Chapter 287 - Dead!?

Tony looked at Zero. "Son, could you bring my daughter back to her room? I want to talk privately with Granny here," he said in a calm voice.

Zero hesitated on leaving, but the lord doesn't want him around when he was talking with Granny. Based on what he heard, the five oracles declared that they didn't see the vision of the tragedy involving Nini killing anyone. This means... Granny could be lying all this time!​​

"Son..." Tony said.

"Yes, my lord!" Zero finally moved and went to the bed. He looked at Nini and waved his hand. The two of them disappeared from the banquet hall, leaving the empty bed behind.

Menedelia stood rooted on the spot waiting for the scolding from the lord.

Tony looked at the psychic. "The five oracles told me the same thing. You're the only one who insisted on seeing the vision of tragedy. I'm just a bit disappointed right now. You don't have to stay longer. Please take your leave now!" he ordered in a somewhat annoyed voice.

Menedelia released a deep sigh. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you, my lord. But I'm only telling the truth," she apologized. "The enemy must have done something to Nini, changed everything, and nobody saw it!" she insisted.

Tony sighed. "You may go now, Granny. Thank you for coming here. I will ask Zero to get you if I have something to consult about Nini. Please go home," he said and left the room.

The servant went to Menedelia's side. "Granny, I'll accompany you outside. Please follow me," he said politely.

Menedelia looked at the servant feeling upset. "Okay."

They left the banquet hall and went outside.

While walking towards the gate, Menedelia was feeling upset. She broke the trust of the couple! They think she was exaggerating or making up about the vision! They might think that she did it for the money only. But the vision is true! She's not making it up! But who would believe her after the five oracles' testimony? It's easier to believe in five people than one! She appears like a liar to the couple now.

What a shame!

Damn! She just lost a generous customer today!

She heaved a sigh.

The gate opened, and Menedelia stepped outside. The gate closed again. She looked at the imposing manor in front of her. She left without saying goodbye to Nini and Zero!

She took a deep breath and turned around.

Never mind, she will see them before the world ends! She will go home and nursed her broken ego and pride there at her place.

Damn! What's wrong with those five oracles? Why can't they see the same vision? But she can't blame them because when she performs divination on Nini again, the vision was no longer there, gone with the wind!

She waved her hand and vanished from the place.

She didn't go home yet, instead, she went to the top of the hill overlooking the calm ocean. She will stay in this tranquil place for a moment, admiring the view and analyzing how can the enemy do something sinister to Nini's body in such a short time? And why Zero didn't know about it when he was the one guarding Nini tightly for security reasons.

Damn! The enemy is planning on something!

Then what about that 'something growing' inside Nini's body? One of the oracles claimed that!

Well... Menedelia shrugged... that was the end of it!

She will just stay in the forest with Rebecca and seldom go out. Three months before the money is about to get depleted, she will return to her fortune-telling business in the next town.

Now that she had a plan in place, she feels much better compared to earlier when she feels that all her option runs out after seeing the disappointment in the lord's face.

Time to return to her fortress!

A few minutes later, Menedelia vanished from the hill.

Back at Nini's residence.

Zero and Tony were having a conversation in the garden about the oracles and Menedelia.

"Son, do you think Menedelia conned us for money?" Tony asked. "The five oracles didn't see the tragic vision involving Nini killing the entire family. How can you explain that? Only Menedelia saw it," he said.

Zero was silent the whole time. "Granny could be telling the truth. Somewhere along the way, the enemy managed to get into Nini's body and mind and change everything," he spoke.

"W-what do you mean? You said that you were with my daughter all the time? How come the enemy gets into her and performs something on her?" Tony asked him with a raised brow.

Zero released a deep sigh. "My apologies, my lord! I want to tell you something..."

"What is it?"

Zero cleared his throat. "It happened when Nini and I were traveling on the carriage going to the capital. In the middle of the night, the carriages suddenly stopped, and I opened the window of the carriage, calling for my men asking why we stopped in the middle of the road. But no one answered my call. Nini was already sleeping during that time. And when I was about to leave the carriage to find out what's going on, suddenly, a fragrant smell drifted into my nostrils and that was the last thing I remembered, because when I opened my eyes again, it was already morning and the carriages were moving steadily. When I asked my entourage if they remembered any strange happening last night, and why the carriages halted in the middle of the road? They told me that they never stop traveling that night..." he paused for a moment.

