From that day on, Kaecilius often left Kamar-Taj.
No one knew what he was doing. The man had always been mysterious.
Kaecilius held a relatively high position in Kamar-Taj. He was not assigned to guard the temples like others. As long as he stayed in Kamar-Taj and occasionally went out, no one would question him or speak badly of him behind his back.
Gu Yi's departure also made everyone feel as if they had lost their backbone. Fortunately, Karl was still there. They knew that even if a powerful enemy appeared, there was still a final line of defense.
Di Wan also spent half a year studying the book Kaecilius had shown her. The book quoted profound scriptures learned by Cagliostro. After finishing it, she placed it on the lowest shelf of the library.
But that was not the only book. There were many others—each one containing the refined notes of former Sorcerers Supreme.
The Book of Cagliostro recorded methods for communicating with the Dark Dimension. Di Wan tried it herself but found that no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't establish any connection. It was completely useless.
Helpless, she began reading other books instead. Most of them explained magical techniques, but those techniques were even more complex and difficult.
For the past six months, Di Wan had barely left the library. Gu Yi had not returned, and she did not dare to wander around casually, afraid something might happen if she was careless.
After all, she couldn't understand Kaecilius's current mental state at all, and she didn't even see him every day.
"Zzz—Zzz—"
Hearing a strange sound, Di Wan looked up.
A portal suddenly appeared before her. Through the portal she saw a purple-black world—dark and eerie.
Gu Yi stepped out.
She had recovered from her injuries. There were still a few wounds on her body, but they were nothing serious—just some minor scratches.
After returning, Gu Yi saw Di Wu sitting in the hall of the Dao chamber and smiled brightly, looking refreshed.
"Well done, Master Di Wan!"
At the moment, Di Wu was the only person in the hall. Karl had gone to help her fetch some books.
"It wasn't difficult. It's good that you're back."
Gu Yi sat in his usual chair and habitually began preparing tea.
Di Wan continued reading her book. There were still many things she didn't understand, so she had to study slowly.
"You've started reading these books?"
After making tea, Gu Yi poured a cup for Di Wu. She thanked him.
"These books help me understand spells more thoroughly."
Di Wan took a sip of tea and said little more.
Gu Yi glanced at her briefly, then looked away.
"Did something happen?"
Di Wu paused for a moment before answering.
"No… it's just a little boring. Since you're back, I'll head back first."
She picked up the two books on the table and left.
Gu Yi watched her disappear from sight before calmly taking a sip of tea.
The hall fell silent again.
On the way back, Karl saw Di Wu carrying books. Without saying anything, he simply held her hand and walked beside her.
"I'm going to leave Kamar-Taj."
Kaecilius's situation had affected Di Wu to some extent. Tragedies had played out repeatedly in her miserable life.
There were many things written in that book. As Kaecilius had said, some of the spells inside might allow him to see his wife and child again.
After investigating, Di Wan discovered that Gu Yi had indeed avoided Kaecilius and had not helped him. That much was true.
However, she did not think Kaecilius's behavior that day was strange. She understood why he had become like that.
But she could not learn the spells in the book and therefore could not help him.
Karl couldn't help him. Gu Yi wouldn't help him.
Everything depended solely on Kaecilius himself.
Those spells were extremely dangerous, and teaching them to others just to help Kaecilius was unrealistic.
"Where will you go?"
When they returned to their residence, Di Wu had already begun packing her things.
"I don't know. I just want to leave this place… go outside and walk around. Anywhere is the same."
She stopped packing, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at Karl.
"Karl… if I suddenly died, what would you do?"
Di Wu understood her own thoughts. But the more she knew Karl, the more she wondered whether she was in love with a machine without emotions.
Even most of the time, Karl's emotions barely fluctuated, and he rarely reacted strongly to the outside world.
Karl looked at her and thought carefully before answering.
"I know I've always been weak when it comes to emotions. I'm trying to adapt to human feelings. But no matter how well I imitate them, it's still my brain controlling the response—not genuine emotional reactions."
