Chapter 104: Waiting for the Final Moment

Waiting for the Final Moment

“Lord Administrator, this is today’s visitor list, please review it.”

In the office, an attendant wearing a green chip mask bowed his head, handing a document to Kitty.

“Lord Administrator, this is the check-in list.”

On the other side, a woman wearing a red chip mask also bowed her head, presenting another list, then stood together with the attendant, quietly waiting for Kitty to look them over.

Kitty flipped through the lists, directly skipping the non-transcendents and ordinary rich people, focusing on the marked list of transcendents and nobles.

Kitty habitually crossed out several black-gold members’ names with her pen, saying:

“These few... set up games to win all their money, tell them to get lost before tomorrow.”

She spoke as she crossed names out. Soon, her gaze lingered on one particular person.

Avena Roswell...

Kitty put down her pen, her fingers tapping lightly on the list above, and asked:

“That young lady of the Roswell family, what has she been doing in the manor today?”

The maid stepped forward and replied, “Miss Roswell, along with two other young ladies and a guard, spent a long time browsing the exchange area today... Do you need their shopping list?”

“List it out for me.” Kitty nodded slightly, placing the pen on the desk and pushing it towards the maid.

The maid thought while listing the purchases, writing and pausing, taking nearly five minutes to complete the list.

Her hand trembled throughout, seemingly due to excessive nervousness.

Kitty, at this moment, simply waited patiently for her to finish writing, and did not make things difficult for her as usual.

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Ever since Georgine sided with the Bishop and committed this act of “betrayal,” Kitty felt her heart transition from initial anger to her current state of calm.

Kitty knew clearly that with that Bishop looming over her, she could do nothing right now. If she were to sabotage anything, it would only incur the Bishop’s wrath.

This ritual was doomed to fail.

If summoning a divine servant were truly possible, why not do it in Ansu? Why come to a place like Berren City with little influence?

Kitty looked at the list she had marked.

Although she couldn’t directly act against the Bishop, she could still make things slightly unpleasant for him...

These important figures, she shouldn’t drive them away.

Seeing the maid had finished the list, she inquired further about some matters before saying, “I still need to confirm the list. Don’t take any action yet. You may leave first.”

“Yes, Lord Administrator.”

The attendant and the maid withdrew, leaving the office. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Kitty, meanwhile, pondered while casually looking over Lady Roswell’s purchase list.

Unsurprisingly, they were mostly curious little trinkets.

But when she saw a few particular items, her eyes narrowed slightly.

Heart-Eating Bat blood... and these materials...

Aren’t these all used for hypnosis? Some even have aphrodisiac effects.

Recalling the maid saying they played in the card room for about two hours before returning to their room and not coming out since, Kitty slowly inhaled.

Fine, fine, having a party without inviting me, is that it?

Kitty put down the list, placed both the list and the purchase list into the iron wastebasket beside her, and tossed a burning candle inside.

Then, she picked up her pen, took out her spiritual notebook, and began writing.

【Saint Year 741, June 22nd】

【Mother Goddess Sadhana above... Please guide my path forward】

【Yesterday, my subordinate found me, saying a Lord Bishop wished to conduct a sacrificial ritual here to summon Your divine servant】

【My excitement is difficult to express in words, but after calming down tonight, a sliver of doubt arose...】

【No... I should not question the Lord Bishop’s judgment. Perhaps he received a secret order from higher up】

【I only need to consider how to cooperate fully...】

【...】

Kitty wrote, every word filled with sincerity, but the entire passage, when read together, shifted all responsibility onto the “subordinate” and the “Bishop.”

And she herself was the innocent one, forced to discard years of hard work for faith and loyalty at this moment.

After a long while, Kitty stopped writing, letting out a long sigh.

After checking the notebook’s contents for any abnormalities, Kitty closed her eyes, secretly contemplating how to secure a path of retreat for herself.

She had reported upwards... She couldn’t stop the ritual herself. Once the ritual began, she definitely couldn’t stay in Berren City any longer.

After the Bishop arrives, he will surely order her and others to apprehend people. Use that moment... after doing what she wanted to do, slip away directly.

However, this presupposed the Bishop could defeat that “Crown Guard.” If not, then she could only flee directly.

Although changing identities and starting over elsewhere was troublesome, for Kitty, survival was paramount.

Only by surviving could she better serve the Mother Goddess, make greater contributions to the Mother Goddess.

She was more important than anyone else; she couldn’t die.

Kitty placed the notebook back into the drawer.

Click—

Locked directly.

...

“Are we really staying here overnight?” Avena whispered in Ciel’s ear.

“Mm.” Ciel nodded.

“Mmm hmm hmm!!!” Adele shook her head frantically beside them, strongly opposing Ciel’s idea.

“You can talk now.” Ciel looked at Adele, still adhering to the rule she set, and said helplessly.

“Mmm~” Adele shook her head.

“Are you worried you’ll slip up later if you talk now?” Ciel continued asking.

“Mm-hmm.” Adele nodded.

