The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1073 (Ch.1072) - The Final Encounter
When Roland returned to the Collins Twin Houses—incidentally, not much time had actually passed between the church and the new house.

As for the specific numbers...

The girls in the red-light district often used the phrase "a man shudders" as a unit of time in private, but that was far too vulgar; such a phrase was not allowed in proper literary works.

There were probably five or six hundred shivers.

Those who have worked on the red-light district should be able to estimate how long five or six hundred shivers would take by observing the duration of each shiver—unless, of course, they have never worked on the red-light district, never been there, or even experienced a shiver.

May you wear fewer clothes in winter, poor thing.

in short.

Not much time passed.

When Roland led the gentlemen and ladies to the West End, the young gentleman was the first to leave.

Next came two other government employees. They took away the two children they had rescued along the way.

Mr. Groen and the man slightly younger than him were the last to leave, bidding Margaret farewell only when Roland was almost in sight of the Collins Twin Houses—a perfectly sensible choice, as every gentleman would have made:
No one would actually take these girls home.

Still in the midst of disaster.

"But I believe that after this incident, their relationship will undergo a complete transformation..."

Deloz thought so.

Sender, however, held the opposite view.

—While the red-light district is not lacking in girls who become wives of noblemen or wealthy merchants, and such stories are certainly not uncommon, Cinder still believes that these girls lack a certain potential for 'grandeur'.

This is very deadly.

For example, the lady they had met: Mrs. Kate Passetti.

In comparison, one would need to possess even more abundant and impressive 'talent' than that woman to even attempt to reach that almost impossible goal—Kate Passetti was just a lover, after all.

As for these girls…

Foolish, kind, and possessing a strong sense of compassion, though not as melancholic as a noblewoman, she has a certain 'realistic' side...

But 'reality' is never the same as 'intelligence'.

Letting these women grow up on their own is the greatest injustice to the world—if fools don't fall for it, then aren't the smart people being smart for nothing?

Deloz dismissed Sender's opinion.

Miss Craftswoman highly approves of her aunts' performance today, and sincerely appreciates their choice... Of course, Miss Margaret is too young, and we cannot criticize a girl who is not yet twenty.

With Roland leading the way, the girls were left in the middle, leaving the rear guard to Shandel and Delos—the craftswoman really didn't want to be alone with Shandel; she couldn't control her competitive tongue when facing this woman.

"They are willing to give their lives for each other, Miss Kratoff. Aren't these the most sincere human emotions and noble virtues worthy of your attention?"

Deloz spoke slowly, and Xander just glanced at her with a smile.

"Then why didn't they give their lives for each other?"

Sender asked in a nonchalant tone.

"Of course, because of Roland and—"

At this point, Deloz's expression became somewhat unnatural.

She suddenly recalled the conversation between the young women and gentlemen along the way, their constant thanks to the messenger sent by the Father of All Things to save people, and their praise of their lover on Red Street for having an upright, loyal, and kind heart—even before leaving, they had 'instructed' Roland, implying that he shouldn't be so rude to those suffering in the disaster.

That's not the behavior of a gentleman.

In their eyes, some people are 'abnormal'.

It lacks morality and is abnormal.

Heartless.

But were those gentlemen bad people? Of course not.

Deloz was very conflicted about this.

She couldn't figure out how to 'respond' to Xander's words.

"So that's why you can't see him at night, Miss Fonseca."

Deloz wanted to ask 'what night?' but the gray-haired woman tilted her chin up.

"Here we are."

…………

…The Collins Twin Houses suffered almost no damage during the wave—thanks to the old Collins’s innate ‘sense of unease’: born in the East End, or even the countryside, he always viewed people with the most extreme ideas. After the houses were built, he personally commissioned the architect to add an extra wall.

This directly resulted in the villa's elaborately decorated exterior losing some of the opportunity to showcase its beauty.

The architect was very reluctant.

He is an artist's child, how could he kneel down and beg for mercy from the gold pound for vulgar practicality?

Randolph gave a price.

Without a second thought, he severed ties with his mother.

—Let's thank this wall.

It suffered greatly, yet the two houses were not severely damaged. Outside the wall, Roland saw many bones that could not be pieced back together, some yellowish liquid scattered everywhere, dried excrement, and leather shoes and skirts.

Several horse-drawn carriages were parked there.

But the horse was nowhere to be found.

Roland climbed over the wall and then reached out to pull Xander and Delos over.

The yard was a complete mess.

There were rat corpses everywhere, some pierced by arrows, others cut to pieces—near the gate, Roland also saw a relatively intact human skeleton.

It's a child's bone.

Judging from his length (height), he's probably not too old.

Deloz covered her mouth and followed closely behind Sender, silently bypassing it—now, she was no longer frightened by these horrific sights.

knock knock.

A very light tap, if you tone it down further, becomes a caress.

However, it seemed as if there was a rabbit waiting inside, its ears perked up, waiting for its owner to knock on the door.

"...Who's outside?"

It's a woman.

He spoke in a low voice, and the distance wasn't far.

Roland finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s me, Halida.”

He said.

"I am back."

As soon as the words were spoken, someone rushed out of the door, turned the brass handle, and a pair of light silver eyes pierced through the darkness.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps, dispersing the shadows on her face.

"Sir!"

It was at this moment that Deloz noticed her other hand, hidden inside the door, was holding a strangely curved silver scimitar.

"Yes, I'm back, Halida. It was quite a bumpy journey... How are Yam and Uncle?"

The maid grabbed her master's hand and started chattering incessantly like a hiccuping parrot.

She told Roland about the disaster, her response, and how old Collins stood tall and imposing with his crossbow. She told him how Yam used a hammer and nails to seal every window, how she inspected the walls, and how she stopped herself from going into the cellar…

She kept talking, from the long hallway to the living room.

Roland responded softly at the end of each sentence, then took a deep breath and greeted the two uneasy people in the living room.

"I told you we should have more cats, Uncle."

Old Collins didn't respond. Only after Jam Jones rushed up to Roland and began examining him meticulously did Collins walk over with a stern face, ruffle his hair, and say, "You…"

Disaster, tide, death.

Several hours of heart-stopping and agonizing ordeal brought tears to the eyes of this elderly man—yet, he still adhered to the tough-guy upbringing he received in his childhood, forcing back each tear.

Especially in front of Jam Jones.

He pursed his lips, unable to say anything, but patted Roland's shoulder heavily a few times, and then pulled him and Yam into his arms.

This was the only stroke of luck in his otherwise agonizing ordeal.

(End of this chapter)