Viner picked up his teacup, took a sip, then cupped the bottom in his right hand while his left wrapped around its side.
Tafman held his cup with one hand, took a deep gulp, and slowly swirled it with his fingertips.
"Ophelia was infected," Tafman said. "You could tell. She was poisoned, completely listless."
"Yes, I saw it too." Viner nodded. "Yet when Ophelia appeared before us, there wasn't the slightest scent of corruption on her."
"In the future, we cannot make these kinds of arrangements anymore. Fortunately, nothing happened to Ophelia this time."
"No matter how well-laid the plans and arrangements are, unexpected variables are bound to crop up. That's only natural. So long as the outcome is good, that is enough."
Tafman gave a faint smile and countered, "But is the outcome truly good?"
Viner took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said, "Perhaps we could summon Ophelia over right now and question her more closely."
"Why add 'perhaps'?" Tafman asked.
"And why do you ask that?" Viner replied with a wry smile.
"Ever since that unknown Light remnant activated the array in my villa's master bedroom to teleport to Snake Island, I could tell Ophelia was keeping things from me. For instance, why was Karen in my villa back then? My guards had no record of any outside visitor. Ophelia sat right across from me and said she intended to snuff out whatever feelings she had for him. And then it turned into the two of them having a secret tryst in my villa. I can understand the impatience young men and women sometimes feel, how they might throw caution to the wind and cross lines regardless of time or place. But I cannot understand why a girl would bring her boyfriend for a secret rendezvous at her uncle's house—especially when that girl is our Ophelia."
"She has grown up. She knows how to protect people now," Viner said.
"Yet after we reached Snake Island, the battle marks on the scene and Lady Purr's phantom on the stone coffin—every single detail was so meticulous, so entirely natural, that it made me uneasy. Strangest of all, looking at the scene, that Light remnant who activated the array... heh, that Philias parasite ran into an accident when trying to commandeer Karen's body and was incinerated in the cavern. But two days later, I ran into someone outside. Though he wore a mask, and though I didn't probe into his background for fear of alerting him, I felt that the Philias parasite had not been destroyed at all. He still exists, and he is still active."
"At that gathering of the Light?"
"Yes."
"He was the one who proposed changing the plan to strike at Ancestor Bernard's tomb?"
"That very man. Even among the Light remnants, Philias's line has always been isolated because of the grave sin committed by their family ancestor, leaving them ostracized by everyone else who venerates the Light. Because of that, I refuse to believe Philias's secrets could suddenly become common knowledge. The covenant conch—that relic was mentioned only in the two journals left behind by Ancestor Bernard and Philias. Statues of Ancestor Bernard stand all across the island, but who would ever guess that the conch tied to the ancestor's waist was an awakening sacred relic? Any ordinary person would assume it was nothing more than an ornament."
"See to the arrangements for the Palace of Longing."
"I know."
Viner took another sip of tea. "If the incinerated Philias parasite and the person guiding the island's Light remnants to change their plan are one and the same, what is his goal?"
"That is what I've never been able to understand. If he and Karen already knew each other and were colluding all along, the only real result of his actions was giving Karen the chance to rescue Ophelia."
"Pfft... hahahaha." Viner couldn't help but chuckle. "You mean to say Philias returned to Dark Moon Island simply to help a young man named Karen win a girl's heart? And that girl carries the bloodline of the Dark Moon clan?"
"That is precisely the problem. It makes no sense."
Viner froze, then said, "No, there is one possibility that explains it."
Tafman looked at his brother.
Viner stared at the carpet before them. "Philias is currently Karen's servant."
"This..." Tafman hadn't expected his brother to offer such an explanation.
"You mentioned that Ophelia told you Karen didn't seem to harbor strong feelings toward her. Karen has a fiancée, and the boy seems quite committed to monogamy. If Karen truly wished to pursue Ophelia, he wouldn't need these elaborate tricks. Our Ophelia is still very young. Youth is her greatest vulnerability. No matter how clever a woman is, when faced with the first man she develops feelings for, she is always prone to falling. But think of the sailors under your command. In name, they are Dark Moon Island's outer sea fleet, but in truth, they follow your orders, not mine as patriarch. They would even urge and pressure you to stage a military coup to replace me. If Philias is now Karen's servant, all of these actions make complete sense. He wished to please his master, but acting from a servant's perspective, he overlooked his master's own principles and choices. In his eyes, helping his master carve a deeper place in the heart of Dark Moon Island's princess would be a great service, yet he failed to grasp what his master truly desired. That is why such an irrational sequence of events occurred."
Tafman moistened his lips and nodded. "That does explain it."
