Chapter 314: An Unapproachable Task
But the answer she got was also a little strange. Faye said, "You can’t hunt the wolves in the woods, only the ones that run out."
Faye Yardley figured she hadn’t triggered any new rules because she had been staying by Faye’s side and had gotten her permission for all her actions in advance.
"Faye, are you home?"
Clementine’s sweet voice called out from outside the small yard.
Faye Yardley’s first instinct was to look at Faye. Seeing no reaction, she walked outside and called back to Clementine, "I’m here, Clementine. What’s up?"
"I brought you some oranges and wild vegetables. Is Faye doing okay? And whose carriage brought you back this afternoon?"
As Clementine spoke, she was already walking into the yard with a basket in her hand.
In the end, it was Faye who took the basket from Clementine. "Thank you for your concern, Clementine. I’m doing very well."
Clementine’s gaze, however, landed on Ace, who was standing behind Faye. She had never seen such a handsome young man in the village before.
Faye snorted and said, "Faye, see Clementine out."
’She’s not even going to offer her a drink.’
Faye Yardley followed Faye’s instruction without a second thought, warmly taking Clementine by the arm. "Let’s go, Clementine."
After they had walked some distance, Clementine couldn’t help but ask, "Faye, who was that boy behind your sister just now? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in the village."
"You wouldn’t have. I don’t know him either."
"Is it really okay to have a stranger staying at your house? Maybe we should go tell the village chief."
Faye Yardley tapped her arm, annoyed. "Clementine, *I* might not know him, but that doesn’t mean my sister doesn’t."
"Oh, right. Well, as long as he isn’t a bad person, it should be fine."
"Of course not. If he were a bad person, my sister would have dealt with him already."
At these words, Clementine’s expression darkened for an instant. But she quickly recovered and said, "Let’s go for a walk on the other side of the woods today. We might find even more delicious mushrooms there."
Faye Yardley followed her all the way to the edge of the village, at which point she received a system prompt. [DING! Player, please abide by the rules. Do not leave the permitted area.]
Breaking the rules meant death.
Faye Yardley never forgot that fact. She stopped in her tracks and met Clementine’s puzzled gaze, saying bluntly, "Oh, shoot. Sorry, Clementine, but I haven’t told my sister. Plus, she’s just recovered, so I need to be home to look after her. And it’s almost dark now, so I can’t go out with you. Bye!"
With that, she turned and ran back.
Clementine stomped her foot in frustration.
An old woman dressed all in black, her back hunched as she leaned on a cane, slowly approached Clementine and let out a sinister laugh. HEH HEH HEH.
Clementine shot her a glare and ran off as well.
The old woman tilted her head up slightly, watching the direction Clementine had fled. An irrepressible smile spread across her lips.
’She would get her taste of this delicious Clementine eventually.’
’Then her withered hand reached up to touch her wrinkled face. ’She should be the most beautiful person in the world.’’
"Sister, I’m back!"
"What took you so long?"
Faye Yardley immediately told her about how Clementine had asked her to go pick mushrooms on the other side of the mountain. She then praised herself for being so well-behaved and not leaving the village in the evening without her sister’s permission.
"Yes, the forest is dangerous at night. It’s good that you keep that in mind."
Ace remained silent, seemingly preoccupied with how he was going to contact his family.
Arranging a room for him wasn’t a concern. The house might be a little humble, but it wasn’t so small that it only had one bedroom.
Faye Yardley was just as worried, but for a different reason. ’My mission has stalled completely. Two days are almost gone. I can’t be trapped in this event forever, can I?’
’And will the difficulty increase over time?’
’It seems like Faye’s mood improves as long as her little sister is obedient.’
’Damn it, who exactly is the Prince? And where is he?’
’Can’t he just reveal himself?!’
After cleaning the house, Faye dusted off her hands. She then picked up the basket Clementine had brought over and prepared to leave. "Faye, Ace, you two be good and stay home. I’m taking this to Grandma Hayes. I’ll be back tonight if I have time. If not, I’ll be back tomorrow morning before breakfast."
And with that, she was gone. ’Faye Yardley really wanted to ask, ’There’s a stranger in the house, aren’t you even a little worried he might try something with your sister?’’
’After all, Faye Yardley considered herself a beauty by anyone’s standards.’
Thankfully, Ace didn’t transform during the night. He didn’t even leave his room or make any strange sounds.
Even so, Faye Yardley, sleeping in the adjacent room, didn’t get a good night’s sleep.
It must be August 21st, because she felt a change in her body. It seemed the temporary Attributes from the leaderboard this time were different from the last. She clenched her fist. Her Strength felt like it had increased significantly.
On top of that, her mind was surprisingly clear, despite not having slept well for three nights in a row.
When she got up and went outside, she was surprised to find Ace and Clementine talking and laughing together in the yard. Meanwhile, smoke was already curling up from the kitchen chimney.
"Hey, good morning, Faye! You’re finally up."
Clementine, who was facing Faye Yardley, greeted her cheerfully. Ace, who had his back to her, turned around with a big smile and wished her good morning as well.
"Morning, Clementine, Ace. My sister’s back, right?"
Ace nodded, then said sheepishly, "Yes. I got up this morning and wanted to start a fire in the kitchen to make breakfast, but I messed it up and Faye kicked me out."
"I’m going to go wash up, then I’ll go help my sister. Clementine, Ace, you two can wait in the living room for a bit."
Upon entering the kitchen and seeing Faye, Faye Yardley sharply noticed that Faye’s hair seemed to have a purplish tint to it today, and the freckles on her face seemed much fainter.
"Morning, Sister. You look so beautiful today."
Faye seemed to be in a pretty good mood. "Oh, really? I feel the same as always. Stop with the flattery. The mushroom soup is ready. After we eat, we’re all going to walk toward the sea to see if we can run into Ace’s family."
"Okay."
"Oh, right. Clementine is going with us too."
"Huh? Why does she have to go?"
Faye turned around and looked at her seriously for a long moment before saying, "She said you two made plans yesterday to do something together today."
Faye Yardley quickly shook her head. "No, I didn’t! She wanted to go into the mountains, and I said it was too late and went home."
"It doesn’t matter. It’s fine to have one more person."
Faye Yardley didn’t know if Faye was being sincere, but she also couldn’t understand why she was trying to clear her name. ’After all, my first mission is to stop Faye from moving against Clementine.’
’Didn’t what I just said just make my sister hate Clementine even more?’
’It seemed this impossible-to-start event mission was already messing with her head.’
’She was probably better suited for straightforward, mindless kill quests.’