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Chapter 185: Trent Plague
Nemo frowned; he was focusing most of his attention on the free moving corpse, so he didn’t pay much attention to the young princess.
His gaze crossed the shoulders of the emperor’s corpse, and Nemo saw the appearance of Princess Delia for the first time. Delia had maroon hair that was very similar to Ann, braided into fine braids, and was decorated with fine gems and pearls. Her appearance was quite outstanding, revealing the unique beauty of a young girl, like a soft and delicate flower bud.
Unfortunately, the beautiful princess’ face was not naturally white. There was no emotion on her face and her eyes were indeed closed as Oliver said.
Nemo cautiously released a probe to sense the situation of the young princess. After half a minute, he subconsciously inhaled deeply.
“Well?” Oliver hurriedly asked in a low voice.
“I was exploring the emperor’s condition just now. He only has a thin layer of magic fluctuation on him, but what’s interesting is that there’s an aura of a living person on the ceiling. It has been deliberately concealed.”
Nemo pointed to the chandelier above the emperor with certainty. “The prince is probably worried people would sense magic if it was too powerful, so the corpse is manually manipulated by someone. The magic fluctuation I feel should be magic threads. There’s more than one person above. If I’m right, it’s most likely they are ventriloquists.”
“Like a puppet manipulated by strings?” Oliver hitched his breath.
“Like a puppet.” Nemo made a sour face. He looked at the “free moving” emperor and only felt a chill down his spine.
“…What about Princess Delia?”
“She has the smell of a curse from the Abyss.” Noticing the eyes of others, Nemo approached Oliver and licked his earlobe that had the shimmering peridot earring with the tip of his tongue, and then lowered his voice. “I can probably tell you what the curse it, but this is something… I think it’s better to talk about together when Ann and the others are present.”
Oliver rubbed his flushed earlobe, and his expression became serious.
“Yes, I think I know how the prince is controlling Princess Delia.” Nemo sighed softly. “Unless the princess herself doesn’t want to live then this would save Ann’s time.”
Due to the emperor’s “weak health”, the speech didn’t last long. Princess Delia was still young and was led directly from behind the high platform by Prince Eldric to the corridor on the outside of the hall, without saying a word the entire time.
When the members of the royal family finally left, and the atmosphere in the hall was suddenly lively. Nemo and Oliver nodded to each other and walked in the opposite direction, trying to blend into the crowd as naturally as possible, while looking for the overly lively Miss Rosa.
However, Oliver was pulled back before he even took two steps.
A pudgy noblewoman blocked his path. “Hi sweetheart. Do you have time to talk?”
For the first time in his life, Oliver was called “sweetheart”, which only made him shiver from head to toe.
“I saw him first.” Another younger girl came up. “Oh, my god, his face really looks like Godwin Lopez, even more so up close. My, I can’t see how our Lord William still have such thoughts about Mr. Lopez.”
This kind of behavior wasn’t uncommon. Many young leaders who were in their prime have high social status, but some were born as civilians and had no noble family to support them from behind. Some nobles would choose lovers who look similar to them to seek stimulation. In this way, Oliver’s and Adrian’s fake lover identity became more credible. However…
The corners of Oliver’s mouth twitched as he frantically apologized to the poor Duke Williams and his cousin in his heart.
“Ladies, ladies.” After calming down his emotions, Oliver forced a polite smile. He pressed down with both hands, intending to ask the excited girls to calm down. “Not to be disrespectful, but I… I’m more interested in men.”
Many younger girls sighed behind their fans and dispersed bitterly, but the slightly older ladies were still looking at him with interest. To make matters worse, as soon as this declaration came out, many men turned their heads with interest.
Oliver: “……”
He really wanted to say that he already had a lover, but unfortunately, he had to maintain his identity as the duke’s lover, so such a statement would inevitably be suspicious, so the words that were at the tip of his tongue was forcefully swallowed back. Seeing that he was about to be trapped by another person who came forward to strike up a conversation, the leader of Tumbleweed turned his head helplessly, trying to use his eyes to ask his lover for help.
It’s a pity that his sight was completely blocked by a stout back, as a tall gentleman was in between the two of them, blocking his view and was talking to Nemo.
Ten minutes ago.
Since stepping onto the steps of the castle, Nemo had maintained an expressionless state, exuding a cold aura without a care in the world. He may even have overstepped and physically lowered the surrounding temperature, but this trick was indeed effective— Although the Mighty Devil King was still handsome, his entire person was quite gloomy and chilly. The ball time was limited, and he didn’t seem to have a good nominal background, so most men and women who were purely looking for fun didn’t prefer this kind of hard-to-chew bone. They liked obedient lovers who would look at people’s faces.
