Steward Moda actually managed to break free from the influence of Spirit Energy mind control on his own, which surprised both Ian and the Radiant Nun considerably.
He originally just wanted to extract some information and then have the other party lead the way, but he had never imagined that the old steward, who was usually responsible for all kinds of tasks in Leyan Castle, possessed such a strong spiritual force that he could escape from the false palace constructed by an unknown Spirit Energy User.
"...Indeed, the young master died a long time ago; in recent years, it was only a vengeful spirit accompanying me..."
Touching the column behind him, the old steward stood up and leaned against the stone pillar, taking a deep breath.
His gray-brown eyes were full of confusion and incomprehension, but he still slowly said, "I remember everything... But I truly don’t know what the lord has done."
"These past few years, it has always been the lord himself taking care of the young masters and misses’ meals. I only occasionally prepared a few banquet meals, bringing over some snacks and afternoon tea..."
"However, I am very clear that the lord has indeed been acting very strangely of late, and the young masters and misses... they were not normal children either..."
"You have indeed suffered, living with a vengeful spirit. Even if it did not affect you deliberately, it certainly harmed your health."
Ian nodded, turning around and heading toward the first floor of the castle. "We are here to investigate Baron Leyan in connection with the cult, human sacrificial rites, and all kinds of wicked and evil methods."
"I know you don’t wish to betray your lord, nor do I expect your cooperation."
"But I think, you should join us in seeing just what your lord has done over these years."
At this juncture, he turned his head, looking at Steward Moda who still stood in place, and patiently invited, "Come with us."
"At the very least, tell us where the rooms of the young masters and misses are."
"...All right."
The previously confident and forthright middle-aged man was now showing his age, with even the wrinkles on his face becoming visibly more numerous.
He rose unsteadily to his feet, following behind Ian and the Radiant Nun while still muttering to himself, "Lord... lord... what foolish things have you done..."
"Could it be me, was it my mistake, was it I who persuaded you not to give up..."
Though somewhat entering another extreme due to self-reproach, Steward Moda soon led Ian and the others to the first room.
The white door at the end of the hallway on the second floor.
On the white door was a crude portrait drawn for himself by a little boy, with light brown hair, a red cyclopean eye, and a beaming smile. Above the drawing, there was a name written very neatly, which seemed quite incongruent with the amateurish artwork.
[Yila’s Room]
When they reached the door, Steward Moda, who had been leading the way, suddenly stopped. He shuddered for a moment, prompting the Radiant Nun to ask with concern.
"I just..."
Shaking his head with a wry smile at Ian’s offer of "do you need some sedative?", the old steward said, "It’s just that I have once again recalled two sets of memories... Memories that fill me with fear..."
As he spoke, he mustered his courage, gritted his teeth, and tried to open the door.
But the door seemed to be fixed in place with space itself, refusing to budge.
"Huh?" The steward expressed his surprise, reaching for his keys, but the Radiant Nun shook her head: "This door has been merged with the room using Earth Origin Quality."
She stepped forward, drawing a folding crowbar from the pack behind her, causing Ian to glance her way, silently admiring ’how well-prepared she is’ within.
The Radiant Nun inserted the crowbar into the crack of the door, then channeled Origin Quality, and a restrained heat flow carrying a surge of Fire System Energy broke through the obstruction, prying open the unmovable door.
With the door opened, a faint odor of decay, uncharacteristic of a child’s room, wafted forth.
It was the scent of life fading away.
The Radiant Nun raised her hand, and her gray radiance illuminated the surroundings. Steward Moda bent over, trying his best not to be sick, while Ian stepped forward, his blue eyes scanning the interior and exterior of the room.
Even as someone well-versed and no stranger to killing, he couldn’t help but feel a slight stir of emotion.
Wherever he looked, there were only skeletons.
In the room, white as a base color, the floor was covered with human bones that had been polished and simplistically arranged in the likeness of deer antlers and heads.
Ian squinted his eyes as he silently looked up at the wall, where processed human skins were hung, each painted with an animal figure. The drawings, in contrast with the crude human sketch on the door, were entirely different in quality, rendered in blood-colored ink that vividly brought the animal faces to life.
Besides, there were many bone carvings of pigs, cows, sheep, and various other animal heads, masterfully crafted yet with some youthful crudeness.
There were plates on the floor as well.
[Incappable Level · Preserved Processing · Ordinary · Not Recommended for Consumption]
[According to the Spark Civilization Protection Protocol, unless in the most critical of moments, the consumption of sentient beings is discouraged...]
Many other details announced the overwhelming cruelty that pervaded this place.
Ian closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, calming himself down.
No more need to look.
It seemed, when he had arrived at Leyan Castle and seen Yila apparently playing and eating something.
What he ate, what he played with, were these things.
The room, illuminated by a grey blazing light, was extremely sinister, with dripping bits of flesh and blood, twisted skin paintings, heaps of skeletons covering the entire floor, and the exquisitely yet eerily crafted human bone animal skulls that encircled the room, seemingly gazing at everyone within it.
The battle-hardened Radiant Nun, who had seen many a Cult sacrificial scene, also furrowed her brows, her dragon horns lighting up with a red glow.
This scene wasn’t bloody, but the fact it was the doing of a child made it particularly unsettling for her.
"What kind of twisted sacrificial rite is this..." the Radiant Nun gripped her staff tightly, "to warp a child to such a state?"