BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 167's

The morning before breakfast, Jose is called to Marco's room. At first Jose guessed his uncle was still unconscious, but he was wrong.

Marco wore his neat and official suit as usual, waiting for him in the sitting room with a fresh look as if he had never been held captive or had crazy nights and fainted from injury. Hot drinks and snacks sat at the low table in front of him.

"Sit down," Marco nodded towards the empty seat nearby. Rolan was on the other seat, also already looking neat and fresher. But the black shadow was still clearly imprinted under his eyes.

"Uncle is healthy?" ask Jose wonder. His own bones still hurt here and there both because of the events in the forest and because of Jacob. Even sitting on the soft sofa made him frown painfully.

"I'm fine" said Marco Kalem. His eyes watched closely, probing. "You still have the necklace? Rolan said you could open the necklace."

Jose nodded. He took off the talisman he was wearing, opened it easily, then handed it to Marco.

The man observed the contents for a while. His forehead wrinkled. "This is not Arabella" he said.

"Krip says it's Arabella" Rolan reported.

Marco shakes. He took off the photo carefully, watching it again more closely. "I never forget the faces of others" he said. "Thirty years ago, this couple came to Bjork and I watched them. This isn't Arabella .. but the other one is Sir William."

"That's Arabella" Jose said slowly. "The "real arabella. What Uncle saw thirty years ago was Arabella ... in another body."

Silence swept the room. Sayup-sayup heard the cock crows and the sound of the wheel of the market traders from a distance.

"Uncle believes that the soul can be moved?"

Marco observes a hexagram engraving on the talisman's upper valve. "You know I don't believe in that kind of thing, right?"

Jose knows that. His uncle always refused to believe in anything that could not be explained scientifically. "Data," he said in a tone of surrender. "The human consciousness is like data. To put it simply, man calls it the soul. I don't want to argue about this, Uncle. I just want to explain what I know ... Uncle had seen for himself how the black ghost. The Scholomance Sect carried out the transfer of consciousness data. When humans die, our consciousness unravels. Their ritual is to sabotage the natural system to restore that consciousness, moving it to a dead body. The problem is, they use a transmutation circle that turns the dead bodies so .. no problem, then insert the so-called consciousness carelessly into the unnatural body."

Rolan frowned. "So soon, so you're saying they did bring the dead back to life?"

"Technically so. But since their origin took consciousness around them, of course the resurrected ones could be mixed up. It's hard to specifically search for just one soul.. unless there's a special mechanism."

"Why did they combine the transmutation circle with the evocation spell? Why not just use the evocation circle?"

Jose shook his head, feeling nauseous. "So that they could form a new body, create a puppet called a golem. The gathered consciousness is taken at random, and once reborn, they become aimless. A mature soul that is confused by being forced back. By making them golems, the people of Scholomance gave the medium a simple goal. For example, look for a necklace." Jose raised his face, looking at Marco meaningfully. "Or don't let Marquis Argent get away from the magic circle."

Marco recalled a strange circle written under his chair while being held in the castle. So true said Lady Chantall, the golem was indeed eyeing him. The golem also screamed with a variety of sounds when it was chopped, according to Jose's description of the random consciousness forced into the creature.

"The consciousness of man and all living things is bound to their bodies. So if the body used has been rotten for a long time, then the resulting golem will also be weak. The creature will melt back after some time." Jose focused on the necklace in Marco's hand. "Unless it's made with that necklace involved. The sigil over there helps the harpooner bind the summoned soul into a new body, and the bound soul will be able to last a very long time."

Marco tapped a finger into the arm of the chair, trying to digest everything. "And who told you about this, Jose?"

"I have a guess," said Jose as soon as the story was finished, "that the whispers I heard. That whisper sounded so obvious when I was there. They called me a grandchild, and when I heard that voice I felt like I had heard it somewhere in the past. And they also showed me what really happened to me."

He looked at his two uncles in turn. "I know this is hard to believe" he said with emphasis. "But I'm not dreaming."

Rolan listened anxiously. He didn't even touch his tea cup. "Six of the people you saw" he said slowly after no one had spoken for a minute. "Do you remember how his face was or his posture or his expression? Try describing, Jose!"

Jose still remembered those faces vaguely. He counted with his fingers. "A fat and fat man, another man who perlente—"

"Looks like a lady seduce?" sela Rolan's.

"Eh? Well, I don't know about it, but his face is pretty handsome, I guess."

"So does anyone look greedy or greedy?" rolan.

Jose lowered a finger. He looked at his uncle seriously. "What does Uncle want to say?"

"That must be six great sins" said the doctor. The tip of his foot was agitated. "Sloth or laziness, gluttony or gluttony, lust or lust, wrath or anger, envy or envy, greed or greed. Everyone you see represents the six basic sins of man."

"You think there should be seven major sins?" jose asked astonishedly, but then his breath choked.

Rolan nodded, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked at Jose sharply. "Sure, there's one I haven't mentioned yet. The main sins. The sin that made the devil cast out of heaven." He looked at Marco with an accusatory look. "Pride. That's why he was chosen as the victim."

Marco already knew which way this talk was going, so he was not surprised. His back was leaned slowly on the back of the sofa. He remembers Robert saying the reason he was chosen as a sacrifice was because everyone knew he did not believe in the existence of God. So everything feels right.

"It's really complicated." Jose took a breath. His head is completely full. He can't think of anything. Everything goes into the right ear and out of the left ear.

No one could respond. The door of the room opened in one brazen swing and Nolan burst in. "Marco!" the girl was happy.

Rolan heard it. Jose even glared in surprise to see Nolan running in and approaching Marco with both hands outstretched like he was about to hug him. However the girl stopped right before she actually hit Marco.

"Hi Jose," said Nolan lightly with a small wave. His voice is still a bit hoarse. The girl was wearing a simple pastel-colored dress. Her face was clean and her blonde hair was neatly arranged, making her at first glance look like someone else, like a woman from a respectable family. If only his voice was not that loud and harsh. Nolan returned the face to Marco and stretched out to him a neatly folded blue handkerchief. "Sweep your hands" he said with a bright smile. "I'm glad to see you back safe! When Mrs Argent told me you were home, I came straight here."

Marco frowned. "Smart. You can call Renata Miss Argent" he said coldly. "Studying it must be so heavy that in your little head there's no place left for another manners."

Ordinary people would be daunted to hear such a sinister tone, but Nolan just laughed with pleasure. That was exactly the reaction he had expected from Marco. "It's so nice to hear you get so angry!" he exclaimed cheerfully, without hesitation hugging the man.

In the doorway, Lady Chantall and Renata raised both eyebrows high.

***