Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 347: The Change in the Old Mansion

Shard quietly discussed the day’s weather with the young scholar while Professor Katja looked quite interested in the oil painting, and Lecia was fixing her hair.

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They didn’t have to wait too long before the sullen-faced manservant returned with another, tall maidservant, inviting the four guests to meet with Mr. Jude in the study.

The maidservant, who they were meeting for the first time, looked to be about the same age as the manservant, slightly stout, but with the same somber expression.

Shard understood them; anyone living in such an old and oppressive house would inevitably have emotional issues. For this reason, Shard paid great attention to ventilation and sunlight in his home, to prevent his often-indoor cat from developing psychological illnesses.

But at least Mr. Jude’s mansion didn’t have unexplained bloodstains; "Echo of Blood" couldn’t see a very obvious halo of blood.

Under the guidance of the two servants, the party of four left the hall, passed through the living room, and then ascended the stairs.

Not only was it dark in the hall area, but the entire house was also without lights. This might be a special habit of a Circle Sorcerer, as it’s common for Circle Sorcerers to be mentally unwell.

The living room was empty with a few newspapers on the coffee table, and on the walls of the staircase hung several paintings with exceptionally oppressive colors. Unlike the paintings in the hall, the staircase paintings used cold color tones filled with twisted patterns. But Professor Katja, among the party, was able to authoritatively analyze the origins of these paintings. According to him, this was a unique painting style native to Coldwater Port, which, after merging with the abstract art movement a few decades ago, produced several abstract master painters from Coldwater Port.

Finally reaching the second floor, the air was as damp as before. The four guests straightened their clothes, and the manservant carefully knocked on the door, only opening it and inviting them in after getting permission.

As the door opened, the study was finally illuminated by the light of a gas lamp. All four felt uncomfortable from the oppressive atmosphere of the house and, after exchanging a few glances, the theoretically strongest of them, the journalist’s assistant "John Watson," was the first to enter.

An ordinary study faced them, with two tightly closed glass windows on the wall opposite the door, through which they could see the dim light of a rainy sky. In front of the wall between the two windows was a low cabinet, but instead of vases, there stood a stone statue.

Not a mermaid statue, but one of a naked man with his left arm broken off and his right arm bent and raised, his curly hair flowing, standing on a plinth with stone fish biting the broken arm. Shard glanced at it and then looked away; this peculiar artwork once again affirmed Mr. Jude’s unusual character.

On the right side of the room, there was a set of sofas in an antique style, while on the left were three walls of brown, solid wood bookshelves surrounding a desk, behind which sat Mr. Jude.

The source of light in the room was a desk lamp on his table, which wasn’t that bright, covering only a small area around the desk.

Mr. Jude was a middle-aged man who was about the same age as Professor Katja, slightly overweight, with thinning hair. His facial features were not prominent and seemed like that of a melted wax figure, dressed in a white shirt with a black coat draped over it, seated behind the desk awaiting the guests. The desk was very tidy, and from the placement of the items, it was evident that the gentleman had been reading.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, please have a seat," he said.

Unlike the servants who spoke with a tone of weariness, Mr. Jude spoke with a strong voice and bright eyes. He warmly invited the four guests to sit down and talk, and the servants brought over chairs, arranging for the guests to sit in an arc in front of the desk.

Lecia seated closest to the door, with Shard next to her, followed by the two folklore scholars. Servants brought over a trolley to prepare tea for them and then closed the door behind them as they left.

Lecia had made an appointment for her visit, Her Highness the Princess acted thoroughly in her role, not allowing anyone to doubt her identity. The scholars, on the other hand, were unannounced visitors, but once Mr. Jude heard the purpose of their visit, he understood and suggested that the two matters could be addressed together:

"You all want to hear me talk about the legends, nursery rhymes, and local customs of the old district of Coldwater Port, so why not discuss them all together?"

Lecia signaled Shard to remain still; their purpose in coming was to confirm whether the other party had truly banished the curse. Given the current situation, it wasn’t convenient to probe while ordinary people were present.

