“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen Sister XÄ« so intimately holding Young Master’s arm while taking a walk…”
“What do you mean, intimate!”
“That pure-hearted Priestess must have been forced, that’s the only way she’d agree to get that close to him!”
“Despicable! He’s so shameless, abusing his privileges as an aristocrat!”
“But even if a Priestess enters the convent, she has to swear the three vows: chastity, poverty, and obedience. Even if Young Master Lin Nuo takes a liking to her, Lady XÄ«, who has no trace of romance in her heart, would rather die than submit!”
“…..”
‘She really doesn’t have a single shred of romantic feeling… Besides, I’m clearly the one being forced here!’
As the chatter from the knights who followed Dax Migludia to Claremont Manor to guard against the possible monster tide faded into the distance, sunlight spilled over him, and the rushing sound of water echoed at his ears.
Lin Nuo knew then—he’d been led by XÄ« to the moat outside Claremont Manor.
But his vision had been pitch-black from the start, unable to see his own hand in front of his face—a magic cast by Xī, clouding his senses.
She wanted to take him out.
His arm was held close by the young girl, in a rather intimate way.
Judging by the fine warmth of the sunlight, they were heading along the moat, moving towards some remote, shadowy spot.
When they seemed to reach a deserted area, she pulled him to a stop, as if waiting for someone.
Not long after, something covered his entire head.
The force from behind wasn’t strong, but right after a sudden sense of weightlessness hit him, XÄ«’s fragrance instantly faded away.
“Splash—”
A cold liquid enveloped him, and he was pushed into the moat…
His whole body soaked, Lin Nuo soon realized that whatever XÄ« had placed over his head allowed him to breathe normally underwater, so he didn’t struggle in the least.
Then, a chain made of Water Magic Arrow, with the sound of water splitting, reached out and grabbed his arm.
In the midst of splashing and bubbling sounds, he sensed he was being taken downstream.
XÄ« had obviously…
Handed him over to someone else?
‘No… Was this person even human?!’
Lin Nuo couldn’t be sure.
He relied on his other senses for clues—his nose picked up the metallic scent unique to deep water, and the water soaking him felt even colder.
He was certainly now in some dark, secluded place…
Eventually, he felt another surge of weightlessness, then his feet found solid ground again.
‘Back on land?’
Something slick wrapped around his body—a restraint even more severe and tight than XÄ«’s chain.
The person behind him seemed to relax only after seeing him struggle in vain to break free, as a magical barrier blocking his sight was finally torn away.
He found himself in a secret room that resembled a cellar but wasn’t overly dark.
The air’s humidity was certainly above seventy percent.
With his senses restored, Lin Nuo immediately checked his own condition.
Both hands were bound tight to the chair’s armrests by thick, dark-green seaweed.
His legs were also firmly secured, and even his waist and abdomen were wrapped so tightly with those deep green plants that he couldn’t move at all.
.’..Damn it, why does this feel exactly like being strapped to an electric chair?’
A female voice, filled with jealousy and envy, suddenly spoke by his ear, “Sister XÄ«, she really just gave him the Demon-breaking Gauntlet?”
His head was pinned to the chair’s back, and when Lin Nuo strained his neck to the side, he could see a thin, pale hand tapping the bracer hidden beneath his right sleeve.
Immediately, another hand, still dripping with water, yanked that first hand away.
That must be the one who brought him here.
Her tone, unlike the earlier one’s envy, was much more formal and serious: “Pull yourself together, we still have business to take care of…”
“I know, I know, I know! But Yosena…”
“My old man at the convent died a few days ago. My beloved left me because of it, too. They say learning magic can change everything, but even after all these years, I couldn’t save my old man or win back the one I love.”
“It’s agony to see other people’s happiness when you’re heartbroken! I can’t even see her anymore, let alone have her accept something from me like this man…”
“Yosena, do you think I’m a failure?”
“What would you do, if it were you?”
“….”
“Is your brain filled with manure? You’re here to help Sister Xī—shouldn’t you at least finish the task first?”
“You’re right! Absolutely right!” After two sharp, urgent breaths, the woman seemed to have received a great revelation: “I’m going to win her back!”
“???”
“That’s it! You’re so right, Yosena! Thank you, I can’t live without her!”
That voice, suddenly trembling with excitement and dawning realization, soon grew distant again, as if the person was leaving on a whim.
Sounded like…
She just ran off?
“What did I just say!”
“You told me your father died, and now you’re doing this the moment he’s gone! Suo Liuxiang, you—”
“…”
Then came an endlessly awkward silence, as if she’d sunk into utter speechlessness again.
About thirty seconds later, the person behind him, as if she’d expected this, simply sighed in helpless resignation.
She picked up a book with a cover marked by a bloody vertical pupil and drifted over, allowing Lin Nuo to see her in full.
‘Wait… a human upper body and a fish tail?’
‘She’s…’
“A sea demon?”
Before him floated a mermaid inside a giant hovering sphere of water; as she swished her tail, the water sphere moved with her.
Just as described in books, the mermaid’s half-open seashell-shaped ears lent her a mysterious, enchanting aura.
Except this mermaid had swept her long, naturally wavy hair into a hasty bun, giving her a focused, solemn air.
“Normally, when we bask on the beach, the scales on our tails shimmer, so we actually prefer outsiders to call us the Scaled Folk, though ‘mermaid’ is fine too.”
“Let’s get acquainted. I’m Yosena, the apothecary.” Her tone grew formal, “Sister XÄ« told me to be nicer to you, so before I proceed with hypnosis on you, my experimental subject, I’ll do you the favor of making friends. I hope you appreciate it.”
“….”
“You don’t look very happy. Don’t want to be friends with me?”
“….”
‘Seriously, you sound like you’re about to slaughter a pig for New Year’s dinner! How could I possibly be happy about this crap?’
Lin Nuo focused on the main point: “What do you mean by hypnosis?”
“Oh, that. You must’ve heard of that mind control magic, so forbidden that even the Seven Dukes, the King, and the Royal Lady shun it. What I’m about to use on you is exactly that.”
Yosena paused to emphasize: “But this is a special hypnosis Sister XÄ« prepared just for you. It’s not like those ordinary ones that merely nudge the mind a little, muddle some memories, and can easily be spotted by the subject.”
“This magic array will imprint itself directly onto your mind. It will not only twist your perceptions, but also let the Royal Lady completely control your body and soul, all without you noticing. Compared to the Mental Suggestion born of the Elf King’s Curse, this hypnosis will make your subconscious sink even deeper…”
“Almost forgot: if you behave, Sister XÄ« won’t flip your hypnosis switch easily. So your mind will stay just as it is now. But if she does flip the switch, you’ll immediately become her utterly obedient slave—”
“Wait!”
Lin Nuo’s lips twitched, “Do I get any other options?”
“I only told you the good outcome. If you want to act like an idiot and misbehave, that’s your choice,” Yosena replied blankly, “But if you do, I have no idea what Sister XÄ« will do to you after the hypnosis.”
“….”
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