The Secret Cult Chronicles of the Decaying Lake Manor

Chapter 97 Depravity and the Secret Pact

"Bewitched, indeed bewitched," the Viscount sneered. "But those who bewitched him were not humans, but cultists who worshipped the Void God 'Lord of the Flies.'"

This information exploded in George's mind.

The Lord of the Flies... the power that manifested in Frederick... its retinue is actually related to the ancestors of the family?

The Viscount continued with a story from long ago: "The Earl of Lincoln was young and ambitious, but lacked sufficient military talent and political acumen. He had the claim to King Richard and dreamed of restoring the glory of the House of York and sitting on that stone-inlaid chair."

A man claiming to be a prophet approached him and revealed to him a heretical view beyond human comprehension—that through a specific ritual, he could summon an army from the bottom of the Dead Lake, a force comparable to the army of the Rose Court at that time.

"

"The Rotten Lake?" George's mind raced.

"It's the decaying lake beneath our feet." The Viscount nodded. "You might not know, but there used to be a weak spot on the surface of this world here."

"It connects to the deepest part of the dream realm, a shortcut to the realm of fantasy—that cultist was drawn to this rare natural wonder."

George recalled the knowledge from "Where Do We Belong?"

The Rotten Lake... It turns out that such a terrifying truth has been hidden beneath the calm surface of this lake all along.

"The Earl of Lincoln believed it. He was seduced by the power of the Lord of the Flies and performed a blasphemous ceremony on the shores of the Dead Lake." The Viscount's voice held only a deep sense of helplessness.

"He has at least partially succeeded in summoning enough monsters from the bottom of the lake to make the entire kingdom tremble."

"But...history records his rebellion failed." George frowned.

"Yes, it failed." The Viscount leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "The red rose triumphed over the white rose because the former enhanced its grandeur, while the latter betrayed its purity."

"With the support of the Lancaster family's power and the consensus of those who knew the truth at the time, they united to fight against the monster army. Clearly, one person's strength was no match for the combined forces of half the Old World. Thus, the rebellion was suppressed, and Earl Lincoln himself was defeated and killed."

"Where is that cult member?"

"Him? He achieved his initial sordid purpose—part of it. He did indeed complete some kind of ritual, thereby ascending to become a living being." The Viscount's voice was even lower.

"But the price was that, at the end of the war, he, along with the monsters he summoned and the entire ritual site, were sealed at the bottom of the Decaying Lake by a group of immortals at the time."

George felt a chill.

The crisis at the bottom of the Decaying Lake is rooted in ancestral debts... and a bunch of demons belonging to that seemingly powerful cultist are sealed at the bottom of the lake.

He suddenly regretted going home.

The Viscount took a sip of tea and looked directly at George: "Earl Lincoln is dead, but he left behind a posthumous child. Perhaps it was a pang of conscience before his downfall that led him to let his wife leave the Kingdom of Britta."

"That child and his descendants wandered overseas for over a century, until the current queen's family first unified the Britta Empire after the 'Empire's Sacred Council in the Mortal Realm.'"

"After confirming that the new royal family could maintain its rule for a long time and that it was urgent to consolidate the legitimacy, the then head of the de la Porte family—your great-great-grandfather—secretly returned to Britta and made a secret agreement with King George II at the time."

His tone became unpredictable.

"A secret and the right to claim, in exchange for a viscount title, and a seat and privileges of the High Court nobility."

George understood what this meant.

The De La Porte family relinquished their status as heirs to the White Rose family and their right to claim the throne, in exchange for real wealth and stability.

And this so-called "secret" is the existence of the seal at the bottom of the Decaying Lake.

"Thus, the mission of the De La Porte family has become very monotonous over the past two hundred years." The Viscount's voice returned to calm.

"Clean up the mess left by that ambitious and bewitched ancestor, monitor the unusual activity at the bottom of the lake, and ensure that the seal remains intact and that the filth seeping from the cracks in the world does not spread to the human realm."

"But in recent years..." George recalled the bloody floods, frog infestations, and lice infestations that had occurred before...

"Indeed, the seal has become abnormal. I have been trying to reinforce it, but the effect is actually quite limited." The Viscount smiled wryly.

"Your mother and I tried many methods to deal with this seeping filth..."

George's eyes widened: "Is this why Mother suddenly fell ill?"

"Indeed, our failed attempt five years ago was the real reason for Edrina's death, and my serious illness is also thanks to that."

George looked at his father, whose upper face remained expressionless while his lower face was filled with clenched teeth, and suddenly felt a little sorry for the head of the family.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Is this also why the High Court representative came?"

"Yes, Duke Asor and Duchess Asor are both close confidants of the Queen and have close ties to the kingdom's deep supernatural order." The Viscount nodded dejectedly.

"The arrival of the High Court representative is partly to witness the succession, and partly... to assess the situation at the bottom of the lake and the strength of the successor."

"Then I should..."

"You should hasten your promotion," the Viscount interrupted him, his tone stern. "My days are numbered, George."

"I will find a way to reinforce the seal before I leave completely—at least partially."

"More importantly, you need to grow up to be able to take over all of this. Besides the title, you also need to inherit... this heavy burden."

George thought for a moment and then said, "I'm currently in the Veilbreaker stage; the next stage is Thirst. But according to the knowledge in the book... do you know how the so-called 'Heart of Thirst' is formed?"

The viscount took another sip of tea, as if lost in memories.

“Desire” is not something that can be given, George.” His voice softened. “When I asked similar questions, my father taught me that ‘those who deceive themselves rarely achieve glory.’”

"What do you yearn for? Why did you embark on this path? What do you want to achieve with it? When the answers to these questions are clear enough and strong enough to become the foundation of your existence... then 'yearning' will naturally be born."

The Viscount paused, then added, "The situation back then was like this—I was younger and more naive than you. After learning the truth about my family, I made a vow. It ultimately became my 'desire,' guiding me to grow rapidly."

The viscount, with a wry smile, repeated the vow.

"I must climb to the top of my career and make the De La Boer family truly flourish—to change the world by changing myself."

After the Viscount finished speaking, he stood up from his chair and began pacing back and forth in the room.

George sensed a sense of unease in him.

The viscount paced back and forth a few times, then turned back and cautioned, "Desire is both powerful and dangerous. It amplifies your desires and distorts your perception."

"What you crave is protection, but this thirst for knowledge might lead you to mistakenly believe you need power. What you yearn for is the truth, but this thirst for knowledge might lead you to blindly pursue forbidden knowledge."

He looked directly into George's eyes, as if intending to etch words into them: "Find your own answers, George. And always stay awake, knowing which desires are yours and which are imposed upon you by 'cravings'."

"That's all my advice."