The black sun hangs high

Chapter 109 Echoes of the Past
In this underground room filled with bizarre scenes, the shadow of the past, named Alexandra, seems to be lost in a long memory.

Her voice was sometimes indistinct, sometimes clear, sometimes as graceful and gentle as a noblewoman, and sometimes as shrill and unpleasant as the squeal of a rat.

Finally, after countless names were uttered, the ever-changing voice returned to silence, and the magical shadow formed by the swarm of rats finally returned to the control of the original Countess Alexandra.

This countess, who was legendary throughout the entire Lovi Plateau and even the whole of Vaan, gradually developed a clear figure and facial features. Under her will, the ever-flowing black magical shadows even created a gorgeous and smooth black dress for her.

As the magic surged, the darkness gradually faded from her face and arms, and under the dappled light, a beautiful noblewoman with a slender figure and wearing a classic Walter gown appeared before Hugh and his companion.

Just like all the descriptions and portraits of that legendary countess circulating in Vaan, the noblewoman before her had the typical long black hair and pale skin of the Ernst family. Her features were somewhat sharp, with a high nose bridge... Just like in folk tales, she reminded people of an elf who came out from the deepest part of the Black Nest Mountains.

Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes, what she saw was not a gaze of wisdom and reason, but a chaotic shadow composed of dark, shapeless magic.

Countess Alexandra was already ninety years old when she truly passed away. Even with the help of potions and magical rituals, she was destined not to be able to maintain such an appearance at that time. The image presented to her now was clearly forcibly constructed by the other party using magic.

"Yes, two very good young men."

This time, Alexandra's voice was incredibly clear, and her tone and manner of speaking returned to normal. Hugh could even hear the confidence and pride that belonged to that legendary figure in it.

She nodded very kindly to Hugh and the other man, then gave them an elegant smile: "It seems you both recognize me. Does this mean my name has not been forgotten by the world?"

"of course not……"

Hugh responded, but hesitated when choosing how to address Alexandra. The countess seemed to sense his thoughts and said directly, "'Madam' is fine. I hate 'Countess' and I hate 'Madam' even more."

Vera blinked. As someone who had read Alexandra's biography, she naturally knew why the other person said that.

Although this legendary figure was a powerful figure in the political arena, her romantic life was very bumpy.

According to popular belief, Countess Alexandra's love life ended when her husband was killed in a mistaken assassination. Although she had several lovers and countless suitors after that, she never remarried and had no children.

The countess always believed that her status and identity were the cause of her husband's death. Therefore, after that tragedy, she strongly resisted being called "Madame" or "Countess" until her death.

“Yes, Ms. Alexandra.”

Hughes nodded: "Even now, people still remember your story. Your story has spread throughout much of Vaan and is very popular with young girls."

"Oh, this is not a good thing."

The elegant lady shook her head and said, "I have no glorious deeds worth learning from. According to you, I'm afraid I've had a lot of bad influence on those girls. Playwrights and novelists are still like that, always liking to exaggerate trivial matters."

Hughes raised an eyebrow but made no comment.

He knew that the original owner of this body had seriously studied and read several versions of "The Legend of Alexandra" for literary creation, and one of the versions that provided great guidance to Hugh Ernst was called "The Countess's Love".

It is a typical example where the content and attributes can be understood simply by looking at the name.

Alexandra probably has no idea what this seemingly calm and composed outstanding descendant in front of her was thinking just now.

She carefully examined Hugh's face, and then softly uttered his name once more.

“Shug Ernst…”

As if to confirm something, she suddenly raised her hand and extended her palm toward Hugh's face.

Hughes received no warning from his mental world, so he did not dodge but stood still and let the other's hand reach out.

However, such a simple action brought about an unusually violent reaction.

Just as she was about to touch Hugh's cheek, Alexandra's hand, clad in a black velvet glove, sizzled as if it had touched a hot iron, and a large amount of magical mist emanated from her palm.

Even so, the countess seemed oblivious to the injury and pain; she maintained her smile and insisted on gently touching Hugh with her palm.

At that moment, Hugh felt as if his face had touched a piece of soft ice.

He neither sensed the intrusion of abnormal magic nor felt any impact on any level; neither his mental world nor the metal disc changed as a result.

This was just a very, very ordinary touch.

That's it.

Alexandra slowly withdrew her hand, and Hughes saw that her hand, clad in a "black velvet glove," seemed to have returned to that chaotic state. He could even see the shadows constantly pulsating within that hand.

It seems that just that simple touch had already damaged the magical rats that make up this body.

"The previous speculation has been further confirmed... It seems that there is a clear mutual incompatibility between the power that the other party can use and the magic power in my body and the Dream Sanctuary, which is consistent with the bad attitude that Sniggy and the others have shown before."

Hugh pondered silently, his face displaying a mixture of surprise and panic. Alexandra gently shook her hand, and magic surged forth, completely repairing the damaged area on her palm. The Countess looked up at Hugh's expression and then smiled, "Indeed, just as Jacob and the others said... you are the most special child the entire family has ever had."

