Whispering Verse

Little Mia just shrank into Shade's arms again, leaving only the upper half of her face exposed. While looking around, he noticed the burning campfire. The flames seemed to be stationary in the cat's big amber eyes, but it was very obedient and did not jump out of Shade's arms.

Because cats don't like rain.

Of course, because the surroundings were really dark, Shade didn't notice that when little Mia appeared, she seemed to turn slightly and glance at the fishing god on the sea. But that's not important, he took Miss Theresa and had already awakened the other three ladies.

Their mental state is very poor, at least much worse than Miss Teresa who can still cry, be shy and curious. After being awakened by Shade, he didn't know what he had done during his coma. Only when he stretched out his hand towards the campfire to keep warm, his spirits were lifted.

Fortunately, their memories are still normal, and they still remember what happened when Shade came last time, as well as fishing and investigating the sinking of the "Brilliant Messenger".

Shade only had half an hour, and he didn't have time to provide psychological counseling for everyone. So after their emotions temporarily stabilized, they asked their own questions:

"Did you remember any new details while I was away? Were there really no signs before the ship sank? Miss Theresa just recalled that Her Majesty Violet once said that on the route of the Radiant Messenger, two A month ago, there were traces of the evil thing in the deep sea - the player of Nanao, but it was not its true form."

This was actually learned from the memories of the golden girl during the last fishing trip.

The pale-faced Miss Maxim, Professor Evans and Miss Malone recalled carefully, but there was no more specific gain.

Shade then asked a question that they should have an answer to:

"The shipwreck happened at night, so what did you do before you went back to your room to sleep at night?"

Miss Theresa knew that Shade was verifying the identities of these three people, so she took the lead and said:

"I had dinner with Vayne and then took a walk on the deck as usual. Because the night was cloudy and we couldn't see the stars and the moon, we didn't stay outside for long and returned to the room at eight o'clock. We stayed together and I watched for a while While reading, Vayne went to the kitchen and brought me hot tea. It started raining outside around 9:30, and I fell asleep to the sound of rain."

The maid, Miss Wayne Maxim, also nodded and said:

"I stayed with Miss Theresa after dinner. When I went to bring hot tea, I heard the servants in the kitchen say that a storm was coming. They heard it from the sailors on the ship. Miss Theresa went to bed I didn't rest after that. I went to the kitchen at about 9:40 to confirm the information for tomorrow morning's breakfast, and went to the laundry room to get the clothes I had stored. I also took a rest at 10:10, and it started to rain outside."

This doesn't sound suspicious.

Next is Professor Evans. The life of this professor who travels alone is very monotonous:

"After dinner, I went back to the room to read and took a shower until half past nine. During this period, I didn't see anyone or leave the room."

First-class rooms have their own private bathroom.

"Have you ever noticed anything unusual?"

Xia De asked again, and the professor thought for a while:

"It was almost nine o'clock, and there seemed to be some trouble outside. Although the cabin is well soundproofed, it makes no difference to a high-level witch."

She pointed to her ears. She was a genuine twelfth-level witch. She had a tenured teaching position at Zarath Academy of Literature at the end of the fifth era. In today's era, the witches are ushering in their final glory. To be able to become a professor in the academy in this era, she is indeed very capable.

"I didn't go outside to check, but from the sound, it seemed like there was a thief on the boat, but I don't know the specific situation."

When she mentioned this, Mademoiselle Maxime also added:

"When I went to the kitchen to bring hot tea, I also heard that a lady staying in the first-class compartment was stolen. She was traveling alone. It is said that when she returned to the room, she found that everything in the room had been used, not only the teacup, but even the The jewelry box, clothes, notebooks, drawing boards, and dressing tables had all been tampered with. Later, she checked and found that valuables were missing, but I don’t know the more specific things.”

She only heard about it occasionally, and if Professor Evans hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have even remembered it.

"Well, the missing thing wouldn't be a flawless blue gem, would it?"

Shade asked hesitantly. This question was strange, but none of the ladies present knew it.

Finally, it’s Miss Maggie Malone’s turn. Although as an ordinary person, she does not live in the first-class cabin, her nightlife is much richer than that of the witches in the first-class cabin:

"After dinner, I went to the deck to relax. At about seven o'clock, I returned to the cabin to play dice with the girls in the cabin next door. Then... I went to the kitchen and stole a bottle of wine."

She pursed her lips and said:

"It seemed to be rum, and I got drunk afterwards. When I woke up, the shipwreck had already happened. At that time, debris blocked the door, and I had no choice but to jump out of the window to escape."

