9 COI

In the form of a corpse?

Lumian's heart sank upon hearing that.

If Reimund's body had left the loop due to the sacrifice, he wouldn't be able to revive through the loop. Once the abnormality in Cordu was resolved, he would truly be dead and not just missing.

Although Lumian wasn't willing to admit that a foolish chap like Reimund was his friend, they had known each other for almost five years. They had played together, pranked together, and experienced many things together. Regardless, he couldn't treat him as a stranger.

Recalling the past, he realized that other than Aurore, Reimund was probably the person he interacted with the most.

Didn't Aurore often say that the fools are the lucky ones? Why is this happening? Lumian couldn't help but retort, "Even if he became a corpse, there will still be a spirit. It will trigger the cycle."

Aurore sighed softly.

"Perhaps the entity receiving the sacrifice isn't interested in spirits and only wants flesh and blood? Perhaps He didn't want to trigger the loop and only wanted flesh and blood instead of Reimund's spirit, leaving him in Cordu or directly destroying him?"

In that case, Reimund's corpse was equivalent to pure matter without any spirituality. It could leave the loop without triggering a reboot.

Upon hearing his sister's retort, Lumian's mind instantly replayed what might have happened.

After everyone left the water, Reimund swam further away. Suddenly, an invisible force grabbed his legs, covered his mouth, and dragged him to the depths of the river, where he drowned.

After that, his spirit would remain at the bottom of the river or be destroyed. His corpse would drift to an unknown place and become a sacrifice…

At this thought, Lumian suddenly became inspired.

"Regardless of whether Reimund's spirit was left behind or destroyed, once the cycle restarts, he should appear in the form of a ghost."

"Logically speaking, that's correct." Aurore nodded thoughtfully. "After dark, I'll hold a psychic ritual and see if I can find Reimund's spirit. Yes, it's best if we have something he often uses as a medium."

Lumian replied without hesitation, "After exploring the castle in the afternoon, I'll go to Reimund's place. His parents are looking for me to ask about his whereabouts anyway."

When the time came, with his Hunter skills and Lumian's vigilance, it wouldn't be difficult for him to obtain an item that Reimund had used.

"Okay." Aurore didn't object.

Lumian exhaled and asked, "Aurore, uh, Grande Soeur, are you capable of channeling spirits?"

"As a Mystery Pryer, I possess knowledge on various subjects," Aurore chuckled in self-deprecation. "How did your conversation with the three foreigners go?"

Lumian quickly recounted his discussion with the enigmatic lady and his conversation with Ryan, Leah, and Valentine, but he avoided mentioning the entity's prayer.

Aurore listened attentively and let out a sigh.

"It's perilous to actively resist corruption, but it's the only way to explore the dream ruins, uncover their secrets, and find the key to break the cycle. It'll be a difficult journey for you…"

"What's so terrible about it?" Lumian patted his chest. "I'm saving myself."

Aurore nodded slightly.

"You can use my gray amber perfume. We have lilac at home, and I also have deer musk and candle-making ingredients. Only tulips need to be acquired elsewhere.

"I remember Madame Pualis has a garden, but I don't know if it's blooming."

"It has bloomed," Lumian affirmed with certainty.

During the last cycle, when he and Aurore visited the castle to borrow the carriage, they noticed that many flowers in the garden had already bloomed, which was unusual for early spring in the mountains.

Aurore acknowledged tersely.

"Regardless, you must explore the castle in the afternoon. You can pick a few flowers while you're at it. Will that woman send those items into the dream ruins for you?"

"Yes," Lumian replied, feeling confident in his assumption.

Aurore pondered for a moment before saying, "I'll give you the Integrity Brooch before you depart this afternoon. Madame Pualis' castle is filthy, and it might involve the undead. It could be very useful."

"It's not necessary. Keep it with you to protect yourself from Madame Pualis," Lumian insisted, anticipating his sister's objections. "Valentine is a fanatical believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun. According to you, as a Beyonder, he should have chosen the Sun pathway. He would be more useful than the Integrity Brooch."

Based on Aurore's observations over the past few years, fanatical believers of the Eternal Blazing Sun typically chose the Sun pathway.

This also made sense. Eternal Blazing Sun believers who chose the Sun pathway tended to become more and more fanatical unless they didn't believe in this true god from the beginning.

"That's true," Aurore conceded. "You can practice the simplest way to activate Spirit Vision. Afterward, take a nap at noon to replenish your energy. I'll teach you the ancient Hermes and Hermes words required for the ritual tonight."

Upon hearing his sister's words, Lumian suddenly recalled something she often said when she was rushing her manuscripts: "The schedule is tight, and the task is enormous."

...

At 3:20 PM, Lumian stood on the hillside overlooking the administrator's castle when he spotted Madame Pualis approaching the village with her lady's maid, Cathy. Madame Pualis wore a stunning grayish-blue dress that had a slight fluffiness to it, and her hair was tied back in an elegant bun.

As soon as they were out of sight, Lumian hurried to the back of the hill where Ryan, Leah, and Valentine were already waiting. They appeared to be in their original clothes, having made no preparations for what was to come.

Lumian was surprised to see that they were unarmed and asked, "You're not carrying any weapons?"

Ryan, who was only slightly taller than 1.7 meters, smiled and replied, "I don't need to carry a weapon with me."

Valentine, dressed in a white vest and a thin blue tweed coat, echoed Ryan's sentiment, "I don't need a weapon."

Leah, on the other hand, pulled out a small, exquisite, silver revolver from her Marseillan boots. "This is my weapon."

She flipped open the barrel to reveal different colored bullets engraved with various patterns and symbols. "They have different Beyonder effects."

Pa! Leah snapped the barrel shut and asked Lumian with a smile, "What weapon did you bring?"

One of you doesn't need a weapon, the other doesn't need to carry a weapon with him, and one has such a good-looking and powerful revolver. It makes me look silly… He lifted the dark jacket on his back to reveal an iron-black axe tucked into his belt.

Without waiting for Ryan and the others to speak, he sighed and said, "You all act like Beyonders, and I'm like a gangster preparing for a fight."

Leah chuckled, her bells tinkling along, "You have a talent for self-deprecation."

"It's better than being mocked by others," Lumian pointed to the steep hill behind them. "Let's climb up now. We can't waste any more time."

"Alright." Leah, in her tight dress, was the first to climb.

She moved with agility and her balance was exceptional. Using the grooves in the terrain, she ascended the hill with ease.

What was even more remarkable was that the four silver bells on her person remained motionless and silent.

...

Lumian followed closely behind, using the Hunter potion to strengthen his body and scaling the previously unclimbable hill with the help of rocks and tree roots, although he wasn't as carefree and nimble as his companion.

After regaining his balance, he glanced back and witnessed Ryan seizing Valentine's shoulder and hoisting him up.

In a swift motion, Ryan vaulted onto a jutting boulder amidst the hill.

Without hesitation, he sprang forward once more, delivering Valentine to Lumian and Leah's vicinity.

Throughout the entire endeavor, his physique appeared to have expanded in size.

This left Lumian in awe.

Although the hill wasn't high, it was still too exaggerated to be scaled with just two jumps.

Hunters definitely couldn't do it!

After snapping out of his daze, Lumian looked at the castle-shaped building with two towers and the surrounding garden. He suggested to the three foreigners, "We'll go around to the back door."

"Wait a moment." Ryan stopped him and glanced at Leah.

Leah remained silent and strode two steps towards the rear entrance of the castle-like structure.

...

Her lips moved soundlessly, muttering something under her breath.

In the next instant, the four small silver bells attached to her veil and boots jingled.

The sound was not deafening, but it was urgent and intense.

Leah pivoted and addressed Lumian and the rest, "It's a treacherous path. A grave problem, indeed."

With that, she took two steps towards the front entrance.

Ding, ding, ding. The bells continued to ring, growing even more insistent and pressing.

"We'll likely encounter significant trouble if we attempt to enter through the front," Leah's tone was severe, but there was a hint of a smile on her face.

