C61 —- [ 2.24 — The Rose Manor (End)]

The fog had lifted and the sky was still gray.

 

 

The mountains in the distance were endless, and at a glance, everything seemed to be the same as in the past.

 

But under the refraction of the sunlight, there were farmers in the territory who were bored as they looked into the distance, no one knew whether it was an illusion or not, they felt that the lofty mountains had a moment of distortion, and the greenish gray fog that lingered all year round had become more eerie and dense.

 

It was like there was a secret hidden underground in that remote mountain range that humans shouldn’t have explored.

 

 

At the foot of the mountain, the residence of the ruler of this territory, the manor that was originally in the state of time and space superposition also returned to its usual calm.

 

 

Only the color of the roses in the flower garden was getting deeper and deeper red, and the almost rotten aroma filled the air, mixing with the humid water vapor that came from an unknown place.

 

 

 

Inside the castle, the moldy walls were still oozing water, but the droplets were nearly non-existent.

 

 

Only the ankle-deep seawater remained on the floor, emitting a strong smell of the sea.

 

“What about this? What if the old count blames us?”

 

 

“Oooo…… I don’t know ah!”

 

The maids who cautiously walked out of the door didn’t have time to discuss what had happened in the estate before. The next moment, they looked at the chaotic interior of the castle, all pale and at a loss.
 

 

If the old count found out that the castle was in such a state, he would be so angry that he would kill someone!

 

 

They didn’t know if it was because they stayed in the fog for too long, the maids seemed to be more fragile than before, shivering at the thought of the old count’s gloomy and scary face, their minds going blank.

 

 

While the maids were all looking miserable, the butler who had been hiding in the room finally stumbled out of the room.

 

 

He looked at everything in the castle with a numb expression, his mental state seemed to be better than before, but he was still at the edge of madness.

 

 

Behind him was Jack and his party.

 

 

They were all stunned, looking around, wondering from when the fog began to dissipate.

 

“What happened?”

 

Jack looked at the walls and floors of the castle, which had been blistered with water, and moved his eyes upwards a little bit tentatively.

 

It was only after realizing that the walls and ceiling were free of those densely packed eyes that he let out a fierce sigh of relief.

 

 

“Gone, He’s gone!”

 

 

Jack kept muttering, looking agitated as he kept wandering through the corridor.

 

 

It wasn’t until he confirmed that there really wasn’t a single eyeball left that he let out an uncontrollable laugh, mad as hell.

 

Those few people who originally came with him to search for the old count’s evidence were similar.

 

 

Their expressions were stagnant mixed with weird excitement, like a few crazy people who had lost their minds.

 

 

The three people from the previous research team had all disappeared.

 

 

It seemed that the moment the manor returned to normal, they disappeared along with them, or rather returned to the world eighty years later.

 

 

The butler ignored these strangers.

 

 

He just mumbled and straightened the clothes on his body, making sure that he was dressed exactly as he usually was when he was in his usual working condition, and then he headed to the room where the old count was with stiff steps.

 

 

Whether the old count was there or not, he had to be there on time to inquire about needs as the steward of the manor.

 

 

As he walked down the corridor, the sound of Young Master Reid’s screams came to his ears.

 

 

He knew that the voice was Reid’s, but he didn’t dare to look and spy on things that he shouldn’t be able to spy on.

 

 

He simply walked quietly and numbly to the door of the old count’s room, expecting no reply as before, and then he could leave to attend to other matters.

 

 

After all, the old count hadn’t been in his room for some time.
 

He stayed by Angus’ side.

 

 

In a monstrous stance that was terrifying to the core.

 

 

But this time, he heard the old count’s familiar voice.

 

 

The low, velvety voice was characterized by the arrogance of an old-school nobleman, and the tone was somber, as if it carried an abhorrence of the entire world.

 

 

“Go lock up those people, including Reid.”

 

“Aye! Yes!”

 

 

Those people the old count was referring to were obviously Jack and the others.

 

 

The butler’s face, which was still numb, instantly turned pale at the words, knowing that the old count had already seen everything in the manor even if he stayed in the room.

 

 

Any secret was visible in the eyes of the old count, perhaps even his previous betrayals.

 

 

The butler bowed in fear, not daring to look up.

 

 

All that could be heard was a strange rustling sound from behind the door, and what seemed to be the sound of something slapping against each other.

 

 

He dared not listen any longer, and trembling, went to order the guards to apprehend as quickly as possible the bandits who had broken into the manor, as well as the Reid, who had been wailing and screaming in agony.

 

 

Fear made the butler become a bit more sober, and he seemed to finally realize that he should do something to make up for his mistakes, and became more and more conscientious.

 

 

Afraid that he would draw punishment from the old count because of a mistake.

 

 

“Angry?”

 

Inside the room, sitting on the bed, Jiu Shu looked at the object of punishment who was hugging him and not letting go, and there seemed to be a smile in his eyes.

 

 

“No.”

 

 

Norman hugged the love of his life tightly in his arms in fascination, his gaze warm.

 

He certainly wasn’t angry.

 

 

After completely merging with Black Norman, he already looked down on his past grudges, and he didn’t have those excessive hatred for these people who had betrayed him in his memories.

 

 

They were just strangers.

 

 

Now he couldn’t say which one of himself he actually was.

 

 

For everything that Black Norman experienced, whether it was the betrayal of his family, or dying alone in the castle, or the decades of wailing and pain in the underground, he felt that he had personally experienced it.

 

 

But the hatred that had originally sent him into a frenzy had faded to the point of insignificance.

 

 

He felt like his future self, yet at the same time he had memories of his love for Jiu Shu.

 

 

Those memories of feeling sorry for himself and longing to be young, and the sweet moments he had spent with Jiu Shu were also incredibly real and mesmerizing to him.

