Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Huh? Do you regret it?" Violet panicked for a moment, then stomped her foot on the spot.

"Wait a minute! I just remembered, you've never confessed your love to me, you've never said 'I love you'! Make up for it! Now!"

“Then that counts as a statement.” Ralph pushed open the door. “I’m going on patrol.”

"That doesn't count!" Under the watchful eyes of the other sheriffs, the fiery female sheriff shouted and chased after them. "That time doesn't count!"

……

The atmosphere in Naslan became very strange.

Lyle felt uneasy, sensing an unprecedented level of being watched.

In his own room, the ghostly maids were already openly crouching and peeking out. Lyle could see more than a dozen of them, playing a game of poking ghosts with Nia.

That wasn't all. To make matters worse, when Lyle felt tired and wanted to go to bed, he saw a stone sculpture of Helena standing in the corner, her delicate face with her eyes closed facing him.

"Helena?"

"I'm here."

The sound did not come from the stone carving, but from the leather bag that Lyle had placed by his bedside.

A small white dragon slid out from it, and Medusa climbed onto Lyle's neck, rubbing her cool wooden body against his chin.

"Are you still using Medusa's body?"

"Of course, it's more convenient to carry around, isn't it?"

"Then why do you still put a statue in my room? It's... too lifelike, I feel a little uncomfortable with it."

Medusa shook her little head up and down and nodded.

“These sculptures are all vessels I carved myself. They serve as my body and my eyes, and are more comfortable than this twenty-centimeter-long torso. In fact, before you, Lyle, arrived, my sculptures would have been stored in every corner of Naslan. I moved them away before because I was worried about disturbing your rest. As for now, I don’t think there’s any need to hide it from you anymore.”

"After all, you've been under Medusa's surveillance the whole time, haven't you?"

Helena's voice is very soft, but it has a kind of magic that makes it hard for people to feel any opposition.

"Actually, I haven't figured out how to face Ariana yet, after getting to know you and Beatrice again."

"Is that so? Then you have thirty minutes, dear little Lyle."

"what?"

"Dinner will be in thirty minutes. Ariana is looking forward to your arrival."

Medusa's eyes gleamed, and her voice carried a wicked laugh.

Beatrice and I are also looking forward to your performance.

Medusa chuckled softly at Lyle's blank expression.

"Keep a calm mind, Lyle. We three sisters are not human, and those ethical concepts cannot bind our thoughts."

"Doing whatever you want, that's the style of chaos and evil."

Chapter 509 A Connection Beyond Bloodline

They must have overheard.

The floating candlesticks lit up before her eyes, and the melting pale yellow candles emitted a sweet scent. The aroma of the incense turned into a refreshing bitterness in her nostrils. As Lyle's toes touched the ground, the ghost maid was already prepared with her evening gown.

They seemed quite excited, judging by their speed, removing the mirror from in front of the newly transformed Lyle. The maids stood silently on either side, forming a passageway to the dining room. Nia slipped through the gaps in the ghosts' clothing and into Lyle's trousers, always punctual for meals.

Tonight, Naslan is resplendent in gold. Apart from the guiding candles, all the mottled candlesticks have been replaced by crystal chandeliers. The beautiful metallic surfaces of the alchemical lamps make the bright light look extremely expensive.

Such a grand spectacle is like a lavish banquet held in Naslan. Perhaps at some point, the bronze gate will open, and revelers will tread across the verdant meadows and lakes, adorning the golden light with their joy.

Lyle stopped daydreaming; that wasn't realistic.

Tonight, I'll probably be the only guest; these arrangements show how much the ladies of Naslan care about tonight.

The lights were so bright they were almost blinding.

Lyle pushed open the wooden door to the restaurant, and three ladies came into view.

Beatrice in red, Ariana in black, and Helena in white... stone sculptures.

Strangely, although their clothes were different colors, they were similar in style. They wore the same clothes as the Helena stone sculpture, and their similar hairstyles emphasized how similar they were to each other, even confusing Lyle.

He could only distinguish the two women, who had physical bodies, by the curve of their lips.

Beatrice's lips curled up high, her pale face adorned with a pair of adorable dimples, her eyes seemed to be smiling mischievously, and her gaze would occasionally drift to Ariana.

Ariana's smile was like a slightly unfolding flower, the corners of her mouth not rising above her upper lip, her gaze filled with pure joy—the joy of seeing Lyle return.

Helena's stone sculpture was perfect; staring at it for too long would steal all your attention. Lyle had to be patient, or he wouldn't even be able to find his seat.

Finally, he shakily made his way to his seat. As usual, he smiled at Ariana through the gaps in the candlelight, then picked up his glass. Beatrice's reflection was clearly visible on the red liquid.

Given the unknown developments ahead, Lyle decided to have a small drink to calm his nerves.

"Is everything going well in Dagonris? Although I've already asked Beatrice, I'd like to hear it from you directly." Ariana picked up her wine glass and gently clinked it against Beatrice's, thus beginning dinner.