"What if we climb in through a window?" Ryan inquired.

Leah nodded and altered course, making her way towards the garden.

This time, although the bells rang, they were faint and slow.

Leah grinned and exhaled, "This route is safe."

Lumian, who had observed the entire process, felt bewildered. He couldn't fathom what the three foreigners were up to.

Is this how Beyonders operate? He recollected his sister's teachings and queried, "Divining the danger?"

"Indeed." Leah nodded and turned to Valentine. "I'll scout ahead. Be prepared."

"Understood," Valentine responded gravely.

"What preparations?" Lumian asked, confused.

Leah chuckled. "Prepare to cast divine spells and conjure flames."

Then, what's the purpose of creating flames? Before Lumian could ask, Leah had strolled into the garden and headed towards the castle.

She arrived at a window and signaled that everything was clear.

"Let's go," Ryan informed the group as he hastened towards Leah.

Valentine and Lumian followed closely behind.

As they passed a bed of tulips, Lumian reached out to pluck one, but Ryan stopped him with his forearm.

He didn't ask Lumian why he was doing this and only said gently, "There's no hurry. We can pick flowers later. If picking it causes some incident, our mission will be compromised."

That's true… Lumian fully drew upon this experience.

Soon, they arrived at a row of windows on the side of the castle.

-x-X-x-

The administrator's official residence was originally the castle of the Dariège nobles, with defense being the top priority. The windows were narrow and high up, making the lighting poor even during the day. However, to make it suitable for living, the owner had installed many new glass windows on the ground floor later on.

Lumian peered through the patterned glass and saw that the banquet hall was empty and deserted.

"There are very few servants…" Leah sighed softly.

With many open windows during the day, fresh air mixed with the fragrance of flowers flowed in, creating excellent conditions for Lumian and the others to infiltrate.

Taking advantage of the lack of servants on the first floor, the four of them climbed into the hall one after another. However, they didn't rush to go deeper and instead found a hiding spot nearby.

Leah turned her head towards Valentine, who was clinging close behind an ornamental pillar, and said, "I'll scout ahead; make preparations."

"Okay," Valentine nodded coldly.

Lumian was squatting behind a stone platform with a porcelain vase. When he heard this, he stuck his head out and reminded them,

"There's no need to explore the first floor.

"It's often used to entertain guests, so there's nothing unusual."

Ever since Administrator Béost and Madame Pualis moved in, his sister Aurore would visit the castle occasionally as a guest or borrow a pony. A few times, Lumian took the opportunity to follow her and freeload on cakes, bread, and drinks.

When the administrator and Madame Pualis were out, he would occasionally look for Louis Lund, the butler, and tour the first floor with him.

"I'll head straight to the stairs," Leah said, understanding.

She didn't attempt to walk in a straight line through the empty banquet hall. Instead, she hugged the wall and circled around towards the stairs.

The four silver bells remained eerily silent.

As she passed by one of the rooms, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from very close to the door.

Lumian, in a prime position, even caught a glimpse of a male servant in a red shirt and white pants, about to collide head-on with Leah. She had no cover in sight!

Leah didn't panic. She turned around, placed her hand on the wall, and scaled the oil painting hanging two meters above the ground.

Then, she stood on her tiptoes and stepped onto the frame. She stood firmly with her back against the wall without letting the oil painting drop.

Lumian wanted to applaud because it reminded him of an acrobatic performance he had seen in Dariège last year at a circus.

The male servant left the room and instinctively looked around before walking towards the kitchen.

Just as he took a few steps forward, Leah slid soundlessly to the ground against the oil painting. Then, she rolled twice and hid behind a pillar. After the male servant disappeared from the banquet hall, she leaned against the wall again. Finally, she arrived at the staircase and confirmed that everything was clear.

Upon seeing this, Lumian darted out of the stone platform and ran over in a straight line.

He was so fast that he reached Leah in less than three seconds.

However, he wasn't the fastest. Ryan completed the journey in just the time it took to take one breath.

Valentine wasn't slow either. His physique was clearly stronger than ordinary people.

Without another word, Leah took the lead and the four of them hurriedly entered the stairs, arriving at the second floor of the residence.

There were closed rooms on both sides of the corridor, with two rooms having light shine in through the windows at the end of the corridor. The overall environment was abnormally dark.

Ryan suggested, surveying their surroundings.

"Let us split up and search different rooms. This will save time and make it easier to hide. However, we must remain no more than one room apart from each other, in case something happens and we cannot save each other in time."

Leah and the others nodded in agreement.

Lumian promptly approached the nearest room, pressing his ear to the door to listen for any movement inside. After a moment, he deftly turned the handle and slipped inside.

The room belonged to a maid.

He searched for a while, but found no clues. He moved on to the next room.

In this way, the four of them carefully avoided the servants and explored most of the second floor.

Towards the end of their search, Lumian arrived at the door of the room that had traumatized him: Louis Lund's bedroom!

According to the historical sequence of events, this butler should have given birth yesterday.

His stomach had been torn open and, even with sutures, he would not recover quickly. He must be recuperating in bed… Lumian thought to himself, contemplating whether to push the door open and have a "chat" with Louis Lund.

As someone who had personally experienced bizarre phenomena, this male butler undoubtedly knew a great deal.

However, this would contradict their principle of observation and exploration. Lumian couldn't guarantee that Louis Lund wouldn't reveal his presence to Madame Pualis.

The fact that he had given birth to the other party's child meant there were no secrets between them.

Silencing him would only confirm Madame Pualis's suspicions.

What a pity. If only I knew something about hypnosis… Lumian sighed inwardly. He habitually pressed his ear to the door, listening for any sound.

Nothing.

As a Hunter, Lumian's hearing was acute enough to detect breathing from two to three meters away even with a barrier in between.

No one? Louis Lund has just given birth. Where can he go? Lumian turned the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open, peering inside.

The room was clean and free of the bloodstains he had seen before. Louis Lund was nowhere to be found.

Lumian furrowed his brow and stepped inside.

The signs of a recent human presence were evident: a blanket rumpled on the bed, a cigarette butt on the nightstand, a black coat hung on the chair, and faint footprints on the floor. In addition, there were blood stains on the edge of the bed that had not been cleaned.

Apart from this, Lumian also saw some blood stains that hadn't been wiped off from the edge of the bed.

Lumian nodded to himself. He had indeed given birth here yesterday…

Suddenly, faint voices outside the window caught his attention.

He hurried to the glass window, turned his body, and peered out.

In the stables, Louis Lund—black-haired, blue-eyed, and dressed in a white shirt, black suit, dark pants, and leather shoes—conversed with the carriage driver, Sewell, who had sent the siblings to Paramita.

...

Lumian was taken aback by Louis Lund's healthy and steady appearance.

Is this the person who had just given birth yesterday?

And it was a C-section!

Lumian suppressed the shock in his heart and listened carefully to what Louis Lund and Sewell were saying.

Unexpectedly, these two fellows were only exchanging experiences in gardening.

"What's the matter?" With Lumian inside the room for so long, Ryan, donning a dark bowler hat, pushed open the door and entered the room followed by Leah and Valentine.

Lumian quickly filled them in on Louis Lund's situation.

Ryan pondered for a moment before asking, "Have you heard of Earth Mother?"

The Dariège region had a border with the Feynapotter kingdom. Shepherds often went there. Coupled with his sister's basic education, Lumian was no stranger to this.

"Yes, the deity that Feynapotter believes in."

Ryan nodded and said, "Earth Mother is associated with fertility, healing, and life. These domains are reflected in the Beyonder powers of the corresponding pathway. While I'm not saying that Louis Lund's situation is related to the Earth Mother, it's possible that his ability to give birth and quick recovery are linked to these domains."

...

"Is that so…" Lumian found this plausible after some thought.

After all, men were already capable of giving birth. What was so strange about them being out and about after a C-section?

"Did you find anything?" Lumian asked Ryan and the others.

Ryan shook his head.

"They were all normal servant's quarters. We may have to check the third floor."

Lumian felt a sense of unease wash over him.

