The carriage slowly drove into Winterfell. This is the second most important town in the Earl of Bresson. Most of the food circulation and trade in the main territory are managed by Viscount Campbell, Lin's biological father. As an empire,
One of the towns with a long history, the town has stone roads extending in all directions, complete sewer facilities, squares for residents to walk and rest, year-round markets, and public baths maintained by dedicated personnel. The population living here all year round is about
With a population of more than 100,000, and the merchants coming and going, the place is prosperous enough, but not too dirty.
It is adjacent to the Tartar River, and the terrain is very flat. It has rarely experienced wars in history, and there is no condition or need to build a castle. The Viscount's residence is not far from the outskirts of the town, and it looks more like a large manor. Yuffie asked Lily to move the carriage
Stopping at the door, he handed a letter to the doorman.
"I am Lin's good friend from school. For some reasons, I came to visit Mrs. Campbell on her behalf." Yuffie tucks her pink hair and raised her head, "Thank you for your help."
Not long ago, they were in a "Guild" in the empire, and received the information that Cullen and others would not come to her again for the time being. After all the communication methods using the star realm failed, in addition to using animal messengers, transmitting messages through the "Guild" has also become a new method.
Reliable means - especially when the intended recipient is traveling.
The risk of being attacked has been eliminated, so there is no point in pretending anymore. Besides, it is somewhat impolite to use a fake appearance to meet friends and family. The original appearance is more eye-catching, but in some cases, it can also be slightly
It’s easy to get the other person’s attention... right?
"Ah, I'm sorry, I...I'll go right away!" The slightly stunned doorman came to his senses, bowed to the girl in a hurry, and ran into the manor in a panic. Lily, who happened to see this scene, burst out laughing.
.
"Men, are all men like this?" She patted Yuffie on the shoulder and sighed in a pretentious manner.
"Let me tell you, this is called nature!" Bell retorted, "You know, there are many beautiful girls who are attracted to strong men like me..." He patted his chest and happened to meet Lily's glare, and the rest of his words came immediately.
It turned into a low murmur.
Yuffie felt a little happy inexplicably as she heard a few people noisy behind her. Then she thought of Lin's condition and her family who would see her later, and felt a little worried and nervous. These emotions did not last long, and the guard
He quickly ran back to her.
"Please come with me," he gasped. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Steinmetz. Your friends can come too."
Yuffie followed him into the manor. The courtyard looked very old, and the grass poked out from the gaps in the gravel-paved ground, giving the road underfoot a touch of green. The shrubs on both sides were carefully trimmed and full of color.
Vibrant, but not cluttered. The windmill of the mill not far away was creaking and spinning. Although large-scale workshops for processing grains have long been built in the city, this ancient building is still preserved, waving its residual heat. A few horses
The child took a leisurely walk on the lawn basking in the sun, letting the stable boy scrub his body one by one, and purring comfortably.
They walked through the courtyard and entered the largest three-story building in the manor. The inside of the building was a little cooler than the outside. There were faint traces of mold on the walls, and the lamps on both sides had some paint peeling off, but the air did not smell bad, and the corners of the corridor could be seen.
There were no cobwebs and too much dirt. The maids were chatting in low voices, seeming to be a little curious about their visit. The sunlight penetrated from the west window, casting the shadow of the window lattice on the heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor. The doorman stood aside, especially
Fei knocked on the door, and there was a soft response from behind the door.
"Please come in."
Yuffie pushed the door open and walked in. Beside the long table made of mahogany, a woman in a light brown dress leaned on the armrest and nodded to the girl. At fifty years old, she still looked quite young, and her skin was so pale that it was a little transparent.
, you can even see the blue veins under the skin. Her cheekbones are prominent, her eye sockets are sunken, and her exposed arms are so slender that it seems as if a gust of wind can blow her away. But none of this detracts from her calm temperament.
Yuffie walked to the table and saluted her, imagining how graceful she would be when she was healthy. Bell introduced himself carelessly, but Lily quickly held her mouth shut.
"Lin wrote a lot about you in her letter to me. Thanks to you for taking care of her in the past few years, otherwise with her temperament, I'm afraid she would have caused even greater trouble." The woman's voice was very soft, and she smiled.
He motioned for everyone to sit down, "Allow me to thank you, Yuffie."
"No." Yuffie shook her head, "I'm very happy to be with her. And I'm not the only one in school who likes her."
"But you are different from them, am I right? Therefore, you are the one who comes here." Mrs. Campbell changed the subject, "What on earth is Lin doing? You must have graduated, right?"
"
Yuffie nodded, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "Her grades in Magical Biology are very good. Principal Eagle Academy happened to have urgent research to complete, so he left her there as an assistant." She lowered her voice.
He turned his head and pushed the silk in front of his forehead to the back of his head, "And I happen to have something to go to Breeze Forest. I passed by here and came to see how you are doing."
This was consistent with what was written in the visit letter, and was an excuse that Lin and she came up with together. However, Lin herself was not sure whether this excuse could deceive Mrs. Campbell - after all, her mother was one of the people who knew her best.
.
Mrs. Campbell looked at Yuffie quietly. The girl could not detect any doubts or distrust in that smile, but her intuition told her that the excuse she just made had no effect. She turned to look at Lily, and the female mercenary winked at her.
