Chapter 141: Chapter 145 Heidi and her family

Haidi wisely did not press further.

She knew that she and Fenna were different; although she was nominally a “clergy” with accreditation from the Academy of Truth, she was better at pure research and contemplation rather than directly confronting those dangerous, secretive forces. Indeed, she could pry secrets from the minds of heretics and tease out the heretical shadows left behind by mass hallucinations, but this was starkly different from the work of a Judge.

She herself lacked sensitivity to certain threats.

But Fenna was someone who had been confronting heretics and secret forces head-on for years, and she might have already keenly sensed the presence of some shadow—today’s visit to the Lower City District probably inadvertently disturbed something.

As they were getting close to home, Haidi asked a question, “Is there a problem with that antique shop?”

“The antique shop is normal,” Fenna slowly decelerated the vehicle, her expression thoughtful, “but there might be something abnormal in our City-State.”

The sky had completely darkened, the bell for the change of day and the whistle from the central steam core sounded at the same time, penetrating the clouds above the City-State in the sunset. In the Upper City District, the gas lamps along the streets had been lit a half-hour early. Arriving at her doorstep, Haidi heard the sound of the car diminishing into the distance.

There was a curfew at night in the city, but the decree only applied to common folk lacking the ability to protect themselves. The Church’s Judges were clearly unaffected—Fenna still had to check on the museum before returning to the cathedral and meet with the guards responsible for the scene blockade, her days off often went by without real rest.

Haidi inadvertently recalled her own disrupted day off and let out a sigh before entering her house.

The living room was lit but empty, and quietness pervaded the house. The day maids responsible for cleaning and laundry had gone home before sundown, leaving the large house feeling a bit desolate.

However, Haidi had long been used to this; her father was the kind of man who once holed up in his study, could not be easily called out, and her mother, with her health issues, often rested in the bedroom. The house, a bit too spacious for a family of three, was mostly this quiet every day.

But this didn’t mean that the large house was devoid of warmth—Haidi had a very good relationship with her parents, and it had always been so.

She expertly hung up her coat, put away her hat and portable medicine box, glanced at the lit study without disturbing her father who might be deeply immersed in reading, and as usual, went to her parents’ bedroom and knocked, “I’m back—are you in there?”

Her mother’s voice came from inside, tinged with helplessness and a bit of feigned annoyance, “You’re back so late!”