Chapter 132
Chapter 132. Watch Me Divide and Conquer
Luo Nan patted the little maid's head and began to speak words of comfort.
First, deal with the easiest enemy!
"Young Master's hand...... is so warm."
At this moment, Aina, who had buried herself in Luo Nan's chest, was cooperating with Luo Nan's hand as it swayed her head back and forth.
"So comfortable......"
Aina asked for nothing. She only hoped she could stay by Young Master's side forever and ever—just like before that incident, before Young Master's personality had changed so drastically......
And the Young Master before her now was exactly that gentle, sunlight-warm person she held in her memories......
Aina said nothing, yet she understood everything.
She had witnessed it all with her own eyes—Young Master single-handedly standing his ground against that red-haired older sister who had clearly been overwhelmingly powerful.
"So...... as long as Young Master is safe, I'm fine with anything......" This was the only thought in her mind as she lay in Luo Nan's arms.
Luo Nan carefully sensed the girl in his arms—her breathing, heartbeat, and small movements—and through his body's response, once he confirmed that Aina no longer posed any "threat," he gently drew the girl away.
"Aina, I have serious business to discuss with them."
The little maid gave a small nod and, obediently, took the initiative to clear the space before Luo Nan.
Luo Nan then shifted his gaze to the other three ladies.
First was Serela. The golden-haired Imperial Princess was watching him with those breathtaking violet eyes, smiling warmly, apparently not the least bit bothered by his show of affection with Aina just now.
This fit perfectly with Luo Nan's assessment of her.
Although Serela had already entered into a marriage pact with him, just as written in those legendary novels, the marriage pact between the two of them was nothing more than some form of political exchange and compromise.
He didn't believe Serela would genuinely have any feelings for him.
Even if, earlier on the balcony, she had spoken those words "Firmior Mithrilio, Aeternus Polus Borealis" together with him in Rossan.
Luo Nan's view was that those were words entrusted to her by the Emperor—words intended to be delivered through the two of them to his own father.
So Serela could also be set aside for the time being.
Next, looking at Anya Sivans—this "Chosen Hero" currently stood with arms folded, her toes tapping the ground subconsciously. The moment her pair of golden eyes met his, she immediately looked away.
That reaction......
After a moment's thought, Luo Nan instantly understood her true feelings.
As a commoner heroine with a natural disdain for the nobility, and having been busy all night on top of that, she apparently...... very much wanted to collect her money and leave.
On top of that, given her background, she was deeply uncomfortable with tender scenes like the one he'd just had, which was why she'd been so eager to avert her gaze.
Easy to handle.
That left...... the most troublesome one—Qili!
Luo Nan glanced at Qili's expressionless face. Those silver-moon-cold eyes held not a trace of emotion as they gazed coolly back at him.
Damn it—sure enough, she was the hardest to deal with!
Having swiftly assessed the situation, Luo Nan decided his plan remained unchanged: he would still use the Topic-Change Technique, only with a slight adjustment in approach.
He cleared his throat, gestured for the three women to take a seat at the round table in the center of the white pavilion, and said: "Qili, Serela, Anya—let's pick up where we left off......"
Luo Nan was a man who paid attention to details; even the order in which he called on people had been carefully deliberated.
Yet...... not one of the three sat down as he'd arranged.
They all stood exactly where they were.
"......"
Luo Nan's heart gave a lurch. According to his plan, this wasn't how things were supposed to go......
He thought for a moment and emphasized again: "Qili, Serela, Anya—let's sit down and talk this through properly. I have very important intelligence to share with you, gathered from my earlier confrontation with Aeldelin."
Still no one responded.
"......"
What was going on?
Luo Nan felt something was off.
Could it be...... that his read of the situation had been wrong?
"Young Master......"
Even Aina sensed that something wasn't quite right. The little maid tugged at his sleeve with a somewhat uneasy hand.
Luo Nan swept his gaze across the expressions of Qili, Anya, and Serela again.
