With Blaineau’s death, the anti-magic field that Ankara Muheng had cast over the entire sea was dispelled.
The white healing magic from the Internal Grimoire was no longer suppressed.
It quietly began to heal the scars on Lin Nuo’s body.
Fortunately, the knife wounds were not poisoned, and there were no serious injuries to his internal organs.
However, even so, even though he only said he wanted to take a bath, Xi still insisted on helping him wash by hand.
She would not let him leave her sight, nor would she let him move much.
Thinking back to last night—facing Xi, who had been smiling gently while rubbing bubbles in her hands, tilting her head as she waited for him to get into the tub filled with hot water—Lin Nuo felt a sense of despair!
‘It’s all that fake’s fault for stealing my face!’
‘Damn him!’
‘Doesn’t he know? Every evil will eventually be brought to justice!’
However, when Xi supported Lin Nuo as they arrived at the High Dome Meeting Hall, he received some unexpected news.
“What do you mean…”
“This Blaineau… wasn’t actually a ‘Delusion’!?”
The Holy Knights gathered there automatically made a path when they saw Lin Nuo.
Lin Nuo saw a corpse preserved by ice magic.
It was Blaineau’s body.
His head hung low, devoid of life.
He had the same disheveled, medium-length golden hair draped over his shoulders as Lin Nuo, and his body was covered in knife wounds and bloody holes.
“Yes.”
“This man was very powerful. If he hadn’t used Ankara Muheng to lock everyone’s magic, it wouldn’t have been so easy for us to kill him.”
Dax tapped the ice block with his cane and sighed, “But as you can see, after he was killed, there was no aura of the Evil God leaking from him.”
Blaineau was a fake Delusion.
After coughing twice, Lin Nuo’s irritation grew.
Supported by Xi, he walked up to the corpse that shared his face in front of the knights and the confused merfolk.
He slowly rolled up his sleeves, raised his hand and gave the corpse a smack!
“Slap!”
Lin Nuo wanted to curse, but he felt it was inappropriate with so many people watching.
So, he grabbed a small mermaid who was watching the commotion from a nearby water channel.
“Can you scold him for me?”
“Okay!”
“He’s a bad guy!”
Receiving an encouraging look from Lin Nuo, the little mermaid scolded even harder.
“Huge bad guy!”
“Chirp, chirp!”
Seeing Fatty Bird on his shoulder join in with two chirps, Lin Nuo educated the white fatty bird on proper manners.
“You shouldn’t use foul language.”
“Chirp?”
“He’s a nuisance! A meanie!”
After running out of the insults she knew, the little mermaid thought for a long time and said, “He’s also ugly!”
‘Huh?’
Lin Nuo immediately stopped her.
One shouldn’t just throw insults like that around!
***
It was night.
They walked along the shallows scattered with moonlight.
Two sets of footprints remained in the soft sand behind them—one large and one small.
The girl looked at Lin Nuo, remembering how much he had cared about the insults earlier that morning, refusing to let the child call him ugly.
When she covered her mouth and smiled demurely, her eyes curved like a bright half-moon over the sea.
“Noble Young Master, what do you plan to do next?”
“I’ll help you investigate.”
Lin Nuo thought she was asking about the Bloodpact Servant.
Xi only nodded.
He continued to accompany her on her walk.
In this place called Moonlight Beach, besides enjoying the most beautiful moon view, Lin Nuo also saw some merfolk sitting on the rocks along the coast of Shilang Bay.
They were enthusiastically giving unique conch shells, star shells, and delicacies to the knights who were still staying in the patrol ships.
Xi suddenly tightened her grip on his arm.
“Regardless of whether we find anything, I’m very happy to spend this time here with you, Noble Young Master. Just consider it as you accompanying me on a short honeymoon.”
“…Huh?”
‘I can understand saying you’re happy. I can understand saying you want me to accompany you, or even saying it’s for me to recover my health here.’
‘But calling it a “honeymoon,” which symbolizes sweetness and blessings of fertility… Isn’t that a bit too ambiguous!’
‘Oh! It seems like we’ve done even more ambiguous things before, even…’
It wasn’t until a moment of distraction that Xi pulled him past those patrol ships that Lin Nuo realized something.
“Right, you’re pulling me away, but where am I sleeping tonight?”
“Noble Young Master Lin Nuo, I have already ordered people to tidy up your residence—” Yosena, who had seen her sister bringing their hero along, swam to the shore to say hello.
She was about to say there were many vacant spots in Shilang Bay.
