High Above

When Manager Moda said this, his expression was very frightened, and he was obviously very frightened.

But neither Ian nor Yingguang seemed to be interested, and their expressions didn't change at all.

--That's it? The talking forest next door is not ten thousand times scarier than your ghost.

"Is that child a boy or a girl? Is it floating in mid-air or can you only see it when you lower your head? Does it really have no face or is it blurry due to the lighting?"

Ian asked in detail: "How did you faint?"

Because Ian's inquiry was too professional and seemed to lack emotion and empathy, Steward Moda's somewhat wrinkled face relaxed for a moment in surprise - but then became even more wrinkled.

"Yes, it's a boy? He looks about seven or eight years old, I can't see clearly."

Because of the young knight's guidance, the steward was temporarily freed from fear. He frowned and responded: "It's floating in the air, with a translucent body... He really has no face, and his face is smooth, but when you see that face , I thought of many, many things in an instant...many, many things that frightened me."

"My dead parents, my second child who died in infancy, the girl I once didn't dare to pursue...many, many, many regrets, many, many reluctances...In an instant, I was overwhelmed by pain and unwillingness, self-blame and hesitation. I collapsed, my mind went blank..."

As he spoke, the steward's originally calm expression collapsed again. His tears fell in large drops, and his voice was full of despair: "What is the meaning of my life? I have never pursued the beauty in my heart... …”

"I am not a good father. I just watched my child die. Why didn't I borrow money from the master and ask the priests of Huaiguang Church to save my child? The master would not refuse me. What am I afraid of? What, why didn’t I do that?!”

Manager Moda knelt on the ground, his body curled up, and a visible pain was invading his soul.

Until a slender, white hand with sharp fingertips stretched out and pressed on the steward's head.

The silver-white halo shone, making him temporarily confused and his breathing calmed down.

"The aura of despair."

Sister Yingguang maintained the 'Soothing Art', a nerve calming technique. She turned her head and said to Ian: "He should have really encountered a very powerful spirit, and it is also a very dangerous spirit - He feels the pain of the wraith, and I think he has something to do with the fact that the Baron also lost his child, and most people wouldn’t have such a big reaction.”

"That might be the fourth blue mist entity I saw, the Viscount's 'parental son'."

Ian watched thoughtfully as Sister Yingguang placed the softened Steward Moda in a hay mat aside: "The landslide caused by the big storm six years ago killed the Baroness and her children, and at that time the Baron's The child is only one or two years old."

"If he were still alive, he would indeed be seven or eight years old."

——The same age as the other three adopted sons and daughters of the Baron.

Moreover, he had a ‘spirit body’ when he was only one or two years old?

Is it possible that this baron’s son is a ‘Chosen One’ with natural psychic abilities?

"There are still questions to ask him."

After retracting his thoughts, Ian squatted down, took out a bottle of stamina potion from his waist, and poured it into the mouth of the dazed Steward Moda: "Drink it? After drinking it, answer my question - who are the other adopted sons and daughters of the Baron? Adopted at that time.”

"Ahem...wait, why are you in the castle?!"

After drinking the stamina potion and using the calming technique to soothe the nerves affected by the aura of despair, Steward Moda finally woke up.

The somewhat balding middle-aged steward looked at the two 'intruders' with shock: "You are invading illegally. Even the Huaiguang Church cannot invade the private residence of a noble!"

At first, his tone was still full of momentum, but under the calm gazes of Ian and Sister Yingguang, his voice became softer.

Finally, Steward Moda lowered his head and replied with some frustration: "Okay, I actually feel that something is wrong with the master. Let me think about it..."

He was lost in thought, searching for valuable information from his mind: "The first one was Young Master Moqiu. He was rescued from the refugee camp in the Western Plains four years ago. The child who was three or four years old was gone. Parents, hands and feet, this is the first time I have seen the master so angry..."

"Then there are Master Ila and Miss Linda, they... eh? They... they..."

"No, it was Master Ila first! But who was it? Who was the first to come to the castle? Wait, my memory..."

"When exactly did they come? Why can't I remember at all..."

At this point, Steward Moda got stuck, and the old steward's eyes gradually became panicked again: "When was it...how could I not remember? I still remember that I specially prepared a show for the young master and the ladies. The welcome candy banquet, I still remember the scene where I boiled candy and made candy figures, but when was that..."

"It seems clear that's the case."

Sister Yingguang narrowed her eyes, and she said firmly: "His memory has been deleted. Wraiths can't do it. It should be done by psykers who can control memory."