"If Philias is Karen's servant, it also makes sense why the curse worm failed to corrupt Ophelia."
"Yes. At least that is easier to accept than the descent of a true god."
Philias's curse from back then meant that barring the descent of a true god, members of the Dark Moon clan facing corruption from these curse worms stood no chance of survival.
Viner set down his teacup, interlacing his fingers before him. "Yet now another question arises. What kind of identity does Karen actually possess? You've had contact with him—what do you think?"
"He is very proud."
"Compared to Leon? Wolflen's grandson, that is."
"Are you insulting Karen, or flattering Leon?"
"Indeed. Philias is such a proud individual. To make him willingly go to such lengths, what kind of immense influence must the figure behind the curtain wield?"
"Brother, do you still insist that Karen has someone backing him?"
"Whether I insist on it or not no longer matters. From the moment I saw Karen's name—and his squad's name—on the Church of Order's delegation list, I knew something was amiss. Rumors about Ophelia and Karen were rampant across York City, even claiming that our Ophelia boarded her return ship while caressing her belly. Yet the original plan was to promote an arranged marriage between Ophelia and Leon. While it was only an intention, the Church of Order had given its nod, and Chief Bishop Wolflen of York City had consented. On top of that, the rumors about Ophelia and Karen leaked out... And the result? Karen's squad was actually arranged to travel together with Bishop Wolflen to our Dark Moon Island, and now they even reside in the same courtyard. What sort of entity could force the Chief Bishop of York City to swallow such humiliation without daring to lash out?"
"Unless a powerful hand intervened, completely disregarding even Wolflen's face."
"Do you remember the Church of Pamires?"
"I do."
"Order's infiltration into the Church of Pamires began long ago."
"Brother, are you saying this is Order infiltrating our Dark Moon Island?"
"Do we have any room to choose? Even if I were to pawn everything on this island and surrender every last resource to you, and even if the size of your outer sea fleet doubled, would you dare go to war against a single knight order of the Church of Order?"
"If it were at sea..."
"Hmm?"
"I probably wouldn't be wiped out entirely."
"Hah."
Tafman stood up. "The Church of Order didn't devour the Church of Pamires; instead, they supported its development. Though saying this brings shame upon our ancestors, from another perspective, one could say that from our ancestor's time to the present, our Dark Moon Island has steadily developed until finally... finally, we are qualified to be controlled and held by Order."
"A splendid bit of self-consolation, and impossible to refute."
"For you, for me, and for Dark Moon Island, so long as the next heir is Ophelia's child, Dark Moon Island will remain Dark Moon Island."
"That is why I prefer daughters. You can always be certain your daughter's child is of your own blood, but you can never be certain of your son's."
"Well, you should rest. I will continue keeping watch tonight to ensure none of those small fry hop ashore."
"With you on watch, I can rest easy."
Tafman walked toward the door. Just as he reached the parlor entrance, his brother called out from behind him:
"Tafman, earlier you suggested summoning Ophelia to question her in detail."
"It was merely a suggestion. Deep down, I don't believe elders should meddle too deliberately between two young people. If we don't interfere and don't overreach, it will allow them to get along much better. If Ophelia is made to know too much, or if we force her to disclose Karen's secrets, then any possibility between them might truly vanish. I know Ophelia's temperament."
"That is not what I was worried about. The reason I chose not to do it is because I'm afraid Ophelia would tell me..."
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me she broke the curse by drinking Karen's blood."
Instantly, the entire parlor fell silent.
The silence lingered for a long time.
Tafman raised his hand with evident difficulty, reaching for the doorknob. When his fingers finally gripped it, he drew a deep breath and spoke: "Then what was the point of everything we just discussed and analyzed?"
In the end, it all circled back to the most terrifying possibility.
Viner picked up his cup and swallowed the remaining tea along with the dregs at the bottom. "In the presence of a god, what can truly be considered meaningful?"
"I want to... go ask Ophelia."
"You wouldn't dare."
"No, I wouldn't. Just like testing with the curse worm, right and wrong answers lead to diametrically opposed outcomes."
"Let this matter rest in silence. Regarding everything about Karen, even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we must gamble on it. Do not disturb Ophelia and Karen. As you said, let the youth handle matters of youth. Whatever we do will only make their relationship worse. Youth, after all, is also Ophelia's advantage."
Tafman said, "Yet Karen doesn't feel young to me at all."
Viner chuckled. "Even better. What mature, older man can refuse a lovely young girl?"
***
"Captain, that's what happened. Tonight was rather eventful. I suspect the patriarch and the general knew very well what those people below were up to, but due to certain reasons, things shifted. Ophelia drank the poison, and that worm..."
