OBS Chapter 3702 Tears of True Love (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader)
Chapter 3702 Tears of True Love (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader)
Chapter 3702 Tears of True Love (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader)
“You know what? Shad, your question makes me feel like I’ve been transported back half a century. Someone asked me the same question before. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have told anyone else this.”
Professor Manning put down his teacup, leaned forward, rested his elbows on his lap, and gazed at the fireplace with a knowing look on his face. Shad interpreted this as a sign that his favorability had been met, and asked with a smile:
"The other person is a girl?"
"Yes, I was a little older than you back then, and like Trudeau Giles now, I was working a low-paying job at the local university. The girl was the daughter of our history department head at the time; she was still a student, but she often came to visit me."
One spring, the school organized a picnic outside the city, and she even brought me lunch. We were on the grass under a tree, and as she watched me eat, she hugged her knees and asked me this question. The weather was so nice that spring!
Professor Manning's eyes gleamed, a smile playing on his lips:
“I told her I didn’t know how to break the spell of love, so she smiled and said a few sentences in Old Trier. Later I learned that those sentences meant ‘love binds us together.’”
Unlike Priest Augustus, Professor Manning remained unmarried throughout his life. Shad knew that his wife had passed away and his children were working throughout the North.
"That's practically a confession, so what happened next? Was the story happy or bad?"
Xia De then asked, and the professor took off his glasses and wiped them with his clothes:
"Later, for various reasons, we still missed each other. I think the love spell she recited back then ultimately didn't work. She didn't pursue historical research afterward, but instead found a job at the city hall. I taught one of her children before I retired. She herself passed away from illness three years ago in the spring, and I even attended her funeral."
The professor breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Shad, somewhat embarrassed:
I think I lost my composure a bit.
"It's okay, I just feel this story is very regrettable."
Professor Manning laughed:
"Young man, there are many such things in life. Regret is the norm, so you must cherish the people who are still by your side. Okay, let's get back to the main topic. I have actually studied the love curse."
Many years ago, I saw a stone slab in an ancient tomb where a couple was buried together. The slab told the love story of the couple and mentioned the love curse.
The part about casting the spell was taken back by the church, and I didn't see that part. But I still remember how to break the spell—[The tears of lovers water the flowers, and the warmth of their souls melts the unyielding ice. The melting flowers will break the chains of love, chains that are both the ties of souls and the shackles of fate.]
The professor did not use De la Réun; instead, he used the language of the ancient script on the stone tablet so that Shad could fully understand the meaning of the account.
"It's like poetry."
"Yes, perhaps it has some kind of metaphor, but it's beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person like me."
The professor said to Shad:
"Love spells cannot bring love. True love can only be born when two souls resonate with each other; it is the color of mortal souls. I know you ring sorcerers have all sorts of methods, but don't try to use supernatural powers to obtain love for yourselves."
Xia De nodded:
"Professor, don't worry, I'm not that kind of person. But I did meet a woman who used supernatural powers to gain eternal love."
"That story is a tragedy, isn't it?"
The professor picked up his teacup again, seemingly having recovered from his earlier emotional outburst. Shad gazed at the fire in the professor's fireplace, as if seeing the Isle of Fatoumunst reflected in the flames:
"The story isn't over yet, but it can't possibly have a happy ending. Professor, is love always blind?"
"It is only people who are blind to love. People's hearts are fickle, and many things are actually done under the guise of love. I believe in the existence of true love, but I can count the number of so-called true love I have ever seen in my life on one hand."
He waved his left hand at Shad:
"The curse of love does not bring genuine feelings; as the ancient saying goes, it is a shackle of fate."
Shade talked with Professor Manning for quite a while longer, and didn't leave until 8 p.m. He also said that he would visit the professor again with souvenirs from the southern islands once he finished dealing with his own affairs. When Shade returned home, the house was already bustling with activity.
Dorothy, Galina, and the maids were all there, and Dorothy also told Shad some good news:
“Sylvia came by twenty minutes ago. She said she’ll be on the island with her people tomorrow to meet you, and Margaret will be coming with them.”
Shad then looked at Galina, and the Duchess, who was sitting languidly on the sofa, said:
"Tifa and I will stay here for now. We can go to that island whenever we want. There are enough people on the island right now. Dorothy, Lacey, and I discussed it and decided that we will not show ourselves for the time being and will serve as backup."
