Princess Amidina’s finger paused gently on her cheek, a strange gleam flickering in her eyes:
“Did Ritualist Parkes have any reaction to this?”
“No reaction at all. Among all the dukes, the Clemence Family ranks first, and your side is ranked sixth, sister. Besides, it was Lin Nuo who had the guards arrest him. That old man at most would let his son Ruding shout a bit. If he dared to get angry, Lord Kusho would be the one to deal with him.”
Yulilian snorted and waved her tiny fists in the air: “I’ve never liked that old guy who’s always bossing you around. Seeing him chased away by Lin Nuo with a scowl today—if only you knew how satisfying that was.”
“It’s actually quite nice here with Lin Nuo. He even installed a fireplace knowing you get cold, sister.”
Getting more cheerful, Yulilian lay back down on her sister’s bed, swinging her slender legs:
“The place is just too big, having to walk so far for meals. But of course, it’s way better than the little house you lived in. It’d be even better if we could always stay here together…”
Her small lips babbled on, then she suddenly rolled over and asked, “Sister, if the Water Holy Spirit is naturally born with pure and flawless purification powers, why does that old dude still have to use slaves to escort so much silver to control the vengeful spirits? Are there really that many vengeful spirits to deal with?”
“Family matters of the Angekesai, little Yulilian don’t need to worry about,” Amidina glanced at the horizon.
“The rain’s definitely going to last a while. You’re not afraid of cold, but you still need to dress warmer like me. If you catch a cold, don’t blame me for not going easy on you when your little butt gets into trouble.”
“Tch… That’s such a dismissive way to change the subject!”
Yulilian pouted and wiggled her bottom, hopping down with a pitter-patter, grabbing her sister’s bow and arrows, then hopping back onto the bed:
“I’m really jealous of Lin Nuo today, so jealous I want to swear brotherhood with him! If I had a good father, even if I couldn’t even pull a bow, there’d still be a day when I could fiercely protect my sister!”
“Eat more, grow up sooner. Sister will always wait for the day you come to protect her.”
“Hmph, you always say that.”
***
In the afternoon, the fading sunlight once again bathed Claremont Manor in its glow, a faint dusk rising from the horizon.
“Yoho! Hurry up, lunch time, lunch time, lunch time!”
The cheerful voice of the little girl drifted away along the stairs, and faintly, Yulilian’s boasting to Amidina could still be heard:
“The Red Dragon King really never gets fat no matter how much he eats!”
And just as they walked away, from the corner of the side staircase beside the main building came a birdcall:
“Chirp chirp…”
“She really can’t get fat, so stop spinning around and looking at your belly. You would’ve been as round as a ball eight hundred years ago.”
“Chirp chirp chirp!”
Fatty Bird tugged wildly at Lin Nuo’s pants with its beak, shaking its head from side to side.
The exasperated Lin Nuo picked up the grumpy little scout chicken, soothing it for a good while before the two slipped quietly back into the bridal chamber where Amidina stayed.
“Chirp chirp…”
“You say I definitely won’t find it? Liu Huangshu still had to visit three times to invite Zhuge Liang out of seclusion. Jumping to conclusions after just one try is too soon.”
“Chirp chirp!”
Fatty Bird, subdued by Lin Nuo’s single hand, shook its head and hopped aside, peering around.
There was no doubt about the records on the Sacred Relic.
Judging by Amidina’s indifferent attitude toward Parkes of the Angekesai Family’s arrival, she certainly wouldn’t entrust such an important Sacred Relic to anyone in the family for safekeeping.
That book had to be with Amidina.
If it wasn’t on her person, then it must be somewhere in this room.
‘I think the safest place might not be the one Amidina thinks is safest, just like how there really was nothing tucked between her two small melons.’
The princess might even think that the most dangerous place is the safest place.
What if it was placed in some inconspicuous spot in this very room?
Is he going to stop because last night was so perilous?
No way!
The bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish!
As long as you’re bold enough, even if Feng Aotian and the heroine both take maternity leave together, Lin Nuo still…
Alright, getting both of them on maternity leave is a bit too difficult.
Anyway…
“Search!”
Fatty Bird flew up onto the desk, grabbing a feather pen from the pen holder.
Lin Nuo followed closely, searching the spot he barely had time to look at yesterday.
The desk was simply decorated: small useless figurines placed at the front, a jewelry box containing an unused Soulstone capable of briefly recording sound and image, a few blank sheets of sealing paper…
He searched further into the lower drawer, and when Lin Nuo’s hand touched something thick, his eyes brightened.
A four-cornered pinewood-bound notebook was pulled out and exposed before him!
Before Lin Nuo could chuckle wickedly and say “I finally found it,”
The confusing handwritten font on the title page immediately froze his smile.
Although Lin Nuo only knew that Amidina’s Sacred Relic was a book and wasn’t sure if it looked exactly like this notebook or had any distinguishing features, could this really be it?
?
[White Mengmeng-chan ate well and slept well today]
[White Mengmeng-chan ate well and slept well today]
[White Mengmeng-chan ate well and slept well today]
[…]
Lin Nuo glanced at the neatly written first page, the handwriting elegant and flowing, most likely a girl’s script.
Uh… It looked like it was recording something?
Flipping through, the entries were not daily, often interrupted.
One week had continuous entries for four days:
[Monday: White Mengmeng-chan read Se Se’s book all day]
[Tuesday: White Mengmeng-chan read Se Se’s book all day]
[Wednesday: White Mengmeng-chan frustratedly banged her head against Se Se’s book while muttering encouragements to herself: “White Mengmeng-chan, White Mengmeng-chan, how can you be so depraved! Didn’t you make a Magic Study Plan? I reflect on myself thrice daily, you can’t go on like this!”]
[Thursday: White Mengmeng-chan read Se Se’s book again all day]
[Lung thing White Mengmeng-chan]
This must be the part she was happy about, with a cute doodled expression beside the last sentence.
“??”
What the hell is this?
Lin Nuo’s eyes darted around.
‘Waterwater-sama’s got a decadent beauty named White Mengmeng-chan who loves reading erotic books just like me, and this is her daily record?]
Something’s off.
Looking further…
[White Mengmeng-chan had her Coming of Age Ceremony today, specially came back once more. At this age, it’s okay to sneak a peek at White Mengmeng-chan’s bath…]
[Waterwater-sama said that with so many Se Se’s books on White Mengmeng-chan’s bookshelf, a boy in his teens should be at least 40 cm tall. By comparison—]
[White Mengmeng-chan is really so tiny…]
“???”
‘Sss… Feels like my brain’s about to smoke.’
This must be a mistake, right?
A name like White Mengmeng-chan clearly sounds feminine!
Could it be that when recording, this pretty girl who’s “carrying a stick” uses male “he” pronouns?
And who the hell told you that teenage boys are supposed to be forty centimeters?
Like wearing their pants at the waist?
“Chirp chirp?”
“No idea what this thing is.”
Certain that this was definitely not the Sacred Relic, Lin Nuo tidied the notebook and slipped it back into its place, ready to check the bed boards and wardrobe for any new clues.
At that moment, without warning, several heavy knocks abruptly shook his eardrums.
“Knock knock knock——”