But after seeing Xi’s gaze, she immediately changed her tune.
“Cough, cough!”
“Sorry, Noble Young Master Lin Nuo. Most of the dwellings built for the Ling Yao in Shilang Bay are stream channels. We like the moisture and dampness, but since you have wounds on your body, the place I arranged for you might not be suitable.”
“…Ah?”
‘Is that reason really so sound?’ Lin Nuo thought for a moment and asked, “Why don’t you look again?”
“Why bother looking?” Xi’s voice was gentle, but Lin Nuo could hear the undeniable tone within it.
“You will sleep with me tonight.”
She pursed her lips, “It’s not like you haven’t slept with me before. Are you really going to be picky now?”
“Uh…”
“Of course not, but the two of us like this… It’s not that, Xi, you…”
“Chirp!”
Before Lin Nuo could continue, Xi turned and caught the white fatty bird flying toward them with fluttering wings.
She tapped its beak and said with a smile, “Mhm, let’s go. There’s a spot for you too.”
“…”
Lin Nuo felt that no matter where they were, they should maintain some distance.
They arrived at a secluded pier in Shilang Bay and entered a bubble barrier that required Xi’s magic to open.
From the outside, it looked like nothing was there, but from the inside, it was completely open-air.
Aside from the widest view of the vast sea, there were stone pillars decorated with paper cranes and paper butterflies, as well as wooden lounge chairs with fresh flowers.
There was no other decoration.
This place didn’t look like a bedroom; it seemed more suitable for a nap.
If it were just a place to sleep, fine.
But… why was there a hammock?
He had planned to keep some distance and let Xi think more about their relationship, but this hammock carried a certain feminine fragrance.
If he lay on it, he would definitely be pressed tightly against her.
Xi pulled him up and immediately hugged him, letting the soft, translucent hem of the white floral dress she had changed into spread over Lin Nuo.
“If I hold you like this, I won’t touch your wounds. Sleep peacefully, Noble Young Master.”
“…”
‘Ah, this… she’s hugging me so tightly.’
“If you press too hard, I won’t be able to take it…” Lin Nuo whispered, seeing that Xi really intended to sleep like this.
“Mm-hmm, are you blaming me?”
Xi blinked and acted spoiled in a soft voice, “If you want to punish me, Noble Young Master, then go ahead. No one else will see us here anyway.”
“…?”
She lazily sat up and propped her chin on her hand.
Her shoulder strap slid down her snowy, fragrant shoulder.
“And I checked before I came to find you in this dress; it’s the easiest one to take off.”
“This… isn’t good, right?”
In the quiet sea breeze, one breath, two breaths, three breaths…
After several seconds of staring into the girl’s eyes, Lin Nuo was the first to look away, losing the exchange.
Seeing this, Xi’s eyes curved into smiles again and asked,”Then as a compromise, can you let me hold you while we sleep?”
“Gulp—”
“Mhm, you’re such a good boy.”
“…”
***
The next day.
Lin Nuo carefully lifted the girl’s slender, jade-like legs draped over him and the soft hands clutching him tightly.
Getting dressed and out of bed, Lin Nuo looked at the beautiful and peaceful sleeping face on the hammock.
“Chirp…”
“Quiet.”
Lin Nuo told Fatty Bird to keep it down and let her sleep a little longer.
After being separated from Xi for five days, he had noticed she had slight dark circles under her eyes when they reunited.
Since she had the chance to sleep more, he would let her.
Last night was really… sigh!
Anyway, it was just sleeping while holding each other… he’d just consider it an extension of a close friendship.
Setting those thoughts aside, Lin Nuo carefully reviewed the unresolved magical matters.
He could handle the remaining loose ends himself.
“Noble Young Master Lin Nuo.”
Perhaps because she saw that the Royal Lady was determined to make him the Prince Consort of Shilang Bay, or perhaps because she recognized his feat of helping them drive away 200,000 magical creatures—regardless, Yosena, who used to call him “Little Blonde,” had long since switched to a more respectful title.
Finding the mermaid with her hair in buns and her scallop-shaped ears twitching as she waited for him by the sea, Lin Nuo walked toward her.
“Last night, after the magical creatures’ ships caught fire, did you find anyone among the migrated residents who behaved strangely?”
Since Blaineau was a fake bloodpact servant, the real culprit behind the scenes must be the “mole” they had initially suspected.
Whoever it was, they had to be found.
