Ansu City, West District, St. Lawrence District, at the entrance of the Stuart Art Exchange Center.

“This… this is the Stuart Art Exchange Center, the core of art exchanges in various regions…”

Isabella, whose heart was pounding, got out of the carriage. She pointed to the elegant building in front and continued to introduce:

“There are usually more people strolling around at night to look at paintings, so it’s quite lively… Miss Ciel, is this your first time here?”

“It is. Could you show me around?”

Ciel nodded and replied with a smile.

“Okay, Miss Ciel, Miss Avena, please follow me.”

Isabella let out a long breath after hearing Ciel’s reply.

Miss Ciel is gentler… Miss Avena had a poker face the entire time, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking inside, whether she was satisfied with what I was saying or not.

In contrast, the kind Miss Ciel always responded to me with a smile, preventing things from being too awkward or silent. Moreover, Miss Ciel’s smile was very contagious. It felt as if seeing her smile could make one feel much more at ease.

What she didn’t know was that the reason Avena showed no expression was because she was a little nervous at the moment. Whenever she got nervous, she tended to tense up her emotions and face.

Isabella walked ahead, introducing the paintings and classical sculptures inside. Ciel walked alongside Avena, while Tara and Nia followed behind them.

Ciel seemed to notice Avena’s tense body—after all, this time they were facing a Tier 3 “Source of Cholera,” not some commercial negotiation. This was real combat with a transcendent. It was only natural for Avena to be nervous.

Ciel walked beside Avena and leaned slightly towards her, bumping her with her shoulder.

The gentle physical contact made Avena calm down. She slightly turned her head towards Ciel. Seeing Ciel’s gentle gaze and smile, Avena’s tension gradually eased.

She gently took a breath, withdrew her gaze from Ciel, looked at Isabella’s back in front, and said, “When I came here before, this painting wasn’t here.”

Isabella, who was walking ahead, turned around, looked in the direction Avena was pointing, and also replied with a smile, “Yes, before this spot was used for…”

The somewhat awkward atmosphere disappeared. Now, no matter who looked at them, they immediately felt that these were three young ladies who had a very good relationship with each other.

A few people who recognized Avena also politely did not come to disturb them. They just nodded in greeting when their eyes met.

Isabella didn’t waste too much time either. She knew the two had come to find the skilled painter Pickman. After simply showing Ciel and Avena around the first floor, she took them up to the third floor.

When passing by Edward Stuart’s office on the third floor, Isabella even specifically stopped and opened the door to take a look inside.

She intended to let Avena meet her father, but unfortunately, her father wasn’t in the office.

Isabella closed the door with some disappointment and led the two of them to the entrance of Pickman’s private studio.

Knock knock knock——

Isabella gently knocked on the door. Soon, Pickman’s questioning voice came from inside.

“Who is it?”

His voice sounded a little short and flustered. Isabella replied from the doorway, “Mr. Pickman, there is a young lady who admires your paintings and would like to visit you.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Rustling sounds of dressing came from inside. Although Isabella couldn’t hear them, for Ciel and Avena, with hearing more sensitive than ordinary people, these sounds could not escape them.

They exchanged glances. With great understanding, they shifted their gaze and pretended to look at the surrounding scenery.

This carpet is really a carpet.

Soon, the sound of footsteps came from inside. The large door was opened, and Pickman’s figure appeared at the entrance.

He was slightly stunned looking at Avena and Ciel at the door. Especially when his gaze fell on Ciel’s face, an indescribable feeling of palpitation came over him.

Meanwhile, Ciel wasn’t looking at Pickman. Instead, her attention was focused on the woman inside the studio, who was standing with her back to everyone behind the easel, adjusting her clothes.

Mond…

A faint smile played on Ciel’s lips. Then she turned her gaze to Pickman before her.

Sweat that Pickman had just wiped away from his forehead seeped out again as Ciel looked directly at him. His lips trembled, and he instinctively took two steps back.

As he looked at Ciel, scenes of intertwined flesh and blood, like those in his fantasies, seemed to reappear in his mind. Various illusions seemed to appear before his irises. All the scarlet pigments he had painstakingly mixed screamed and self-immolated on his retinas.

He felt as if he could see his spine emerging from the back of his neck, transforming into a blood and flesh birch tree that was continuously growing. Each twisted branch outlined a terrifying scene of death. His potion was boiling, and his spirit body was screaming, howling at him to flee this place.

Since everyone is here… let’s begin.

Ciel subtly blinked. The second hand on the silver watch face in her right eye ticked. Ciel silently spoke in her mind.

“No.1.”

“‘Subverter.'”

【411→406】

【Countdown – 00:29:29】

The silver watch face in Ciel’s eyes shattered, transforming into a pink color. Pink tentacles twisted violently in the depths of her pupils, as if they were about to burst out of her eyeballs.

All the illusions in Pickman’s eyes vanished into thin air. It was as if, in an instant, the young girl who had previously given him immense pressure had turned into a completely ordinary person.

“Mr. Pickman, hello.”

Avena’s voice sounded from beside her.

When Pickman turned his head blankly, his gaze met a pair of bizarre pupils emitting a purple halo.

In this instant, Pickman’s mind seemed to completely calm down. He didn’t even try to think about what had just happened—if it weren’t for the sweat on his face, nothing would prove what he had seen just now.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Avena Roswell.”

Avena nodded slightly. She hadn’t noticed the changes in Ciel beside her. She was just helping Ciel control Pickman, who seemed to have discovered something.

“I am… Pickman,”

Pickman slowly said. He stiffly turned his body and said, “Please come in…”

At this moment, Mond, who had finally finished tidying her clothes over there, took a deep breath. A faint smile appeared on her face. She turned her head and looked at the people at the door…

Then her pupils immediately constricted.