Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 935 - 935 Relic Containment of Xerxes

Mr. Madison and the disguised Princess Margaret arrived at the Three Cats Inn on this foggy Friday afternoon. They chose a table very close to the woman sitting alone, and the inn's maid quickly brought over drinks.

Shard saw Mr. Madison asking the maid not to leave yet, then pointing at the woman sitting alone as if inquiring about her, and the plainly dressed maid answered a few words, then received two small coins from Princess Margaret.

"Doctor, stop preparing the ritual."

Seeing the "bean-picking" scene just now, Shard kicked the doctor under the table, then raised a finger to signal him to be silent, and pointed to the table on the other side of the skylight.

The doctor also saw Mr. Madison and the other lady. He frowned for a moment, signaling Shard to remain silent. The doctor wrote a note in his notebook and then pushed it to Shard:

[Although we are friends, they have their own actions. We shouldn't get involved in such matters. If it's related to the Xerxes Higher Medical Academy, our presence would only cause unnecessary trouble.]

Shard nodded to the doctor; evidently, the woman was the target of the correspondence circle mages from Xerxes.

He wasn't worried that Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret would stay here for long. The newspapers said that Princess Margaret was invited to join Queen Diana and others that evening at the Draleon Royal Opera House to experience Draleon's traditional art.

Therefore, it was estimated that Princess Margaret had to return to her lodging manor before five o'clock.

"She's really busy. She has to participate in visiting activities while also considering her circle sorcerer studies. The princess's schedule must be quite daunting."

Shard thought to himself.

To prevent being seen by Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret, Shard and the doctor got up quietly and moved to a spot not illuminated by the gas lamp, leaving the sleeping accountant at the original place. It was common to see someone sleeping after getting drunk at the Three Cats Inn, so this wasn't conspicuous.

In the first ten minutes after Mr. Madison and the princess took their seats, everything was completely normal. But at 3:17 in the afternoon, the woman holding her glass put down the barley wine again. Instead of pouring herself another drink or reaching for something else on the table, she held her cheeks with both hands and once again lifted her head off her neck.

Shard had seen this scene earlier, but for Dr. Schneider, who had only heard Shard say the woman was strange, it was truly shocking to see this.

[Outlander, you've come into contact with the Whisper.]

The head was only lifted for less than ten seconds before being placed back on the neck. In that time, another peanut emerged from under the head. It seemed that a "detachable" head was not suitable for using beans.

The indication of a "Whisper" element only appeared when the head separated. Once the head and neck were reattached, the element trace could no longer be sensed.

Shard stared at Dr. Schneider with a tense face, whose expression was somewhat obscured in the shadows.

"Doctor, can you identify what that is?"

Shard wrote in his notebook.

"No idea."

The doctor also wrote on the paper, again stressing that this was an issue for the Xerxes Higher Medical Academy, and unless they explicitly needed help, it was best for the two of them not to intervene.

Shard and Dr. Schneider, observing from a distance, noticed the strange phenomenon; of course, Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret did too.

Shard couldn't see their expressions, only that they exchanged a few words.

Then, Princess Margaret remained seated while Mr. Madison actually got up and approached the woman who was drinking wine again, bent down and said a few words, and then returned to his table.

"This is probing, determining the opponent's mental state through language, and verifying bodily abnormalities through close observation. When it comes to encountering bizarre humanoid creatures, this is quite a basic and primitive probing method."

The doctor wrote on the paper and indicated for Shard to keep watching.

Mr. Madison sat back down opposite Princess Margaret, and the two exchanged a few more words in low tones, then took out something that Shard couldn't clearly see and placed it on the table.

"They're about to take action; this is the preparation of spellcasting items. There must also be relic containment ritual items; that woman is related to a relic!"

The doctor wrote again in his notebook, his handwriting very neat.

"Won't they lure her to a deserted place before taking action?"

Shard asked in his notebook, and the doctor shook his head. He was also unsure of the specific situation:

"Alan is quite a reliable person, no need to worry."

Seeing the letters the doctor wrote, Shard immediately began to worry.

Princess Margaret and Mr. Madison did not take long to prepare. They walked together towards the woman drinking alone. She seemed puzzled at their approach, turning her head to look at them.