 

 

 

As Jiu Shu had said, he seemed to be more whole now, but more afflicted.

 

 

Because in his future self’s memories, there was no Jiu Shu.

 

 

In a world without Jiu Shu, he was incredibly lonely until he died.

 

 

No one loved him, and no one cared about him.

 

 

That bone-deep loneliness still haunted Norman to this day.

 

 

Since the fusion, he had never been able to let go of Jiu Shu, carrying him from the flower garden all the way to his room, all because of the fear of a future without Jiu Shu.

 

 

He even began to wonder if what was in front of him could be an illusory beautiful dream he had after falling into extreme madness.

 

The moment he woke up from the dream, he would completely lose the man he loved so much, and would realize that he was still in the darkness of the earth and had never escaped.

 

Everything was a fantasy of his own madness to the extreme.

 

 

“Of course it’s not a dream or a fantasy of yours.”

 

 

Jiu Shu kissed Norman’s forehead, still patient with the object of discipline who was always getting into dead ends in his thoughts from time to time.

 

 

Other parallel worlds didn’t have him simply because he was a soul from outside the world, but he did exist.

 

Jiu Shu’s forehead was pressed against Norman’s, and his azure-colored eyes reflected Norman’s ham-fisted, uncertain pitch-black orbs.

 

 

Even after having fused, the object of discipline still had a restlessness that was hard to hide, and Jiu Shu was very good at dealing with that restlessness.
 

He kissed Norman’s lips lightly, ambiguously intimate.

 

 

The warmth burned Norman’s pale cheeks to a brilliant red.

 

 

Norman became more shy after the fusion, just like the moment when the relationship was first established, but it could also be that his emotions became more straightforward.

 

 

After all, the previous Norman was quite good at putting on an act, being reserved on the surface, but in fact, watching him change his clothes would make his whole body redden.

 

 

“We have a lifetime to spend, you have plenty of time to prove whether I’m real or not.”

 

 

Jiu Shu’s voice was so soft that it seemed like sugar water, sweetening Norman’s heart.

 

 

He froze and looked at Jiu Shu’s smile, as if he was intoxicated, and he couldn’t help but move closer to him and deepen the kiss.

 

 

The roots of his ears, however, were red hot.

 

 

Obviously, he had already had many intimate gestures, but every time he felt incomparably excited.

 

 

This time after the fusion, he was even more excited to the point where it felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

 

 

Even though he didn’t know if he actually had a heart in this anthropomorphized body of his now.

 

 

All he knew was that he could do more intimate things with Jiu Shu.

 

 

Just like the previous agreement.

 

 

“Is the previous agreement …… also possible?”

 

 

Norman’s voice lost the coldness it had when dealing with outsiders and became timid, as if he hadn’t yet adjusted from his previous state of being a large white blob.

 

 

Because of Norman’s overly hot kiss, Jiu Shu’s snow-white face similarly flushed a thin layer of red.

 

 

His breathing was slightly unsteady, and he laughed out softly at the cautious look on the object of his punishment.

 

 

“Of course.”

 

 

As long as it wasn’t too much, he wouldn’t refuse.

 

 

After all, he didn’t hate the Punishment Object’s tentacles that represented His innermost emotions and would only wrap around him.

 

 

Jiu Shu’s smile was so beautiful that it dazzled Norman.

 

 

Only now did the uneasiness in Norman’s heart finally dissipate completely.

 

 

He hugged Jiu Shu tightly and kissed on his snow-white and soft cheeks and ears with fascination.

 

Fascinated by the true temperature of his lover.

 

The hot breath colored the tips of Jiu Shu’s ears red, making Norman unable to resist pecking gently.

 

 

Jiu Shu’s breathing was a little messed up.

 

 

Norman looked at his young lover with tender eyes, once again sure that this could never be a false dream.

 

 

Those obscure memories of the past had dissipated.

 

 

He was no longer the Norman who was forgotten by all and could only devour himself in solitude.

 

 

He was also no longer that old count who was arrogant on the surface and could only secretly feel sorry for himself.

 

 

Now he had become younger, and had become immensely compatible with his lover.

 

 

They could live the happiest life they had ever dreamed of together, and no one could tear them apart.

 

 

Until eternity.

 

 

Splat–

 

Suddenly, Norman’s cheek was slapped away by a pitch-black colored tentacle, and then rubbed itself gently against Jiu Shu’s cheek, as if it was pampering him.

 

 

Jiu Shu was awakened from his state of confusion by the soft touch on his cheek.

 

 

Opening his eyes, he couldn’t help but bend his blue eyes as he looked at the object of discipline in front of him with a blank expression.

 

 

“It’s cute.”

 

 

The tentacle was cute.

 

 

But perhaps there was a problem with the fusion, the tentacles were gentle with him, but somehow disobedient to the object of discipline himself.

 

 

Like a cat’s disobedient tail.

 

“……”

 

 

Norman dismissed the idea of using his tentacles.

 

 

He didn’t want to see these disobedient tentacles again, at least not now.

 

 

However, the tentacles didn’t listen to Norman’s command and didn’t care what he thought.

 

 

Splat–

 

 

The grayish-white tentacles heaved open Norman’s arm that was resting on Jiu Shu’s waist with unrelenting force, almost knocking the mimicked out arm back into shape.

“……” Norman didn’t say a word, putting his arm back around Jiu Shu’s waist, his whole body over him, not letting go of his hand even though the tentacles were hitting him fiercely.

 

 

No one could tear him and Jiu Shu apart.

 

 

And the tentacles were very measured, each time they hit, they hit precisely on Norman’s body, not touching Jiu Shu halfway.

 

 

Even when the wind from the slap accidentally blew on Jiu Shu’s skin, they would retract it with guilt and remorse.

 

 

The only thing that was merciless was to the main body.

