Shadow Apostle

Entering a wealthy family in this world for the first time, Horst finally got to see the life of a noble.

Entering the door is an open hall of over a hundred square meters. Twenty-four crystal chandeliers are clustered together and hang from the three-story roof. The bright firelight ejected from the nozzles softens through the crystal clear crystal, illuminating the gorgeous living room all year round. .

The carpet underfoot is soft and thick, making you feel like you are falling into the clouds. The portraits of family members from past generations look down majestically from the wall.

The mansion is filled with Victorian-style furniture, and the gorgeous shapes have a unique sense of weight, making the mansion luxurious yet stable.

Jessica looked around to make sure there were no servants nearby, and then whispered as she walked: "The identification results of the magic circle came out yesterday. It is a magic circle that draws power from the soul through blood connections. Because of the magic circle The formation was built using the blood of members of the Burnt family and related personnel, so it directly points to the bloodline of the Burnt family.”

"What's the effect? ​​What will it look like?"

"that's all."

With that said, Jessica had already walked to the door of a room on the first floor and pushed the door open.

Even though he has been here for a year, Horst still has the illusion that he has stepped into a period British drama. The people and things around him seem to have stepped out of that era.

Behind the door was a guest room with a suite. Four maids were anxiously walking around inside and outside the suite. When they saw Jessica coming in, they immediately rushed over. However, when they saw Horst following them, they remained rational. He stopped and hesitated, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.

Jessica waved her hand: "You guys should step back first."

The maids were stunned, looked at Horst, and then looked at the direction of the bed on one side of the room, feeling hesitant for a moment.

"We are all therapists, here to save lives. In our eyes, the only difference between the person inside and a corpse is that there is still a breath of life. There are so many taboos about therapists, so there is no need to treat illnesses."

Seeing that Jessica was in a bit of trouble, Horst said casually as if nothing had happened. The maids were a little embarrassed after hearing this. Although they were still quite hesitant, they still retreated into the suite.

"In this era, if we still cling to those rules and old etiquette, sooner or later we will be run over by a steam train, and we will never be able to get over. Alas." Jessica shook her head and sighed, turned to Horst and praised softly, " Mr. Horst, sometimes I really suspect that you are one of those awakened people of the Silver Moon series who have awakened the prophecy. I remember that when we first met, Uncle Sven clearly didn’t tell you my identity, but you could tell me casually. , and you have obviously never had much contact with a therapist, but you can directly express our feelings."

Isn't that how it works in medical dramas, and I saw a lot of doctors in my previous life.

But Horst didn't say anything, he just smiled mysteriously and pointed to the big bed on one side.

"This is my aunt Anne, together with another aunt Edith, who came from the royal capital with their children to stay for a short stay. I heard that the kingdom is fighting a trade war with the Yanara Republic, and there is a commotion in the royal capital. Mother I specially invited them to come over and relax.”

"Father and mother have always loved each other very much. Since my father passed away, my mother has been immersed in grief, accompanied by tears every day, and she was not freed from missing her until the past two months. This time I invited two aunts to visit the old house. It was also the first thing she was interested in doing after her father passed away. She never expected to encounter these mysterious events. Forget it, now is not the time to talk about this. "

Listening to Jessica's explanation, Horst leaned over and felt a little chill on his back at first glance.

There was a skeleton lying on the bed.

His whole body could almost be called skin and bones, his cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones were high, and the blood vessels on the exposed backs of his hands were protruding, and each root looked like a dry tree root.

The skin was hanging softly to the side, making it unbearable to look at. His eyes were closed tightly and there was no reaction at all. If it weren't for the rapid rise and fall of his chest, Horst would really have thought that the person was dead.

"Hiss, is everyone like this?"

"Yes, my two aunts, one cousin, two cousins, as well as my brother and mother have all become like this. Since six days ago, everyone in the family has felt extremely tired and often fell asleep. But they can still wake up. However, since the day before the blood stains were discovered, the two aunts have not woken up again. Then the other people wake up less and less. Especially starting today, the life energy in everyone's body is obviously increasing rapidly. When the symptoms subside, we can only inject drugs every few hours to temporarily maintain life."

As she spoke, she took out a few bottles of potions from the bedside table and mixed them together skillfully. Horst watched Jessica's movements carefully, but there was no mysterious feedback from his spiritual sense.

"It's just an ordinary medicine preparation. It's not what you think. It's mainly for nutritional supplements and to maintain vital signs. If nothing else, this is the effect of the magic circle. Through the connection of blood, Bourne is extracted The life energy of the special family members.”

"What's the purpose? This kind of energy shouldn't be like piped gas. There's no place to charge for it."

Jessica glared at him and explained: "The function of this magic circle is to absorb power and then transmit it to another receiving end, which may be an altar, a seal, or even an object. In this way, Strengthening the power of the receiving point itself.”

"Recharge? You said yesterday that there is no point in destroying the magic circle now, right?"

"Yes, once this magic circle is completed, it will always be in effect. There are only two ways to terminate the magic circle. One is to find the receiving end, and at least cut off the connection between the receiving end and the magic circle. If the target magic circle is lost, it will naturally terminate. If that doesn’t work, we need to find the connection between the magic circle and the Burnt family.”

"Isn't it connected through the blood of the Burnt family?"

