Caterina couldn't help but be a little stunned when Swain used what she had said, her initial impression of Swain may have been a little off, but one thing is not wrong, Swain is indeed a strong-willed person, and he will not hesitate to kill him in order to achieve his goals.

"So......" Princess Celestia glanced at the closed stone door behind her, Atropos said that she was everywhere, and she didn't know if this mysterious being could really hear what they were saying at this time, "Your real purpose is to get rid of this fate and no longer serve as Atropos' caretaker?"

Swain's gaze crossed over to Princess Celestia, and Caterina followed his gaze, but her gaze was met by the infinite darkness. It seemed as if Sven's gaze was looking into the distant void rather than at anything.

"You know, what can I hear right now?"

"What?" asked Princess Celestia subconsciously.

"Voices, endless voices, I have been hearing since my grandfather had made me heir and brought me before Atropos. Swain's voice was low, as if he were telling a strange and terrifying story. He stood in front of Princess Celestia, his wide trench coat blocking the light shining down from the upper floor.

"What kind of voice?" Princess Celestia was a little nervous by Swain's tone, and she couldn't help but swallow, her eyes widening as she waited for Sven's answer.

"The crying of children, the laughter of young people, the complaints of middle-aged people, the nagging of old people, all kinds of voices. I've been listening to these voices for a long time, and every time I see someone, I can hear the whispers in his heart. ”

"You can hear other people's inner voices!" Princess Celestia was taken aback, if this is really the case, it will be too terrifying, the heart is a person's strongest line of defense, if this insurance can be broken, then there is really no secret that can be hidden in front of Swain.

"Nope. Swain shook his head, "I can only vaguely hear that I'm not Atropos. Trajan, in order to seal Atropos' connection with humans, tried to weaken its abilities, which were transferred to the Earl of Midnight. I'm not sure if it can hear it better, but I'm sure it can't hear my heart. ”

If it hears your heart, then how can your plan succeed. Princess Celestia thought to herself, and even now, she still felt uneasy about something as strange as Atropos.

"Do you hear these voices all the time?"

"That's right, these voices are ringing in my head all the time, and I can't sleep because they are always bothering me. ”

Princess Celestia remembered that Swain hadn't slept all the way, and he hadn't shown any tiredness. "What about you...... Won't you feel tired?"

Swain shook his head again. "Why do you think our Jericho family was chosen to be the jailers of Atropos?"

"Is it because of the choice of the original Count Jericho?" Princess Celestia remembered what Atropos had said earlier, and although she and Swain mentioned the count several times, they did not mention his name, including those who sealed Atropos, and only referred to "those people", without mentioning any of them, but Swain had said Trajan.

"On the one hand, it is true that my ancestors were so noble that they allowed their children and grandchildren to suffer such torture for generations. However, the more important reason is that his magic power, Jericho's magic path is very corrosive, you have also seen, I can easily devour other people's lives to heal myself, so I don't have to worry about sleep, my magic can give me supplies. But not all Midnight Counts will be transferred to Atropos' abilities, just as the adaptability of magic can only be heard by qualified people, not my grandfather. ”

Celestia felt uncomfortable remembering what Swain had done aboard the Vincent, especially when Swain said that he could devour other people's lives to heal herself. "Could it be that the magic you unleashed on me and Charlotte was also at the cost of someone else's life?" she glared at Swain, her body trembling a little.

Swain looked at Princess Celestia, and of course he could see what Caterina was worried about. "You don't have to think so, not all of my magic is obtained by devouring others, I can produce it myself. If you don't feel comfortable, think that the magic that is being delivered to you is my own generation. ”

Her beautiful face couldn't help but tremble, the eldest princess still had a hard time accepting such a statement, and the thought that the magic she had received was likely to be mixed with other people's lives, she felt as disgusting as eating human flesh.

"Forget it, I'm not in the mood to discuss this with you right now. She took another step, "It's late, I want to rest early." She walked quickly up the stairs to the room Baron Deniz had arranged for her.

Sven walked up slowly and closed the door. The lock on the door had been broken by the soldiers of Pritown, but Swain had no intention of fixing it.

"Atropos," he looked coldly at the door, "what if you knew, you are a goddess nailed to the throne of nothingness, and no one worships you, so how can you contend with me and stop my plans?"

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Back in his room, Swain didn't go to bed. As he told Celestia, he couldn't sleep, and a lot of information poured into his mind through Atropos' thought network, leaving his brain constantly running, completely still, and therefore unable to rest. After all these years, Swain has long been accustomed to passing the time by reading at night, and only books and Sophia can make him feel a little peaceful.