 

 

Jiu Shu looked at the way Norman buried himself in the crook of his neck without saying a word and knew that he was only holding back the tears in his eyes right now.

 

 

The aftereffects of the fusion hadn’t allowed the object of the punishment to control his emotions very well yet.

 

 

However, he seemed to recognize himself as an older lover to Jiu Shu, and stubbornly believed that he couldn’t show his less reliable side in front of his younger lover.

 

Even if he was already holding back the redness in his eyes.

 

 

Jiu Shu glanced at Norman’s aggravated appearance and couldn’t help but gently stroke Norman’s black, semi-long hair as if to soothe it.

 

 

Although Norman was still buried in the nape of his neck, he couldn’t help but rub against Jiu Shu’s palm, immensely attached to his lover’s gentleness.

 

 

“Okay, don’t be sad, it’ll be fine later.”

 

 

 

Jiu Shu warmly lifted Norman’s head, and his snow-white fingers gently stroked his pale and cold cheeks.

 

 

The cool temperature belonging to the evil god made the object of punishment perfect for hugging in the hot summer sun.

 

 

He embraced Norman, running his palms soothingly over his muscular spine, blocking the tentacles that kept attacking, and took the initiative to kiss him on the lips.

 

 

Norman’s eyes widened slightly, then became gentle again and deepened the kiss.

 

 

The tentacles didn’t resist the proximity of Jiu Shu, but could only leer from the sidelines, and Norman no longer had the time to pay attention to the tentacles.

 

 

He was lost in his lover’s kiss and couldn’t help himself.

 

 

The dimly lit room gradually resounded with the sound of sticky water.

 

 

The wet and slippery marks at the walls also became heavier and heavier.

 

 

The restless tentacles also seemed to become giddy in this dim atmosphere, slowly wrapping around his lover’s limbs.

 

 

Jiu Shu’s snow-white wrists were rubbed to a reddish color.

 

It wasn’t until the night deepened and the sound of the water died down that Jiu Shu curled up his arms in some exhaustion.

 

 

He was helpless against these messy tentacles.

 

 

Obviously, they were obedient at the beginning, but they became extraordinarily excessive along the way, so excessive that Jiu Shu suspected that the target of the punishment was intentional.

 

 

Especially today, he was extraordinarily impulsive and more agitated than the first time, obviously because of Black Norman.

 

 

Although he was restraining his strength, the over-abundance of energy still left Jiu Shu a little too weak to withstand it.

 

 

Looking at the dark sky outside the window, he narrowed his eyes that were flushed red, no longer looking at the red marks on his body, and tiredly fall asleep.

 

 

Norman cradled the love of his life in his arms insatiably, and kissed Jiu Shu’s sweaty temple again, and closed his eyes along with Jiu Shu’s even though he didn’t need the sleep.

 

 

In the days that followed, Norman’s tentacles seemed much more disobedient.

 

 

To the point where Jiu Shu began to order Norman not to release his tentacles.

 

 

“Use your tentacles again and you’ll go sleep on the floor.” Jiu Shu said in a gentle tone.

 

 

“!”

 

 

Norman had no choice but to put away those little thoughts, and the tentacles were put away listlessly.

 

Recently the castle had begun to redecorate.

 

 

After all, after being soaked in seawater for so long, a lot of things had been damaged, and it was almost uninhabitable without repair.

 

 

Taking advantage of the gap between the castle’s renovations, Jiu Shu proposed going out for a trip, he had wanted to go out for a stroll for a long time.

 

 

“Go to the Imperial Capital.”

 

 

Jiu Shu looked at the news about Henry I on the newspaper, not much emotion could be seen on his snow-white, flawless face.

 

 

“Yes!”

 

Norman sat at his desk with the love of his life in his arms, his mind completely off his official paperwork, only kissing the side of Jiu Shu’s face again and again.

 

 

Taking advantage of Jiu Shu’s inattention, even his tentacles emerged and wrapped around his waist squirmed in fascination.

 

 

“By the way, the butler seems to be resigning.”

 

 

Jiu Shu looked at the letter in his hand, pondering.

 

 

He looked at Norman’s pale face, who withdrew his tentacles somewhat sheepishly, his face still maintaining a steady and solemn look.

 

 

Jiu Shu lost his smile.

 

 

“…… I mean, should we change all the servants in the manor.”

 

Jiu Shu understood the object of discipline’s past, and was also heartbroken by all the suffering he had once endured.

 

 

So to those who had betrayed him in the parallel world, he respected the object of discipline’s opinion.

 

 

“!” It was then that Norman finally heard the meaning of Jiu Shu’s words, and instantly looked at his lover with some bewilderment.

 

 

“…… All right.”

 

 

Norman replied in a low voice, he didn’t expect him to know about his aversion to those servants.

 

 

He originally only wanted to maintain his kind and steady image in front of Jiu Shu, and had long since looked down on those grudges, not caring about those people at all.

 

But his lover cared more than him.

 

 

Because in his eyes, He was important.

 

 

“Then we’ll replace them all.”

 

 

Jiu Shu touched Norman’s eyes that had reddened from how touched he was and said softly.

 

 

Reid, who was one of the masterminds, had gotten what he deserved.

 

 

Julie, who was Reid’s lover, although her heart wasn’t as deep as Reid’s, she was also an enabler.

 

 

So now she accompanied Reid who had fallen into madness.

 

 

Jiu Shu knew that accompanying a madman who howled all day long, as the heroine in the original novel, Julie, who had been favored by the crowd, couldn’t stand it for long at all.

 

 

In the original story, the couple who had lived a happy life by stepping on the bones of the old count had been doomed to tragedy.

 

 

The next step was the mastermind behind the scenes, Henry the First.

 

 

“After you’ve been to the imperial capital, how about traveling around the world?” Norman hugged Jiu Shu with a face full of fascination and suddenly spoke.