Shade had no objection to this:
"That's good. The Infinite Serpent appeared in St. Teresa Square last Saturday night, so someone should stay home and watch over this place."
"So what did you gain from going out so late?"
Dorothy asked again, and Shad nodded, placing the box he had taken from the basement before going upstairs onto the coffee table. The cat immediately leaned out to sniff, and upon recognizing the familiar object, returned to Shad's lap and warily sniffed him.
“I went to Professor Manning to ask about the ‘love curse’ and then heard Professor Manning’s story. The professor talked about a possible way to break the curse, which was to melt some kind of flower with the tears of true love and the warmth of the soul, and then use the melted substance to break the curse.”
Jialina then asked;
"This sounds like a folk tale or a fairy tale. Are you sure it's believable?"
Dorothy looked at the box that Shad had taken out:
"Perhaps it's believable, Shad. If I'm not mistaken, the flowers in the box are from the puppet boy in the sage-level relic, the [Mad Puppet Theater], which we received during our group mission before the year-end holiday? (Chapter 3170)"
"Yes, at that time, the followers of the God of Misfortune wanted to obtain something very important from it, but they were ultimately unable to do so because of the intervention of the Church of the True God."
Shade took out the golden-red flower that looked like ice crystal from the box. This was the poet's relic, the "Eternal Flower," whose most famous characteristic was that it never withered.
"I remember this. When Shad was worrying about New Year's gifts, he was asking around if anyone liked this. So, you suspect this is the key to breaking the love curse? Did those evil god followers foresee this from the very beginning?"
The witch asked in surprise, and Shad shook his head:
"They probably didn't know such details beforehand. They must have learned in advance that the flower was useful through some means. The containment record of this relic doesn't mention what effect 'Tears of True Love' would have. Dorothy only said last time that 'Tears of Pain' could temporarily bleach the flowers."
"Tears of true love? How about we give it a try?"
The Duchess immediately perked up; she was quite confident about this:
“There’s definitely true love between us. Oh, Lacey, I know you’re peeking here. Go back now and stop using Dorothy’s body to watch Shad and talk to me.”
As she spoke, she took Xia De's hand:
"Want to try it?"
Dorothy or Lacey asked:
“Intentionally created tears wouldn’t meet the requirements. Since they are tears of true love, they should be produced when expressing love to qualify. Using onions or magic potions would definitely not count.”
Galina agreed with her opinion:
"Of course not with onions, I'll cry in other ways, and definitely when my love is at its strongest and my emotions are at their most intense~"
The blonde girl thought for a moment, then smiled:
“I understand, this method can indeed succeed. Alright, Auntie, I'll give it a try too.”
"Ha~ I knew you were Lacia."
Regardless, the Cavendish ladies considered the message from Shad to be valuable and well worth the effort. They declared that since they didn't know how many tears would be shed, the activity should be carried out more thoroughly.
Therefore, Shad was unable to find time to practice his silver flute tonight and was pulled into his bedroom early by the Cavendish girls.
Luvia was actually the one among all the girls around Shad who frequently cried during nighttime activities; Lacia and Galina were actually alright. So, before the nighttime activities began that evening, they had made arrangements with Shad:
Even if we beg for mercy, you can't stop.
"Galina, are you sure? Lacia, this is Dorothy's body."
"Why say so much? Don't waste time. After all, we don't know how many tears we'll need."
Therefore, after the clock struck midnight that night, the maids living on the first floor couldn't fall asleep because the noise coming from upstairs was just too loud. At home, the girls never liked to use silencing spells; after all, if they couldn't be free at home, life would be too boring.
"Should we go check on the situation? The young lady seems to be calling for help."
A maid cautiously asked Tifa, but the head maid with black hair shook her head firmly:
"If we disturb them now, we'll probably be punished tomorrow morning for breaking an eggshell while frying it and be confined to the manor. That's not a cry for help, that's encouragement."
Tifa was the most experienced among them, so the other maids didn't say anything more, but many people's dreams became somewhat fantastical tonight.
P.S.: Thank you so much to reader @被玩坏の企鹅 for the generous donation! I'm adding an extra chapter!