In the Gothic room, numerous puppets were displayed everywhere, their severed parts scattered about. The curtains were drawn, enveloping the room in a dark, eerie, and mournful atmosphere.

  “So she’s getting to perform again, that little figure skater girl,” Puppeteer said, her expression a mixture of disgust and contempt.

  “Fake, trying to hide her identity when… there’s nothing to hide.”

  The newspaper was slammed down on the nearby table. The image of the girl in the crystal-studded dress, happily smiling with her dance partner and the audience, only intensified her disdain.

  “She and the entire organizing committee are worthless, a bunch of money-grubbers.”

  “Great, now even an athlete can play this identity game.”

  Looking at the newspaper, one line unexpectedly piqued her interest, a slight smile curving her lips.

  “The next competition you’ll be attending is the luxurious Sardena Sirene district.”

  “Interesting. I’ll let you off the hook, my dear Arselina Lurftdeford.”

  “It’s time for me to go on a long trip, Isabella.” She gently stroked the head of the silent, brown-haired, gothic-clad puppet.

  She stood up and walked away. In the distance, the sea and the wind continued their majestic melody. Celeste, Twilight, Luna, and Arianna soared high in the sky, their joyful laughter echoing across the blue sea.

  “Haha, this is so much fun! Come on, fly faster!” Charlotte exclaimed across the sky.

  “This girl is so cheerful. Just a few minutes ago she was left behind, and now…” Luna sighed, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

  “Let Twilight have her fun for now, it’ll be better for us later,” I said softly to Luna.

  The wind rustled through my feathers, playing with my wings and tail. My wings fluttered gently, and in the distance, Charlotte had long since disappeared from sight.

  “Here we go again,” I whispered to my sisters.

  “Oh, not this time…” Before Arianna could finish her sentence, Twilight startled us all.

  “Nothing, ladies, hehe, you’re all flying too slowly.” Twilight giggled mischievously, enjoying the moment, while the rest of us sighed in exasperation.

  A while later, we landed at the second harbor entrance of Mare Star Palatium. A few boats were still anchored, swaying gently with the waves, flags still flying, and people going about their normal lives.

  “It’s so empty, why is the guard duty so boring?” Twilight looked around, hands on her hips.

  “Ah, I know, we’ve been lured in, or… they’re busy playing,” she chuckled.

  “This scenario feels familiar, after all, this is a prison,” I thought, looking around.

  “Follow the plan, avoid unnecessary combat,” Luna said, and I nodded slightly in agreement.

  I walked with the group, blending in with the locals, the goods being sold, the calls of shopkeepers, and the dragon soldiers standing proudly, diligently guarding and patrolling.

  “Celeste, no need for further checks, Twilight and I will go directly to the Mermaid leader,” Luna said.

  “Go see Atlan Tissa, the Safe Gate is an invitation, not a reason to neglect guarding.”

  “Yes, Sister Arianna, let’s go.” I and the group split into two directions.

  Charlotte and Luna took flight, heading towards Charybdis Town Hall, a short while before they had all been on their way.

  “I think we should all go to Mare Star Palatium, even if it’s like handing them a piece of paper to read,” Luna said, her voice slightly weary.

  “Scylla is more involved with them anyway, the Council probably has its own plans,” Arianna added.

  “If that’s the case, Luna, take this,” Celeste opened her magic circle, taking out a dark green hexagonal gem – the Royal Basilisk – and handed it to her sister.

  “Thank you so much, Celeste.”

  A short while later, at Charybdis Town Hall, Luna and Charlotte landed right in front of the entrance, several older officials still loitering around.

  “The leaders’ decisions have been strange lately,” a male official whispered to his colleague.

  “Things have changed so much lately,” sighed an elderly snake-tribe man.

  “We have to hurry, there’s so much to do,” a female employee rushed over.

  The rambling conversations continued, and several employees paced back and forth in the courtyard in front of the town hall.

  “Oh dear, they really never run out of things to talk about, do they?” Charlotte joked.

  “I wonder how efficient they are.”

  “Sigh, stop joking,” Luna sighed.

  As they approached the door, the guards immediately crossed their spears to block their way. Luna took out her token and handed it to both of them. The dragon soldiers exchanged skeptical glances.