"Karen, remember what I told you about my experience at the bottom of the sea?"
"I remember. So that worm..."
"Yes, it was that worm. It left a deep impression on me. Down on the seabed, I once ate seaweed carrying their eggs. The exact same worms grew and developed inside my body. Although they eventually left, I could never forget them. Now I recall—they are curse worms, a curse condensed from Philias's hatred for the Dark Moon clan. Heh, these worms seem violently corruptive only toward those carrying the Dark Moon bloodline."
"Then why would the people of Dark Moon Island preserve them instead of exterminating them completely?"
"Because they are useful. For internal power struggles, for instance. Why, is that hard to understand?"
"No, perfectly understandable."
Karen nodded. Human nature was such that even when a weapon could bring about their own destruction, people remained endlessly fascinated by it. For example, there were many forbidden curses in church circles; forbidden though they were, countless people still yearned for them desperately.
"You used your blood to save Ophelia. Do you know what would happen if the patriarch and the general learned of this from her?"
"My identity would likely be exposed, but I still don't regret doing it."
"No, not only would your identity remain safe, you would become the most revered existence on Dark Moon Island. Philias left behind a curse concerning those worms, and they should remember it well."
The captain pulled a wine glass from a drawer under the nightstand, inverted it over his head, and reached up to feel the base. Only after confirming it was sound did he pour red wine, swirl the glass, and take a large gulp.
"Being around you really cuts down on my fun. You always draw so much attention, and it ends up dragging me in too. They say gold always shines, but you're a damn lightbulb."
"Captain..."
"I'm not blaming you. Sometimes, without attention, half the fun is lost anyway. I rather enjoy it."
"Captain, are you afraid of your identity being discovered by the Church of Order?"
"Truthfully, not particularly. Even though I know a miserable end awaits me if my cover is blown, I'm not afraid, because my loyalty has always lain with Order. The higher-ups probably couldn't care less whether a Light remnant like me is loyal, but I know it in my own heart. What about you? Are you afraid?"
"I've thought about it. I'm not afraid. Hiding is so I can take in better scenery, not merely cower in a corner, afraid to meet anyone's eyes."
"Fundamentally, you and I are cut from the same cloth. By the way, in your recount earlier, Tafman cut off his nephew's head and kicked it to your feet like a ball. Did you feel an urge to kick it right back to him?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Why would I have such a bizarre habit?"
"Heh."
"Captain, do you intend to continue tomorrow with the Palace of Longing?"
"Continue? Why wouldn't I? That's the grandest spectacle I've prepared."
Holding his wine glass, the captain stood, took a slow turn around the room, and continued:
"Not only before the Dark Moon clan who betrayed me all those years ago, but also before the two Orthodox Churches—the Church of Order and the Church of Samsara—Dorons will unleash the roar of Light's return! Just like how historians of the next era will compile and summarize the monumental events of the past. Your grandfather blowing up the Temple of Order will be the prelude to the return of the gods, and on this island, a roar from the divine beast of Light, Dorons, will sound the true clarion call of the gods' return! Light will ultimately descend upon the mortal realm once more, bringing to this world a new Order..."
Neo froze, then tapped his own forehead.
"Damn it, why did it bring Order again?"
Immediately after, Neo laughed. "Pisses you off, doesn't it? Just to spite you! Hahaha!"
Sometimes Karen truly couldn't tell whether the captain was genuinely lost in madness or merely putting on an act. Perhaps the captain simply relished the blurred line between truth and fiction, just as people who drink and smoke enjoy the harmful sensations that alcohol and nicotine bring to the brain.
Lying down on his bed, Karen crossed his hands behind his head as a pillow.
The captain drank while muttering in drunken delirium. After a long while, he quieted down and lay down on his bed as well.
"Mr. Karen, do you think the God of Light still exists?"
Karen and Neo had shared many secrets with each other, but so far, Neo did not know all of his. There were simply too many secrets clinging to Karen.
For instance, the captain did not know what Purr the cat kept hidden beneath her tail.
If a person had lost even their finger, could that person still be alive? Even if he was a god.
"The Light is within each of our hearts."
"A very proper answer. But I know Philias would definitely be depressed to hear it." The captain rolled over. "Time to sleep. Looking forward to tomorrow."
"Alright, let's sleep."
"Good night, you heart-toying scoundrel."
"Good night, you trouble-stirring lunatic."
"Good night, Grandpa Diss's precious grandson."
"Good night, Philias's pitiful host."
"Good night, Karen."
"Good night, Captain."
Chapter 268