Atticus [BL]-Chapter 27 Flawed Ritual

Upon exiting the Deacon’s office, Owen made his way to the hallway, his mind deep in thought.

He made a turn to the short stone path that was connected to the Chapel on the other end.

The chapel was a small, stone-built structure, radiating an air of reverence. Owen opened the door and stepped into the north transept.

"Owen! I didn’t know you’re back."

Molly’s voice echoed inside the Chapel when she saw who arrived.

"Where’s Easton?" Abel asked.

Abel stood in the sanctuary area, carrying a feather duster. Molly, on the other hand, was at the altar, arranging flowers and organizing the daily gifts they received from the residents.

Sanction members were not typically responsible for cleaning the church or chapel. However, the Chapel of Cerefina Village had no designated cleaning staff. As a result, the Sanction occasionally took on the task when no village volunteers were available.

Owen and his team had been dispatched to the village a few days ago by the church, following the Royal’s assent to the Sanction.

"Bathroom," Owen answered briefly as he walked towards the front pews and sat.

Right after he sat, Easton entered the Chapel from the north transept.

"Owen? I thought you were at the Deacon’s office," he said when he saw Owen.

"That Atticus man is with him."

Abel stopped his dusting and looked in the direction of Owen, "That man’s a bit suspicious...I can feel it."

"I met him in the bathroom, he seemed fine. What do you mean by that?" Easton asked and sat next to Owen.

Abel stood straight, he pointed the feather duster at Easton, his other hand on his hip.

"First off, where did Deacon Frantz get him? The church had no records of him, and he looked scary, too!"

"Everything is scary for you, Abel." Molly scoffed, "Don’t be ridiculous, how can you be so sure that the church had no records of him? We are a new team and had less experience, we don’t have the privilege yet to go through classified information."

Abel fell silent, unable to refute. He clicked his tongue and resumed his cleaning.

"That man is clinging to Deacon Frantz... Even butting in during the investigation earlier..." murmured Abel.

Easton furrowed his brow, "Did something happen?"

"A girl was killed..." Molly almost shuddered at the memory of earlier’s grotesque scene, "Certainly, it must have been a diabolical ritual...used the poor girl as a sacrifice."

Owen’s thoughts went from the necklace that he and Easton found at the burned house in the forest and the phallic cross necklace that Deacon Frantz showed him. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

*

"Elwin, you’re smiling big. What’s on your mind?"

Elwin looked at Nerys, smiling widely. His freckled cheeks were a shade of pink.

Nerys noticed that Elwin had forgotten about the death of his friend and could tell how he had turned excited all of a sudden.

"Nerys, do you have a crush?"

The white-haired Chthon raised a brow in confusion at his question. Since he had been summoned and lived with Elwin, there was not a day that he was not confused.

"Is that a food...? A meat?"

"What? No!" Elwin exclaimed in disbelief, "What I meant is, do you have someone you like?"

Nerys paused, looking at him with perplexity. This made Elwin groan in frustration.

"You don’t know about it? You poor thing..." Elwin mumbled as he crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Why... Do you like someone, Elwin?"

Upon hearing the question, Elwin’s cheeks turned red even more. Suddenly, he fell silent and felt too shy to answer, his big smile gradually disappearing.

Nerys stared at him before a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "It seems like it."

"Shut up, Nolan is here..."

Nolan, along with his butler, were approaching them.

They were going for a visit to one of Nolan’s brothers. Elwin was excited to realize who they were going to visit.

Nolan had two older brothers, and all of them successfully take part in their father’s business and social connections among noble and wealthy Tycoons like their family.

But, there was one brother of Nolan who was also fascinated by occultism.

"Young Master, will you really not consider visiting your brother after I took care of the matter here?"

Atticus had been trying to convince his Young Master about it so he could accompany him, but Nolan kept on insisting otherwise.

"You can come after us when you’re done here, I need to talk to my brother ASAP."

Atticus, although against his will, agreed.

"But allow me to accompany you to the train station. This is so sudden Young Master, let me prepare everything first, to avoid any inconvenience until you arrive in the capital."

"No."

Like a puppy, Atticus frowned slightly. Left with no choice, he sighed and silently followed his Master to their carriage, where Elwin and Nerys were waiting.

Elwin and Nerys flinched and immediately looked away and avoided the butler’s gaze at them.

"Nerys and Elwin will be coming with me, if you’re worried about me being alone." Nolan said and turned to face his butler, "Send me a letter immediately if something happens that needs my assistance."

The three quickly get on the carriage. Elwin almost slipped from nervousness and fear. It had always been that way whenever he was near Atticus. Nerys subtly bowed his head to the butler and was the last to get inside.

All Atticus could do was watch in silence. After a moment, he closed the gate and headed back inside the manor.

At the carriage, Nolan was contemplative. His two companions were considerate about his silence and were silent as well.

"...Squeakkk...."

A familiar noise broke the silence. Nolan’s eyes flickered at the pocket of Elwin’s shirt.

A red, tiny paws popped up, before a pair of horns and finally, a mouse-like imp emerged.

"...Squeak...!" its pure black eyes widened when it saw Nolan, "Squeak...!"

"How’d it get in there?" Asked Nolan.

"This little guy? It just suddenly fell from the sky, someone must have thrown it away." Elwin said and carefully pulled out the tiny imp using his hand from his pocket.

"Squeak...!"

It delightedly squeaked at Nolan and almost jumped from Elwin’s hand.

"It likes you, Sir Nolan." Said Nerys as he observed the small thing.

"I don’t like it. You can have it, Elwin. It can’t even speak so I don’t have any use for it."

The tiny Imp looked as if it had been struck by lightning upon hearing Nolan. It froze for a moment before its mouth and eyes suddenly trembled, and it burst into tears.

Elwin and Nerys panicked, but Nolan merely scoffed at the tiny imp before crossing his arms and looking outside the carriage.

"Squeak! Squeaakkked! Squeaak!"

The tiny imp squeaked nonstop, stomping its tiny hind legs and even pointing at Nolan with so much emotion. Its teary eyes were angry and indignant.

"W-what does it say? What is it saying?" Elwin asked Nerys as he watched its dramatic tantrums in his hand.

"It says that it was not his fault that he can’t speak... S-Sir Nolan’s ritual was faulty." Nerys briefly explained, afraid to tell the truth, that the imp was actually cursing Nolan for his flawed ritual.