  “I have a commission from Queen Basilika. I request to meet the leader of the Mermaid tribe.”

  “This is true, but the request…” one of the dragon soldiers said, returning the token.

  “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Charlotte said cheerfully.

  The two looked at each other for a moment before replying:

  “It’s not convenient to talk about it, besides…” the other gestured, making a hand gesture across his neck. Charlotte saw this and secretly smiled.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Well, we’ll find out ourselves, thank you both very much,” the two guards led the way, Luna walked along, carrying Charlotte, who was grinning as if she had the chance.

  After a while, Luna let go of Charlotte, feeling bored. The sea breeze carried the scent of the sea mixed with a slightly fishy smell, a light sigh from Luna.

  “Come on, sister, two dragons afraid of losing their lives…by one mermaid, isn’t that funny?”

  “One mermaid, one dragon, one snake, one narwhal…that makes sense, right?” Luna replied casually.

  They both went inside. At the reception desk, everything was emptier than before, with only a few mermaid staff members moving around; the officials were all at work.

  Luna stood looking around, hoping for some strange signs to appear, while Charlotte quickly went to talk to the mermaid staff.

  “You want to meet our leaders? It might be a bit difficult to meet them all at once.”

  “That’s alright, we’ll wait,” Charlotte replied cheerfully.

  “Okay then.”

  Charlotte approached Luna, who was still deep in thought, looking around. There were a few paintings hanging high in glass cases with gold patterns, but she almost ignored them.

  “Something’s not quite right, something’s missing,” Luna whispered softly.

  “You mean someone generous, beautiful, or handsome will come to greet us?” Charlotte joked.

  “You’re something else, how many plays have you seen?” Luna chuckled, her face relaxing slightly.

  “Since we’re waiting like this, I’ll go outside for a moment and be right back.” Charlotte winked at her sister and quietly left, leaving Luna alone at the reception desk.

  Meanwhile, below the city, Celeste and Arianna stood before a building made of jagged, rusty steel, the scent wafting in the wind, causing Arianna to cover her nose.

  “Where is this, Celeste? It looks like the arena in the Ancestral Land,” Arianna asked.

  “Historically, this is an arena over a hundred years old that was partially renovated into a stage,” Celeste replied.

  “For various reasons, no one intended to renovate it after all these years. Let's go inside,” Celeste said, extending her hand to lead Arianna inside.

  Holding hands, they passed several doors and a wide, open path, covered in moss and seaweed like a luxurious red carpet.

  “How ironic, a diva having to perform here?” Arianna looked around, a pang of sadness crossing her heart.

  “How ironic, the first people to sing here are convicted criminals.”

  “Not a Diva, not Atlan Tissa,” I lowered my voice, a hint of bitter sadness lingering on my tongue.

  Pushing open the door, we were immediately confronted by the vast, curved space inside, spacious and sloping downwards – the Diva’s performance area, with several other doors scattered around.

  The wind swept past them, echoing the powerful sounds of the past, the clanging of metal against metal. This was a stage, but the past was not yet asleep here.

  “I understand you mean now, Celeste, just like at the Nest, the arenas never rest.” Arianna chuckled softly.

  Below, several mermaids were cleaning up the area, standing on the blue waters, controlling the currents to sweep into every nook and cranny, pulling everything that remained towards them.

  “Impressive, though a little…” I secretly smiled after hearing Arianna’s words.

  “If Twilight were here, the whole group would be laughing non-stop,” I joked.

  “Absolutely,” we both laughed.

  We walked around, careful not to disturb anyone, and as we looked around, a few water bubbles and flower petals floated by, creating impromptu dances that obscured our view, creating a beautiful and subtly fragrant scene.

  “It’s beautiful, the scent is so pleasant,” we both enjoyed.

  Bubbles swirled in a stream of water surrounding them both, obscuring their vision. When they vanished, a mermaid appeared before them, her hair a pale pink and wavy, her head adorned with two dragon horns, and long, membranous blue ears.

  She wore a thin, white, diagonally cut dress that revealed her midriff, her mouth veiled by a white veil, and her tail shimmering with iridescent blue dragon scales.

