Chapter 1033 Not Not
It was completely different from Avalon—the Duke of Iris was much richer than even the great nobles of Star Antimony.
The Duke of Vendôme's "house" was actually a castle, and not just a huge house.
The estate covers an area of approximately 800 hectares, roughly equivalent to the size of eight Shanghai Disneyland parks - for the former Aiwass, it was the largest amusement park he had ever visited.
The castle's top, which is mainly cream-colored, is decorated with dark green bricks and tiles. There are also a lot of green plants adorning the castle. The garden alone requires at least ten gardeners to barely meet the daily maintenance.
The left and right sides of the castle were merely villas for servants or guests to live in, each consisting of eight slightly lower two-story villas connected in a square frame, for a total of sixteen villas - any one of them was larger than Moriarty's mansion in Avalon.
The manor is surrounded by forests on three sides, and only the side where you come in has a road.
At this moment, they had stopped in front of the bridge in front of the castle - any further ahead was a place where carriages could not enter. Anyone had to walk across this short bridge to enter.
This castle was even larger than the Red Fort in Xingti. After crossing the short bridge, one had to walk up three steps—a structure clearly designed to prevent moisture from rising tides.
There were over sixty steps in total. Beyond these stairs, unlike the Red Castle, there was not a fountain at the entrance, but a lake. This lake, in turn, connected to the sea through a long canal. Water from the lake flowed inward, forming a moat-like structure, protecting the entire castle from flowing water.
Of course, such a structure would never appear in the Red Fort.
——Because this is used to prevent the Moon Child from entering.
The Moon Children cannot pass through flowing water, as it makes them extremely frightened, just like walking on a cliff, where they can only walk on a narrow piece of transparent glass, only two or three centimeters wide.
When walking on the ground, it's easy to "walk on the line." It's about the same width as a curb. If you can walk on the curb, you can theoretically walk on a log on a cliff. However, fear can paralyze you. If you force yourself to walk, you'll simply fall off the cliff.
The Moon Child's fear of "flowing water" is of the same nature, stemming from a fear etched in their instincts.
When Moonchildren attempt to cross moving water—especially when they realize they are trying to cross moving water—they feel an intense fear.
It’s just that people can overcome fear of heights through training… that’s a transformation of “instinct” that comes from the habit of “adaptation”, the experience of “balance”, and the education of “authoritarianism”.
But the Son of the Moon cannot resist the instinct of his race, just as the Son of the Moon cannot stop himself from sucking blood... because the way of love advocates indulgence, and the "desire" here refers to instinct - and fear is also a kind of instinct.
Even if the Moon Child transformed into a bat, he couldn't fly across the "moat." Even if the Moon Child transformed into another person, he couldn't cross the long bridge and would even reveal his identity in fear.
The only way to enter and exit is to sit in a carriage and rely on others to transport you. For this reason, even if the carriage is transporting important guests, no one is allowed to enter.
Even the main structure of the castle itself isn't very tall. It's only three stories high. But the roof is decorated with numerous gargoyles... These gargoyles are perched on their own "stakes," guarding the castle's safety.
They can expel the undead and attract curses, and a large group of gargoyles can even invalidate the effects of barrier spells and prophecy spells on the castle - this is actually the most primitive use of gargoyles.
Inside the castle, there are sculptures and paintings by masters everywhere.
Carpets and tapestries are intricately decorated, and ceilings are carved with paintings or decorated with glass.
This wasn't even the Duke of Vendôme's most valuable estate... it was simply his largest and most frequently inhabited estate. After all, the environment in Les Eygents was high enough—another reason being its constant supply of fresh water.
But when Aiwas saw this scene, he raised his eyebrows.
He felt a momentary instability. The Duke of Vendôme's architectural style, his wariness of the Moon Child, gave him a strange sense of dissonance... but he couldn't quite place the problem.
