Whispering Poems

Chapter 3869 The Fifth Floor of the Castle
After seeing the girls off in the portal room, Shad remained in the castle. He turned to Winnie, and the maid understood his meaning:
"Now that the key to the castle has been found, the fifth floor, which is Her Majesty Chloe's private space, is open to the public. Would you like to take a tour before lunch?"

"of course."

Xia De asked curiously again:

"Did Chloe really live here? Or did she just use the fifth floor as a temporary resting place during experiments?"

The maid, with her crystal-clear skin, replied:

"His Majesty Chloe rested for two nights in the master bedroom on the fifth floor. Although the bedding from back then has long been replaced, the bed itself is still the same. Shall we go to the bedroom first and reminisce about His Majesty?"

"No, no, I'm just curious, but we can visit it on the way later."

The fifth floor of the Ice and Snow Castle is also quite large, containing functional areas such as a private living room, a private study, a personal maid's living room, a dressing room, a music room, an art studio, a meditation room, a prayer room, an astrology room, and even a small flower room specifically for afternoon tea.

However, according to Winnie, Chloe never used most of the rooms here. During the thousands of years that the castle was closed, apart from the ice furniture, there was actually nothing left on the fifth floor.

However, Shad found five more books engraved on ice in Chloe's study, and in her prayer room, he discovered an oil painting frozen in ice, depicting Mount Fatumunst.

"This was drawn by His Majesty himself. If you look at it for a long time, there is a chance that you will obtain spiritual runes or magical techniques."

Winnie then explained again.

There were no oil paintings in the studio, but the paints that the Witch Queen's servants had prepared for her were still there. And among those paints, Shad discovered a small sample of the Philosopher's Stone.

The amount of Philosopher's Stones this time is very small, not enough to cast powerful spells or use Ascended Words, but it should be enough to prepare "Ink" for Dorothy and Lacey.

There were no musical instruments in the music room, but there were several scores from the Fifth Age in the cabinet. Shad thought of copying them and giving them to the Music Order as a way of thanking them for the copy of "The Fallen Moon Rebirth Song".

In Chloe's bedroom, Shad found nothing. The various ice furniture pieces looked beautiful, but there was no sign of life there. So Shad simply sat on the edge of the bed for a moment before leaving with Winnie.

"This room will be sealed off from now on, and no one else should be allowed to enter."

"Yes Master."

The only thing that surprised Xia De was the meditation room. Upon entering, he immediately felt a chill almost identical to that of the "Silver Mountains" he had encountered before. The empty room was not large, with only a round, solid block of ice placed in the center.

The room has four ice-carved murals on its four walls, each depicting one of the four stages Chloe experienced when she climbed the "Silver Mountains," with Shad appearing in the third and fourth stages.

These four murals are more than just decorations; Shad clearly felt that Chloe had left all her thoughts and feelings from that time in these paintings. Add to that the souvenir from the "Silver Mountains"—the piece of ice Chloe gave Shad—and those who meditate here might be able to touch upon Chloe's feelings as she walked the path to demigodhood.

While it's impossible for anyone else to achieve demigodhood in this way, the valuable experience shared by the demigods remains precious. Especially for modern witches who don't even know what the "path to demigodhood" is, it directly points them in the right direction.

For Shad, who is already halfway on the path to demigodhood, meditating here will allow him to perceive Chloe's power more deeply and thus master more magical spells with the attribute of "ice".

So, aside from Winnie and Ellie in the castle, this meditation room is the most valuable thing Chloe left behind. Shad even felt that with this place, Claire, who also uses the power of ice, had at least doubled her chances of breaking through to the thirteenth rank on her own.

"Can the witches come to visit more often in the future?"

After Shad came out of the meditation room, he asked Winnie again, and the maid smiled and said:

"You are the owner here, you shouldn't be asking me this question."

The last room we didn't check was Chloe's personal maid's room. Winnie took Shad there as before. Shad thought it would be as empty as Chloe's own bedroom, but when he went in, he found that it was full of signs of life.

Two pots of hardy flowers sat on the windowsill, and tea sets lay scattered on the coffee table in the small living room after the entrance. Several decorative oil paintings, clearly from this era, hung on the wall. A white apron was draped over the back of the sofa, and two picture frames sat atop the fireplace, which would probably never be used in the room.

"This is...your room?"