Genius.

Although Adele sometimes seemed a bit single-minded, she could indeed properly execute tasks assigned to her, which could be considered a merit.

“Don’t be so scared,” Avena chimed in from the side. “Ciel said it’s fine, so it should be fine.”

Under normal circumstances, Avena wouldn’t mind staying overnight at Deton Manor much; she had chosen to stay for a few days before if caught in heavy rain.

Knowing this was a Divine Advent Church den didn’t particularly bother Avena either, as Nia was always by her side protecting her.

While “Crown Guard” wasn’t skilled in combat, their protective abilities were absolutely top-tier. As long as it wasn’t a sneak attack or poisoning, even a third-tier cultist Bishop couldn’t kill Avena without getting past Nia.

Moreover, in the eyes of the Divine Advent Church, Avena hadn’t been exposed. They didn’t know Sherlon died in her home and wouldn’t rashly move against her.

After all, they also had to be wary of the Roswell family behind Avena.

The Sacrificial Saint’s Relic was another reason Avena dared to follow Ciel.

Compared to herself, Avena was more worried about Ciel and Adele.

Adele was straightforward. As long as she didn’t leave her side, in the current view of the Divine Advent Church, Adele was just Sherlon’s student. They didn’t know Adele was the one who created the virus.

But Ciel was different.

She was the one who personally killed Sherlon, and her return to Deton Manor this time was to carry out a mission assigned by her organization.

What kind of mission required an ordinary person to execute it, facing a large group of cultists and a third-tier Bishop...

Avena increasingly felt dislike towards the organization behind Ciel.

“Do you need any help tomorrow?” Avena looked at Ciel and asked.

“No need.”

“You’re going to act alone again?”

Ciel, taking off her shoes and socks, looked up towards Avena and said, “Wake up early tomorrow, just play normally. There’s no danger anywhere.”

“I’m just trying to see if I can find that Bishop.”

Just trying to find the Bishop?

That’s slightly better...

Avena asked, “Then when are we going back?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, around 1:05 PM.”

Two minutes should be enough for Ciel to handle everything, but to be safe, better add a few more minutes.

That night, none of the three slept much.

Nia worried about Avena’s safety, silently patrolling the room;

Avena pondered what Ciel and the organization behind her intended to do, constantly reasoning in her mind;

Ciel, having rested too much, didn’t sleep much either. She kept replaying every step from the previous simulations in her head. To ensure peak performance, she chose not to simulate again, avoiding further damage to her spirit which might affect the “Spiritual Summoning.”

Only Adele slept soundly, hugging Ciel’s arm, terrified and worried.

-

The next day, Ciel, having slept lightly for some time, woke up early.

Avena, who hadn’t slept at all, was disturbed by Ciel’s movements, which in turn woke up the drowsy Adele.

The three washed up separately, tidied their clothes, and then walked straight out of the room.

Deton Manor was brightly lit almost all night. Many gamblers had already pulled an all-nighter, their eyes bloodshot from gambling.

A corpse was carried past them. There were no gunshot wounds, only ligature marks on the neck—most likely suicide after borrowing too much money and losing it all.

Such incidents weren’t uncommon in Deton Manor, especially during grand events like this, where ruined gambling dogs were even more numerous.

There were no winners in the casino, only those who lost everything and those who hadn’t lost everything yet. Addicted to gambling, ruin was only a matter of time.

Having stayed overnight, Adele was no longer as nervous as yesterday. Instead, she happily followed Ciel and Avena around, looking here and there, even trying a simple roulette game, losing her only 10-pound chip, after which she didn’t dare play anymore.

After casually strolling around, Ciel frowned slightly.

She wandered everywhere but couldn’t find Georgine.

Conversely, Avena kept being recognized. People frequently approached with champagne to greet her, wanting to get acquainted.

Finally, Ciel led Avena and the others to the card room. Avena used her black-gold membership card to clear a table. The three sat down, while Nia acted as the dealer.

There were still five or six hours until 1 PM. Ciel held a deck of cards, scanned the crowded card room, waiting for Georgine to appear.

If Georgine followed her plan precisely, she would definitely come to check the blood array again before noon.

As long as she saw her checking, it meant the blood array was ready.

Next, she just needed to see when those cultists would be summoned to the underground sanctuary.

“Fighting Nobles? What game is this?” Avena asked curiously, showing no awareness of being a noble herself.

The card game Ciel just mentioned was completely unfamiliar to her.

“Hmm hmm hmm?” Adele was also full of confusion. She didn’t understand why 1 and 2 were higher than 3.

Just sitting here wasn’t appropriate either. Ciel took the previous life’s “Fight the Landlord”, renamed it “Fighting Nobles,” and began teaching the two how to play.

Playing cards together was much better than wandering around and attracting suspicion.

After a few rounds of “Fighting Nobles,” Avena and Adele became interested in this novel game. Their card game also attracted many gamblers to watch, many hoping to get acquainted with Avena.

