At this point, even if Talulah claimed she wasn't worried about Ch'en Huijie's Oripathy, no one would believe her. She appeared visibly anxious.
She didn't know the exact extent of her little sister's infection. Her main concern was whether Ch'en could withstand the fallout if her condition was discovered. While Lungmen's attitude toward the Infected was relatively moderate, they were hardly treated as normal citizens—at best, they were merely allowed to survive.
Talulah even briefly considered asking Jeanne to just bring Ch'en back. At least here, she wouldn't have to live in fear of her condition being exposed.
"I'm not sure who else knows," Jeanne's voice came through the receiver. "But I suspect the City Ruler (Wei Yenwu) is at least aware of it. Something like this would be exposed by a single physical exam. Aside from the person with supreme authority, no one else could keep it a secret for so long."
From the looks of it, Ch'en had been infected for several years. The fact that her condition hadn't worsened in that time suggested Wei Yenwu had been secretly providing her with high-grade suppressants. While it wasn't unheard of for Oripathy to remain stable for years, it was rare for a police officer like her—who was on the front lines and frequently in contact with Originium products—to show no obvious symptoms.
"I see. It seems Wei Yenwu hasn't gone so far as to sacrifice his own kin for 'justice.' If her condition isn't glaringly obvious, I can breathe a bit easier."
Talulah let out a sigh of relief. It seemed she didn't need to stress over Huijie's health right this second, as someone over there was handling it. She slowly sat back down, and the spark of fire that had ignited on her tail from her agitation finally flickered out. FrostNova and Alina, who had been listening intently, felt the surrounding temperature drop back to normal.
For Talulah, the fact that Ch'en had Oripathy wasn't entirely unacceptable. What she feared was the day the secret was revealed—could Ch'en Huijie accept her new reality?
"Don't worry too much about your sister," Jeanne added. "Since she already knows she's Infected, she likely has a plan for her own future. At worst, you can just bring her to stay by your side when the time comes, right?"
Hearing Jeanne's reassurance, Talulah pulled herself together. She now had another reason to work even harder on developing Reunion: to give Ch'en a home she could return to at any time.
Watching Talulah's fighting spirit reignite, FrostNova and Alina shared a look and then tilted their heads to keep observing. If this were anyone else, their rapid swings between depression and excitement would make the pair suspect a split personality. But this was just Talulah. In private, her moods always shifted like the wind.
"By the way," Jeanne's tone shifted, "can you put that fellow Kashchey on the line? I have some things I'd like to have a 'nice talk' with him about!"
Although Jeanne's voice lacked any obvious anger, Talulah's intuition told her that something big was happening—and Kashchey was about to have a very bad day. It had been a year since Talulah last heard Jeanne use the phrase "nice talk." She vividly remembered that time; she had used her Arts while hunting rabbits and accidentally torched the firewood they had spent all afternoon chopping. Jeanne's "kind" and "gentle" expression that day was one Talulah would never forget.
"Wait a moment, I'll go call him. If he doesn't answer, I'll beat him until he shows up. That guy has been ignoring me for days."
Talulah handed the phone to FrostNova and Alina to let them chat with Jeanne while she went into her mental world to hunt down the Duke.
Inside the Mental World
Upon entering her spiritual realm, Talulah saw the "Sword of Damocles," which had been hovering high above the castle for a long time, now hanging significantly lower.
"Why is this thing so close? And why does it seem so much brighter?" Talulah wondered. "Has Kashchey been plotting some new scheme while he's been 'diving' lately?"
Before, the sword had looked like a distant sun—a tiny point in the sky. Now, it looked like a giant strobe light! Talulah had to manifest a pair of sunglasses just to look up. She was a fast learner when it came to spell-like abilities—far faster than her swordsmanship.
"Kashchey! Are you there? Are you still alive, you old fossil? Or did you do something shameful and get yourself vaporized?"
"What's the shouting for? Even I have legitimate business to attend to! Can't you show some sympathy for someone working this much overtime... wait, when did that thing get so close?!"
When Kashchey manifested, he was visibly startled by the glowing blade in the sky. He had worked so hard lately; surely he deserved some credit, even if not praise? Why was he facing such a dire fate?
"You don't know? I thought you knew exactly what you'd done," Talulah said, enjoying his shock. She had never seen Kashchey lose his composure like this. "Anyway, Jeanne is on the phone. She wants to talk to you. You might want to pick up and ask her what's going on."
Unlike Talulah's amusement, Kashchey felt a cold sweat. He guessed something had happened to Jeanne in Lungmen, and it was likely connected to him. He felt the literal character for "DANGER" (危) glowing red over his head.
"Stop talking nonsense, little girl. Let me use the body; I need to ask Jeanne what happened."
Back in Reality
The two women chatting with Jeanne saw Talulah's aura shift drastically. They quickly handed the phone to the "Duke," curious about what Jeanne wanted.
"Hello, Jeanne? This is Kashchey. Have you encountered some trouble in Lungmen that requires my assistance?"
"Mr. Kashchey, could you disclose the status of those subordinates of yours in Lungmen? I currently suspect they are involved in an attempted murder plot against me. I need them for an investigation."
Kashchey's heart skipped a beat. You idiots! he thought. Do you want to die that badly? Because I certainly don't!
He quickly adopted an explanatory tone: "Jeanne, listen to your Uncle. There must be some misunderstanding here! Tell me everything, and I'll help you take care of those bastards one by one!"