Having already entered the room, Shad asked Winnie:
"Didn't you say you couldn't step into the fifth floor until I found the key? Never mind, that's a stupid question, no need to answer."

Shad was about to leave the room when Winnie grabbed his arm:
"Everything in this castle belongs to you. His Majesty has given you ownership of the castle, so I have gone from being His Majesty's personal maid to being your personal maid."

Shad then remained in the room, but politely refrained from looking around.
“Apart from Chloe’s bedroom, all the rooms in the castle are at your disposal. You can find a better room to stay in.”

Winnie shook her head:

"This is the residence of the castle owner's personal maid, and I will not move out."

She then extended an invitation:

"Would you like to go inside and take a look?"

Shad hesitated for a moment but didn't continue inside. Even though he was so familiar with Dorothy and Luvia, they weren't willing to let him tour their bedrooms without tidying them up.

"forget it."

Winnie then asked with some curiosity:

“But Tifa clearly told me that once I made this kind of invitation to you, I could do things that went beyond the duties of a maid.”

She laughed in Shad's ear, and Shad replied:

"Is that how Tifa sees me? Well, she's right. But I treat every girl differently. If Tifa extended an invitation, I would definitely go in, but you're different."

Winnie looked at Shad:

"You prefer that black-haired human head maid to me, don't you?"

"Many girls have asked me this question, and my usual answer is that everyone is different in my heart, and there is no one I like more."

I just felt that since you'd traveled all this time to the Sixth Era to find me, I should... I shouldn't always be thinking about doing those things with you, but rather I should be more concerned about what you think."

Shad gave this answer, which made Winnie a little confused:
"But can't these two things be done together?"

She laughed again, and Shad blinked:
"In that case, well, it seems we can do it together."

So the maid took Shad's wrist and gently pulled him toward the bedroom inside the room:
“Yesterday morning in the dressing room next door, I worked with Tifa and Matilda, and today I want to try it on my own.”

"That's certainly no problem, but I must clarify that this work isn't part of the standard duties for maids in this era. Tifa and Matilda are just..."

“I understand, but since other people’s maids can do this to you, I, as your real personal maid, should not lose to them.”

The girl, whose entire body was crystal clear, spoke, then turned her head slightly to glance back at Shad. Shad then realized just how amazing Winnie's ability to switch between "ice element form" and "normal human form" was.

After all, the body temperature is different in the two states.

Of course, besides Winnie verifying her skills, Shad also tried the rare frozen apple and watermelon before lunch yesterday, after tasting the elfin-flavored mini apple. The icy-cold fruit had a very unique texture, and Shad really liked this unusual flavor.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time; Winnie actually wanted to try the "Ice Flower" challenge. Shad was curious how she knew about it; Chloe wouldn't share something like this, but he comforted the maid who was short on time:

"There will be other opportunities in the future, there's still a long time ahead, isn't there?"

As the two left the castle, Shad went to the underground cellar and retrieved several bottles of red wine preserved from the Fifth Age, which he shared with everyone at lunch. Of course, he also instructed Claire to have someone copy the ancient musical score and deliver it to the Music Order, who were about to depart from the island.

The original sheet music will be kept in the castle, and Flora and Vanessa will likely visit it often.

At the dinner table, Shad didn't forget to tell the witches about his new discoveries in the ice castle. After lunch, Shad wrote a letter each to Major Rades and the "Drowning Ghost Tavern," and then set off for Mount Sikar.

After the decisive battle yesterday morning, he spent the day participating in the elf activities and dealing with matters related to Ellie. Today, he will spend the rest of his time visiting those who do not come to him on their own initiative.

From Midhill Keep, heading to the mountain peaks, Shad met Sister Daphne at the very bottom of the sacrificial grounds at one o'clock in the afternoon.

The nun, now at the thirteenth ring, knelt before the brazier with the [Ash] greatsword stuck in it, just as always. The increase in power had not changed her appearance or temperament in any way; the nun was still the same nun.

“Sister Daphne, you left in such a hurry yesterday. That little flame is still with me.”

Xia De spoke in a very light tone, and the nun by the brazier, with her back to him, responded softly:
“You will come here, the flames tell, you will surely come.”

“Yes, yes, since you left, of course I had to come find you. Want to hear about the origin of this flame? You would never guess that the entrance to the location of the flame is actually the ruins where the Sylvia Tower is located.”

(End of this chapter)