Shrouded Seascape

Dipp couldn't help but waver upon hearing Nico's remark. He had already probed Charles, and his probing had told him that the Charles from earlier was definitely the same Charles they had spent years with at sea.

However, what if he was wrong?

It wouldn't hurt to probe Charles again, and Charles would probably be happy if his crew were a bit more doubtful about him.

Dipp was convinced that it would be the case, and he also believed that there was no reason for them not to do something that would result in a win-win outcome for both sides.

"But how are we going to do that? We can't just run over and make a move right there and then. Regardless of whether he's real or fake, we can't just do that directly," Dipp said, staring deeply at Nico.

Before Nico could reply, faint footsteps sounded outside the door. Nico shushed Dipp with his finger, and then he tiptoed toward the nearby window.

They saw Lily walking in a hurry down the corridor that led toward the main hall on the first floor. When Lily disappeared at the end of the corridor, Nico revealed a charming smile. "She's our chance. With her around, it'll be much easier for us to do our thing."

Wearing fuzzy slippers, Lily walked down the spiral staircase and arrived on the first floor. Even with the bright lighting, the first floor looked desolate with the absence of people.

Lily clasped her hands and raised them to her chest as she looked around with a bewildered face. "Where does Mr. Charles sleep at night?"

The house was not exactly large, and it had a foreign layout in Lily's eyes. She proceeded to check the rooms on the first floor and found that there was no bedroom on the first floor. The house wasn't that big, but Lily couldn't find Charles for some reason.

It was a bewildering experience.

"Mr. Charles? Are you here? Sparkle? Where are you?" Lily's voice reverberated throughout the living room but no one responded to her.

"Maybe they're living somewhere else in this forest?" Lily muttered to herself. With that idea in mind, Lily walked through the deserted hall and approached the mahogany wood door.

Lily extended her fair hand and grabbed the doorknob. She gave it a gentle twist before pushing it quietly. Soon, the doors were opened, revealing the outside world to Lily.

Lily found two street lamps, but they weren't that bright and could barely illuminate an area of around five meters before the door. Everything beyond five meters was shrouded in darkness as if they had become one with the dark forest.

Just then, Lily felt gazes observing her from the pitch-black forest. She knew the owners of those gazes. They were Mr. Charles' children, and perhaps they knew where he had gone.

The young woman bit her lip with her white teeth and stared at the darkness before her, asking, "Um, do you know where I can find Mr. Charles?"

What was lurking in the darkness didn't respond, but a few seconds later, a damaged smiling mask floated in the darkness. The dirty, damaged mask wasn't emitting any light, but Lily could see it clearly.

Lily couldn't care less about the mask's identity. "Do you know where I can find Mr. Charles?"

The smiling mask swayed left and right before turning around and floating into the depths of the forest.

"I have something to discuss with Mr. Charles, and I don't have time to play any games with you," Lily said. She then stepped on the stairs and descended it, following closely behind the smiling mask.

Lily wasn't afraid of Charles' children. After all, she had been using them as sparring partners during her training at the World's Crown.

At first, there was nothing unusual, but as soon as Lily stepped out of the street lamps' light, the lurkers in the darkness made their move. They intertwined with each other and engulfed Lily as if they had gone mad.

Lily immediately felt her flesh and will being torn apart at the same time. It was an extremely uncomfortable and agonizing sensation.

"What are you doing?! Stop it!" Lily exclaimed in pain, and a wave of golden light burst out of her, sweeping outward in all directions.

The light vanquished the darkness, revealing the true appearance of the lurkers.

Lily's pupils constricted to needle points. Charles' children had changed drastically. They always looked terrifying, but they had become even more terrifying and bizarre.

Their skin had become rotten and wrinkled; their limbs were deformed and covered in proliferating organs. Their backs were even covered in pustules that were oozing pus.

The scene terrified Lily to the extreme, and the children showed no signs of stopping their onslaught as they glared at Lily with eyes full of malice and madness.

Golden spears were sticking out of them, but they couldn't be stopped.

They truly wanted to tear Lily apart.

"Cough, cough." Two soft coughs echoed, and the surroundings suddenly became silent. When Lily came back to her senses, she discovered that the children had disappeared without a trace. The dark forest became desolate once again.

"Lily, why are you out here when it's so late? Are you not sleepy at all?" A tired voice sounded behind Lily. She quickly turned around and found Charles, whom she had been looking for standing at the door.

The terrified Lily threw herself into Charles' arms and stammered, "T-they weren't like that back then, Mr. Charles. W-what happened to them?"

Charles hugged Lily and staggered toward the sofa. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry. They're just—Um... they're still adapting to this new environment. Don't worry about them. They aren't going to die so easily."

Charles plopped down on the brown leather sofa. He sounded helpless as he said, "Ha… I actually didn't want to keep them around, but Sparkle insisted on bringing them over, saying that their presence here would make the island feel lively.

"My daughter has grown up, but I still want to indulge her when it comes to trivial affairs that are not going to affect anything. By the way, you still haven't told me what you were doing out there instead of sleeping."

Instead of answering, Lily closed her eyes and felt Charles' heartbeat. She truly liked this feeling. She really felt like staying in Charles' arms forever.

Charles didn't disturb her and simply stroked her silky hair.

As always, Lily smelled like green apples.

After an unknown amount of time, Lily sat up straight and looked into Charles' eyes. "Mr. Charles, do you still remember our promise?"

"Of course, I do remember it. However, I am no longer who you think I am, Lily. And you are also no longer the same Lily as back then. You should live the life you've been longing to live for so long—you should live a quiet and happy life."

Lily instantly pouted, looking disgruntled as she exclaimed, "You're such a big liar, Mr. Charles! You don't know how to keep your word at all! How can you do this to me?!"

"I'm not going to make any excuses," Charles said, revealing a faint smile. "To be honest, I've made many mistakes, and going back on my promise is the lightest out of them."

Upon realizing that Charles was seriously going back on his word, Lily pleaded, "Mr. Charles, can you just let me stay here? I don't want anything at all. I just want to stay by your side."

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