Chapter 135 Father's Good Intentions

Across a layer of illusionary mirror and flames, Duncan could still clearly observe Tirian and Lucretia's reactions from beginning to end—nervousness, vigilance, and a faint hint of fear.

From the perspective of a "family reunion," the atmosphere was hardly ideal.

But he didn't mind; this situation was within expectations. Being able to meet Tirian in advance while maintaining control of the situation had already achieved his goal for today. A brief greeting now might prevent a more chaotic encounter in the future. What's more...

Today was a "buy one get one free" deal.

He hadn't expected Lucretia to be here as well.

Moreover, while hidden in the mirror, he had overheard the conversation between Lucretia and Tirian, learning that his previous attempt to call out to her through "Niru" hadn't been entirely ineffective. Although he hadn't received any feedback, Lucretia had sensed something. This information was an unexpected bonus.

Composing himself, Duncan maintained his usual calm expression, his gaze slowly sweeping over Tirian and the water orb on the table beside him, "I didn't think a father needed a special reason to look for his children."

Tirian's eyes widened slightly for a moment, but he quickly suppressed the reaction. He lowered his voice, still watching the figure in the mirror warily, "You should know this is the Cathedral—even for you, you should at least consider the god behind this holy place."

"Yes, this is the Cathedral, I know that of course—I personally witnessed it being consumed by fire, and then reshaped this place from complete history," Duncan said calmly. "Surely the god behind this Cathedral is watching, so I owe you a thank you."

Tirian instantly knew what to say next.

But he wasn't familiar with the feeling of suddenly not knowing what to say when talking to his father.

Duncan didn't seem to notice Tirian's silence, instead turning his gaze towards the "daughter" in the crystal ball, asking as if casually, "Is Niru with him?"

"He's referring to..."

Silence returned to the room, and for the next few minutes, neither Lucretia nor Tirian spoke.

"Oh, I can sense that," Duncan nodded. "You've provoked me twice in a row, and failed to escape either time."

"..." Tirian took a deep breath, lifting his head. "A human being who has been baptized by the subspace? When the chaos in subspace gains intelligence, it will be even more terrifying than pure chaos... Of course, the situation may not be that bad, and I also hope that miracles really appear, but for the time being... let's remain watchful and vigilant. He is active on the border all year round, and should be more aware of the necessity of that vigilance than you are."

Through Vanna's eyes, Duncan had obtained unexpected information!

Tirian glanced back, expressionless. "Be careful. Who knows when Niru will suddenly speak and call out Father's name."

"I still have many things to do," Duncan said softly, his gaze finally landing on Lucretia. "I'll leave Niru with you for now. If there's a chance in the future, I'll take him back."

The rest was left to Tirian and Jia Xizi's short brains to fill in.

"I always feel like Father is even more easygoing than before." The notorious pirate couldn't help but mutter softly.

...

He paused before continuing, "But as you said, Lucy—at least, his reason has returned."

Lucretia's voice immediately came from the crystal ball, "That's because I just beat him, so the feeling is deep..."

Putting down his pen, Duncan looked thoughtfully at the strange octagon and the fragmented cross structure inside, pondering where to begin unraveling the secrets of this symbol.

Tirian suddenly didn't know how to respond again.

There shouldn't be any oversights.

"…Frankly, I doubt every word you say, even the words 'restored reason'," Tirian said in a deep voice. "Until there is more evidence, I would rather suspect this is a conspiracy of subspace."

Because even a hundred years ago, when the Abnomal surname was not yet entangled in curses, he often remained silent in front of his father—his father was always too stern and fascinated by those mysterious and terrible things, and at this time Tirian…was not a person who was good at words.

Duncan's voice came from the mirror, "You are leaving."

Duncan looked at Lucretia, beneath his calm exterior, was his inner madness.

Fortunately, I had a draft before coming.

But suddenly, his eyes froze.

The crystal ball went dark.

"...But the bishop and inquisitor in the city don't seem to believe it," Tirian said in a deep voice. "Especially this inquisitor... she is very wary of you."

"She is," Lucretia nodded, then waved to the side. Soon, a clockwork automaton dressed in a butler's uniform appeared in the crystal ball.

This is a word.

Moreover, I deliberately emphasized that the problem was not just my memory, but also my understanding and perception of the real world—which could almost explain everything that was wrong with me.

