Chapter 99. The Xino Covenant (1)
Three days later.
With the help of two maids, and at the cost of nearly half an hour, Luo Nan finally got himself into the formal attire that looked expensive at a glance.
"Walking around in these clothes is a bit awkward……"
Luo Nan tugged at his collar, feeling the necktie was too tight and chafing his neck uncomfortably.
He reached up and pulled the matching necktie off, tossing it casually to one side.
"Off it goes—I'm not wearing it. Too uncomfortable." He grumbled.
"Young Master, that simply won't do!"
The maid Peini, breathless from her exertions, dropped all her usual deference in an instant. Her almond eyes fixed straight on Luo Nan as she picked up the necktie he had thrown to the floor, dusted the ash off it, and moved in close, about to help him tie it back on.
"……"
Luo Nan was startled by Peini's forceful manner and stood there blankly for a mont, brain failing to catch up.
"The necktie is the crowning piece of this formal ensemble, Young Master—with it on, you will absolutely……"
"Absolutely what?"
"Absolutely dazzle every noble lady in attendance!" Peini declared with solemn conviction.
'…… With just my looks and family background alone, I could dazzle every noble lady in attendance even without this wretched necktie,' Luo Nan grumbled inwardly.
But seeing Peini's 'I an business' posture, Luo Nan gave up the fight.
Fine—uncomfortable it is, then.
"Peini! If the Young Master doesn't want to wear that one, then don't force him!"
Just at that mont, the maid Aina, who had been standing behind Luo Nan fixing the back of his outfit, spoke up and stopped Peini.
"But if he doesn't wear one……"
"I didn't say he wouldn't wear one—only that he wouldn't wear that one."
Aina clapped her hands, pattered off out of the dressing room at a trot, and was back within a minute, holding a freshly altered necktie.
"This is…… the one I ruined before?" Luo Nan recognized the necktie in Aina's hand at a glance.
It was precisely the tie that Jeraf the "Nature" Secondary Priest had used as a Curse Anchor.
Only now, Luo Nan could no longer sense even a single trace of Abyssal aura on it.
"Yes indeed, Young Master! I know you don't like things that chafe your neck, so I specially resewed the collar section, using a softer and more lightweight Moonsilk……"
As Aina spoke, she held the hand-tailored necktie up before Luo Nan's eyes.
The overall shape was unchanged—but the girl had embroidered the dillion family's Golden Falcon Insignia in gold thread on the outer blade of the tie.
He also noticed that on the label on the back of the tie, she had additionally embroidered his full na in Rosarian ornantal script—
Luo Nan von dillion.
"Young Master, would you like to try it?" Aina's beautiful eyes were full of anticipation.
"Alright."
Luo Nan half-crouched so that Aina could help him knot it.
Under Aina's practiced hands, the necktie was quickly done up.
Luo Nan gave his neck a slight roll and tested the sensation at his collar.
"Mm—not bad. Aina, that's much more comfortable." He praised the little maid.
"Young Master likes it, that's wonderful~"
Aina's brows curved into a crescent, her erald eyes gleaming like fireflies.
Luo Nan straightened up and studied himself carefully in the full-length mirror.
A tall, upright figure. Broad, squared-off shoulders. His jet-black hair combed without a single strand out of place. A pair of deep, dark eyes carrying the weight of stars. And that face—flawlessly sculpted by nature, without a single flaw.
Paired with the deep black, cobalt-trimd, stand-collar tailored formal attire, an aura erged all on its own—elegant, profound, carrying a restrained power, like honor's own radiance flowing quietly through the dark.
Truly fitting of the phrase: 'Like jade the gentleman stands, the young lord peerless beneath the skies.'
'Hah, as expected—this Young Master is this perfect,' Luo Nan remarked to himself. He straightened his outfit, and walked out of the dressing room with the two maids.
"Aina, Aina—in your opinion, how many lovestruck young ladies will the Young Master's ensemble charm at the Contract Banquet?"
"I—I wouldn't know……"
"Take a guess~"
"Hmm……" Aina tapped her lips with one finger, then declared with absolute certainty: "All of them!"
"Oh? You think so too?"
"……"
'Could you two keep your voices down? Do you think I'm deaf?'
Luo Nan shook his head helplessly and boarded the dillion family's specially commissioned highest-class six-horse carriage.
Seated in the main seat, Luo Nan ignored the two maids still chattering away to his left and right. He drew out the Amber Pendant he had previously traded from the Cloth-Strip-Face in exchange for the Scales from the Corner of a rmaid's Eye. He raised this scratch-covered, outwardly unremarkable pendant to his eyes and studied it carefully.
'I wonder if the Cloth-Strip-Face can actually get into the Xino Palace……'
Luo Nan thought back to the mont two days ago when he had summoned Cloth-Strip-Face.
When that one had heard Luo Nan wanted him to infiltrate the Xino Palace and await orders, the fellow had nearly shot straight up out of his chair.
"Hey hey hey, Crow-Beak Mask—even though I agreed to help you with one thing, the Xino Palace…… how in the world would I even get in there?!" Cloth-Strip-Face protested, slapping the table.
"Why can't you get in?" Luo Nan asked in return.
Hearing this question, a flash of complexity crossed those golden eyes peeking out from beneath the Cloth-Strip-Face mask.
Luo Nan felt he could read countless emotions in that gaze—and had no idea how this fellow had lived through so much in his life.
