On the elegant balcony of the Marigold President’s estate villa, Melita pushed the tea she had personally brewed in front of Enya.
Enya lowered her head and glanced at it, but instead of pinching the cup handle with her hand, she lifted her pale golden eyes and stared at the blonde, blue-eyed woman before her.
On Melita’s face was an extremely flamboyant makeup, matched with her hair and eye color—definitely a noble beauty.
But there was a faint sense of discordance about her, as if she were playing such a role.
Enya lowered her eyes and looked into the teacup that reflected a blurry image.
She extended her hand, wearing lace gloves, and gently flicked the cup with her index finger, causing the clear tea inside to ripple.
Then she lifted her eyes to look at Melita again.
“I prefer something more direct.”
“…”
Melita’s expression and movements had a small pause. She looked at Enya before her, then quickly averted her gaze after meeting her eyes.
Melita could feel that Enya’s eyes saw through all her disguises. Before Enya, she felt as if she were naked.
She pressed her thin lips together, nodded slightly, and at the same time turned her head, using the corner of her eye to glance at the attendant beside her. The maid bowed in farewell and then hurried away.
Then, Melita lifted her head slightly, looked at the cup of tea before Enya that was still rippling with faint waves, took a deep breath, and after exhaling softly, said.
“Lady Enya, please wait a moment.”
Enya did not answer at all. After the ripples in the teacup gradually calmed, she once again made the motion of gently flicking the cup body.
Then, on this balcony where only the two remained, they fell into a sort of eerie silence until the maid returned.
However, Melita’s torment was not over. At this moment, she was most worried, for she already knew what kind of existence was before her.
Anyone would have to tread carefully!
The maid placed a gilded box on the table in front of Melita, then quickly withdrew, even calling all the waiting maids to leave the villa together.
Within three hundred meters, only Enya and Melita remained.
Enya saw this scene and gave a slight smile.
Melita returned a smile, but her smile was somewhat stiff. She smiled, but she didn’t seem very happy.
Enya glanced at the gilded box.
The patterns on it were extremely complex—it was a miniature magic array with a preservation effect that nearly stagnated time.
The magical techniques it contained were very high level.
However… The structure of this thing looks somewhat familiar!
Enya thought of Antiros. She liked making these little things, and the runes she used were similar in effect to this box.
Under her gaze, Melita cut a slit in her index finger and then dripped blood onto the box. The blood flowed along the patterns, outlining a complex blood-red rune array.
These red lines and runes eventually collapsed into some scarlet light spots, and then the latches on the gilded box naturally unlocked.
Enya saw a human face—a face as delicate as a puppet’s, skin white like porcelain, thin lips red like cherries, and eyes that were empty purple.
‘A mask?’
Enya silently complained to herself.
Melita gently lifted that face from the box. Her expression was no longer the smile from before, but a solemn and hesitant look.
Yet despite her expression, her hands moved without hesitation, as if the two were not controlled by the same person.
She placed that mask in front of her face.
Enya stared at the mask right in front of her, silently watching as Melita covered her face with the mask. When the edge lines of the mask began to fade, Melita’s head drooped down.
In an instant, Melita’s temperament underwent a drastic change, from the original noble beauty to a hollow puppet with a sense of unreality, almost lacking substance.
‘Like a ghost?’
Enya studied Melita, who was hanging her head with bangs covering her face.
She raised an eyebrow and said to the person before her.
“Lift your head. Let me see.”
“…”
Melita slowly lifted her head.
It truly was an ethereal face—so delicate it didn’t seem human, but rather like a puppet carved by someone.
She was still using Melita’s body, just with a different face, but the eerie feeling became even stronger.
After a glance, Enya commented.
“It’s a bit fake.”
If she had to make a clear metaphor, Enya would say that face looked like it had been meticulously polished for a whole day and night—it just didn’t look real.
After that teasing remark, Enya held her head high with undiminished dominance, stared at the woman before her, and said in a very arrogant tone.
“You are the Lord of a Thousand Faces?”
She did not open her mouth, only nodded.
Enya narrowed her eyes slightly.
“So you are the Lord of a Thousand Faces?”
“Yes…”
She finally deigned to speak. But her voice was still Melita’s. She continued with that puppet-like face.
“You can also call me Melita, because I am her now.”
