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Chapter 240: The Fragility of Friendship
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 02:40:23 +0000 UTCThe next day.
Morning.
The signing event for Lord of the Mysteries IV: The Undying in Boston, organized by Random House, officially began.
Thanks to the accumulated popularity of the first three volumes, Lord of the Mysteries had gathered a large and dedicated fanbase across the United States. In a cultural hub like Boston, the number of devoted readers was especially high.
When Adam arrived at the venue, he was met with a long line of people eagerly waiting, each holding a copy of the new book. As soon as they saw him, the crowd stirred with excitement.
The most thrilled were the female fans who had arrived early to secure a spot at the front. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation, and many of them thought to themselves, This was totally worth it.
“It’s about to start.”
“You got here early.”
“Early? Please! Look at the girls up front—they got here way before us. I heard some of them lined up last night!”
As people in the middle of the line chatted, a red-haired girl near the front kept her eyes locked on the long-haired girl with glasses standing ahead of her.
The long-haired girl swayed awkwardly, occasionally glancing sideways at the red-haired girl’s furious expression before quickly looking away, avoiding eye contact altogether.
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The Night Before
The red-haired girl had been attending a book club when she heard the news—Adam was holding a signing event in Boston the next morning. She was beyond excited.
She was a hardcore fan of horror fiction. Stephen King’s works, the Cthulhu Mythos—she loved them all.
Two years ago, she had discovered Lord of the Mysteries and was immediately captivated by its story and characters. She became a die-hard fan.
Under normal circumstances, she should have been one of the first to know about Adam’s signing event.
But she’d been busy lately. Plus, the event had only been arranged last-minute due to Ross’s pressure, so there hadn’t been much advance promotion.
When she found out, she was completely shocked—first, at the fact that she, a devoted fan, had somehow missed such an important announcement; and second, at the sheer surprise and delight of the opportunity.
Anyone smart enough to get into Harvard wasn’t lacking in intelligence.
She had never been to a signing event before, but she knew that the closer you were to the front, the better your chances of chatting with the author. Those at the back? By then, the author would be exhausted—still polite, but definitely not in the mood for long conversations.
So, after the book club meeting, she rushed back to her dorm, grabbed some essentials, and headed straight to the venue, determined to be first in line.
But no matter how early you think you are, there’s always someone earlier.
When she arrived, several people were already ahead of her. A few guys—clearly experienced fans—had even come fully equipped with camping gear.
Her hopes of being first were dashed, but at least she made it into the top ten. That was still pretty good.
Once she got over her initial disappointment, she realized there was another benefit—everyone here was a hardcore Lord of the Mysteries fan. They were far better company than those shallow girls at the book club who only cared about the author’s looks.
Besides, those types wouldn’t have the dedication to camp out overnight. They were probably off partying with guys somewhere.
Since the night was long, talking about the book with like-minded fans seemed like a great way to pass the time.
She tapped the long-haired girl in front of her on the shoulder.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
The girl turned around, looking surprised and a little stiff, as if she hadn’t expected someone to talk to her.
“I’m Emily,” the red-haired girl said.
“I’m Amy,” the other girl replied.
“Oh?” Emily’s eyes lit up. “What a coincidence—our names are so similar!”
“Heh.”
Amy let out an awkward chuckle.
Emily’s smile froze.
There was something… off about Amy’s expression. Her smile looked unnatural, not at all like how a normal person would smile.
Could she be… something else?
It was nighttime—the perfect hour for supernatural creatures to roam.
Emily, a hardcore horror fan, immediately started imagining all kinds of terrifying scenarios. She shivered—not from fear, but from excitement.
“So, Amy,” Emily pressed on, her eyes gleaming with curiosity, “who’s your favorite Lord of the Mysteries character?”
“Uh… Klein?”
Amy sounded hesitant.
“Hm?”
Emily’s interest piqued. That kind of uncertain tone wasn’t something a true fan would use. If Amy wasn’t a hardcore fan, why was she camping out overnight for a book signing?
Suspicious.
The chances of Amy being a supernatural entity just went up.
Emily eagerly continued chatting with Amy, trying to learn more. Soon, she discovered that Amy had just started reading Lord of the Mysteries.
Emily was a little disappointed. It turned out Amy wasn’t some mysterious entity—just someone who wasn’t great at socializing.
She was probably here for the author’s looks.
Still, after learning that Amy was also a Harvard student and a member of a neighboring book club, the two gradually warmed up to each other.
To Emily’s surprise, they shared an interest in Geoffrey Chaucer, the English poet, and both were obsessed with quilting.
They bonded over Chaucer’s themes of gender equality and his praise of free and loyal love.
Of course, they also couldn’t resist criticizing his exposure of the corruption and debauchery of monks and the upper class—especially the unmentionable parts of his stories.
Like The Miller’s Tale.
Amy called it the most explicit thing she’d ever read. If she hadn’t skipped two grades and gone to college at sixteen—away from her mom—she doubted she’d have ever been allowed to read it.
Emily had obviously read it too. She giggled.
Especially when Amy, with a completely serious face, pointed out that kissing that eye from a hygiene perspective was incredibly unsanitary, making The Miller’s Tale truly dirty.
Emily nearly burst out laughing.
Between discussions on Chaucer and quilting techniques, the night passed quickly.
Everything was going well—until Emily discovered the real reason Amy was there.
“Hey, Amy! There you are! Thanks for holding our spots!”
“No problem.”
“Over here, guys! Amy saved our places!”
A whole group of book club members swarmed in, cutting ahead of Emily.
At first, she held back her frustration. But then more and more people arrived—one after another—until she was pushed from the top ten into the twenties. And the numbers kept growing.
She couldn’t take it anymore.
“We’re Amy’s friends,” they said smugly. “It’s not cutting in line.”
Emily turned to Amy.
Amy avoided eye contact.
“Sorry… they’re my friends.”
“See?” one of them sneered.
Emily was furious.
As time went on, more of Amy’s friends showed up and squeezed in. Emily was pushed further and further back until she was stuck in the middle of the line.
Any goodwill she had toward Amy was completely gone.
(End of Chapter)