“Following your instructions, I carefully observed every commoner and Ling Yao that night. If someone didn’t want the invasion to fail, their expression should have shown a flaw when they saw the creatures defeated in the fire.”
“Mhm.”
“But…”
“…”
The moment that word came out, Lin Nuo knew there was a problem.
“I couldn’t find anyone.”
“The Ling Yao are all female. I don’t think they would have an obsession with Sister Xi, and it’s likely not the female commoners either.”
Yosena explained slowly, “That leaves the fishermen. But most of them were washed here by the waves. They found the place quiet and moved their whole families here with Granny Whale’s permission to live a peaceful life on the coastline and outer areas.”
“Additionally, Sister Xi is away for years at a time. Many of them don’t even know who the Royal Lady is. It’s even less likely that any of them are the bloodpact servant.”
“I don’t care what you think.” Lin Nuo thought for a moment and said, “Try checking the women here as well.”
“Oh, alright.”
Yosena muttered; so far, there were no results.
She thought for a moment.
As an apothecary dedicated to potions and experiments, she still had professional spirit and reported her periodic deductions.
“If we check everyone, we probably won’t find anything in a short time. If Blaineau was made by a bloodpact servant using some lost Puppet Magic, it must have cost that person a lot of magic.”
“Blaineau is dead. The real bloodpact servant won’t be able to cause much trouble in the short term.”
“If you really want to help Sister Xi find that person, you should prepare to stay here for a long time.” Yosena glanced at Lin Nuo and spoke earnestly.
“Speaking of which… being forced to squeeze together with such a fragrant Sister Xi every day is really enviable… I mean, really tragic.”
“…”
‘You clearly meant to say enviable!’
Yosena raised her hand to condense a small water ball.
Soon, several figures of merfolk appeared within it, like a Soulstone.
“I’ve checked, and these are the merfolk and commoners who could never be the bloodpact servant.”
“You might not know them, but I’ll let you take a look anyway.”
Lin Nuo crouched down to look closely.
At the same time, he recalled what the bloodpact servant had said… but!
That cursed fake hadn’t given any useful information at all.
The only point worth remembering was… did he say something about a father?
Lin Nuo recalled everyone he had seen in recent days.
“Wait, let me scroll back two chapters.”
“Two chapters?”
“I mean my memory.”
“Oh? Did you find it?”
‘Uh… no… It seemed like someone had mentioned something like “Dad is dead” to me before…’
Too many things had happened recently, and for a moment, Lin Nuo really couldn’t remember.
Until the water mirror Yosena was casually fiddling with revealed a figure that made his nerves instantly sensitive.
Lin Nuo pointed at the somewhat thin girl in the water mirror.
“Who is she?”
“Her? My friend,” Yosena said, sounding a bit exasperated at the mention of her.
“You’ve met her. Her name is Suo Liuxiang.”
The girl who had appeared in the cellar and then ran away…
He had an impression of her.
Lin Nuo was puzzled so he asked, “Why do you think it’s impossible for her to be the bloodpact servant?”
“Her?” Yosena acted as if she had heard something unbelievable.
“How could that be?”
“Suo Liuxiang was picked up by Sister Xi when she was very young, and she’s the most law-abiding one.”
Yosena judged, “Her personality has always been a bit cowardly. She likes to run away whenever something happens, and she’s always talking about ‘loving this’ and ‘loving that’.”
“Oh, speaking of which, she definitely has someone she likes.”
“No matter how you look at it, Suo Liuxiang doesn’t seem like she would have an obsession with Sister Xi!”
Seeing Lin Nuo fall into deep thought, Yosena took out a Soulstone and said, “That night, when you were fighting Blaineau, she was still with me.”
After magic was injected into the circular stone, Lin Nuo saw a slender girl who, when encountering danger, timidly tried to hide in the bushes, to the point where her fear left only her bottom exposed.
At the same time, the girl’s wailing came from the stone: “Ahhh! Help! Murder!”
“…”
Lin Nuo finally asked, “Where is she from?”
“Why are you asking me such a difficult question!”
It took Yosena a long time to find the Imaging Paper among her belongings that had the long string of convent names written on it.
Without any emotion, she read haltingly: “The Convent of the Holy Cross Ascetics in the Valley of the Protection of St. Mary de la Montaña and St. Michael.”
“?”
“Holy crap, that’s long!”
“Yeah, it’s a tiny convent, and nobody really cares where it is.”
Yosena shrugged, “I told her Sister Xi needed help recently, so she came back. Oh, don’t think too much about it. It can’t be her.”
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