"It's all good. When we met Karen, she was still safe and sound. Although I was a little surprised that Kevin was able to get help from Uncle Ralph, the crisis was resolved without any real danger. In the end, the Holy Light Legion burned the place to the ground, leaving nothing behind."

“I’m glad to hear that, but Lyle, I was asking how things are going with your relationship with Benny. Is it progressing well? Benny told me that your response wasn’t very positive.”

Pfft! The alcohol that had entered his mouth was sprayed out, splashing onto the pristine white tablecloth and the venison steak seasoned with gin in front of Lyle.

"What?! Ariana?"

Lyle looked at Ariana in horror, feeling as if he had returned to the time after his first brawl with Ralf.

Ariana continued to smile, but the corners of her mouth turned up, forming the same smile as Beatrice.

Her smile had a sinister quality, like a siren ready to pounce.

Ariana had never shown this smile before, a wicked, alluring grin that seemed all too familiar on another similar face.

"Helena? You've possessed Ariana's body?"

“No, my dear,” the stone sculpture uttered Helena’s gentle voice. Ariana’s allure was indeed similar to Helena’s bewitching charm, but not as intense. “However, your thoughtless suspicion has certainly hurt my stone heart.”

“Lyle, I am still me,” Ariana said, regaining her usual composure. “I’m just showing you some of the special things about Naslan.”

"The bond between me, Helena, and Beatrice transcends any blood or even spiritual connection. The three Naslan sisters are one."

"I don't know."

"You need to understand, little Lyle."

"I think his silly look is also very interesting, sister."

"Don't worry, Lyle, I'll tell you why the three of us sisters became like this."

Ariana's gaze was fixed on the light, and her icy voice recounted the story of the past.

"That was after her father's death. As the patriarch, Helena secretly took in a group of fleeing witches. Her talent for spiritualism was discovered, and in order to maintain the strength of the Naslan family, Naslan secretly held a ceremony."

"The final witch's ritual."

"Helena made a soul pact with those witches, promising to become their matriarch and provide them with protection. But the women in distress were holding back; they concealed the fact that becoming the matriarch would make their hearts lean towards the witches, not the Naslan family. Helena was clever; she discovered this loophole and, with her exceptional talent, altered the ritual."

"Helena changed her target of protection from the witch clan to Naslan."

"But this blessing turned into a disaster."

"The ritual was performed to make Naslan adapt to Helena's power, and it carried out an irreversible transformation of the entire Naslan family."

"Helena became a Soul Reaper, and Naslan's servants became ghosts."

“Everyone in Naslan lost their physical bodies, except for my sister and me, because of a power among the witches called Blessing.”

“Newly born Soul Reapers are vulnerable. The ritual used Helena’s spirit to bear the power of these souls. For those few weeks, we could always hear Helena’s wails. She needed a vessel to help her share the pain.”

"And Beatrice and I are the best vessels for Helena."

“Our father made the three of us sisters love each other deeply, so we voluntarily became Helena’s vessel.”

"But being possessed by a Soul Reaper for a long time is not harmless to humans."

“As the older sister, I was possessed for much longer than Beatrice. As a result, my body collapsed when I was twenty-five because it couldn’t withstand the power. Beatrice’s body also became weak due to being possessed for a long time.”

“Helena felt guilty, and we could all feel it. The long-term possession had made the three of us sisters… very, very similar. We could feel each other’s pain or joy, and sometimes we could communicate with each other just by looking at each other.”

“Sometimes we can’t even distinguish each other’s identities; we only know that we are inseparable.”

"In the end, Helena asked Andre to turn me into a lich, and Beatrice chose the Embrace in order to be with us."

"We will be together forever, and now even death cannot separate us."

"This is the origin of the three sisters, and it's something you need to know."

“The three of us sisters have a secret connection within us, to the point that we interfere with each other. If one of us dislikes something, we all dislike it together.”

"And what someone loves dearly, we will love together."

Even if it's the same boy.

Chapter 510 A Delusional Commission

That's how it is. Some kind of connection between the three sisters influences their feelings for Lyle. It's impossible to know who initiated these feelings, but both Ariana and Helena did the same thing.

That is to bring out Beatrice's feelings for Lyle. Ariana confessed to her impure motives in arranging for Beatrice and Lyle to go to Drogonris together, and Beatrice, who had a premonition, did not resist.

What Lyle perceived as an irresistible, chaotic emotion was actually part of the Naslan sisters' plan.

The Naslan family's inherited wickedness led Beatrice or Helena to conceal the truth; perhaps playing pranks was something both sisters enjoyed.

Even now, Lyle hasn't recovered from the shock.

This leads to...

"Boss, that's a bone growth promoter!"

The screams of the manipulated figure echoed throughout the Necromancer Figure Shop.

Before Lyle, a massive, multi-segmented tree pierced through the stone wall, burying a group of passing liches under the collapsed bricks, proving once again that there is no absolutely safe place in Andre, not even a corner.