In the early morning, the sun is shining. Isabel suddenly let out a "whin" sound as if she had woken up, and woke up in a dream.

Her cheeks were a little crimson. Rubbing his face vigorously, trying to take away the residual warmth with his palms.

"Uh-huh......"

She let out a cry like a small animal, and hummed something.

But soon, Isabel was quiet again.

She lay on the empty bed with her arms outstretched, staring in amazement at the silver-white ceiling of the dormitory, decorated with red cloth and silver chandeliers, and made of silver and tin.

Isabel unconsciously grasped the air around her.

She had prepared a pillow for Ivus early. But so far, Iwass has only been here to sleep once.

- Sometimes, Isabel also wishes that when she wakes up, she will be lying with that familiar person lying next to her. It's not just in a dream that you can see each other.

But from another point of view...... It's better to be able to meet again in a dream, at least than after parting, it's hard to see each other.

At least she could still hope that she would be embraced by Ivas in the other world before she went to sleep every night.

“…… But I will still miss you. ”

She rolled over slightly, stared at the empty, temperatureless side beside her, and whispered, "I want to see you." ”

Next, Ivas prepares for a dangerous ritual.

In order to save energy and adjust her condition, Isabel will not be able to see him for at least a few nights.

Isabel misses Ivace very much, but she doesn't want to ask Ivace to take time out of the night to see her—though she can restrain her desires and just hug each other and sleep more peacefully. However, she did not even make such a request.

Because she was more worried about Ewass's safety than the loneliness of wanting to meet.

The ritual that even Eivas thought was "dangerous" made Isabel feel uneasy when she listened to it. In her senses, Eivas was almost omnipotent—he saved himself from that desperate situation, taming the chaotic Avalon like a hound. Even in the face of real demons, he only took them seriously, never feared, let alone despaired.

— but even such Ivas thought the operation would be very dangerous. Isabel was not even informed of the details of the ceremony.

Isabel knew Ivas well.

This was because Ivas believed that Isabel would be worried about him once she knew the details of the ritual. In order not to leave Isabel alone to experience the unease of being pushed into the operating room, he didn't say anything.

…… On the other hand, if Ivas didn't say anything, it would be the same as if he thought it would worry Isabel. So Isabel was even more worried.

But Isabel couldn't do much either.

Not to mention what she could do - she wasn't even with Ivus.

“…… I can only pray. ”

Isabel whispered. She took a deep breath and rolled over from the bed and sat up.

She respectfully and reverently clasped her hands and fingers, and knelt under the covers. When he lowered his head, the somewhat messy light blonde hair naturally drooped.

"I worship the silver-crowned dragon, the god of the holy number seven. The god who cannot be disobeyed, the god who wears a crown and wields a sword......

"Please shelter Ivas as you protect your country......"

In order to ease her inner turmoil, Isabel repeatedly whispered a prayer for Ivus.

……

At three o'clock in the morning, Isabel finished her make-up and sat upright in the queen's study, reading intently the gifts that Ivas had sent her through the church channels.

"Puppet Tantra".

Ivas told Isabel that if she could learn the Tantra well, she might be able to cross the limits of space and appear in Avalon and the Church at the same time.

Although in order not to create a preconceived understanding that would affect the study of Tantra, Ehuas did not tell Isabel about the true utility of the Puppet Tantra. But Isabel is still trying to study this tantric book these days.

It's not even exactly to play with Ivas "offline...... At the same time, it is also to release the shackles of the name "Queen" on his body.

Next to Isabel is another small booklet called "Hell in Disguise: Puppet Show". This is a reference book for the Puppet Tantra, or a decryption card.

As a tantric book on the path of beauty, the reading of "The Tantra of the Puppet Face" also needs to test the reader's talent and adaptability on the path of beauty - when Isabel looked through the book, the words on it did not form a discourse that could be read normally.

This book is not a story. It's a diary.

Isabel used to love to keep a diary, so she immediately jumped in.

And the first owner of this diary also seems to be a queen...... She is known as the "Queen of Kings". She's not human, she's a snake person. In this diary, I wrote some words of unknown origin in poetic and esoteric language.

But on top of her words, there are other languages superimposed. The second owner of the diary, who calls herself "Midori", an "archaeological student of the Empire", appears to be investigating the history of snake people, so she finds a copy of the diary. And made a lot of annotations and complaints about his daily life in this diary.

Its third owner, called "John", seems to be a literature faculty at that university, who is also studying the history of the snake people. He found Midori's diary, but instead of reporting it, he chatted with them in it. They have different opinions on the snake queen's diary, and they talk to each other, exchange feelings, and share secrets.

But this elven tantric book mixes these three texts together.

At first, Isabel thought that the translator had not done it well, and she didn't understand the book for two days.

It wasn't until she had a headache that she took the book of "Hell in Disguise: Puppet Show" this morning and flipped through it...... As a result, after watching it for a while, a sudden inspiration hit her.

Isabel suddenly understood—it wasn't that the translator didn't get it right, but that he did it too well.

The original version of this tantric book must have been a mixture of words in three handwritings in the same book, and the translator united them in the same font.

She looked at the thin album, searching for each object in it. Then use this individual to find the same word as the original text, and then read it from that word as the beginning of the sentence. As a result, it becomes a different sentence with a completely different meaning.

Every sentence is a question, every sentence is a riddle.

Although she couldn't understand the meaning of the riddles, Isabel felt a mystical attraction that moved her heart.

And when Isabel looked fascinated, she suddenly understood the words of "Queen of Kings" with unknown meaning.

Those words that are incomprehensible are precisely the answers to the riddles presented by the "reference book".

"—the riddle that first made up the riddle is itself the answer to the riddle!"

Isabel suddenly realized.

And when Isabel fully understood the mystery of the book, she suddenly felt a wave of distortion.

It's like breaking free from the illusion – the world around you shatters like a smashed glass window.

Her consciousness was pulled into the tantric book.

In it, she saw the enchanting snake man queen, the innocent and romantic female college student Xiao Lu, the serious but gentle teacher John, and many more people......

They revolve around this storybook about the "Queen of the Snake People", and a lot of stories happen.

Then they become stories, and then new stories happen around this story, and the cycle repeats.

At the end, the picture turned-

- From the very beginning, there was no one at all!

It's just masks with different expressions, dancing around the stage. And the picture of them dancing together shrinks inward, and becomes the content of another book, and there are more masks outside; Then the screen shrinks again......

This book is wrapped in a cycle of books, all masks are drawn with thin transparent threads, and the ends spread in the endless darkness above.

"I ask you, my successor.

"If I'm the answer."

A repeating voice rang in Isabel's ears: "So, what's the problem? ”

(End of chapter)