The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 269: Put a Good Word In

Damien was waiting in the same room they were in earlier, just like Lane had instructed. Sitting on the bed, still blindfolded, with the maid standing nearby - not a regular maid, but a skilled Esper, who was there to make sure that Damien didn’t do anything suspicious. Not that she would be able to stop him if he actually tried anything... But since it was Lane who had brought him here, it was assumed that the man could be trusted. At least to some degree.

"Go outside now," Lane just waved his hand at the maid, taking a seat next to Damien.

"But..." The maid was about to protest, but Lane cut her off.

"Go outside, leave us alone. I am about to put him back to sleep, and I don’t want anyone around."

There wasn’t any logical reason as to why it was necessary for them to be alone just so that Lane could feed Damien some sleeping pills, but the maid didn’t insist. Lane was the grandson of the master of this fortress, Diana, and thus was the third in command, right after Ariana. If he wanted some time alone with his guest, there was no reason to stop him from that.

As long as he didn’t take too long, of course. While Lane himself could spend much longer inside the fortress, and do it without any supervision, the same couldn’t be said about his guest. As an outsider, he wasn’t exactly welcome in here. He was made an exception and allowed inside, but he was still expected to leave as soon as possible...

Besides, Lane and Damien had to return to their hotel. Even though there wasn’t anyone tailing them, it was still best to be back quickly, and continue with their happy holiday cover-up. Just as a precaution.

Thus, Lane twisted his hand, turning the lock to make sure that no one could barge in suddenly, and unwrapped the scarf from Damien’s head.

Damien blinked, slowly opening his eyes, to the sight of Lane staring at him intently, already ready to activate his ability. Before the hypnotic glow could appear, though, dying Lane’s grey eyes red, Damien asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

"...Hmm?" Lane furrowed his brows. "Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?"

"You just seem... off."

Of course Lane seemed off. After his private conversation with Diana (which, to be honest, was more of a one-sided monologue), how could he possibly not walk out of the garden undisturbed? First, Diana’s advice - which, although well-meaning, caused Lane a lot of headache, as what his grandmother suggested he should do was exactly what Lane had been trying to avoid - and then the reminder of Diana’s terrible condition, which was only deteriorating...

How could he possibly be fine after that?

But, he couldn’t talk about it to Damien, especially not here, not now, so he just shook his head. "It’s nothing, really. Let’s get you hypnotized so that we can leave this place, alright?"

"...Alright." Although Damien was still concerned and had more things to ask, it could wait. It’s not like Lane was going to disappear anywhere, not this time, so Damien could try gently poke around later, when they were in their hotel room. Or if that didn’t work, then at home. They practically lived together now, so there would be plenty of opportunities.

A moment later, Lane’s eyes flashed red, and Damien’s body went limp, falling into Lane’s arms, as his consciousness slipped away into the hypnosis-induced sleep. Lane was about to pick him up and leave, when...

"Ah." All of a sudden, he recalled something he was supposed to do while he was here. Because of all the things he had on his mind recently, he was constantly forgetting things...

And that was an important issue.

He left Damien lying on the bed, and walked out of the room, throwing a short, "Don’t disturb him. The pills are kicking in, so let him fall asleep in peace," as he passed the maid, and went back to the garden.

Ariana was also there now, talking with Diana, but it didn’t matter. She knew about everything Diana knew anyway, as she was the one passing the messages between them. And she was trustworthy.

"Yes? Is there anything else?" Diana looked up at Lane in surprise, not having expected to see him again so soon.

"Ah, yes." Lane bit his lip, looking at her pale face... It was a bit uncomfortable, asking her for a favor when she had just been in a lot of pain a moment ago, perhaps she still was, but... "When you contact the Allens about ending that deal... Could you perhaps also put in a good word for Nyla?"

"For Nyla?" Diana lifted her brows. "But why?"

"Well... I’m not sure if you have heard, but back when I was locked in the mansion, she helped me out... She made some sort of deal with our parents, so that they allowed me to leave and go to Ava’s place."

"What sort of deal?"

"This... I don’t know."

"Hmm." Diana pursed her lips, pondering over it for a moment. "Don’t get me wrong... But did it never cross your mind that it could be just a play staged by the Allens? Otherwise, why would she suddenly help you, after all those years?"

Lane lowered his head. Yes, he knew it. He knew it. And yet...

"I just... I just want to make sure she doesn’t suffer for it, just in case," he said quietly. "I’m not asking for you to get her out of the Allens, just... A little word. So that she won’t be implicated."

For a while, Diana remained silent, until eventually, she let out a sigh. "I will try. But I can’t make any promises. It’s been so long that the Allens seemed to have forgotten about what I’m capable of, or else they wouldn’t have locked you up like that in the first place... And I can’t exactly go visit them to remind them..."

"...I understand."

"Don’t worry too much, though. I will mention her... Besides, she is still their heiress. I’m sure she will be just fine," Diana reassured Lane.

"...Yes. Thank you very much." Lane bowed his head, and finally left.