 

 

Jiu Shu’s eyes were gentle as he replied softly, “Don’t want to spend your life in the manor?”

 

 

Jiu Shu knew that the object of punishment’s biggest wish before was to be able to live in the manor with him forever and spend his life happily.

 

 

But perhaps it was because there were no memories of Black Norman at that time, and the object of discipline had not yet felt abhorrence towards this place.

 

 

Now the object of discipline seemed to think differently.

 

 

“As long as we’re together all the time, wherever we are is fine.”

 

Norman had long since lost his attachment to the manor, and as long as he stayed with Jiu Shu, he would be incredibly happy wherever he was.

 

Norman’s cheeks flushed with happiness and rubbed his lover’s soft skin lovingly.

 

 

He gently hugged Norman’s head that was rubbing around the side of his neck and laughed softly.

 

 

Thud-

 

They didn’t know how much time passed, until Jiu Shu and Norman had already started discussing the traveling route after the Imperial Capital, when a careful knocking sound suddenly came from outside the room.

 

 

It was the butler.
 

He had come to submit his resignation papers.

 

As a butler managing a huge manor, he had a lot of affairs to hand over, and he simply couldn’t handle them all in just a few days.

 

 

 

However, in order to escape from this manor as soon as possible, he worked night and day to process the documents, and finally completed all the handovers today.

 

 

There was no way he could stay here any longer.

 

 

Fear had already caused him to lose sleep throughout the day, and his mental state was on the verge of collapse.

 

 

He knew he was going to go completely crazy if he didn’t leave.
 

 

But he was also truly afraid to face that eerie old count.

 

 

It was good to see that the old count’s mood had become so good lately, and the damp air in the manor had become so much fresher, that it was as if everything had gone back to before the old count had become young.

 

 

But the butler knew it wasn’t.

 

 

He was only briefly in a good mood.

 

 

The butler’s instincts told him that now was the perfect time to leave.

 

If it was any later, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk away.

 

“Come in.”

 

 

Angus’s soft voice sounded through the door, and the butler knew the old count must be sitting right beside him.

 

 

Since that foggy day, the old count had returned.

 

 

He had also become more attached to Angus than before.

 

 

Every day he stayed with Angus, not moving an inch, like a pair of Siamese twins.

 

 

The butler even suspected that if there really was an operation that could completely melt himself with Angus, then the old count would do it without hesitation.

 

“I, I came, to resign, resign.”

 

 

The butler mouthed and bowed his head, only taking a quick glance at his master and Angus in front of him as he handed over his resignation letter.

 

 

The old count was still pale, and his gloomy brow made him look incredibly morose.

 

 

Even his youthful and handsome features couldn’t conceal the dreadful aura which he revealed at all times.

 

 

But his shadow didn’t seem as frightening as before.

 

 

The butler bowed his head in a daze and glanced at the old count’s shadow.

 

 

That original grotesque and bloated shadow seemed to be gone, and even the old count’s original humanoid shadow was gone.

 

 

All that remained were the moldy spots that blended completely into the walls.

 

Could it be that the old count was no longer a monster?

 

 

The butler didn’t know the answer.

 

 

He only heard Angus’s careless voice say, “You may go.”

 

 

Angus allowed his resignation.

 

 

The steward’s trembling hand took the stamped resignation, bowed shakily and left.

 

 

He didn’t dare to look up until he walked out of the room, revealing a face full of cold sweat.

 

 

Angus seemed to have changed as well.

 

 

He became even more beautiful than before, like a rose that bloomed to extravagant proportions, and the way he snuggled into the old count’s arms made people not dare to look directly at him.

 

 

Compared to the gloomy old count, Angus’s beauty was like the beauty of being imprisoned by a monster, with poisonous thorns that made people not dare to approach.

 

 

Only Angus was willingly trapped in the monster’s arms and never minded the monster’s gloominess.

 

 

Perhaps it would be like that for a long time in the manor.

 

But those things were no longer his concern.

 

 

The butler wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and suddenly remembered Jack and the others in captivity.

 

 

They had been sent to prison for trespassing on private property shortly after they were locked up by the guards, but he had heard that they had all gone mad not long after entering the prison.

 

 

Crazy enough to babble something like “Underground! Underground!”

 

 

There were also maids in the castle who had become crazy, even the candidates who had been locked up.

 

 

Recently, those candidates had been kicked out of the manor after being given a compensation, and many of them had become psychotic in their demeanor.

 

It was also because of them that he had recently resigned so urgently.

 

 

But the butler didn’t actually understand why they had suddenly gone mad.

 

 

In his opinion, the current manor was much better than before, and although he knew that it was just the calm before the storm, the sense of oppression was indeed not as strong as before.

 

 

“Underground ……”

 

The butler subconsciously glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the corridor.

 

 

This was the highest floor of the castle, and looking down it overlooked the entire manor, even the mountains in the distance.

 

 

But today’s weather was gray, and the effects of industrial pollution made it hard for him to see the sun here, only large swaths of shadows within the manor.

 

 

Big, creeping shadows.

 

“……”
 

The butler approached the floor-to-ceiling window in stupefaction, his eyes trembling uncontrollably as he looked out over the vast expanse of shadows on the estate.

 

 

Grotesque, bloated, ghastly.

 

 

As first seen beside the old count.

 

“Ah …… ah ……” The butler let out a disembodied airy sound from his dry throat and fell limp to the floor.

 

 

It seemed that everything finally made sense.

 

 

The old count’s shadow hadn’t actually disappeared.

 

 

He just became bigger, so big that the shadow could no longer be revealed on the walls.

 

 

So big that it spread all the way to the mountains in the distance.

 

 

“Underground! Underground there’s-”

 

 

The butler fainted after letting out a low, hoarse sound, the unacceptable truth breaking him down completely.