  Her bare back arched slightly backward, her hands gracefully intertwined, dancing with the water and bubbles. Around her, water lilies bloomed, creating a breathtaking scene – a graceful mermaid stretching herself amidst a pool of water lilies.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” she smiled softly, but her voice, gentle, cheerful, and somewhat youthful, seemed to come from somewhere else.

  Another girl approached, her long purple hair flowing freely, her distinctive long ears adorned with small water lily-shaped earrings, and a long, slender dress that covered her legs.

  In her ear, she wore purple water lilies; her dress, from her sleeves downwards, was adorned with water lilies of various colors. Crystal ribbons wrapped around her waist, reaching upwards as if rising from the lake's surface, reflecting the sparkling starlight.

  “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Nymphae Lotusa, a Witch of the Elf race, a tourist,” she gently adjusted her dress, cheerfully bowing to me and Arianna.

  “And I am Atlan Tissa, a mermaid-dragon hybrid. Thank you for your appointment, Princess Celeste,” Tissa bowed in return, her voice soft, elegant, relaxed, and charming.

  “We hope you both enjoyed our performance,” Arianna and I bowed in return.

  “The performance was magnificent,” I complimented softly.

  Some time ago, after leaving Basilika’s place, I teleported both Charlotte and me outside, into the deep-sea personnel management area…

  “Do you two wish to schedule an appointment with Ms. Atlan Tissa?”

  “Please wait a moment,” a male employee replied, while the other checked the schedule.

  After a few checks, the female employee beside me replied:

  “You two can meet Ms. Atlan Tissa this afternoon at the east stage.”

  “Great, thank you all so much,” I smiled happily at them both.

  “Seriously, she’s just a local diva, does she really need to be managed like this?” Charlotte and I left, both walking and joking with each other.

  Outside the City Hall, the setting sun cast its light on the street. All the stalls seemed to come alive, making the scene even more magnificent, the shimmering sea of ??fish scales captivating. In another secluded alley in the city…

  “Following me, huh? It’s only been half a day, and this place has changed so quickly.”

  Charlotte walked along, smiling warmly, wearing a dark orange mask studded with small gemstones, and black feathers extending to behind her right ear.

  “You’re not welcome here, you low-ranking assassin group,” the leader said, eight men in civilian clothes taunting and laughing at Charlotte.

  “What are you saying? Speak louder.”

  In a fleeting moment, Charlotte’s face suddenly turned serious, her playful demeanor completely gone. The leader flinched, instinctively stepping back a tiny bit, while the others remained close together, wary.

  “In terms of ranking, your group needs to improve.”

  “I’m here on legitimate business, so you’d better know your place.” Charlotte said, turning to look behind her.

  The onlookers stood silently, sweat trickling down their necks. Some still clutched their knives—a mixture of anger and impatience, while a few were still regulating their breathing.

  『 The angle is perfect, high up… um, no, it's too clear, it's within a ninety-degree horizontal angle pointing upwards freely… 』

  『 Perfect for long-range sniping. According to the script, those guys will charge forward, so… 』

  "Charm all at once, all of you!" The men on the outer perimeter immediately charged forward, while the group behind remained waiting.

  “Stop! That's enough, we're retreating. How annoying!”The leader shouted, making everyone stop.

  He glared at Charlotte, and the group then left in a fit of unquenched anger. She didn't stop anyone, just silently watched them all, listening to their impolite, somewhat mocking and crude farewells.

  『 A bunch of impromptu fools, probably just here for the reward money. 』

  『 Looks like I'm being used to clean up after them again. 』 Charlotte sighed, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

  『 The gun didn't fire, so that's clear. 』 In that brief moment, a wall of ice rose, completely shielding her.

  On the other side, hidden within a building with open windows, the girl lowered her sniper rifle. She wore a black evening gown, intricately carved in silver across the skirt, her dark lips curving into a slight, amused smile.

  "Those guys were such poor actors," she murmured, smoothing her long, wavy platinum blonde hair, its ends tinged with black hair.

  But before a few seconds had passed, upon hearing footsteps behind her, she turned, drawing the red crystal pistol from behind her back. Her hand was immediately pushed away, and she was pulled down.