At present, only a few younger rebellious girls secretly cast shy glances.
The young girls prefer men who had a mysterious temperament, but unfortunately, they were watched by their relatives, so none of them dared to come up and strike a conversation. Nemo’s face was tense, but his mood was much lighter. He took a small plate and wandered around the buffet table looking for Rosa Earley. As well as…
The little cherry pies were delightful. He had tasted some and wanted to get one for Ollie. Seeing this kind of milk pudding for the first time, he tasted a little and took one for Ollie as well. Nemo exuded cold air as he carefully selected snacks for Oliver.
The light casted by the large chandelier was suddenly blocked and it seemed that a wall was erected beside him. Nemo carefully put a small piece of raspberry omelet on his plate and turned to look.
A tall man dressed formally to the point of being out of place was standing beside him. The man had a fierce face and a sacred emblem of the Laddism Church on his left chest. Nemo momentarily felt weak in his heart and his face could barely remain calm.
“I have been watching you for a while now.” That man was more then two meters tall and had a sturdy figure. He most likely wasn’t an ordinary noble. “You don’t seem to be interested in women. Would you like to have a drink together?”
Nemo shook his head stiffly.
“Don’t be afraid.” The tall man smiled shyly. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m a Knight of Judgement from the Laddism Church, so I won’t do anything improper to you. I rarely do such things, but it’s just you have a certain quality in you…”
When he was probing the royal family earlier, he couldn’t completely restrain his aura. This gentleman most likely noticed the aura of the Abyss, but he couldn’t tell exactly what he had detected and then misunderstood that feeling and headed in a wonderfully different direction.
“No, I’m not afraid of you.” Nemo coughed dryly, trying to make him sound more different. “I like men with green eyes, so you’re not my type.”
He paused and showed a slightly embarrassed smile. “This isn’t an excuse. I believe in your identity and… I believe you’ll be an excellent Knight of Judgement.”
Nemo patted the man’s sturdy arm and walked away. He managed to catch a glimpse of a piece of flaming skirt out of the corner of his eyes, and the owner of the red skirt was very in line with Rosa Earley’s appearance.
However, as soon as he passed the tall Knight of Judgement, he saw the slightly horrified face of his lover.
Oliver made a “help” gesture, and then turned his head to continue to deal with the swarming men and women. Nemo laughed for a bit and couldn’t help shaking his head. He then separated the crowd forcefully and walked forward nonchalantly, seemingly grabbing Oliver’s fluffy scarf on his chest. “Lord Andre told us to go see the ‘Rose’. We have to go.”
That was the code word they had agreed in advance when they “found Rosa”.
After escaping from the sweet and greasy mist of different perfumes, Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. “You saved my life. They didn’t want to let me go… God, I’m almost starting to feel sorry for Godwin. Do you know how many men came to strike up a conversation just now?”
“You’re welcome.” Nemo stuffed the small plate full of snacks into Oliver’s arms. His facial muscles had stiffened after all this time, and he couldn’t resist rubbing his palm together like a sea otter. “They won’t succeed anyways… Whether it’s Godwin or you.”
“Hey, I quite like your style of speaking.” Oliver stuffed the raspberry egg roll into his mouth and held it like a cigarette. “Tell me more.”
“Maybe if we get the chance to do more, but now, let’s go find Ann.” Nemo neatly broke off the half of the omelet that was dangling outside Oliver’s mouth and ate it. “When our great leader sacrifice himself to change the density of all the people in the hall, I was able to confirm it. Rosa was not in the hall. I saw her running towards the garden.”
“Ann should be in the garden corridor, right?”
However, things did not go as smoothly as they thought.
“Hey, Ann… Lord Andre, what are you doing?”
Jesse was standing in the corner of the marble flower bed, with a slightly weird smirk on his face. The former knight commander was two steps away from him. His body exuded the aroma of strangers, and his face was extremely ugly. Oliver recalled his own tragic experience for a few seconds and decided to cast a very sympathetic look at the knight commander. At any rate, he knew that the group of people were coming for his “Godwin-like face” while Adrian Cross was the real deal.
Ann was also there but she wasn’t alone. A girl in a red dress was standing in front of her with her cheeks flushed and her eyes glowing.
That girl was none other than Miss Rosa.