Madame Pualis and Administrator Béost's quarters comprised a bedroom, study, solarium, and activity room, all located on the third floor.

This posed a significant risk.

"Very well," Ryan replied without hesitation.

The four of them proceeded to sneak up to the third floor.

Many of the doors were ajar, and the corridor was brightly lit.

Lumian made a beeline for the bedroom, which was adorned with a light-colored velvet blanket on the bed, a small bookshelf stocked with bedtime reading materials, a capacious cloakroom brimming with a variety of clothes, a safe containing precious collections, a set of plush beige sofas, a table displaying five photo frames and documents, and a fluffy white carpet covering the entire room…

Lumian and company surveyed the room and simultaneously headed towards the table.

The books on the table were mostly popular novels, including Fors Wall's masterpiece, "The Adventurer 5: Vice Admiral Ailment," and Aurore's latest work, "The Substitute Detective." The documents pertained mainly to various matters in the Dariège area. As for the five photos displayed in the frames, four were of Madame Pualis, and one belonged to a man Lumian did not recognize.

"No photo of the administrator?" he exclaimed, surprised.

Madame Pualis was the sole subject of the four photos, each depicting her in different clothing and poses. The male photo was not of Administrator Béost, who, after all, was the male owner of the house. Wasn't this peculiar?

Leah nodded thoughtfully.

"Perhaps the administrator's status in this family is akin to that of a butler. Have you ever seen a butler's photograph displayed in someone's home?"

"Then who is this man?" Lumian inquired, pointing to the photo frame on the side.

The frame contained a color photograph of a man in his late twenties. He was wearing a red shirt, a black velvet coat, and dark pants with tassels. He sported a pair of short lace-up boots and was dressed very fashionably.

He bore a striking resemblance to Madame Pualis, with light eyebrows, bright brown eyes, and brown hair parted in an exaggerated 7-3 style. His lips were curled up, giving him the air of a hooligan who frequented high society.

All in all, this man's facial features were not extraordinary, but they were pleasing to the eye.

"Madame Pualis's brother?" Lumian hazarded a guess based on his appearance.

-x-X-x-

Leah gazed at the man in the photo, lost in thought.

"After receiving the request for help, we set off two days later to gather relevant information," she said.

"Madame Pualis's full name is Pualis de Roquefort, isn't it?" she paused for a moment before continuing, "We investigated the Roquefort family in Dariège and found no trace of Pualis."

In Intis, a woman could choose to keep her maiden name after getting married. If there was a "de" in her name, it meant that she was once a noble. The Intis meaning of "de" was "from," and the surname behind it was the fiefdom of the time.

"None?" Lumian was surprised. He knew something was wrong with Madame Pualis, but he didn't expect her identity to be fake!

Ryan nodded. "In Dariège, Roquefort is a large family with many members, including a provincial senator. We were in a hurry and didn't have time to conduct a more detailed investigation. We could only confirm that there was no such person as Pualis, but a man named Pulitt had been missing for over a year."

"Pulitt?" Lumian asked. "What's his relationship with Madame Pualis? They look alike."

Ryan shook his head. "Without enough information, it's impossible to make a guess. What we do know is that Pulitt de Roquefort was a popular dandy in Trier, and he had many illegitimate children. Many people hated and detested him. Perhaps this is why he had no choice but to leave or was forced to leave Dariège."

"Dandyism?" Lumian was unfamiliar with the term.

Aurore subscribed to magazines and newspapers targeted towards women or focused on national affairs. There were some materials on the supernatural, but none involved male matters.

Leah chuckled. "To put it simply, it's a casanova who dresses fashionably, speaks elegantly, and acts freely."

Lumian sighed and mocked, "The people of Trier sure know how to live life. They package their affairs as a thought, a doctrine, and a trend."

When it came to cheating, Triers were at the forefront. The padre? In front of the Triers, he was still a child.

...

"In the past year, Trier has constructed numerous arcades," Aurore remarked while sipping her marquis black tea, regaling Madame Pualis, Nazélie and the others with the latest trends from her two-story subterranean abode.

"What's an arcade? It's a covered street with glass roofing and marble flooring. Elegant and stunning shops line both sides. During the day, light filters in from above, and at night, gas lamps illuminate the area. Carriages are prohibited from entering. The most renowned arcade is called the Opera House arcade…"

Madame Pualis, holding a white porcelain cup filled with black tea, watched Aurore with her bright brown eyes, listening intently with a smile.

"That sounds like something I must see…" Nazélie sighed, imagining the elegance, fashion, cleanliness and brightness of the arcade.

Aurore's knowledge of the latest Intis trends was the primary reason why they had accepted the afternoon tea invitation.

After chatting for a while, the discussion turned to Aurore's work and relationships.

"Love is just so unfathomable and elusive…" Madame Pualis mused aloud.

So, this is why you fall in love with so many men at the same time? Aurore couldn't help but inwardly criticize.

Madame Pualis gazed at her with a faint smile and sighed.

"Sometimes, I get so angry because of his mistakes. I wish I could kill him and send him to his death, but when he's actually facing death, I can't help but save him and refuse to tell him. Perhaps, this is love…"

...

In the master's bedroom of the administrator's residence.

"Madame Pualis may have once fallen in love with Pulitt, a believer in Dandyism, and engaged in a forbidden relationship, resulting in her disavowal by her family. She then had to marry someone and use her family's connections to secure the administrative position in Cordu for him." Lumian deduced this based on the stories and troupes written by his sister.

This explained why Administrator Béost's standing in the family was relatively low.

"Perhaps," Ryan replied simply, "Keep searching, but don't attempt to open the safe or anything that may trigger an alarm."

Lumian and his companions dispersed immediately and searched elsewhere.

Despite the Hunter's ability to observe subtle traces, Lumian still found nothing.

The same was true for Leah and the others.

They had no choice but to move to the study and search patiently.

As time passed, the four of them arrived at the end of the corridor, where a closed room stood opposite an open solarium. Beside it was a staircase leading to one of the towers.

Ryan, who had finished searching the solarium, turned to Leah.

Leah touched the small silver bell hanging from her veil, mumbling to herself as she walked towards the tightly shut wooden door.

This time, the four bells did not ring.

Leah heaved a sigh of relief and gently pushed the wooden door open.

It was an empty room with a rocking crib in the middle.

The crib was made of brown wood and installed inside a wooden frame. It was covered in clean but slightly worn cotton swaddling cloth that showed its age. The crib was empty.

This was the nursery where Madame Pualis's two children had once slept. Apart from the bed, there were no toys in the room. Scattered on the ground were wheat, barley, rice, rye, wheat, and other plants, making it look rather strange.

Furthermore, these plants were well-preserved, as if they had only been brought in a few days ago.

Valentine's body glowed as he entered the room and circled around.

Soon, he returned to the door and shook his head at Ryan and Leah.

"There's no evil aura."

"Alright." Leah looked at Lumian. "Shall we head to the tower next?"

Lumian had always been curious about the castle's two towers. He never expected to have a chance to "visit" them today.

Valentine left the strange nursery. Ryan grabbed the handle and planned to close the wooden door and restore it to its original state.

At this moment, Lumian's gaze drifted inside.

The brown wooden crib swayed gently, yet the tightly shut windows of the room and the solarium opposite, with their floor-to-ceiling panes, allowed no breeze to enter the corridor!

"Wh…" Lumian's pupils dilated.

Leah noticed his distress and turned to look.

The crib continued to sway, as though an invisible baby lay within its swaddling cloths.

Leah raised her hand to her glabella, as if trying to ease her tired eyes.

...

She readied herself to activate her Spirit Vision and see what lay inside the crib.

Suddenly, the four small silver bells on her veil and boots jingled, as if they were about to burst!

Ryan's face froze as he yelled, "Get out of here!"

With that, he dashed into the solarium, crashing through the floor-to-ceiling windows in an attempt to create a path of escape from the castle.

Bang!

A loud thud echoed throughout the room as Ryan hit the windows, yet there was no sound of glass shattering.

