Braveheart Bar.
Leonard had come here for three consecutive nights, yet each time he failed to meet Miss Seraphina. He hadn't even run into Hastur.
If it weren't for his trust in Hastur's character, he might even have suspected that Hastur and Seraphina had secretly eloped behind his back.
Hahaha, how ridiculous.
He had actually become this kind of person, so anxious about meeting someone.
At eleven o'clock at night, Leonard once again ended a day filled with disappointment. He let out a sigh, left the Braveheart Bar, and walked aimlessly along one side of the street, his gaze sweeping past one shop after another.
As for the pedestrians passing by, he no longer had the heart to pay them any attention, lest familiar scenes stir his emotions and add to his sorrow.
Only now did he realize that he knew very little about Miss Seraphina. He didn't even know where she lived.
If he wanted to meet her, he could only come to the Braveheart Bar to try his luck. Other than that, he had no way to look for her at all.
"Old man, am I beyond saving?" With his worries bottled up and no one to share them with, Leonard could only lower his voice and talk to the old man residing inside his body.
"Relax. You'll meet her again very soon."
"I know you're just comforting me."
"Heh. She'll come looking for you herself."
"Really?"
"If you don't believe me, why ask for my opinion at all?"
"It's not that I don't believe you, I just don't dare to. Maybe she's already forgotten about me."
"Haven't you always thought you had great masculine charm?"
"..." That mocking remark left Leonard silent. He stopped chatting with the old man and troubling himself further.
After wandering aimlessly along the street for more than ten minutes, a familiar figure suddenly appeared ahead.
It was still that distinctive black dress. Even on the dim street, Leonard recognized her silhouette at first glance.
"Miss Seraphina!" Leonard's spirits lifted, and he hurried forward.
Seraphina stood quietly where she was, waiting for Leonard to approach. Her eyes were no longer as clear as before, but carried a trace of coldness.
Last time, she had suffered a slight loss at the hands of Hastur Campbell. This time, it was only right to let his good friend make up for it.
Since he wanted to experience love, how could he miss tasting love's bitterness?
Only love nourished by pain could bloom into the most beautiful flower!
"Seraphina, I thought you didn't want to see me anymore." Leonard's breathing was rapid, his eyes reddened, looking utterly at a loss.
Seraphina said nothing. She simply looked at him with the same affectionate gaze, then reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The gentle, tender gesture turned all the pain and gloom in Leonard's heart into sweet spring water, flowing unceasingly through every inch of his body.
Every cell seemed to be nourished, beginning to cheer with joy.
"Seraphina…" Leonard called her name in his gentlest voice.
Seraphina lightly placed her right index finger on his lips, signaling that he didn't need to say anything, she understood everything.
Seraphina!
Every corner of Leonard's heart was calling out this name.
No need to speak, no need to think. He simply let her lead him forward.
When Leonard gradually regained awareness, he discovered that he had somehow gone from the street into a room decorated with an atmosphere leaning toward ambiguous adult elements.
Under the dim yellow light, Seraphina stood before a full-length mirror, seemingly admiring her peerless beauty.
By this point, the atmosphere had already been set.
No matter how dull Leonard was, he knew what he was supposed to do now.
Silence spoke louder than words.
He slowly walked behind Seraphina. Just as he was about to extend his hands to wrap them around her slender waist, a teasing voice suddenly rang out deep in his heart.
"The one you want to embrace right now is a witch."
"??!" Leonard's body stiffened abruptly. His outstretched hands froze in midair. The ripples that had just arisen in his heart were instantly sealed by an icy chill.
"And she's not an ordinary witch, but an ageless witch who has lived for at least a thousand years."
"..." Leonard's eyes went vacant, as if all vitality had drained from him.
A witch at least a thousand years old? An ageless witch?
He didn't know which sequence the Unageing witches occupied in the witch pathway, but he knew one thing clearly, this was absolutely not someone he could afford to provoke!
"If you don't want to be drained dry by this witch, think of every possible way to escape from her side."
Leonard no longer had the leisure to criticize the old man for only revealing the truth now. He had regained his clarity.
Yes, it had only been a few short days!