"Two years ago, a psychic killed and took over the identity of a wealthy businessman. Whether it was the mistress of the wealthy businessman, his servant, or even the neighbors, no one noticed until a passing psychic noticed it. Something is wrong. The two incidents are similar."

"You can see it." Ian's eyes were flashing with aqua-colored spiritual energy. Looking closely, he could see that there were some blue spiritual energy marks on Steward Moda's brain.

He didn't die just because the other party deliberately kept him alive, but a considerable part of his memory structure had been destroyed.

It seems that this psyker modified Baron Ryan's memory about the death of his son.

"You should have been saved by your master and young master."

Standing up, Ian raised his head and stared at the ancient castle: "They didn't want to kill you, so they just put you in the basement."

Lowering his head, he looked at the already depressed Steward Moda and said calmly: "You are not stupid, Steward Moda. You must know that the Baron has done some irreversible things now, and Sister Yingguang and I are here to wipe his butt. , to prevent him from continuing to make mistakes."

Manager Moda lowered his head and stared blankly at his hands.

The old butler seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant. He murmured to himself: "I have been with the master for more than forty years. When he was naughty and made mistakes when he was a child, I took over for him... Master, he has been very well-behaved since he was a child. He is a good person." Lord, how could..."

"What on earth is the master hiding from me..."

"Very good, you have obviously noticed the mistake." Ian said in a soft tone, with a trace of subtle confusion: "Now, recall carefully - about the Baroness and the Baron's son, that is, your The real situation of 'Little Master'."

"After the memories are over, you can choose to cooperate with us, or you can choose not to cooperate."

"Madam and young master..."

Following Ian's tone, Steward Moda was a little confused and confused at first, obviously not knowing what to ask such an obvious question.

But soon, he showed a horrified look: "No! How could it be?!"

"Aren't the madam and the young master already dead? But why, why do I still have the young master in my memory..."

It was like a thunderbolt crashing down, connecting heaven and earth, and the two memories were intertwined.

The old steward still remembers how he guided the young master to learn to walk little by little, and carried the young master to visit the beautiful sea of ​​flowers in Lian.

He still remembered that the young master fell because he was running too fast by the lake. He was so frightened that he ran the fastest speed in his life. Even Baron Ryan laughed and said that he, a father, was not as anxious as he was. ——The young master is a descendant of a noble family. It’s just a fall. How can it be considered a big deal?

But he was worried, how could he think rationally?

A flash of pale lightning pierced the dark sky, and the rumble of thunder could be faintly heard even in the basement.

Everything was just like the big storm six years ago.

A series of lights and shadows began to flash in the mind of the old man.

--heavy rain. storm. Collapsed mountains. An earthquake that shook the entire territory.

——The baron roared and flew out of the castle. The master knelt on the ground crying in despair. A boy who he watched grow up and once hid in his room and cried because of the scolding of his eldest father.

A child hugging him who was also shedding tears, just as vulnerable as forty years ago.

[Dead, Moda...all dead...all dead, my life is meaningless...]

"No, Master! This is not your fault. If you are still alive, there is always a possibility...don't give up!"

【……】

【right. 】

【you're right. It’s not time to despair yet. I can't give up yet. 】

At this moment, the old steward seemed to have activated a key element. He raised his head, his eyes so bright that even Ian and Yingguang felt abnormal: "Yes, I remembered..."

Manager Moda remembered it, and the two different memories overlapped and intertwined in his mind, and finally merged into one, presenting the most realistic appearance.

He did not hug the young master, but a blue spirit surrounded him and walked through the sea of ​​flowers.

No one was wrestling by the lake, just a mist swirling in the sunset.

No child has eaten the delicacies he carefully cooked, no child has laughed at the candy man he made by himself, the small wooden horse and wooden sword placed next to the seat furniture have never been ridden or wielded by anyone, and he has never played the role of a dragon. The enemy general was defeated by the little knight and lay on the ground with a 'ah' sound.

All memories are false.

The wooden horse and wooden sword were just placed there alone, and he and the Baron just stared at these toys that had been prepared long ago but had never been used.

From morning to evening, from late night to dawn.

Only a lone spirit lingers in the castle.

The misty mist, the blue spirit body, and the human form of a young child gradually solidified.

Because of other people's memories and other people's perceptions, the soul of the body gradually condenses.

But, still no face...

It is still a faceless, unsettling and terrifying wraith.

but……

But Moda was no longer afraid.

Because, he finally remembered.

When he turned around, the spirit body reached out to him not to hurt him.

It just wants to reach out and touch the old man it grew up with...

It just wants to...

Hug him.

"That's the young master..."