The transparent faces of young children appeared on the row of windows, some of them mere infants with pale, inexplicably terrifying faces.

As Ryan 'bumped' into them, they opened their mouths in unison and let out a haunting wail.

Their cries echoed through the third floor of the castle, casting an eerie gloom over the entire area. The walls and glass were adorned with the translucent faces of children, some wailing while others stared blankly at Lumian, Leah, Valentine, and Ryan.

Lumian shuddered with fear as he felt their cold gazes upon him.

Suddenly, Valentine's body was engulfed in a dark golden light, which quickly spread to envelop Lumian, Leah, and himself.

...

A warm sensation spread throughout Lumian's body, dispelling his fear and filling him with courage. He drew his iron-black axe with newfound confidence.

Meanwhile, Ryan seemed to grow taller and more imposing.

Dawn-like rays of light surrounded him, coalescing into a silver-white full-body armor and a massive broadsword of light.

With a mighty swing, Ryan cleaved at the floor-to-ceiling windows, dispersing the pale-white faces of the children into smoke as they screamed.

But the glass didn't break, and more faces appeared, their shrill cries tormenting Lumian and his companions.

"Who dares to trespass the castle?"

A woman's voice boomed, echoing through the halls.

Almost immediately, Lumian spotted a figure on the other side of the corridor, standing on the second floor.

She was a middle-aged woman with brown hair and eyes. She was rather good-looking without any wrinkles. She was the midwife who had helped Louis Lund's "delivery."

In her hand, she held a pair of enormous scissors that could decapitate a human while donning a grayish-white gown. It was as if she had just returned from pruning a branch in the garden.

She glared at Lumian and his companions and spoke in a deep, threatening voice.

"You deserve to die!"

...

In the subterranean two-story abode, Madame Pualis jolted suddenly, and her countenance altered.

She delicately placed the porcelain teacup on the table and smiled at Aurore.

"My apologies. I've just recollected an urgent matter that requires my immediate attention at home."

"Huh?" Aurore was shocked.

Pualis rose from her seat, her expression filled with regret.

"I had intended to stay and discuss your work and its beautiful and poignant portrayal of love."

Aurore responded quickly, "Please, you're more than welcomed."

"I cannot, unfortunately." Madame Pualis shook her head. "It concerns my children."

-x-X-x-

Valentine caught sight of the woman in the grayish-white dress. His eyes brimmed with hatred as he stretched his arms out as if embracing the sun.

A blinding pillar of light descended from the sky and struck the target clutching the enormous scissors.

The surroundings burst into light in an instant. The transparent faces on the walls and glass vanished before they could even scream.

The woman's body had clearly caught fire and was evaporating, but then it suddenly vanished.

Lumian found this scene eerily familiar. The mouth-orifice monster had displayed similar behavior when he was hunting it.

Invisibility!

The woman might not have concealed herself, but she certainly wasn't dead. Thus, Lumian didn't feel any relief. Instead, he approached Ryan, who now towered over him.

Ryan, covered in silver armor and wielding a broadsword of light, was the person Lumian trusted the most among those present.

It was evident that Ryan excelled at combat!

Leah stood there when suddenly, the face of a pale child emerged on the wall behind her, transforming into the woman in the grayish-white dress.

The woman's enormous scissors clamped down on Leah's neck.

Crack!

Leah's head drooped, but no blood spurted forth. Her body and head swiftly shriveled and thinned, transforming into a ragged, paper effigy that softly settled onto the ground.

Not far away, her silhouette donning a pleated cashmere dress outlined itself.

With a clang, Ryan, his face concealed by a silver visor, hoisted the Sword of Dawn and strode towards the spot where Leah had stood, sweeping the weapon diagonally at the woman.

The woman brandished her scissors in an attempt to block the attack, but was pushed back into the wall by the force of the blow.

Her form vanished once again.

As Valentine, clad in a thin blue tweed jacket, stood with his back turned, the woman suddenly replaced the swollen and pallid visage.

She leaned out and struck the nape of Valentine's neck.

"Look out!" Leah cried out as soon as she spotted the woman, alerting her companion.

Valentine snorted and crossed his arms.

Golden, illusory flames burst forth from the void surrounding him, intertwining and transforming the corridor into an ocean pulsating with the radiance of the sun.

The woman winced in agony as her body was consumed by the intense flames.

She retreated back into the "interior" of the walls, reverting to the swollen, pallid face.

The translucent face melted instantly into wisps of black gas within the golden, illusory flames before dissipating.

Clang!

Ryan's Sword of Dawn struck the same spot again, causing the entire castle to tremble.

Despite his efforts, he was still a step too late to stop the woman.

Lumian quickly grasped the gravity of the situation. The woman who had delivered Louis Lund was linked to the transparent faces of children on the wall and glass. Not only could she transform into one of them, but she could also transform into a ghost form, evading attacks and deflecting damage.

In other words, she could attack from any wall or glass on the third floor of the castle at any given time, and Ryan and the others' counterattacks were ineffective.

With this realization, Lumian immediately distanced himself from the floor-to-ceiling windows and the surrounding walls, and walked to the middle of the solarium.

At that moment, ghostly faces appeared on the ground and ceiling.

The woman suddenly emerged from behind Lumian's feet and quickly reached for his thigh with the pair of scissors.

Lumian's heart raced with a sense of danger.

Without bothering to confirm where the attack was coming from, he jumped into the air and dodged to the side.

Despite his efforts, he was still half a beat too slow. A deep gash was left on the lower part of his thigh, and blood instantly gushed out.

As soon as the drops of blood landed on the ground, the woman—who had switched spots—pointed at them and they condensed into a thin blood-colored figure.

Without any hesitation, the blood-colored figure turned to Lumian, who had rolled to the recliner, and pounced at him,

feeding on his blood and growing stronger with each drop.

At the same time, Lumian endured intense pain and felt his blood running out of control.

Almost instantly, Ryan jumped in.

In midair, he raised the broadsword of light high and slashed at the blood-colored figure, pinning it to the ground and shattering it with the transparent faces around him.

Leah had somersaulted to Lumian's side and pressed her right hand on his thigh wound.

To Lumian's surprise, the wound magically moved along with Leah's right palm, all the way down to the side of his calf, which wasn't rich in blood vessels.

The bleeding immediately decreased.

The woman suddenly appeared from the ceiling. Her brown eyes burned with a blazing life.

The blood dripping from Lumian's calf was ignited, producing a bright flame that resembled the spring sun. It quickly spread deep into the wound and into the blood vessels in his body.

At that moment, Lumian felt his life rapidly draining away.

With a pop, Ryan stabbed the two-handed broadsword condensed from light into the ground.

Around him, in the area where Lumian and Leah were, rays of dawn-like light appeared, filling all space.

In the morning light, the remaining blood-colored figures quickly melted, and the bright and beautiful flames on Lumian's calf quickly extinguished.

The second of burning had sealed his wounds together, stopping the bleeding.

Ryan pulled out his broadsword and bellowed in a deep, commanding voice, "This environment is unsuitable. We must depart at once!"

What he really meant was that the woman was not as powerful as she appeared. She was almost invincible and impossible to target due to the unique conditions on the third floor of the castle that greatly enhanced her abilities.

...

Without waiting for his companions to react, Ryan charged after the woman.

Although he was still slightly slower than his opponent, who could move with the aid of translucent faces, he spared no effort and attacked with powerful slashes, diagonal cuts, and stabs. He forced his adversary into a constant state of motion, forcing her to constantly shift positions after each attack.

Together with the holy light summoned by Valentine and the golden flames he conjured, the two of them managed to temporarily subdue the woman, thus preventing Leah and Lumian from being harmed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Leah leapt onto the armchair and dashed back and forth across the sofa, tables, recliners, and ornaments, making sure to avoid touching the ground.

Throughout this process, the silver bells on her veil and boots chimed incessantly, sometimes melodious and sometimes grating.

Lumian no longer felt safe on the ground. He climbed onto the table and scanned the ceiling above and the floor below, analyzing Leah's movements.

