Bad woman, am I pretending to be bad?

Pederina's eyes lit up: "Really? But Melvis said we have to give the report on last week's actions today..."

"I will share some of the burden with you."

It was a guarantee that bordered on indulgence.

"Okay!"

A fragrant breeze caressed her face. As the red-haired girl cheered and rushed towards her, Charlotte subtly turned her head away, letting the embrace fall on her shoulder, transforming the touch from an equal gesture into one of dependence.

The door opened and closed, and the black-haired woman was about to speak, but after seeing the two embracing, she held back her words and smiled warmly.

At least, before the disaster strikes, their lives will continue as before, peaceful and fulfilling.

Chapter 207 The Traitor

As dawn broke, after their morning rest, they returned to their posts and busied themselves with their respective responsibilities.

Sitting upright at the short oak table, Charlotte held a fountain pen, her fingertips constantly turning the edges of stacks of documents. A breeze stirred, and dust motes danced between the pages, mirroring her chaotic thoughts.

A keen intuition frequently warned her that Ms. Z and Pederina's fate was like a candle flame flickering in a storm, threatening to be extinguished. Such ominous signs usually foreshadowed only death or an ending far worse than death.

Undoubtedly, the arbitration tribunal branch in Tingen is destined to suffer this calamity in the near future. But why is it that Melvis, who is also involved in the matter, does not show any signs of declining fortune, but instead seems to be on the rise?

This doesn't make sense.

The pen nib paused on the paper, the ink spreading into a deep black smudge. Charlotte frowned slightly and set the pen aside.

She closed her eyes, and in her spiritual vision, the threads of fate intertwined into a net, while Melvis's red string abruptly stretched into the distance, completely different from others.

To elaborate on the differences, Melvis's spirituality was influenced by others during an incident, making him increasingly similar to vampires, while both Ms. Z and Pederin were purely human and had not been subjected to continuous spiritual manipulation.

"Good girl, you don't look well. Are you tired?" Perhaps Charlotte was lost in thought for too long, or perhaps Zelena was always concerned about her subordinate. After only a moment of distraction, the black-haired beauty put down her work and leaned over to the girl to inquire about her condition.

"The situation has become increasingly tense lately, and I appreciate your continued efforts. If you find the repetitive tasks too tedious, you can take a short break."

With delicate eyebrows and a beautiful expression, Zelena's tone was always so considerate.

"Perhaps I went to bed late last night." To conceal her own wandering thoughts, Charlotte asked, "I haven't seen Melvis these past few days."

"She guards the sealed artifact behind the Gate of Rest. The current personnel are too tense. The girl's mental assessment has returned to stability, and there are few hidden dangers."

This answer was unexpected for Charlotte; the timing of Melvis's appointment was too coincidental, almost like a predetermined deviation from fate.

“I am applying for a transfer to assist her in her work, Ms. Z.”

Zelena paused for a moment, then smiled gently: "Why are you suddenly thinking of transferring away from your clerical position? Guarding the Gate of Rest is no easier than the archives; a slight mistake could lead to danger."

“But I feel that with great power comes great responsibility.” She lowered her eyes, as if contemplating the meaning of her own situation, her gaze clear and resolute. “Besides, it would be too much for Melvis to be on duty alone.”

After a long pause, the black-haired beauty seemed to be weighing the pros and cons. "A Sequence Eight Extraordinary Being, with a thorough understanding of the rules, is indeed capable of dealing with most of the uncontrolled sealed objects."

"Here's what we'll do: you can go and familiarize yourself with the environment tonight. If you adapt well, I'll consider a formal transfer."

"Thank you for your understanding." Charlotte nodded slightly, a perfectly timed grateful smile appearing on her face.

Zelena reached out and gently ruffled the girl's hair, her movements as tender as if she were handling a fledgling bird: "Don't push yourself too hard, good girl."

If possible, she wants to do everything she can to shelter these girls who have lost loved ones and their past due to extraordinary events, and to slowly wear away their pain with companionship and the passage of time.

As the voice faded, a knocking sound came from the half-open door—a reminder from the officers on duty.

"Please come in."