“There you are,” Ann said, turning her head to the two people who had just arrived. Her voice changed a little bit because of embarrassment.
“Andre, are these people your friends?” Rosa took Ann’s arm very naturally, causing her to shrink quietly.
“Yes. These are my uncle’s lovers, and I brought them out to relax,” Ann smiled as she spoke. “They are all just country bumpkins who have no common sense. Now I must tell them how to enjoy this occasion.”
She grabbed the girl’s hand and kissed the girl’s fingers familiarly. “Dear Rosa, would you go to the Rose Fountain and wait for me for a while? When I have arranged the things here, I will go to you… Twenty minutes, no, fifteen minutes.”
Rosa waved her hand generously, lifted her skirt, and ran towards the garden lightly and happily.
“…” Nemo and Oliver looked at Ann with complicated eyes.
“I won’t keep the appointment! Alas, when this is over, I have to send her some gifts and a letter of apology.” Ann gritted her teeth, and her pitch became higher. “I didn’t expect this. She just rushed out suddenly. Come now, let’s get down to business. Now that I’ve taken care of Miss Rosa to an area that we know well, I can stabilize her for about fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes is not enough time to talk to Delia.” Jesse still had a subtle smile on his face as he spoke meaningfully. “Little girls nowadays are very talkative.”
“Still minding what happened just now? Dylan, I don’t have time to worry about your massive ego.” Ann rolled her eyes. “Let’s get down to business, as I said before, one of you has to attract Rosa’s attention. Taking this opportunity, the rest of you will follow me and take care of the guards and possible surveillance around Delia.”
“I’ll go attract her attention.” Nemo looked at Jesse in shock as he rarely took the lead.
“Hey, didn’t you get rejected?” Ann bared her teeth unceremoniously. “I heard it. She said, ‘I don’t like men who are prettier than me, nor do I like men who pleases men at first glance.’ …Mr. Dylan, people need to learn that moderation is important.”
“I want to be shameless. I’ll definitely be able to hold her back this time. Of course, no spells are required,” Jesse said with an oath, grabbing Adrian’s arm with one hand. “But Adri has to come with me.”
“Whatever, but if you can’t delay and cause the mission to fail, how about I confiscate all your property?”
“Deal,” Jesse replied confidently.
“There are also letters of apology and gifts afterwards. You pay for them. Even if you want to take the emotional route, don’t go too far. Don’t let her really be moved.”
“I have my own discretion.”
“…Although I doubt that, fine.”
“Then Ollie and I will go to see Delia with you,” Nemo said solemnly. “Ann, there is something you need to know in advance.”
“Tell me,” Ann exhaled slowly, leaning on the edge of the white flower bed full of yellow roses, her gaze sharp. Most people were gathered in the halls and gardens, while the corridors at this moment were dim and empty.
“It’s better for Dylan and Mr. Cross to listen too.” Nemo cleared his throat. “Princess Delia has the Trent Plague.”
Ann’s expression froze visibly to the naked eye. “Are you sure?”
“I have obtained all the information about this condition at Clementine Academy. Its curse characteristics are very obvious, and I am absolutely sure. Prince Eldric must have used drugs to suppress the spread of the disease, but this also means… If someone wants to take the princess away, without the royal medicine, the princess will die of a rapidly deteriorating condition, and it’s likely to bring the epidemic to the outside world.”
Ann’s expression was grim for a moment, and she even let out a lot of murderous energy in an instant. When she calmed down, there was only a touch of anger and sadness left on her face.
“No wonder she kept her eyes closed,” she said bitterly. “Good girl.”
“Does anyone mind explaining?” Oliver scratched his head. “To be honest, I don’t know much about this— Trent Plague had disappeared for a long time, and everyone has only passed down the scariest part, and there is no story about the eyes.”
“In the beginning, the explanation given to the people by various countries was ‘drinking contaminated water with demon’s blood’.” Adrian, who was much younger, suddenly spoke. His voice was softer and clearer than that of the knight commander who was ten years older, but the calmness in his tone remained unchanged. “I think both of you know that this isn’t the case.”
“Nn.” Nemo nodded as he put his hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “The source of the Trent Plague is not demon’s blood but the fruit of some kind of abyssal plant.”
“And… it’s a curse-like disease that is transmitted by ‘looking at each other’ and ‘childbirth’, which has nothing to do with water.”
The author has something to say：
Ann: …Uh, do you four need to reflect on why that little girl is entangled me with me? (Pain)
The rest of the four: ………….