  The girl was mercilessly dragged face down to the ground, without even a second to fire, her right hand held straight as if it were about to be broken.

  “What’s this, Number Six Stephanie? What are you doing here?” Charlotte held her hand up, snatching the pistol from her hand.

  “Haha, you’ve caught me again, Number Three Charlotte.” Stephanie chuckled.

  “Let go of my hand and I’ll tell you. Let’s calm down, okay?” Stephanie relented.

  A few minutes later, Stephanie sat leaning against the wall, the damp floor covered in a little green moss, making her feel somewhat uneasy.

  The windows were all closed, her left hand patted her chest a few times, trying to calm herself. All the guns were out of reach, only a cold metal bottle of water remained in her hand.

  “This… this happened a few days ago, originally… it was supposed to be a day off for me and Ciel…”

  “…But when we went back to Ciel’s hometown – the Imperial Palace of the Imperial Garden…, the national government wanted to interfere here…”

  “So she dragged me into all sorts of things, from there to the Second Fang, Waltzienstein, and then here.” Charlotte stood silently beside her, listening.

  Stephanie took a sip of water, smiled lightly, and offered it to Charlotte, who responded with only a slight shake of the head. No one said anything. She drank again and put it away, like a small bottle of wine, yet cold and ironically indifferent.

  “There was a group of high-ranking assassins, a third-rate group, here. I couldn’t get anything out of them, so I took them all down.” Stephanie chuckled mischievously.

  “As for the rest of that motley crew, I used them to invite you here. Sigh, it’s so hard to meet up.”

  “I was planning to meet you with the boss, but Ciel forbade it. But how did you know I was coming?”

  Charlotte took out a neatly folded brown piece of paper from her dress and handed it to her. Even folded, the elegant handwriting was still clear. Charlotte remained silent, listening to the sounds around her – though it was mostly her colleague beside her.

  “Stephanie’s junior has arrived. Get down to business.” Stephanie read it and secretly chuckled.

  “How long have you been negotiating, Stephanie?” Charlotte asked, her voice almost emotionless.

  “It’s been a while, I think it’s over. Let’s go. I’ll tell you a few more things on the way.”

  Stephanie stood up, snapping her fingers. In an instant, everything was spotless.

  At the arena, after the mermaids had finished cleaning up, Atlan Tissa sat playing on a makeshift water bubble, her face downcast and sad, a few tears falling down her cheeks. Nymphae patted her back, and Arianna and I held her hand to comfort her.

  “I never imagined things would go this far, former leader…” Arianna said sadly.

  “I’m sorry for this great loss, Atlan Tissa, it’s my fault for not arriving sooner.”

  『 Once again, among countless times, another person I couldn’t save. Why… did it have to come to this? 』

  My heart was heavy, yet I couldn’t shed a single tear. I never expected Lydia to die like this; my prophecy from years ago had come true.

  Now, this place is increasingly desolate, its people divided, there isn't even a funeral, and looking up at the sky, there's nothing left but the cold dome and the boundless sea.

  『 The cycle of life and death is like an unfulfilled dream, saving many only leads to greater loss… foolishness. 』

  Now, hearing those stern words from my grandmother, Tuyet Lien, I understand them even more deeply, to the point of heartbreak.

  『 Wanting to save all living beings, that dream will never have the chance to breathe the spring breeze. 』

  "Don't blame yourself… Princess Celeste… I understand you are not wrong." Atlan Tissa smiled awkwardly, her voice heartbreakingly soft.

  Suddenly…

  “Celeste, listen to me, don’t be sad. I understand your selflessness; we’re both Maidens of the church.”

  “What you want is so beautiful, but don’t stop reaching out to them, keep helping them.”

  Arianna hugged me gently, her scent was so comforting, this warmth was the only heat I could feel—safe, painful, yet so gentle.

  “Yes, sister Arianna,” I reached out and hugged her tightly.

  “I remember when you were little, you always wanted to be held.” Arianna smiled softly, stroking her little sister’s head.

  “Celeste, be good, your big sister is here.” I hugged her tighter, burying my head in her chest.