13 Minke Street

“Oh yes, my husband went out to visit a friend yesterday, but unfortunately that friend was not at home. It must have been you, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. You can call me Karen.”

“Please come in.” Linda opened the yard gate and welcomed Karen in.

Karen handed Linda a box of exquisitely packaged macarons.

He had specially selected the top-tier offering at the dessert shop, at 500 lubi per box.

The shop assistant had also gifted some small cakes, which Karen gave to the driver, not caring whether it was really his birthday today. Karen simply didn’t like eating overly sweet things.

Spending 500 lubi on a box of desserts was a bit extravagant, but since the family he was visiting was quite well-off, the gift had to match that status.

He certainly couldn’t show up at their door with a bag of 50 lubi egg-cakes. After all, the family had given him 20,000 lubi as a consulting fee.

“You are too kind, you didn’t need to bring a gift.”

“It was only appropriate.”

“Mr. Karen, did you and my husband meet while fishing? Are you fishing buddies?”

We met while burning your corpse.

“Yes, your husband taught me a lot about fishing.”

“I see.” Linda led Karen into the living room. “Would you like coffee or tea?”

“Coffee,” Karen replied. After a pause, he added, “With extra sugar, ma’am.”

“Certainly, just a moment.”

Soon, Linda returned with the coffee and a plate of snacks.

Karen took a sip of the coffee and his brow furrowed slightly. He really wanted to ask if any sugar had actually been added.

Due to his dietary preferences, Karen had never had any particular attachments toward coffee. In his youth, he had used it to stay sharp while working hard to build his career. Later, when his life improved and he had the means to improve his living conditions, he had tried many better coffees, but he still couldn’t get used to the taste.

It was the same with tea – he was used to brewing large vats of it and steeping it strong. Trying to pursue delicacy no longer suited his temperament.

“Shall I prepare some food for your two pets?” Linda asked.

“You’re too kind. Please don’t trouble yourself.”

“My husband is taking a nap. Let me go wake him so you two can chat. Sorry for the delay.”

“No problem, ma’am.”

As Linda headed upstairs, Karen wandered around the living room. Above the fireplace hung a large oil painting depicting Linda and Piaget.

There were also some framed photos on the small table, showing the couple on various vacations. Judging by the backgrounds, they had travelled to many countries.

“They seem quite happily married. A perfect match.”

The Adams family was indeed wealthy. Although it’s also a standalone villa, the price of this one was probably double that of the Inmerales house. After all, this area belongs to the truly rich people of Roja City.

“Linda, Linda?” A shout came from outside, in a somewhat familiar voice.

Karen stepped out of the living room and saw Mrs. Seymour standing at the yard gate.

“Oh my!” Seeing Karen, Mrs. Seymour’s face immediately flushed red as she put a hand over her mouth.

She had completely lost control of her emotions yesterday, prompting rash behavior. She hadn’t given much thought to the lavish funeral package or riding in the hearse to go luxury shopping. Though frugal by nature, her family was quite well off. With her husband gone, she was now the sole inheritor of his estate, so she had money.

What made her cringe in embarrassment as she lay in bed last night was remembering that she had asked the young man to sleep with her.

Heavens, what was she thinking!

She spent the entire second half of the night steeped in mortified self-reproach before finally falling asleep near dawn.

Then, in her dreams, she really did sleep with that handsome young fellow.

Upon waking up, her first act was to slap herself twice.

Then, she laughed.

But now, here he was, at her neighbor’s home!

“Hello, Mrs. Seymour,” Karen greeted her.

“Mr. Karen, what a surprise seeing you here too. Oh yes, you mentioned last night that you and Mr. Adams are friends.”

“Yes, I’ve come to visit him today.”

“I was just coming by to ask Linda to discuss handling some of my late husband’s belongings. I thought I’d donate the clothes and shoes to charity.”

“How kind of you.”

“Well, since she has guest, I’ll head back for now.”

Naturally, the lady of the house would be occupied hosting her guest.

“Oh, Mr. Karen, could you stop by my home later?”

Karen showed no reluctance whatsoever. That would be extremely cruel and rude to a lady.

Besides, the now clear-headed Mrs. Seymour wouldn’t do anything inappropriate. And she was an important client.

“It would be my pleasure to visit you.”

Mrs. Seymour smiled. “My husband had a watch that I think would suit you perfectly. I’d like to give it to you. I notice you don’t wear one.”

Truthfully, Mrs. Hughes had just given him a watch. But in his past life, Karen had disliked wearing watches. He didn’t go out much either.

“I’ll come admire the watch shortly.”

“Wonderful.” Mrs. Seymour left smiling.

Returning to the living room, Karen happened to see a bleary-eyed and disheveled Piaget descending the stairs.

“Oh, Karen, your arrival brings me great honor,” Piaget walked down the stairs and opened his arms to give Karen a big hug.

Immediately after that, he looked at the coffee on the dinner table and apologized embarrassingly. “I’m really sorry that you had to make your own coffee after coming here.”

“It was your wife who made it for me,” Karen said.

