Sarah sat on the couch, waiting for Ellen. She would be here any minute now.
Sarah was prepared. In her left hand, she wore a red bracelet—a sealed artifact corresponding to Sequence 7 of the Vampire pathway.
Beneath the cushion of the couch lay a revolver loaded with enchanted bullets that could harm even Beyonders.
It was her suspicion that Jace might be Ellen, but that was just a suspicion. She did know for a fact, however, that something was wrong with this Ellen. It had become much clearer to her after she advanced to Sequence 6.
It didn't matter. Right now, she would wait for 'her', test her out, and find the truth once and for all. On the other hand, she secretly hoped it really was Jace.
Knock! Knock!
Sarah took a deep breath, got up, walked to the door, and opened it.
When the door opened, it revealed a pretty and innocent-looking young woman with black hair, in a green dress, holding a basket of fruit in her hand. When she looked at Sarah, she smiled brightly.
"Sarah!~" she called out, her voice soft and melodic.
Sarah almost forgot about her suspicions, but it took only a split second for her to regain her composure. She was pretty confident in her acting skills.
"Ellen~ you're here," Sarah said, moving forward to give Ellen a light hug, kissing her cheek softly as a greeting. Ellen did the same.
Ellen raised the basket of fruit, showing it to Sarah. "I brought fruits," she said with a proud expression.
Sarah smiled. "Oh, you shouldn't have," she said as she took the fruit basket from her and invited her inside.
"Come in, I'll make us some tea~" Sarah said, walking into the kitchen. Ellen sat on the couch, waiting for her.
—
'Fuck! She knows!' Jace screamed inwardly as he sat on the couch.
A Seer's intuition was no joke.
The persona of Ellen had been crafted for Sarah back when she was a Sequence 7, and it had worked perfectly. But now that she had become a Sequence 6, it was likely that she had noticed some discrepancies. After all, Ellen's persona was not perfect.
It didn't take long for Jace to figure out that Sarah was suspicious about something, but she wasn't necessarily suspicious that 'Ellen' was him; rather, she was suspicious that something was off about Ellen in general.
It was likely that Sarah would try something funny, but Jace was prepared.
While Sarah was in the kitchen, he pulled out the Polymath ring from the folds of his dress near his waist and slipped it onto his finger.
Whatever Sarah was going to do, it wouldn't be anything dangerous or harmful to him, as he had just divined about it before coming here. Still, it never hurt to be prepared.
Soon, Sarah walked back in holding a tray.
She set it down on the table before them and sat beside Jace—or rather, Ellen.
—
On the tray were two cups of tea and two plates of pastries.
Sarah had bought pastries because she knew Ellen loved sweet things. Just as she expected, Ellen didn't wait and picked up the plate of cake with an eager smile.
After eating a few bites, "Oh, this is lovely, Sarah!" she said, continuing to eat.
Sarah chuckled softly and said with a smirk, "You know, I've been meaning to say this. I know you like sweets, but you shouldn't eat so many or you might gain a few pounds~"
Upon hearing Sarah, the fork in Ellen's hand froze, as did her face. Her lips twitched as she looked down at her fork, hesitantly putting it back down on the plate.
But she couldn't stop herself. She instantly picked the fork back up and shoved another bite into her mouth. Eating with a dreamy look, she said proudly, "Tehe~ it's all alright. I never gain weight, see?" She straightened up on the couch and pointed at her narrow waist with a twinkle in her eyes.
Sarah sighed and shook her head, taking a sip of her tea.
"Ah, did you read the book I gave you last time, 'Flower of Evil'?" Sarah asked, looking at Ellen.
"Oh, yes!" Ellen stopped eating. "I read it. It was amazing, but I didn't like the climax..."
Ellen continued to explain her view on the book, while Sarah chimed in with a few thoughts of her own.
Then it was Ellen's turn to ask. "Did you read 'The Godfather' I gave you? My cousin Jake says he loves it, but I don't really get it," she said with a disappointed tone.
Sarah smiled and explained the things Ellen hadn't understood.
This was exactly one of the reasons why Sarah had connected Jace to Ellen. 'The Godfather' was written by Jace; she knew that because Jace had told her about it himself in one of their therapy sessions.
And her cousin 'Jake'? Seriously? The fact that Ellen liked sweets so much was also suspicious, as Jace too liked sweets.
The book had been published, and the reception was amazing. It was quite popular among mature male audiences, and even elderly people. Some were already eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Sarah, of course, being a fan of lighter, romantic, and poetic literature, didn't like the book all that much, but she had read it and could tell why people enjoyed it.
She was happy for Jace and wanted to congratulate him, but that could wait until she sorted this matter out.
Their conversation kept going as they genuinely enjoyed each other's company.
But at one point, Sarah handed over a book of poems and persuaded Ellen to read a page, saying it was great.
Ellen read out the words in her soft, gentle voice, focusing deeply on the page.
And that's when Sarah did it. She used hypnosis on Ellen!
"'I wasn't... awar...'" Ellen's words slurred as they stopped completely, the book in he r hand fell onto her lap as her hands turn limp. Her eyes became dull, and her face turned entirely emotionless.
Sarah looked at Ellen, slowly shifting closer toward her. She took the book from her lap and set it on the table.
Sarah held Ellen's chin and turned her face toward hers. With her thumb, she gently touched Ellen's delicate, red lower lip.
"Ellen, what's your real name?" Sarah asked, looking directly into Ellen's dull eyes.