 

 

Afterward, he was picked up by his family and spent over a year of weak recuperation at home before barely regaining his spirit.

 

 

After coming to his senses, his family told him that many great things had happened in the empire recently.

 

 

“Great events?”

 

The butler repeated blankly.

 

 

The great events referred to were that the empire’s emperor, Henry I, had gone mad.

 

 

The empire also underwent a big change into a constitutional monarchy, after which the heir would succeed the throne.

 

 

As for the exact reason why Henry I went mad, there were many different opinions.

 

 

But the most reliable was that Henry I suffered from a family genetic disease.

 

 

Henry I wasn’t only mad, he had ulcers all over his body, but all the doctors in the country were unable to help.

 

 

It was said that Henry I’s screams echoed throughout the palace, and that hee couldn’t even commit suicide.

 

 

Because the empire still needed him as the nominal emperor as part of the constitutional monarchy, and needed him to live to the end of his life.

 

 

Even if it was in a gesture of excruciating pain.

 

 

“The most ridiculous thing is that a lot of people over in the imperial capital are so superstitious that they actually say that it was Henry I who angered the gods.”

 

 

“Saying something like one day when the fog was thick, many people saw a shadow taller than the sky appear in the fog, and the air was filled with the fishy smell of seawater.
And the shadow floated like a jellyfish in the fog, flying off into the unseen distance.
After that day Henry I. went mad, became very ill, and has been bedridden ever since.”

 

 

 

The butler’s wife gleefully spoke of the rumors, and picked up the newspaper beside her that was filled with gossip to corroborate them.

 

 

But she didn’t notice the butler’s face getting paler and paler.

 

 

 

She went on about the events of the past year or so, bringing up Julie and Reid, who had once been beautifully known.

 

“You know what? Reid seems to have gone completely insane, and his symptoms are actually similar to His Majesty’s, he also has ulcers all over his body.
Miss Julie stayed by his side for about half a year, but couldn’t stand it and secretly ran away.
Then she married a minor nobleman and lived a good life.
But that small nobleman always has a mistress, Miss Julie was so angry that she often came to see you for a period of time, looking for you to confide in hahaha! After all, you were mentally unbalanced at the time, it didn’t matter what you were told.”

 

 

“To be honest, Miss Julie shouldn’t have been with Reid in the first place. Her mother sent her there just to get a share of the pie when the old count died, but she ended up with Reid.

Alas, but it’s justifiable; after all, Miss Julie isn’t as good looking as Angus, and the old count didn’t want her in the first place, and had never been alone with her even once from start to finish; there’s a reason why she fell in love with Reid.
It’s just, poor Miss Julie.”

The wife’s voice held a hint of regret.

The butler no longer wanted to hear it.

Ignoring his wife, he lowered his head and covered his ears while trembling.

He didn’t want to, and didn’t dare to listen any longer.

Didn’t dare to pry into things that had to do with god.

It didn’t matter if it was a god or a monster, Julie or Reid, the butler thought with a crumbling mind.

He just wanted to get as far away as possible from those things that had to do with the old count.

Against his wishes, however, his wife began to talk about the manor again.

The manor that the butler had tried so desperately to escape from before was now the far-famed Rose Manor, except that the old Count still didn’t allow anyone else to enter.

It was said that for the sake of his young lover, the old count not only redecorated the manor, but also planted the manor inside and outside full of roses.

And the strange thing was, no matter in spring, summer, fall or winter, the roses never failed to bloom.

“Many peasants in the territory once wanted to go to pick one or two to see why the flowers have been undefeated, but guess what, none of those peasants got it.
When they went back, they got very sick, and there were rumors that the old count was a monster and wouldn’t allow people to pick roses, and that if they did, they would be cursed and would become delirious ……”

 

“Obviously the old count and his lover Angus traveled a lot and neither stayed at home ……”

The wife laughed to herself as she spoke.

The butler looked up in a trance at his smiling wife and realized with a start that she was holding a rose in her hand.

It was as brightly colored as the ones he had seen countless times before in the manor.

The butler’s eyes widened in shock, suddenly remembering that his wife was long dead.

 

Then who was this person in front of him?

“Ahhhh-!!!”

The butler’s screams woke up the others in the house.

They rushed to the butler’s room and looked at their father, who was once again mentally unstable and had even begun to talk to himself and spit at himself.

Not knowing what had happened.

Originally, they thought that their father’s mental state had gotten better in the past two days, but now he was back to his old ways.

Thinking this way, they picked up the rose on the floor and put it back on the bedside.

This rose was specially picked by them from outside the manor.

It was just that when they saw the mentally deranged butler staring in the direction of the manor all day and night, and reciting something underground in his mouth, they thought that he was just missing the manor life.

They didn’t expect it to be of no use.

In the room, the crowd left after settling the butler down.

No one noticed how much panic was in the butler’s screams.

He was going to lie down for another half a year with this serious illness.

And at this time, somewhere in the empire.

Jiu Shu was looking at a large bouquet of paper roses in his hands, his blue eyes slightly curved, revealing a smile.

“So many flowers every day, isn’t it be tiring?”

Jiu Shu snuggled into the arms of the object of punishment, reaching out his arms and wrapping them around his neck with a smile so beautiful that it mesmerized Norman.

He carefully cradled the love of his life in his arms, his eyes full of tenderness, “Of course not.”

The older man’s characteristic thoughtfulness had led Norman to send Jiu Shu paper roses every day, and there hadn’t been a single day in years that he’d missed.

“Is it because of the many tentacles?”

“Well, sort of.”

“Do you feel like there are too many tentacles?”

“…… It won’t. The tentacles are very capable of doing a lot of things, and every one of them is useful.”

Norman vaguely sensed something was amiss, and his tone became more and more pleasing.