On the way, Anne continued to try to communicate with Aiwass. She would occasionally try to bring up a topic, but Aiwass would just smile gently and respond. She seemed gentle and polite, but in reality, she was distant—because even Aiwass herself didn't know how to get along with this "mother."
"Come to think of it, when I first met Julio..."
Finally, when Anne mentioned her father, Aiwass's ears moved slightly and he became completely quiet.
Anne also realized the difference, so she happily talked about the interesting things they had experienced in college:
"You know, back then, Julio was actually a mean and childish guy. Although he seemed polite and gentle, he always liked to play scary jokes and pull childish pranks. He made me cry so many times... Every time, I'd hatefully say to myself, 'I don't want to talk to him anymore,' but after he apologized... I'd forgive him. After all, what could I do? He looked like he was about to cry...
"When he was in front of outsiders, especially in front of teachers, he always appeared calm and reliable. People always regarded him as an idol, and many people worshipped him. It was as if he could do anything. But when he was in front of me, he became like a child..."
Once she started talking, Anne began to talk non-stop.
She seemed to have so many emotions and words squeezed into her heart, but she never had the chance to express them to anyone. Even after twenty years, her memory of Julio was still so clear.
Ten years is enough time for people to forget the past, but after such a long time she still remembers it in her heart... That is the proof of her immersion in dusk.
She recalls the past all the time, which is why she has such clear memories now.
Judging by her intense and sincere feelings for Giulio, no matter which of the two Annes was the Swamp People... at least the split between them must have occurred after she fell in love with Giulio. Even her split itself could be related to this incident.
Because of this, Aiwass felt even more delicate.
This Anne also has extremely sincere feelings for her father, and the "Swamp Man" is an exact copy of the original... It seems that except for "not giving birth to Aiwass" and "not being killed", she is Aiwass's biological mother Anne, not a substitute or a fake.
But these two points are the most crucial, making Aiwass feel an increasingly strong sense of separation and an increasingly clear awareness that Anne is not his mother. But she may not be without love for him, whom he has never met.
Neither Aiwass nor Anne mentioned the secret of the Swamp Man. It was not a secret that could be casually brought up in the hallway, and Aiwass did not want anyone to know, nor did Anne.
Except for Anne and the Grand Duke, perhaps no one else knew the secret - Aiwass even saw the "Abigail" he had seen in his dream yawning as she passed by. After seeing Anne and Aiwass, she suddenly turned around and stood there in a daze, showing an extremely shocked expression.
Should I say...it's worthy of the role originally played by Isabel?
Although Aiwass no longer had any impression of his mother, Anne's character of being soft and timid on the outside but strong and persistent on the inside was indeed somewhat similar to Isabel's.
If you think about it carefully, the role arrangement for the promotion ceremony was done by the "Lord of Scales and Feathers"... I can only say that the boss has some ideas when choosing people.
Or to put it another way—He did it on purpose.
As they walked along, they came across huge portraits from time to time.
In a trance, Aiwass even felt like he was back home... because everyone on the wall here looked a little like Aiwass.
Finally, they arrived at the main hall.
It was almost midnight.
The old man with white hair and beard sat quietly in the reception room, waiting for the distinguished guests. Sherlock sat next to him, wearing only a thin silk shirt, and drank his tea leisurely.
The old duke was not wearing a duke's elaborate and gorgeous formal gown, but a red pajamas with warm fur. Even though it was summer, his hands and feet were still cold, and his purple skin looked unusually cold. There was even a stove on in the room.
——At that moment, Aiwass was stunned.
…Although the color was different, it was the same fox fur pajamas that Aiwas was familiar with.
He had one, almost identical.
It was given to him by his adoptive father Moriarty.
Update completed meow!
I went to bed at one o'clock yesterday and woke up at nine o'clock today. My daily routine has finally returned to normal!
Hope it lasts a few more days...
Hey guys, there's a role-playing event happening in the book review section right now, so go check it out! There are prizes for you!
(End of this chapter)
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