"R'lyeh?"
"The name of that city?"
Theodore frowned, confused.
He had searched countless secret histories in the library, yet had never seen any mention of such a city in the magical world.
Could this be connected to the terror the Founders faced?
Theodore continued questioning the Bloody Baron.
"You heard the echo of R'lyeh… and then?"
The Baron seemed to recall something unspeakable.
His ghostly form rippled violently, turning unstable.
He collapsed to his knees, clutching his head, as though a pain even death could not erase was tearing its way out from within.
"All I remember is… after I woke from that dream, it was as if I went mad."
"I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't drink."
"I was insanely excited—feverish—and rushed to Albania at the fastest speed I could."
"And every night after that…"
"Every single night…"
"I heard the echo of R'lyeh."
"I'm certain there was a will there—something that didn't want the diadem to return to Hogwarts."
"I don't know what exactly happened to me."
"I only know madness took me over."
"And when I finally became lucid again…"
"I had already done something irreversible."
The more he spoke, the more his voice trembled.
Theodore's eyes turned wary.
From the moment the Baron described R'lyeh—its shoreline, its echo—
Theodore could sense it: an extremely faint, yet real, aura of madness clinging to the Baron's ghostly body.
So faint it was nearly imperceptible.
Yet it was unmistakably of the same origin as the Black Lake's giant squid… and the Forbidden Forest's grey mist.
A thought struck Theodore.
Peeves, who feared nothing, feared only two beings in Hogwarts: Dumbledore and the Bloody Baron.
Theodore had once assumed it was merely because the Baron was the most terrifying ghost.
But now it seemed Peeves knew more.
Peeves had been the first to hint that the Founders encountered something dreadful.
Perhaps his fear of the Bloody Baron stemmed largely from what the Baron had experienced.
Theodore didn't know what would happen if the Baron continued digging into those memories.
But it felt dangerous.
So Theodore made a decision.
"Baron… you are a good man."
He spoke in Helena's voice.
The Baron froze.
Then his eyes lit up, and his terror vanished as if it had never existed.
He never imagined he would hear such words from Helena.
Had she… forgiven him?
Then came a sigh.
"If I hadn't met him, Baron…"
"I think… perhaps we might have had a chance."
The Baron's eyes widened in shock.
Him?
Helena had someone else in her heart?
How?
Before leaving Hogwarts her world had been small and closed.
After leaving, she hid in Albania—she had no chance to fall in love.
And then she was killed by him.
Who could she possibly mean?
Unless—
Someone had pursued Helena even after she became a ghost?!
Then the Baron heard words that made his eyes go bloodshot.
"That year the gardenias bloomed…"
"He told me his name was Tom Riddle—a student of the castle."
"He said I was beautiful."
"He was handsome. His mouth was sweet."
"Knowing him was the happiest time I ever had."
"I even told him where the diadem was…"
"And then he never came to see me again…"
"Maybe from the beginning… we were a mistake."
The Bloody Baron roared in disbelief.
"Tom Riddle?!"
"I remember him—Slytherin's most outstanding prefect!"
"He's a rogue—worse than filth!"
"I should've drowned him in the Black Lake the moment he arrived!"
"Helena—he approached you only for the diadem!"
But to his shock, "Helena" snapped back.
"Nonsense."
"He wasn't after the diadem."
"He truly liked me."
"He was busy later—graduating, chasing his future."
"I understand that."
"But I know his love was real."
"Theodore says he had ulterior motives."
"He says if he'd met Tom Riddle back then, he'd have beaten him to death."
"But Theodore is just a child. He doesn't understand."
"And you, Baron—how can you say the same thing?"
"Why are you arguing like a child too?"
The Baron stamped in fury, his mind consumed by a single thought:
"Tom Riddle, you bastard!"
Then another thought followed immediately:
"And Theodore… that little wizard is a good person. A righteous person."
"In all these years, Hogwarts has had very few like him."
"I was far too discourteous to him."
"I must prepare a gift and thank him properly."
At that moment, Theodore's lips curled slightly.
On the System Interface, a new message appeared:
The Judge feels deep regret for his discourtesy toward you.
To befriend a disciple of such upright character is his honor.
Your relationship with the Judge improves further.
It still wasn't quite a life-and-death bond—
But it was close.
Theodore's gaze fell upon the reward tied to that bond.
Become life-and-death brothers with the Judge to obtain — the method to refine the Judge's Brush.
This brush holds astonishing power over souls.
When wielded, its might is vast—Ninefold Underworld wails, and souls across heaven and earth fall.
It also symbolizes the authority of Netherland judgment.
With it, you hold extraordinary status within the Netherlands.
Theodore's eyes burned with desire.
He had obtained many artifact refinement methods—
But even treasures like the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Cover and the Pure Glaze Bottle did not specialize in the soul-path.
In the mythic era, soul-attacking treasures and techniques were notoriously terrifying—many famous figures suffered grievously under them.
The Judge's Brush would be no weaker than such weapons.
And since it was tied to the Netherlands, if Theodore ever encountered something akin to an Underworld within the magical world, it would surely prove useful.
Seeing how quickly things were progressing, Theodore felt a quiet emotion.
The coins dropped by a simp really are easy to farm…
Easy to farm meant only one thing—
Keep farming. Strike while it's hot.
So, in Helena's voice, he finished gently:
"Enough, Baron."
"You're not him, after all."
"I'll keep waiting for him to return."
"I enjoyed talking with you today."
"I'll go now."
The Bloody Baron turned.
All he saw was the edge of Helena's robes vanishing through a wall.
A moment later, Theodore walked around the corner—his face full of righteous indignation.
"Baron, I heard everything!"
"That Tom Riddle—what a piece of work!"
"He even lied to a ghost!"
"Does he deserve Lady Helena?"
"Not even close."
"In my eyes, only you and Lady Helena are truly meant for each other."
"If I get the chance… I want to help you two fulfill that fate."
The Bloody Baron trembled, eyes blazing with emotion.
"Good… good… good…"
"Good child!"
In the next instant, Theodore's System Interface surged.
You and the Underworld Judge form a life-and-death bond.
Reward obtained — Method to refine the Judge's Brush!
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