“Tch, a bit disgusting…”
Enya frowned, but didn’t expect Melita to say the following.
“How does that mask feel to use?”
“Heh.”
Enya chuckled lightly.
Melita looked directly at Enya and continued.
“Very useful, right? Being able to freely change one’s face, to become the appearance of anyone you want.”
“So what?”
“Saintess, you truly surprise us.”
“…”
Enya’s expression instantly withdrew. She opened her golden-red vertical pupils and locked onto that woman’s face before her.
Lord of a Thousand Faces·Melita smiled slightly. Holding the now-cold tea on the table, she took a small sip before speaking to Enya.
“You have become a Dragon.”
“Yes, I have transformed from a human into a Dragon.”
Enya confirmed her words. Melita closed her eyes, putting on an air of savoring the tea.
“Very good, very good.”
“…”
Enya watched her put down the cup and said coldly.
“What do you mean?”
“You shouldn’t be here. Starting from Red Pine City, you shouldn’t have appeared in this story. It’s all Archethia’s fault. She actually didn’t take you away.”
“…”
“So, Saintess, why didn’t she take you away?”
Melita opened her empty eyes and looked at Enya before her.
Enya leaned back against the chair and said coldly.
“Ha, who knows?”
“Archethia turned you into a Dragon, yet you still started searching for the Shard of the Goddess of Night. Is it because that Ancient Witch did something that led to this situation?”
After Melita finished, Enya fell silent.
As she said, it was because of Antiros that Enya thought of using the Shard of the Goddess of Night to counterbalance the Dragon Blood in her body.
In the moment Enya fell into thought, Melita spoke again.
“Saintess, do not be deceived by that Witch. She has come from the ancient times, witnessed everything in this world. There are few who know more than her, and no one thinks deeper than her. Even the Cycle Escaper is not a match for that Witch in this regard.”
“Sowing discord?”
Enya’s expression was not good, but Melita’s smile became more and more human-like. Seeing this, Enya snorted and retaliated.
“Didn’t you give a preview, saying that the grand show was about to begin?”
“Very well, I’ll give you a preview too.”
“Master of a Thousand Faces, you remember to wash your body. One day I will come before you, cut off your head, and give your body to my newly raised pet, Sylvia.”
Having said that, Enya rose from her chair.
She left directly, without saying another word to Melita.
Enya knew that this Lord of a Thousand Faces had said everything she wanted to say to her, and she herself had said what she wanted to say at the end!
Lord of a Thousand Faces·Melita watched Enya’s retreating back step by step. After hearing that threat, she showed not a trace of fear, but instead a delighted expression.
“Since it is a request from the Saintess, I will certainly comply.”
After saying this, her discordant face burned like paper, eventually turning to ash and dispersing.
Melita’s own face was revealed, and her originally empty eyes regained their spirit. Instantly, her legs began to tremble.
Although she had no memory at all, her body and consciousness having been taken over, the aura Enya had released was truly pressing down on her frail body!
Having lost the spiritual power boost from the Lord of a Thousand Faces, her body naturally triggered the most instinctive fear.
Enya walked slowly along the gravel path, pondering the words just spoken.
The Cycle Escaper that the Lord of a Thousand Faces mentioned should be that Historical Scholar.
His strength is definitely on the same level as the Lord of a Thousand Faces, at least the Ninth-Rank Legend level.
Add to that his eerie time system abilities—whether his power is terrifying or not, it’s definitely bizarre enough.
It’s also certain that Antiros has problems. As for what the problem is… that might be a bundle of threads that can’t be untangled for a while.
That’s why Enya had been too lazy to solve the issues with Antiros—it would take too much time.
Moreover, the previous her had vaguely felt that she lacked the ability to resolve them, so the matter of Antiros had been put on hold.
Then there was Archethia. At first, she had intended to take her away directly, but for some reason—most likely because of something Antiros did—Archethia didn’t take her away.
Enya looked at the sky and murmured to herself.
“Am I too special…?”
Yes, she was too special! So special that everyone deliberately avoided the period of her appearance.
Only after Archethia’s intervention and Enya’s disappearance for a year did those people become active again.
“They cooperated with Archethia… to exclude me, so that they could act normally.”
“Then what was Archethia’s purpose? Could it be just for me?”
Enya had no other memories of Archethia in her mind, but this Mother Dragon God seemed to have known her from a long time ago.
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