"What I just said," Lucretia said with a serious expression, "do you think it's true? Father said that I was missing a small part of my memory, and even needed to re-understand this world, and also said that the influence of subspace was profound and could not be completely shaken off... But then he said that he had regained his reason that day."

That was about enough—the groundwork had been laid, and saying more might affect the effect.

Anyway, everything evil in this world is related to subspace. That place is simply a melting pot, and it won't matter if I add another ingredient...

In order to maintain the stability of the Ghost Ship, I must play the role of "Captain Duncan" well, even in the case of reaching a tacit agreement with the goat head.

I can't give up this identity, so I must continue this "playing" in front of Lucretia and Tirian, but even the most brilliant acting has loopholes.

What's more, I know almost nothing about the siblings. The most effective way is of course not to delay preparing a scapegoat.

Lucretia couldn't help but exclaim softly, "Ah..."

"I understand," Lucretia said after a few seconds of silence, nodding heavily. But then she raised her eyes again, her gaze falling back on the oval mirror, a little relieved. "...He's really gone, right?"

In the end, it was Lucretia who took the initiative to break the silence. "Just now... did that really happen?"

A smile appeared on Duncan's face. "Entirely out of good intentions."

"You did a little...modification to Niru," Lucretia said with a strange expression, while guessing her father's intention in suddenly changing the subject. "Why did he suddenly ask about your affairs?"

As soon as the words fell, his figure had already begun to retreat rapidly, and the ghostly green flames on the edge of the mirror disappeared quietly like a phantom, giving Tirian and Lucretia no time to continue speaking.

"Not a hallucination," Tirian smiled and shook his head. "Did you think that all that would happen?"

"Subspace has left an extremely deep impact on him, and perhaps he will never be able to completely get rid of that impact in his lifetime," I said slowly, controlling the speed and expression of my words. "Many things you don't remember clearly today, including your understanding and...perception of the real world. You are trying to re-understand this world, and after knowing their existence, you think that it may not be able to be used as a key step in re-understanding."

Ghost Ship, Captain's cabin, Duncan breathed a long sigh of relief, sorting out his communication process with this pair of "children".

"Has...has your reason broken free from the influence of subspace?" The voice of the "Sea Witch" came from the crystal ball, just like a hundred years ago.

In this way, she broke the awkwardness between father and brother. "Did you come back this time to continue...your adventure plan?"

"Subspace has no conspiracies," Lucretia said fiercely. "Only humans understand conspiracies."

And after sorting it out, I casually picked up paper and pen from the side, and then continued to follow my memory on it.

Sketch it out.

Then put the blame on subspace.

Duncan looked in surprise at the clockwork puppet that appeared in front of him, which looked nothing like "Niru" no matter how you looked at it. "...Why do you look like that?!"

Thank you. This was a crucial meeting. I wanted to lay a foundation for the future in this meeting, to prepare in advance to cover up or explain the many "suspicious points" that I might expose, and if possible, to make all the changes in the Ghost Ship and myself from now on "reasonable" for the siblings.

Some distant memories seemed to float to the heart of this "Sea Witch", and the expression on her face suddenly became simple.

"...I wouldn't dare to think about it even in the most bizarre dreams," Lucretia said, then suddenly asked a little relaxedly, "What do you think about this matter?"

This was the most effective way I could think of to solve hidden dangers and prepare for the future.

Lucretia and Tirian didn't react at once, and Tirian subconsciously asked, "Leave?"

And at this time, whenever the father and son fell into an awkward silence, it was always the more rigid Lucretia who broke the deadlock.

I saw a deep mark suddenly appear on the edge of the paper, as if shapeless water had soaked the corner of the paper, and then,

In the middle of the soaked water stain, a vague pattern actually emerged!

Your subtle changes did not pass through Duncan's eyes.

Lucretia in the crystal ball was obviously stunned after hearing Duncan's words. You seemed to be carefully observing the changes in your father's expression to confirm the truth of this statement. Tirian on the side suddenly asked after a brief silence, "So, your previous actions in Prand were just to save

The city-state?"

Tirian thought for a while, stepped forward and replaced the mirror, placing it upside down on the table.

This was exactly the strange symbol that Tirian had shown to Fan Bang and Bishop Valentine before. It was the symbol that Captain Duncan had come into contact with a hundred years ago.

The appearance of the marks carried by these strange "pretenders".

...He found Niru," Duncan said fiercely, "in a doll shop. He didn't take you away back then, and you have never been sold either.

After a few strokes, a strange octagonal emblem appeared on the paper.