That night, the stars and moon hung high in the sky!
Estelle carefully placed Eros, who had fallen asleep in her arms, to the side, covered him with a blanket, and then picked up a wet wipe from the bedside table to clean the drool from her chest.
She tidied her open collar and let out a soft sigh.
The earlier tranquility and elegance were gone, replaced by a face full of worry.
Duke Lunka had already told her about Eros's interest in the mysterious side.
And Duke Lunka's intention to no longer hide the truth and tell Eros about the real world was the root of her current anxiety.
Because, generally speaking, it was only after a child reached 12 years old, when their mind began to mature, that their elders would gradually reveal the twisted, bizarre, and evil world hidden beneath the civilized one.
This was because children who were too young had incomplete minds and were too easily corrupted by those strange things.
But her child was only seven years old now; wouldn't this be a bit too early?
Although she knew her husband was right, Eros was more intelligent and mature than other children, hardly like a seven-year-old, but this couldn't ease her suspended heart.
But what could be done? The moment Eros began to show interest in the mysterious, he was already targeted by it.
She softly murmured the truth, stained red with countless blood in the mysterious side:
“When you peer into the mysterious, the mysterious also peers into you; when you touch the mysterious, the mysterious will draw near to you.”
Sighing again, she leaned down and kissed Eros on the forehead, then closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.
Since things had come to this, she could only prepare as best as possible.
Eros, however, was oblivious to all of this, currently immersed in his sweet dreams.
Early the next morning, Eros was woken up by Wendini pulling off his blanket.
He suddenly opened his eyes and saw that Xiao Mei Mei holding the blanket, with a triumphant, vengeful expression.
Estelle, who had been sleeping beside him, was already gone.
Eros looked at Wendini helplessly: “Xiao Mei Mei, what are you doing?”
Wendini raised her proud little face: “You’re so old, still needing Mommy to hold you to sleep, how embarrassing.”
Eros pouted, full of disdain: “You’re just a Xiao Mei Mei, what do you know.”
“Call me Big Sister!”
“Xiao Mei Mei.”
“Call me Big Sister, call me Big Sister!”
“Xiao Mei Mei, Xiao Mei Mei! Xiao Mei Mei!”
The two maids standing outside the door heard the commotion inside the room and knew their Young Master had woken up.
They immediately opened the door; one walked to the bed to help Eros get dressed, while the other went to prepare toiletries.
They were already accustomed to the sight of this brother and sister bickering the moment they met, simply smiling discreetly.
As for the maids' service, Eros was now used to it.
This evil old society had corrupted him; he wanted to resist, but alas, the Young Miss maids were simply too wonderful, so he had fallen completely.
Wendini, watching from the side, once again lifted her little face proudly: “I’ve been able to dress myself for a long time.”
“Wow, Big Sister Wendini is so amazing, she can actually dress herself.” Eros, with good sense, played the role of a hype man.
Wendini’s little face flushed slightly, and she hummed twice, a bit embarrassed.
The anger that had arisen from her brother not calling her Big Sister had now completely vanished.
At this scene, the two maids simply pursed their lips and secretly chuckled. Your Highness Wendini was completely wrapped around her brother’s finger.
After tidying up, a refreshed Eros stood in the courtyard, looking at the bright, sunny world, taking a deep breath. What a beautiful world.
Not to mention he was about to come into contact with the mysterious side he had longed for.
As he waited with anticipation, days passed one by one, until the afternoon of the fifth day.
A male servant he had never seen before walked up to him, bowed, and said: “Your Highness, Duke Lunka is looking for you.”
Eros let out a long breath, “Finally?” Without hesitation, he nodded and followed behind the male servant.
Soon, he saw his father, Duke Lunka, who nodded with a serious expression: “Follow me.”
With that, he turned and led the way.
Eros was momentarily stunned; to be honest, he was still a bit unaccustomed to his father in this state, but he didn't hesitate and followed.
The two walked one after another to the small chapel within the Duke's Residence. Eros knew this place, having been there before.
He remembered that the chapel seemed to enshrine a statue of the God of Death and Reincarnation, and his elders seemed to be His devotees.
Originally, he thought the gods worshipped by these religions were fabricated, just like on Earth, but now…
Since the mysterious side truly existed, wasn't it quite reasonable for gods to truly exist?
What surprised him was that his father did not enter the main hall of the small chapel, but walked towards the back door of the small chapel.
After entering the back door and turning a corner, they arrived at the entrance to the basement where miscellaneous items were stored within the small chapel, and then stopped.
Duke Lunka turned to Eros and said with an extremely serious expression:
“No matter what you see later, you are not allowed to shout. You must maintain reverence in your heart, because where we are going next is the hall of our ancestors, the hall of a Great One.”
By the end, Duke Lunka was even a little emotional, his tone involuntarily rising significantly.
Perhaps feeling the seriousness in Duke Lunka’s tone, Eros couldn't help but straighten his back, his expression also becoming solemn.
Seeing his son's current appearance, Duke Lunka nodded and no longer hesitated, descending the stairs and finally stopping at the wall directly opposite the staircase in the basement.
He stretched out his right hand, chanting an incomprehensible incantation.
A dark, hazy light condensed in his palm. He slapped it onto the wall, and in an instant, the entire marble wall turned pitch black.
Eros's pupils constricted sharply, because he saw his father walking towards that darkness, which seemed to swallow all light, and then disappearing into that darkness.
Although he had ten thousand exclamations in his heart, he remembered his father’s words not to cry out.
He took a deep breath and, without further hesitation, also walked towards that pitch-black wall.
After entering the wall, he stared at the long, narrow passage in front of him with curiosity, and immediately looked up at his father.
And Duke Lunka did not disappoint him; he heard him say:
“This is the Shadow Realm, the shadow of the world. Our ancestor cut off a section of the world’s shadow and, through alchemy, refined it into a special world.”
Eros opened his mouth, unsure what to say. Could shadows be cut? And the shadow of the world?
To his slight disappointment, his father did not intend to explain further this time, but continued walking forward along the passage without stopping.