"Yes… you're not human. I almost forgot."
Di Wan laughed mockingly.
"I thought you had human emotions too."
"I do have emotions," Karl said calmly. "But many problems are too simple for me. I don't need to think about how to respond like others do."
"Your tone suddenly became anxious. Is that an emotional fluctuation… or are you just manipulating people's thoughts?"
The atmosphere became stiff.
A barrier seemed to appear between them.
Their relationship, once filled with passion, had gradually become calm. And after the calmness came reflection—Di Wu began to examine herself and Karl more carefully.
Karl sat down beside her.
"I simply lack the desires that normal people have. But that doesn't mean my feelings for you are fake. Your question… was actually something I was asked when I helped Steve before."
Di Wan remained silent, simply looking at him.
"Alexander Pierce asked me what I would do if one day you were captured by a country and executed somewhere I couldn't find."
Karl looked at her seriously.
"I calculated the probabilities countless times and found that the chance of it happening was extremely small. But I still answered him…"
"If you died… then the existence of the entire universe would lose its meaning."
Di Wan lowered her head. Karl couldn't see her expression.
He simply sat beside her quietly.
"In a situation like this," she said softly, "you should hug me… not just sit there and watch."
Karl suddenly realized what she meant. He immediately grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms.
"My first love turning out to be a block of wood like you… thinking about it now, I kind of regret it. Can't you comfort me like a normal man? Even just a little…"
"Regret is useless," Karl replied. "Who do you think would dare steal you from me?"
Di Wan looked up in surprise.
"You're still saying things like that? Then what do you usually wear? Or is that also something you imagined?"
Karl laughed.
"I'm not pretending. Just because I analyze emotions logically doesn't mean I don't have them. In fact… you can trigger emotional reactions in me very easily."
"Hmph."
Di Wan pushed him away.
"You're too numb. Stay away from me."
Karl stood up and began packing.
"You told me to say something, so I said it. But the way you're reacting… I don't really understand."
Di Wan lightly kicked Karl, who was crouching on the floor packing their luggage, and laughed.
"Not bad. Looks like my heart hasn't been completely crushed by a rock yet. You need to learn how to comfort girls—or at least learn how couples interact. Stop spending all day talking with those old monks at Kamar-Taj. They're too old-fashioned."
Karl replied, "Actually, I've known about those things for a long time. I just don't know how to use them. There are too many methods."
Di Wan leaned against Karl's back.
"I didn't ask you to learn from them. We're just ourselves. I just hope you can joke more and stop being so stiff. You only need to understand a little about how to treat girls. When you're too rational… it makes you seem cold."
"Then… can I do this?"
Karl suddenly stood up and gently pinned Di Wan onto the bed.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
She felt both anticipation and fear.
Karl slowly leaned closer.
Di Wan tightly shut her eyes, too nervous to look or move.
After a moment, she felt Karl get up.
Confused, she looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
Karl looked puzzled.
"Hm?"
"You mean that was it? What did you think you were doing just now?"
Di Wan jumped up angrily.
"Are you really a rock?! In a moment like that you just say 'Huh'? What the hell is wrong with you?!"
She began punching and kicking Karl in frustration.
Of course, she knew she couldn't hurt him even if she tried.
"What should I do?" Karl asked, confused. "I only tried to put you down… I didn't think about what should happen next."
"..."
At that moment, Di Wu genuinely wanted to kill him.
But she knew she couldn't.
Furious, she shouted:
"Karl! Remember this! When we get married in the future—if you want children, you'll have to beg me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her own face turned red.
She quickly hid under the blanket, extremely embarrassed that she had said something like that.
Karl stood there, completely stunned.
Children?
He had never thought about such a thing before.
But suddenly, it felt as if something deep within his heart had been opened.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
read advanced chapter visit my patreon:
patreon.com/fatimasoomro123
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~