The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 142: Insidious

Gardner Martin opened the car door, got out, and greeted Lumian with a warm and friendly hug.

Oh, his attitude changed so quickly, Lumian thought as he returned the hug, silently complaining to himself.

After two seconds, Gardner Martin released his embrace and smiled, saying, "From now on, we're real brothers."

"Real brothers? If you die, can I inherit your wealth?" Lumian, whose spirits had greatly improved after successfully passing a difficult trial, was filled with sarcastic remarks but refrained from saying them aloud at a time like this.

"You're still my boss." He habitually expressed his loyalty. In his mind, though such displays were indeed a bit exaggerated and didn't seem entirely sincere, they were still necessary.

Gardner Martin laughed heartily. "When no one else is around, you can call me 'chief.'"

"Chief?" Lumian found the title a bit odd.

The Iron Cross, after all, was a secret organization, not a military force.

Gardner Martin didn't explain further and simply smiled slightly. "Tonight at eight, come to 11 Spring Street. We'll hold your initiation ceremony."

With that, he patted Lumian on the shoulder and said, "For now, take a good rest."

Lumian nodded and said goodbye to the leader of the Sava Party. He made his way back to the Golden Rooster Inn and pulled the curtains shut in room 207.

By now, it was already past six in the morning, but Lumian, who didn't need any additional sleep, sat down at the wooden desk and began writing a letter to the Lady of the Mysteries.

He detailed the events of last night and described Thémythpolis' behavior in full. At the end of the letter, he inquired about how to report these events to Mr. K.

On his own, Lumian clearly couldn't avoid the strange corruption within that abandoned building.

He needed to find a suitable explanation to offer Mr. K—something that would make him believe the account while not revealing that Lumian bore the seal of the Fool and had an angel from the domain of destiny.

After folding the letter neatly, Lumian prepared a ritual and summoned the doll messenger dressed in a pale golden dress.

The messenger lowered her head, spotted the letter in cube form, and nodded with satisfaction.

As she made the letter float, she said to Lumian, "Someone is still watching you."

What? I didn't notice anything. This level of surveillance, stealth, and observation is incredibly high, Lumian thought. As a hunter, he had excellent counter-tracking skills and was very sensitive to changes in his surroundings, yet he hadn't detected that he was still being watched.

Mr. K's people? No, if the doll messenger specifically warned me, it's probably not someone from the Aurora Order.

It must be Gardner Martin's people. They haven't stopped watching, even though I passed the trial, endured the strange corruption, truly experienced last night's events, and received Gardner Martin's invitation to join. Now is the time I'm least vigilant, the easiest moment for me to relax and expose myself.

How insidious. Lumian realized that, compared to Gardner Martin, he was still too young and not cautious enough. If not for playing the role of someone who had stayed up all night, been through cruel torture, and needed rest, pulling the curtains and pretending to sleep would have been the natural course of action. But now it had already aroused suspicion from the observers. Fortunately, the Lady of the Mysteries' messenger seemed strong and was unlikely to be detected by those monitoring him.