Chapter 66 Confinement

London on the way to Munich, November 1, 1901 The train seemed unremarkable, puffing through the countryside, belching gray clouds of smoke into the air.The engine is painted almost entirely black, and the carriage behind it is also monochromatic.The windowed carriages are of dark, tinted glass: those without windows are as black as charcoal. The train moved silently, with no whistle or horn.The wheels on the track did not squeal, but slid forward smoothly and silently.There were hardly any notices along the way, and there were no pauses. From the outside it looks like a coal train or something, unremarkable.

The interior is another matter entirely. The interior of the train is gorgeous and gorgeous, filled with a warm atmosphere.Most of the trains are covered with thick patterned carpets, and the furniture is covered with wine red, purple blue and off-white velvet covers, as if soaked in the sunset, as if lingering in the evening, trying to catch up before disappearing in the midnight and stars. color. The lamp holders are arranged along the aisle, and the crystals pour down from the lamp holders, swaying with the movement of the train, soothing people's hearts.Not long after the departure, Celia put away the leather-bound booklet safely and mixed it among her books to conceal it.

She had swapped her blood-stained gown for a flowing gown in a moonshine gray shade with black, white, and iron-gray ribbons, one of Frederick's special favourites. Ribbon flutters behind her as she crosses the train. She stopped in front of the only door marked with two calligraphic characters, and a handwritten tag with her name hung beside it. She politely knocked on the door, and someone responded immediately and invited her in. Most of the train compartments are full of colorful colors, but Yuezi's private compartment is almost completely neutral in color.The empty and unadorned space is surrounded by paper screens and raw silk curtains, filled with the aroma of ginger and fresh cream.

Yuezi was wearing a red kimono, sitting on the floor in the center of the room, like a beating crimson heart in a pale room.Yuezi is not alone.Isobe leaned his head in her arms and sobbed softly. I don't want to disturb you.Celia said.She hesitated at the door for a moment, preparing to close the door again. You didn't disturb us, Yuezi said, gesturing for her to come in, maybe you can help me convince Isobe that she really needs a break. Celia didn't say a word, but Isobe wiped his eyes, nodded, and stood up. Thank you, Yuezi.Smoothing out the creases in the gown, she said.Yuezi was still sitting, focusing on Celia.

When Isobe walked towards the door, he stopped beside Celia. I'm sorry about Mr. Dyson.she says. Me too. For a moment, Celia thought that Isobe was going to hug her, but the other party just nodded and walked away, closing the sliding door casually. For all of us, just a few hours was a long time.After Isobe left, Yuezi said that before Celia had time to explain why she came, the other party added: You need some tea.Yuezi first asked her to sit down on the cushion, then silently walked to the end of the carriage, and took out the tea set from behind the tall screen. It wasn't the full set of equipment used by Yuezi to perform the tea ceremony in the past, but she still mixed two bowls of matcha slowly, and the process was still beautiful and calm.

why you never tell meWhen Yuezi sat down opposite, Celia asked. tell you what?Yuezi looked at her tea with a smile. Celia sighed.She thought to herself, Leni.Had Burgess been similarly discouraged when faced with the other two cups of tea in Constantinople?She kind of wanted to smash Yuezi's tea bowl, just to see how the other party would respond. Did you hurt yourself?Tsukiko asked, nodding towards the scar on Celia's finger. I was bound by a challenge nearly thirty years ago.Celia said.She sipped her tea and added: Now that you've seen my scars, do you want to show me yours?

Yuezi smiled, put the tea bowl on the ground in front of her, then turned around and lowered the collar of her kimono. On the nape of the neck, amidst the dense tattoo symbols, nestling on the half-moon curve, there is a faint scar the size and shape of a ring. You know, scars can last longer than the competition itself.Tsukiko said, straightening the kimono around her shoulders. It must have been branded with my father's ring.Celia said, but Yuezi was noncommittal. How is your tea?she asked. why are you hereCelia asked back. I was hired to perform cartilaginous stunts. Celia put down the tea.

