Is he Eugene Geraint?
Don Juan’s second brother?
Annan couldn’t help but glance at the man one more time.
But he still couldn’t see what was different about this man.
He was just plain in a scary way.
In fact, he was so “ordinary” that it was almost magical.
Annan glanced over and couldn’t even remember any special features. After Annan looked away, he felt that the face of “Eugene” in his memory quickly became blurred.
“Ah, sorry.” Eugene quickly realized something, apologized to Annan, and invited him to the palace behind him.
It didn’t seem like Eugene did anything but Annan suddenly remembered what Eugene looked like.
He didn’t say much, just glanced back at the courtyard and followed Eugene into the house.
Although the count’s mansion was not massive, the courtyard was terrifyingly large. The promenade with many marble statues spanned hundreds of meters long, and the diameter of the fountain was more than forty meters. It felt almost like an artificial lake.
The internal structure of the count’s mansion surprised Annan even more.
Pushing open the gate leading to the mansion in the backyard, what entered Annan’s eyes was a long corridor more than 10 meters high, 10 meters wide, and about 70 meters long.
It wasn’t the tiles that filled up the walls on both sides of this corridor but mirrors.
Less than 1⁄10 of the wall was occupied by the standard mirror. Otherwise, the mirror would be in different colors, including dark blue, red, purple, and yellow, all of which at different angles. It wasn’t a flat surface, but there were some protrusions here and there.
The size, color, and layout of these “surfaces” looked natural. At first glance, Annan found them to resemble the colored stained glass of a church. However, the glasses didn’t form any image but merely the refraction of light that sent out multiple colors of light.
There was a pure gold chandelier just above the gallery of mirrors with lighted white incense candles installed on it.
The gentle light was refracted by countless glass pieces with different reflectivity and transparency, giving the mirrored corridor a brilliant and dreamy brilliance.
The rainbow here was like a fog. It was visible and reachable.
Even Annan couldn’t help but be in awe when he saw this scene.
“Without a doubt, this is truly an art.” Annan exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful.”
Eugene just shrugged and said indifferently, “Yes, it’s indeed quite shocking at the first encounter. You may feel dizzy after watching it for a long time.
“Compared to this, I think your beauty shocked me further, Your Highness.”
Eugene respectfully and politely praised, “Although I have heard that Your Highness Annan and Her Excellency ‘the Daughter of the Storm’ looked the same during childhood. I was still surprised when I first saw you—what an outstanding appearance.
“How on earth do you imitate my younger brother? His appearance is much more ordinary than yours. Except for the same black hair and blue eyes, you both are two different people.”
“So it’s easy to reveal my flaws.” Annan commented jokingly, “Those I want to deceive can see through my disguise; I can only deceive those who ‘tell another lie and still be deceived’. What can I say? This is the worst disguise ever.”
“Not really. In fact, not many people know Don Juan or have seen you. It’s just a coincidence.” Eugene turned around and explained to Annan seriously, “For most people, black hair and blue eyes are the unique characteristics of Don Juan.
“After all, this is not the United Kingdom. In places where the portrait isn’t populated much, hair color and eye color, plus scars and fancy clothes, are all the characteristics to recognize a person. There is no need to be the same as others, as long as you have gone through the important traits. Even if two people have different heights, weights, and appearances, it is not too difficult to disguise as another person.”
“Oh, those aren’t really my expertise, unfortunately.” Annan smiled and replied humbly.
After all, he wasn’t the bald head who could disguise as anyone after swapping clothes. [TN: Hitman reference.]
It appeared as if Annan’s looks had greatly improved his rapport with Eugene. Eugene had been chatting with Annan leisurely for the rest of the journey. It was a casual chat, so Annan was also cooperative in talking to Eugene.
Annan’s incomparable acting skills and the flattering replies of “Ah, it’s amazing” and “Is there such a saying?” made his rapport points build up even further with Eugene.
Then, Annan quickly noticed something.
Eugene gave Annan a different feeling than the other Geraint brothers.
Eugene didn’t have the cunning and decisiveness of Ferdinand Geraint nor the academic rigor and timidity of Don Juan Geraint.
Instead, he gave off the vibe of a “politician” to Annan.
There could be a possibility that Annan wasn’t building a good rapport with Eugene, but Eugene made him think that their relationship had improved.
Annan’s acting skills were outstanding, and he had a considerable understanding of the minds of others. Still, he felt that the smile on Eugene’s face was indeed sincere and happy.
Annan felt that Eugene spoke to him with sincerity and from the bottom of his heart.
In a short time, Annan became “friends” with Eugene.
As Annan improved his rapport with Eugene, Eugene also made himself appear more trustable to Annan.
In other words, Eugene seemed to have ways to connect with others easily, gain their trust, and build a good rapport.
These three sons of Old Crow seemed talented.
Annan couldn’t help but be in awe.
After walking through the corridor filled with glasses, the surroundings became normal. Of course, this normal was more of a relative interpretation. The luxurious decoration at the caliber of the Palace of Versailles [1] made Annan wonder if the count’s mansion was part of Noah’s palace.
Even Noah’s palace, which Annan saw in his nightmare, was far less artistic than the count’s mansion.
The place was more ornately decorated than the palace.
What is the situation with your residence?
“Where are we going?” Annan asked.
Eugene answered at once, “To see my father. He is expecting you personally.”
“Master Geraint…” Annan muttered.
Annan showed no signs of timidity nor hesitation after being about to meet the wise man who secretly controlled all the secrets of a kingdom.
“You can also call me ‘Old Crow’ like them, Your Highness.” A gentle voice came from Annan’s side.
An old man with an ordinary face, figure, and voice said happily, “I actually like this title.”
When did he arrive?! Annan was caught in surprise.
“Greetings, Lord Geraint.” Annan raised his brows and politely greeted the old man, “I’m Annan·Austere-Winter.”
“Nolan Geraint.” The old man reached out and shook hands with Annan.
Annan felt the warm and steady grip from the old man’s palm, realizing that this old man was far more robust and vigorous than he seemed.
He didn’t even notice when the Old Crow approached him.
If Nolan wanted to assassinate him, he would be dead by now.
Is this the capability of the kingdom’s top agent?
But when Annan looked at the old man’s face, he was startled.
He had seen the old man’s face before.
It was the “passionate local old man passing by” who gave Delicious Wind Goose a newspaper that day!