Chapter 115
Chapter 115. A Game Beneath the Moonlight (3)
"'Mind'?"
Aeldelin repeated the word once, seeking confirmation from Luo Nan.
"Yes. 'Mind,' precisely." Luo Nan said without hesitation.
"Mr. Luo Nan, since you understand me so well…… then you must be clear that 'Mind' is my area of expertise."
A flicker of amusement passed through Aeldelin's eyes. "You're certain you want to face off against me in this domain?"
"Naturally."
"Ha, Mr. Luo Nan—I must say, you've surprised me once again."
The corners of the crimson beauty's lips curved upward. "Right now…… I can hardly wait to obtain everything of yours, to dig out all your secrets~~"
For Aeldelin, only the unknown and the unexplored could stir even a faint ripple on her heart-lake, long since stilled by the sediment of time.
"Ahem—that will have to wait until you've won the game's final victory; otherwise I certainly won't cooperate." Luo Nan was startled for a moment—he had thought this woman was about to flip the table.
"I know, I know—I was only joking; don't be so humorless~~"
"……"
"Hurry up and tell me—how exactly do you plan to play this? You should know…… my curiosity has now been completely—hooked by you."
Luo Nan gave a small nod and laid it out smoothly: "Lady Aeldelin, we shall use your 'Mind Phantasm' as the wager."
"You actually know~~—so you're prepared to face the most genuine desires of your own heart?" Aeldelin hadn't expected Luo Nan to be able to name her other ability.
"Of course. But please allow me to first clarify the rules of this round."
"Go ahead."
"It's simple. I will enter the Mind Phantasm you construct for me, and within the allotted time, find the Phantasm Keystone that breaks the illusion."
"If I break the Phantasm Keystone and walk out of the Mind Phantasm within the allotted time, I win; conversely, it is your victory."
That Round Two would be handled by himself personally—Luo Nan had naturally given this careful thought.
First of all, if both of the three rounds were themed around "Strength," or were both executed by Anya, he wasn't certain Aeldelin wouldn't grow bored and flip the table.
He therefore had to carefully design each round to ensure he could keep continuously stoking Aeldelin's interest in playing along with him.
After all, even if she couldn't directly lay hands on him, using certain special means to control him was child's play for her.
If he were controlled by her, then even if he didn't want to collude with the Demon Race, he'd have no choice but to collude with the Demon Race, walk the original storyline's track, and land on a Bad End.
'Sigh—this Young Master is truly walking on thin ice!'
After a quiet lament in his heart, Luo Nan fixed his gaze on Aeldelin's pair of rose-red eyes and waited for her reply.
"The rules are this simple? Fine." Aeldelin's interest fell flat; she felt no great excitement at all over the rules Luo Nan had proposed.
Her voice shifted accordingly, turning slightly cold with boredom.
It was as if she had suddenly lost interest in the "game" Luo Nan had mentioned.
"This is bad!"
Luo Nan muttered inwardly that things had taken a bad turn—he genuinely hadn't expected Aeldelin to show no interest in the game rules he'd proposed, and consequently lose all desire to continue the game entirely.
At this rate……it looked like she was going to flip the table?
Damn—did he have to use that thing right now? The timing still wasn't ideal; he still hadn't reached the ace-in-the-hole scenario he'd arranged for Aeldelin.
Oh well—plans never keep pace with change; man proposes, heaven disposes!
All in!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Luo Nan was about to activate his power and strike preemptively.
"Rules being simple is fine too…… honestly, I've long since grown tired of those games with complicated rules." Aeldelin suddenly reverted to her earlier tone and said unhurriedly.
"Like that board game Mr. Luo Nan played earlier called 'Stellar Deduction.'"
?
She's messing with me?
This woman's mood swings—how are they this extreme?
Good thing, good thing—good thing I thought it through for that extra moment, otherwise she'd have reeled me right in.
Luo Nan relaxed his tensed muscles, his expression composed as ever, and nodded. "Since Lady Aeldelin has consented as well, time is of the essence—let's begin."
The crimson beauty lifted a lock of fresh-crimson hair, wound it slowly around her pale fingers as she toyed with it; her gorgeous eyes drifted away from Luo Nan, and her vermillion lips parted slightly, wordless for a moment.
"Lady Aeldelin?"
Seeing the person before him lost in thought again, Luo Nan's heart felt a measure of uncertainty.
'This one…… is truly unpredictable. Even with my previous-life memories, I can't anticipate what she'll do next.'
"Mr. Luo Nan, you seem……very tense?"
She released the lock of crimson silk wrapped around her jade finger; Aeldelin propped her jade hand under her cheek, tilting her head slightly; her lashes fanned lightly, and her entire upper body slowly pressed down onto the white-jade round table.
