Soon, the girls finished their meal. The main course was Balmoral roast venison served with Madeira soft cake, truffle sauce, braised red cabbage, roasted potatoes, and a medley of roasted walnuts, pumpkin, and celeriac. For dessert, assorted fruits and chocolates were offered.
"Well then, can you finally tell us why you called us here, dear Father?" Though she addressed him as "Father," not a trace of respect could be detected in Shuo Ye's tone.
"In truth, you girls were merely an afterthought for this lunch. My real target is Miss Cold Night Feather here." Oliver leisurely swirled the crimson liquid in his wine glass—a 1977 Domaines Barons de Rothschild Château Lafite Rothschild. For someone like him, it was just a decent wine. He hadn't drunk it yet because he was decanting it to let it breathe.
Cold Night Feather followed suit; wine was also common on the Freya Continent. "Honestly," she said, "why don't you just get straight to the point about why you summoned me?"
Oliver sniffed the wine, downed it in one gulp, and smacked his lips. "To be frank, we have a request for someone of your formidable abilities!"
Cold Night Feather sipped daintily from her glass, a glint flashing in her crimson eyes. "Oh? Do go on."
"Miss Cold Night Feather, you should know the organization Heavenly Mandate, correct?"
"Of course. My sister here has faced their members directly." Cold Night Feather pointed at Bai Xin, who cringed.
"Good, that simplifies things," Oliver nodded. "Heavenly Mandate is a playground for madmen. Their thought processes defy ordinary logic. We rarely find their medium or large bases—only insignificant outposts with a few dozen or even just a handful of members. Once, we discovered a medium-sized base with hundreds of them purely by luck. They built it right under the nose of the Execution Department headquarters! But our unusual troop movements tipped them off, so that raid yielded little."
"So you've found another Heavenly Mandate base—one definitely not small—and want me, someone not on the official roster but strong enough, to catch them off guard?"
"Exactly! Miss Cold Night Feather, you're as sharp as they come!" Oliver gave her an appreciative look. "The enemy doesn't know they're exposed yet. We need your help."
Cold Night Feather lowered her head in thought for a moment. "Then, what exactly is the Cromwell Clan? And why are you so invested in taking down Heavenly Mandate?"
"To be frank," Oliver said with a smile, "the Cromwell Clan is a bloodline of exorcists passed down through generations. We are the original guardians of human world stability. Anything disrupting the world's normal order must be eliminated. And clearly, Heavenly Mandate has crossed the line!"
