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Join the Server“To lure me out, he would do such a thing? Damn that blasphemer!”
Hearing the full account, Jeanne Decker clenched her fists, her anger barely contained.
Leah wiped away her tears, her gaze fixed nervously on Jeanne Decker.
The entire situation hinged on Jeanne Decker’s decision. The Killer’s conditions were an obvious trap, yet if Jeanne Decker refused to go, her sister would surely die.
Alice Liddell, who had listened to the entire exchange from the side, also looked tensely at Jeanne Decker.
Unlike Leah, however, she had already anticipated Jeanne Decker’s choice.
“By my reckoning, there’s less than an hour left. We must act quickly.” Jeanne Decker glanced at the wall clock before rising abruptly and turning to the knight, Susan. “Miss Susan, this is an emergency. Please lend me a fast horse. We can sort out the formalities later.”
Alice Liddell let out a silent sigh. Just as she expected; Jeanne Decker was indeed Jeanne Decker.
Innocent Martha had been dragged into this because Jack the Ripper had targeted Jeanne Decker. Given Jeanne Decker’s nature, she would never stand by and watch someone die.
“Are you joking?” The knight’s eyes widened. “Count Dunois explicitly ordered that you are not to leave the academy under any circumstances. This is a death sentence!”
“Captain Demes is in the guardroom, isn’t he? I’ll speak with him directly.” Jeanne Decker suddenly stood.
“Captain Demes is Count Dunois’s subordinate. He’s even less likely to agree!” The knight tried to stop her.
But it was too late. Jeanne Decker had already charged out of the room.
“Miss Decker!” The knight quickly chased after her.
Leah immediately followed suit.
Alice Liddell rose and rushed to the doorway but did not follow them. She watched as the three disappeared down the corridor, then immediately locked the door and rummaged through her belongings, pulling out her magic mirror.
The Killer had made his move before she could even divine his whereabouts.
Now, Jeanne Decker was certain to walk into this perilous trap, no matter what. Rather than futilely trying to stop her, Alice Liddell decided to divine the outcome for her instead.
Alice Liddell did not use the blood-stained garment as a medium, for she intended to divine Jeanne Decker’s future, not the Killer’s. With the profound intertwining of their destinies, the success rate of the divination was already high enough.
As she predicted, the mirror quickly became shrouded in mist. Alice Liddell stared intently at the surface, patiently waiting for the mist to dissipate.
Then, Jeanne Decker’s face faintly appeared in the image. Under the moonlight, her expression was rigid, as if frozen. Alice Liddell noticed a few drops of blood splattered on her face.
The image gradually became clearer and more complete. Alice Liddell saw Jeanne Decker standing in a field, holding a longsword, with a figure lying before her. The figure was somewhat blurry in the night, and the longsword dripped with blood.
Alice Liddell paused, taken aback. This future suggested that Jeanne Decker seemed to be unharmed, and moreover, she appeared to have won a battle.
In principle, this divined future should be the outcome if she knew the future but did not interfere. In other words, if she performed the divination and made no further interventions, this future would very likely come to pass.
Could it be that the Killer, weakened by the poison, couldn’t defeat Jeanne Decker and was killed by her?
At this thought, Alice Liddell couldn’t help but smile with relief, but she quickly realized something was amiss.
Jeanne Decker was staring down at the corpse at her feet, her expression blank and vacant, with a hint of terror in her eyes.
Alice Liddell immediately grew puzzled. Jeanne Decker was a seasoned warrior who had seen battle. She wouldn’t react with such terror merely from killing or seeing blood, especially when the victim was a truly heinous criminal.
She immediately scrutinized the figure lying at Jeanne Decker’s feet.
Then, Alice Liddell realized that the corpse was indeed not human.
Then, Alice Liddell could discern no more.
As she shifted her focus to this person, the magic mirror’s divination image also shifted its emphasis to them.
This time, Alice Liddell finally saw clearly: the one lying on the ground was not the Ripper at all, but… Martha, her eyes wide with unseeing horror, her chest pierced by Jeanne Decker’s sword!
Alice Liddell instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth, almost screaming aloud.
At the same moment, Jeanne Decker in the magic mirror reacted similarly. She stumbled backward, raised her hands to grasp her hair, and her expression slowly twisted into one of agony and torment—she had come to save the girl, only to kill her with her own hands.
Alice Liddell was about to search for more clues in the image when the divination screen blurred, then completely faded away.
Seconds later, Alice Liddell forlornly put down the magic mirror, utterly bewildered.
‘How could this be? What kind of future is this?!’
‘Jeanne Decker killed Martha with her own hands?’
‘How could it possibly turn out this way!?’
Alice Liddell realized that the trap set by Jack the Ripper was likely far more complex and insidious than she had imagined.
Martha would die, and Jeanne Decker would, by some cruel twist of fate, become her killer.
Given Jeanne Decker’s unwavering integrity, how could she ever tolerate having murdered an innocent girl?
Such a future absolutely could not be allowed to happen. She had to intervene!
Alice Liddell pondered for a moment, gathered a few items, and left the room, rushing towards the guardroom.
****
Meanwhile, at the guardroom, Jeanne Decker was still earnestly trying to persuade Captain Demes, who oversaw the academy’s night security. “…I haven’t acted without consideration. If I don’t go, that girl will surely die, and the Ripper will escape directly. So, I must apprehend him first. During this time, please immediately notify Mentor Dunois, as quickly as possible, then organize reinforcements to surround the area. Once the hostage’s location is confirmed, we can find an opportunity to rescue her.”
“This plan is too reckless!” Captain Demes shook his head repeatedly. “If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to explain it to the Count!”
“If we’re to save her, this is the only viable option right now! An innocent girl is about to die because of me, yet you’d have me cower here and do nothing? If we fear our enemies, why are we even paladins!?” Jeanne Decker stared into Captain Demes’s eyes, arguing her point forcefully. “Will it be easier to explain to Mentor Dunois after someone has been killed? Is this the kind of student, the kind of subordinate, Mentor Dunois truly desires?”
Captain Demes froze. He looked at Jeanne Decker, who glared back, unyielding.
Under Jeanne Decker’s piercing gaze, which felt like daggers, Captain Demes felt a prickling sensation on his back.
Two seconds later, he averted his eyes and let out a long sigh.
“Promise me two things,” he said, looking at Jeanne Decker. “First, you are not to abandon resistance if the enemy threatens the hostage’s life. Second, if rescue is hopeless, prioritize your own safety and retreat. Can you do that?”
Jeanne Decker nodded without hesitation.
“Prepare a horse for her,” Captain Demes ordered his subordinate. “Susan, follow her out of the city, but do not approach the destination. Your task is to rendezvous with the reinforcements.”
“Captain?” The knight’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Just do as you’re told.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Captain Demes.” Jeanne Decker saluted the captain.
“If you want to thank me, then please return safely, otherwise the Count will surely devour me.” Captain Demes offered a helpless smile.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, I Want To Bite You is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : I Want To Bite You
