Chapter 14

"Blonde is Oceania, brunette is Ansbillis. The one in the coffin is Oceania, the one outside is Ansbillis. The one who goes out horizontally is Oceania, the one who goes out vertically is Ansbillis."

The Pope paced back and forth in the meeting room. Ever since Timothy voiced his speculation, he had not stopped. Timothy was becoming frustrated by the Pope's neurosis: "We haven't found out too late, things aren't that bad."

The Pope said, "No, no, no, you're too young. Do you think Macavity's most famous lunatic would disguise himself and sit in an ice cream parlor eating doughnuts? He must have a more vicious purpose than going crazy! Do you remember Benson's death in England? Ansbillis was at the scene, and a Macavity family pocket watch was found at the scene. What does this mean? It must mean something more significant than killing Benson!"

Timothy said, "Maybe he just dropped it at the scene." Wearing a Macavity family pocket watch was a perfectly normal thing for a Macavity family member to do.

The Pope said, "Maybe he killed Benson! He's not a fool who would lose his own pocket watch. There must be a bigger conspiracy behind it than killing Benson."

If he were a friend instead of a superior, Timothy would have urged him to go to the hospital to see if he was going through menopause.

"We don't necessarily need to assume there's a bigger conspiracy," Timothy analyzed calmly. "He may just be trying to clear Oceania's name. Without that pocket watch, he would be the prime suspect, being the closest to the crime scene. At that time, he was still using the name 'Oceania.'"

The Pope said, "How did he know that there would be a murder and prepare to clear his name beforehand?"

The conversation abruptly stopped.

The two exchanged opinions with their eyes.

The Pope's manic depression subsided a bit. "It seems that the murderer who killed Benson is already apparent. This is a murder case."

"You're right," Timothy said. "We should figure out his motive." Ansbillis's appearance as Oceania could be explained as avoiding the Blood Clan's blockade, but the murder of Benson was inexplicable. He was infamous among the Blood Clan and had no reason to offend the Holy See and create new enemies.

The Pope sat restlessly.

Every time he thought of the serene smile on Ansbillis's face in that strange painting, his spine felt as if hundreds of bugs were crawling on it, making him shudder. "Continue to contact Wang Xiaoming, Lawrence, and them, by any means necessary. We must pass on Ansbillis's true face no matter what!"

Ansbillis, the "Oceania" who was being gossiped about from behind, walked through the museum's frightening hallway.

The paintings hanging on both sides of the long corridor depicted colorful and rich life, the various aspects of society, but against his three-dimensional and pale face, the world displayed on those flat sheets of paper appeared to be two-dimensional.

At the end of the corridor was a wooden door inlaid with two rectangular glass panes. Sunlight shone through the wooden carved pattern on the glass and fell just before his toes.

He stopped in his tracks.

Tarek, who was following him, immediately caught up to his right front side, leaning on his cane. "Is there something wrong?"

Ansbillis slowly turned her head and looked at him sideways, with a somewhat stunned gaze, "He really returned to my embrace, didn't he?"

This abrupt question left Tarek at a loss for words. After a moment's thought, he said, "You can lower your head and see for yourself." He noticed that the other person's gaze intentionally avoided the person in her arms.

Ansbillis say:"I've seen it many times, and it's all fake."

Tarek replied, "You can watch it again."

Ansbillis looked at the door ahead and said, "In Greek mythology, Orpheus moved the underworld queen with his sincerity and brought back his dead wife from the underworld. However, at the last moment, he broke the agreement and looked back at his wife, leaving her forever in the underworld. I won't make the same mistake." The last sentence was almost a whisper, spoken very softly. Then he took a big step forward and walked through the automatic door that opened for him.

His feet stepped on the sunshine, casting a long shadow. The sky was clear, and even the flowers smelled sweeter than usual.

It was a brand-new day.

Ansbillis lowered his head, and the person in his arms stayed obediently, not disappearing into foam as he had imagined. His heart, empty for over a hundred years, suddenly felt full.

"You finally returned to me."

"My Oceania."

A car nearby opened a gap, and a black cat jumped out of the back seat and looked at the golden-haired young man in Ansbillis' arms. Its limbs fidgeted back and forth a few times before squatting down on its haunches.

Ansbillis suddenly looked up, met its gaze, and appeared dazed for a moment before walking quickly towards it.

The black cat shook its tail and jumped back onto the back seat.

Ansbillis opened the passenger door, gently placed Oceania on the seat, and fastened her seatbelt.

Messillon got out of the car from the other side and fulfilled his duties as a butler, chatting with Tarek, who was ignored by his employer.

The conversation between the disciple and the vampire was extremely boring:

"What a beautiful day today."

"Intense sunlight can burn our wings easily."

"How much blood do you drink every day?"

"How much milk do humans drink every day?"

"Do you ever get tired of drinking blood?"

"When you're together with your companion, have you never thought about biting their neck?"

The conversation abruptly ended, as expected.

Ansbillis sat in the driver's seat and started the car.

Messillon was surprised and subconsciously closed the back door.

Ansbillis stuck his head out and said, "Buy a house here and wait for us to come back."

Despite his confusion about his employer's sudden decision, Messillon chose to comply.

Tarek said to him, "If you need help, just ask me."

Messillon replied, "It's not difficult for a competent butler."

Tarek sneered, "I'm just being polite."

Messillon said, "I didn't expect to see sincerity in a disciple."

"..." Tarek bent down and leaned toward the window, saying to Ansbillis who was about to leave, "He really is your butler." His words were sharp.

Ansbillis said, "If he's missing a hair when I come back, you may have to use a wheelchair from now on."

The car roared away, leaving Tarek with a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked at Messillon with a complicated expression and asked, "Can I buy your hair?"

Messillon replied, "..."

"I want to preserve it in a museum."

Ansbillis drove aimlessly on the highway.

The black cat squeezed from the back seat to between the driver's and passenger's seats, extended its claws, and carefully grabbed Oceania's clothes.

Ansbillis glanced at it and said, "If you leave any marks on him, even a hair, there will be no tuna tonight."

The black cat jumped onto Oceania's lap, sat down confidently, and looked in Ansbillis's direction, as if provoking him.

Ansbillis picked up the cat by the nape of its neck and placed it on his own lap. "I'm not kidding. Only my marks can be left on him."

"Meow." The black cat scratched him with its claws.

Ansbillis said, "No tuna, no salmon either."

The black cat leaned its front paws on the car window and looked at the receding scenery, with a serious expression.

"Don't even think about running away." Its nape was lightly pinched, and then...

The screeching sound of the brakes suddenly sounded. The car twisted into a "Z" shape and stopped diagonally in the middle of the road. Fortunately, there were very few vehicles on this road, and if any passed by, they could go around. When two cars passed by and thought there was an accident and wanted to stop and help, they immediately accelerated and ran away when they saw what was blocking Ansbillis's car.

Ansbillis sat in the car and quietly looked at the huge figure in front of him through the glass.

His original form was about two meters high, which was not unusual, but the pair of black wings behind him were like two huge umbrellas, covering half of the sunlight and making the car even darker.

"It's been a long time, my friend." His voice was deep and mellow, like a cello, with a unique melody. "Won't you get off the car and catch up? After all, I brought Oceania back to you."