The door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in a priest's robe with a mature face came into view. Unlike the simple believers, his clothes were intricately carved with patterns, showing his noble status.

“Clerk Felton, what brings you here?”

Following the sound, the figure stood in front of the open door, scanning the room with his cloudy eyes before finally fixing his gaze on Zelena.

"Ms. Z, may the grace of the Primordial Goddess be with you."

His voice was like sandpaper rubbing, and even though he was devoutly writing the holy emblem on his chest, it still seemed so solemn and deliberate.

"It seems that the disturbances at the dock these past few days have added a lot of workload to the arbitration tribunal."

Zelena frowned, her voice slightly somber.

"It's your duty, yet you've come in person. Surely it's not just for a simple matter of offering condolences?"

“Naturally, the parish has recently received intelligence that the heretics of the ‘Twilight Eye’ have been showing up in Tingen, causing frequent disturbances.” He paused slightly, then raised his head, his gaze carrying an air of condescending disdain.

"The Council of Cardinals decided to use the seals held by the Arbitration Tribunal to track them down."

The universal church shown to people is not merely burdened with the goal of spreading the faith and comforting the world; its status is equivalent to that of various departments within a denomination, belonging to the former and being the visible face of the church.

Aside from ordinary priests and monks, they also have internal promotion paths, responsible for handling people and things related to relevant factors in the region, and assisting institutions that specialize in handling such extraordinary matters. There is no distinction between them in terms of rank or importance, only a division of duties.

As her thoughts wandered, Charlotte vaguely recalled the man's figure from a corner of her memory. She remembered that when she was still Watson, reporting the murderer of the missing girl to the church, besides Silva who was present, there was also 'him' who had tried to mediate in the name of Earl Cliff.

One can imagine that if the Goddess's Sword, which sought justice, had not been personally involved at that time, the report, even with Ms. Mosang's personal connections, would probably have been dropped.

"Regardless of the level of the sealed artifact, according to the regulations, it requires the joint consent of at least three bishops."

Zelena stated the essentials of the matter directly.

Upon hearing this, Felton smiled and took out a letter with gold-embossed sealing wax from the inner pocket of his robe. "Of course, this is the document for the transfer. The College of Cardinals has approved this application. I hope you, Ms. Z, will not cause any problems."

The dissatisfaction in his tone was evident. In fact, Felton held the position of regional bishop, which was on par with Zelena in terms of status. However, in their conversation, the latter always addressed him as a priest, which seemed to have offended him.

“I need to verify the authenticity of the document.” Zelena took the letter, a faint pallor appearing on her fingertips. “Furthermore, according to regulations, the use of sealed items must be supervised in person by a representative of the arbitration tribunal.”

"Of course, of course." The man's smile deepened, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened. "I will send someone to pick it up at eight o'clock tomorrow night. May the goddess's wisdom guide your judgment."

Only after the embroidered gold robe disappeared behind the door did the air in the archives seem to begin to move again. Charlotte pretended to organize the files, but actually observed Zelena's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

The dark-haired beauty was staring intently at the secret letter, her brows furrowed, as if weighing a crucial decision.

“Ms. Z?” Charlotte asked softly, “Is there something wrong?”

Zelena snapped out of her daze and quickly locked the secret letter in a drawer, offering only a pretense of calm consolation.

"It's nothing, just a routine procedure."

Chapter 208 The Problem

Standing before the Gate of Rest, Charlotte felt a faint chill emanating from behind the door even before stepping inside. The jet-black gate was engraved with intricate sealing runes, which shimmered with a deep, eerie light in her spiritual vision.

As Ms. Z agreed, she arrived in the evening to familiarize herself with the upcoming transfer and support work.

"Is this your first time here?" Melvis's voice came from behind him.

Looking to the side, a girl with black hair and red eyes was leaning against the wall, playing with the strands of hair that fell to her neck. "Don't be nervous. As long as you follow the rules, the 'guests' here won't cause trouble."

"Melvis, you seem to be adapting well to this environment?"

The Gate of Rest contains several dangerous objects. Simply being inside will inevitably lead one to be tempted and drawn by the whispers of the incantation, and corrupted by evil influences.

