"Delores, I am bored," Janice said, rolling on the sofa to face the latter. Delores, seated in a lotus position by the window, didn't respond immediately. Her eyes were fixed on a faint candlelight two miles away, flickering on a boat anchored in the middle of the lake. Without breaking her focus, she replied dryly, "Yes, I am painfully aware of that."
Janice groaned and propped her head up with one hand. "It's been a decade since you started trying to learn this curse-sensing art, and you're nowhere near mastering it—heck, you're not even familiar with it! Besides, with your strength and my cursed tools, do you really even need to master this art? It's a waste of time. You could've mastered another Sky-tier curse combat art in the time you've wasted just trying to figure this out." Her tone was firm but laced with exasperation, as though she'd repeated this argument countless times before. She gestured dismissively, emphasizing her frustration.
Delores didn't so much as flinch to the former's words. The faint flicker of the candlelight danced in her steely eyes as she responded calmly, "This curse-sensing art is different from other arts. It's like something that's right in front of you—your gaze passes over it every day, every hour, every minute, every other second—but you don't see it until, one day, you do. And once you do see it, you can't unsee it. No matter how hard you try to forget it, you know it's there. Just when you think you forgot it, it creeps up on you."
She paused, her voice steady but laced with a hint of reverence. "By the way, I haven't been trying to learn this art for the last decade. It's been the last century. Master and Young Master learned it on their first try while there are others like me who haven't been able to master it even after centuries. You should give it a try sometime. Who knows? Maybe you'll master it on your first attempt like your grandfather and elder brother."
Janice snorted, brushing back a strand of hair as she fiddled with her phone. Her thumb swiped across the screen, scrolling through Mandy's newly posted photos on social media. "You know how I feel about leaving things incomplete or unconcluded. If I don't master it on my first try, there's no way I'm spending centuries stuck on it." She paused to like a photo on Mandy's social media page. "By the way, what's it called?"
"Latent Curse-Sensing Art," Delores answered. Her gaze remained unbroken, unwavering from the distant candlelight, not even blinking during the entire conversation.
"Ha, a name fitting for the art," Janice remarked, her tone light but distracted. Her eyes remained glued to her phone, lingering on Mandy's photos with her nephews. A flicker of envy crossed her face, though she quickly masked it.
"We have an unannounced company," Delores suddenly announced, her voice breaking the silence. She finally tore her gaze from the distant candlelight and walked toward the large window. With a casual shrug, she added, "Order dinner. I don't feel like cooking after killing someone. But interestingly, I feel very hungry." Without waiting for a reply, she leaped out of the window. A titanium-grey surfboard materialized mid-air, catching her effortlessly and propelling her into the clouds in less than a second.
"This time. leave some alive for Uncle! He was furious you killed that Cloud Voyeur without learning anything about him!" Janice called out hurriedly, but by the time her words reached the open window, Delores was already gone. Left alone, Janice slumped back on the sofa, returning to her phone. "What should we have for dinner? Di-di-dinner…" she muttered, her voice trailing off with boredom. "Ugh, I'm so bored."
A voice broke the monotony, low and sharp. "Wow, my lady was right. The Sky Slayer really does make a terrible bodyguard."
Janice froze for a fraction of a second, her fingers hovering over the screen. Slowly, unhurriedly, she turned toward the source of the voice. A middle-aged female curse master stood there, her long black cloak dragging across the floor as she approached. The faint rustle of fabric seemed amplified in the stillness of the room.
Janice blinked, unimpressed. With a lazy flick of her wrist, she resumed scrolling through her phone. "So," she asked, her tone devoid of concern, "are you here to kill me or kidnap me?"
The woman stopped in her tracks, tilting her head slightly as if studying Janice. "Does it matter?" she asked, her curiosity tinged with disbelief. The young woman's calm demeanor was unsettling, though the curse master knew better than to underestimate her prey—Janice was, after all, a direct spawn of the McSuile family.
"If you're here to kidnap me, you have a decent chance of surviving," Janice replied matter-of-factly, her eyes still fixed on her phone. "But your days henceforth would be… rough and numbered. If you're here to kill me, though," she said, finally locking eyes with the woman, "you will die." Her voice was casual, as if narrating the weather, but there was an undeniable edge to her words.
"Hahaha, good thing I'm here for neither," the cloaked curse master said with a smirk, throwing her cloak wide, revealing an starry night sky. The edges of the fabric defied gravity, hanging in the air like the frame of a wide screen, the stars in it swirled and aligned to form a starry gate. From the shimmering void beneath it, a delicate figure emerged as the head of the cloak announced in a grandiose tone, "Aurelian Eyes, please rise and join me in welcoming the esteemed Countess Godiva Wulfric!"
"Claudia, skip the formalities," a smooth, confident voice interjected as a striking woman in a crisp white casual suit stepped gracefully through the gate. Her poise and aura commanded attention, yet her tone was warm. "Janice is a friend, and she's an unspoken princess."
Janice's eyes lit up at the sight of Godiva, a rare smile breaking through her usual composure. "Diva, long time no see. You're looking younger," she teased, leaning back comfortably on the sofa. "Did your country discover another effective but wildly illegal skincare product?" The jab carried a sharp edge, poking fun at the notorious human rights violations of Godiva's homeland, though the warmth in her tone made it clear it was all in good humor.
If Ace had been present, he would have recognized Godiva instantly—she was the main antagonist in the Cyber Craft movie franchise. Both she and Janice had worked on the films together, their off-screen camaraderie mirroring none of the tension of their on-screen rivalry.
Godiva's lips curled into a sly grin. "J, it's been ages, but you look exactly the same too. And, actually—funny you mention it—we did develop such a product." Her tone was playful as she added, "If your country relaxed its stance on human rights, you lot could shave off another decade with that product and look way younger."
The two women exchanged knowing smiles before Godiva stepped forward, pulling Janice into a warm hug. Their embrace lingered for a moment, a genuine connection evident despite the sharp banter moments before. Janice gestured for Godiva to sit, the ease between them came naturally. Their conversation drifted into lighthearted small talk as they caught up, their laughter filling the room, Delore's sudden disappearance and Claudia's grand entrance now a distant memory.