Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You certainly write these scripts quickly."

Fu Qian looked at Collins, whose mouth was curled into a smile that said, 'I saw this coming all along.'

The man's reaction just now made it obvious: after the situation spiraled out of control, he had swapped to his next script within seconds.

Just like at the banquet yesterday.

That pain and disgust—identical to what Grace had shown then—stemmed from his perceived script being completely derailed.

In theory, that gunshot really could have hurt him—provided it actually hit.

Unfortunately, the moment Collins fired, Fu Qian had merely played along and faked a fall.

And it was simply impossible for this man to see through a Demigod's feint.

"Fast reflexes. But if you were smart, you would have stayed down and gambled on whether I'd fire a second shot. That might have left you a sliver of hope."

"Instead, you went for this pointless showboating."

"Of course, that is just a 'might.' In reality, the outcome wouldn't change."

"Your true colors, your motives, the mastermind behind you—I've had it all under my control since the beginning. I was just playing along to humor you."

He aimed the gun directly at Fu Qian's head.

"Let's see you dodge this time."

"Oh, really?"

Fu Qian blinked and wiped a hand over his face.

The next moment, his features shifted into Nate's face.

"Actually, I just wanted to play a little joke on everyone."

...

That same strained, uncomfortable expression resurfaced on Collins's face.

A few seconds later, Collins slowly lowered the gun, his face full of sorrow.

"Alright, I have humored your nonsense long enough. Let's leave it at that.

"I don't know if this helped you temporarily forget your pain, though the game wasn't very fun.

"I do not wish to see anything like this happen again."

Director Collins's skill at rapid flip-flopping was truly reaching the state of perfection!

Watching Collins pocket the gun and turn away, Fu Qian shook his head in absolute awe.

It was obvious that the third script this man had just switched to was a trip to help Old Knight relax.

To help Old Knight escape the grief of losing his son, everything earlier had supposedly just been playing along.

This proved that while the "actor" state appeared normal, it was actually completely devoid of logic.

With even a moment of thought, anyone would realize: if he had truly been Old Knight, how could he have possibly dodged that gunshot just now?

In this "actor" state, a person became nothing more than a puppet to the script.

Of course, no matter how you sliced it, the trouble was over.

It wasn't that he couldn't keep playing around for a bit—like shifting into Guzman, for instance.

In fact, Fu Qian was quite curious about what kind of nonsense the man would have come up with then.

Unfortunately, it was getting a bit late.

Fu Qian looked up at the sky; it was almost lunchtime.

It was time to prepare for his visit to Grace's house.

...

"You're back..."

When Fu Qian returned to the residence, Veil was staring blankly out the window.

Seeing that he had actually made it back before lunch, her smile instantly grew even more forced.

"It shouldn't be too late, right?"

Fu Qian completely ignored the worry written all over her face.

No matter what, he absolutely had to visit Grace.

He was intensely curious about exactly what conditions would turn this completely normal middle-aged noblewoman into an "actor."

And whether she had ever undergone any special surgery.

"It's not late..."

Seeing Fu Qian's firm resolve, Veil was left helpless. She swallowed down the several excuses she had prepared, got ready, and led Fu Qian to the luncheon.

On the way, Veil made a point to explain her relationship with Grace.

According to her, the woman was a distant aunt to her and Lotte. Her family had been established in Baerluk for years, and she had been very close to Veil since childhood.

Knowing that she was coming to see Lotte this time, Grace had not only arranged a place for her to stay but had even helped forge her identity.

It was obvious that Veil desperately wanted to keep her aunt out of harm's way.

"You don't understand. Aunt Grace was deeply depressed for a long time because she couldn't have children.

"And because of the restrictions around this place, I haven't been back in many years. I've always been quite worried about her.

"I just didn't expect that she would look so much more cheerful when we finally met again."

Veil spoke softly.

'The subtext is that she's actually very pitiful, so I should show a little compassion?'

Fu Qian caught Veil's underlying meaning.

'Relax, I don't have any prejudice against the lady.'

...

Unsurprisingly, Grace's residence was utterly magnificent.

By the time Fu Qian and Veil arrived, she was already there waiting for them.

Perhaps Veil had specifically explained things to Grace after Fu Qian left earlier, because this time, her tone was nowhere near as suggestive.

However, her gaze still darted back and forth between the two of them, a beaming smile playing on her lips.

Since there was still some time before lunch, she made a point to take the two of them to admire her collections.

Judging by the room filled with paintings, calligraphy, and sculptures, her family's wealth was quite substantial.

Fu Qian hadn't studied much about art; his rule was to appreciate things as they were without digging into the why. He judged everything simply by whether it looked pleasing to the eye, refusing to stress over the historical context behind it.

Even so, just giving everything a cursory glance was enough to feel the exquisite quality of Grace's collection. She truly was a wealthy woman.

'What is this?'

But upon spotting one particular piece, Fu Qian's interest was instantly piqued.

It was a diamond-shaped shard of white bone, about a centimeter thick and curved like a boat, with dense bone sutures visible on its surface.

A piece of human bone.

As an expert in the power of flesh and blood, Fu Qian knew the human body like the back of his hand.

He could tell at a single glance that it was a human cranial bone.

Throughout history, there had been countless artworks made from human bones, so it wasn't exactly a rarity.

But Fu Qian could bet that this piece of bone hadn't been extracted from a human body all that long ago, and its surface bore absolutely no embellishments.

Yet, such an item was displayed right in the center of the entire room.

"What is it?"

Seeming to notice Fu Qian's gaze, Grace, still holding Veil's hand, looked over at him with a beaming smile.

"This piece... gives off a very unique feeling."

Fu Qian pointed at the bone shard inside the glass cabinet.

"Oh?"

Grace initially looked a bit surprised, but then she covered her mouth and revealed a mysterious smile.

"What makes it so unique?"

"It's sturdier than all the others!"

Fu Qian answered with a perfectly straight face.

...

Hahahaha!

Fu Qian's answer left Grace stunned for a moment.

After a long pause, she finally snapped back to reality, completely ignoring her poise as she laughed until she was out of breath.

Beside them, Veil clearly didn't understand their exchange, unable to figure out how a single sentence from Fu Qian could make her aunt laugh like this.

"Sometimes, being too sturdy isn't a good thing!"

Having finally calmed down, Grace smiled at Fu Qian, her words carrying a pointed implication.

"An overly solid barrier protects you, but it can also blind you."

"Makes sense."

Fu Qian nodded, though he sighed inwardly.

He was fairly certain he had just guessed what kind of surgery she had undergone.

Resisting the urge to stare at the top of Grace's head, Fu Qian instead recalled his experience from last night—that room full of bald heads.

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