There was still a slight chill on this night, although it was already April, but because it had only rained heavily a few days ago, there was still a slight damp smell in the air. Midnight Fort is not close to the sea, but it is not too far from the Bay of Beas, and the wind blowing from the sea still brings a lot of sea air here, which is also the climate characteristic of the whole south.

The layout in the room is different from the mansion of De Weide, which is the façade of the Jericho family in the imperial capital, and because the owner does not live often, the layout and decoration there are all modeled after the fashion of the imperial capital, without the characteristics of the Jericho family. Midnight Castle is different, it is where the Jericho clan has lived for generations, and is their first and last territory, with Jericho's mark on every corner. If the whole Midnight Fort gives the impression of elegance and classicism, then Swain's room has a different style.

This room is not only Swain's, but also Sophia's, the brother and sister have lived together since childhood, and there has never been a separation like this. This room has a lot of Sophia's decorative ornaments, the bed is hung with a pink silk curtain that girls like, and there is a pile of dolls that Sophia has collected since childhood, which looks like a fairy tale princess's bed. On the other side of the room was Swain's domain, which was full of books, and the elder Winston had a rich collection, and he had taught his grandson since Swain was a child, and had instilled almost all of his knowledge and ideas into Swain, and his innumerable collection of books.

A room, but it was divided into two worlds, not because the relationship between the brother and sister was not good, on the contrary, it was precisely because they were too close, but at the same time the difference between each other was too great, so they were unwilling to interfere with each other, and the room of the two was divided into two halves.

Swain pulled a book from the shelf, and like so many nights he'd spent before, he'd spend it in the pile of words tonight. Because Sophia was still in Germany, Swain turned on the lamp and sat at the desk in front of the window, reading the book carefully.

By the time she and Princess Celestia left the Great Library, it was already late at night, the moon had already set, and most of the servants in Midnight Fort were already asleep. This is different from Dewei, everyone is the most trusted of the Jericho family, who has served the Jericho family for generations, and there are even a very few people, such as Baron Deniz, who bear the secrets of Atropos with the Jericho family, and this relationship goes far beyond the current contract between nobles and vassals to keep close to each other's guesswork. It was for this reason that when Baron Deniz surrendered to Michel VII, Swain was not at all worried about the loyalty of his retainers.

The night passes slowly like this, such a time may be unbearable for the average person, lonely, boring, in this restless age, few young people can calm down and do one thing. But Swain was used to it, his time was different from others, who might have only sixteen hours in a day, but for him, it was a full twenty-four hours.

Swain carefully read every word in the book, and he would scrutinize all the details repeatedly, which may be boring, but it will also be rewarding, Jericho's family education is not inherited in the blood, but really paid time and energy in exchange.

The sky is gradually brightening, and the colors of the morning glow have risen in the east. One night passed in a blink of an eye, and the length of time never changed, only the patience of man changed.

There was a soft snoring from under the bed, and Swain closed the book and walked to the bed. As soon as he entered the room, he felt that there was someone under the bed, and he didn't need magic to find out, he only needed to use the basic senses that any normal person has.

Her feet slammed on the floor twice, and Charlotte, who was asleep under the bed, was awoken. She hid under her bed all night, and it was not until dawn that she could not stay tired and fell asleep. Startled by the sudden shock, Charlotte's first reaction was to subconsciously want to straighten up, but she forgot that it was under the bed, and when she looked up suddenly, her head hit the bed board.

"Come out. ”

Charlotte clutched the back of her head and slipped out from under the bed. She still had the gun in her hand, and her eyes were still cold when she looked at Swain. Even at Fort Midnight, Swain entertained her with delicious food and drink, and changed her into new clothes, but the hatred in Charlotte's heart was not diminished at all by these small favors.

Of course, Swain didn't expect Charlotte to be impressed by this, and his goal was not to reconcile with Charlotte in the first place. He was looking forward to a Charlotte who would be as sharp and sinister as a dagger and would one day surpass him.

"You hid down all night and just wanted to shoot me while I went to sleep?" Swain looked down at Charlotte, without any emotion in his eyes.

"There will always be times when you slacken," Charlotte's eyes were the same as Swain's, without any emotion, except for the hatred hidden in the depths, "and then I can kill you." ”

"I told you," Swain walked around the bed and over to Charlotte, "you don't have a weapon capable of killing me. If you don't know anything about magic, how can you crack my magic and kill me, you must at least know what my magic is. ”

Charlotte lowered her eyes, even a child like her knew that Swain was doing something strange. Obviously, he wanted to kill him, but not only did he not stop himself, but he kept telling himself how to do it.