"Ms. Alexandra, who is Jacob you are referring to?"

"Jacob Ernst".

She replied, "According to the timeline, he should be considered your grandfather's grandfather?"

"When Jacob told me that among the new successor candidates was a member who possessed evil magic, I thought he was mistaken. After all, they were no longer quite lucid; not only were they always doing things poorly, but they also had some memory problems."

After saying that, Alexandra smiled and her gaze shifted to Verine, who was standing behind Hugh: "And what about you? Lovely girl... You shouldn't be here. You have no blood relation to the Ernst family, which puts you in a very dangerous situation."

"Hello, ma'am."

Vera nodded cautiously and politely to Alexandra: "You can call me Vera, Vera Ernst."

She moistened her slightly dry lips and replied, "As you can see, I am indeed not a member of the Ernst family. My grandfather was the Ernst family's special magic advisor... therefore, my surname is actually an arrangement made by my elders."

"I see."

Alexandra was very satisfied with Verine's attitude and performance. She gently placed her hand in front of her and glanced between Verine and Hugh.

Hughes clearly caught that strange gaze, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Miss Verine is my friend and my magic teacher. She is also a Lake-level scholar who has passed the Law Committee's rating."

He raised his head and looked directly at the noblewoman before him: "Ms. Alexandra, since you already knew of my existence and whereabouts, I think there is no need for us to conduct any more useless tests... I came here not only for the position of heir to the Ernst family, but also to eradicate the hidden dangers here. I believe that should also be your goal, otherwise you would have no reason to invite us here."

After hearing Hugh's words, Alexandra fell silent. After a few seconds, she chuckled softly: "I've heard some prophets say that whenever the world is about to undergo a dramatic change, some extraordinary talents will emerge. I never thought they would be right this time..."

"Tell us, what exactly do you want to know?"

As the Countess uttered those words, her voice returned to its original form—multiple different tones simultaneously composed of those words. Hugh knew that at this moment, what was communicating with him was no longer merely the will of Alexandra, but the souls of all the past rulers of the Ernst family.

"Everything! Everything about this place!"

Hugh said bluntly, "I want to know what the Black Sun Society has been doing here, what's going on in the family... and where did these rats come from?"

Seeing that the conversation was on track, Wei Lin silently stepped aside.

As a qualified magic scholar, she was always full of interest and curiosity about things related to evil magic. Seeing that the conversation would not end anytime soon, she carefully sat down on an old chair at the edge and began to listen quietly to this secret story belonging to the Ernst family.

……

Just as Hugh had guessed, the so-called Ernst family will was actually a magical product formed by the aggregation of the souls and wills of successive rulers and important members.

Countess Alexandra clearly held a very high position among the powerful figures who had become the "family will," so she once again took on the role of the guide.

She said softly, “The Society tells us that this great eternal ritual comes from an era that has been forgotten by people. It will allow the deceased to enter the underground mansion and connect the souls of the ritual participants with this land. At that time, the deceased will become the embodiment of the family’s will, and the family itself will be protected and nourished by the family’s will.”

"For the first 150 years, this ritual did indeed work correctly. Under the guidance of the association, the family developed a special method for selecting successors—bringing together the most outstanding young people in the family, having the ancestors, who had become the will of the family, make a joint decision, and offering them blessings from the earth."

Alexandra slowly narrated: "The power from the ritual always allows the family to find the most suitable successor, and at the same time, it can bring these young people abundant vitality, making them healthy, quick-witted, and even long-lived... And for the deceased who have become the family's will, it also symbolizes another form of immortality."

"eternal life?"

"Yes, although all the deceased are confined to the area of ​​this underground mansion, they still... exist. We can use the power of rituals to peek at everything that happens outside, we can talk, we can laugh. Although we have lost the joy of being alive, we can still support our ever-growing family to a certain extent."

At this point, Alexandra sighed sadly: "However, two hundred years after the ritual began, terrible things started to happen."

"First, the magical rituals set up here changed without us realizing it. We could no longer bless the young people through the rituals; instead, we could only bring them terrible nightmares. Then, the souls of the earliest deceased fell into a deep sleep, bound to their own rooms, and never appeared again."

"Was it the Black Sun Society's doing?"

"Heh, perhaps this was their original idea and plan?"

The countess said mockingly, "The Society has brought in wave after wave of servants who have become the guardians of this underground mansion, and then these terrible servants opened those previously locked rooms..."

Hughes recalled what he had seen in General Ludwig's room and asked, "The souls 'living' inside turned into rats?"

The countess nodded slowly: "Yes, under the influence of this vicious ritual, the souls of the first people to move into this underground mansion were completely transformed into that filthy form. The ritual tore our souls and wills apart and scattered them into... countless rats."

…………

Next Tuesday I might have to take a day-long flight and car ride (my partner is dragging me to Changbai Mountain).

So writing and updates might be affected~ But let's find a way to overcome it~
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(End of this chapter)