He had originally been a free-spirited drifter, yet after suddenly meeting her, he had even seriously considered marriage and settling down for her.
Apart from being bewitched, there was no other possibility!
Leonard's face turned pale. With a complicated expression, he took a small step backward.
"What's wrong?" Seraphina, who was admiring her beauty in the mirror, noticed Leonard's small movement and asked in confusion.
"Nothing. I just think the current you is more suitable for appreciating from a distance."
Leonard forced a smile, looking at her as he retreated, slowly moving toward the door.
"I find that you're most beautiful when admired from this distance." After finishing his last compliment, Leonard reached for the doorknob, ready to flee.
But no matter how hard he pulled, the tightly shut door simply would not open.
"What are you doing?" Seraphina still didn't turn around. Her originally innocent-sounding tone now grated harshly on Leonard's ears.
"It's a bit stuffy in here, so I thought I'd open the door to let in some air." Leonard squeezed out another stiff excuse.
"Open the door for others to admire? How could you have such a strange fetish?"
"..." Leonard was momentarily at a loss for words and hurriedly tried to open the door again.
Yet the door seemed determined to oppose him. No matter how much strength he used, it didn't budge at all.
"Is it really that hot?" Seraphina's pleasant voice drifted over.
"Hot. Very hot." Cold sweat cooperatively streamed down Leonard's forehead and temples.
"If it's that hot, why not take your clothes off?" As she spoke, Seraphina lightly undid the dark outer garment she was wearing.
Seizing this moment, Leonard gripped the doorknob with both hands, trying to grasp this rare opportunity, but still failed to open the door.
"The door won't open?"
"Yeah."
"Do you need me to help you?"
"If you're willing to help…"
Before Leonard could finish his sentence, he felt a chill at the back of his neck, accompanied by a fragrant breeze.
He knew Seraphina had already come up behind him. His entire body instantly stiffened.
At this point, he understood completely. His intention to escape had long been seen through. All along, Seraphina had merely been teasing him on purpose.
"You're using the wrong posture. You should use this posture instead." Seraphina pressed up from behind, reaching around him to grab his hands and rub them against the doorknob.
Leonard forced himself to remain calm and said, "It seems you can't open the door either, right?"
"That's right. I'm only good at opening other people's hearts." Seraphina's fingers slid from the back of Leonard's hand along his arm, inch by inch upward, then shifted slightly and tapped the position of his heart.
"I've heard people say that witches like to maintain their beauty by eating young people's hearts." Seraphina's words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Leonard, now completely stiff and unable to move, said solemnly, "Don't talk nonsense. Witches are very kind people. They're willing to help others and unwilling to kill, let alone do something as terrifying and disgusting as eating human hearts."
"Are witches really that good?"
"Of course!"
"Then why are you in such a hurry to run away?"
"I wasn't trying to run. I really just wanted to open the door for some air."
"You're not honest at all."
"..." Leonard felt that this conversation could no longer continue. In his heart, he frantically called for the old man's help, but the old man seemed to have left his ears buried in the deep valley of the witch's chest, giving no response at all.
"When a man sees a beautiful woman who has already stripped naked, what will he do?"
Seraphina's right index finger had already pierced the skin over Leonard's heart and continued to extend inward.
"Of course he'll fetch clothes for that woman to put on, and warn her not to casually undress in front of men in the future, or else when she wants to get dressed again, she won't be able to.
Enter the dream!"
Leonard roared the last words, trying to forcibly pull Seraphina into a dream, but he failed.
Seraphina rested her head on Leonard's shoulder, her face full of smiles. "My dream can't be without you."
"What the hell does that have to do with me!" Veins bulged on Leonard's forehead as he viciously smashed his right elbow backward.
What he didn't expect was that this powerful elbow strike actually landed on Seraphina's beautiful face, forcing her to cry out in pain and stumble back half a step.
Leonard wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. He tried pulling the door again. This time, it finally opened. He hurriedly darted out and slammed the door shut behind him.
Inside the room, Seraphina's face was filled with confusion and fear. In that instant just now, all of her Beyonder abilities had lost their effect, as if they had been stolen away.