Chapter 146 - The First

Chapter 146 - The First

After parting at the party, Duan Yunhong has not appeared in front of Ning Fei for nearly three months.

Ning Fei couldn't tell whether it was his own light magic that was taking effect, or whether Duan Yunhong was angry and humiliated because he had fallen into his trap, and his self-esteem was getting the better of him so he didn't take any action.

Duan Yunhong was hit by Ning Fei's "Oracle" without any magic resistance and was completely unprepared.

The "Oracle" will not make people lose their memory or forget about love, but it will clear away impulses, calm people, and temporarily turn them into "holy believers." Ning Fei felt that even if Duan Yunhong really had some feelings for her, this was enough to dampen his enthusiasm. Duan Yunhong will remember it, but he doesn't have a physical sense of it. This sense of misalignment between memory and reality will make him re-examine his feelings and prompt him to think rationally whether it is worth doing so.

Afterwards, even if the magic effect faded, Duan Yunhong's emotions would be difficult to rekindle because of the extra rationality.

As for asking him to help Miar, it was an idea that suddenly flashed through Ning Fei's mind. Ning Fei felt that Miyal was a bit like himself in some ways. Since Duan Yunhong wants to investigate his past, he should contact Miar's group of pseudo saints. When he understands the narrow-mindedness, self-righteousness and foolish ambitions of these people, and when he realizes what Ning Fei's roots are, let's see if he will still have a filter for Ning Fei.

Ning Fei didn’t know how long the effect of this magic would last on Duan Yunhong. The instructions he gave were not mandatory orders, but more like a kind of "hypnotic suggestion." Duan Yunhong would involuntarily act in accordance with his instructions, just like in a religious atmosphere, believers would involuntarily act according to dogma.

But once out of this atmosphere, with constant interference from the outside world, believers' degree of adherence to dogma will decrease. The same is true for Duan Yunhong. As time goes by, he will gradually get rid of this feeling of being "out of control". I just don’t know how long this time will last, and what Duan Yunhong will think after he leaves.

"... Ning Fei, you are distracted again."

A glass of red wine was waved in front of Ning Fei's eyes, bringing his attention back to his senses. The others around him were making a lot of noise. A young noble with blond hair was almost beside him. His hand that was holding the railing on the second floor had already touched Ning Fei's arm. "This is the latest fireworks brought back from other provinces. No one in the capital has seen it. You saw it before the king. How could you be distracted by it?"

Ning Fei thought back to the fireworks he had just seen. There were only two colors and they were sparse, so there was really nothing to see. Certainly, that's enough for this world.

"I saw it, Mr. Seris. I was just a little tired, so I wasn't paying attention." Ning Fei smiled, and while raising his glass to clink with his, he moved aside calmly, "Since His Majesty the King hasn't seen it, it seems that these fireworks will also appear at the Queen's birthday banquet in the future?"

"Smart." Seris took a sip of red wine, leaned close to Ning Fei and whispered, "Do you want to go to the Queen's birthday party?"

"...Is this a question of whether I want to attend or not?" Ning Fei replied, "I am just a commoner. I can't dream of attending such a top-level aristocratic gathering, right?"

"But nobles can bring a companion." Seris chuckled, "I haven't decided who to take yet."

Faced with this clear indication, Ning Fei raised his eyebrows slightly.

Seris is the Duke's youngest son, and is indeed qualified to go and to lead people. The problem is that if Ning Fei nodded at this moment, it would not be as simple as just attending the Queen's birthday party. The "companion" of a noble is actually a lover.

It’s Duan Yunhong’s fault. Originally, Ning Fei was a stubborn person. Even though some people - such as the church and the baron before - had some ideas about him, they didn't take them seriously because of his cold attitude. But ever since the Baron saw the interaction between Ning Fei and Duan Yunhong, he felt that Ning Fei was still willing to be the nobleman's lover. The Baron told other people about this as if it were a romantic affair. Once this "door" was opened, those who were interested in Ning Fei no longer hid their feelings.

For example, Seris also met Ning Fei at the Baron's banquet.

Then I heard from the Baron about Ning Fei's situation - a civilian doctor who was good at treating "that kind of" diseases. He was not very interested in the ambiguous overtures of other nobles and the church, but seemed to be Count Andrew's (former?) lover.

Ceris immediately became excited. Among the nobles who tried to take Ning Fei down, he was the most active.

Oh, by the way, these nobles have no concept of “other people cannot be touched”. Those who are already married still go out and have fun, let alone lovers who are not even in a formal relationship. Especially for a "commoner lover" who doesn't even have a noble status, he is essentially a "toy" to the nobles. Some nobles even assumed that this kind of "toy" could be shared, and touching other people's toys and having others touch theirs was considered a form of pleasure.

So even though Ning Fei seemed to have the "mark" of Earl Andrew on him, Seris didn't care. It can also be said that it is precisely because Ning Fei is the lover of the mysterious noble Andrew that Seris is more interested in her.

He immediately made an appointment with Ning Fei to see a doctor, of course, it was also "that kind of" illness.

Ning Fei really went to help him not long after. Seris did have symptoms, but they were not severe. However, just as Ning Fei Ning Fei was observing and diagnosing, Seris actually "stood up".

