When the plot-skips players into the game world-Chapter 1324 - 47: Not Not

Unlike Avalon entirely—the Duke of Iris Flower is even wealthier than the great nobles of Star Antimony.

The "estate" of the Duke of Vandome is in fact a castle, and not merely a vast house.

This manor covers an area of approximately eight hundred hectares, roughly equivalent to the size of eight Shanghai Disneyland parks—land that was the largest amusement park Aiwass had ever visited.

The castle, primarily cream-colored, is topped with dark green brick tiles. There is also an abundance of green plant adornments, such that the garden alone requires at least ten gardeners to barely meet daily maintenance needs.

The left and right sides of the castle are only annexes for servants or guests to reside in, each made up of eight slightly shorter two-story villas forming a quadrilateral, totaling sixteen villas—each one larger than the Moriarty Estate in Avalon.

The estate is surrounded on three sides by forest, with a road built only on the side they traveled.

At this moment, they had already stopped before the bridge in front of the castle—beyond that was an area unreachable by carriage. Everyone must traverse the short bridge to enter.

This castle is even larger than the Red Fortress of Star Antimony. After crossing the not-so-long bridge, there are then three tiers of stairs to walk through—clearly a structure prepared to prevent dampness from rising tides.

Totaling more than sixty steps, beyond these stairs lies not a fountain at the entrance like the Red Fortress, but an entire lake, which connects to the sea through long waterways. The lake draws water inward, forming a moat-like structure, placing the entire castle main body within flowing water’s protection.

Of course, such a structure would never appear in the Red Fortress.

—Because it is meant to deter the Son of the Moon from entering.

The Son of the Moon cannot cross flowing water; it provokes extreme fear in them. Like walking on a cliff edge, forced to walk on narrow, only two to three centimeters wide transparent glass.

On the ground, people can easily achieve this "walking on the line." It is about as wide as a curb, and if one can walk along a curb, theoretically one could walk along a lone beam over a cliff. However, the fear inside would make them unable to move forward; forcing them could only have them fall into despair.

The Son of the Moon’s fear of "flowing water" is of this kind. It stems from an instinctual fear.

When the Son of the Moon attempts to cross flowing water—especially when they become conscious of their attempt —they feel intense dread.

Humans, through training, can overcome acrophobia... that comes from the habit of "adaption," the experience of "balance," the education of "authority," transforming instinct.

But the Son of the Moon cannot resist their racial instincts, just as they cannot make themselves stop lifedraining... because the Path of Love advocates indulgence, where "desire" refers to instinct—and fear is a type of instinct.

Even in the form of a bat, the Son of the Moon can’t fly over the "moat." No matter if the Son of the Moon transforms into the likeness of others, they can’t traverse the long bridge and might even expose their identity in fear.

They must rely on being in a carriage, relying on others for transport to go in and out—for that reason, even if the carriage carries distinguished guests, it is not allowed inside.

However, even the castle’s main body itself is not particularly tall. The main body of the castle is just three stories high. But atop the castle are many gargoyle decorations... these gargoyles rest on their "piles," guarding the safety of the castle.

They can repel the undead, attract curses, and when formed in a large group, can nullify barrier spells and prophecy spells affecting the castle—this is actually the original purpose of the gargoyles.

Inside the castle, the ground is covered with sculptures and paintings by masters.

The carpets and tapestries feature intricate adornments. The ceilings are adorned with carvings or decorated with glass.

This is not even the most valuable manor of the Duke of Vandome... merely his largest in terms of area, and the most often resided in. After all, the environment here in Laisser is high enough—a continuous supply of fresh water is another reason.

Yet Aiwass, seeing this scene, raised an eyebrow.

He felt somewhat subtle. The architectural style of the Duke of Vandome, with its defense against the Son of the Moon, filled him with a sense of curiosity... but he couldn’t immediately pinpoint where the issue lay.

On the road, Annie was still trying to communicate with Aiwass constantly. She would frequently attempt to start a conversation, and Aiwass would respond with a gentle smile. Appearing kind and polite, yet actually distant—because even Aiwass himself did not know how to interact with this "mother."

"Speaking of which, when I met Julio back then..."

Finally, when Annie mentioned his father, Aiwass’s ears twitched slightly and he fell silent.

Annie noticed the change and spoke excitedly about their college days:

"You know, back then Julio was actually quite a naughty and childish guy. Although he seemed polite and gentle, he loved to pull scary pranks or act mischievous like a child. I was brought to tears by him many times back then... I would furiously say in my heart ’I’m not going to talk to him anymore,’ but after he apologized... I would forgive him. After all, what could I do, he looked like he was about to cry himself...

"In front of others then—especially in front of teachers, he always appeared steady and reliable. People often idolized him; many admired him as if he was infallible. But before me, he turned into a child..."

Once she opened the floodgates, Annie couldn’t stop talking.

She seemed to have been holding onto a lot of emotions and words, lacking the opportunity to tell someone. Even after fifteen years, her memories of Julio remained vivid.

A decade is enough for past events to fade, yet after so long, it remained etched in her mind... proof of permeation of dusk.

She reminisces constantly, and hence could remember so clearly now.

Given her intense and genuine feelings toward Julio, no matter which Annie was the Swampfolk... at least the point of their divergence for the two must have been after her love for Julio. Her very split might even have something to do with it.

As such, Aiwass felt increasingly unsettled.

This Annie held such sincere feelings for his father, and the "Swampfolk" and her original are identical copies... aside from "not having given birth to Aiwass" and "not having been killed," every other aspect of Anne, his birth mother, was not an imitation nor a fake.

But it is these very two points that are most crucial, making Aiwass more strongly aware—Annie is not his mother. But she might not be devoid of love for him, whom she has never met.

Neither Aiwass nor Annie mentioned the secret of the "Swampfolk." This was not a secret casually brought up in the corridors, and Aiwass did not want others to know, nor did Annie.

Aside from Annie and the Duke, perhaps no one else knew the secrets within—Aiwass even saw the "Abigail" he had seen in dreams passing by yawning, but upon seeing Annie and Aiwass, she suddenly turned around, stared, with an extremely shocked expression.

Should it be said...living up to playing the role previously taken by Isabel?

Although Aiwass had completely lost his impression of his mother, there was indeed a similarity between Annie’s soft and timid exterior and steadfast and persistent inner nature with Isabel’s character.

Come to think of it, the role arrangement for that promotion ceremony was managed by the "Lord of Scalefeather"... it could only be said the boss had a knack for selecting people.

Or to put it another way—He did it deliberately.

They proceeded on their way, occasionally seeing huge portraits along the way.

Aiwass, in a daze, even felt a sense of coming home... since everyone on the walls bore some resemblance to Aiwass.

Finally, they reached the main hall.

It was nearly midnight by then.

The old man with white hair and beard, however, sat quietly awaiting guests in the reception hall. Next to him sat Sherlock, dressed only in a thin silk shirt, sipping tea unhurriedly.

The Old Duke wasn’t dressed in the complex grandeur of a duke’s attire but in a red robe with warm fur trim. Even in summer, his hands and feet were cold, his blue and purple skin looked unnaturally cold, and the fireplace was even lit in the room.

—In that instant, Aiwass realized that it was almost the same as the fox fur robe Mortiarty had once gifted him.

He had one nearly identical.

That was a gift from his adopted father, Moriarty.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m fr𝒆ewebnove(l).com