Isolde turned toward the silver platter beside the writing desk.
The confiscated items lay there in silence.
A moment ago, they had looked like ordinary battle loot.
Now they looked more like an upgrade kit prepared especially for Lia.
Still, Isolde didn’t act immediately.
She had no intention of experimenting recklessly on her most important piece of survival equipment.
She reached out and touched the edge of the platter, activating [Castle Authority].
“Appraise.”
Pale red array lines lit up beneath the platter. They spread like fine threads of blood, circling each piece of loot in turn.
[Compatible modification materials detected.]
[Bone Blade Fragment.]
[Potential Uses, Doll Skeleton Reinforcement, Low-tier Bone Blade Modification, Undead Weapon Repair.]
[Current Compatible Target, Soul Contractor, Lia.]
[Recommended Modification, Reinforce the connections between the wrist, elbow, and shoulder bones.]
Isolde’s eyebrows lifted.
It really could be used.
She continued reading.
[Remnant Necrotic Light.]
[Potential Uses, Soul Core Repair, Necromantic Spell Fuel, Low-tier Soul Stabilizer.]
[Current Compatible Target, Soul Contractor, Lia.]
[Recommended Modification, Repair fractures in the soul remnant and increase Soul Stability.]
The system highlighted the third item.
[Damaged Bone Bow Component.]
[Salvageable Materials, Bone Sinew, Bow Bone, Residual Tension Runes.]
[Current Compatible Target, Soul Contractor, Lia.]
[Recommended Modification, Reinforce the stitched joints across the shoulders, back, and arms to improve physical coordination.]
Finally, the system examined the Tarnished Silver Candlestick.
[Tarnished Silver Candlestick.]
[Origin, Relic of Sylvain Castle.]
[Contains incomplete castle array lines.]
[Not recommended for integration into a Soul Contractor’s body.]
[Recommended Modifications, Scrying Candlestick, Soul-Luring Candlestick, Blood Banquet Waymarker.]
Isolde understood the situation now.
The Bone Blade Fragment, Remnant Necrotic Light, and Damaged Bone Bow Component could all be used to strengthen Lia.
The Tarnished Silver Candlestick could be returned to the castle.
Well, technically, it had belonged to the castle in the first place.
Whatever.
The important thing was that the system had confirmed the materials were compatible. This no longer counted as reckless experimentation.
Isolde picked up the [Bone Blade Fragment] and held it in her palm.
[Use this material to modify your Soul Contractor?]
[Yes.]
The fragment disappeared from her hand.
It transformed into a stream of white light and sank into Lia’s body.
[Bone Blade Fragment successfully integrated.]
[Soul Contractor, Lia.]
[Skeletal Integrity, 61% to 74%.]
[Defense, 50 to 58.]
Satisfaction appeared in Isolde’s eyes.
She picked up the [Remnant Necrotic Light].
It was a cluster of pale gray light, like a candle flame on the verge of going out. Faint, chaotic weeping came from within as she held it between her fingers.
Isolde pressed it into Lia’s chest.
The old bandages across Lia’s chest split apart without a sound, revealing a dim Soul Core beneath them.
It was tiny and ashen, with countless fine cracks covering its surface.
Isolde frowned at the sight.
No wonder Lia always looked as though she might fall apart at any moment.
Her body was damaged.
Her soul was damaged too.
The original Isolde had clearly possessed real talent to create Lia in the first place.
Failing to maintain her afterward was another matter entirely.
The moment the Remnant Necrotic Light entered the Soul Core, Lia’s body visibly trembled.
Gray light spread from her chest, flowing like water through her neck, shoulders, spine, and limbs.
A faint sheen appeared beneath her once-withered skin.
She was still pale, but no longer looked like old paper that might tear at the slightest touch.
[Remnant Necrotic Light successfully integrated.]
[Soul Strength, Low to Low-tier Stable.]
[Repairing fractures in soul remnant.]
