The Missing Eyeball

Isolde turned and looked at the dinner plate beside the desk.

Several confiscated items lay quietly there.

A moment ago, they had merely been dropped loot. Now, they clearly looked like a package of upgrade materials prepared for Lia.

However, Isolde did not act immediately.

She had no intention of experimenting recklessly with her most important life-saving equipment.

She raised a hand, touched the edge of the dinner plate with her fingertip, and summoned the Castle's permissions.

"Appraise."

A pale red formation lit up beneath the plate, like a thin ring of blood, encircling the items one by one.

[Detected materials suitable for modification]

[Bone Blade Fragment]

[Can be used for: Puppet skeleton reinforcement, low-tier bone blade modification, undead weapon repair]

[Current compatible target: Soul Contract holder · Lia]

[Compatible enhancement areas: Wrist bones, elbow bones, shoulder bone joints]

Isolde's brows lifted slightly after reading it.

Just as she thought—it could be used!

She continued reading.

[Undead Afterglow]:

[Can be used for: Soul Core repair, undead spell fuel, low-tier soul stabilizer]

[Current compatible target: Soul Contract holder · Lia]

[Compatible enhancement areas: Repairing remnant soul fractures, improving soul stability]

The system also marked the third item.

[Damaged Bone Bow Part]:

[Materials that can be dismantled: Bone sinew, bow bone, residual tension patterns]

[Current compatible target: Soul Contract holder · Lia]

[Compatible enhancement areas: Shoulder, back, and arm seams; improves limb coordination]

Finally, there was the Aged Silver Candelabrum.

[Aged Silver Candelabrum]:

[Origin: Old Castle item]

[Contains incomplete Castle formation patterns]

[Not recommended for integration into the body of a Soul Contract holder]

[Recommended modification directions: Scrying Candelabrum, Soul-Luring Candelabrum, Blood Feast Waymarker]

After reading the final line, Isolde had a clear idea of what to do.

The Bone Blade Fragment, Undead Afterglow, and Damaged Bone Bow Part could be used to strengthen Lia.

The Aged Silver Candelabrum would be kept for the Castle...

Uh... it seemed to have belonged to the Castle in the first place.

Forget it. That was not important. What mattered was that the system had confirmed it, so this did not count as random tinkering.

Isolde picked up the [Bone Blade Fragment] and held it in her palm.

[Use material to modify the contract holder?]

[Yes]

The next second, the item in Isolde's hand vanished, turning into a strand of white light that fell into Lia's body.

[Bone Blade Fragment fused]

[Soul Contract holder: Lia]

[Skeleton integrity: 61% → 74%]

[Defense: 50 → 58]

Isolde looked at the notification, satisfaction appearing in her eyes.

She picked up the [Undead Afterglow] next.

It was a clump of pale gray light, like a candle flame on the verge of going out. As she held it between her fingers, she could vaguely hear chaotic cries coming from within.

Isolde pressed it into Lia's chest.

The old bandages over Lia's chest split open soundlessly, revealing a dim Soul Core beneath.

The Soul Core was tiny and gray, its surface covered in fine cracks.

Isolde's brow twitched.

No wonder Lia always looked like she was about to fall apart.

Her body was broken, and so was her soul.

The original owner had certainly been skilled enough to create her.

But failing to care for her properly afterward was another matter entirely.

The instant the Undead Afterglow was swallowed by the Soul Core, Lia's body visibly shuddered.

Gray light spread from her chest, flowing over her shoulders, neck, spine, and limbs like water.

A faint sheen appeared beneath her once-dry skin.

She was still pale, but she no longer looked like old paper that would crack at the slightest touch.

[Undead Afterglow fused]

[Soul strength: Low → Low-tier Stable]

[Remnant soul fractures being repaired]

[Intelligence: 20 → 23]

Isolde stared at the last line and fell silent for another second.

An increase of three points was not much.

But considering Lia had originally been nothing more than a "humanoid forklift capable of understanding commands," three points of Intelligence was already quite generous.

Besides, the master and servant's attributes were indeed rather balanced in certain areas.

One could not be too greedy in life.

Even a villain had to understand sustainable development.

Finally, she picked up the [Damaged Bone Bow Part].

It looked like a broken section of a bow, wrapped in thin bone sinews that gave off a low hum when pulled.

Isolde removed the bone sinews one by one and rewove them into the seams around Lia's shoulders, back, and arms.

[Damaged Bone Bow Part fused]

[Limb coordination improved]

[Strength: 100 → 112]

[Agility: 60 → 63]

Isolde looked at Lia, then at her own pitiful eighteen points of Strength.

Perhaps this was the advantage of mechanical ascension.

She picked up the final [Aged Silver Candelabrum] and turned it halfway around.

It still bore traces of Luo Qi having touched it.

Isolde wiped it with a cloth in disgust.

For now, this was not suitable for fusing into Lia's body.

The candelabrum itself carried Castle formation patterns. It would be suitable for mounting back on the wall as a surveillance node.

Once it was modified into a Scrying Candelabrum, she could place it at a corridor corner. Whoever entered the Castle, touched something, or harbored ill intentions—she would see it all clearly.

Luo Qi had stolen his way around, only to end up stealing her surveillance system for her. At least he was still contributing after death.

Isolde set the silver candelabrum aside and looked at Lia again.

The modified Lia had not changed dramatically.

She still wore that tattered maid outfit, half her face still wrapped in bandages, her posture quiet and proper.

But her withered arms were visibly fuller, and the lines of her shoulders and back no longer resembled broken dead branches.

A faint hint of cold whiteness had appeared beneath her gray skin.

Like an old Puppet that had been dusted off again, barely revealing its original outline.

Just then, the bandages at the side of Lia's face suddenly loosened.

The yellowed strips of cloth slipped down in circles and fell to the floor.

Isolde looked up and saw that Lia's left eye had been revealed.

There was no eyeball there, only an empty eye socket.

Fine black stitches lined the edge of the socket, as if it had once been forcibly gouged open and then crudely sewn shut.

A sharp pain flashed through Isolde's mind.

She seemed to see a ghostly green lamp and countless shadows.

There were also the original owner's bloodstained fingers.

But the images passed too quickly. Before she could grasp them, they vanished completely.

She pressed a hand to her brow, feeling puzzled.

The original owner's memories of creating Lia were very clear.

They included how the remnant soul had been selected, how the skeleton had been connected, and how the body had been stitched together.

Yet she could not remember why this eye was missing.

It was as though someone had forcibly carved that memory out of her mind, leaving behind only a hollow void.

The room fell quiet.

Lia lowered her one intact gray eye and bent slightly at the waist.

"Does Miss require a meal?"

Isolde came back to herself. She looked at Lia's empty left eye, then at the maid dress that had been torn during the modifications.

The worn fabric hung from Lia's shoulder, exposing freshly repaired seams beneath it.

Though Lia herself did not care, Isolde found the sight unpleasant.

This was her most important life-saving equipment at the moment.

Equipment could be old, but it could not look shabby.

"Not for now." Isolde withdrew her gaze. "Go change into a new set of clothes first."

Lia nodded. "Yes, Miss."

She turned and left the room.

The moment the door closed, Isolde looked at the fallen strip of bandage on the floor, her gaze slowly darkening.

She needed to find a chance to restore Lia's left eye.