However, the attendants at Deton Manor were reasonably diligent, blocking those people for the black-gold member Avena. But they couldn’t stop the growing crowd around Ciel’s table... it was starting to obstruct Ciel’s view.

Three beautiful young ladies and a novel, fun new card game—either alone was enough to attract the attention of these gambling dogs, let alone both combined.

Just as Ciel was thinking about how to clear some people away, a path opened up beside the table.

“Lady Roswell, so it was you.” A familiar voice came from behind a red chip mask. The woman stood beside Avena, turning to the people nearby and asking, “What’s going on, why the crowd? Don’t disturb Miss Roswell’s game.”

“Don’t, Miss Georgine, I haven’t figured out the rules yet. Let me watch a few more hands, and I’ll know how to play ‘Fighting Nobles’.”

“I know how to play. Let’s start a table over there. Anyone want to play ‘Fighting Nobles’? I can teach if you don’t know.”

“Me, me, me! Are you really teaching, bro?”

Shrewd gamblers had already grasped the gameplay of this simple card game. They had to plunder some chips by leveraging their understanding of this new game before more people learned it.

Soon, the crowd around the table dispersed, all preparing to try this new card game.

“Thank you.” Avena looked towards Georgine and nodded slightly.

She really disliked this feeling of being watched, and the assistant administrator’s arrival happened to ease the situation.

“You’re too kind, Miss Roswell. It’s my duty.” The expression under Georgine’s mask held a hint of a smile. She possessed a confidence she usually lacked. “If there’s anything else, you can have the attendants find me. I still have matters to attend to, so I won’t disturb the young ladies’ entertainment.”

Georgine bowed elegantly to them, then turned to leave.

As she passed behind Ciel, an inconspicuous silver flash occurred. The “Sadhana Emblem” Georgine carried disappeared, returning to Ciel’s system inventory.

A sense of security filled Ciel’s heart at this moment.

She watched Georgine circle the large card room, seemingly inspecting, occasionally approaching crowded gambling tables to place a bet herself and liven up the atmosphere.

But in Ciel’s mind, the path Georgine traced gradually formed a shape on her mental map... the outline of the blood array.

Ciel slowly withdrew her gaze, looked towards Adele who was starting to lose interest, and asked with a smile, “Adele, want to play ‘Old Servant’?”

Adele: “Mm-hmm!”

Although she didn’t speak, her actions clearly showed Adele was more interested in “Old Servant.”

Because she had already lost terribly earlier. If they had been betting chips, Adele would have definitely lost her pants by now.

Compared to the slightly strategic “Fighting Nobles,” “Old Servant,” which resembled the previous life’s “Old Maid,” suited Adele better.

Adele enjoyed herself, but as time passed, Avena grew increasingly nervous for Ciel.

Seeing the time approach 1:01 PM, when the Divine Advent Church Bishop was due to arrive, Ciel seemed completely unconcerned, as if she had come today just to casually play cards.

Wasn’t she supposed to find the Bishop’s identity?

Was she searching now? Or had she already found him? When? Who was it?

Constantly thinking about these questions made Avena somewhat absentminded while playing cards, repeatedly drawing the “Old Servant” card from Adele and losing several rounds.

Slap—!

Adele slapped her last pair of cards onto the table again. Unable to speak, she could only express her joy of victory this way, which somewhat blended into the surrounding environment.

At this moment, Ciel began to notice people gradually leaving the card room. Compared to earlier, the card room seemed slightly less crowded now.

Georgine, who had been wandering around the card room, also seemed to receive some information and hurriedly left.

The cultists had begun gathering towards the underground sanctuary...

A system interface appeared before Ciel’s eyes. The time had reached 11:31 AM.

One hour and thirty minutes left. As time ticked by, Ciel’s heart grew calmer.

The sacrifice, rehearsed countless times in her mind, was finally arriving today.

Just a little more time... haste makes waste.

...

“Kitty, is everyone gathered? The Bishop is arriving soon.” Georgine questioned Kitty in front of her.

Kitty, standing below the platform, turned back towards Georgine’s direction, merely looking at her indifferently, without speaking.

After a long pause, Kitty finally spoke slowly, “Where is your Bishop emblem?”

Georgine’s pupils constricted slightly. She instinctively reached for the place where she kept the Bishop emblem, but felt nothing.

“Hehe...” Kitty grinned, looked at Georgine’s gradually panicking eyes, and slowly said, “It seems the Bishop has already arrived early...”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you...”

“At least, before the Bishop’s task is completed...”

“I won’t do anything to you...”

Kitty’s tone gradually turned sinister. The unintentionally condescending tone made Georgine’s adrenaline spike.

The Bishop emblem... was taken back by the Bishop!

When? When did the Bishop arrive? Was she already at Deton Manor long ago?

It’s fine... The Bishop promised me she would transfer me away. Kitty can’t threaten me.

The underground sanctuary teemed with people. The two figures below the platform harbored ulterior motives, both quietly waiting for the final moment to arrive.