Ning Fei was speechless. Although men are creatures that may react at any time and anywhere, Seris's "not ashamed but proud" look is already an obvious sexual harassment, and Ning Fei really wants to pick up a pair of scissors and cut off his flesh. Seris even asked Ning Fei directly "Do you want to stay overnight" when Ning Fei calmly finished the diagnosis and left.

After Ning Fei clearly refused, Seris immediately called a maid into the room. When passing by the maid, Ning Fei felt neither sad nor happy, neither angry nor sorrowful, he just felt that he was used to it.

And it was after this consultation that Seris began to tease Ning Fei in various ways. Even if he couldn't see Ning Fei, he would send various gifts to Ning Fei's home from time to time. Sometimes it is jewelry accessories, sometimes it is famous wines and snacks, sometimes it is various interesting ornaments, gadgets, and even flowers, anyway, it is the set used to please socialites. Ning Fei was too lazy to even meet the servant who brought the gifts, and left it entirely to Sha Lai to receive them.

At first, Shalai gave the letter that was included in the gift to Ning Fei, but Ning Fei only read it once and then burned it. After seeing this, Shalai never handed him Seris's letter again. As to whether Shalai did not deliver the letter or there was no letter at all, Ning Fei was too lazy to investigate.

Anyway, just accept all the gifts and don't even think about sleeping with them overnight.

Two months had passed, and Seris was still not excited about the new experience. Ning Fei thought that this was probably the bad nature of men, the more they couldn't get something, the more they wanted it. If I really got it, I would probably throw it away like a worn-out shoe in the blink of an eye. But Ning Fei was unwilling to endure the nausea - mainly because the symptoms were disgusting to look at - and sleep with Seris. So his response was to "stand still as a mountain", neither accepting it nor resisting so strongly as to make the nobleman furious. Just wait for Seris's attention to shift to someone else, and everything should be fine.

To this day, Seris still invites Ning Fei to the parties he organizes. Ning Fei would not completely refuse. For example, this party will obviously attract many guests to visit, and Seris's attention will not be focused only on Ning Fei, so Ning Fei will come to take a look.

Sure enough, as the host of the party, Seris fluttered among the guests like a butterfly and had no time to pay attention to Ning Fei at first. It was not until they were about to watch the fireworks that Seris came to find Ning Fei and asked him to go to the balcony to watch the fireworks together. He was quite foresighted. If he hadn't called her, Ning Fei wouldn't have bothered to join in the fun.

Then, after watching the fireworks, Seris invited me.

To be honest, Ning Fei really wants to see what the royal family is like now. But if I go through Seris, I'll have to deal with this guy's demands for sex afterwards, which is annoying.

"…If you are worried about not having an outfit for the party, I will have someone take you to get your measurements taken tomorrow and tailor a party dress for you."

Seeing Ning Fei remained silent, Seris continued to encourage her, "If you want, you can also order a few more sets. I am honored to give a beautiful person like you a few new sets of clothes."

The tone is similar to giving a toy new packaging. Ning Fei refused directly: "No need. You have given me too many gifts, I am flattered. But apart from some insignificant medical skills, I really have nothing to repay you."

"You are really good at playing dumb, dear Dr. Ning. You know exactly what I want." Seris laughed softly, "Since you are willing to commit yourself to Earl Andrew, why don't you try it with me? It's just some fun, I think the Earl will understand. If he has any request for you, then we can meet in private without letting others notice, how about it?"

——It’s nothing, it’s just a nice thought, and you want me to play something exciting with you.

Ning Fei sneered in his heart and responded calmly: "I'm sorry, I can't obey your order."

"You won't keep your chastity for Count Andrew, will you?" Seris said jokingly, "You still miss him, but he doesn't miss you. He has been getting close to that Saint Son substitute Miar recently, don't you know?"

Ning Fei really didn't know clearly. The holy apprentices he came into contact with were of very low status, and he had no contact with Miar, so he could only hear some rumors occasionally. So he pretended to be stunned and said, "I, I'm not sure..."

"He is already Miar's lover, and one of Miar's strongest supporters. I even heard that he pulled Miar away from Prince Ash's bed, totally ignoring Ash's respect. So, if we want to say who is Earl Andrew's favorite lover now, it must be Miar." Seris sighed, "I also guess that Earl Andrew wants to support Miar to be the next Holy Son. In this case, Miar is beneficial to Earl Andrew in terms of career and life. It's really hard for others to surpass him."

——Duan Yunhong wants to support Miyal? So, Miar's idea is to become the Son of God...

If he had this desire, he would have to climb into a lot of beds. Even if Duan Yunhong took him away from Prince Ash, he would definitely go back on his own initiative...

Seris didn't notice that Ning Fei's thoughts had begun to wander, and he was still saying things like "Andrew must have forgotten you a long time ago." Just at this moment, Seris's butler hurried to Seris and said, "Mr. Bartley, the Duke is here."

"What?" Seris stood up straight and looked back. "Father is here? What is he doing in my castle? He's not here to watch the fireworks, they're already over..."

Before he could finish his puzzlement, a noble came over accompanied by several servants.

He is in his fifties, and his age has added to his dignity and imposingness, but his every move is quite graceful. Although he is old, one can tell from his posture and features that he must have been a dashing and energetic young man in his day.

Ning Fei blinked slowly.

The Duke of Bartley was the real "first" chosen when he was still the candidate for the Son of God.