The maid's quarters, beside the bed.
Morning sunlight streamed through the window.
Carter lay upon the bed, her cheeks gaunt and pale, her breathing faint to the point of silence. Only her eyes still held a trace of clarity.
Lynn stood at her side, a sigh weighing on his heart.
He had examined her as soon as the coughing first began.
Later, when he found no cause, he even asked a Golden Shadow Society member skilled in body modification to take a look.
That man concluded that it was nothing more than a chill.
But he had also said that Carter was old, her body long weakened, and her spirit showing signs of decline as well.
Physical decay could sometimes be mended, but the decline of the spirit was unstoppable; it was the mark of life's end.
Still… Lynn had thought Carter might last a few more years. He hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
"Master… don't grieve…" Carter noticed the sorrow in his eyes and managed a faint smile.
"I'm fifty-eight this year. Among mortals, that's already considered old… and these last years, I've been happy.
"Ever since my last master passed sixteen years ago, I've dreamed of moving back to the stone-house district. Not for a better life, no… only to come home again…"
Her words came in strained breaths, growing harder to speak.
"So… thank you, little Lynn…"
She rambled on and on until at last no more sound came.
Beside her, Adeline stepped forward to check, her eyes wet as she whispered:
"She's gone."
Giggs was there as well. He remembered the hot porridge the old woman had once made for them, sighed softly, and his eyes clouded with loss.
In barely half a year since coming down the mountain, he had experienced more farewells than in all the years before.
Lynn, too, gave a quiet sigh, standing in silence for a while before turning to leave.
"Adeline, I'll trouble you with this. Please see that Carter is laid to rest properly."
During Carter's bedridden days, Adeline had already taken over most of the old maid's duties as housekeeper.
Lynn had grown used to letting her handle such matters.
But with war looming and countless troubles at hand, he had not yet formally settled the matter.
And so, for now, things would simply continue as they were.
...
Lynn stepped out of the maid's room and descended into the basement.
This place had been cleared and organized, now serving as the workshop for constructing the Lambiel Skiff.
In the corner, Elena was carefully counting materials. Hearing Lynn's footsteps, she asked:
"Has the old lady passed away?"
"…Mm," Lynn answered softly, moving to sit at the central workbench.
Beside him, the skeleton frame of the skimmer was already beginning to take shape.
"The life of mortals is so short… far too short to reach truth," Elena murmured wistfully.
Lynn frowned faintly but said nothing.
Realizing her words might have sounded offensive, Elena explained,
"Forgive me. I do grieve for Carter's death… I was only speaking out of reflection."
She turned and walked toward him.
"After all, if our luck runs out, we may soon die as well."
Lynn set down the draft paper in his hand, thought for a moment, then suddenly asked:
"Elena… what is it you're really chasing?"
"Truth, of course," she replied without hesitation.
"I mean specifically. What exactly?"
Elena understood. Sitting down beside him, she said:
"Do you remember the story the Hossens master once told us? The tale of adding fuel to the sun?"
"You want that kind of power?" Lynn asked.
Elena nodded, then shook her head slightly.
"Back then, when I was on the Arachnid Ark, I suffered such terror that my spirit was damaged. My mind became shrouded, like the whole world had been veiled in gray mist, and I stood apart, out of place.
"Everything was dim, except that story of rekindling the sun that alone shone bright.
"I want power, yes. I want a long life… But more than that, I want to see it. I want to witness what that radiant scene truly looks like.
"Don't you want to, Lynn? Don't you want to behold such mysteries of truth?"
She sat very close. Her pale-green eyes seemed to glow, her breath warm, her words burning with passion.
"No one would, Elena." Lynn picked his draft back up, replying in a calm voice.
Elena smiled.
"Then let's hope we live to see it."
"Mm." Lynn gave no clear answer, instead asking:
"Still no luck finding Lanveined Crystals?"
Elena shook her head.
...
Time flowed by like water. More than half a month slipped past.
When the Lambiel Skiff was about eighty percent complete, at last, Lynn and Elena found word of the Lanveined Crystals.
They were in the hands of a merchant.
The two set a time to meet.
At 36 Redtree Street, Lynn and Elena stepped down from their carriage.
The butler greeted them warmly at the door.
"Lord Lynn, Lady Elena, please this way."
He led them through the garden and into the villa's receiving hall, where the merchant, Yuan, awaited.
Yuan was a second-rank apprentice, once part of the Jinsen Caravan.
But long before the Black Rose incident, the caravan's core members had already slipped away from the Hossens Domain, leaving behind only men like Yuan, locally recruited and deemed unimportant.
Officially "stationed," but in truth abandoned.
In the reception hall, after a round of polite courtesies, Lynn cut straight to the point:
"Lord Yuan, I'll be direct. How much do you want for your Lanveined Crystals?"
Yuan smiled, not answering, but said,
"Have either of you tasted Snow Tea? I have some in store. There's still plenty of time we can sip and talk slowly."
"Forgive me for being blunt, Lord Yuan, but our time is not as plentiful as you think." Lynn shook his head. "I'd like to conclude this deal quickly."
Yuan's eyes flickered. After a long look at Lynn, he said plainly:
"If Lord Lynn is pressed for time, then so shall I be direct: my Lanveined Crystals are three hundred magic stones apiece."
Lynn frowned inwardly. That price was nearly ten times the market rate.
At his side, Elena's expression clearly darkened, but before she could speak, Lynn's cold voice cut in:
"Then it seems, Lord Yuan, you're not sincere in selling."
Yuan kept smiling, about to reply
When a shrill gust tore past, it sliced the stone table before him cleanly in two.
The smooth crack extended into the floor, a deep line gouged into the ground.
Yuan blanched, sweat beading instantly on his forehead.
That strike's power is already far beyond an ordinary apprentice spell!
"Lord Yuan," Lynn said evenly, "let me remind you: I hail from the Golden Shadow Society. She is of the Hossens School. We can buy your Lanveined Crystals…
"Or, we can obtain them another way, one you would not enjoy."
Yuan wiped his brow, hastily waving back the butler who had rushed in at the noise. He gave a nervous laugh:
"Forgive me, my lords, I misspoke earlier. The price is three stones each."
He hurried to a side cabinet, fetched a wooden box, and presented it to Lynn.
"Here, these are all the Lanveined Crystals I possess…" His teeth ground together. "On second thought, I'd best gift them to you outright."
Lynn arched a brow, but accepted without refusal.
Inside lay three egg-sized gems of milky white, etched with faint violet patterns.
Genuine Lanveined Crystals.
But Lynn frowned slightly, closing the box and asking:
"Only three?"
Yuan nodded solemnly.
"Yes, my lord. I swear I'm not lying, these are all I have."
After further questioning confirmed it was true, Lynn sighed.
The Skiff's energy module required five.
"Three… it should barely be enough."
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