Chapter 34: Teacher

“You know, Mrs. Denise is really good at cooking.”

“I really like going to her restaurant.”

“It’s very close to where I live—no need for a carriage, just a ten-minute walk.”

The man in the painting moved his lips, colored by oil paint, opening and closing as he shared anecdotes with his ‘friend.’

Harvey Michelson nodded, his face betraying no surprise; he even began to discuss preferences with this ‘cursed object.’

“I prefer cream stews. How about you?”

“Cream stews, huh? That’s pretty good too, but I like…”

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking at the door interrupted the conversation between man and painting.

“Come in.”

“Manager.”

Marlon Reed stepped into the room, not alone—Hanna Carter stood beside him, her hands shackled.

The baron’s eldest daughter looked pale, her gaze unfocused—a lingering side effect of being struck by the ‘Secret Artifact’s’ slumber.

She couldn’t sleep for seventy-two hours and occasionally heard faint hallucinations.

The moment the two entered, the chattering figure in the painting fell silent.

Now, unintelligible syllables began to emit from it; the room’s temperature seemed to drop several degrees, giving off a cold and damp atmosphere.

“Marlon, you go out first. You’ll take my shift later.”

“Understood.”

Marlon led Hanna to a chair by the table, then left the room.

“…I prefer pan-fried lamb chops with roasted vegetables, preferably cherry tomatoes.”

Harry returned to normal and resumed his monologue.

Harvey turned around, adjusting the painting’s position, facing away from him toward Hanna Carter.

The man in the painting fell silent again, the colors around his eyes deepening as he stared unblinkingly at the woman before him.

Harvey sat back down and opened the notebook on the table.

“Hanna Carter.”

“Rich merchant from Glen City, eldest daughter of Baron Newman Carter.”

“Her father, Newman Carter, is a believer in the Church of Truth and the Lord of All Spirits.”

“Her mother, Helena Carter, is a follower of the Church of Harvest and Agriculture.”

“Her elder brother, Brooke Carter, also follows the Church of Truth.”

“The family has no criminal record and no signs of contact with evil deity worship.”

“Hanna Carter, where did you acquire this knowledge? Which Secret Path do you follow?”

Hanna lowered her eyes.

After a long silence, she spoke, “My Secret Path is the Path of the Fighter.”

“Liar…”

Harry muttered softly at first, then repeated it faster and louder, the tone rising sharply.

“Liar, liar, liar, liar!!!”

Harvey tapped the table with his pen and said, “Miss Carter, you are currently suspected of involvement in a sacrificial ritual related to evil deities, which has caused extremely adverse effects. We hope you will cooperate fully.”

Hanna suddenly smiled, her tone mocking. “Cooperate with you?”

“If I cooperate, will I be acquitted?”

“At least I could die as a person, not as a test subject for ‘Artifacts.’”

Just like the portraits behind her, every ‘Artifact’s’ power testing and sealing methods were built upon countless cold corpses—mostly wild Secret Path followers housed by the Church.

Harvey’s words were cold and blunt.

“…I am an ‘Archaeologist.’”

Seeing that Harry did not interrupt, Harvey continued.

“‘Archaeologist,’ what level is your Secret Path?”

“Secret Path 9. Everything planned in the ancient castle was the Contract Ritual necessary for me to become a ‘Forbidden Scholar.’”

“Causing those stained by lusts like unchastity, betrayal, greed, and jealousy to die amidst suspicion and treachery.”

“The more deaths, and the more tragic the manner, the better the effect of the Contract Ritual.”

Is the promotion ritual for Secret Path 8 really this complicated?

Harvey compared it to his own promotion ritual when he ascended to Secret Path 8 ‘Revealer’ and frowned.

Suppressing his doubts, he asked, “Who provided you with the Contract Ritual to become an ‘Archaeologist’ and the promotion ritual for ‘Forbidden Scholar’?”

“It was my teacher, Rudolph Harrison.”

Hanna did not hesitate to betray her teacher.

This was common in the Secret Path circles, especially among those who worship evil deities.

After all, each promotion requires completing a Contract Ritual, and no matter what the person’s original character was, once on the evil deity’s Secret Path, with increasingly cruel, bloody, and unscrupulous rituals, one’s personality and worldview would slowly be reshaped by their actions.

Harvey noted the name Rudolph Harrison and continued his inquiry.

“What kind of person is he? What is his profession? How did you come to know him?”

“My teacher is an elderly man nearing sixty; I do not know his profession.”

“I met him through Lochie Morton’s introduction.”

Harvey paused his writing and looked up to confirm, “Lochie Morton?”

“She introduced you to Rudolph Harrison?”

Mentioning her old friend cast a shadow over Hanna’s face, born of betrayal.

“Lochie Morton has always been interested in occult studies.”

“Last year, she invited me to attend a mysticism gathering hosted by Rudolph Harrison.”

“After witnessing various supernatural abilities, she recommended me to become the teacher’s student.”

“This plan—from selecting the sacrificial candidates to bringing people into the mirror—was all her decision. I was responsible for the ‘guidance’ part inside the mirror.”

The more Harvey listened, the more alarmed he became.

So all of this was Lochie Morton’s act?

How did she pass the faith screening?

“How do you usually contact Rudolph Harrison? Where does he live?”

Harvey decided to notify the Church to arrest Lochie Morton immediately after this question.

“We don’t have a fixed meeting place.”

“I usually contact an intermediary through a token, who then conveys messages to the teacher.”

“Token?”

“Yes.”

Hanna nodded, reaching a shackled hand toward her neck.

Harvey did not stop her.

Before she was brought to the Glen Ancient Ruins Protection Association’s underground second floor, he had already checked Hanna Carter with an ‘Artifact’ that could identify powers.

Aside from that bracelet, no other supernatural items were found.

Moreover, she was bound by shackles possessing ‘Restraint’ abilities that suppressed the flow of her spiritual energy, rendering her unable to use Secret Path powers.

“Every time, I visit a watchmaker to repair a pocket watch. When I retrieve it, I also receive a letter left by the teacher.”

Hanna Carter spoke as she removed the token hanging from her neck.

It was a golden pocket watch, common in style, so ordinary that even Harvey Michelson was extraordinarily familiar with it.

It was the same golden pocket watch he saw every day after getting off the public carriage in recent years.

The watch belonged to that unknown elderly gentleman who always carried it!

Click—

As on every morning, the pocket watch was opened right before Harvey’s eyes.