"I remember you said that you were going on vacation with your sister?"

Shade asked, wondering why there was one person missing from the other person's description.

The black-haired girl lowered her head slightly, her side face illuminated by the firelight:

"Yes. But that's not actually my biological sister. We are friends and we usually call each other sisters. I'm worried about her, but I still have to leave here before I can think of a way. Maybe she has been rescued through other methods."

Shade and Miss Theresa looked at each other and were about to continue asking, but unexpectedly the black-haired girl took the initiative and said:

"I got drunk earlier, so I don't know what they said about theft. But when I was playing dice with the girls in the next cabin in the room, I heard them say that the captain of this ship was strange. During dinner, there was a The girl didn't go to the restaurant because she was losing weight. When she was watching the sunset on the deck, she noticed that the captain and first mate were carrying a box of things covered by an oilcloth. This is very abnormal, right? Why weren't the sailors moved?"

This was indeed abnormal, but Shade always felt that the clues she suddenly put forward seemed like she wanted to divert his attention. And when he stared at the black-haired girl, she looked away embarrassedly, not daring to look at Shade:

"That's it, I didn't lie."

Now not only Shade and Miss Theresa, but also the listless Miss Maxim and Professor Evans noticed something was wrong with her.

When everyone stared at her, the black-haired girl pursed her lips and looked at Shade. She knew very well that Shade, this strange man, was the leader here.

"Is there anything else you want to tell us?"

Shade also looked at her, so the girl "defeated" under Shade's gaze:

"If I tell the truth, can you promise to protect me?"

"Did you kill anyone?"

"of course not."

"Then at least in this ocean, I can guarantee that no one will do anything to you."

Miss Malone pursed her lips and nodded gently:

"Actually, I don't have any sisters, and I didn't go to Silver Beach Island for vacation."

Her voice was very low:

"I probably suffered a head injury when I jumped off the ship. I have lost a lot of memories before boarding the ship. I only remember that I used some means to get the tickets, and then boarded the ship, hoping to get some things I didn't have. This is really the case, this time it’s the truth, I didn’t lie to you.”

Professor Evans nodded to Shade. A twelfth-level witch was enough to tell whether ordinary people were lying. What's more, professors in the college face students who lie because they are late or haven't handed in their homework all day long. It is instinct for them to identify lies.

Therefore, it appears that Miss Maggie Malone's former occupation was that of a thief.

"I actually didn't eat the dinner before the shipwreck. I wanted to take advantage of everyone's dinner and go to the first-class cabin to try my luck to see if I could find what I wanted."

"So, is the thief that Professor and the others heard about you the same?"

Miss Teresa, who was leaning against Shade, asked. Miss Malone shook her head hurriedly:

"It's not me, it's definitely not me. Please listen to me. I went to the first-class cabin because I heard that there was a witch on the ship. I didn't dare to break the door lock. There happened to be a door that was not locked, so I went in. But at that time, There's someone in the room! There's a pretty blue-eyed girl sitting in front of the dressing table."

She tried her best to describe the girl's beauty:

"She was really beautiful, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a white dress. I was shocked. She turned and smiled at me, and then I walked in in a daze. I swear I didn't steal anything. .”

"What did you do in the room?"

Shade asked. The black-haired girl's face turned red and hesitantly said:

"She is really beautiful. I feel from the bottom of my soul that she is beautiful. She also praised me for being beautiful and invited me to go for a walk outside. We went to the deck to watch the sunset together, and she told me about her feelings about death. I was so scared. The sunset was really beautiful. I didn’t even remember how we got back to the room afterwards. After that, she said that the clothes I was wearing were too old-fashioned, so she took out my clothes and changed them for me. She also put on makeup for me, and then she said Paint me an oil painting.

Seeing five pairs of eyes—the cat was also looking here—looking at her, she pursed her lips again:

"It's that kind of naked oil painting. At about seven o'clock, we were wandering on the boat together again. I said that I felt lonely, and she also said that she was nostalgic for the world, and then we returned to my room. The lower cabin is There were four beds in one room. I was very lucky because it was very noisy near the steam engine room and the other beds were empty and unsold, so the two of us stayed in the room. I fell asleep after that. When I woke up It was dark all around, the ship was shaking violently, and she disappeared. After that, I was forced to jump off the ship and swam desperately toward the firelight to get here."

PS1: Miss Malone’s story is not what you think.

PS2: Picture of this chapter "Miss Teresa"