"How long did I sleep?"
"Young Master, you slept for a full day and night."
"That long?"
"Yes, Young Master." Alfred poured a glass of ice water and handed it to Karen. "Young Master, I've already instructed the servants to prepare a meal."
Karen took the glass and drained it in a single gulp.
"I'll pour you another."
Alfred went to pour a second glass while Karen sat in bed, gazing toward the window ahead, where the morning sunlight was streaming in.
As he looked, Karen felt a sudden pang of doubt and rubbed his eyes with his hand.
It was different. The feeling was completely different.
The window was still the same window, the sunlight the same sunlight, the curtains the same curtains. Normally, the bright light should have created a hazy, dazzling glare in his eyes, yet his vision was astonishingly clear—so sharp that it felt unfamiliar.
Karen looked around the room once more, finally resting his gaze on Alfred, who was walking over with the glass.
He could clearly see an almost imperceptible luster swirling beneath Alfred's fingertips and the corners of his eyes—something he never could have detected before.
"Young Master, your water."
Taking the glass, Karen asked, "Alfred, the way I see things... it feels a bit different."
"Young Master, I've heard that after receiving God's Revelation, God guides the way you view the world. When that happens, the world before your eyes changes, as if a new door has opened."
"God's Revelation?" Karen chuckled. "I don't even know if my God's Revelation succeeded..."
Suddenly, Karen froze.
It was as though the memories he had previously lost—or perhaps memories that had been left hanging in a blank void—had returned.
He recalled the words he had written in his notebook before falling asleep.
Back then,
a tremendous voice had echoed in his mind.
"Bring me the notebook."
"Yes, Young Master."
Alfred handed the notebook over. Karen flipped to the page and looked at the very bottom:
"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."
Setting the notebook down on the duvet, Karen pressed a hand against his forehead. Yes, the words that had resonated in his mind back then were precisely this phrase.
Only, unlike the familiar yet strange voice that had rung in his head during his first divine revelation, he distinctly remembered that the voice resounding in his mind this time was his own.
It was an answer roared out to himself after deep contemplation.
But...
Looking down again at that line written in gold script,
could this still be called a divine revelation?
Or rather... self-revelation?
Regardless, at least the revelation had succeeded. He no longer needed to agonize over whether he was a God's Servant or had attained God's Revelation. Now, he was a Revelator—Karen.
The meal was brought in—still an expensive, lavish spread that had little to do with actual taste.
However, having slept so long, his body urgently needed fuel, so Karen ate heartily.
After he finished, Alfred began reporting on the events of the past two days:
"Young Master, the matter of the Queen has been resolved—at least on the surface. Mr. Bede personally took the box containing the Queen's remains to the royal palace. Soon after, the palace held a press conference to announce that after attending Prince Henry's funeral, Her Majesty passed away from overwhelming grief.
"Yesterday, every newspaper in Wien was reporting on the Queen's death.
"Today, the papers I saw were all recounting her achievements over so many years on the throne.
"I suspect that by tomorrow, they will begin reporting on the adverse effects her passing will bring to the Wien Empire's vast system of dependencies and colonies."
"Mr. Bede can get things done after all," Karen remarked.
It sounded simple enough—just delivering a box of severed body parts—but confrontations often came down to a single pivotal moment. Mr. Bede had executed his mission flawlessly, forcing the Gloria royal family to back down.
"Furthermore, the restoration and cleanup of the manor have all been completed, including the renovation of Count Rekar's crypt."
"Mm."
"Judia will continue living at Allen Manor. She is awake now and has agreed to guard her father's tomb. She firmly believes Count Rekar is her father."
"Mm, that's understandable."
Judia had never considered herself part of the Gloria family, viewing them as utterly filthy. In her mind, Rekar was where she truly came from—a 'father' separated by generations.
"Boge voluntarily admitted to us that he received Count Rekar's blessing. Now, both his water and fire attributes have reached Tier 2 in the family faith system."
"Mm."
Hearing this, Karen felt a flicker of suspicion. Last night... no, the night before last, after dealing with the Queen, Count Rekar had actually taken care of so many small details. It felt as if he were settling his affairs before death.
So, after hastily putting everything in order back then, what had he planned to do?
Karen couldn't quite fathom it.
"Mr. Anderson has regained consciousness. His physical recovery—"
"Skip him."
"Yes, Young Master. Miss Eunice has awakened..."
"Let's go see her."
"Very well, Young Master."
...
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Eunice's bedroom did not carry the rigid protocol of the patriarch's master bedroom, nor was it particularly well soundproofed.
Karen pushed the door open. Alfred, following behind, did not step inside; instead, he stood outside and closed the door.
Because the room was equipped with underfloor heating, Eunice wore only a silver silk nightgown. She sat at the desk, holding a pen.
Seeing Karen enter, she showed a touch of surprise, rising to her feet with a smile.