“I can do it.”

Jiu Shu pointed to the red marks on his arm.

He didn’t know where the quirk came from, but he actually grew suckers on his tentacles just like an octopus, and it got all over him.

Although it didn’t hurt, the overstimulation was something that normal people couldn’t endure, even if his physique was a bit stronger than normal people.

 

“……”

Norman went quiet at once, seemingly embarrassed.

He also felt that he did demand a bit too much from his young lover, but he couldn’t help it.

 

Every time he saw Jiu Shu he couldn’t help but hold him in his arms, wishing they could stick together forever, it would make him feel a deep sense of fulfillment.

 

It was addictive.

“Sorry.”

Norman dutifully admitted his mistake to his young lover.

He was usually so careful about kissing his lover that he rarely even left a hickey for fear of hurting him.

But the tentacle always disobeyed his orders and would always do something to distress his lover.

Thinking about everything last night, Norman felt his cheeks burning a little, even the tentacles were starting to disobey him again.

He managed to force it under control though, knowing he couldn’t make him angry again.

Jiu Shu reluctantly accepted the apology.

 

Then, he told him to go sleep on the floor.

“…… Okay.”

Norman accepted the punishment nicely and lay on the floor bed eyeing his sleeping lover on the bed.

Jiu Shu was fast asleep, and he stayed that way peacefully on the floor watching his lover.

Only the tentacles were carefully taking advantage of Jiu Shu’s inattention, quietly resting on his wrist, intimately circling it.

It was obvious that they were only half a meter or so apart, but to Norman it looked as if they were thousands of meters apart.

He wanted to get closer, but having promised Jiu Shu, he didn’t break the agreement.

 

After all, he was a lover who was older than Jiu Shu, and he needed to be more steady and considerate.

 

Last night did tire Jiu Shu, he was too reckless and rude, too inconsiderate.

Today, he should let Jiu Shu rest well.

 

Norman thought this way, and just kept his eyes open and watched Jiu Shu until dawn.

Early the next morning, he was awakened by the feeling of wetness at his wrists.

Opening his eyes, he saw the object of punishment on the floor looking at him with a surprised expression, before becoming gentle and composed again.

Sitting up, he got ready to go get his toiletries.

 

Only the wetness on him indicated that the object of discipline had definitely been depressed for a long time last night.

Depressed to the point of secretly shedding tears.

“……”

Jiu Shu held his forehead and couldn’t help but laugh out softly, thinking that the object of punishment was getting cuter and cuter.

Then, he’d temporarily forgive him for what he did before.

Getting up, Jiu Shu washed up before leaving the hotel with Norman.

The place they were in now was one of the more popular tourist destinations in the Empire.

It was said to be dotted with relics of the gods, and there were many pilgrimages made by hobbyists of the occult.

It just so happened that Jiu Shu was tired of strolling around other places and was ready to perfect his occult notes here, and he was prepared to wait until they were a bit more complete before releasing them.

Perfecting the occult system of this world was an interesting thing in Jiu Shu’s opinion, completely satisfying his desire for research.

Also because the object of discipline around him was an unnamable god, he was able to deepen his level of research, which was really beneficial.

“Ahhhhhh – help! Help!!!”

Inside a dimly lit cave, the ragged young girl desperately fled.

And behind her was a group of cultists who were following closely, their purpose of this trip was to force the maiden towards the altar.

Now, the maiden had arrived.

“No! Where is this place? Oooooh! Help!”

The young girl, her calf caught in the trap and dripping with blood, could only be dragged with laughter by the cultists towards the altar that had been barricaded a short distance away.
And at that moment, the bonfire on the altar was lit, and the flames rose up to form the shape of a skull.

An unnamed black mist floated up with it, opening the skeleton’s mouth and waiting greedily for the sacrifice.

“god! Hahaha! god has finally come out!”

“Quickly! Quickly offer this sacrifice to god!”

The cultists looked at the black skull that appeared, their eyes filled with excitement, and they couldn’t wait to take out their bloodletting blades to bleed the young girl.

 

“Ahhh-” the young girl screamed miserably as she looked at the blades that were getting closer and closer.

And just as the crowd was busy dealing with the young girl, two more silhouettes suddenly appeared beside the altar.

One was tall and elegant, while the other was tall and slender.

“Hmm.” Jiu Shu looked at the spell formation on the altar with a thoughtful expression.

While looking at it, he also sketched and drew on the notebook in his hand.

There were indeed other gods in this world, but unexpectedly, none of them seemed to be as powerful as the object of punishment.

Regardless of the parallel world, it seemed that the only god that could grow to the extent of destroying the world was the Object of Discipline.

 

The other gods were not so much gods as they were powerful energy bodies of a different kind than humans, and were considered powerful compared to humans.

But compared to a true god, they were no different from humans.

They were all just ants.

Just as Jiu Shu was busy researching, those cultists beside him seemed to have finally discovered the existence of the two people, and their faces showed shock.

They then shouted taboo with fierce faces, wanting god to punish the human who dared to intrude into the altar.

 

The black smoke-like skeleton on the altar also seemed to have just discovered his presence, and under the call of the believers, it immediately swelled up to more than two meters high, and pounced on him in a fierce and vicious manner.

 

Jiu Shu raised his eyes, and his azure eyes were faint.

His beauty beyond normal beauty made even the skeleton pause for a moment, suddenly not wanting to kill him.

It was fine to keep him as a sacrifice for himself.

Rustling – Before the thoughts could stop, the skeleton suddenly sensed something.

It snapped its eyes wide open, finally realizing that there was someone else standing beside him.

He seemed to have been hiding his breath until now, when he held Jiu Shu in his arms and looked up at it coldly.

“!!!”

“god?” The crowd under the altar looked at the god that had suddenly shrunk into a small ball with a dumbfounded expression, looking around in bewilderment, not knowing what was happening.

