Chapter 116
Chapter 116. A Game Beneath the Moonlight (4)
Tweet tweet—
The Medillion Duke Manor in the early morning, birdsong drifting through its halls.
"Young Master, Young Master……"
Who's calling me?
Luo Nan's consciousness was still submerged in the hazy, soft warmth woven by the large bed.
Pat pat, pat pat—
"Young Master, Young Master, time to get up!"
Who's poking this Young Master?
Can't you just let this Young Master sleep a little longer? This Young Master only fell asleep at three in the morning last night!
Luo Nan pulled his blanket tighter around himself and turned his body away from the source of the sound.
"Mm……Young Master is lying in again……" a slightly aggrieved, soft voice rang out; faced with Luo Nan, who had wrapped himself up like a caterpillar, its owner was momentarily at a loss as to how to complete her task.
Ah! The world is finally quiet!
This Young Master needs to keep catching up on sleep.
Zzzz……
Creak—
The bedroom door was pushed open.
"Aina, your task of helping Young Master rise and get dressed has already exceeded the scheduled time by three minutes."
A crisp, capable female voice rang out from the other side, yanking Luo Nan out of his dreams in an instant.
That voice……
Oh no, it's Pati!
Having identified the voice's owner through the haze, Luo Nan reflexively snapped his eyes wide open; the vacant black eyes cleared in an instant.
He rolled in the opposite direction on the bed, kicked the blanket off, and sat bolt upright.
Not the least bit bothered by the fact that he was only in his underpants.
"Oh, it's—it's Sister Pati, good morning!"
"Mm, good morning, Young Master." Pati gave a small nod.
"Good morning to Aina as well." Luo Nan naturally didn't forget the other adorable little maidservant who had been kneeling beside his bed.
"G—good morning, Young Master!"
Luo Nan rubbed his eyes with lingering reluctance, casually smoothed down his pillow-pressed dark hair, and said to Aina: "Hurry up, hurry up—what time is it? Why haven't you helped me get dressed yet!"
"But Young Master, didn't you say……"
"What did I say? Time is precious, hurry up, hurry up!"
"Uweh, uweh……" Aina pursed her lips, picked up the clothes she had prepared earlier, and began helping Luo Nan change.
Pati took in Luo Nan's clumsy performance but did not expose him.
"Young Master, there are eight minutes remaining until breakfast. Please arrive at the small dining room no later than five minutes from now—the Master, the Madam, and the Young Miss are already waiting in the small dining room."
With that, Pati gave a slight bow toward Luo Nan's back and withdrew from his bedroom.
"Hurry, hurry, Aina—just five minutes, I still need to wash up!" Luo Nan urged.
"I'm already going as fast as I can, Young Master—whose fault is it that you couldn't be woken up at all earlier, so Sister Pati had to come herself……" Aina muttered softly in complaint as she fastened the buttons on Luo Nan's shirt.
"Mm? What did you say, Aina?"
"……Nothing." The little maidservant lowered her head, not daring to meet Luo Nan's black eyes directly.
Fully dressed, Luo Nan gave his face a quick wipe, snatched up a comb to run through his hair twice, and jogged all the way to the small dining room.
"Father, Mother, good morning."
Pushing open the small dining room's door, Luo Nan greeted the upright man at the head of the table and the beautiful woman beside him first.
"Mm, sit down, Luo Nan." The man set down the Lune Daily, signaling the maidservants standing nearby to begin serving breakfast.
Luo Nan strode over to his seat in a few steps, pulled out his chair, plunked himself down without the least ceremony, crossed his legs, and reached for the clear tea on the table to wet his throat.
Setting the teacup down, he turned his head and greeted the girl seated about one meter away with a cool, frost-like air: "Hey, my dear little sister Qili, good morning—how did you sleep last night?"
The girl possessed a head of silky, waist-length black hair and sat one meter away from Luo Nan, her posture impeccably upright, not a hair out of place.
She and Luo Nan's sprawling, brazen sitting posture formed two polar extremes.