Drawing from his previous experience, he deduced the route the woman was attempting to use to escape.

Soon, Leah ceased her acrobatic maneuvers.

"To the tower, quickly!"

Just as she finished speaking, the woman thrust her head out of the ceiling and barked in a stern voice, "You damned bastards!"

Each word was enunciated with precision, causing Lumian and his companions' hearts to race, their heads to spin, and their vision to blur. It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

...

Valentine endured the discomfort and stretched his arms out once more.

A brilliant and pristine light flooded the ceiling.

"Let's move!" Ryan commanded.

Lumian immediately leaped off the table, enduring the pain in his calf. Stepping on the transparent faces, he raced towards the tower, with Leah and Valentine close behind. Only Ryan, covered in silver armor, wasn't in a rush to escape. He lifted the Sword of Dawn and sliced the woman who had poked her head out, preventing her from stopping his companions from fleeing.

After Leah and the others ascended the stairs leading to the tower, he turned around and gave chase with a leap.

A woman emerged from a transparent face on the side wall and let out a piercing scream.

Accompanied by the scream, a layer of black, malevolent flames ignited on the surface of Ryan's silver armor.

Ryan immediately felt his stamina rapidly depleting.

Without hesitation, he deactivated the Dawn Armor.

Spots of light resembling the morning sun scattered in all directions, along with the black flames, and dissipated into the air.

Holding the broadsword of light, Ryan took the opportunity to leap and depart from the castle's third floor, entering the stairs.

At this moment, Lumian, aware that he was a little weak and unable to make use of the environment, ran in second place. Ahead of him was Leah, whose silver bell was ringing softly.

Leah suddenly came to a halt.

Lumian hastily slowed down as he heard chattering.

He then looked ahead and was taken aback.

The tower was not large, and it could even be considered small. There were stairs leading to various firing ports.

The walls were densely packed with children.

They were dressed in different clothes. Some appeared to have just been born, while others were three or four years old. Their limbs resembled bird claws with unnaturally sharp tips.

Using their "bird claws," these children were like birds in a forest, perching on the wall and occupying most of the area.

Lumian's scalp tingled as he saw over a hundred human children's faces, bodies, and wicked, sharp bird claws combined with an abnormal perching method. He once again felt as though his mind, eyes, and soul had been corrupted, just as when he had witnessed Louis Lund give birth.

The "children" had not yet noticed the intrusion. A small number of them were happily discussing different topics.

"The sky is so blue out there."

"I want to go outside."

"No way."

"Mummy said we have to be able to retract our claws and be like normal humans before we can go out…"

At that moment, Ryan caught up to the three of them and said urgently, "Stay away!"

He then turned around and barricaded the entrance of the tower like a giant, holding the Sword of Dawn in his hand.

Leah and Valentine didn't inquire why. They ran frantically and found stairs and other obstacles to hide behind. Although Lumian didn't comprehend, his survival instincts told him to follow orders.

"All of you, come down here!"

The woman's sharp voice reverberated.

Each word drilled into Lumian and his companions' ears, weakening them simultaneously.

Immediately afterwards, the woman in the grayish-white dress appeared at the corner of the staircase. The entire tower was filled with the aura of life, and no pale faces were visible.

-x-X-x-

Upon seeing that Ryan was blocking the entrance of the tower with the Sword of Dawn, the woman in the grayish-white dress felt a sense of foreboding.

She swiftly turned the enormous scissors around, clamped them around her neck, and pulled gently.

A vivid red stream of blood gushed out immediately, accompanied by her sharp cry. The blood flowed in every direction as if it had a life of its own, enveloping her entire body.

It was as though the woman had adorned herself with blood-colored full-body armor.

Meanwhile, Ryan held the Sword of Dawn in reverse with both hands and genuflected.

With a pop, he stabbed the two-handed broadsword, which had condensed from light, into the stone floor in front of him.

The broadsword disintegrated, transforming into specks of light that resembled the morning sun.

They were densely packed and innumerable, forming a flickering and violent hurricane that swept forward.

Wherever the Hurricane of Light passed, the stone floor was shaved thin. Some of the steps were flattened, and exaggerated cracks appeared. The woman was completely engulfed before she could dodge.

The blood-colored armor on her body lasted for a second before completely shattering and melting into the light.

This time, she had left the special environment on the third floor and was in a place filled with life force. She could no longer use the pale and transparent faces to shift position. She could only watch as tiny blood-colored cracks appeared on her body.

The cracks expanded rapidly and instantly turned into a hideous wound that cut through the woman.

As her screams reverberated, her body crumbled into pieces of flesh. The pieces of flesh and her spirit were still being ravaged by the storm of light until the hurricane subsided. The flesh was ground, and the spirit dissipated.

Although Ryan tried his best to prevent the Hurricane of Light from implicating the others, he was still too weak to control it. He destroyed a large swath of the walls on the side and the stairs behind him. If Lumian, Leah, and Valentine hadn't found cover in advance, they would have more or less been injured.

"Waa! Waa! Waa!"

The bird-clawed children who were climbing the wall were frightened and cried out.

Lumian and the others' ears buzzed as if they had suffered a noise attack.

"Let's go!" Ryan turned around and slammed into the most damaged wall nearby.

Crash! The wall shattered, and a large number of rocks fell.

A huge hole that humans could crawl through appeared.

When Valentine and Lumian ran over, Ryan grabbed each of them with one hand and jumped from a height of more than ten meters to a tree outside the castle.

Bam! In midair, he kicked the tree and flew diagonally away from the castle.

Leah descended on her own, using the protrusion of the castle's outer walls to descend rapidly, landing on the ground in a breath or two.

Ryan, Lumian, and Valentine waited for Leah for a few seconds as the trees shook violently. After meeting up with her, they ran to the back of the hill and left before the other servants caught up.

...

In less than a minute, Madame Pualis stood expressionless beside the ruptured hole at the entrance of the tower, wearing a grayish-blue fluffy dress.

The children crawling on the walls quickly accused the outsiders of being barbaric and cruel, calling out for their mother.

Madame Pualis, with an ashen face, remained silent.

...

In the forest beside Cordu Village.

Lumian and his companions stopped and looked back at the castle.

Leah was about to speak when she frowned and said, "I hear a baby crying, it's very close!" She turned to Ryan and the others and asked, "Can you hear it?"

Lumian was startled and listened carefully, vaguely hearing the sound of a baby crying, but it was not as close as Leah had described, in fact, it sounded distant.

"I can hear it a little," Ryan answered truthfully.

Valentine's expression changed as if he had thought of something.

At the same time, Leah's face twisted in pain, and she instinctively pressed a hand to her abdomen, where there was a distinct swelling and squirming.

Valentine quickly went over to Leah and placed his hand on her head, saying a word in ancient Hermes that Lumian had just learned, "Sun!"

Golden translucent liquid drops condensed out of thin air and sprinkled over Leah's body.

Illusory black smoke immediately rose from Leah's body, and her expression alternated between distortion and normalcy.

Finally, her abdomen returned to its original state and stopped squirming.

"Phew…" Leah breathed a sigh of relief. "I narrowly avoided becoming a monster's mother. Luckily, we took care of it in time before it could take root."

She wore a smile on her face, unfazed by the bizarre and terrifying experience.

Leah turned to Lumian, Ryan, and Valentine.

"Would you like to purify yourselves with holy water? I worry that you may unknowingly become mothers."

"Yes!" Lumian agreed immediately, but Valentine approached Ryan first. Placing his hand on Ryan's head, he uttered the ancient Hermes word, "Sun!" Holy water formed and sprinkled down, but nothing unusual happened to Ryan.

Valentine purified himself next, and no black smoke appeared.

He then walked over to Lumian and placed his hand on the hunter's head. "Sun!" he repeated, and droplets of translucent liquid fell. Lumian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if a snake were burrowing inside. Each time it moved, Lumian's heart raced or slowed down, causing extreme discomfort.

In the next moment, Lumian heard the mysterious voice that seemed to come from an infinite distance but also sounded close by.

