Annan's skills in house demolition are quite proficient.
It only took him less than five minutes to finish searching Ailei's room... just like he had searched Don Juan's room.
Because unlike Don Juan's room on the ship, Ai Lei didn't seem to spend much time in her room. Annan didn't find many valuable things in Ai Lei's room.
There were no weapons in the whole room, not even a pair of sharp scissors. The only lethal things were probably Ai Lei's comb and quill.
But in Annan's view...this is actually a bit abnormal.
But he did not jump to conclusions hastily, but continued to look for things that might give him some additional information.
In the cabinet in her room, except for skirts and underwear, there was nothing useful. There was nothing hidden in the pillows, under the sheets, or in the cracks of the floor.
Except, Elle's diary.
This is the only hint that Annan can get in Ai Lei's room.
【Ellie Morrison's diary】
[Type: sundries (white)]
[Description: A diary that has been used for about three months, but some pages are missing]
"Are there some pages missing..."
That doesn't matter.
Annan murmured and opened Ailei's diary without hesitation.
Although his main mission is to investigate the secret of Amos Morrison, this kind of work always has to find a beginning...a thread.
"March 15th. Amos's mood seems to have improved recently."
This is the first diary entry belonging to Ailei that Annan saw after opening the diary.
"March 18th. Amos's mood suddenly deteriorated again today. He drank again and tore up a painting... which he was originally going to give to Mrs. Barber on April 1st.
"Sir, Yin Jue, what should I do if he can't bring out a gift on April 1st? Amos will lose face."
…
"March 22. It's really strange. Amos hasn't drank in the past two days, but he hasn't gotten angry either. He has been hiding in the study and reading... It seems to be a relic of his mother.
"I think he probably misses his mother."
…
"March 25th. It's been almost a week, and he hasn't come out of the study yet. I'm a little worried about him... He hasn't eaten much recently. Is he sick? I plan to go find the Bishop tomorrow."
…
"March 26th! Before I went to see the Bishop, Amos came out of the study! And he seemed to be in a good mood... It's really rare, Silver Lord, I haven't been here for almost half a month.
I smiled when I saw him.
“And I saw he started drawing again!
"Great... As long as you cheer up, life will always get better and better. I have to cook him something delicious. Amos is going to repaint a portrait of Mrs. Barbour tomorrow."
…
(A page was torn out here)
…
"April 1, today is Yaweng's holy day. I saw many famous artists coming to Frozen Water Port, including Master Norman and Master Harold! I actually wanted to go to their concert, but I
I still have to go to Rossburg with my father first, unfortunately.
"The strange painting really satisfied the Viscountess, and my father got a lot of reward money. He said the money was enough for me to buy a lot of clothes...
"But I don't want clothes, and we're not short of money. As long as Amos can be happy, that's fine!"
"It felt like that painting was looking at me when I left. It's such a weird painting."
…
"April 20, today Amos cried.
"I saw him painting in front of the garden. Halfway through the painting, he stared at the garden with tears in his eyes. Then he tore up the painting.
"This was Amos's favorite garden. He often painted here, and the paintings were beautiful. But he hasn't painted here for several months... He was too busy. During this time, Amos
I have been painting portraits of important people and I have made a lot of money and bought me a lot of clothes.
"But I don't want clothes..."
…
"On April 24th, Amos had his garden bulldozed. I wasn't very happy, but Amos hasn't been in a good mood lately, so I didn't say much.
"But I'm still not happy."
…
"April 30th, April is finally coming to an end. When May comes, it will be Silver Jue's month of protection, and Amos won't have to attend so many ceremonies...
"The bishop told me that Amos has become famous. His skills have improved recently. It is said that the portraits he painted can allow people to see the soul of the person through the picture. They said that he was kissed by Javon.
Hands, this skill has transcended history, and he will leave his name forever... If it were in the United Kingdom, he might even become a god-given honorary Viscount on April 1 next year.
"Although I don't quite understand it, it's a good thing. I'm very happy~"
…
"On May 2nd, Yinjue's festival was very lively, but I was very tired. I fell asleep when I came back yesterday and didn't write a diary. I will make up for it today.
"Yesterday I told Amos that my birthday was coming soon. He said he wanted to give me a good gift. I told him that I didn't want a gift, I just wanted him to draw a portrait for me. Amos
His face suddenly became ugly...Did I make him angry?
"Also: He doesn't seem angry."
…
“It’s June 10th, my birthday is coming in two days!
"I mentioned the matter to Amos again today. But he wasn't angry today. He just bet me that I couldn't sit there and wait for him to finish. He said it would take him several hours to paint a portrait.
Unable to move...
"It's just sitting, what's the difficulty...it's not like standing.
"Ugh, is the difficulty going to be that you can't go to the toilet for a few hours? Then you won't be able to drink water the day after tomorrow...
"Another: Amos started sneaking into the study again in the past two days. I wanted to go in and take a look and was beaten. In a few days, if I find an opportunity when Amos is not at home, I have to go to the study to see what he is sneaking around.
What book are you reading?"
This is the last page of Ai Lei's diary.
"Weird painting..."
Annan murmured and closed the diary.
As he expected, there was indeed a lot of crucial information in this diary.
Combining the previous conversations between Amos and him, Annan had some inferences about Amos' secret.
Amos did love his daughter Elle, and their relationship was very close. His wife died a few years ago.
He seemed to have fallen into a bottleneck period in artistic creation, and was suffering to the point of being autistic. However, by looking through his late wife's collection of books, he found a special pigment that could enhance his ability to draw portraits. The portraits painted with this pigment
It will be like a living creature, with its own soul.
But people who are painted into portraits may have some bad consequences. And Amos himself knows the cost.
...Is it some kind of ritual?
Annan immediately thought of the strange ritual he had seen in the copy on the ship, the "Tongue in the Mirror".
A completely unreasonable and strange ability, but at a strange price. This fits the situation very well.
He suspected that Amos might have reached some kind of private deal with the false god known as the "Skeleton Lord" and obtained a weird evil ritual...
I have to go to his study and have a look.
Annan thought so and prepared to leave Ailei's room.
Before going out, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the portrait of Ai Lei.
"This is--"
He couldn't help but sigh in admiration and his eyes widened.
...Even if he is as harsh as Annan, he must admit that Amos's paintings are indeed very delicate. Of course, Ai Lei is indeed very cute, which is a key bonus.
This painting is so real that it’s amazing, and at the same time it doesn’t lose its beauty, just like an art photo. It’s so real that it looks like it was taken by a camera... At least when I showed this painting to Annan, he was very impressed.
It's unclear whether this was photographed or painted.