The Shepherds Are Dense

Chapter 99: The Secret of Silken Threads

Haina’s grave tone startled Aiwas, making him fear Sherlock had died early due to a butterfly effect. After clarifying, he learned Sherlock was only injured. Haina, unsure of details, said Sherlock called her, revealing he was alive but demanding secrecy, as he’d investigated the Sweater Brotherhood and discussed the alchemical bomb with her. He hung up abruptly without elaborating.Confused, Aiwas called Edward, who confirmed the attack occurred yesterday afternoon, likely by the Red Nobility Society, synchronized with their assault. Unlike Aiwas’s demon encounter, Sherlock’s apartment was bombed, not by an upper-tier demon. The amateurish bomber wasted most of the explosives’ power, collapsing the building but sparing Sherlock, thanks to Bishop Mathers’s aid. Edward, busy handling a knight’s arrest, spoke vaguely with others present, warning Aiwas not to visit Sherlock’s home, as he’s officially “dead” to lure the culprit, likely a relative. Sherlock was at Mathers’s, with Butler Oswald knowing the address. Aiwas decided to respect Sherlock’s plan and avoid interference.

He confirmed with Haina that she’d only told him and Director Kent about Sherlock’s survival, instructing her to keep it secret, suspecting the attacker’s identity was complex. Planning to visit “Madame Mina’s Divination Shop” tomorrow, where Sherlock was likely hiding, Aiwas would inquire further.

Haina, distracted, barely read. After Aiwas’s afternoon class, she escorted him and Lily home, then took Lily to the Bureau to select a secret text. Earlier, Lily privately asked Aiwas for guidance. He suggested an Adaptation path text, citing a prepared gift, but urged her to choose the one resonating most. Lily, trusting his intent, believed Adaptation suited her best.

Lily cherished Aiwas’s efforts. As a surname-less maid and illegitimate child, she was denied education, yet Aiwas secured her free university admission, good living conditions, and kind treatment, acting more like a friend. She knew his legs were fine—on the night of Secretary Ralph’s poisoning, Aiwas bathed alone, standing, revealing his shadow’s monstrous secret. When he later exposed Chloe, Lily wasn’t surprised, only saddened that he didn’t need her care, using it as a pretext for her education. Understanding his true aim, she dedicated herself to acting convincingly, crafting lies to maintain his facade. Though lacking talent in Dedication or Authority, she studied to repay him. Aiwas, seeing this, used a valuable reward to secure her a fitting text.

At the Bureau, Lily chose a grey, two-finger-thick yet weightless secret text, , feeling like a spiderweb. Director Kent, with his scarred, pirate-like appearance, warned it might vanish on rainy days unless weighed down with lead or steel. Lily, escorted by Haina, guarded it carefully back to Moriarty Manor. Finding Aiwas absent—likely with Yulia—she retreated to her room, feeling safest under her blankets, and opened the book.

matched its ethereal impression. Upon opening, grey-white whispers, like dusty spider silk, seeped into Lily’s mind through her eyes, skin, and senses, claiming to be “We,” born of the “Grey Celestial’s” creation, named “Spider Silk” in secret. It detailed sixty-seven secrets about Spider Silk, using fleeting, non-linguistic hallucinations. As Lily read, grey silk threads wove around her, cocooning the curled-up girl in a silent, grey cocoon on her bed.

(Chapter End)

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