Why it never ends

Chapter 1139 Chance Encounter

There was a burst of laughter from the adults. Kiki looked up at Hesta. Sister Ximoya was protesting loudly about something, and everyone sitting next to her was laughing happily. Kiki pricked up her ears and tried to understand their language, but Ximoya spoke very fast, and the words that popped out of her mouth in her excitement were like machine gun fire - Kiki couldn't understand a word.

Suddenly, Qiqi felt a hand poking her. She turned around and saw Eleven staring at her.

"...What's wrong?" Qiqi asked.

"Why did you come down with Jane just now?" Eleven came closer. "What did she want from you?"

"Nothing, she just asked me if there was anything I wasn't used to recently—"

"Why did she ask you?" Eleven stared at Qiqi's face with some concern. "Have you ever talked to her alone before?"

"...No." Qiqi immediately shook her head.

"Don't lie to me." Eleven retracted his gaze, "We are good friends, right? You can't lie to me."

"I did not lie to you."

"Anyway, you are not allowed to go to her alone," Eleven said in a mumbling tone while holding the bowl, "She is - anyway, you are not allowed to go to her. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

"I know." Qiqi replied softly.

……

Late at night, Hesta was walking alone outside the palace. She had moved here for several days, and she had only seen Rico once during these days. She knew that Rico was fulfilling his duty of monitoring Arevalo, but his absence for such a long time seemed to indicate that the rainy night of fire had not yet passed.

Hesta was upset, with many things weighing on her mind - Mrs. Brownbo's property problem, Kovicik's aid, further negotiations with Office No. 2, the next round of negotiations with Boheng, the follow-up of the farm arson case, Kiki's interpersonal relationships... and the phone call in the afternoon.

These questions kept coming one after another. The more she thought about them, the more complicated they became. On the deserted path, she tried her best to think about the question that Ms. Chiba had asked her that afternoon. Hesta felt that it should not be a simple "identity verification" -

"Are you still holding your spear?"

"Some games are really fun, and the better you play them, the more fun they are. I've played them, so I know."

"Jane, why did you come to District 12?"

Ms. Chiba was undoubtedly hinting at something... She even made a promise:

"If... then we'll meet soon."

But what if?

"Hold your spear tight—"

"Mr. Inspector!" A voice came from the front, awakening Hesta from her absent-minded thoughts. She turned her head and saw two strange men she had never seen before. One of them looked to be in his fifties, with brown hair and dressed conservatively. The other was younger and seemed to be wearing a clergyman's robe - it was this man who was greeting her.

Hesta stopped and asked, "Do we know each other?"

"You don't know me, but how could someone here not know you!" The man walked quickly to Hesta and held out his hand to her. "I am serving as a priest in the Cathedral of Emmanlia. I didn't expect to meet you here!"

The man's outstretched hand hovered in the air for a few seconds. He smiled awkwardly: "Ah, I... am I being a little presumptuous to come over and say hello to you all of a sudden? It's like this, my niece likes you very much and always mentions you to me, so I feel like I have met you before..."

"Who's your niece?"

"Helieta." The man smiled, "She said you always call her by her real name, which impressed her!" Hesta glanced at the man's hand that was still hanging in the air. He was wearing an old watch. The edges of the leather strap had cracked, like a mouth that reminded people of a crack when smiling.

"She is your niece, so you are her..."

"I'm her uncle," the young man said quickly, "her mother is my sister-in-law - my brother's wife, but my brother hasn't been home for a long time, and we don't know where he went. Over the years, my sister-in-law has been running the household and taking care of the children. It's not easy."

As the young man spoke, Hesta stared at his face. He was very thin and pale, and the veins in his neck even appeared a faint blue-purple color. Although he claimed to be Helieta's relative, Hesta's intuition made her feel disgusted with this man at first sight.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce this person," the young man turned around, "this is Mr. Daubigny, he is a very great chess master."

Hesta frowned slightly. "I remember the Governor told me that except for the servants who take care of the tenants' food, clothing, housing and transportation, all other people have evacuated the palace."

"Oh, I don't belong to this palace," the old man in his fifties said. He smiled at Hesta and spoke in a light and humorous tone. "I belong to Baron Trion and Miss Xina. I am Xina's chess teacher."

"I see." Hesta nodded. "Then be careful about your activity area and do not go to places you are not authorized to go to."

"nature."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I was going home," replied the young man, "but I was chatting with Mr. Daubigny on the way, and I followed him here."

Hesta glanced at Dobini's face again.

"Give my regards to Helieta and her mother," Hesta said softly, "I haven't asked your name yet?"

"My name is Simon, Simon Albareda," the man replied immediately.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye!" The man stood there and watched Hesta leave, then turned back and continued walking forward with Dobini. He looked at his friend beside him and asked, "Why are you so cold?"

Daubini laughed twice: "I don't even know what she does, how can I be enthusiastic?"

"You don't care about the affairs of the country. Everyone in the city is talking about her name. A mercury needle like her——"

"…She is Mercury Needle?"

"My God, Daubigny!" The young man couldn't help laughing. "You should have guessed it because she's so strong!"

"Or should I have guessed it because she was so arrogant?" Daubigny also laughed. "Okay, Simon, let's stop here. I'll come to you tomorrow morning--"

"In the afternoon, I have something to do in the morning." Simon smiled. "Come to me in the afternoon and we'll go horseback riding together."

The two smiled and hugged each other.

"Luckily you are also near His Majesty's palace during this period, otherwise I really don't know how to kill this boring time!" Dobini sighed, "Go, good boy, see you tomorrow!"