It wasn't as clear as in his dream, so it prevented him from entering a near-death state.

Just as Lumian couldn't take it anymore, Valentine stopped the purification and nodded coldly.

"There's nothing wrong with you either."

Phew… Lumian breathed a silent sigh of relief, feeling as though he had been pulled back from the brink of death.

At that moment, he roughly understood what had just happened.

According to the mysterious lady, he was severely corrupted by a certain hidden evil god. He could only maintain his normal state by relying on the timely seal of that great existence.

...

Accepting the purification of holy water was like a devil embracing holy light—he was bound to experience problems.

In other words, he was an evil god pollutant that needed to be purified!

Thankfully, thankfully. If Valentine had kept going or had been a little stronger, I would've exposed my abnormality even with the seal of that great existence… I can't undergo purification in the future. I won't even be able to find someone to exorcise the evil. I'm the evil that needs to be exorcized… Lumian rejoiced and didn't let the remnant pain appear on his face.

Upon realizing that his companions had been cleansed and all risks had been eliminated, Ryan promptly suggested, "If we make our way to the edge of the village now, we'll activate the loop. In the event that Madame Pualis discovers a clue and catches up with us, we can attempt to flee and restart the cycle."

Noticing Valentine's perplexed expression, Ryan added, "I'm concerned that if we die once during a cycle, there may be repercussions once the loop is lifted. Therefore, it's best not to perish at this moment."

"Understood," Leah agreed before Valentine could interject with any radical ideas.

Observing that his two companions had arrived at the same conclusion, Valentine simply nodded.

At that moment, Lumian glanced at them before waving his hand and declaring, "You guys go on ahead. I'm going home!"

Ryan furrowed his brow in confusion and asked, "Aren't you worried that Madame Pualis might come after you?"

Lumian grinned and replied, "I'm not like you. As soon as I entered the tower, I was attempting to avoid the monster children's gaze. They didn't spot me, and the midwife who saw me was killed by you. It seems that even channeling spirits is ineffective. How could Madame Pualis have suspected that a powerful infiltration team like yours had an ordinary person like me with them?"

"Think about it. Prior to your arrival in Cordu, no one had attempted to infiltrate the castle. The moment you arrived, something immediately occurred. Who else could be suspected but you guys?"

...

"If I escape with you, I'll be dragged down with you!"

Ryan, Leah, and Valentine were left speechless.

This was clearly an operation concocted by Lumian. Why did it appear as though he had nothing to do with it in the end?

Were they going to shoulder all the blame?

"Goodbye! If Madame Pualis doesn't dare to confront official Beyonders like you and the cycle isn't restarted, I'll see you at Ol' Tavern tomorrow!" Lumian waved his hand and dashed towards the edge of the forest, reminding them, "Take care, my cabbages!"

Once he exited the forest, Lumian's expression became serious.

The explanation he provided for not escaping with Ryan and the others wasn't the only reason. It was more of an excuse.

His primary objective was to return home immediately and rendezvous with Aurore.

As soon as Aurore invited Madame Pualis for afternoon tea, someone snuck into the castle, and they were the prime suspects.

Lumian had to inform his sister that if Madame Pualis came to interrogate and silence her, she should sell out the three foreigners and agree to Madame Pualis's imprisonment. She could discover and dangle a valuable secret to delay Madame Pualis for a while, preventing her from executing anyone on the spot.

Only by staying alive would there be a chance!

Even in the loop, Lumian couldn't afford to die easily in case something catastrophic occurred once the loop ended!

Furthermore, once Madame Pualis caught up with Leah and the others, if she emerged victorious, one of Ryan and the other two would trigger the loop and erase their memories. If she lost, what was there to be concerned about?

Lumian gritted his teeth and ran home through the village road, enduring the pain in his calf.

Upon seeing Aurore standing at the door, appearing completely unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is everything all right?"

"Is everything all right?"

The siblings both inquired simultaneously.

-x-X-x-

In response to his sister's concern, Lumian shook his head and declared, "I'm fine."

He surveyed his surroundings and suggested, "Let us talk inside."

Upon reaching the stove, he briefly narrated his expedition with Ryan and the others. Lumian then advised his sister that if Madame Pualis were to attack them, she must surrender and betray the three foreigners without hesitation.

Considering the phenomena he had encountered in the castle, Lumian believed that the siblings could not defeat Madame Pualis. They were not even capable of handling the midwife.

Aurore listened attentively and couldn't help but chuckle.

"From a logical standpoint, your tactics are indeed the best, but why do I find it peculiar? It is as though I have become the villain in a story. Furthermore, I am not the principal antagonist—the charismatic kind."

"What is important is the consequence," Lumian stressed to his sister. "In your own words, one must endure the humiliation, bear the heavy burden, preserve the useful body, and wait for it to prove its worth in the future."

Aurore couldn't help but rub her forehead. "Have I taught you too many strange things?"

"Yes," Lumian earnestly nodded.

Aurore rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I understand. I will not confront Madame Pualis until the most crucial moment. When Madame Pualis noticed that the alarm had been triggered and attempted to leave, I did not stop her. I merely expressed reluctance and conversed with her for an additional minute. Right, please elaborate on the specifics of your exploration."

She seated herself at the dining table and listened intently, just in case Madame Pualis were to interrogate her in anger.

Lumian pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the dining table and expounded on the expedition's accomplishments and battle process.

As Aurore listened, her expression gradually became somewhat peculiar.

"What is the matter?" Lumian noticed his sister's abnormality.

After considerable deliberation, Aurore inquired with a strange expression, "There is a portrait of a man in Madame Pualis' bedroom, and he resembles her. It's suspected that he is her brother?"

"Yes, the three foreigners speculated that he might be a missing member of the Roquefort family named Pulitt," Lumian recounted Ryan and the others' statements, including Dandyism and the vast number of illegitimate children.

He added, "According to the three foreigners' investigation, there is no such person as Pualis in the Roquefort family."

Aurore nodded and exhaled.

"Then I am quite sure that my guess is correct."

Her expression remained peculiar, only growing more pronounced.

"What guess?" Lumian asked, perplexed.

Aurore gave him a sidelong glance before replying, "Perhaps Madame Pualis is actually Pulitt."

"What? That's absurd!" Lumian exclaimed. "One is a man, the other a woman, and Madame Pualis had two children!"

"Who's to say she gave birth to them herself? Maybe the administrator did it for her," Aurore countered, a sneer curling her lip. "And even if they are Madame Pualis's children, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. In the world of mysticism, anything is possible. Consider this: if Louis Lund can give birth to a man, then why can't Pulitt become a woman?"

"That may be true, but…" Lumian was still unconvinced.

Aurore gave him a sly smile.

"The reason I dare to make such a guess, unlike the three foreigners, is because I've heard something. Or rather, I've witnessed something."

"Do you remember which pathway neighbors the Hunter pathway?"

"Assassin," Lumian replied without hesitation.

He had been drawn to the name, which was undoubtedly cooler than Hunter.

"In our organization, uh—the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society, there was a man who was fascinated by the idea of an Assassin and chose that pathway," Aurore explained, her expression growing stranger by the moment. "At a gathering, he confided in us with a melancholy and troubled air that the potion an Assassin needs to consume after reaching Sequence 7 is called Witch."

"Witch?" Lumian had a sinking feeling the moment he heard the potion's name.

"Yes, Witch. In the world of mysticism, Warlocks and Witches are two entirely different concepts. You used to get them mixed up and call me a Witch from time to time. It was rather unsettling," Aurore said, taking the opportunity to enlighten him. "Drinking the Witch potion will turn you into a Witch. Acting as a Witch causes your body to undergo a complete transformation, turning you into a woman."

Hiss… Lumian took a deep breath, relieved that his first obtained characteristic was that of a Hunter.

Had he obtained something related to the Assassin pathway, he might very well have been lost to it due to his eagerness.

"What happened to the man who was considering it? Did he drink it?" Lumian asked, unable to resist.