"Mr. Jude."

Lecia took the initiative to speak, holding a notebook in one hand and a fountain pen in the other, a picture of professionalism:

"We have come to consult with you about the ancient illegal beliefs of Coldwater Port City locals, a topic related to the development of the southern old city district. Coldwater Port has developed only in the last five hundred years and gained its current prosperity with the discovery of the New World. However, prior to this, the local fishermen and villages along the coast seemed to have some illegal beliefs that are not recorded in professional historical documents, and we are making a special column on this topic."

"That’s a good question."

Mr. Jude nodded, and Professor Katja beside him added:

"Actually, this question is also being studied in our project." Explore more at novelbuddy

He too took out a notebook ready to record.

"Coldwater Port City was actually established based on three large fishing villages that originally existed locally. This can be proved by the artifacts that have been unearthed, dating from about 1300 years ago. As for the ancient beliefs, the three neighboring villages contended for the nearby fishing rights, each worshipping three different deities."

Mr. Jude paused before continuing:

"These three deities were, of course, Evil Gods, hostile to each other, stirring deeper conflicts among their human believers. The events of those ancient times are unknown to us, but those bloody and brutal wars must have been terrifying."

Mr. Jude began doodling on a piece of paper on the table and then pushed it across to the people on the other side.

Shard stood up, took it, and let the four people pass it around.

Mr. Jude continued speaking, his right thumb and index finger holding the copper ring on his left index finger, subconsciously twirling it:

"After Miss Princess wrote to me, explaining that she would come for an interview, I also reviewed the ancient books I have collected in advance. There are reasons to believe that the deities worshipped by the three fishing villages are related to the three patterns I have drawn for you."

"Are these the Holy Emblems of the deities?"

The young scholar asked curiously, and Mr. Jude chuckled and shook his head:

"Of course not, even if I knew of those emblems deemed by the True God Church as belonging to Evil Gods, I wouldn’t dare to show you. What you see are the patterns I took impressions of from the artifacts in my collection, the hieroglyphic representations that people of old used for the names of those deities."

The three patterns were a tilted human body, a mermaid, and a storm, which Shard believed respectively referred to Mr. Edmund, who was the keeper of the lighthouse, and the Evil Gods mentioned: God of the Deep Sea Drowned, Lord of the Crimson Spiral, and Fury Storm.

From that pirate ship, Shard had learned about the Mermaid’s Curse, which was related to the Lord of the Crimson Spiral, one of the three Evil Gods. He intended to test Mr. Jude’s views on this deity, but it was Mr. Jude himself who brought it up:

"I deal in antiques locally and have come across some information related to these three deities. Among them, I am most familiar with the deity referred to as the Mermaid. Professor Katja, I believe you are well acquainted with the local mermaid worship traditions and the myriad of legends and stories."

"Of course."

The folklore professor pushed his glasses up:

"There is definite evidence that mermaid worship traditions existed before the establishment of Coldwater Port City. We collaborated with the school’s archaeology department to conduct excavations in the vicinity of Coldwater Port, where human settlements from 1300 years ago were discovered. On the goldware from that time, similar patterns were found. But there is no evidence linking this to the Evil God, and the True God Church has refused to provide any help."

The Church, of course, would not help ordinary people study the Evil God.

"Yes, that’s right. We have reason to believe that even in modern times, the worship of this deity associated with mermaids still exists in this city."

Mr. Jude clasped his hands together as he spoke to the reporters and scholars gathered. He seemed to deliberately choose this moment to make his statement, then looked satisfied at the surprised expressions of his visitors.

The antique collector grinned:

"Although it might sound shocking, I’ve always believed that ancient fishing village families were involved in the founding of Coldwater Port and have been present locally ever since, lurking in the shadows of Coldwater Port. Of course, this is just my personal opinion and I cannot provide evidence to support it."

"That’s alright, I’ll be vague about the source of these claims when I write my article."