What happened next was too fast for Shard to see clearly. He only saw Mr. Madison take something out and wave it in front of the woman, while Princess Margaret moved behind her, as if trying to strangle her with an invisible transparent rope.

All of this was silent, but clearly, they failed. The object in Mr. Madison's hand suddenly caught fire, flickering for an instant before disappearing. Meanwhile, Princess Margaret seemed to be pushed back by a great force, maintaining her strangling posture, her body rigidly retreated two or three steps before steadying herself.

Seizing the opportunity, the woman stood up, then removed her head with one hand, and waved it at Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret.

"Oh~"

The fluctuation of the Whisper Element suddenly intensified, and Shard heard the doctor sigh softly. Clearly affected directly by the relic, both Mr. Madison and the Princess simultaneously covered their necks with their hands, staggering back, with the Four-Ring Princess sitting on an empty chair.

No one noticed what happened in the corner. After repelling the two Circle Sorcerers, the woman placed her head back on her neck and turned to run. Mr. Madison, with a pale face, stumbled after her, and the Princess took a few more seconds before getting up and following quickly.

The two Circle Sorcerers dared not use their powers in public and could only closely follow the woman, trying to find a secluded spot to attempt again. But they had no chance, as the woman walking briskly ahead did not leave the floor but headed almost directly toward where Dr. Schneider and Shard were.

As she got closer, Shard and the doctor sensed something was off. But they had no chance to get up and leave. The woman passed the seat where Mr. Jimms was snoring, then pulled out a chair and sat next to Shard and the doctor.

Shard looked at the doctor, who seemed to understand his intention:

"This is definitely not because I'm unlucky."

The doctor also did not speak, but Shard felt he understood his expression.

Even without removing her head, Shard could feel the cold aura about the middle-aged woman with light makeup nearby, along with the influence of the curse attached to the Whisper Element. The mental pressure forced Shard and the doctor to stay still, while both felt an itch on their necks.

Shard looked at the doctor and clearly saw a black line on his neck, and from the doctor's expression, Shard guessed he had a similar mark.

By this time, Mr. Madison had caught up, and he also had an unnatural black line on his neck. Shard and Dr. Schneider had not disguised themselves, and Mr. Madison immediately recognized them. This man with a headscarf slowed his steps slightly, then showed a relieved expression.

He hesitated briefly, then walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down too, across from the woman on the side closer to Dr. Schneider.

Princess Margaret, who arrived shortly after, also noticed the situation here. Shard sat still and thoughtfully chose not to disguise himself deliberately, so the somewhat panicked Princess saw Dr. Schneider, whom she had met at the Lakeside Manor banquet, and then looked at Shard's face.

For an instant, Shard almost thought she was going to exclaim in surprise, but Princess Margaret's psychological quality was extremely strong. Even seeing something incredible, she pretended to be calm and, imitating Mr. Alan Madison's manner, pulled out a chair and sat down.

She sat across from the woman, to the right of Mr. Madison, near Shard, and there was also a strange black line on her neck, evidence of the relic's curse.

"Let's introduce ourselves."

The woman who could remove her head sat down and then seemed to freeze like a wax statue, remaining motionless. Mr. Madison said in distress, then complained in a low voice:

"Bill, if I knew you were here, I certainly wouldn't have conducted relic containment here. Oh, this is Mr. Hamilton, the local Correspondence Circle Sorcerer of Saint Byrons; I've seen him, and he's an excellent Correspondence Circle Sorcerer. Knight, this is a Correspondence student from out of town..."

"Miss Mary."

Princess Margaret, immensely surprised, said.

"Mary" is the most frequently used female name in Draleon, using such a name to introduce oneself essentially informs others it's a pseudonym.

"Sorry, my identity is somewhat sensitive."

She apologized to Shard, who nodded. He didn't mind Princess Margaret knowing his identity as a student of Saint Byrons. In fact, letting her know this way was even better. Now, the Princess knows he is a Circle Sorcerer, but she doesn't know he knows she is also a Circle Sorcerer, nor does she know he knows she knows he is a Circle Sorcerer, which is a very interesting situation.

"Are you saying it's my bad luck that caused this?"

The doctor complained displeasedly to Mr. Madison, tapped the table, and looked at the frozen woman. After infecting Shard and the doctor with the curse, she hadn't done anything else:

"Alan, what is really going on?"

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