[Intelligence, 20 to 23.]
Isolde stared at the final line for a moment.
Three points wasn’t much.
Still, Lia had originally been little more than a humanoid forklift capable of understanding orders. Three additional points of Intelligence were generous enough.
Besides, the strengths of master and servant balanced each other rather well.
One shouldn’t be too greedy.
Even villains needed to think about long-term growth.
Finally, Isolde picked up the [Damaged Bone Bow Component].
It resembled part of a broken bow. Fine strands of bone sinew wrapped around its surface, producing a low hum whenever they were pulled taut.
Isolde removed the bone sinew and drew the strands out one by one.
She then wove them into the stitched joints along Lia’s shoulders, back, and arms.
[Damaged Bone Bow Component successfully integrated.]
[Physical Coordination increased.]
[Strength, 100 to 112.]
[Agility, 60 to 63.]
Isolde looked at Lia, then thought about her own pitiful eighteen points of Strength.
Perhaps this was the advantage of having a mechanical body.
She picked up the last item, the [Tarnished Silver Candlestick], and turned it over in her hands.
Traces of Rowan’s touch still remained on its surface.
Isolde wiped it thoroughly with a cloth, her expression full of distaste.
The candlestick wasn’t suitable for integration into Lia’s body.
Its incomplete castle array lines made it better suited for installation on a wall as an observation node.
Once she modified it into a Scrying Candlestick and placed it at a corridor intersection, she would be able to see anyone who entered the castle, touched its property, or started plotting something.
Rowan had stolen a candlestick and accidentally helped her build a surveillance system.
At least he had found a way to be useful after death.
Isolde set the candlestick aside and turned back to Lia.
The modifications hadn’t changed the maid dramatically.
She still wore the same tattered uniform. Half her face remained wrapped in bandages, and she stood with the same quiet, rigid posture.
Yet her withered arms had grown noticeably fuller.
Her shoulders and back no longer resembled brittle branches on the verge of snapping.
A faint, cold whiteness now showed beneath her ashen skin.
She looked like an antique doll that had finally been cleaned, allowing a hint of its original beauty to emerge beneath the dust.
Just then, the bandages on the side of Lia’s face loosened.
The yellowed strips slipped free one by one and fell to the floor.
Isolde looked up.
Lia’s left eye had been revealed.
There was no eye inside the socket.
Only a hollow cavity remained.
Fine black stitches lined its edges, as though someone had torn it open by force and crudely sewn it shut afterward.
A sharp pain flashed through Isolde’s mind.
For an instant, she saw a ghostly green lamp.
Countless shadowy figures.
And the original Isolde’s bloodstained fingers.
The images vanished too quickly for her to grasp.
Isolde pressed her fingers to her temple, troubled by the gap.
The original Isolde’s memories of Lia’s creation were remarkably clear.
She remembered how the soul remnants had been selected, how the skeleton had been assembled, and how the body had been stitched together.
Yet Isolde couldn’t remember why Lia’s left eye was missing.
It was as though someone had carved that memory out of her mind, leaving nothing but an empty hole behind.
Silence settled over the room.
Lia lowered her remaining gray eye and bowed slightly.
“Would you like something to eat, Miss?”
Isolde returned to the present.
She looked at Lia’s empty left socket, then at the maid’s uniform, which had been torn further during the modifications.
Tattered fabric hung from Lia’s shoulder, exposing the newly repaired stitches beneath it.
Lia herself didn’t seem to care.
Isolde did.
Lia was currently her most important piece of survival equipment.
Equipment could be old, but it shouldn’t look shabby.
“Not yet.”
Isolde withdrew her gaze.
“Go change into a fresh uniform first.”
Lia nodded.
“Yes, Miss.”
She turned and left the room.
As the door closed, Isolde looked at the fallen strip of bandage on the floor.
Her expression slowly darkened.
She would have to find a replacement for Lia’s left eye.