Her black hair covered the side of her face, preventing Luo Nan from reading her expression.
"Mm, morning." The girl gave a faint nod; a beautiful voice like a night-blooming lily drifted into Luo Nan's ears.
Having said this, the girl paid Luo Nan no further heed and waited quietly for the maidservants to serve the meal.
Luo Nan didn't mind in the least—after all, his sister Qili was just like this.
Sniff sniff—
Luo Nan's nose twitched; a blended aroma that combined the sweetness of cream with the savoriness of meat rushed into his nostrils.
"That smell…… yes, that's the one!"
Once the maidservants had set out the entire breakfast, Luo Nan's gaze locked immediately onto the plate of dumplings in the center of the table.
Golden-fried Butter Dumplings, gleaming crystalline in the morning light; through the translucent wrapper, Luo Nan could see the butter above and the meat filling below, separated by a crisp, clearly defined green line.
Every week on this day, the Butter Dumplings would become the focal point of competition between him and Qili.
Simple reason—they both happened to love them, but the Duke Manor's menu was fixed.
And it had been set by his own father.
Luo Nan picked up his fork, coiled and ready to spring.
Beside him, Qili also quietly laid her fair hand on her utensils.
"Let's eat."
With Duke Medillion's voice, the sibling rivalry began in an instant.
For a moment, the dining table was a battlefield of flashing blades and gleaming cold light.
"Infuriating—just because you're a Supernatural Practitioner, you think you're so great?!"
In under ten seconds, the plate of Butter Dumplings had been divided entirely between the two of them.
Aside from the two left for Father and Mother, Luo Nan's plate now held only two Butter Dumplings.
Qili's plate, meanwhile, had a full six Butter Dumplings on it—plain as day!
Luo Nan absentmindedly stabbed at a Butter Dumpling with his fork, his heart utterly desolate.
Using Battle Aura just to eat—whose sister is this?
Definitely not mine!
Absolutely no respect for her elder brother!
Luo Nan only wished the fork in his hand were sharper—if only he could swap it for his familiar chopsticks……
Chopsticks?
What's that?
Why would that word pop into my head while I'm eating?
That's a type of utensil, isn't it?
But why do I have no memory of it at all?
It's as if…… it suddenly leapt out of my mind from nowhere.
"Luo Nan, your father and I don't really care for Butter Dumplings—if you'd like, feel free to poke those two onto your own plate as well."
Just as Luo Nan was puzzling over this, a graceful, elegant, pleasant female voice drifted up.
That was Luo Nan's mother.
Duke Medillion shot a glance at his wife but said nothing to stop her.
Luo Nan looked up at his mother's beautiful face—a face without distinct features.
He could not figure out by what means his mother produced sound.
But Luo Nan paid this small strangeness no mind and said softly:
"Thank you, Mother and Father—in that case, those two are……mine!"
With that, Luo Nan's fork struck like a dragon; he speared both dumplings in a single thrust, giving Qili absolutely no time to react.
Looking at the four Butter Dumplings now on his own plate, Luo Nan gave a satisfied nod.
And cast a provocative sidelong glance at the little sister beside him.
The general meaning being: See that? Mother still loves me more, doesn't she?
Qili still said nothing, her black hair covering the side of her face, leaving Luo Nan unable to read her expression.
In a few quick mouthfuls Luo Nan finished everything on his plate, set down his fork, let out a satisfied belch, accepted the honey oatmeal porridge the maidservant held out for him, gulped it down in one go, then pushed back his chair and stood.
"I'm full, Father, Mother—please excuse me."
"Off you go, Luo Nan—remember to come back for lunch; the food outside…… isn't healthy." Luo Nan's mother reminded him.
Luo Nan looked at his mother's beautiful, featureless face and replied perfunctorily: "Got it, got it—I'll definitely be back for lunch."
Then without waiting for a response, he strode quickly away.
'What's on today's agenda? Let me think…… right, going to play cards with those guys. Ha…… the title of Star Board King…… belongs to none but me!'