But the person in front of me showed no signs of being affected; on the contrary, he seemed exceptionally at ease, even more relaxed than when he was resting in the small room.

Melvis chuckled softly, his fingertips tracing the intricate patterns on the door: "It's quiet here, isn't it? I prefer dealing with 'silent neighbors' to the clamor outside."

Her red eyes gleamed with an unusual light in the dim light, like the vertical pupils of some cold-blooded animal.

“Besides, it’s much less tedious than repetitive paperwork.” The girl paused, then turned and pushed the door open again. “Zelena has already informed me of your transfer. I need to do a routine check anyway. Come on, let me show you around these headache-inducing machines.”

With the heavy creak of the door hinges turning, a metallic, rusty smell wafted out. The space behind the Gate of Rest was far more expansive than it appeared on the surface, with countless sealed artifacts sleeping peacefully in glass cabinets embedded in the walls.

Melvis navigated the long corridor with practiced ease, his fingertips lightly tapping on each numbered plaque: "C-714, a pocket watch that induces the illusion of drowning; D-309, a compass that forever points to the location of the dead..."

“B173, the coin of misfortune must be tossed when used. Heads bring good luck, tails bring bad luck. However—” the black-haired girl revealed a sly smile, “it always chooses to land on tails.”

Her introduction suddenly stopped in front of an empty display case. "Strange, B-112 should also be placed here."

A dull ache throbbed in her head. A Class B sealed artifact, its power was no less than that of a Sequence Four Extraordinary Being, and Charlotte had heard of this designation in a brief conversation with Ms. Z.

—B-112, full name 'Crimson Kiss', is a dagger with a short blade shape. Its function can be simply described as compensation. It can overdraw the body's self-healing ability and catalyze the body's spirit and flesh in a very short time to exert a power beyond the limit. The price to pay is simply to induce the wielder's thirst for blood.

It is highly versatile and applicable to many situations, but if you do not get rid of it in time, there will be corresponding external manifestations after only half an hour. One holder who was already a Sequence 5 only lasted for two hours before he went from a strong man in his thirties to an old man with a hunched back, loose and wrinkled skin, white hair and missing teeth.

“It must have been sent for maintenance.” Lost in thought, Melvis walked forward as if nothing had happened. “The key inspection area is in the innermost layer, where the earlier numbered sealed artifacts are contained.”

"They were sewn together with deerskin, placed in sarcophagi, and the lids were sealed with lead and iron. Ah, that sounds like a cooking process that is neither delicious nor painful."

It is a metaphor for something being mixed in with a joke.

"Correspondingly, while on duty here, you need to repeatedly confirm whether the seal is intact and record the activity level of the items inside." The pen tip fell one by one, meticulously and accurately filling in the corresponding data. "Of course, there's no need to put too much pressure on yourself; low-risk items don't have their own consciousness."

"But high-sequence objects will cause you to depart in a painless deep sleep, without you even realizing it, and you will be powerless to stop it."

It's a little bit of a perverse sense of humor.

Melvis's personality is just like that: elegant and rational yet slightly obsessive, delicate and friendly yet harboring a deep-seated cunning.

The fact that she could joke and laugh like that showed that the person in front of her hadn't lost control of herself yet—

Gazing at the girl's excessively pale, even snow-white, face, and noticing the taut jawline, Charlotte was puzzled. What was she nervous about? What was she hiding? Or rather, what was she enduring?

“That’s enough for today.” The sudden voice broke the silence. Melvis closed the door tightly and locked it. “Since it’s your first time here, you shouldn’t stay too long. Even though the spiritual pollution here is weak, it can still accumulate and give you a bad experience.”

As if all was calm, the strange feeling faded with the closing of the iron gate, and the black-haired girl let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief. "So, now that you know the rules to follow and the uncontrollable dangers, do you still intend to work with me?"

"Of course. In these times of manpower shortage, as a newly promoted Sequence Eight, I should share more responsibility."

"Numbers don't change anything in the face of disaster. Even the extraordinary are pitiful creatures who walk alongside the crisis. It is already commendable to remain clear-headed."