“My wife? Who?” Piaget looked puzzled. “Oh my god, Linda is gone. Have you forgotten, Karen? You were the one who delivered her urn to me.”

I should be the one saying this to you! “So you think I opened the door and walked into your house by myself?”

“Well, why not?” Piaget smiled. “I don’t usually lock the door because the security here is very good. The chief of police lives in the house across the street.

“You’re my friend. Although we’ve only met once, I’ve identified you as my friend. So isn’t it very normal for a friend to open the door and make themselves a cup of coffee in my house?

“This shows that you, Karen, also treat me as a true friend, and don’t cling to those etiquettes. Right?”

“Piaget.”

“Hmm?”

“I have to remind you that it was indeed Linda who opened the door for me just now, and it was Linda who made coffee for me, then she went upstairs to wake you up from your nap.”

“Are you crazy?” Piaget looked closely into Karen’s eyes and asked with concern, “Have you encountered anything recently that has stimulated you mentally?”

“Yes, it’s about you.”

“Let’s sit down and talk.” Piaget sat down and grabbed a snack to bite.

Karen also sat down. He glanced at Pu’er, who was was crawling on the sofa, while the golden retriever was catching butterflies in the yard outside, bouncing around happily.

Karen swore that he would never take that stupid dog out again next time.

Karen said, “Your wife has left.”

“I know that.”

“But Mrs. Seymour next door said that she received an apple pie from your wife yesterday morning.”

“How is that possible!”

“It’s true, and I just saw Linda.”

“You’re all crazy. Linda is gone. I buried her ashes with my own hands.”

Piaget grabbed a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Karen, who took it. Then, Piaget took out a lighter and lit the cigarettes for both of them.

After a moment of silence, Piaget suddenly grabbed his hair and laughed. “To be honest, I feel like I’m going crazy too. Because these days, I always feel like Linda hasn’t left and is still taking care of me, but I think it’s probably just because I’m used to her being around, and I enjoy it too.”

“Do you mind if I go upstairs and have a look?” Karen asked.

“Of course not, come on, I’ll show you around.”

Piaget led Karen up the stairs.

In fact, real wealth was not only reflected in the price of the house, but often in the decoration.

Karen noticed the delicate wood carvings under the stair railing, and then looked at the decorations on the walls and ceiling. He felt that the decoration cost might be more expensive than the house price.

“The second floor is my bedroom and study, and my wife’s studio. My wife is a painter and has held a solo exhibition in Roja City.

“This is my study.”

Karen walked in and looked around.

Although it was very low-key and introverted, anyone who was not a fool could feel that the ‘price’ of this study was much more expensive than Diss’s study.

After taking a turn, Karen walked out.

“This is my wife’s studio.”

Many of the paintings in the studio were covered with curtains.

“Can I see your wife’s paintings?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

Karen lifted the curtain on a painting. In the painting, it was divided into two compositions.

Below was a piece of dead bones and ruins, a naked man lying on the ground, face up.

Above, surrounded by lush green grasses, a group of men and women were dancing around a bonfire with happy smiles on their faces.

Upon seeing this painting, Karen drew in a sharp breath. “Berryism?”

“Yes, Karen, do you know a lot about religion too?” Piaget asked with a smile. “My wife loves and is best at painting religious paintings. This painting is called “God’s Veil” in Berryism.

“The true God believed in Berryism has eternally exiled himself to the lonely darkness, in exchange for the freedom and romance of his followers in heaven.”

Karen nodded, and lifted the curtain on the second painting.

This painting was also two compositions, but horizontal.

On the left side, a man was singing in heaven; on the right side, a man identical in appearance was roaring in the Skeleton Mountain of Hell.

In the middle, there was a black river running horizontally, which soaks the feet of the two identical men respectively.

“The Church of the Abyssal God,” Karen said.

“Yes, the Abyssal God divided himself into two halves, one entering heaven and the other entering hell, and finally opened up the abyss between heaven and hell. In Ruland, people who know this denomination are actually very few.”

Two. There are already two people who knows about this!

Karen stretched out his hand to uncover the curtain of the third painting in order, but stopped just before his hand touched the curtain.

Was this a coincidence?

It could no longer be explained by coincidence.

And he had a hunch that the third painting might correspond to the next victim, that is…the next ‘artwork’.

When Karen hesitated, Piaget enthusiastically helped him uncover the curtain.

Inside, it was the painting of a woman. Her body seemed to be falling into a huge bloody mouth, and as she fell, her body began to separate.

If you look closely, you can see the details – the detachment of various joints on the woman’s body and the extremely fine texture.

“What is this?” Karen asked. “Which church is it from?”

“The Church of Order,” Piaget said. “It’s rare to see one you don’t know about, haha.”

“The Church of Order?”

“Yes, the Church of Order is a widely spread church. They believe in the God of Order, advocating that all things in the world need to operate according to order, and they are the guardians of order.

“And this is the daughter of the God of Order, her name is Ankara.

“Legend has it that after the God of Order created the rules of order, the first one to make a mistake was his daughter Ankara.

