More often, they portrayed obese figures.
Except for the family matriarch who appears to be a thin, harsh woman, the rest were all fat, though varying in degrees of obesity.
The fattest were the patriarch and his only daughter.
And this patriarch’s daughter... Laplace had seen her before; she was the young girl being chased by the masked man, eventually becoming fertilizer for the Big Mary Rose.
If the patriarch’s daughter was the pursued, then surely the pursuer wouldn’t be one of her family members, right?
After all, along the way, Laplace noted that, from how frequently this daughter appeared in portraits, she seemed to be the family’s favorite. Given that favoritism, other family members probably wouldn’t target her?
Of course, if there is a resentful individual within the family, mutual harm among kin might be possible, but Laplace scrutinized the portraits and currently saw no evidence of other children besides the daughter.
Which means she was their only heir. Therefore, sibling rivalry should be unlikely.
So, who could the masked man be?
Laplace mused over this as she walked.
Along the way, she saw many places stained with blood, indicating the masked man’s pursuit kept persisting... perhaps this wasn’t just pursuit but rather a massacre?
If truly intent on killing the patriarch’s daughter, it could have happened the first time she was caught, yet the place is covered with blood, which appears illogical.
Soon, Laplace arrived at a fork.
One path led upward to the second floor; the other led through curtains to the main hall.
Laplace eyed both paths, ultimately choosing neither, instead selecting... a small compartment behind the staircase.
Rooms built under staircases are mostly storage rooms.
This storage room’s door wasn’t very high, roughly 1.4 meters. This isn’t a normal height; one must stoop to enter.
The homeowners likely wouldn’t enter, so perhaps it’s used by the servants?
The door wasn’t locked; a gentle push opened it.
The space within wasn’t large, containing items as Laplace expected—cleaning tools like brooms, cloths, drying basins.
Given these arrangements, Laplace’s assumption was correct; this is definitely a servants’ room.
Laplace chose this small compartment because she detected a faint blood scent inside, and upon opening it confirmed her suspicion: there were bloodstains.
Yet, unlike the vibrant stains outside, these were slightly blackened and even shriveled.
This implies an earlier incident of bloodshed occurred here.
Could it be that the patriarch’s daughter was being slaughtered long before?
Laplace pondered further and felt that didn’t seem right; as a "master," why would the daughter go into a room designated for servants?
Or perhaps she was hiding here early to escape the masked man?
Laplace paused thoughtfully, then stepped out of the compartment and returned to the crossroads.
This time, Laplace chose to proceed toward the main hall.
The reasoning was simple: the hall wasn’t far off, though veiled by curtains, the bloodstains on them showed the masked man had been here.
And there were no bloodstains on the stairs leading to the second floor; based on this observation, Laplace intended to inspect the hall first.
However, to avoid missing anything, Laplace threw a scale in the direction of the stairs—to serve both as surveillance and as a weapon.
Having completed everything, Laplace walked forward.
Pushing aside the bloody curtain, the luxurious main hall was revealed before her eyes.
Laplace glanced around; it was unexpectedly cleaner than she imagined, with the only bloodstains on the curtain just now.
Laplace slowly entered the main hall, paying no attention to the surrounding luxurious setup, and eventually stopped in front of a fireplace.
From afar, there seemed nothing unusual near the fireplace; above it was the corridor of the second floor.
But upon closer inspection, one could notice a blank spot on the wall between the fireplace and the second floor, with a different color from the surrounding wall.
Laplace gestured slightly, basically confirming that this blank spot once held an elongated painting.
Due to long-standing warmth from the fireplace below, the spot where the painting hung differed in color from the surrounding wall.
But now, why is the painting missing?
Where could it be?
Laplace closed her eyes, extending her perception to search nearby. Ultimately, Laplace found the painting, half-burned, in the burning fireplace.
Laplace pulled the oil painting out from the fire in the fireplace.
As she prepared to inspect the contents of the painting, a sound suddenly came from behind.
Laplace turned around and saw another door of the main hall open, from which a robust masked man stepped out.
The masked man visibly froze upon seeing Laplace, instinctively adopting a defensive stance.
However, the masked man’s defense was still too late.
Laplace’s actions were much faster than the masked man’s. As the masked man raised his hand, Laplace’s hoof strike had already reached his face...
...