Chapter 120
Chapter 120. A Game Beneath the Moonlight (8)
After a moment of thought, the hesitation in Luo Nan's eyes vanished abruptly.
What remained was only resolve.
Once the family finished dinner, Duke Medillion said he had governmental affairs to attend to and left early; even Qili said she needed to continue her cultivation practice and hastily departed the Small Dining Room.
Luo Nan looked at his featureless mother and bit his lip, a touch of tension showing on his face.
"Luo Nan—now that your father and your sister have both left, can you tell me the truth?"
"What?"
"Naturally, about the relationship between you and that woman named Aeldelin." His mother pressed on relentlessly. "Just whisper it to me—have you two done that?"
"……"
Luo Nan didn't know how to respond.
Aeldelin herself was sitting somewhere he couldn't see, listening in.
Seeing Luo Nan unable to respond, his mother reached up and touched the mouth she didn't have, exclaiming in surprise: "You actually…… really did? Did you take precautions?"
"……"
"You didn't even take precautions? She won't get pregnant, will she?"
Thinking of this, his mother's voice rose gradually. "Luo Nan! Surely you know you can't casually spread your bloodline around? Your father and I aren't actually opposed to you being with different women, but the passing of bloodline…… is something to be carefully considered!"
What—I haven't said a single word, how did you arrive at these conclusions?
Luo Nan was completely numbed.
He felt he couldn't let his mother's imagination run any further.
"Dear Mother, please stop speculating…… Lady Aeldelin and I truly have nothing going on!"
"Is that so? But just now at the dinner table, the way you called out…… didn't sound like it……" His mother was clearly somewhat skeptical.
"I said—stop, stop! Can't you trust your own son even a little? Am I really the kind of person who just gets into things with any woman?"
At this point, Luo Nan paused.
Oh no—it seemed like he actually was!
At least before his previous-life memories awakened, he was.
But that was only after Mother was gone……
Right—this is the phantasm; naturally there will be illogical elements here.
Thinking of this, Luo Nan slipped his hand into his jacket and felt the solid, reassuring weight of the Silent Hammer.
'Yes—this is the phantasm, the Mind Phantasm Aeldelin designed specifically for me. Everything is fake.'
'Yes, none of it is real.'
'Yes—my mother passed away three years ago.'
'The featureless person standing before me is not my real mother!'
'But rather…… a Heart Demon!"
Luo Nan could still feel, to this day, the pain that incident had brought him—it was only natural that a Heart Demon born from it had taken hold.
He kept reminding himself: 'Everything is fake, everything is an illusion, everything is a moral dilemma designed against his weaknesses by this master of manipulation—Aeldelin.'
"Luo Nan, what's wrong with you? The look on your face…… seems like you're a bit uncomfortable……"
His mother naturally noticed his struggle; concern crossed her face and she raised a hand to press against Luo Nan's forehead.
Just like when he was little.
"……It's just a Heart Demon—I'm fine."
"Luo Nan, tell Mama where it hurts?" Seeing Luo Nan's expression growing increasingly wrong, his featureless mother became somewhat flustered. "I'll call the Royal Physician right away—hold on a moment, my Luo Nan."
With that, Mother made to rise and leave.
"Wait, Mother……" Luo Nan spoke up.
Having said this, Luo Nan deflated like a punctured ball, hanging his head low, not sure what he was thinking.
"What is it, my son?" Mother sat back down beside him.
Just like when he was little.
"That…… thing……" Luo Nan leaned back in his chair. "I feel a little…… lost."
"Could you tell me a story?" he asked.
Mother gave a faint nod, reached out and touched her son's well-defined features. "Of course…… I can. I remember…… it's been a very long time since I last told you and Qili a story, hasn't it?"
Luo Nan made no reply.
"Mm, then this one," Mother flipped open The Lost Ancient Empire that Luo Nan had given her, running her finger along the table of contents to search through it. "This story, I remember Luo Nan you loved listening to heroic epics like these when you were little."
"It is said that the third ruler of the Rossan Empire, the Supreme King of Ten Thousand Races, Ionyus, once forged an alliance with the Elven Race……"
Luo Nan closed his eyes, quietly letting the gentle sound—produced by some unknowable means—wash over him from his mother, exactly as it had when he was small.
The heartstrings that had been pulled so taut gradually relaxed.
"……And thus, Ionyus—the ruler who ushered in the 'Golden Age'—passed away peacefully in the arms of his beloved; the procession that came to see him off stretched from Anduronia all the way to the far northern snowfields……"
The story ended; Mother gently closed the book and smoothed the unruly hair at the corners of Luo Nan's temples.
"Mother? I……"
Luo Nan snapped his eyes open, only then realizing belatedly that the story had already concluded.
As for what the story was about…… he hadn't caught a single word of it.
"Luo Nan, my child, you look so very tired…… come, let Mama hold you."
Luo Nan felt a familiar, warm embrace.
Just like when he was little.
After some time had passed, when Mother released Luo Nan, that beautiful featureless face revealed—just for an instant, only that one fleeting instant—a countenance Luo Nan knew better than any other.
"Luo Nan, is there something you want to say to me?"
His mother had seen through his hesitation to speak.
She had also perceived his torment and uncertainty.
"It's alright—just say it to Mama; whatever it is, Mama can accept it."
Luo Nan's eyes wavered; he said hoarsely: "Mother, I……"
"Even if you've already had a child with that woman named Aeldelin, Mama won't be angry—truly!"
"……"
Luo Nan broke into a sudden, liberated laugh; the five fingers that had been stretched into his jacket, gripping the Silent Hammer, released their hold in an instant.
Like he used to when he was small, he spread his arms open wide and embraced his mother.
Even if she had no facial features.
But she was still his mother.
"Mother—there's nothing at all, I'm very happy……"
After some time, Luo Nan finally brought this tender moment—real yet illusory—to an end.
"You child…… are you trying to play pitiful in front of Mama again? Out with it—what trouble have you gotten into this time?"
Luo Nan looked at his mother's face and laughed softly. "I really can't fool Mother……"
"Yes—right now I'm playing a life-and-death game with a certain dangerous individual."
"What? Life and death? Luo Nan, how could you……" His mother's voice was first incredulous, then transformed into anger and boundless worry.
"Mother, thank you for coming to see me."
"What kind of strange thing is that to say…… don't I come to see you every single day?"
Luo Nan made no reply, and gave his head a shake as if a weight had been lifted.
He stood up, looked at his featureless mother, and said softly: "Farewell, my Mother……"
"No—it should be…… farewell forever, my Mother."
"Being your son…… I am very fortunate, and very proud."
With that said, Luo Nan spread his arms wide, raised his head to face the empty ceiling, and declared in a clear voice:
"Lady Aeldelin—this round…… I concede defeat."