A frown appeared on Tony's forehead. "This is getting confusing!" he groaned and lamented. He looked at Zero and spoke, "Continue..."

"Since no one was hurt, nothing is missing, and everything is okay and normal, I didn't give it further thought, thinking I'm just dreaming or hallucinating. But I still think about that incident now and then. It's like a mystery that keeps appearing in my mind and gives me something to ponder about once in a while. That's all, my lord!" Zero finished her narration.

Tony breathed deeply and stared at the statue of the mermaid standing tall in the fountain. Should he believe in Zero's narration while everyone in that traveling party didn't remember anything? Similarly, Menedelia saw the tragic vision while the five oracles failed to do so.

If he starts believing Zero's claim, then Menedelia was also right with her claim. His daughter's mind and body were altered during that time when they were traveling on the road together.

He released a deep sigh.

The happiness of finding her long-lost daughter after twenty years was replaced with all kinds of problems and stress. It's like paying a heavy price for something that he had no idea about in the first place! Why and who instigated all these?

He's beginning to believe that there is an unknown enemy out there trying to torture his whole family and using his daughter to bring all kinds of calamities to his family. They are using his daughter to get to them and bring all these kinds of emotional and mental torture to them.

Zero looked at the somber and problematic expression on the lord's face. "My Lord, I think you need to wake up Nini now," he suggested.

Tony nods his head. "Alright, let's go back to her room," he said.

"Um... my lord, the dinner party will continue tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, of course! I won't miss it for the world. I will announce to everyone that I'm proud to welcome you to the family as the chosen husband of my daughter. "Nothing will change!" Tony said in a serious tone.

Zero sighed inwardly. He was about to suggest to the lord that they shouldn't push through with the wedding because they're facing lots of problems when it comes to Nini. But it seemed the lord is very determined to wed him to his daughter. "My lord, I have one more question," he said.

"What is it? Say it," Tony said.

"About the oracle's claimed that something is growing inside Nini's body, what are you going to do about it?" Zero asked.

Tony sighed heavily. "I guessed we need to consult with that oracle again and asked her if she can provide the cure. Or if she has means and ways to flush out that thing out of my daughter's body. That is our main concern in the coming days," he said.

"And what about the vision of the tragedy that Granny Menedelia saw in Nini? Are we just going to ignore it?" Zero insisted.

Tony took a deep breath. His confusion is mounting right now. "The five oracles didn't see the vision, so why would we believe Granny's claim?"

"B-but...what if all these are just trapped to divert our attention away from the enemy's real intention? What if Granny's vision is indeed true? What if the enemy changed the course of their plan because we already know about it?" Zero said.

Tony stared at his future son-in-law's face for a few seconds. "You're making sense, son. Honestly, I'm so confused right now. I need enough time to digest everything slowly. Complex things like this need thorough analysis. But let's wake up my daughter first, then we will continue discussing this issue after tomorrow's happy event. I need to rest my brain first because it feels like it's going to explode at any moment," he said, wearing a somber expression on his face.

"Okay, my lord," Zero said and stopped mentioning anything relating to the oracle's divination.

The men left the garden and went inside the manor to wake up Nini from her deep slumber.

When they arrived at her room, Evelyn was there together with her other daughter Angela. Evelyn's eyes were already swollen due to so much crying.

Tony address Evelyn. "Wife, please go back to our room first. After Nini wakes up, she will be wondering why we're gathering here and why you're crying. Our daughter is still alive! No need to shed tears yet," he said, trying to comfort her.

Evelyn looked at Nini and left the room silently together with Angela.

Tony waved his hand all over Nini's body to wake her up.

One minute...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes passed...

Tony looked at her daughter worriedly, wondering why she had not awakened yet? She should be awake by now! What's going on!?

Zero looked at Nini's chest in shock. She already stopped breathing!