Lecia was still playing the role of a reporter, and both she and Shard were very interested in what Mr. Jude had said. Although the two scholars couldn’t use unsubstantiated claims, such novel perspectives could be useful for their research reports.

"I got some interesting stuff the other day; let me show it to you, just wait a moment."

He nodded apologetically to the four of them and then left the room.

The scholars gathered closely to discuss the topic in hushed voices, Shard cocked his head and conversed with Lecia:

"At least from the current situation, this person does not have a curse on him. I must touch his forehead or heart to be sure of this conclusion."

"I’ll create an opportunity for you in a bit. We’ll leave immediately after we finish our investigation; this old house is truly bizarre."

Lecia also felt uncomfortable with this place.

But as it was the residence of a Circle Sorcerer, some strangeness was to be expected, like how Shard’s residence was a notorious haunted house known even by the Church.

The two folklore scholars were discussing mermaid lore in whispers, working on a project about Coldwater Port’s local sea worship, a form of nature worship. Starting from the perspectives of mermaids and the Deities of Bygone Days could add at least an extra chapter to their project.

Shard and Lecia easily joined the discussion; the scholars were incredibly knowledgeable and had deep insights into Coldwater Port’s customs and the traditions of nature worship stemming from a thousand years ago.

Thus, with a signal from Lecia, Shard steered the conversation towards nursery rhymes and then inquired about the four lines of "Sea Return."

According to Mr. Edmund, who looked after the lighthouse, the four lines corresponded to a complete ritual. The first line, "Song of the Mermaid," had already occurred, and while the second line involving pirates related to the Evil God did materialize, they had no gains due to an unexpected encounter with Shard.

Shard hoped to learn more from the folklore scholars, but as they were not Circle Sorcerers, they couldn’t connect the nursery rhyme to mysticism.

Professor Katja understood it from a layperson’s perspective:

"The first line, the mermaid’s song, refers to the horn sounds before the appearance of pirates; the second line is literal, where pirate ships dock and plunder in Coldwater Port; the third line’s crimson sea represents their killings staining the waters red; and the final line about a maiden walking into the sea signifies the pirates leaving with their loot."

Such an analysis of the nursery rhyme was reasonable, but contemplating it from just an ordinary person’s perspective was still somewhat limited. Shard intended to talk more with Professor Katja about the local people’s beliefs outside the Church of the Five Gods, but their conversation was interrupted by the unexpected entry of a male servant:

"Sir, Mr. Jude asks you to come upstairs to help him fetch something. He doesn’t want us touching those precious antiques, so he has taken the liberty of asking for your help."

He spoke very respectfully to Shard.

"Me?"

Shard pointed to himself, puzzled, and turning to see Lecia’s slight headshake, declined outright:

"Sorry, I cannot leave this lady."

He was very direct:

"Before leaving, the editor told me to stay with Miss Princess at all times. Can we go upstairs together?"

"Maybe I should go as well."

The young scholar, Lim Scott, suggested, probably wanting to impress a young lady with outstanding poise. Therefore, Professor Katja nodded as well:

"Let’s all go upstairs then. It’s just as good for us to check out Mr. Jude’s treasures up there."

"This..."

The servant bowed his head, hiding his face in shadow:

"Sorry, I need to ask the master. The upstairs area is not for strangers to approach casually."

The servant quickly left the room, leaving the four guests frowning. Outside, a fury storm raged and the rain poured; even the single gas lamp in the room seemed to glow faintly as a result.

Just now, when Circle Sorcerer Mr. Jude was present, Shard did not employ any arcane techniques in this room. But now that the master of the house had stepped out, he blinked his eyes, and then noticed that the broken-armed statue was bathed in a red halo.

He then leaned in to listen more closely, and the Echo of the Past let voices from the other end of time come through to him:

"...so, don’t abduct ordinary people anymore. The Sea Return ritual has already begun, and over the years, we’ve also transformed enough of our kind to deal with various situations. Aside from the Circle Sorcerer I lured here with the information I leaked, don’t..."

It seemed this visit was not going very smoothly.