Once someone has a certain color of Qi, that is the only Qi they can see. It doesn't matter if another person has a different color of Qi; you will only be able to see the color of Qi you have on everybody.
If Morgana had white Qi, to her, Leonard's golden Qi would also be white despite it being golden. The same goes for Leonard; he would see Morgana's Qi as golden despite it being white.
Leonard wasn't surprised that his body had golden Qi. What surprised him was how the Qi was flowing.
'Could it be?'
Leonard turned to Morgana then spoke. "Is the body still rising in ranks?"
Morgana looked at the corpse, then at Leonard, then let out a small sigh. "Yes, it is."
Hearing her answer, Leonard's eyes widened slightly. He could now fully understand why Morgana had the theory that his corruption was caused by someone.
'This can't be the Witch.'
Leonard was now convinced that the Witch wasn't the cause of this. If she was, none of them would have easily found evidence. For a Witch that was able to revive him and give him a body without being noticed, Leonard was sure that she could hide whatever she did without anyone finding out.
'If not the Witch, then who?'
"For how long has it been raising in ranks?" Leonard asked.
"Since I killed it. Despite it losing sentience a while ago, it's still able to raise its rank—perhaps on instinct," Morgana replied.
"Has it shown any sign of regaining its sentience?" Leonard asked.
Morgana turned to look at the man in the room. Seeing her gaze, the man spoke. "My Lord, it hasn't shown any signs of life."
"How bizarre," Leonard said, then asked, "What rank is it at now?"
"Rank three, my Lord," the man replied.
'That's extremely weird.'
Raising your rank is said to be difficult. The fact that Leonard was a rank two when he mutated was strange, but it was within the realm of reason. Now, however, his dead corpse had risen to rank three within two days of his death. It just didn't add up. A normal mutated person wouldn't be able to raise their rank after death; they would just stay still as a corpse should.
Leonard turned his head to face Morgana then asked, "Lady Morgana, may I take the corpse to my estate?"
Morgana looked at him for a while then spoke. "I can't make that decision. Last time I asked about the matter, my father said he'll consider what to do regarding the matter."
Leonard let out a small curse inwardly hearing her reply. If the corpse was a normal corpse, they wouldn't raise a fuss handing it over, but the fact that its rank was continuously increasing changed the situation.
If the corpse reached rank eight, they could create a Weapon of Calamity and raise their status. If the body reached rank four, even then they could create a number of weapons and artifacts. The fact that the corpse could raise its rank gave it immense value; they couldn't hand it over like it was some gift.
However, Leonard needed the body to investigate his death and also raise his family's prestige. If he had a Weapon of Calamity, his family would rise. But he knew he couldn't. Once a higher power sank their teeth in, they wouldn't let go until someone higher than them sank their teeth in.
He could only look at his body and pity its fate.
'To think my own body would one day be robbed of me.'
"I see. Well, can you at least keep me informed on this matter and whatever investigations might take place?" Leonard said while looking at Morgana.
Morgana didn't avoid his gaze and spoke. "I'll try to convince my father to do so."
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Leonard said, then added as he turned his gaze back to the corpse, "Did he leave any possessions I can use to send him off with?"
Morgana looked at the man again.
"His body at the time didn't have possessions, but when we searched his house, we found a necklace hidden."
'So they plan on giving me that instead of the body.'
"May I see it?" Leonard asked.
"Certainly, my Lord." The man stood up, then went to a drawer close by and took out a long silver necklace.
Morgana looked at Leonard then spoke. "You can keep the necklace."
Leonard just gave her a nod. The man handed the necklace over to Leonard. The necklace didn't weigh much, but the silver looked quite expensive, like something passed down from generation to generation. If he didn't know any better, he would have been fooled.
'To think they would give me a necklace that didn't even belong to me.'
Leonard wanted to give them a couple of slaps for being so audacious as to give him something that wasn't his. Leonard didn't have anything that could be considered his possession apart from his disgusting food and barely surviving clothes. The necklace was probably given to him by the Astria family to calm him down with something that "belonged" to the victim.
If it was Caesar who received this, he might have believed it belonged to Leonard, but the fact that Leonard was the one receiving it changed matters. After all, who knew better about himself than himself?
Leonard didn't call them out for this and accepted the necklace.
"Lady Morgana, thank you for letting me see the corpse. I hope that the investigations produce results," Leonard said with a faint smile on his face.
"Don't mention it. After all, he technically belongs to your family. It was only right the Astria family did this much," Morgana said with a smile of her own.
"I shall take my leave now, Lady Morgana," Leonard said.
"Allow me to escort you back," Morgana said.
The two soon started walking. Leonard took one more glance at his body.
'I guess this is goodbye.'
He wasn't just saying goodbye to his old body; he was saying goodbye to his old life and embracing the change the Witch gave him.