Chapter 29: Sudden Confession

I jumped at the noise and turned to see where it came from. Over by the east side of the door, there was a shadowy figure just sitting there, not moving an inch.

"Who's there?" I yelled.

"Dennis, it's me."

Cedric?

"What are you doing here at this hour?"

"Help me inside first, and get me some Worry-Free Coffee..."

As he spoke, he turned his head towards me. In the moonlight, I could see his face was all gaunt and yellowish, with sunken eyes.

Something was definitely wrong.

I quickly got Cedric into the café and shut the door behind us.

I grabbed the black jade crescent cup and made him some Worry-Free Coffee. He looked like he was about to collapse, his hands shaking as he took the cup and downed it in one go.

A few minutes later, he seemed to get some of his strength back.

"What happened? Why is it that bad?" I asked, confused.

Cedric's eyes, sharp like a hawk's, locked onto mine. "I went to see Mr. Williams tonight."

"Why?"

"I didn't visit him when he was in the hospital. I finally had some free time tonight, so I went to see him."

I looked puzzled. "What does that have to do with how you look right now?"

Cedric leaned in closer. "Have you forgotten something?"

"What?"

"Fiona," Cedric said. "When she faked her death, I mentioned she had a Malifact with a strong Sinwaft on her, which messed me up and almost killed me. Remember?"

I nodded. "I haven't forgotten."

"Did you ask her about it?"

"No, I kept an eye on her for a while, but there was no sign she still had a Malifact."

Cedric frowned. "Maybe she gave it back to the master she mentioned."

I gave a wry smile. "And how does that tie into tonight?"

Cedric said, "In our small town, the only person I know who deals in Beneware and Malifacts is Mr. Williams."

"Are you saying you think he's the master Fiona mentioned?"

"It's just a hunch, no proof," Cedric continued. "Anyway, tonight when I got to Mr. Williams' house, I felt a strong Sinwaft invading my body. Honestly, there aren't many Malifacts with that kind of power. I suspected it might be the Malifact from the day Fiona faked her death, which she returned to Mr. Williams, and he had it on him, affecting me."

Listening to Cedric, I suddenly remembered that the Malifact affecting him should be the Cancer Twin-Eared Cup!

"Why didn't you ask Mr. Williams?"

Cedric gave a wry smile. "It's better not to ask about such things."

I squinted at Cedric. I always felt he wasn't a good person, otherwise, why would he be somewhat afraid of Lorenzo?

Seeing me silent, he sighed. "Dennis, do you reckon I'm a bad egg?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, in my experience, folks who mess with Malifacts don't tend to be on the up-and-up."

I meant it. Even when Fiona faked her death to scam money, I thought she had turned bad. But seeing her at the clinic these past few months, I could tell her heart hadn't changed. Cedric didn't say another word, just stood up, waved, and left.

He and those four mysterious ghosts remained as enigmatic as ever.

I closed the door again and went back to bed.

Nothing else happened that night.

The next morning, after breakfast, I was just hanging out in the café, waiting for customers.

Around ten, Lorenzo and Alicia walked in.

I quickly got up to greet them. "Lorenzo, what brings you here?"

Lorenzo smiled and took a seat. "I haven't visited your café since you opened it. I've been feeling better lately, so I thought I'd drop by."

Alicia came up and scrutinized my face. "Is your nose okay?"

I was confused. "My nose?"

"Did Fiona hit you?"

Then it clicked. She was talking about the incident a few days ago when I fell on Fiona. I blushed. "It's fine."

"I think you wish something had happened!" Alicia snorted and went to make herself some coffee.

"Dennis, come, sit," Lorenzo called me over.

I sat across from him and asked about his health. After chatting for a bit, Lorenzo mentioned he wanted me to go to Majestic City with him in a few days. He said a shop there was hosting a small cultural exchange event related to astrology, and it would be a great learning opportunity.

I naturally agreed.

Lorenzo suggested I bring the Cancer Twin-Eared Cup, as it might come in handy.

Seeing his excited expression, I figured he wanted to show off a bit in front of his peers.

As we were chatting away, the sound of a car engine roaring outside caught our attention. We all turned to see a white Volkswagen CC parked right in front of the clinic.

In our little town, spotting a Volkswagen CC was a rare treat.

As the car stopped, nearby shop owners and passersby immediately started to watch.

"Who is that?" Alicia loved a bit of excitement, especially if it involved Fiona.

I followed Alicia outside and saw a young man step out of the car, wearing a white shirt, black pants, and black shoes, looking very proud.

He took a bouquet of flowers from the car and walked straight to the clinic's door, shouting loudly, "Fiona, be my girlfriend!"

Alicia and I almost choked. We never expected it to be a confession.

The people around started whispering.

"Wow, this guy is really something."

"Yeah, Fiona is the beauty of this street!"

"And he's handsome too, they make a good match!"

Fiona hadn't come out yet, and spurred on by the growing crowd, the young man persisted, shouting, "Fiona, this car's for you! Will you be my girlfriend?"

The crowd erupted into excitement. The unexpected gift of the car for Fiona was quite a bold move!

They all started to cheer, urging her to say yes to him.