Fors couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Jack, do you know any way to resolve this curse?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't find anything about that in the records, so I can't help you there," Evah said, shaking his head. After a moment's hesitation, he added, "But I could try divining for you. It might give us some clues."
Fors exchanged a glance with Xio, who gave a slight nod. Fors nodded as well. "Thank you, Mr. Jack. How can I repay you for this?"
"Let's talk about repayment after the divination. Honestly, I'm not confident I'll find anything," Evah said, waving his hand dismissively.
Instead of parting ways at the agreed-upon spot after the carriage stopped, the three found a nearby café and booked a private booth.
Once everything was set, Evah took out his astrolabe and began divining for Fors. He'd prepared for the possibility that the divination might fail, intending to use it as an excuse to feed Fors the clue about The Fool to pave the way for joining the Tarot Club. To his surprise, he actually divined something.
"…The Fool and The Door. Huh, that's odd. Divining entities of this level should be disrupted—I shouldn't have gotten anything at all. Could it be the Nyarlathotep fragment in me negating the interference?" Evah muttered to himself, puzzled by the result. He looked at Fors, who was visibly tense, and said honestly, "The divination suggests that resolving your issue is tied to The Fool and The Door."
"The Fool? The Door?" Fors repeated, her expression a mix of confusion and surprise.
Xio gave Luo Lin a skeptical look. "You're not trying to trick us into digging up more about The Fool for you, are you?"
It wasn't unreasonable for Xio to suspect him—the result seemed awfully convenient.
Evah's expression turned cold. He put away the astrolabe and said seriously, "I have no reason to lie about something like this. If you don't trust my divination, that's fine, but don't ask me to divine for you again."
Fors and Xio exchanged a glance. Fors quickly spoke up, "I'm sorry, Mr. Jack. We didn't mean to doubt you. Xio didn't mean it that way—she's just not great with words…"
"I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking. Please don't be upset," Xio added, apologizing hastily.
Though they still weren't fully convinced by the divination, it was the only lead they had. Neither Xio nor Fors wanted to offend Evah, the sole source of this clue.
If he was telling the truth, this could be the only chance to break the curse plaguing Fors.
Besides, Evah had no real reason to deceive them. He'd already commissioned them to gather information, and with money as an incentive, both Xio and Fors would do their best regardless. There was no need for him to pull such a stunt.
Evah's expression softened. He rubbed his temples and said, "Alright, I forgive you. I can understand your reaction. Honestly, this result surprised me too."
"But if this Fool can really help resolve the curse Miss Duck's is facing, I might feel a bit more at ease. After all, an entity capable of breaking curses is probably not some evil god."
Evah gave a relieved smile, then added with a puzzled look, "I just don't know what this 'Door' refers to. The Door…"
He put on a thoughtful expression, then suddenly said, "I think I read something in the records about the Abraham family being connected to The Door, but I don't recall the details. Tell you what... I'll check my family's records when I get the chance. Maybe I'll find something useful."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Jack. I really appreciate it," Fors said earnestly. If her curse could be resolved because of this, Evah would have played a huge role.
At the same time, Fors formed an initial impression of Evah. He seemed to come from a fallen ancient Extraordinary family, with a gentle and helpful personality. By all accounts, he was someone worth befriending.
"No need for too many thanks. Just make sure to let me know if you find anything about The Fool, Miss Duck. I'm getting more and more curious about this figure," Evah said with a smile.
"You don't have to call me 'Miss Duck.' Just Fors is fine. Don't worry, if I find anything about The Fool, I'll tell you right away," Fors said quickly. She'd used "Duck" as an alias because she was wary of Evah, but after these interactions, having built some trust, she didn't mind sharing her real name.
"Fors? As in Miss Fors Wall, the author of Stormwind Mountain Villa?" Evah asked, his face lighting up with surprise.
"You've read my novel?" Fors asked, caught off guard.
"Of course! It's a fantastic story," Evah said, nodding. This wasn't a lie—out of curiosity, he'd made time to read Stormwind Mountain Villa over the past few days.
And he had to admit, Fors had some serious talent as a writer. The novel was genuinely well-crafted.
Fors could tell Evah's praise was sincere, and she felt a thrill akin to meeting a fan.
The two chatted briefly about her book, and Evah casually suggested, "Have you ever thought about writing a story set at sea, Miss Fors? Maybe something about a cool, dashing adventurer and a pirate queen. I've always wanted to read a story like that."
Fors' imagination immediately took off. In an instant, she conjured a sweeping, dramatic tale of an adventurer and a pirate queen locked in a love-hate struggle. "That's definitely a topic worth writing about… but I already have a theme for my next book, so I'm not planning to write that just yet," she said.
This was a lie. The truth was that Fors' procrastination had kicked in. She wanted to savor the thrill of imagining the story without actually writing it.
Evah could tell Fors was planning to slack off, but he didn't mind. It had only been a passing comment.
He sighed with a hint of regret. "That's a shame."
Then, as if remembering something, Evah pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "It's getting late, and I have some things to take care of. Let's stay in touch!"
Xio and Fors had no objections.
The three parted ways. Evah returned to his residence in Backlund, made some arrangements, and then took a pre-prepared steam train ticket to board a train back to Tingen.
Having successfully "aquired" Mr. A's power, Evah now planned to meet Leonard and Old Man Pallez as a descendant of the Zoroast family.
(End of Chapter)
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