Aurore replied with a smile, "He agonized over it for a long time. He didn't want to become a woman, but he also didn't want to stay at Sequence 8. Eventually, someone persuaded him, 'Life is short, why not give it a try?'"

"After that, I met him again at a gathering. No, he was already a her by then. She was already a woman by then. A beautiful and charming one at that."

"…" Lumian was momentarily speechless.

Aurore grinned at him and added, clearly enjoying herself, "In the future, should you reach Sequence 5 and find yourself unable to obtain the Sequence 4 materials for the Hunter pathway, you might consider the Demoness pathway instead. The Assassin pathway is also known as the Demoness pathway…"

Demoness… Lumian found the name "Assassin" bewildering.

The mysticism world was fraught with dangers!

He deftly steered the conversation back on track.

"So Madame Pualis is truly Pulitt the casanova."

Even an Assassin could transform into a Demoness. A path that enabled a man to bear children was likely to transform a man into a woman.

Aurore nodded warily and gazed out of the window.

"I suspect that Madame Pualis transitioned to a woman only after reaching a specific Sequence. She had to disappear to avoid discovery by the authorities. According to the mysterious lady, the power of a deity's boon can also be divided into Sequences.

"Her abnormal pathway would also include the ability to promote fertility, manipulate life, and control the undead."

Aurore deduced that she could manipulate life and control the undead from Lumian's battle with the midwife.

That was the same performance Madame Night, who looked like Madame Pualis, had showcased in Paramita with the undead chasing after her.

Aurore suddenly exclaimed.

"What's the matter?" Lumian asked cautiously.

Did his sister uncover another ominous truth?

...

Aurore scowled at her brother and replied, "At the afternoon tea, Madame Pualis said that love is unfathomable. She wished he would perish for his mistake, but when he faced death, she saved him and refused to tell the other party.

"I didn't comprehend it then, and I didn't dwell on it. Now, I wonder if she had an ulterior motive for saying that."

Lumian was equally puzzled.

"She saved someone? When did she do that…"

Suddenly, he halted and stared at Aurore.

The siblings remembered that Madame Night had saved them by distracting the undead in Paramita.

"But that was from the preceding cycle…" Lumian was about to reject it, but he couldn't.

He and Aurore exchanged a look and realized their eyes were filled with shock and dread.

If Madame Pualis was referring to that incident, it meant she retained some of her memories from the loop.

"It's impossible…" Aurore muttered to herself. "Never mind. Let's assume it's true. I'd rather overestimate our foe than underestimate them."

Lumian concurred. Then, he had a thought.

...

"Aurore, uh, Grande Soeur, considering that Madame Pualis might have been a man, did she fall in love with you?"

"I didn't do anything wrong. You were the one who spied on Louis Lund giving birth. Pualis is infatuated with you," Aurore riposted.

Lumian muttered under his breath, "Perhaps she believes that you instigated me.

"I don't usually associate with her, but I did once bring some people to see her having an affair with the padre. She teased me for it. You, on the other hand, discuss literature and trends with her occasionally. You even go to her house to borrow a pony."

"Huh…" Aurore's voice rose in disgust, "Then why was she trying to set me up with those awful men you told me about?"

Lumian paused before responding, "Maybe she's trying to discourage your interest in men and lead you to her instead."

"What kind of strange things have you been reading?" Aurore glared at her brother.

Not only could Lumian provide a rational answer, but he did it with forceful verve.

"Your novels. You wrote something similar in one of them."

"Is that so…" Aurore fell into deep thought.

After a moment, she looked out the window and said, "It's been a while, but Madame Pualis hasn't come after us. The cycle hasn't started again…"

"Perhaps she doesn't want to kill the foreigners. If an investigator sent by the officials were to be killed, it would cause even greater trouble," Lumian speculated. "And she doesn't suspect me, so she doesn't suspect you either."

The witness was dead, and no one else had seen him.

Aurore nodded and said self-deprecatingly, "I don't even feel like eating dinner."

Suddenly, Lumian had an idea. "What if we go to the castle?"

"Is the perpetrator returning to the scene of the crime?" Aurore laughed.

Lumian nodded.

"I want to investigate the castle. Madame Pualis doesn't suspect me, so I can go unnoticed."

"Oh, and I haven't picked any tulips yet. I can ask for a few under the guise of making fragrances."

Since Aurore and Madame Pualis appeared to be friends, there was no issue with Lumian's actions.

Aurore thought for a moment before saying, "We can try, but we can't be sure that Madame Pualis won't cause trouble.

"Yes, if you don't return in half an hour, I'll go to the edge of the village and trigger the cycle to start again."

"Alright," Lumian agreed.

...

As Lumian arrived at the administrator's castle once again, the sun had already set behind the mountain, painting the horizon with a red hue.

Passing through the garden, Lumian reached the open main entrance and approached a male servant.

"Excuse me, my Grande Soeur Aurore is creating a fragrance. Could I please borrow some tulips from Madame Pualis?"

The male servant, dressed in a red shirt and white pants, responded without any hint of suspicion.

"I'll inquire with Madame."

He quickly disappeared into the castle. Shortly after, he reappeared.

"Madame says you may go straight to the garden to pluck them."

She really doesn't suspect me? Besides, it's as if nothing happened… Nevertheless, he refrained from entering the castle and headed towards the garden to search for the tulips.

It was there that Lumian spotted the flowers and a lady's maid pruning a flowering tree in the shadows.

As he casually sized her up, his gaze suddenly froze.

The lady's maid was in her forties, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a pretty face devoid of wrinkles. She was none other than the midwife who had fought Valentine and the others and was eventually killed by Ryan!

Yet, here she stood, seemingly unscathed, her face shrouded in a shadow cast by the flowers and trees.

-x-X-x-

The instant he laid eyes on the 'midwife,' Lumian's heart seemed to cease beating.

She's still alive?

I clearly saw her killed by Ryan, and her spirit was destroyed!

Lumian remembered vividly how the midwife had eventually been reduced to tiny pieces of flesh scattered on the ground. Some parts couldn't even be found.

This must be a freaking ghost encounter! No, wait, there's the sound of breathing! Lumian thought of some scenes from his sister's novels, and his heart went from stillness to rapid beating.

If it weren't for the 'midwife' not looking at him, preoccupied with trimming the branches of the flowering tree, he would have reacted to the stress.

Kacha, kacha. Tiny tree branches that grew haphazardly fell to the ground, snapping the stunned Lumian out of his daze.

He subconsciously took a step forward, walking towards the place where the tulips bloomed.

The 'midwife' didn't stop him or even turn around.

Lumian couldn't help but steal another glance at her. She was focused on pruning the branches. The shadows cast by the flowers and trees made her profile look dark and gloomy.

Not daring to linger, Lumian plucked a few tulips and left the administrator's castle.

His heart was still pounding even when he returned to the village.

After calming himself down, Lumian walked towards Reimund Greg's house. It was still too early for Aurore to trigger the cycle.

It was also a two-story building, but compared to Lumian and Aurore's house, it was clearly older, more dilapidated, and narrower. The outer wall revealed the gray color of stone amidst the many green plants creeping over it.

At that moment, the Gregs' door was wide open, allowing one to see the stove on the left, the table on the right, and the wooden buckets behind.

Lumian recalled that the wooden barrels were used for storage. There were two simple wooden beds in the space they isolated. They belonged to Reimund and his sister.

Lumian didn't knock and walked straight into the Gregs' house as usual.

Reimund's elder and younger sisters were helping their mother prepare dinner. Reimund's father, Pierre Greg, was sitting on a chair at the wooden table, drinking cheap wine with a gloomy expression.

"I heard that Reimund is missing?" Lumian asked Pierre Greg with a concerned look.

Pierre Greg seemed to have aged significantly, and the few wrinkles on his face were even more pronounced.

He looked up at Lumian and asked in confusion and surprise, "You don't know?"

At this moment, Reimund's mother and two sisters stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Lumian.

Lumian couldn't be any more honest.

"I've been busy with my own matters. I haven't seen Reimund for days."

