Annan felt his mind was still somewhat groggy, as if he had slept too long.
He shook his head slightly and walked over to whisper to the Silver Baron, "I remember... there is the name of a god called ’Mirror Dragon.’ But I don’t know Their divine office."
"You must have seen it in the book by Gerenz Nuha."
The Silver Baron chuckled lightly, turning to directly reveal the source Annan had implied more euphemistically.
Annan nodded his head.
Upon hearing this, he became somewhat puzzled.
Why could mentioning this name directly reveal the source of the information?
"Mirror Dragon is a less common alias because it can mislead people... It doesn’t have authority over mirrors, nor is it entirely a dragon. It’s like how our grandmother sometimes gets called ’Lady Coldblood’; and I am sometimes referred to as ’the Merchant in White,’"
the Silver Baron explained.
Only the names that the deities give themselves during the ritual of sublimation can become their real aliases, which, when called close to Their presence, will be heard. But even if you call out "Lady Coldblood" within the Duchy of Winter, our grandmother wouldn’t hear it... because it is not a name she gave herself, but a nickname.
This is a method of avoidance used when "they do not want to be discovered."
"As for why Gerenz Nuha would use this name as a reference, the reason is simple, the Skeleton Lord is being pursued by Yawen. The deity actually hinted at by ’Mirror Dragon’ is the god of painting and illusions, ’Paper Princess,’ a subordinate deity of Yawen."
"But what you might not know... She is actually a painting, a painting endowed with life."
Annan was somewhat astonished.
He had indeed heard the name Paper Princess... when he first learned about Amos, he had researched similar information. She was a kind and silent goddess.
She was the patron and idol of many impoverished painters.
If they really couldn’t sell their paintings, they could sacrifice them to the Paper Princess through a ritual. Paper Princess would reward them with some silver coins according to the effort spent on the painting, not its actual value, so they would not starve to death... But the reason Annan remembered this name was that these silver coins were not conjured by Paper Princess’s Divine Power or demanded from the Silver Baron... but earned by her herself.
Yes, she was a legendary painter in her own right, traveling between nations, roaming the streets.
"Indeed, it’s Paper Princess,"
the Silver Baron nodded.
"But what you may not know... Paper Princess was originally a painting by Yawen, nearly his finest work.
"It depicted a silver-white dragon, so lifelike one could almost believe it real. Under Yawen’s Divine Power, it could even move, roar, and dance in the painting... Its power was even capable of affecting the real world."
At this point, the Silver Baron glanced subtly at Annan.
Then He continued, "Later, a real dragon came into possession of this painting.
"Unluckily for him, he fell in love with the dragon in the painting. It was an obsession...
"He completely abandoned everything he had obtained in reality, just to spend more time with it. Over the course of hundreds of years, he only conversed and grew intimate with it, obsessed with watching it dance atop the snowy peaks.
"But after all, it was just a painting... without consciousness or soul, responding only to preset interactions by Yawen.
"—Eventually, the dragon obtained a page from the Book of Truth, the book called ’Illusion and Reality.’
"But he was deeply disturbed by the power granted to him by the book, to the point of near rage. Because the ’truth’ within ’Illusion and Reality’ made it crystal clear to him that the dragon within the painting could never be real. However, using his own truth, he could make it into a ’more real illusion,’ so realistic it was almost indistinguishable.
"The dragon refused this seemingly attractive proposal.
"He preferred to believe that the dragon was entirely real, preferring to believe that a dragon’s soul was sealed within the painting. He feared and even loathed the truth he had obtained, ultimately making a decision—to forsake his own truth.
"Or, to put it more accurately, he forcefully proved... that the painting indeed contained the soul of a dragon.
"Using his knowledge and wealth, he constructed a complete sublimation ritual, igniting his own soul... but at the center of the ritual was not himself—it was the painting."
The dragon exchanged his soul, truth, and everything, for a chance to turn the false into the forcibly real.
"So, Paper Princess became a god?"
An otherworldly version of objectophilia?
However, considering that the painting could move, speak, and even chat with people like artificial intelligence... it seemed, not entirely incomprehensible... right?
Sir Silver clearly didn’t know the subtle emotions brewing in Annan’s heart.
Annan pressed, "So, did he succeed?"
"He should be considered successful. Although the original deities of illusion and truth lost their souls, that painting indeed gained intelligence and acquired a true soul."
Sir Silver simply smiled warmly, "Just as he had envisioned, it was a cool, elegant, and kind young female dragon. That’s the current deity of painting and illusion, Paper Princess..."
It was just that he himself could no longer see it.
Sir Silver did not voice this thought. Annan understood his implication.
Hearing Sir Silver’s explanation, Annan was suddenly reminded of the paints gifted to Amos by the skeleton duke.
The two seemed similar... yet different.
Thus, the moniker "Dragon in the Mirror" was indeed almost an insult to Paper Princess. It also precisely hinted at her whereabouts.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Annan sharply sensed something.
Sir Silver slowly nodded.
"Paper Princess now resides in Noah’s Royal Capital," He entrusted to Annan, "She wants to see you."
Annan was somewhat surprised.
I don’t even know you...
"...Because that painting is actually a portrait Yawen painted for his grandmother."
Sir Silver raised an eyebrow, showing no embarrassment, and chuckled, "But you know grandmother’s temper. She doesn’t want to see Paper Princess... and doesn’t think Paper Princess has any relation to her.
"Don’t ask too much; you’ll understand when you get there. Just consider it indulging Paper Princess’s homesickness, Annan. Getting to know other deities is good for you. Plus, with Paper Princess protecting you, you’ll be safer in the Royal Capital and it’ll be more convenient to move around."
Safe? Is there anything safer than Sir Silver’s protection in the Kingdom of Noah?
And is it Paper Princess who wants to see me... or you who want me to see Paper Princess?
Annan gradually gleaned something from these words.
No, why should Paper Princess protect me?
Is Sir Silver... not planning to get involved?
"Do you want me to see Paper Princess... or are you sending me to the Royal Capital?"
Annan blinked, picking up on the unspoken message from Sir Silver.
He asked directly and straightforwardly, rather than guessing for himself, "If you want me to return to the Royal Capital, should I do so as Tan Juan or as Annan?"
This was the advantage of Annan’s age—he was seen as sensible when he followed the rules and sincere when he did not. No one would care either way.
...Of course, it could also be the advantage of his appearance.
"Naturally as ’Tan Juan Geraint’. Come when you’re free, and do me a favor... it’s not very urgent. You can come back at the earliest during the spring hunt, or at the latest before May," Sir Silver said with a chuckle, then squatted down in front of Annan and whispered, "But you needn’t be too afraid. In the next few months, I’ll have little Henry arrest all the Rotfaith followers. There will be no followers of the Rotfaith in the Kingdom of Noah anymore."
"...May I ask what the favor is? I’d like to prepare in advance so as not to be clumsy and cause trouble when I get there," Annan inquired politely.
"It’s hardly a big deal," Sir Silver replied, gently wrapping an arm around Annan’s waist and whispering with an upturned corner of his mouth:
"It’s just for you to replace Tan Juan at little Henry’s funeral...
"And to warn those who are somewhat restless on behalf of the Geraint family. The situation in the Kingdom of Noah is quite chaotic... The Rot Swain thinks his plans are secret and sound, yet he doesn’t even understand why Henry ignores him."
Sir Silver bared a friendly smile, "I’ve promised them that I would not directly intervene in the internal affairs of the royal family and the nobility...
"As you know, I always keep my word."