"Obviously because…… I don't have that kind of status……" Cloth-Strip-Face said quietly.
Luo Nan smiled. "Two days from now, the Xino Palace will be holding a Contract Banquet—the contracting parties being Luo Nan von dillion and Serela Austrein."
"I estimate soone will try to cause disruption at the banquet. I need your strength."
Hearing the words "contract," "Luo Nan," and "Serela," a flash of desolation crossed those golden eyes beneath Cloth-Strip-Face's mask.
That montary desolation was caught precisely by Luo Nan.
Beneath the Golden Crow-Beak Mask, Luo Nan's brow furrowed slightly. 'This fellow…… is probably one of Serela's countless admirers. Hearing that the Contract Ceremony for Serela and
is taking place—understandably quite disappointed. I can sympathize.'
'Hopefully that jealousy of his won't affect the task I've arranged for him.'
'Looks like I'd better keep my identity hidden when dealing with him—otherwise there's a very real chance he'd cut
down with his sword.'
Having decided, Luo Nan said, "Cloth-Strip-Face, you don't need to worry about the identity issue."
He drew out an invitation from his coat. "Take this—with it in hand, you could get into the Xino Palace even as a beggar."
What Luo Nan was giving Cloth-Strip-Face was one of the highest-tier anonymous invitations issued for the occasion—the kind that only the two hosting families, dillion and Austrein, had the authority to issue.
"This is……"
"An invitation—from the dillion side. I obtained it through special channels."
Cloth-Strip-Face accepted the invitation and examined the luxurious, gold-foil-embossed card.
He flicked at the gold foil on its surface, then couldn't help asking, "This…… this is real gold, isn't it?"
Really? That's your first concern?
Luo Nan was speechless. "……It is. But I'm warning you—don't go getting any ideas about scraping that gold foil off. If you pull sothing like that, you'll be turned away at the door……"
With that, he held up the Amber Pendant and waved it once in front of Cloth-Strip-Face's face. "This pendant will belong to
permanently."
"Understood, understood—I won't scrape the gold foil……"
Cloth-Strip-Face tucked the invitation into his chest, then couldn't help asking, "Hey, Crow-Beak Mask—you're not…… sending
in there to make trouble, are you?"
"I want it on record upfront—I won't do things like terrorist attacks or assassinations." Cloth-Strip-Face stated with righteous conviction.
Luo Nan waved his hand. "Of course I wouldn't have you do anything like that—what you mainly need to do is……"
Pulling himself back from the mory, Luo Nan rubbed the Amber Pendant in his hand, feeling its slightly rough surface texture, then put it away.
"Aina, Peini—are we there yet?"
Luo Nan picked up the tea Aina had just brewed for him on the carriage table and drained it in one go, then asked casually.
Aina pulled open the curtain and turned to kneel on her seat, peering carefully at the scenery outside.
Her pair of little white-silk-maid-heeled feet hung suspended in mid-air, bouncing back and forth with visible delight.
After a mont, Aina turned back and settled herself, responding with evident excitent: "Young Master, we're almost there!"
"Mm." Luo Nan patted the Truth-Piercing Star Spike he had temporarily fashioned into a decorative pendant and tucked inside his coat. His heart settled.
Ding-ling-ling—
The carriage ca to a halt. Luo Nan stepped out of the carriage cabin with the two maids.
He turned and emphasized once more, "Aina, Peini—you two absolutely must listen to . The mont you see the signal I told you about in advance, run imdiately—and with the life-saving items I've given you, there should be no problem. This is the condition I set for bringing you two along!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
The two maids responded with grave expressions.
Luo Nan had originally not wanted to bring these two along, but he hadn't been able to hold out against two pairs of wide, limpid eyes gazing at him with pitiful pleading—and remarks along the lines of "we want to keep serving the Young Master" and "we don't trust those Royal Attendants at the Xino Palace, they don't know what the Young Master needs."
After all manner of helplessness, Luo Nan had ultimately agreed to bring the pair along to "broaden their horizons."
'Once I sense 'her,' the first thing I do is send them running. With the life-saving items I've given them, it should be fine?'
'Definitely fine—this Young Master has made so many preparations.'
After a slight nod, Luo Nan raised his head and looked toward the Xino Palace.
Set amid a vast stretch of lush deep green, the white palace stood immaculate—its gentle architectural lines summoning an air of austere dignity and keen edge, yet sohow achieving an ease that soothed the soul.
When the group walked inside the Xino Palace, Luo Nan at last understood why this palace bore the na "Xino."
Above the vaulted do, natural fluorite crystals carved in the shapes of stars and constellations were embedded throughout.
When nightfall ca and inky darkness poured in through the transparent do, these star-shaped crystals would transform into stars, bathing the entire palace in seven-hued starlight.
Without a second thought, he could tell—signing a covenant under those conditions would make for an unforgettable experience.
Only Luo Nan had no desire for any such experience.
Especially not when the other party in this Marriage Pact was that "Benevolent Imperial Princess."
'I'll definitely find a reasonable excuse soday to play out a breakup scene on Serela!'
'But I need to make absolutely sure she doesn't realize it's because I'm unwilling—I'll have to disguise it as so kind of insurmountable force……'
"Oh? Our star of the evening has arrived?"
Just as Luo Nan was lowering his head to smooth out a crinkle in his sleeve, an elegant male voice rang out.
Luo Nan quickly located the owner of the voice from mory. He raised his head with so resignation and looked at the smiling figure walking toward him.
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