Eros was deeply engrossed in his reading when a tall shadow suddenly loomed over him.
Startled, he turned his head and saw his father standing right behind him. Beside the duke stood a woman who looked vaguely familiar.
The woman noticed Eros looking at her, and a gentle smile appeared on her face. She gave him a polite bow and said, "Greetings, Your Highness Eros."
Duke Lenka, looking a bit awkward, pointed to the woman and introduced her, "This is Lady Florica. You've met her before—she's your fifth sister's mother."
Eros nodded in acknowledgment. No wonder she looked familiar.
However, despite being the biological mother of one of his half-sisters, he hadn't seen her many times.
After all, as a mistress, her status was low, and she wasn't allowed to dine at the main table with the family.
What's more, while his mother never openly expressed her thoughts about his father's mistresses, his father wasn't foolish enough to parade them around in front of her.
As a result, all of the mistresses lived and dined in a separate courtyard, far from where Eros and his family resided. The duke's mansion was vast—so much so that Eros himself hadn't even explored all of it yet.
Duke Lenka looked curiously at his son and asked, "What are you reading?"
Eros reached out and closed the book, revealing the golden title embossed on the cover: The Chronicle of the Misty Sea.
Duke Lenka was a bit surprised. "I didn't expect you to be interested in this kind of thing."
Eros shook his head. "I was originally looking for records about the Elves. But then I happened to come across the Sea of Mist, and I got curious, so I picked up this book to take a look."
The duke looked puzzled. "The Elves haven't been seen on the Croatia Continent for tens of thousands of years. Why are you looking for records about them?"
Eros was slightly taken aback but also excited. He hadn't expected his father to know something about this. Without hesitation, he asked, "Dad, you know about the Elves?"
"Of course," Duke Lenka replied. "Our ancestors intermarried with the Elves back in the day. So, technically speaking, we have some Elven blood in us as well."
"However," he continued, "it's been far too long, and with each generation, the bloodline has been diluted to the point where it's practically negligible."
Wait… what?
Eros was stunned. He had initially thought he'd have to endure countless trials and hardships, and maybe, through a stroke of luck, he'd manage to uncover a few scraps of information.
From those scraps, he imagined painstakingly piecing together the puzzle of the long-lost supernatural side of the world.
But this?
After all that searching, it turns out my family is the biggest clue all along?
Hearing this, Eros's eyes lit up with anticipation.
Without hesitation, he continued to ask, "So, do the Elves have abilities beyond those of ordinary people? Like using magic or other special powers?"
"I don't know what you mean by 'magic,' but the Elves are indeed different from normal humans," Duke Lenka replied.
"For example?"
Duke Lenka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "For example, Elven women are all exceptionally beautiful."
Eros suddenly felt a pang of cardiac arrest. I knew it. I shouldn't have placed too much hope in my father.
Duke Lenka chuckled as he ruffled Eros's hair, but his smile quickly faded, and he spoke with a serious tone:
"I know what you're trying to ask, but it's dangerous. Even just knowing about these things carries significant risks."
"However, since you've already developed an interest in them, and as my child—Lenka Orich Nors's child—I won't keep you in the dark anymore. But not today. We need to be prepared. When you come of age, we'll tell you everything."
With that, Duke Lenka turned and left without further delay. He had something to prepare now.
As for what he would do next—did that even need to be said? Of course, he was going to continue what he had been doing earlier.
As the duke walked away, Lady Florica smiled at Eros, gave him a polite bow, and then followed after the duke.
Eros, however, had already fallen into deep thought and forgot to return the bow. Not that it mattered much.
He was feeling a bit unsettled. Even just knowing this knowledge carries significant risks? Why does that sound so much like something out of a Lovecraftian setting?
Could it be… that I've really been reborn into a world with an eldritch presence? No way. No way!
After worrying for a while, Eros simply gave up on overthinking.
Forget it. No point in dwelling on it. Being able to come into contact with the supernatural is a good thing.
After all these years since his transmigration, he could finally catch a glimpse of the true nature of this world. All he had to do was wait until he turned 18!
As for whether it would be good or bad—well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
Relax! Relax!
Chapter 6: The Shadow of the World
Night had fallen, and the stars and moon hung high in the sky.
Estelle gently laid the sleeping Eros down from her arms and tucked him in carefully.
Looking at her peacefully slumbering young son, she let out a soft sigh.
The serenity and grace she usually carried were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a look of deep worry.
Duke Lenka had already informed her about Eros's newfound interest in the supernatural, and that was precisely the source of her current unease.
Typically, children would only be introduced to the twisted, eerie, and malevolent truths hidden beneath the veneer of civilization once they reached the age of 18, when their minds had matured.
Younger children, with their still-developing minds, were far too vulnerable to the corrosive influence of the supernatural.
Though she knew her son was far more intelligent and mature than other children—practically unlike a child at all—that wasn't enough to put her heart at ease.
But what could she do? From the moment Eros developed an interest in the mysterious, the supernatural had already set its sights on him.
She softly murmured the blood-stained truth that echoed across the supernatural realm:
"When you gaze into the mysterious, the mysterious gazes back at you. When you touch the mysterious, the mysterious begins to draw closer to you."
With another soft sigh, Estelle leaned down and gently kissed Eros on the forehead.
"I'm sorry, my child, for smothering your curiosity about the true world."
Things had come to this, and to protect her son from the corruption of the supernatural, she had no choice but to seal away his curiosity about the real world, along with the part of his memory that had begun to perceive the truth.
As her words fell, a subtle, hidden power descended from the night sky and quietly entered the body of the sleeping child.
Eros, lost in his peaceful dreams, remained completely unaware of everything that had just happened.