That pair of alluring, snow-white, full curves met the tabletop at once—soft and smooth, like flowing liquid—and under the pressure spread out in all directions; the black gauze fabric, already scant, could no longer conceal those pulse-quickening curves; silky, jade-white softness spilled out from the sides of the black gauze.
Aeldelin, her upper body nearly flush against the table, lifted her head lightly; her rose-red eyes angled upward, meeting the deep black eyes that couldn't help but drift downward toward a certain valley.
"……"
Feeling Aeldelin's scrutinizing gaze, Luo Nan immediately averted his eyes, gave a quiet cough, and said: "Ahem, Lady Aeldelin, your answer?"
The crimson beauty revealed a faint dimple; her jade fingertip rested against her petal-lips. "Mr. Luo Nan, you haven't answered me yet—why were you so tense just now?"
"If you don't answer me…… then I won't play anymore."
Aeldelin drummed her shapely legs, adopting the posture of a little girl who says 'I'll flip the table if you don't satisfy my curiosity.'
Luo Nan was momentarily dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond.
Should he say—I was just afraid you'd flip the table and not play anymore, so I was about to preemptively strike and stab you once with my precious treasure?
Right—when the time came, which spot would be best to stab the Truth-Piercing Star Spike into?
Luo Nan couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.
No—he needed to muddle through first!
With that in mind, his long index finger tapped unconsciously on the white-jade round table while his brain raced to figure out how to brush this off.
"?"
Luo Nan suddenly felt something smooth and ice-cold wrap around his finger.
He shifted his gaze: Aeldelin was extending her fingertip and pressing it against his index finger, sliding it back and forth.
Luo Nan's arm gave a small jerk; he nearly pulled his right hand back.
But thinking about it, he couldn't show weakness here.
As a Capital's Debauched Scoundrel who had charmed countless women—how could he lose face in front of Aeldelin?
"Mr. Luo Nan, I can sense your tangled thoughts—you…… don't appear as composed on the surface as you seem."
Aeldelin withdrew her jade finger; with excruciating slowness—slowly, slowly—she extended a pink tongue, bringing the fingertip that had just touched Luo Nan's to rest on her dewy, tender flesh.
"Mm……~~men……is this what they taste like?" The crimson beauty's cheeks flushed faintly; her gorgeous eyes half-lidded; her graceful figure trembled lightly as she drew a slow breath. "Rather a novel experience~~"
"Mr. Luo Nan, tell me~~ just what were you tense about?"
Luo Nan quietly withdrew his right hand, his gaze settling, at a momentary loss for words.
"Not playing anymore, not playing anymore—if even this small request goes unsatisfied by you, it seems Mr. Luo Nan's sincerity is sorely lacking; talking to your little maidservant is more interesting than this."
With that, Aeldelin made to rise and leave.
"Please wait, Lady Aeldelin," Luo Nan placed both hands back on the table and interlaced his fingers. "The reason I didn't respond to you right away was naturally not because I had no wish to respond—but rather……"
"Rather what?"
Aeldelin arrested the motion of rising to her feet, resumed her seat beside the table, crossed her two black-silk jade legs together, swayed her ankles lightly, and watched the blood-red silk threads swirling above flicker and extinguish.
"I thought about it—Luo Nan von Medillion does not stoop to deceiving you with such feeble excuses."
"Is that so? Then Mr. Luo Nan is quite a gentleman~~" Aeldelin responded neither affirmingly nor dismissively.
"Naturally. The reason I was tense was my fear that you would grow bored of my game and leave—after all…… my reason for coming here was to take Aina back with me."
As he said this, Luo Nan tilted his head to glance at the little maidservant on the long bench beside them and read, from that pair of large emerald eyes, an overflow of anxious worry.
But for some reason, Aina appeared unable to say anything.
Luo Nan had a bad feeling.
Aeldelin's "kidnapping" of Aina had not been solely for his sake.
For some reason, Luo Nan found himself thinking again of those two golden tearstains from a few days prior, after Pati had Returned to the Source.
'Strange…… what does this have to do with Aina? Why would I suddenly think of Pati?'
But Luo Nan could not think of any thread to follow.
"Mm…… so the truth of it is this……" Aeldelin raised her delicate brows lightly, revealing an expression of ah-so-that's-how-it-is.
"Since Mr. Luo Nan is such a gentleman, so forthright, and so considerate of me—then I…… will most certainly keep playing along~~"
"Thank you for your understanding. Allow me to do this for you……"
Before Luo Nan could finish his words, he saw a flash of crimson light dart through Aeldelin's gorgeous rose-red eyes.
Whoosh—!!!
Darkness swallowed all of Luo Nan's senses and consciousness in an instant.
'I wasn't…… ready yet……'
This was the last thought Luo Nan had before his consciousness went blank.