Chapter 1485

Kidnap the Princess?

Upon hearing Li Ang's promise, the cat Princess's ears couldn't help but twitch, and she let out a meow filled with confusion.

That fake who was impersonating her was certainly hateful, but she... or he, was just a character in the 【Bedtime Story】. What use could catching her have?

"The significance of catching her lies in seizing the initiative to 'advance the story'."

After sensing his current situation, Li Ang replied thoughtfully while kneading the paw pads on the cat Princess's feet:

"Although we are also characters in the 【Bedtime Story】, and can even vaguely guess a bit of the story's content, we don't know the full picture of the entire story, so we can only follow the story's progression like puppets on a string.

And although I haven't been able to completely get rid of the restrictions yet, I have gained a little bit of 'freedom'. So, rather than dragging it out and waiting for the story nodes arranged by the other side to arrive, it's better to try taking the initiative and see if I can disrupt their arrangements."

That sounds like it makes some sense...

After nodding in a half-understanding way, the cat Princess wanted to ask more, but heard the footsteps in the corridor stop outside the door, followed by a cautious knocking sound on the door panel.

"Knock, knock-knock."

"Come in."

"Respected Prince, I am the captain of the Great Witch Court's guard. You can call me..."

After turning the doorknob to enter the room and proactively greeting Li Ang, the captain, who had just heard a bunch of conspiracy theories from the Shaman Society president, couldn't help but size up the "evil Lionheart Prince" twice.

At this moment, the sun on the horizon had just set, and a few dim rays of afterglow shone through the window onto Li Ang's back, slightly illuminating his facial contours while also shrouding most of his body in dim light and shadow.

The Lionheart Prince's figure, leaning against the back of the chair, was continuously elongated by this murky light, crossing the slightly old tables and chairs, passing over the dark carpet, and slowly and gloomily pressing toward the doorway.

And the little black cat he was cradling and petting on his lap seemed to have noticed the movement at the door, also poking its head out from his palm, its two bright, amber eyes staring fixedly at him with a gaze that should have belonged to a human...

Hiss...

Startled by Li Ang's unique "aura" in the night, the captain's smile instantly froze on his face. Under the eerie gaze of the four eyes of the man and the cat, more than half of the speech he had already prepared was instantly wiped clean.

"Go on."

With his thumb supporting the cat Princess moving slightly upward, and using the back of his finger to gently nudge her furry chin, Li Ang, with most of his body in the shadows, having activated the 【Nightmare is Fear】 badge effect and being in the state of the Nightmare King, said peacefully yet firmly:

"What should I call you?"

"Uh... Gary! You can call me Gary!"

The captain, having come to his senses, hurriedly reported his name, then subconsciously took a few deep breaths, braced himself, and walked a few steps toward the Nightmare Li Ang, who was exuding immense pressure. He stood still by the chair opposite him, then added with a forced smile:

"Prince, regarding your maid..."

"Wait."

After opening his mouth to interrupt the captain, the evil Prince, who was petting the cat, raised his right hand, pointed toward the chair opposite him, and said with a peaceful expression:

"Sit down and talk."

"Ah? Okay!"

Upon hearing Li Ang's instruction, the captain of the Great Witch Court's guard was slightly stunned for a moment, then subconsciously followed the instruction and sat on the chair opposite him.

However, strangely, despite moving from standing to sitting, seemingly engaged in an equal conversation, the captain didn't feel relaxed at all; instead, he felt his whole body becoming increasingly tense.

The darker the sky outside became, the more relaxed the figure of the man holding the cat opposite him seemed, but the pressure coming from him was instead continuously increasing, almost making it hard for him to breathe. Almost instinctively, he shifted forward, sitting on only half the chair, and after bowing his head, neck, and waist slightly, the captain, whose breathing finally became a bit smoother, seemed to vaguely gain some strange realization.

When some people ask you to sit and chat, it doesn't necessarily mean it will be an equal conversation; it might just mean he hates looking up at people...

"Prince..."

After trying hard to shrink his body a bit, the captain, stunned by the 【Nightmare is Fear】 aura effect, couldn't help but lower his head and say in a low voice:

"We actually didn't catch your guard, only your maid, but she appeared at the Wool Ball Society's stronghold, and she couldn't explain why she was there, so..."

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Ah?"

Gently stroking the cat Princess's satin-like back, Li Ang, leaning loosely against the back of the chair with his upper body, said calmly from within the shadows:

"I'm asking, is there anything about that place that one cannot go to?"

"This... the Wool Ball Society is a very evil underground society, and they recently planned an assassination attempt against His Majesty the Great Witch King, so..."

"Fake."

"Ah?"

【In one look/p>

Amidst the captain's bewildered expression, the evil Lionheart Prince lifted the cat in his arms a bit higher, then explained with a peaceful face:

"The president of the Wool Ball Society is my ally. Our goal is to kidnap Princess Caitlin, then swap in a fake one, and directly let her inherit the Great Witch King's throne, not to assassinate the Great Witch King. So, this matter wasn't done by the Wool Ball Society; you caught the wrong person."

"Ah?"

After saying "ah" for the fourth time uncontrollably, the somewhat dumbfounded captain couldn't help but open his mouth wide, staring blankly at Li Ang opposite him.

I admit your explanation is indeed very persuasive; after all, the attempted assassination of the Great Witch King might not necessarily be as harmful as your plan... but you just said it out loud like that?

Hmm... since he can state his "plan," it proves that the 【Bedtime Story】's control over the 【Nothingness Narrative】 doesn't actually run through the whole thing; it mostly can only control the key nodes of the story.

While the captain sat blankly on the chair, not knowing what to say for a moment, Li Ang, who had relied on him to test his "freedom," couldn't help but continue to ponder the intelligence of the 【Bedtime Story】 in his heart.

According to the current situation, the 【Bedtime Story】 of the 【Nothingness Narrative】 should just be an "outline." Just like Snow White will definitely eat the poisoned apple, and Sleeping Beauty will definitely have her finger pricked by a spindle, even if he had the blessing of 【Materialism】, he still couldn't defy the story set by it.

However, the situations that the 【Nothingness Narrative】 can control should only be these.

He can only mandate that Snow White eats the poisoned apple, but whether this apple is red or green, whether it was waxed, or whether the taste in her mouth is sweet or sour—he cannot control that in such detail.

To summarize simply, the closer the plot is to the "outline" and the "main line," the stronger the binding effect of the 【Bedtime Story】 is. Those things far away from the "main line" are almost not bound by the 【Bedtime Story】, and there seems to be a lot of room for maneuvering here...

【Through detailed testing and summarization, you have obtained a large amount of intelligence regarding the "Bedtime Story"... Your resistance to this anomalous object has increased significantly, and you are now able to block deeper levels of influence.】

Guessed right!

Hearing the voice ringing in his ears and feeling the restrictions loosen by another large margin, the corners of Li Ang's mouth couldn't help but curl up. He then looked up at the hesitant captain opposite him and smiled as he issued an invitation to team up.

"Gary, I see you're a talent... do you want to join my plan and kidnap the Princess together?"

"Ah?!?!?!"

(End of chapter)