Dorothy’s Forbidden Grimoire

Igwynt Upper City, Knight Street.

In the afternoon, inside House No.26 on Knight Street, the spacious living room on the second floor was filled with visitors who had come to check on Anna, who had just recovered from a serious illness. Having spent a long time in the hospital, Anna was overjoyed to see so many familiar faces all at once and happily chatted with each of them.

“How have you been recovering these past few days, Anna?” Sitting by a window, Dorothy asked the girl beside her. Anna nodded obediently and answered,

“Don’t worry, I was just scared by those vicious wolves back then. Thanks to the blessing of the divine, I’m fine now. We must believe in the power of the gods, don’t you think so, Miss Mayschoss?”

Anna smiled at Dorothy, and in an almost imperceptible moment, playfully winked one eye. Seeing this, Dorothy couldn’t help but smile in response.

“Of course, let’s be grateful for the divine’s protection over each and every one of us.”

“Looks like Anna is well aware of her role now. She knows to hide the truth about herself and is doing her best to cooperate with the Serenity Bureau’s work.”

Watching Anna’s behavior, Dorothy thought to herself. A major reason she had come to visit was to confirm Anna’s current condition—whether she would panic or lose composure under the Hunters’ surveillance. But judging from what she had seen, Anna was handling it far better than expected.

“As expected of an orphanage’s top student. Far more mature than the average unruly child of her age. She’s obedient and understands her situation. This is reassuring.”

After finishing her conversation with Anna, Dorothy had this thought, then prepared to head to the nearby table for some of the pre-prepared desserts, ready to enjoy the rest of the gathering.

At that moment, as everyone remained immersed in the warm atmosphere of the visit, an unseen, imperceptible presence silently slipped into the room.

Something invisible passed through the walls, drifting into No. 26. It floated through the spacious living room, weaving between the gathered guests, observing the scene, attempting to scrutinize every detail.

Yet… no one in the room sensed anything amiss. They continued their cheerful conversations, oblivious to any anomaly in their surroundings.

No one noticed the presence of this unseen entity, yet it lurked in the shadows, watching everyone, circling each person as it observed, even passing directly through human bodies—yet those it passed through detected nothing unusual.

After finishing her conversation with Anna, Dorothy wandered around the living room, occasionally sampling the desserts and tea that had been set out in advance. She also tried chatting with other attendees to gather information about Anna’s inheritance.

“This house isn’t bad at all. I wonder how much it costs…” Taking in her surroundings, Dorothy muttered in admiration.

A man who seemed to be a lawyer, who was speaking with her, chuckled and replied, “Knight Street is a prime location, Miss Mayschoss. Even though these are townhouses, they’re still quite expensive. I doubt you’d find one for less than 500 pounds.”

“Only 500 pounds…?” Hearing the lawyer’s response, Dorothy thought to herself in silence.

500 pounds was just enough to buy a single mystical book, yet in the secular world, that amount could afford a multi-story townhouse in a prime location. She couldn’t help but marvel at how absurdly high the prices became whenever mysticism was involved.

“I wonder how much Gregor earns. As the captain of the Hunter Squad, his salary shouldn’t be low. Otherwise, how could he have gone from a mere worker to a city-dwelling middle class, with enough savings to plan for a detached house in the suburbs? Still, he doesn’t earn more than me.”

Dorothy mused.

Based on Gregor’s occasional complaints, she knew he had been saving for almost a year but still hadn’t reached his goal. A detached house in the suburbs also cost around 400 to 500 pounds, meaning he hadn’t yet saved that much in a year. Meanwhile, Dorothy could make that amount in just two quick jobs.

Perhaps this was the trade-off of being an official mystical agent. Dorothy had heard from Aldrich before that the authorities provided mystical agents with weapons and equipment directly. As long as they accumulated enough spirituality and merit, the government would even arrange their promotions and provide easy access to mystical knowledge. The downside, however, was the lack of freedom—no opportunities for side gigs like Dorothy had.

Sitting by a window, Dorothy sipped her tea, occasionally enjoying the view outside while lost in thought.

Just as she was soaking in the peaceful atmosphere, her expression suddenly stiffened, and her brows slightly furrowed.

“Hmm… something… feels off…”

Sitting by the window, Dorothy suddenly sensed a trace of something abnormal. A strange feeling crept up on her, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong.

“This feeling… it’s unpleasant… something feels… off. Why am I suddenly feeling this way?”

Puzzled, Dorothy activated the passive ability granted by her appraisal skill, allowing her to perceive a limited degree of spiritual vision.

And then—she saw it.

Right in front of her, barely a meter away in midair, a faint, pale, translucent human face had appeared. Its hollow, withered eyes stared silently at her, while the hand holding her teacup had already passed through the white figure.

In that instant, Dorothy’s mouth slightly opened, her eyes widened, and she drew in a sharp breath as if she was about to lose control and scream.

“What a lovely street view…”

At the crucial moment, Dorothy forcibly suppressed the rising panic within her with sheer rationality. She made her already open mouth utter a calm remark, then continued sipping her tea and admiring the view outside, as if she hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Seeing Dorothy’s composed demeanor, the pale ghostly figure lingering before her circled around twice before quietly drifting away. In the corner of her vision, Dorothy watched as the entity resumed its observation of the other attendees, occasionally passing through their bodies.

“What the hell… What is this thing? Why is it here?”

Observing the ghostly figure that floated through the crowd, Dorothy thought seriously, beginning to speculate about what it could be.

“Did the Hunters place it here as a hidden safeguard for Anna? No… that’s not right. It’s even approaching the undercover house servants disguised as Hunters. If it were theirs, it wouldn’t be investigating them.”

“It can pass through physical barriers, it has a vague human shape, and it’s invisible to the naked eye… Drifting around like some kind of ghost… No, it’s not ‘like’ a ghost. It IS a ghost!”

Dorothy confirmed her suspicion internally. In a world imbued with mystical forces, the existence of ghosts was hardly surprising. This thing was a ghost—or more precisely, a spirit.

As she mulled over this realization, she also understood why she had felt that earlier sensation of discomfort—because the entity had drawn close to her, lingering at her side. The source of her unease had come from this spirit.

And she knew exactly why.

Anything related to death and spirits—symbols of decay and eternal rest—was linked to the spirituality of Silence. Silence, however, was the direct opposite of Revelation. As a Revelation Beyonder, when she neared or even touched that ghost, she instinctively felt the discord.

In her spiritual vision, the entity before her seemed to be composed almost entirely of Silence-aligned spirituality, mixed with a few other elements. Moreover, its spirituality wasn’t contained within a body like that of a mystical creature—it was fully exposed, making it easy to perceive.

“So… why is there a ghost inside Number 26, this temporary residence arranged specifically for Anna?”

Sitting still, Dorothy’s expression grew increasingly serious.