Chapter 119
Chapter 119. A Game Beneath the Moonlight (7)
After some time of walking, Luo Nan finally arrived at the Small Dining Room.
He pushed the door open; the moment his gaze swept into the interior of the dining room, he seemed to experience a false impression.
It was as if everyone was grey—only wherever his eyes landed would color be rendered in, and motion be executed.
"Another hallucination?"
Luo Nan glanced at Father, Mother, and Qili seated at the dining table, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Father Duke Medillion was as severe and silent as ever; Mother's beautiful, featureless face was still smiling softly at him.
And Qili—due to the angle, Luo Nan still couldn't make out the expression on her face.
"Everything is normal." He gave a small nod, letting out a quiet breath.
Taking his seat, Luo Nan waited calmly for tonight's dinner.
"Father, Mother—sorry, I had some urgent business to attend to just now and arrived late." Luo Nan explained to his parents.
"Mm, remember to mind the time next time." Duke Medillion reminded him off-handedly.
"Luo Nan! Have you already forgotten what you promised Mama this morning? You said you'd come back for lunch, and not to go gallivanting around outside with those foxy friends of yours……"
Just as Luo Nan had anticipated, his featureless mother immediately launched into her signature "brand of motherly love"—nagging mode.
Luo Nan had naturally foreseen this situation; he immediately reached into his jacket and produced the elegantly gift-wrapped book, presenting it with both hands to his mother.
"Mom, I know you're very interested in books related to the Rossan Empire—I specially snapped up a limited edition of The Lost Ancient Empire, Mr. Jeraf Goldenhammer's latest work……"
Sure enough, the moment Luo Nan placed the book gift in his mother's hands, the nagging instantly transformed into surprise and delight.
"Mm……my Luo Nan……still so considerate of Mama."
His featureless mother reached out and gave a gentle dab at where the corner of her eye would be.
'Good thing I anticipated this—otherwise dinner tonight would have been miserable to eat again.'
With the mother-crisis successfully resolved, Luo Nan relaxed and waited for the maidservants to serve the meal.
Taking advantage of the interval, Luo Nan raised his head and looked around the Small Dining Room's décor.
On the wall behind the head seat hung the Medillion family's "Golden Falcon" crest; on the side wall was an oil painting—a family portrait of four.
The painting was so lifelike that even the textures of their clothing were visible in clear detail—unmistakably the work of a master's hand.
Luo Nan admired his own likeness in the oil painting.
The backdrop of the painting was the Duke Manor's garden.
Father and Mother were seated in chairs; a slightly green Luo Nan stood behind the chairs, showing a sunny smile, while Qili also stood quietly beside Mother.
"That's a little strange……"
"Why do I, Father, and Qili all have distinct facial features, while Mother has none?"
"I thought speaking required a mouth?"
"A mother without facial features…… how is she producing sound?"
"I remember crying requires having eyes first?"
"A mother without facial features…… how is she shedding tears?"
Luo Nan's pupils contracted sharply.
"Wait……no facial features?!"
"Would a normal person have no facial features?!"
"No!"
"How could my mother possibly have no facial features?!"
The instant Luo Nan became aware of this, a pain as if it could tear his very soul apart invaded his entire body in a flash.
"I……ugh……something is wrong! Something is wrong with this world!"
"It turns out the problem isn't with me!"
Luo Nan lowered his head, cradling it in his hands, doing his best to conceal his expression.
'I've had a nagging feeling something was off ever since I woke up this morning.'
'I remember…… Pati had clearly already Returned to the Source. Why am I still seeing her?'
'I remember…… Qili had clearly gone on a world-circling journey of cultivation. Why am I still seeing her?'
'I also remember…… Mother had clearly been gone for several years. Why…… am I still seeing her?'
'And Mother doesn't even have any facial features?'
In that instant, countless memories came crashing in like a tidal wave, flooding into Luo Nan's mind all at once.
"So that's how it is."
'I am not in the real world right now.'
'This is the Mind Phantasm set up for me by the Chrono Phantom Demon—Aeldelin Xueting—my personal Mind Phantasm!'
'No wonder this world has been showing anomalies everywhere!'
'Rose Anlute, the Perez Family, Anya Sivans, and Zhixia Cangya—these people didn't appear out of nowhere—they are all people who have had cause-and-effect connections with me!'
The moment Luo Nan fully realized the phantasm's existence, the entire Duke Manor seemed to have been pressed on pause.
The colors that had been there faded abruptly; Father, Mother, Qili, and even the maidservants attending to one side—all were washed over with a faint, pale crimson.
The crimson beauty's voice rose faintly from within Luo Nan's mind:
"Mr. Luo Nan—I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Being able to find the breakthrough point within the subconscious trap I set for you—not bad~~"
"Lady Aeldelin?"
"But don't get too pleased with yourself~~ the game isn't over yet." Aeldelin's voice paused briefly, then continued with unmistakable excitement. "You told me before—you need to find the 'Phantasm Keystone' I've set within the allotted time, and break it, to claim victory in this round."
"Care to guess…… where I've placed the Phantasm Keystone?"
Her voice carried a thread of playfulness and anticipation.
"Good luck, Mr. Luo Nan—I hope you'll be able to bring yourself to do what's necessary~~"
"Wait, Lady Aeldelin!"
Luo Nan tried to call her back—but that honeyed voice vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed, taking with it the world's original colors restored along the way.
"Luo Nan? Who are you talking to? Aeldelin…… that's a lady's name, isn't it?"
His featureless mother had keenly caught the key point in her son's words and asked with a probing look.
"No—nothing, Mother, my mind wandered……" Luo Nan replied in a low voice, gazing fixedly at his mother's featureless face.
"Luo Nan! You're daydreaming in front of Mama again—I know you too well…… out with it quickly, what sort of relationship do you have with that lady named Aeldelin?"
"Mama isn't trying to stand in the way of your free love, it's just that……"
The nagging began again; his featureless mother, seemingly sensing that Luo Nan wasn't listening, jabbed the man beside her. "Hermann, you say something too—what if your son gets taken advantage of by some wicked woman?!"
"Well…… I……"
Hermann von Medillion, who had always kept entirely aloof from the matter, evidently hadn't anticipated being dragged onto the battlefield himself.
"No, Father, Mother—you've misunderstood. I truly have absolutely no romantic or relationship entanglement with the lady named Aeldelin." Luo Nan hurried to explain.
Hearing his parents ask this made his head throb!
Especially in front of Mother.
Even more so than the headache from a few days prior, when Father had strong-armed him into entering a Marriage Covenant with Serela!
"Ha ha……~~"
The crimson beauty's soft laugh surfaced once more in Luo Nan's mind.
"Aeldelin?"
Luo Nan's heart sank—could Aeldelin be monitoring him the entire time?
Good thing he hadn't let "Truth-Piercing Star Spike" slip out as his ace in the hole—he'd nearly blown the whole operation.
Honestly speaking, after Aeldelin's seemingly offhand hint, even if he were a completely brainless scoundrel, he could figure out where the Phantasm Keystone was.
'Worthy of a Chrono Phantom Demon—this wicked sense of humor truly is……'
Luo Nan unconsciously gripped the handle of the Silent Hammer tucked in his jacket, momentarily hesitant.
"What should I do?"