Pierre Greg had already inquired and knew that Lumian was telling the truth. Otherwise, suspecting that this rascal had instigated Reimund to run away from home, he would have gone questioning him that afternoon.

"Two afternoons ago—they said it was the 29th—Reimund didn't return after he left," Pierre Gregg said with a gloomy expression. "We've been looking for him. His two brothers are still out searching. Where do you think he'd have gone?"

Lumian hesitated before responding, "He usually says that he doesn't want to learn shepherding, but he doesn't have much money on him. It's impossible for him to leave on his own. Let me see if he left anything behind…"

As he spoke, he walked naturally to the wooden barrels at the back of the first floor and passed through them to reach Reimund's bed.

The bed was very simple, as if pieced together with a few planks of wood. However, the grayish-blue bedsheets, the pillow stuffed with straw, and the quilt with traces of mending were all clean. It was evident that they were often washed.

This was because Aurore loved cleanliness and didn't allow lice to appear at home or on her body. Even Lumian had developed this habit. Therefore, when he interacted with his playmates, he would consciously urge them to maintain personal hygiene. He didn't allow those fellows to be dirty and live with lice and fleas all day.

If Reimund and the others slacked off at some point and were discovered by him to have lice, they would definitely be pranked. They might even be pushed into the river and made to wash up even if they refused to.

After a few years of "oppression," Reimund habitually helped clean up the environment when he returned home.

"We didn't find any message," Pierre Gregg said with a worried expression as he followed him to the bed.

Lumian sat by Reimund's bed and reached under the pillow.

He found two items—a cracked, dark-red fountain pen and an exercise book filled with handwriting.

Reimund was hungry for knowledge, but had little chance to receive an education.

In Emperor Roselle's time, villages like Cordu had mandatory township schools, housed in the same building as the administrator's office. The building also contained an army recruitment center, a recruit physical examination committee, and other institutions, but ultimately, there were only a few staff members.

In recent decades, many villages had lost their schools. The Church provided Sunday school for larger populations, but Cordu had to rely on educated elders to teach the children sporadically. Over time, some young people became illiterate again.

When Lumian was in a good mood, he would claim he needed money for drinks. So, he sold his old fountain pens and workbooks to Reimund, Ava, and others at a low price, teaching them some words in the process.

Reimund took every lesson as seriously as he did combat training and helping shepherds make cheese in the mountains to earn money.

He was determined to change his fate.

Lumian removed the fountain pen and exercise book, staring at them for a long time.

"I asked the padre. He said these are just simple words that don't form a sentence." Pierre Gregg sighed.

Lumian flipped through the exercise book, noting how the handwriting had improved from messy and ugly to something acceptable.

"True, there's no message." He agreed with Pierre Gregg before adding, "But I wonder if it's a code that can be deciphered into a sentence. You've heard a similar story, right? Aurore told it to many village children. Did they mention it at home?"

This included Reimund's younger brother and sister.

"Yes, they did." Pierre Gregg nodded.

Cordu villagers would often gather in the kitchen at night for conversation, laughter, and storytelling when they couldn't afford the tavern. First-time guests had to follow Intis social norms and bring a bottle of wine, even a cheap one.

Pierre Gregg had heard a similar story from his youngest son during such a gathering.

Lumian held up the exercise book confidently.

"I'll take it back to Aurore for her to examine and see if she can find anything."

"Alright," Pierre Gregg didn't think it was anything valuable.

After leaving the area surrounded by wooden barrels, Lumian walked toward the door, and Pierre Gregg sat down again.

A few steps later, Lumian heard Pierre Gregg sigh and mutter,"If he didn't want to learn shepherding, he could've told me. Why did he just leave… Our family will soon be wealthy. He won't need to learn shepherding anymore…"

...

Wealthy? Lumian's heart raced as he turned around, feigning curiosity.

"What's this chance for wealth?"

Pierre Gregg didn't look up, keeping his head lowered as he said despondently,

"Our family's horoscope is about to change. Our luck will improve…"

What— Lumian felt a chill down his spine.

"Who told you this?" he asked.

Pierre Gregg didn't answer, continuing to lament.

...

Upon returning home, Lumian immediately informed his sister that the 'midwife' was still alive.

Aurore frowned her blonde brows. "She's not necessarily a living person."

"Huh?" Lumian was taken aback.

...

Aurore pondered and said, "Didn't we discuss this before? Madame Pualis' pathway might have the power to control the undead. That might be a zombie."

"Impossible," Lumian said. "I saw her without activating my Spirit Vision. Besides, there were no signs of stitching on her body. Back then, she was diced into many small pieces by Ryan." Lumian recalled and said, "Also, I heard her breathing!"

At this point, Lumian paused.

"However, she was indeed a little sluggish. Her expression was gloomy, and her eyes weren't lively enough. She looked almost exactly like Naroka! The one I saw on the night of the previous, previous loop when Naroka took the initiative to enter Paramita!"

Naroka, whose face was pale and eyes were blank.

Of course, the 'midwife' obviously resembled a living person more.

Aurore nodded and said, "A special state that's closer to the undead?"

Unable to deduce an answer, she gestured for Lumian to say something else.

Lumian recounted everything that had happened in Reimund's father's words in detail, as if nothing had happened in the castle.

Aurore listened quietly and nodded.

"Madame Pualis doesn't seem to want to pursue the matter of the castle. I wonder what she's holding back…

"Also, your discovery proves that a portion of the abnormality in the village is related to her, but she doesn't seem to be involved in the cycle…"

What she meant was that Madame Pualis's involvement in the abnormality was mainly the fertility, death, soul, and Paramita. Nothing to do with the time loop.

"I think so too." Lumian had such an inkling during his explorations. "It seems that the person behind the padre and company is most likely not Madame Pualis."

Referring to Reimund's father's words, he guessed,

"The one who spread the news that doing something can affect the horoscope and obtain good luck?"

Aurore acknowledged tersely.

"We'll investigate tomorrow and see if we can channel Reimund's spirit tonight."

...

After dinner, Aurore saw that it was about time and began to set up the altar.

She was praying to herself, so she only placed a single candle, but the candle was replaced by another one made of slumber flowers and other materials.

Aurore sanctified a silver dagger and created a wall of spirituality. Then, she dripped the extract made of night vanilla and moon flowers onto the orange flames, stirring up a misty fog.

Seeing that the preparations were complete, Aurore glanced at the workbook on the altar and took a step back. She said in ancient Hermes, "I!"

As she uttered the word, her eyes darkened, as if an invisible wind was swirling around her.

"I summon in my name:"

This was the second sentence she said, and she changed it to Hermes.

As she didn't know where Reimund's spirit was, she couldn't directly communicate with it. She could only try summoning it. As a wild Beyonder, she didn't dare pray to the Evernight Goddess, who was in charge of this domain. She could only rely on herself. The chances of success weren't high, unless Reimund's spirit was indeed somewhere in Cordu and was very close.

Aurore continued to recite, "The spirit lingering in Cordu Village.

"The man named Reimund Greg.

"The owner of this exercise book…"

The orange candle flame suddenly swayed, absorbing the surrounding fog and becoming slightly larger.

Its light rippled and was dyed with a deep blue color.

Beads of sweat appeared on Aurore's forehead as she began to borrow strength from various materials.

Amidst the howling wind, a figure appeared above the blue flames.

Having already activated his Spirit Vision, Lumian saw a translucent figure. He had brown hair and eyes, looking rather ordinary. It was Reimund Greg.

He was indeed still in the village.

Reimund's body was bloated, his face pale, and blood-colored tears were dripping from the corners of his eyes.

Wh— Aurore was clearly stunned.

After the cycle was restarted, Reimund had only gone missing and hadn't drowned. How did his spirit end up like this?

That's right. If he hadn't drowned, how could he have become a spirit?

They were self-contradictory…

Amidst her confusion, Aurore asked, "Reimund Greg, why did you disappear?"

Reimund's expression suddenly turned ferocious as he shouted sharply, "They drowned me!"

-x-X-x-