The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Mia's knees gave way, and she collapsed to the ground like a doll drained of its soul, her eyes vacant as if she were receiving a punishment from fate—

"...Doomed."

She mumbled increasingly incomprehensible words, staring blankly at an invisible crack on the floor, her hollow expression occasionally accompanied by faint, self-deprecating chuckles, sending chills down the spine of the only human present.

Meanwhile, the instigator remained oblivious, donning an angelically innocent smile on her gentle, dignified face.

"Ah... sorry, Mia. I forgot to put them away for you. It's really strange; these photos were fine during the day."

Lady Serena looked at her daughter apologetically, as if she were truly sorry, though the mischief lurking at the corners of her mouth betrayed her true thoughts.

Luo Yan would never believe that a mighty figure of Diamond or even Purple Crystal Level wouldn't see the trickery in those magic photos.

Lies—bah, deceiving people!

This woman absolutely did it on purpose!

Lady Serena turned to Luo Yan, offering an apologetic look, much like a mother apologizing for a mischievous child.

"I sincerely apologize, Mr. Luo Yan... Please believe that my daughter meant no harm. She merely... made the same mistakes typical of children from the Padric family."

Serena conveyed, while winking at Luo Yan, signaling him to comfort her daughter quickly... as if this were a golden opportunity.

No—

At this moment, comforting her would only make the person being comforted feel awkward, wouldn't it?!

Luo Yan could roughly understand this feeling.

It's like forgetting to delete the browser history on a computer, only to have a relative's child discover something inappropriate, and the computer just happens to be connected to the living room's Bluetooth.

Of course.

While he could understand, emotionally he found it hard to accept those overly slick words from "his own" mouth.

That's not how you sweet-talk!

As he pondered how to diffuse the situation, a mature and steady voice suddenly appeared like a savior, coming from one side of the hallway.

"You're causing mischief again, Serena."

Luo Yan turned toward the voice and saw a middle-aged gentleman in deep ink-colored clothing approaching.

It was the Family Head of the Padric family—Mr. Festin Padric.

Seeing her husband, Lady Serena stuck out her tongue like a little girl caught in the act, sheepishly glancing away.

Seeing Serena act as if nothing had happened, Festin sighed with a headache before looking at his daughter, who was slumped on the ground, and then at the wall in the room.

His lips twitched slightly, then he cast an apologetic glance at Luo Yan, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Please forgive us, Mr. Luo Yan; this... I will handle this later."

Clearly, even with Mr. Festin's vast experience, it was his first time facing such an awkward situation, making him unsure of where to begin an apology.

"It's okay, I... don't mind."

Luo Yan didn't make things difficult, and offered everyone a way to step down, then turned to Lady Serena, softly reminding her.

"However... I do hope, Madam, that you could pay a little more attention to Mia's privacy. I honestly don't care what my photos are used for or where they're displayed, but... it would be best not to let me know about such things, don't you think?"

As soon as the words settled, Mia, slumped on the ground, gave a sudden shoulder twitch, as if the damage just received another critical hit.

Though Luo Yan had no intention of hurting her, he was actually speaking on her behalf.

"Alright, alright, I know I was wrong... Can you forgive me? Dear, Mommy was just worried that you might be toyed with by humans... sob sob, I'm sorry! I won't dare do it again... okay?" Serena seemed to truly realize her mistake, squatting down to hug Mia's shoulders and soothe her like a child.

But clearly, Mia's soul hadn't returned so quickly, merely allowing Lady Serena to hold and sway her.

The photo on the wall continued to repeat the slick words...

Festin pressed his fingers to his temples in frustration, releasing a wisp of dark energy that froze the chattering "Luo Yans" in the photo as if hitting the pause button on a looping video.

Then he sincerely looked at Luo Yan and continued to speak.

"I've arranged a room for you at the annex... It's quieter there, and I'll take you over now."

Never before had Luo Yan seen such a tired expression on Festin's face, along with a plea hidden behind his usually poised demeanor.

All along, this Master Level Shadow Demon had left him with an impression of high prestige, yet now it had shattered at his wife's hands.

But it was a blessing in disguise; he felt his relationship with the Padric family seemed to have drawn closer, for both parties.

If Lady Padric did this intentionally, this woman might be even more unfathomable than he imagined...

However, for Mia, the "price" might have been a bit too heavy.

"Then I shall accept your offer..." Luo Yan nodded slightly, after a moment's pause, he continued, "But before taking a rest, there are matters I'd like to discuss with you."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a gleam flickered in Festin's weary eyes.

"Is it about the upcoming meeting?"

Luo Yan did not hide his intentions, nodding affirmatively.