That was, until Jiu Shu finished taking all the notes and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Norman tenderly wrapped his arms around his lover, the god looking gentle and obedient as he led him away.

Just behind him, unseen by Jiu Shu, His behemoth-like shadow revealed a hideous and ghastly face, frightening the crowd at the altar into a stupefied stupor.

Grotesque, bloated, and terrifying to the extreme.

Pfft…

After a tentacle slapped the smoke that dared to covet its lover, the bloated giant shadow’s tentacles rubbed in the flames in disgust, rubbing off the dirty, ugly smoke before leaving with a disdainful light snort.

Leaving only the cultists dumbfounded in their place.

The only young girl who was spared was also filled with madness when she saw this.

But fortunately, she was a bit more resilient and tried her best to climb up and escape from the altar.

From then on, the legend of a nameless god began to circulate in the outside world.

The legend said that this god was so powerful that he could easily devour other gods, and the sacrifice by his side was so beautiful that it was beyond words.

“Strange rumors.”

Jiu Shu looked at the gossip news on the newspaper, especially the large paragraphs speculating about the ambiguous relationship between the god and the sacrifice, and his expression was subtle.

 

People in this world were really passionate about love affairs, even the occult had to involve a bit of love affairs.

Norman was quite satisfied.

He liked this pairing of god and sacrifice, as if they had only each other and would be together forever.
Jiu Shu glanced at Norman, who was so full of contentment that he just pecked his cheek, and shook his head, but couldn’t help but smile a little.

Well, if he wanted him as a sacrifice so badly, then so be it.

The journey continued.

Jiu Shu and Norman were out traveling for several long years, leaving behind some creepy legends in every place they visited.

It was probably because the power of the object of punishment had gotten stronger over time, and its influence on the world had grown.

Even if He didn’t even intend to do it, a lot of weird things began to appear in this world, most of them related to the gods.

But compared to the ending of the original Blood of Madness, this seemed to turn out just fine.

Jiu Shu sat in a hut on the beach and finished his notes.

He was going to organize them into a book and publish them after a while, which would be considered as one of the researches he had completed.

Rustling-

Eerie, strange noises came from outside the hut.

It was nightfall, and the sound of the waves lapping against the cliffs resounded in his ears, but it couldn’t hide the strange sound at all.

Click – the door to the room opened.

The damp smell of the sea blew in along with the salty sea breeze, and Jiu Shu raised his eyes to look at Norman, who was dripping wet, and his azure eyes curved slightly.

Norman also revealed a smile.

It was just that on his pale, bloodless face, this bright smile looked a bit ghastly.

It was like some kind of cold-blooded mollusk wearing a human’s skin, with the somewhat slippery skin causing a subtle shift in the features, making it more and more bizarre and frightening.

But he himself was oblivious, carefully holding a large string of extremely beautiful pearls in his hand, handing it to Jiu Shu.

Eyes shining brightly, as if waiting for his lover’s kiss.

Jiu Shu curved his deep blue eyes and kissed his moist lips as he wished.

“Thank you, I love it.”

It was indeed thoughtful of the object of discipline to give him a gift every day after all these years.

“I love you, more every day.”

Norman hugged him tightly, still blushing from years of love that made him blush with every hug and kiss.

“I love you too.” Jiu Shu responded warmly, the softness of his voice making Norman happily hug him tighter.

 

Tentatively, he brushed kisses against Jiu Shu’s ear until he acquiesced.

He had accidentally gone too far again the other day, and the consequence of pissing off Jiu Shu was not being allowed in the room for two days.

Today he had made a special trip to the deep sea to look for pearls and had turned an oversized scallop inside out.

Speaking of which, that scallop seemed to have been made into a mother goddess of the sea or something by a group of people on the beach, and anyway, Norman thought that it would be something that would be loved by Jiu Shu.

Sure enough it worked.

He had to get more pearls next time!

Norman kissed the tip of his lover’s ear in fascination, not satisfied until it was glowing with an attractive blush.

The tentacles also began to slowly wrap around Jiu Shu’s waist, just before the lights went out, Jiu Shu seemed to whisper in Norman’s ear through gritted teeth, “No next time.”

The next time, it wouldn’t be so easy to forgive.

“Okay.” Norman started to wilt a bit again.

But immediately afterward he didn’t have the heart to lose it.

Kissing his lover’s soft lips, he wrapped his arms around Jiu Shu’s well-proportioned body, refusing to relax one bit.

Every day he spent with his lover, he was happy.

A happiness he had never imagined in the first half of his life.

 

He hoped that such happiness would last forever and ever and ever.

One day, eighty years later, Clance of the Science Team awoke in his room.
He looked at the familiar room and suddenly rushed out of the door like a madman, seeing that the sky was still foggy, but there was no more of the roiling fog that he remembered.

For a moment, he wept with joy.

He knew that the world was saved.

The heir no longer destroyed the world, for He had gotten the treasure He wanted most, the youth named Angus.

 

Clance fell to his knees and burst into tears and laughter.

Just a moment ago, he was still in the manor that had a horrible aura everywhere, and in the blink of an eye, he was back eighty years later, which made his fragile spirit not have time to react, so he could only fall on his knees in the street like this, looking so crazy that he seemed to be a madman who had lost his mind.

He suddenly saw a group of people in white high-collar robes and pointed hats coming out of the street, each person seemed to be holding a heavy book in their hands, and their mouths were constantly chanting words.

The people of Misty City after eighty years seemed to have become even more neurotic than before.

 

Clance subconsciously avoided the group, only to have a pamphlet shoved in their hands.

There were various ancient words written on it, and Clance could clearly see one of the familiar names – Jiu Shu.

 

He had never heard of the so-called Master of the Occult that Jack had mentioned before, and had always thought that it was just Jack talking out of his ass.