"I thought it was a maid bringing coffee."
"I apologize for disappointing you, Miss."
"Not at all."
Karen stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Eunice's waist.
The silk felt wonderfully soft, and above all, very thin.
Eunice placed her hands on Karen's shoulders. With their foreheads gently touching, they held each other in silence for a long time.
At length,
Eunice spoke up. "Father told me my bloodline was tested while I was asleep, and now it has awakened."
"Yes, and your talent is remarkable."
"I've just become quite lethargic. I'm sleeping nearly eighteen hours a day now. I had no idea I was capable of sleeping so much."
"The power within your bloodline needs to be absorbed. It's perfectly normal, so don't worry—it will only get better. Who knows, once you've fully integrated it, your tier in the family faith system might even surpass your two uncles'.
"When that happens, you'll be the highest-tiered member in the Allen family system, and the seat of the patriarch should be yours."
"I've never thought about becoming patriarch," Eunice said.
"That's fine. Even queens have husbands."
Eunice bit her lip and laughed. "Actually, I'm quite grateful for this awakening."
"Naturally. It's the dream of almost everyone in the family."
"Not for that reason."
"Then why?"
"There's someone I've always envied. Her portrait hangs in the study."
"Pur... Ancestor Purr?"
"Yes, I've always envied her. She could act so willfully on such grave occasions, expressing whatever stance she wanted. She must have been truly free."
"She must have been very free back then," Karen echoed.
Though in the last century, she probably hadn't been quite as free.
"I know it was all because she was a genius in the family's history, which allowed her to live entirely true to herself."
"Do you yearn for that feeling too?" Karen asked.
Eunice shook her head. "I don't know. The truth is, I grew accustomed to my original life long ago."
"You can try it out. Of course, running rampant like her isn't the only way to express one's true nature. Sometimes, being reserved and refined can be just as delightful."
"I just felt that once my bloodline awakened, the distance between us might shrink. You know, Karen, when I saw Mother kneel while holding the bookmark you had me give her, I realized there was a vast distance between us.
"After returning home, that feeling of distance abruptly turned into stark reality.
"I thought that once my bloodline awakened, I could..."
"You could kick me to the curb?"
Eunice reached out and wrapped her arms around Karen's neck. She kissed his cheek, then lowered her head.
"We could love each other a little more freely, without so many constraints, without so many burdens, and without so much deliberate calculation."
Karen pursed his lips. "And then you'll realize the way we love each other is still exactly the same as it was back in Rojia City."
"Will it?" Eunice asked.
"I think so. But I wouldn't mind experiencing it all over again. Some things only leave no regrets once you've lived through them."
"Thank you, Karen."
Eunice gently pushed Karen back and walked into her dressing room.
"I thought that outfit looked great," Karen said, sitting down on a chair.
Before long, Eunice stepped out. She still wore the same nightgown, but now she had put on black stockings over her legs.
Summoning her courage, Eunice walked over to Karen.
"What you told me before your purification... the purification gift you wanted."
Karen reached out and gently stroked her calf. He didn't deliberately deepen his breathing or increase his grip, because the atmosphere before him was too beautiful, and he didn't have the heart to break it.
Eunice was a bit nervous, her hands fidgeting as if she didn't know where to put them.
"Sit on the bed. I'll massage your feet to help stimulate your blood circulation."
"Huh?" Eunice asked, slightly taken aback. "Stimulate... blood circulation?"
"Mm, it's good for your health."
Eunice nodded. She was somewhat skeptical, but she walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down anyway.
Karen stood up, sat down beside her, placed her foot across his knees, and gently kneaded it with his hands.
"Mmh..."
Subconsciously, Eunice tugged her nightgown downward to cover more of herself. Thinking she was doing so unnoticed, she looked up only to find Karen watching her.
"I..."
"Let me look a little longer," Karen said. "I'll be moving to York City before long."
"Take me with you," Eunice blurted out, almost instinctively. But she quickly realized that moving outside was inappropriate for her right now; far from being able to help, she might only become a burden.
"I will," Karen said, gently tapping his chest. "Right here."
"You won't... forget me, will you?"
"Oh, that's hard to say—unless you let me carry a bit more," Karen said, lifting his chin toward her.
Eunice didn't dare meet his eyes, but her hands quietly slid the nightgown back up, reversing what she had just pulled down.
Karen smiled and continued massaging her feet.
In his previous life, he had never married, yet more than half the patients he encountered had issues tied to romance and marriage.
Perhaps in the eyes of young people, marriage required the precursor of a passionate, tempestuous love, paved with turbulent highs and lows, separations and reunions, before finally walking hand in hand into the halls of matrimony—as if only that represented the purest form of marriage.
Yet in truth, if two people could feel comfortable with each other from the moment they met, fell in love, and shared each other's company—even if they simply and quietly came together and built a life side by side—that was already an immense happiness and good fortune.
