Her heart felt as if gripped tightly by an icy hand, the scene before her filling Hilxi with terror.
How could this be? Annelie… was just a puppet? That man had lied to her? Or was it not the daughter who was ill, but him? Did he suffer from a severe mental illness that made him mistake a puppet for his own child?
She raised her trembling hand, intending to summon her Magic Wand, but then a warm touch came from her left hand, calming her anxious heart just a little.
“Calm down.” Monica pressed down on Hilxi’s hand, looking at her with eyes as calm as a windless lake.
Huff… calm.
After taking two deep breaths, Hilxi felt somewhat better; the goosebumps on her arms gradually faded.
Though it was a little embarrassing to admit, she had genuinely been frightened, and it was only her strong resilience that kept her heart from stopping altogether.
Monica didn’t seem scared at all… Had she known in advance, or was she just naturally composed like this?
“Miss, are you alright?” The man saw her reaction and asked worriedly.
“I’m fine.” Hilxi’s eyes went dead.
You damn well never told me about your daughter’s symptoms, and you scared me half to death with this sudden situation—yet you still dare to ask if I’m okay? Do you want to get roasted alive?
“Is this your daughter, sir?” Monica pointed at the puppet cradled in the man’s arms.
He immediately smiled, lowering his gaze to the puppet with eyes full of love.
“Yes, isn’t she adorable? But she wasn’t always like this. She used to be like you all—able to speak, to move—but after falling ill, she became like this.”
Able to speak, able to move… Could you not say it like that? It’s creepy. Just say she was human before, okay?
Hilxi silently complained inwardly, though she had already calmed down.
She subtly glanced at Monica.
The dim light fell on Monica’s face, her purple eyes still so calm as if nothing could shake her.
Sensing the gaze, Monica turned to look at Hilxi, only to find her playing with her own hair in a carefree manner.
“…”
“Such a strange illness… Is it some kind of curse? Or an evil magic? No ordinary disease would turn a living person into a puppet, right?”
Though Hilxi directed the question at the man, she actually wanted to hear Monica’s response.
The man sat on the sofa opposite Hilxi, pondering for a few seconds before shaking his head.
“I don’t know either, but the Healing Center…”
“The Healing Center probably treated you as the patient,” Hilxi cut in.
After all, he came in carrying a puppet to get treatment—it was obvious the doctors believed the one who was ill was him, not the puppet.
The man was silenced by Hilxi’s remark. He lowered his head and silently stared at the puppet in his arms.
“Monica-san, what do you think?” Hilxi asked her.
Monica glanced at the hand tightly gripping hers, then said expressionlessly,
“I don’t know.”
“…Very helpful.” Hilxi tapped her forehead, then took out a Crystal Ball from her pocket.
The man and Monica immediately turned their attention toward it.
“I’ll try to see if I can divinate any useful information.”
After saying this, she stared intently into the Crystal Ball. Her eyes, illuminated by the blue glow, seemed as mysterious as the deep sea.
Her voice dropped low as she whispered,
“Why did Annelie turn into a puppet?”
The blue light from the Crystal Ball intensified, casting a sea-blue hue over the furniture and walls, becoming the room’s temporary source of light.
Soon, she received a divination vision.
The scene was dim; Hilxi could barely make out Annelie, dressed in a dress, walking around what looked like a shop. Then, Annelie seemed to bend down to pick something up and placed the item on a nearby shelf.
The vision then plunged into complete darkness.
“…”
It felt like the divination had succeeded, but not entirely.
Since the viewpoint was from behind, Hilxi couldn’t see what Annelie had picked up.
But at least she knew this much: Annelie turned into a puppet because she touched or picked up an unknown object, which led to this misfortune.
“The divination drained more magic than usual…” Hilxi frowned; the heavy loss of magic left her feeling somewhat unwell.
“Did the divination succeed?” The man tensed up, eyes fixed nervously on her.
Hilxi nodded, then shook her head.
“The divination was successful. Miss Annelie probably touched something cursed or enchanted, which caused her transformation.”
“Is there a way to fix it?” The man pressed on.
How would I know…? Ideally, a professional should be called to purify it or break the source of the curse before she can return to normal… Hilxi clenched her palm, thinking silently.
“…”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll try divination again…”
Bang!
The door opened, and the sharp sunlight made Hilxi squint as she turned toward the sound.
“Uncle Wotait, are you home?”
A familiar voice came through.
“Ah, it’s you two. I’m home.” The man’s face broke into a smile.
As the two entered, Hilxi raised an eyebrow, surprised inside.
“Uncle Wotait, how is Annelie-san?”
“Have you gathered enough money? We still have a few Silver Coins here… Huh, guests?”
Perhaps due to the dim lighting, it wasn’t until they reached Wotait that the two realized there were two people seated opposite.
“Thank you so much. Annelie is lucky to have friends like you two. Oh, these two are Magicians; they came to help check on Annelie’s condition. The blonde one is even a Fortune Teller…”
“So it’s you two.” Hilxi’s lips curved slightly as she looked at Noffy and Aoli, her gaze inexplicably complex.
“…Ah, that bad woman?” Noffy reacted instinctively, scared enough to hide behind Uncle Wotait.
“What are you doing here?!” Aoli also took two steps back, watching Hilxi warily.
“As you can see, I’m the Fortune Teller here to help treat Annelie.” Hilxi tapped the table lightly with her fingers, understanding the situation.
So cheating and scamming money was just to help a friend get treatment… good intentions gone wrong, tsk.
“Do you know each other?” Wotait asked, sensing the awkward atmosphere.
Why such reactions from Aoli and Noffy? Could there be some grudge between them?
“Yes.” Hilxi nodded. After all, no quarrel, no acquaintance.
“No.” Aoli shook her head.
“Alright, Aoli, don’t throw a tantrum. We’re trying to deal with something serious here.” Wotait put on a serious expression. It was rare to see any progress on this strange illness; he didn’t want to offend anyone and have them leave.
“Hmph, fine, I’ll just listen in.”
Without waiting for Wotait’s approval, Aoli dragged a chair over and was about to sit down when someone stopped her.
It was Hilxi.
“What is it?”
“Little Grass Girl, go close the door.”
Little Grass Girl…
Aoli’s expression changed dramatically, but she still huffed and went to close the door obediently.
The room darkened once more.
Seeing more people gathered, Monica’s brow furrowed slightly; she scanned the room before withdrawing her gaze.
She glanced at Hilxi.
Hilxi seemed to see through her thoughts and gave her a reassuring look.
“I’m going to divinate now. Please don’t speak to avoid interfering with me.”
After everyone nodded, Hilxi injected magic into the Crystal Ball again, which bloomed with mysterious light.
Bathed in blue light, she hesitated for a moment before whispering,
“In the previous divination scene, what exactly did Annelie pick up?”