Blink.
"Come on." Lily mouthed to her.
That's right, forget about that. Yuffie remembered the original purpose of this time, she exhaled, and a look of confidence appeared on her face. "Mrs. Campbell, Lin told me that you were sick a few years ago. Maybe... No, I should
I can help you."
"Really? Thank you very much." The woman nodded slowly, neither disgusted nor pleased. "Then, do you need me to do anything."
"Please give me a hand, madam." Yuffie stretched out her right hand and gently placed it on the woman's left hand, facing her palm. "Can you briefly explain your symptoms? Let's start from the beginning."
The Viscountess leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes slightly. She thought about it for a long time, and then spoke softly.
"It started about seven years ago." The female voice was a little tired, but still soft. "At first, my body was just a little weak. I felt tired after walking a little. It took me several days of rest to recover. My appetite was also much worse.
If you eat a little more occasionally, your body will feel uncomfortable."
"The situation got worse over time. In the second year, I could still travel on horseback, but by the third year, I could no longer get on the horse smoothly. Two years ago, I completely lost the ability to walk." She said calmly.
She spoke as if the patient was not herself, "I didn't tell Lin these things because I didn't want her to be distracted by me."
Yuffie bit her lower lip and nodded wordlessly. She glanced at the hem of the woman's skirt, and then stared at her face again.
"Whether it's winter or summer, I can only feel the cold. Neither a coat nor a charcoal fire can improve it, but I'm used to it now." She paused for a while, as if she was afraid of what she was going to say next. "And, sometimes I see terrible things.
Hallucinations...being killed in various ways, and actually feeling myself dying...until I lose consciousness. Fortunately...it's only occasionally."
"Sorry--" Yuffie covered the woman's hand with her other hand and waited quietly for her to regain her emotions.
Bell put his head in his hands and lay on the long table. Alphonse said nothing. Lily stared at Yuffie closely, what the meaning in her eyes was-'give us a try harder'? That's of course, she
think.
"Did the church pastor do anything?" After a while, Yuffie continued to ask.
"Some herbs and a few amulets." Mrs. Campbell lowered her eyes, "None of them have any obvious effect."
"It doesn't matter." Yuffie squeezed the woman's hand firmly, "Don't worry about those priests, just leave everything to me."
She calmed down her mind, began to guide Ada's power, and then gathered it into her hands. A soft milky white light sank into the woman's palm, and her complexion seemed a little better than before.
"I feel... very warm." A smile appeared on the woman's face, "Thank you."
Yuffie thought about Ms. Silver Moon's notes. Injecting some vitality into the body of the subject can make subsequent spells more effective. So, now it is a little more complicated. She closed her eyes and called to the same network.
Another magical spell. It has no effect visible to the naked eye. It just allows the magic power to circulate in the body of the recipient for a week, expelling all external factors that cause disease. Yuffie clearly felt the magic power return to the palm of her hand, and then it was harmless
The ground disappeared.
The total amount of magic power has not decreased at all, in other words - no disease has been cured, which is an expected bad outcome.
Her mind was spinning rapidly. She had to calm down first. What Madam was suffering from was not an emergency. She had enough time to slowly analyze the situation.
The worst case scenario is natural aging, but Mrs. Campbell is not yet fifty years old. When she was at the college, Tutor Aslan talked about the rare disease of progeria, but all known cases were in childhood diseases. As for the so-called'
Incurable diseases', Ada's power can even bring the dead back to life, and incurable diseases should almost never exist.
Long-term bad living habits can seriously damage the body... Excluding it for the time being, it is inconsistent with the previous description, and Yuffie has no way of imagining Mrs. Campbell's corrupt life. Some chronic poisoning can cause similar symptoms - unconscious exposure
poisonous substance, or was someone deliberately poisoning her?
She cast another magical spell to remove toxins, but it still had no effect.
Is it an indigestible, physical toxin... No. That kind of 'toxin' usually causes severe pain, rather than slow physical damage. Even if it is really a toxin, regardless of accidental exposure or deliberate murder, seven years is too long.
After a while, she closed her eyes, slowly stroked the woman's arm, and thought about other reasons. Suddenly, she felt a thin, silky magic coming from deep within the woman's skin.
She thought of a possibility and raised her head suddenly, "Madam, have you ever learned magic? Or secret magic?"
The woman shook her head slowly.
I'm such an idiot, Yuffie cursed herself secretly. She quickly recited a familiar mantra and used magic to temporarily replace her original vision. In the sight formed by magic, she could clearly see countless dark purple lines, like spider webs.
All over Mrs. Campbell's body. Every blood vessel and nerve in the woman's body is entangled with magic power of unknown origin. It is these intricate external forces that gradually devour her physical strength and health.
But how could it be this? No, it should be said that it was indeed this... In this way, the 'hallucination' that Madam felt was explained. But - the problem became much more troublesome than imagined. Yuffie didn't realize it
He frowned and wrung his fingers unconsciously.
"It seems that you have found the cause of my illness." Mrs. Campbell saw the girl's confusion and smiled at her reassuringly, "Can you tell me?"
Yuffie bit her lip and was silent for a while, then nodded.
"What caused your current situation is not disease or poisoning." She looked seriously into the woman's eyes, "but a curse."
"Something has cursed you since seven years ago until now."