“Let’s proceed with the Spirit Relocation first. We can’t keep the Family Head’s remains lying in a place like this.”
Before she realized it, the Family’s elders seemed to have already reached a conclusion among themselves.
Lai Wei An Se had not participated in the discussion.
Moreover, when they gave orders to the surrounding Servants, they did not bother to seek the opinion of Lai Wei An Se, the Acting Head of Family.
These elders were certainly venerable and wielded immense power—when they gathered together for a meeting, they could make arrangements for nearly all major Family affairs.
But by the rules, the results of their discussions still required her final confirmation and approval as the Acting Head of Family.
Yet now they had bypassed her entirely… This meant that at least at this moment, they no longer regarded her as the Acting Head of Family.
Lai Wei An Se was not surprised by this.
Having been implicated in the crime of Treason, she had already plunged the Family into unprecedented danger.
Under such circumstances, these people could not possibly treat her the way they once had.
Moreover, several of these elders had leaned toward Nai Fei Tali’s side in the succession dispute… The sudden death of the Family Head must have been an unexpected stroke of fortune for them.
“Weiser, didn’t you just return from Lake Heart Island not long ago? How is your niece’s condition?”
This Gloria was one of them. As the representative of the several other elders, she spoke up to ask.
“Both the physicians and the Mages say there is nothing serious. When I left, she had not yet awakened from her coma.”
Lai Wei An Se explained in this manner.
“I see. Then we must have her brought back as soon as possible. Weiser, do you happen to have the Family Head’s keepsake in your possession?”
“Mother never gave me such a thing.”
“It’s not to be found here. Since it’s not with you, it’s likely with that child Nefi or at her residence in the Kinship District…”
After finishing their inquiries on the matter they cared most about, the elders paid her no further heed.
So she could only stand there, watching as several Servants stepped forward at the elders’ signal, detached the vine-like conduits from the Crystal Coffin, and then once again tidied the appearance of the remains within.
Once everything was prepared, they closed the heavy coffin lid. After silently reciting the incantation to strengthen the Power, they lifted the entire casket.
Then the waiting Servants nearby draped a prepared silk cloth over the surface of the Crystal Coffin.
“Carry it to the upper district,” said the old woman named Gloria. “Place it first in the Mourning Hall before the ascent, and guard the remains well. As for what comes after, we shall make arrangements once we find the keepsake.”
The Servants bowed their heads in acknowledgment. The coffin began to move… Lai Wei An Se unconsciously stepped half a pace forward.
She felt a strange impulse to chase after it, to stop it, but in the end, she did nothing.
She walked out the door together with the elders, watching as the coffin crossed the Covered Bridge and ascended along the Spiral Staircase.
The light cast down from the dome reflected harshly off that white silk cloth, so the group quickly averted their eyes.
Only after the coffin disappeared into the end of the dome’s glow did these old people finally begin to climb upward.
This was one of the rare displays of emotion from these humans who had grown as indifferent as ancient trees.
In the Family, only Elves who had lived over a thousand years could be called Elders… their lives were nearly equivalent to the history of the Sea of Trees itself.
Thus, the passing of every Elder was like the closing act of an era.
The departure of companions, the rise and fall of the Family… these were probably the only things left in this world that could stir their emotions.
Lai Wei An Se also walked with them toward the Spiral Staircase.
But unlike them, she did not ascend. Instead, she walked alone into the deep darkness below.
She had to confirm things for herself—whether what Iyue had said was true, and whether that terrible hell that had destroyed her sister’s family’s Happiness truly existed.
“Hehe…”
Lucia, the High-ranking Butler who had been watching her ever since she left the Meditation Chamber, simply smiled softly, with no intention of stepping forward to guide her or stopping her.
She watched Lai Wei An Se’s figure gradually disappear into the darkness, then closed the door of the Meditation Chamber.
The guards and Servants permitted to enter the Forbidden Ground were all old retainers who had served the Family for over four hundred years.
They knew each other’s appearances, personalities, tones of voice, and even walking postures perfectly.
Even the slightest change would immediately draw the attention of their colleagues, and thus no outsider had ever managed to infiltrate the Forbidden Ground.
But in this world, there happened to exist a race skilled in Imitation, capable of reproducing every detail of a reference subject with uncanny accuracy. In the face of such a trait, this method of identification was rendered utterly meaningless.
“Selene…”
“Shh! Don’t even use your Mental Sense yet. We haven’t gotten out of this damned tree!”
The proof was that no one noticed that two of the Palace Maids carrying the coffin were actually Luc and Selene, disguised and substituted through “Imitation.”
After leaving the underground, their group carried the coffin onward.
At the entrance to the lift, those who were to replace them were already waiting as instructed.
These people were there for the handover.
Once the coffin was sent into the lift, the duty of Luc and Selene’s group would be complete.
A High-ranking Butler emerged from the shadows at just the right moment, casting them a meaningful look.
Everyone naturally understood what this meant—it was a demand for absolute secrecy.
For these loyal servants who had silently devoted themselves to the Family for half a millennium, this was hardly something that needed special emphasis… But the deliberate reminder this time was proof enough that this matter was of grave importance and permitted not a single mistake.
Luc and Selene nodded along with the old servants beside them, their movements so synchronized they might have been rehearsed.
Only after the butler made a gesture indicating they could leave did they make their way out of the Giant Tree along the paths they remembered.
“Whew… finally out of that suffocating place.”
After exiting the Giant Tree and arriving with Luc on the streets of Fenglin City’s Upper District, Selene stretched theatrically.
“That place, and the Elves working there… it all feels unbearably oppressive.”
Even Luc, who was highly skilled at such things, slowly worked the stiffness out of her body from mimicking those people’s daily habits and gaits.
The “Imitation” the two of them wore was naturally not the same as the two noble girls from the southern Forest Domain they had used at the Dance Party.
They were now disguised as middle-aged Palace Servants whose skin had grown somewhat pale from years of working in the dim underground.
“From now on, the city’s inspections of the Demon Race will become even stricter—because the Royal Court has issued a decree. The Nelf Family has also been ordered to re-verify the identities of all guests. If you two continue to stay in the Upper District using your previous identities, you’ll likely run into trouble… So hide yourselves in the Forbidden Ground from now on.”
This was Nine Night Moon’s intention.
After Luc had reported to Nine Night Moon the intelligence regarding Milin and Iyue’s residence, she had given the two of them these instructions.
She had Selene use her Shadow Demon abilities to create two new Imitations to blend into the servant teams within the Forbidden Ground.
And so, for the entire day, the two of them dutifully carried out all sorts of work in the Forbidden Ground according to the senior butler’s orders.