No problems......
Ice-cold. Vacant. Smiling brightly.
Based on his understanding of these three heroines from both his past life and present one, Luo Nan believed his judgment couldn't be wrong.
"In that case...... there's no choice but to deploy the backup plan!"
As he said this, Luo Nan's expression shifted. He raised a hand to his forehead and was about to collapse to the ground.
"Luo Nan, your complexion doesn't look well—has your body not fully recovered yet?"
Serela was the first to break the silence.
The golden-haired Imperial Princess stepped up close to Luo Nan, reached out and placed a hand on his forehead, concern flickering in those violet eyes.
At this distance, Luo Nan could catch the pleasant, faint fragrance drifting from the Imperial Princess.
Seeing this, Luo Nan smiled inwardly.
There we go—the first one to break the deadlock has appeared!
"Serela, thank you for your concern—I'm fine. Please, have a seat; the intelligence involved is rather detailed......"
Luo Nan took just the right opportunity to use the act of turning around as cover to step back one pace.
Distance couldn't be too close—otherwise it would upset the balance.
"Is that so...... then I'll listen carefully." Serela didn't mind Luo Nan's small maneuver in the least. Her violet eyes half-lidded, she drifted naturally into the head seat at the round table.
With Serela handled, Luo Nan directed his gaze toward Anya. "Hey, Anya—come on over. We can talk about the money later; as someone who faced Aeldelin's methods firsthand, I really need to hear your take on things."
"Hmph......"
Called out by name, Anya quietly swallowed and glanced up at Luo Nan, somewhat reluctant to move.
She always felt vaguely unsettled inside.
This feeling...... had been present ever since she'd attended that Covenant Banquet last night.
Especially when she'd seen Luo Nan and Serela appear together.
The girl had no idea why this feeling had come over her.
After pondering it briefly, she could only attribute it to her innate aversion to nobility.
But......
That Luo Nan fellow seemed somehow a little different from the nobles she had in mind.
"Anya?"
Seeing that the girl still hadn't moved, Luo Nan called out to her once more.
"Oh—coming."
Looking into those deep, dark eyes again, Anya always felt that right now was not the time to be at odds with him.
Doing that would be immature...... and besides, she still hadn't collected her payment for a whole night's work!
With that thought, the girl reconsidered, and slowly made her way to the round table and took a seat.
Luo Nan gave a slight nod, thinking to himself that he'd already dealt with the two easy ones—all that was left was the high-difficulty Qili.
He instantly switched to the tone of an elder brother and said: "Qili, I'm deeply grateful that you came rushing back the moment you returned, all for your elder brother's safety. Now that this matter has come to a close, I won't insist you stay."
As he said this, he paused for a moment and observed the girl's micro-expressions.
As he'd anticipated, Qili's silver-moon-bright eyes contracted ever so slightly for an instant, and her cherry lips showed a fleeting tendency to part.
But very quickly, these micro-expressions vanished without a trace.
Just not quickly enough to escape Luo Nan's eyes.
Seeing that he had already achieved a preliminary effect, Luo Nan continued: "Qili, if you're tired, you can go home and rest first. After Serela, Anya, and I finish handling the follow-up matters, we'll head back as well. Don't worry—as your elder brother, I'll hold a proper welcome-home banquet for you."
When it came to Qili, Luo Nan understood perfectly that he had to do the opposite—exploit her tendency to defy him to achieve his goal.
"I'm not tired. Whatever happened to you, I want to hear it too."
The black-haired girl said this coolly, then, just like the other two women, took a seat at the round table.
Luo Nan shrugged, glanced at Serela now seated in the head position, and at Anya and Qili flanking her on either side. He gave a faint smile.
Not the slightest bit bothered that the only seat left for himself was the lowest one.
He gave Aina a wave, leaned down and whispered something in the maid's ear, then walked over and settled into the only vacant seat.
"Well then...... allow me to start by sharing the intelligence on Aeldelin."