Ranran gently told Ah Fu what she was about to do. Not only Ah Fu, but also Dr. Bai and Hei Cha were shocked."Your mission... is to kill Count Armand... The target chosen by Horror Cave for you is Armand?!"
As soon as Zhong Ning finished speaking, Doctor Bai shook his head slightly, "Don't be so blunt, I'm afraid the cave will punish you."
Armand stood behind Ranran. The wind from the castle blew up the hair on his forehead, making his cold gray eyes seem full of tenderness. He pushed Ranran and asked her to return to her companions.
"You don't have to worry about that."
Armand: "Although I know nothing about your world, I am not completely unable to understand what you are saying."
Ran Ran looked up at him in surprise, only to see him smiling gently, "Since you have seized these people's bodies, you must do your best to act according to the rules. Unfortunately..."
Armand said helplessly: "Your acting skills are so poor." As he spoke, he rubbed Ranran's head lovingly.
"If you are found out, you will be punished? I don't understand correctly."
Black Tea and Doctor Bai looked at Armand in surprise, while the butcher raised his eyebrows with interest.
Armand looked at Zhong Ning, "If I'm not mistaken, this gentleman almost broke the rules and was punished."
Zhong Ning was so frightened that he couldn't speak.
Armand continued: "The power that punishes you is something I have never seen before, but I feel familiar with it..."
"So I tried to use my power to sense it just now..." Armand groaned for a while, "I believe in my judgment. I have successfully blocked that power."
"You may now speak freely."
Everyone was still in shock and speechless.
Armand looked into Ranran's eyes, and the cold gray color made him feel sad and peaceful.
"Would you like to speak to me a few more words, Elizabeth, in my final moments?"
Before Ranran could say anything, Armand pulled her hand and pressed it against his lips. The soft and slightly cool touch made Ranran open her eyes wide.
"Please don't be so cruel to me."
"Please don't just kill me and leave."
Ran Ran felt his lips tremble slightly under the warm palm.
She looked up and could only see Armand's restrained eyes, with all his surging emotions sealed in his eyes.
He tried his best to appear as gentle as possible in front of her.
Ah Fu cried out in pain, "Master!"
"Why are you like this?"
Armand did not explain the reason, but said calmly: "After I die, you can all go away."
"I hope you can find a life a hundred times happier than in the castle."
Turbid tears flowed from Ah Fu's red eyes, "Master!"
"The Evans family will always belong to the noble Gould family! This is a promise passed down from generation to generation! How could you forget it!"
Armand's face was filled with relief. "Alfred, don't you realize it yet? The old family... the nobility, has come to an end. Just as Elizabeth insisted, if we, the people of the old times, don't completely disappear, the world will not be reborn."
Ah Fu shook his head in panic, "How could that be... Master, you are still noble and dignified, you are the guardian of the kingdom..."
Alfred suddenly paused as he spoke, and Armand sighed softly, "You should understand, this is why I have to die."
Ah Fu looked at Ran Ran helplessly. His back was more hunched than usual, and his messy beard made him look like an abandoned stray dog.
"Miss Elizabeth! Miss! The master has always been very kind to you, why did you hurt him!"
"Please, don't treat the Master like this!"
She slowly lowered her eyelashes to hide the sigh in her eyes.
No matter who you are, you are just a speck of dust in the era.
It was not Armand who abandoned Alfred, but the world that was about to change. He was left behind by the new era.
Armand consoled him softly, "Even if I survive now, I will still face the same ending in the near future when the new world is born. These visitors from another world are just bringing this process forward."
"So there's no need to feel resentful, Ah Fu."
Ah Fu's hands, as dry as tree bark, trembled helplessly. "But why, Master?! Why would they suddenly come and take away everything from you!"
"For no reason." Armand lowered his eyes and looked at the servant who had been serving him. He witnessed his red eyes grow from childish to old.
“Time is such a thing.”
"While we were sitting in the castle toasting each other, the villagers of Golden Spike Village that was burned by the fire must have also asked why."
"Time flowed through them, weighing them down. Time will also flow through me, making me face my end."
"So don't hate, don't be angry, Ah Fu."
"You can't imagine how happy I am now." Armand looked at Ranran, with nostalgia emerging in his cold gray eyes.
"Being killed by Elizabeth is the best ending I can think of."
Ah Fu was stunned on the spot. After a moment, he looked as if he had just woken up from a dream. "…Miss…Miss is yours…"
Armand smiled and nodded, "I believe you can understand my choice."
Ah Fu bit his lips tightly and cried aggrievedly, "Master... Master, please don't chase me away..."
"Take me with you!"
Armand shook his head. "You are not cursed with eternal life, and the smell of decay does not linger on you. The new world will accept you."
Ah Fu cried even louder and squatted down helplessly.
Armand seemed to see the timid little boy with red eyes who had come to him at the beginning.
"My Lord, are you my master?"
He scolded him coldly for not knowing the rules, and immediately saw tears filling up in those young red eyes.
Ah Fu squatted on the ground and sobbed in grievance. Against the backdrop of the spotless floor, Ah Fu looked like a small chocolate bean with strawberry filling.
Time passes like sand on your fingertips, and the child you once was has turned into a hunchbacked old man.
Armand sighed and calmly pushed back the tears in his eyes.
Ah Fu, time is such a cruel thing.
"I have a question." Ran Ran was in a complicated mood, "Are you real, Count?"
Armand was startled, then he couldn't help laughing, "I finally understand why you are so non-serious."
"It turns out that in your eyes, I am not real at all."
Zhong Ning's face was filled with confusion, while Hei Cha and Dr. Bai looked at each other.
Isn't it true? What Count Armand, what glorious kingdom, aren't they all a game created by the Horror Cave?
Even if it is a deadly game, it is still a game, not real.
Ah Fu yelled in grievance, "You are not real!"
"I have lived in the castle with my master for decades! I have seen so many servants come and go. Are the sunrises and sunsets every day fake?!"
"You outsiders are fake! You are just messing with other people's lives!"
Ah Fu looked at Ran Ran, "If it weren't for you occupying Miss Elizabeth's body, the master would never have thought of dying!"
Ranran was silent for a long time.
"Butler Ah Fu can say such things, even if you were not real in the past."
"It is also true now." (End of this chapter)
