met was Dorothy. That day he returned to the clinic with Dr. Schneider and listened to the doctor's introduction to St. Byrons. The blond girl pushed open the door and entered. Of course, it was later proven that the soul in the body It could be Lesia.

The first girl he met and had a definite relationship with was Luvia, and that happened at Lakeview Manor. Luvia, who was away on business for the Prophet Association, also attended the banquet that led to a series of events after she came back. The starry sky was clear that night, and Luvia was also very beautiful in her long dress. That was also the first time Shade saw those purple eyes.

The first witch he met was Miss Carina. That night he accepted the commission from the accountant Mr. Franklin and went to the "Lucky Southern Cross Club" to find his son. Then he first met the drunk Ladd. Captain Si, another abnormality was discovered by the witch. That night, he didn't see the witch, he just talked across the room, not even knowing her name.

"Speaking of which, the Franklin family later moved to Artek, the city of art. I don't know what's going on now."

The encounter with these three ladies was either at night or in foggy weather in the city. And the encounter under the bright sunshine was the first time the stranger came to this world. When he went to find a pet store, he met Iluna at the door of the store.

The seventeen-year-old girl smiled politely at him, and then walked into the light of the alley. At that moment, it was as if a beam of skylight shone on her, as if the whole world was watching her. Shade would never forget that scene. Then he met the pet who was hiding on the rooftop on the sunny rooftop. The store owner hated and feared the lost pet cat Xiao Mia. That day was also the day when Shade and Xiao Mia met for the first time.

"Looking at your expression, you must have many stories, right?"

The old man asked with a smile. Shade nodded and asked a question:

"Actually, I've always felt guilty towards them. They love me, and of course I love them too, but I can't. I'm probably just too greedy."

The life of the Witch Emperors was worse than that of outsiders from the Sixth Age, so Miss Higgins was not surprised at all. Old Mrs. Miles also understood what Shade wanted to express:

"You mean, you feel guilty for being disloyal to them?"

"Yes."

The old man got to the point right away. She looked at the young man in front of her who seemed a little anxious, but more likely to feel guilty:

"The fact that you feel guilty means that you understand what you have done. You don't want to let go, right?"

PS: Illustration of this chapter "Witch-Miss Higgins"