He didn’t expect that there really was such a person.

 

“Do you also know Master Jiu Shu? Do you know him? He is the most famous and even now recognized as the most learned Occult Master eighty years ago!”

“Great, since you know all this, that’s even better, mind delaying you for some time? I would like to introduce you to our most merciful savior, the Nameless god!”

“Ever heard of the Henry I plague eighty years ago! Misty City became completely foggy after that one, you must know about it!”

“The Nameless god was the cause of that fog, but don’t worry, He did that for the fate of all mankind, otherwise that Henry I would have destroyed the future of all mankind sooner or later, and right now, we have a good life because of the Nameless god!”

 

“……” Clance listened to this nonsense in bewilderment.

 

As far as he could remember, Henry I had been a very capable monarch who had laid down the militaristic system of the country, and it didn’t even seem like he was the same vile and miserable villain that this man was talking about.

 

“How about joining us! Join the Nameless god Cult and let’s go searching for god’s relics together! There’s also a portrait of the Nameless god’s Sacrifice to give away!”

“Look! Lord Sacrifice was sent by god to save the world, beautiful beyond human imagination!”

Clance was routed by the man’s barrage of words, but the portrait still caught his attention.

Even though it was just a blurry side face, like a portrait stolen by a painter.

But the aura of beauty to the extreme was something he quickly recognized.

 

He hastily grabbed the other brochures in the man’s hand, and after seeing that it was indeed Angus, his eyes widened.

As if realizing something, he hurriedly got rid of the man’s pestering and hurried to the library to retrieve various news from the last eighty years.

 

Especially the news related to Rose Manor.

Looking at the newspaper in his hands, Clance’s fingers trembled slightly.

Everything was different.

The world line had changed, everything had changed.

Henry I had gotten a strange disease, Reid and Julie hadn’t become the famous couple of history, the old Count hadn’t been condemned and had lived on.

His once fog-shrouded territory had also become bountiful, except that one by one, all the peasants in the territory had been driven out and planted on by the lord, which had made that territory more and more productive as the first large farm in the empire to be mechanized so far.

Where was Angus?

It’d been eighty years, Angus should be dead right, that old Count …… Has He gone mad and destroyed the world over this?

Clance suddenly thought of this, and his expression instantly became panic-stricken.

He fumbled through other documents and finally saw an obituary in an official newspaper.

Count Augustus and his partner, Angus, had died in the same year, on the same day, and were buried together at Rose Manor.

Buried beneath a field of roses that was his partner’s favorite.

And that area had become off-limits, no one was allowed to enter.

 

It was said to be shrouded in mist all day long, and those who entered only got lost and walked out in a trance, losing any memory of the fog.

The fog.

It was the old Count all right.

No, it was the Evil god’s heir.

He was definitely not dead, but Angus more than likely was.

 

And surprisingly, He hadn’t gone mad, even if He still eventually chose to sleep in the same place that had trapped Him for eighty years.

Why?

 

Was it simply because that was the place where He and Angus first met and fell in love?

 

It wasn’t impossible, after all, He had loved Angus to a degree that no human could imagine.

 

Clance stared blankly at the news, then suddenly remembered something and started searching for information about the Nameless god.

The Nameless god was a claim that had only begun to spread from a few decades ago.

It was said to be a god that was so powerful that it could devour other gods at will, and there was evidence of countless gods that had been destroyed, including the god of Death, the goddess of the Sea, and so on.

The Nameless god was first made famous for destroying the momentarily powerful god of Death, but also for the exceptionally beautiful priest accompanying him.

Although only a blurry portrait remained, that impressive beauty had made the world remember this priest forever.

The Jiu Shu mentioned by the man earlier had written a book containing much occult knowledge and was held in high esteem in the occult world, and it was said that it contained many spell formations for summoning the gods, even including that nameless god.

 

Many of these spells had been attempted by many people, and very few had succeeded, but they did succeed.

Even more unbelievably, it was said that someone had once summoned that nameless god.

 

Since this god detested all bloody sacrifices, the means of summoning was exceptionally tedious.

After the summoner paid an incalculable price, he finally summoned a wisp of the nameless god’s breath.

 

And with that, he also brought about the disaster of doom.

 

Just a single wisp of breath was enough to send an entire town into a frenzy, and it was only after the officials intervened that the situation was calmed down.

 

In the end, the officials sealed the page about the nameless god in the book and no longer allowed ordinary people to read it.

 

And according to the survivors of that disaster, it was as if there was the sound of breathing in that scent, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.

Ordinary people would feel sleepy upon hearing it, and some kind of horrible changes would begin to occur in their bodies as a result.

In response, some occult authorities seemed to realize what was going on, and they stopped summoning the nameless god, and also joined forces to hide the summoning method forever.

 

Only one sentence was left to the outside world: He sleeps, and He does not like to be awakened by others.

Therefore, ordinary people should never try it.

“……”

Putting away the newspaper and literature in his hands, Clance revealed a trance-like expression.

He recalled the scene where he saw Angus in the manor.

At the same time, he also understood the reason why the Evil god’s heir didn’t go crazy.

 

It must be that Angus had made some kind of agreement with Him.

 

And the sleeping Evil god’s Heir was waiting for the moment when the pact would be fulfilled.

 

Probably a pact for the next life or something like that.

 

He didn’t like to be awakened by others, because He only allowed Himself to be awakened by Angus.

Raising his head, Clance looked at the sky outside the library, as if he could see through the clouds to the manor shrouded in mist beneath the distant mountains.

 

And the sleeping god beneath the manor.

May the god dream well.

And may He not wake up again.

At least not until Angus returned.

 

 

---

TN:

I was late by a day, but it’s a long one …..

New arc 🥺🥺🥺🥺

See ya tomorrow ✌️