The Duke Bold and Count Broey exchanged a few words before leaving.
He left the manor, disappearing at the edge of the dream.
Watching the direction in which the Duke had departed, Sebastian couldn’t help saying,
"I never expected Duke Bold to be the one pulling the strings behind the Fla Demon Disaster... It seems that, just as the rumors suggested, he has never given up searching for a solution to his fertility issues over the years."
"A Demon Contract... That’s a bold move! Though the Bloodline has always honored contracts, the price of such a contract is not sothing that the average person can withstand, especially when it involves the Blood Demon Duke Yabaton, who is both a demon and of the Bloodline!"
Charlotte frowned slightly,
"Solving fertility issues... But hasn’t he been paving the way for Laino to inherit the lands since ten years ago?"
Sebastian thought for a mont before responding,
"It must be a contingency plan, Miss. You might not be aware, but human nobles place a great importance on lineage, in no way inferior to the Bloodline."
"I think this concept might also be influenced by the Bloodline, after all, before the Thousand-Year Holy War, the nobles of the New Moon Kingdom were almost synonymous with the Bloodline. Even if one changes their course, certain ideas will be passed down."
"After all, Laino is an illegitimate child. Compared to an illegitimate child, the Duke would certainly prefer to have a true-born heir."
"However, people’s thoughts can change. As I recall, Lord Laino has only really started to make a na for himself in Bold over the last seven years. As his potential gradually unfolded, the Duke’s expectations for him have grown greater and greater..."
"Duke Bold’s health has been in decline, which is no secret in the Duchy. Even if his fertility were restored and a new heir was born, it is doubtful he would live to see the heir co of age."
"At this point... he has probably completely given up on the idea of having children."
"In recent years, Duke Bold has been harshly cracking down on the Blood Demon Sect, no doubt to completely bury his own history and pave the way for Laino."
Charlotte pursed her lips imperceptibly, feeling a profound contempt for Duke Bold.
Completely bury it?
His history... was paved over the sacrifice of thousands of innocent girls.
A decade has passed, who now rembers those innocent girls?
Charlotte recalled the various scenes she had witnessed in the mories of those girls, the despair that belonged to them...
Faintly, the vision of the dungeon started to slowly overlap with those recollected scenes.
And the overlap of these mories slowly began to awaken certain mories buried deep within the body she had crossed into...
In a haze, she seed to recall so experiences from the night of the Fla Demon Disaster ten years prior.
She seed to rember the pretty little grove, the giggling, scampering figures of children in the woods...
Suddenly, the gates of mory burst open—
Oh!
That’s right!
That evening, the original host should have been playing hide and seek in the garden with the Broey sisters...
When it was the original host’s turn to hide, the Broey sisters’ figures were nowhere to be found for a long ti.
And when the original host peeked out from the woods... what she saw was the flaming sky and the awakening Fla Demon.
"Miss, Lotti is probably not here; perhaps she is still enjoying the birthday party elsewhere."
"But this is indeed the starting point of the Fla Demon Disaster. As the offerings, Countess Broey will surely appear; shall we wait here for a while?"
Sebastian looked around and asked respectfully.
"Still enjoying the birthday party sowhere?"
A thought crossed Charlotte’s mind.
"It’s not impossible."
"Miss, as I know, demons use dreams to lead mortals into corruption often in one of two ways: either through nightmarish fear or through deceitful, pleasant dreams..."
"The starting point of this dream is a birthday dinner, full of warmth and happiness, clearly the latter."
"If I’m not mistaken, then surely Lotti is sowhere enjoying this dream..."
"However, as the ultimate fate of those who have fallen, she will definitely be brought here by Vararoka, because the rite is the endpoint of this dream."
"Miss, I think we can wait here and let them co to us."
Sebastian shared his judgnt.
However, upon hearing his words, Charlotte fell into pondering.
"Enjoying sowhere..." she mused to herself, a slight stirring in her heart.
Her gaze withdrew from the depths of the dungeon, and Charlotte shook her head:
"No, there’s no need to wait. I think I might guess where Lotti is."
"Let’s go, let’s go et her."
Having said that, she no longer hesitated, and turned to leave the dungeon.
Charlotte and Sebastian returned to the ground level, where the faint sounds of laughter and music from the manor’s great hall seed to grow more intense.
Sebastian felt a movent in his heart and said,
"Master, the banquet has reached its climax. As the main characters, the Broey sisters might already be at the banquet."
However, Charlotte shook her head:
"No, they won’t be there. If this dream is a dream conjured by the Fla Demon Vararoka to lure Lotti into falling, they won’t appear at the dinner."
"When we were at the Church Hospital, I had quite a few exchanges with Lotti. She is soone who likes quiet, and actually, she doesn’t fancy bustling scenes."
"Her most beautiful mory... is not in the banquet hall."
Having said this, Charlotte did not return to the hall but instead turned and walked deeper into the manor grounds.
Sebastian was quite curious about the girl’s actions.
But out of unconditional trust for the great Lady of the Dark Night, he did not ask further and simply followed closely behind.
The brightly-lit hall gradually receded, and the noise faded along with it.
Under Charlotte’s lead, the two arrived at the rear of the Broey Manor, in front of a beautiful and dreamlike grove.
Indeed it was a dreamlike small grove.
Moonlight, like water, slanted down, casting its glow in the forest, with the light piercing the rustling branches and leaves, leaving speckled patterns on the ground.
Countless fluttering photons danced elegantly in the forest, like elental elves.
They were fireflies, countless fireflies.
They flitted freely through the forest, twinkling with gorgeous light, following the cool and comfortable night breeze like ribbons made of brilliance.
And in the night breeze, the silvery sound of laughter could be faintly heard coming from the forest.
Hearing that crisp laughter, Charlotte’s heart stirred, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly:
"We’ve found them."
Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward and pushed aside the bushes that blocked her view.
In the forest clearing, three pretty, lovely girls were playing joyfully.
Two of them looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old, both with beautiful brown hair and cute white dresses.
As for the slightly younger one, she was only four or five years old, with delicate features like a golden-haired, blue-eyed doll.
They appeared to be playing hide-and-seek, with one of the older girls facing a large tree and counting numbers, while the other two girls tiptoed towards the direction of the bushes.
Just as they looked up, they saw Charlotte and Sebastian entering the bushes and both were taken aback.
"Soone’s coming! Let’s run!"
The little girl giggled, then grabbed the older girl’s hand and ran deeper into the forest.
Watching the two figures disappear into the forest, Charlotte narrowed her eyes slightly.
And Sebastian wondered in his heart:
"Master... was that just the past...you?"
"No, the past can’t see ."
Charlotte shook her head:
"That was... ’it’."
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