"What have you done?!"
Binose bellowed hoarsely.
Chen Lun ignored him, stepping forward and swinging his hand.
The dark, sharp fingers sliced across Viscount Pompey and Lady Pompey's throats.
The Pompey couple's eyes widened as they clutched their throats and fell to the ground with a thud, blood pooling around them.
Binose fell to his knees, shouting the Viscount's name.
"Why?! Why did you kill them?!"
He was extremely agitated, his old face flushed red, his eyes bloodthirsty, staring fixedly at Chen Lun.
Chen Lun glanced at the old butler and sighed silently.
"Butler Binose, take another good look, they are not the Pompey family."
Binose turned his head and saw that the three bodies on the ground had disappeared.
Only three blank canvases lay on the ground, with oil paints scattered all around, resembling abstract paintings.
Chen Lun stood quietly, glancing at the mess on the floor.
Ever since Rebecca had greeted him, he had sensed that something was amiss.
When the Pompey couple appeared, he finally identified the problem—
This family had no heartbeat.
Moreover, there was a faint, distinct smell of paint about them.
"What happened here before I came?"
Binose's mind was blank, he took a few breaths to calm down.
"... His Lordship the Viscount received a letter this morning, and then took his wife and daughter out."
"Went out? Where did they go?"
Chen Lun continued to inquire.
Binose slowly stood up, realizing the gravity of the situation.
He thought for a moment, then said:
"His Lordship the Viscount mentioned he was invited to take his family to Lord Barnie's house to appreciate a painting…"
"Lord Barnie... the Oil Paint Baron..."
Chen Lun roughly pieced the matter together in his mind.
He asked Butler Binose for the address of Lord Barnie's house, then left quickly.
"Lord Jack, are you going to find the Pompey family?"
Binose asked loudly behind him.
Seeing Chen Lun stop in his tracks and turn to nod, the old butler solemnly bowed:
"Lord Jack, please be careful, the safety of the Viscount's family rests on you!"
"Don't worry, I am Rebecca's teacher,"
Chen Lun said with a smile.
"I won't let my student and her parents be in danger."
After saying this, he turned and walked away, under the grateful gaze of Butler Binose.
In a corner of the Inner City District, a painting studio.
"Dolly, how much longer?!"
Baron Barnie asked impatiently.
"Patience is the fuel for creating masterpieces, please let me embellish it a bit more."
The brown-haired youth sat on a low stool, painting with his brush.
In front of him, Rebecca and the Pompey couple sat together, all smiling, their postures elegant, serving as his most qualified models.
But the Pompeys' eyes were filled with fear, staring fixedly at the young man in front of them, their emotions incredulous.
Their bodies uncontrollably fixed to the chairs, but their minds still functioning.
Viscount Pompey hadn't expected that his foster son, Vigrey, and his good friend Barnie, would turn against his family.
These two familiar people suddenly became strangers.
"I am prepared to name this painting—'Eternity of Blood and Love.'"
Dolly stood up, a small knife pinched between two fingers.
He approached Viscount Pompey, sliced open the chest of his foster father with the knife, and cut off a palm-sized piece of skin.
Blood flowed out, but Viscount Pompey's face still maintained a smile, only his eyes revealing pain and anger.
"Oh, father, don't look at me with those eyes... I am merely preserving a legacy of fame for you."
Humming a tune, Dolly then moved in front of Lady Pompey.
In her terrified gaze, he plucked out a bone from her finger.
"Father's skin, mother's bone..."
Dolly ignored the nearly collapsing gazes of the Pompey couple and walked towards Rebecca.
"Oh, and of course, the daughter's blood. Only such materials can create a masterpiece of the ages!"
He revealed a slightly crazed smile, gently brushed Rebecca's lovely face, and wiped away the tears that slid down.
"Dear Rebecca, don't cry, it will hurt your brother's heart."
Dolly gently pressed the knife against Rebecca's lips.
Rebecca was inexplicably terrified, calling out in her heart for the name of that knight.
Please save Rebecca, and mom and dad!
Dolly grabbed Rebecca's hand and slid the knife across her palm.
Blood gushed out, and Dolly excitedly licked it.
"Mmm—The fragrance of a virgin."
He then opened his own hand, and the large mouth in his palm devoured the skin of Viscount Pompey, the bone of Lady Pompey, and Rebecca's blood.
Dolly abruptly clenched his fist, showing a joyous expression, his cheeks flushed.
He seemed as if he had taken a strong drug, turned to the easel, and began painting rapidly.
"Once the work is completed, my family will forever remain in the painting, becoming real puppets... I will turn over half of the Pompey Family's fortune to the Viscount Sir Oil Paint, and the title of Viscount will fall upon my head."
Dolly said while painting.
"What about my share?"
Baron Barnie was puffing on a cigar, slightly taken aback.
Dolly suddenly stopped painting, turned around, and appeared enlightened.
"Forgot to tell you, someone else took your share."
Before Baron Barnie could comprehend the meaning of these words, a dagger suddenly pierced through his chest.
An unknown masked man had appeared behind him, poking his head out.
"A commoner also wanting to meddle in such affairs, hmm..."
He gently pushed, and Baron Barnie fell face down to the ground.
Baron Barnie felt severe pain spreading throughout his body, as a pair of black boots came into view.
The masked man, cloaked in black, wiped the dagger clean on Baron Barnie's blue shirt, sheathing it.
He looked at Dolly, his blue eyes void of emotion.
"Viscount Sir Oil Paint told me you needed help here."
"Yes... but you weren't necessarily supposed to act, Crow, you were just insurance, understand?"
Crow turned, his cloak billowing, and vanished in the next second.
The studio echoed with his voice:
"Whatever, just make sure my share is given to me on time."
Dolly didn't turn back, continued painting, his lips curled into a cold smirk.
"'Circus' organization... After this mission is completed, perhaps Viscount Sir Oil Paint will recommend me for membership."
Inner City District Third Street.
Chen Lun walked out of a villa.
On the wall next to the Great Gate, it was marked "Third Street, Number Twenty-One, Barnie's."
He looked back once, and in the distance, he saw a young maid slowly closing the door.