"Yes, but the bloodline will not establish the connection on its own. There must be someone who also has the bloodline of the Burnt family hiding behind the scenes to guide them. Only then can the bloodline of the Burnt family be controlled to complete this magic circle. No one else can." Jesse Ka's white teeth bit her lower lip until it turned white. "Theoretically speaking, even he himself will be affected. Then when he dies, the magic circle will lose its guidance and become ineffective. It will harm others and yourself." , so few people will use it.”

"But you definitely can't watch any of your relatives die and you can only waste so much. So the two things we need to do most now are to find and destroy the things you said are receiving power, and the second is to destroy the things that harm people. Only by finding the person who harmed you can you solve the problem. I understand, you are so anxious to call me here because you want me to find the possible murderer among these people as soon as possible. "

"Yes, they can't hold on for too long, and the most important thing is that I can't hold on for too long either. Now I can still rely on the soul strength of the awakened person and use medicine to resist the effects of the magic circle, but if I do it again today If the problem cannot be solved, you may really need to call the police. In that case, even if the problem is finally solved, the scandal of the internal disputes in the Bernt family will soon spread throughout the Nordland Kingdom." Miss Bernt smiled bitterly, "In comparison, I would like you to resolve this issue so that I can feel at ease. It would be best if it could be resolved today, do you think..."

"The problem is not with me, but with you, Miss Jessica." Horst sighed deeply and stared at Miss Jessica Berndt. "I wasn't sure at first, but since it's limited to Berndt In the blood of the family, that matter is actually very obvious, but you don't want to continue thinking about it. Originally, this was the Burnt family's own family matter, and I shouldn't get too involved, but since that person insisted on declaring war on me , must involve me, then I will have to say a few more words."

Jessica bit her lip and frowned, looking quite nervous.

"There are several illogical aspects in this matter. As long as we can find the answer, we will not be far from the real culprit. First, how did the other party design the magic circle? To achieve the effect of the magic circle, there must be a house Design drawings, or very familiar with the structure of the house.”

"The design drawings have been kept in the library. There are no hidden measures. Anyone can get them."

"Yeah, but if it were me, trying to find the design drawings, I would definitely turn the study into a disaster scene. Even for you, it took a long time to find the design drawings." Horst shook his head, "But When we went there last night, the study was very neat."

Jessica hesitated for a long time and then nodded gently.

"If the other party has used the design drawings, he will definitely know the exact location of the drawings, or at least there will be someone who knows the exact location to help. So I have never asked about the details of whether the Burnt family has illegitimate children before, because the first Just one question can eliminate most of the candidates. Hey, you probably know better than me who knows the existence of the blueprint and the exact location."

"There are many candidates, and Aunt Anne and Aunt Edith also know about it. And we can't rule out that some people are casual and tell others about the design drawings. After all, it is not a secret."

"Yes, so there is a second question." Horst smiled sympathetically, "How did the other party implement it? The villa is surrounded by the Berndt family's property, and everyone who comes around is your family's property. Farmhands, if outsiders show up, they should be very conspicuous. After discovering the blood stains, you should have asked the surrounding farmers, and the answer must not be optimistic. "

"They haven't seen any unfamiliar faces in a while, let alone suspicious people."

"It is not easy to complete such a large project in ten days, especially if you have to find a way to avoid the sight of the surrounding villagers. I remember that there is farmland next to the villa, and farm laborers must often come and go. It is even more difficult, not to mention the magic circle The material is so special. Therefore, there is a high probability that the executor will be a familiar face that will never attract the attention of the villagers. No, even if it is a familiar face, there will always be abnormal behavior and it is impossible not to attract the attention of the farmers. Unless the other party has sufficient reasons. Frequent coming and going will not arouse the suspicion of farm laborers at all. I remember you mentioned that the villa has been vacant for a long time, but occasionally your brother will live there? "

"Mr. Horst, you are so rude." Jessica wrung her hands together and lowered her head and said, "Connor is only ten years old and he doesn't understand anything yet. I am his sister and I understand him too well. , it’s impossible for him to do such a thing. Don’t doubt an ignorant child.”

"I actually don't doubt him. He's too young. You can't trust him to live there by himself, even if there are servants following him. At his age, it shouldn't be possible for him to propose that he live there from time to time." Horst stared. Jessica asked, "So, tell me, why did he go to live there, and who accompanied him? It must not be you, otherwise your acting skills would be too good."

Jessica gritted her teeth but said nothing.

"Actually, there is a third question, which is also the simplest one." Horst said regretfully, "Everyone must have started to faint after the blood stains appeared, so you have no chance to communicate with them, let alone feel Find out if there's anything wrong with them, right?"

"Um."

"This magic circle is the power to extract the direct bloodline of the Burnt family, right."

"Um."

"So, the old Countess too? She is your aunt?"

Jessica's face instantly became extremely ugly, and she explained: "Of course my mother is not of the Burnt family's blood, but she was really affected and fell into a coma. I can tell."

"Then the problem is even bigger. She is obviously not of the Burnt family, so why is she affected? In the mysterious world, you should know better than me what abnormality means. Furthermore, since she is affected, will she Can’t she also do what only the blood of the Burnt family can do, guide this magic circle? If the answer is yes, what’s the reason? Is she really still herself?”

"What exactly do you mean?" Jessica's breathing became faster and faster, and her voice was choked.

Horst sighed and rummaged through his pocket and took out a piece of torn paper, which was a random note he made with soot before going to sleep in the morning.

What catches the eye is a line of ugly, crooked characters.

"I'm back……"