"I'm not going to do anything for you, I'm going to stop all your purposes!" Charlotte looked up, glared at Swain, and said loudly.

"You don't even know what my purpose is, how can you stop me?"

"Whatever you do, I'll do it against you!"

"What a naïve child. Swain shook his head, no mockery or pity on his face, "You are the best use of this." However, it's good for you to be like this, this is just right for you, naïve, naïve, half-you just staggered on, I will also look forward to the day when you will find your mistakes. ”

"I'll kill you!" Charlotte gritted her teeth, and anger finally rose on her little face, "People like you must not die well!"

Charlotte picked Swain up and threw him on the bed. "I told you before, if you want to kill me, I won't mind, but if you fail, be prepared to be punished. Although you haven't done it this time, I'm still going to give you some small punishment. ”

Her hands were clasped behind Swain's back, and Charlotte was pressed against the bed, and although she had been struggling, her strength was too small compared to Swain's to move at all. Swain pressed Charlotte with his left hand, and his free right hand reached out to the desk, hooking his fingers, and the pen on the table automatically floated over.

"You'd better be honest, or if you get it into the meat, it's another meat suffer. If you don't want to suffer, don't move. ”

"I won't listen to you!" Swain's words did not scare Charlotte, but the little girl struggled even harder.

"I know, but forget it, it doesn't matter, since you're going to suffer, then I don't have to be merciful. Swain's left hand grabbed Charlotte's two small hands and pressed them against her waist to make sure she didn't break free, then his right hand grabbed Charlotte's collar and jerked her clothes apart.

"Ahh Having lived in the slums, she certainly knows what it means for a girl's clothes to be torn off.

"You, what are you going to do? No, don't mess around......" Even though the hatred for Swain had filled Charlotte's heart, she still reacted like a normal girl when she encountered such a thing, "Big sister! Big sister, save me, save me, save me......"

She cried, and Charlotte knew that this was Swain's castle. Before his parents died, she had heard from her mother that a bad-hearted nobleman would take a beautiful girl to the castle, and the only person she could think of to save her was the eldest princess.

Although Charlotte struggled violently, Swain remained unmoved. Of course he understood what Charlotte was thinking, but he didn't have to explain. The tip of the pen fell on Charlotte's back, her skin was much rougher than that of a delicate girl like Celestia, she wore cheap linen clothes, and lived in a cold, damp cheap apartment, although she was young, her skin was not well maintained.

Charlotte felt the cold touch on her back, and couldn't help but shiver, she couldn't see what Swain was holding in her hand, she didn't know a lot of things when she was young, and she couldn't help but think about it crankily when she was pressed by such fear.

The tip of the pen drew a circle on Charlotte's back, and Swain's hand was steady, and the circle was almost perfect, as if it had been drawn with a compass. He also saw Charlotte's bony body, but it was a good thing for him, if the little girl was too fat and her skin was too tender, the tip of the pen might have pierced her flesh, and there would be no way to draw it.

Inside the circle, Swain added various mysterious symbols. Although his attainment in magic is a little worse than that of Count Hecate, the history of the Jericho family is much older than that of the Hecate family, and for the Demon Dao family, a long history means richer knowledge, and his level in magic array and alchemy is still quite good.

Swain drew the symbols of the seven planets on the inside of the ring, and in the process, Charlotte also realized that Swain was drawing on her back, so she pushed forward to interrupt Sven.

With a helpless sigh, Swain summoned a raven and landed on the back of Charlotte's neck. The demon's claws were much rougher than the tip of Sven's, and the little girl only felt that her neck was scratched by the sharp claws, and she was glared at by the crow's eyes, and she did not dare to move again.

Swain shook the pen, and when he put it down again, the ink flowing from the nib turned white. He drew a smaller white circle inside the great circle, and inside the white circle he drew three intertangent circles, and the symbols of sulfur, mercury, and salt were drawn in each of the three circles. Then, he flicked the pen again, this time the ink turned red, and he drew a symbol of the fifth element, the aether, in the center of the three small circles.

The whole magic circle is finished here, but Sven has a few more things to add. On the outside of the largest black ring, he added another text around the ring:

"The top is like the bottom, the bottom is like the top, and in this way the miracle of the ether can be accomplished, and all things are one, and everything is the ether. In this way, you may receive the glory of the world, and be far from darkness and foolishness. ”