He opened his lips and uttered cold words, showing no intention of agreeing, but rather as if he were pouring out his own heart, using sarcasm to dissuade the enthusiastic person, but—

“Melvis, you still chose to get involved, didn’t you?” The tone rose and fell, the turning point coming later. “Even though Ms. Z said that you no longer needed to be on the front lines and could just do some comfortable clerical work.”

Melvis's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and retorted, "It's just a personal preference. I prefer a quiet environment, and..." She touched her red eyes, "These eyes of mine can only see more clearly in the dark now, which is a kind of unavoidable talent."

This explanation sounded reasonable, but Charlotte noticed that Melvis's fingertips would tremble involuntarily whenever the eyes or darkness were mentioned, as if he were resisting something.

“Everything has a cause and effect. Speaking of which, Melvis, have you noticed anything unusual lately? It seems the Cardinals’ College has submitted an application to the Arbitration Tribunal to request the use of the sealed artifacts.” Charlotte casually mentioned what she had seen that morning, glancing at the man’s face out of the corner of her eye.

Their gazes met, and what she saw were eyes that were equally clear, yet also filled with contemplation and sorrow.

Melvis was unaware of this matter, so why did her fate take a different turn and rise higher?

Having racked her brains to no avail, the blonde girl stopped thinking and abandoned speculation. She closed the distance as if comforting a true friend, revealing her fair and slender neck.

In an instant, those crimson eyes seemed to undergo a subtle change.

That was the predator's greed, the instinct and nature of a female leopard chasing its prey.

Chapter 209 The Incident

The next day, the weather alternated between sunny and cloudy.

Just as the gentle morning air was about to nourish the earth, the drizzling mist and rain overshadowed the warmth and coldness of human relationships.

Bathed in the wind and holding umbrellas, several figures walked through the harbor and docks, going against the current in the long crowd.

Water droplets slid down the umbrella ribs and gathered into a thin stream at the blonde woman's feet.

Above her head, the continuous rain slanted into a net; in front of her, Pedeline leaped and bounded; behind her, the hurried footsteps of her entourage followed.

“According to intelligence, the ‘Kingfisher’ is docked at Pier 3.” Sander’s voice rose and fell in the mist. “The crew’s testimonies are contradictory, and there are corresponding signs of tampering in the customs records.”

He was a veteran in the operations department and had been in the arbitration tribunal for over a decade. Although his achievements were not outstanding and he lacked talent in the extraordinary path, he was experienced, extremely meticulous in handling events, and good at observation.

Pederina jogged a few steps to catch up, her red hair turning a deep dark color after being soaked by the rain. "I checked the invoice; the quantities of spices and silks listed don't match."

"At first, customs officials reported it to the supervisory bureau as a single smuggler, but during subsequent inspections, they discovered that several boxes at the bottom of the cargo hold were engraved with the Twilight Eye symbol."

The Twilight Eyes are the heretical organization that Father Felton mentioned yesterday. Although they claim to see the world with clear eyes and pursue the truth as their doctrine, in practice they stop at nothing to achieve their goals and have repeatedly caused massacres of varying scales.

However, even such a heretical organization would not be so blatant as to openly display its tracks, thus jeopardizing its goals by being hunted down and investigated by the orthodox religion.

Undoubtedly, this is illogical and too coincidental; it's simply—

"Like a blatant temptation."

However, regardless of the perspective, they had to come because of their responsibilities, in order to prevent the situation from escalating and harming innocent people.

Due to manpower shortages, even though they are originally clerical staff, Pedeline and Charlotte had to assist in the investigation. As for Ms. Z and Melvis, they were stationed at the headquarters of the Arbitration Tribunal to prevent any mistakes during the handover of the sealed items today.

Where did Nia go?

“They’ve contacted the port authority to retrieve the vessel registration information.” Always concise, the team leader, Sander, explained in a low voice as the acting captain. “She said some details need to be confirmed in person.”

Rainwater slid down her neck and into her collar, icy cold. In her spiritual vision, the fates of Ms. Z and Pederina were even dimmer than yesterday, almost shrouded in some kind of thick sea fog. Melvis was not present at this moment, and could not foresee the future.