The crowd was bustling, filled with people as far as the eye could see.
In the sea of people, Elizabeth carried her tray, shoving past and drifting along.
In her tray, there were fragrant bread, aromatic mushroom soup, and a perfectly poached egg in an egg holder. This was Elizabeth's entire dinner.
It was not easy to balance the soup while looking for someone.
Over there, no, over here? No, that place seems to have some magical fluctuations as well.
Elizabeth squinted her watery eyes, gazing intently at a corner of the cafeteria.
Another person eating... that must be him.
Elizabeth didn't actually enjoy this routine she had to go through every day.
Carrying things, maneuvering through the crowd, making sure not to spill the liquid she held in her hands. Every movement reminded Elizabeth of her time training in etiquette as a child - the time when she consistently failed every subject in her family.
But even if she didn't like it, she still had to do it. That's the contract of adulthood.
"You're eating alone again, don't you have good interpersonal skills?" Elizabeth didn't notice the slight bitterness in her words.
Hamlet sat down, smiled and greeted Elizabeth.
"I was going to ask you, how do you always manage to find me?" Even when eating, Hamlet wore a mask, and he slid a piece of bread into his mouth from a corner uncovered by the mask.
Hamlet's eyes were actually very beautiful. When he covered his mouth and nose with the mask, they looked even more beautiful.
Different from Merka's captivating, profound, sad, and chaotic eyes, Hamlet's eyes were hazy, shy, gentle, and fraught with complex meanings.
"Secrets...are just a kind of detection magic." Elizabeth smirked, as if casting this level of magic wasn't a big deal for her. "Let's talk about the serious business."
The magical fluctuations from Turing were so weak that only those who had been sensing it for a long time could notice.
"Last time, you said Merka worked in the depths of the information department... which part of the information department exactly?" Elizabeth elegantly cut the bread with her knife and fork, spreading mushroom soup and using her fork to lift the pieces to her mouth, forming a stark contrast with Hamlet, who was eating with his hands.
"I searched the whole building and waited for a long time... Didn't see a trace of Merka in the information room." Elizabeth swallowed her food before speaking slowly.
"So you didn't see Merka?" Hamlet asked.
"No... I bumped into him outside the information room. He seemed to be finishing work and about to leave. I didn't speak to him, afraid that it would be suspected that I have a relationship with Turing." Elizabeth held her fork and shook her head as she recalled.
"He probably does work in the information department... although I haven't seen it with my own eyes." Elizabeth said, "But the question is, where exactly in the information department?"
"I can't let Turing wait outside the whole time watching over Merka. It would be embarrassing if she was seen by other people..." Elizabeth sniffed and then said indignantly, "If we talk about appearance... he's quite handsome. But he is absolutely, completely not worthy of being with Turing."
"What's so good about a man like that? He comes from a humble background, lacks manners, not to mention he is obviously avoiding Turing."
With a helpless smirk, Hamlet could only use the sound of swallowing bread to replace the awkwardness of his powerless rebuttal.
"Ah...I mean, couldn't you just directly arrange a meeting between Merka and Turing somewhere?" Elizabeth looked at the silent Hamlet and sighed suddenly.
"Miss, I am at least a friend of Merka's, right?" Hamlet swallowed his food and said, "Not to mention, if I deceive him, how would he view me..."
"Merka has always been very cautious, to a strange extent. Since returning from Westminster Cathedral, he has become even stranger."
"He leaves early and returns late every day, being secretive. No one knows what he's doing."
"Merka won't agree to go out with me."
Hamlet paused.
"But speaking of strange, do you know the strangest thing in the Archives Department?"
The monastery, church, and city hall in Lexis City are all in the same place, forming a trinity. To some extent, the Archives Department of the monastery is the library for the entire city. The monks who work in the Archives Department are all civil servants.
"There is a meeting room in the Archives Department where the heads of various tribes gather every year to discuss national affairs."
"During the approaching Lunar New Year, the Archives Department is heavily guarded. The important figures of each family will come here and hold a national conference that lasts for several weeks."
"But it seems that no one knows where that meeting room is."
"It doesn't seem like a place that can be used for meetings at all. Most of the space in the Archives Department is occupied by immovable bookshelves."
"People who work in the Archives Department avoid talking about this matter..."
"Since Merka's workplace is also in the Archives Department, and it's equally difficult to find."
"Don't you think there might be a connection between this meeting room and Merka's workplace?"
Listening to Hamlet's words, Elizabeth had unknowingly finished eating the bread and soup. It was only until later that she remembered to wipe her mouth with a napkin. Her uneasy expression had already betrayed her inability to process such a large amount of information with her small mind.
"So...what should we do? Should I tell Turing sister about this?" Elizabeth frowned.
"Let me tell you what we should do..." Hamlet leaned on the table with both hands and leaned close to Elizabeth. "Ask Sister Dominique, from the perspective of Ossiah. She used to work in the Intelligence Department."
"As Ossiah, trust me, Sister Dominique will definitely tell everything... " Hamlet looked at the contemplative Elizabeth in front of him and couldn't help but burst into laughter. -------------------------------------------------- ----------------
【Compared to the days when I was full of vitality before, unconsciously, a calm atmosphere gradually became the main tone of my life.】
【Not taking risks, not fighting.】
【Basically, what I do now every day is as requested by Mother—practicing painting, learning to sing, and completing tasks arranged by the monastery.】
【I spent a peaceful month, although I didn't feel any progress in my painting, but at least I didn't regress.】
【On the contrary, magic, which I haven't used for a long time, sometimes feels like I have forgotten it.】
【Ah, it's not that I haven't used it at all. I have to teach Elizabeth magic every day.】
【Her magic level is like a toffee stuck on the ground, no matter whether I use tweezers, adhesive tape, or even a crowbar, I can't lift it from the ground. It makes people want to hammer it flat with a hammer, so that it can forever lie on the ground.】
【But I can't get angry. Even if Elizabeth can't even cast the simplest Flame Breath right now, I have to remain calm.】
【After all, if it was Merka, he would definitely do better at this time.】
【Merka once said that I lack patience, and now it seems that he was right.】
Turing filled more than a dozen feeding troughs with straw and dozens of buckets with water, finally able to take a break.
Actually, Turing could definitely use magic to easily complete this kind of work, but no noble young lady was willing to do it personally.
But whenever Turing thought of Merka's words, she still willingly put on that shabby, rough, patched brown linen dress, patiently forked straw for each horse and fetched well water.
Turing avidly searched every corner of her memory for any trace of Merka, even finding a few bittersweet spots.
"Hmm? Joseph, what's wrong with you?" Looking at the other horses enjoying their meal, her fostered horse seemed a bit down.
Turing instinctively patted the horse's neck, unexpectedly pulling out a tuft of fur.
【Is it sick?】
Turing started to worry a bit, but then thought again and calmed down.
【The vet's regular check-up is coming soon, it should be fine...】
"Oh, Ochia, you've worked hard. Go take a bath, there's a young girl looking for you with some food." A nun opened the stable door and kindly told Turing.
It's rare for a nun to show such respect to a novice nun.
"Alright..." Turing glanced back at Joseph without thinking much.