The mark of maturity was knowing clearly what one truly wanted.
A grand, tempestuous romance? No. What he wanted was a fitting tranquility.
Karen stopped massaging, gently rested Eunice's leg back onto the bed, pulled her nightgown down, and tucked the duvet around her.
She had fallen asleep.
Count Rekar had mentioned she would be very drowsy during this period.
Karen leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
A ridiculous thought suddenly crossed his mind: once he moved out, if he could come home every day to find her lying in bed, even if she were fast asleep, that seemed quite lovely too.
"Heh..."
Karen chuckled at his own thought.
Turning around, he walked to the bedroom door and opened it.
Alfred was still standing outside, but now he held a folder in his hands.
"Young Master, it's a letter sent by Ms. Molly through the Church of Principles' channels."
"All right, let's go to the study."
"Yes, Young Master."
Karen arrived at the study and sat down behind the desk. Instead of taking the letter, he asked Alfred directly,
"What does the letter say?"
From the moment he rode Aselos to Corona Island until now, Karen had not written a single letter home or made a single phone call.
Because he had been hesitating all along.
The Allen family had deliberately staged an accident to conceal his identity, and Madam Jenny and Eunice's identities in Rojia City had also been carefully disguised.
In other words, in the eyes of his family back in Rojia City, he was likely presumed lost at sea.
His family was bound to be frantic with worry, praying desperately for his safety.
In both duty and affection, he ought to have reached out to let them know he was safe.
Yet he worried this might expose his identity, laying everything bare before the Church of Order and rendering all of his grandfather's arrangements utterly meaningless.
Because his grandfather had used the blood sacrifice ritual to drain the spiritual heritage of everyone in the Inmerlais family—and their descendants—save for his own lineage, which was essentially a way of demonstrating his resolve to the Church of Order.
If he exposed himself now, wouldn't his grandfather's arrangements look completely absurd?
Of course, Grandfather might have had other arrangements, having once said Karen could return home. But Karen, currently in Wien, had no way to be sure, so he dared not take the risk.
He was homesick. He missed 13 Mink Street terribly.
Only, right now he was like a fugitive, and many fugitives were caught precisely because they left clues while contacting their families.
That was also why he had hesitated over activating the home loan contract his uncle and aunt had prepared for him; the moment that contract took effect, his family would know for certain he was alive.
Karen wasn't sure whether his family could hide their reaction from the outside world upon learning he was alive and well.
After all, he wasn't guarding against mere police—he was guarding against a Church!
Alfred began reading the letter: "'Everyone at home is doing well. Master Diss is also well.'"
Karen listened attentively, but the reading abruptly stopped. He turned to Alfred, eyes filled with confusion.
"Um... Young Master, concerning the family, that's the only line. Ah, Ms. Molly really doesn't put her heart into being thorough."
"Is there something else below that?"
"There is. Young Master, let me read it to you: 'Young Master, a new priest named Rasma has arrived at the church on Mink Street. He takes a walk down the street every day.
'One day, Madam Mary and I were sitting in the courtyard preparing sausages. Madam Mary thought of you, Young Master, and began to cry. He happened to pass by the front gate and saw this.
'He then called me over to the courtyard gate. I invited him in for tea, but he declined. He stepped one foot inside the gate while leaving the other outside, striking an exaggerated striding pose.
'He said to me: Tell that fellow Diss always calls so interesting to let his family know he's safe.
'He also said: Don't be afraid. The affairs of this street are under my charge now.'
"That's all of it, Young Master."
High Priest of the Church of Order... Rasma.
Karen closed his eyes, visualizing the exaggerated straddle Molly had described.
In an instant,
all hesitation in Karen's heart vanished. Rasma's gesture signified that Grandfather agreed with his words.
With him on Mink Street—no, with him in Rojia City—it was guaranteed that the Church of Order would not cast suspicious eyes upon the Inmerlais family, because Rasma himself was the gaze watching over them. Not one of many, but the only one that mattered!
"Alfred."
"Young Master."
"Place a long-distance call."
"Yes, Young Master."
Alfred picked up the telephone on the desk, dialed, and requested a transfer. The process was somewhat cumbersome and slow, and the toll charges would be exorbitantly high.
Yet the Allen family would hardly come demanding reimbursement from Karen over the study's phone bill.
At last,
"Young Master, it's connected."
Alfred handed the receiver to Karen.
Karen took the receiver and held it to his ear. From the other end came rhythmic, steady dial tones, a sound that made his heart clench with both nervousness and overwhelming anticipation.
Then,
the distinct click of someone lifting the receiver sounded from the line.
Immediately following was the familiar voice of Uncle Mason.
Karen tilted his face upward as his eyes instantly welled with tears, and he sniffled softly.
"Hello, Inmeles Funeral Parlor."
Chapter 111