In order to implement the laws of order, The God of Order did not show favoritism, and punished his daughter by throwing her into the mouth of a beast, letting her body and soul be annihilated completely.

“Her death also ignited the light of order.

“This means order and law is above human nature, above affection.”

“I see.” Karen suddenly felt a little stuffy in his chest.

Because in his mind, he had already imagined the picture of the murderer picking up a knife and starting to cut the ribs when facing the next victim. At the same time, the sound of chopping ribs came to his ears.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Broken bones and minced meat began to splash.

Nausea also followed.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Piaget asked with concern, reaching out to support Karen’s arm.

Karen pushed him away. “Don’t touch me!”

Immediately, Karen began to gasp for breath. After a long while, he apologized. “I’m sorry, my heart has always had some problems, and sometimes it twitches from time to time.”

“This is a problem that shouldn’t be ignored. Linda also had a heart condition, and her death was also related to heart problems. Karen, please listen to my advice. You should go to a good hospital for an examination and receive serious treatment.

“Or, you can simply go to Vienna, where the big hospitals have the highest level of medical care.”

“I see, thank you.” Karen walked out of the art studio, and Piaget followed him worriedly.

As they passed the bedroom, Piaget said, “Do you want to lie down and rest here for a while?”

“No, thank you.” He said no, but Karen still glanced into the bedroom.

But with just this glance, he found something.

“What is that?” Karen asked.

“What?”

“Under the bed, the pink one.”

Piaget walked over, bent down, reached under the bed, grabbed a pink dress, and continued to grope inside, pulling out shoes and socks.

“This… this is Linda’s clothes, how could it be under the bed?” Piaget said in disbelief. “How is it possible… how is it possible…”

“Piaget…the one who made coffee for me just now, was actually you, right?”

“I… I made coffee for you?” Piaget pointed at himself.

“You might have disguised as your wife,” Karen said.

“I disguised myself as my wife?” Piaget’s chest began to heave. Just when Karen thought something physical was going to happen, he leaned against the bed and sat down dejectedly. “Karen, I think something is wrong with my mind. I don’t remember those things, but there’s still warmth on this dress.

“I think I have a split personality. In my mind, I have split into Linda. When I fall asleep, Linda wakes up, and when I wake up, Linda falls asleep.”

“Your makeup skills are really good,” Karen marveled. He really didn’t notice earlier that Linda was Piaget in disguise.

Of course, this was also because they were too much of a married couple, so it was very convenient to pretend to be each other.

“I studied ballet.” Piaget smiled wryly. “I needed to do my own makeup when I performed in college.”

“Oh.” Karen nodded.

“I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“No, no such thing.”

Piaget looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling of the bedroom, reached out, and touched his chest. “Actually, I was the one who took the initiative to let Linda live in my heart. It was also you, Karen, who helped me make up my mind and let me try to split into a second personality. Thank you, Karen.”

Don’t you blame me?

“No… you’re welcome.”

It’s good that you don’t blame me. I still feel quite guilty.

Piaget reached out and ruffled his already messy hair. He said, “I’m very sorry, Karen, I’d like to be alone for a while. There’s a wine cellar in the basement, you can go down and have a drink by yourself.”

“No need, I’ll come see you another day. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m very happy to see you, really.”

“Me too.”

Perhaps it’s precisely because both of them are psychologists that ‘talking openly’ and ‘accepting’ were very simple, without so many complicated processes.

“Meow…” At some point, Pu’er had also come upstairs and was staring at the bedroom from under Karen’s feet, seemingly curious.

Karen took one last look at Piaget, picked up Pu’er, and walked down the stairs.

When he got to the yard, the golden retriever came trotting after him. He pushed open the yard gate, walked out, and closed it behind him. He looked up at the second floor, where the studio window was.

“He actively split into a second personality himself?”

With a sigh, Karen walked to Mrs. Seymour’s house next door. Before he could even ring the doorbell, Mrs. Seymour, who had been waiting in the hallway, walked out and enthusiastically asked, “Are Mr. Adams and Linda okay?”

“He’s fine.”

…

Second floor, bedroom.

Piaget had his eyes closed, with traces of tears gently flowing from the corners.

Linda.

My Linda.

I don’t want to lose you, nor will I lose you. No matter what, I will keep you by my side.

For you, I am willing to deceive myself.

Just then, the drawer of the dressing table facing the bed slowly opened, and from it, a pile of flesh-colored clothes slowly stood up.

It spread out of the drawer, onto the floor, and then to Piaget’s side.

Immediately after that, it began to stand up. It was very thin, and there were clear fold marks on its body, as if it were… a piece of paper, a piece of flesh-colored paper.

But at this moment, it gradually unfolded into a human form, but this human form was too thin, without any sense of three-dimensionality.

She stretched out her hands, gently covering Piaget’s forehead. Then, she began to move closer to Piaget.

No, to be precise, she was merging into him.

Like milk being poured into coffee; in an extremely gentle way, it took on another color.

Piaget’s face was slowly changing into… Linda’s.

After a long time, Linda (Piaget) opened her eyes.

She hugged herself with both hands, and murmured:

“My dear, I will never leave you either.”