I'm not in the mood to be confused, confinement.she says. Then you should be more cautious when you choose a question, so that you may get a more satisfactory answer. You clearly know about this challenge, why never tell me?Celia asked: Why didn't you tell me that you have competed before? I have reached an agreement with people, unless someone comes to talk to me directly, otherwise I will not take the initiative to reveal my identity, Yuezi said: I just keep my promise. Why did you come here in the first place? I'm curious.There hasn't been a challenge of this kind since the one I entered.I didn't intend to stay long.

Then why did you stay? I like Monsieur Lefevre.The challenge venues I've participated in are more intimate, and this venue seems to be quite unique.It is quite rare to discover a place that is truly unique.I stayed to observe. So you've been spying on us.Celia said. Yuezi nodded. Tell me about that race.Celia said.Now that Yuezi is more frank now, she hopes that she can get a response from the open-ended question. Things are far beyond what you think, confinement said: I didn't understand the rules at that time, it wasn't just what you called magic.Do you really believe that adding a tent to a circus is like making a move?not only.Everything you do, every moment of the day and night, is a move.You are carrying the chessboard with you, and the place of competition is not limited to canvas and stripes.You and your opponent can't stay on the squares politely, you don't have that kind of leeway.

Celia thought about this while sipping tea.She tried to come to terms with the fact that everything that happened at the circus and everything between Marco turned out to be part of the competition. Are you pissing him off?Yuezi asked, looking at her with thoughtful eyes, with a faint sympathetic smile, but Celia always found it difficult to interpret Yuezi's expression. Celia sighed, there seemed to be no reason to deny it. like.she says. Do you believe he loves you too? Celia didn't answer.The wording of that question bothered her.But a few hours ago, she had been quite sure.Now, sitting in this silk-scented cave, things that had been constant and unquestionable were as ethereal as the vapors that floated above her tea, as fragile as phantoms.

Love is fickle and fleeting, Yuezi continued: In any competition, it is rarely a solid basis for making a decision. Celia closed her eyes to keep her hands from shaking. She took more time to regain control than she wanted. Isobe also thought that he loved her for a while, and the confinement continued: she was very sure.That's why she came to the circus, to assist him. He really loves me.Celia said, although the words fell from her lips, they didn't sound as powerful as she had thought in her head. Maybe, Yuezi replied: He is very manipulative.Haven't you ever lied to someone yourself?Only tell the other person what they want to hear? Celia wasn't sure which was worse: knowing that one of them had to die before the game would end, or that she meant nothing to him, that she was just a pawn on a chessboard waiting to be overthrown with total defeat. That's a matter of point of view, the difference between opponent and partner, Yuezi said: You move aside, and the same person may take on a certain face, or a double face, or a very different look.It's hard to know which face is the real one.And besides your opponent, you have many factors to deal with. Didn't you use it then?Celia asked. My venue is less grand, less people involved, and less frequent events.That venue wouldn't be worth salvaging without that challenge.I think most of it has become a tea garden now.I haven't been back to that place since the challenge ended. The circus can go on until after this challenge is over. That's not bad, Yuezi said: It can be used to express respect for you, Mr. Dyson.But making the circus completely independent of you and your opponents can be quite complicated.You have always carried a great deal of responsibility for all of this, you are indispensable to its functioning.If I put a knife in your heart right now, I'm sure this whole train will crash.Celia put down the tea and watched the smooth movement of the train make soft ripples on the surface of the liquid.She calculated in her head how long it would take to stop the train, how long she could keep her heart beating, and she decided that might depend on what kind of knife it was. Maybe.she says. If I put out the campfire, or kill the campfire keepers, that would cause problems too, right? Celia nodded. If you want to keep the circus going, you have work to do.Yuezi said. Are you going to help?Celia asked, hoping that the other party could help translate Marco's system, since their mentor is the same person. No.Yuezi shook her head politely and said, her smile softened the harshness of that word.I'll only intervene if you can't handle it yourself.Although this situation has been delayed for too long, I can give you some more time. how long?Confinement sips tea. Time is something I can't control, she said: we'll see. Lost in thought, they spent some uncontrollable hours sitting in silence, the movement of the train gently blowing the silk curtains, and the smell of ginger and whipped cream enveloped them. What happened to your opponent in the end?Celia asked. When Tsukiko answered, she didn't look directly at Celia, but looked down at her tea. My opponent is now a slender ash tree, standing on a certain field in Kyoto, she said: Unless the wind and the years take her away.