Rock beats scissor, scissor beats paper, paper beats rock.
Different situations call for different tactics.
While Annan remained cautious all the time, he had the F2 and A key [1] ready at any time (figuratively). He could initiate a charge on the enemy base (viscount’s mansion) in a timely and decisive manner.
This put Annan into an unlosable situation.
“What do you want to do?”
Old Viscount’s face looked gloomy, sitting on his seat and looking at Annan. He still appeared dispirited.
Annan’s words woke the Old Viscount up.
The Old Viscount looked at this young boy who stood in front of him with a smile and confidence. He tacitly didn’t summon Justin.
Because Alvin was also a smart man.
He thought about the fact that Annan Chilly Austere dared to knock him out and wake himself up while Justin was still in the parameter.
This showed that Annan didn’t want to kill me but needed some help from me. Otherwise, he can kill the vulnerable me after I pass out.
But, it also means that he is not afraid of me calling for help.
Old Alvin knew that Annan Chilly Austere was only 14 years old this year. Since childhood, Annan was weak, sick, and almost died several times.
For this reason, Grand Duke Ivan gave the name “Annan.” It was a neutral and feminine name. If pronounced in the Chilly Austere accent, it should be pronounced “Anna.”
Its original meaning was “kindness.” Hence, in Chilly Austere Dukedom, only such “weak names” were given to girls usually.
But Ivan didn’t want Annan to be a benevolent person in the future.
He hoped that Old Grandmother could be more kind to this child so that Annan’s fate would not be too bad so that Annan could grow up safely and alive.
Old Alvin still believed that with Annan’s physical fitness, he wouldn’t dare to fight such a strong hunter in the territory of an enemy country. In this case, he didn’t have the option to flee.
After all, he was not a direct noble’s heir in this country. Worse still, he was the enemy country’s supreme ruler’s heir.
Once Annan was caught alive, it guaranteed a considerable sum of money and a great meritorious deed.
No matter how Alvin thought of the possible outcome, Annan wouldn’t kill him. But, Annan should not dare to let him call for help.
So…
What does he rely on?
Old Viscount waited vigilantly for Annan’s answer without saying a single extra word.
“You are quite smart.”
Annan chuckled, “But you’d better not try to ask for help and don’t expose my identity to others. It doesn’t work either in words or in writing because you will forget what you want to say before asking for help.
“At the same time, you will die of Cardioplegia. Old man, accidental death is normal for your age.”
“Cardioplegia and Forgotten Secret?”
Old Viscount guessed with a sullen face.
Annan was surprised.
He was taken aback; he showed an amiable and gentle smile, “It seems like you’re quite familiar with the Transcend world, unlike the rumor.”
“Oh, that’s natural.”
Old Viscount didn’t say much but just let out a low snort.
Annan’s words were indeed truthful.
But the difference was-
Annan did not instill [Speak No Evil] on the Old Viscount, but [I’m Not Here] on him.
In this case, after the players entered the house, they would not realize the viscount’s existence. They were all genuine ordinary people and had no resistance to curses.
This also meant that Annan stopped the chances of identity leakage.
But, he did not kill the Old Viscount directly.
Because he wanted to try, could he interrogate some secret information from the Old Viscount before the player entered this place?
With Viscount Barber’s status, he should know a lot.
“But I still can’t figure out why you are attacking me.”
Old Viscount asked Annan probingly in a deep voice, “We can just talk, you know.”
Realizing that he would not die, for the time being, Old Alvin had regained his composure.
The two people maintained the previous distance, still sitting in the earlier seats, with the same expressions as before.
But the atmosphere between them was completely different.
Annan just sighed with a sad expression on his face,
“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. I’m just here to remind you.”
“Hehe. I have never seen such a kind reminder.”
Old Viscount smirked and retorted, “Perhaps your father taught you similar special techniques?”
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. I’m just here to persuade you to be more patient.”
Annan was unfazed but just smiled peacefully.
He got up from his seat and slowly approached the old man. Such a move made Alvin a little nervous. Alvin subconsciously became vigilant.
Annan only said mildly, “Although I’m young, I know a lot.
“Didn’t you fail because of that rash decision? If you wait patiently then, the situation won’t be that terrible.”
Hearing this, the viscount was taken aback and went in a daze for a while.
Patience…Yes, patience.
He remembered.
That reminds me…
“I also know that you have always been an emotional person,” said Annan gently. Then, he stopped and nodded slowly, “You are not good at expressing. Or rather, you don’t bother to express them because it will be meaningless.
“So people will misunderstand you and think you are a cold person. But I know you are not such a person.”
“Oh, you understand me.”
Old Viscount whispered sarcastically, slumped on his chair wearily, mumbling something.
After a while, he raised his head and looked at Annan again.
“What do you want to know?”
The old man asked in a deep voice, “Tell me. Don’t need to beat around the bush.”
Since you said so.
But the terrified expression on Alvin’s face became much more relaxed.
All this was in Annan’s expectation.
Those words were tricks to worm information out from Alvin- cold reading [2].
What Annan said was equally valid even for others. That was the Barnum effect. When you utilized vague adjectives to describe a person, the person being described would accept these descriptions easily and thought that what the description said was them.
Annan first knocked the viscount out with Slothful Eye. Then, he let the viscount wake up in a safe place. In this way, viscount would be suspicious of its current security situation and no longer trust that “he was still in a safe zone.”
On this basis, Annan used the curse to restrain the viscount’s behavior, giving him pressure that death was by the door. Under this circumstance, Annan formed a de facto coercive relationship with him.
Annan held the key to his life and death, and he could not resist Annan.
But Annan did not bully him, nor did he rudely persecute him.
Instead, he used cold reading in a friendly manner to get closer to him. Under such threat and allurement, the viscount’s vigilance towards Annan would dissipate.
On the one hand, Alvin believed that “I have no resistance in front of him.” At the same time, “maybe this child can understand me,” and still believed that Annan was a “young man” with a sense of psychological superiority over Annan in terms of age.
At the same time, from the details of the viscount’s response, Annan could also temporarily presume that Old Alvin should be a person unwilling to believe in others, more inclined to believe in his own experience and conclusions. Old Alvin was merely too cautious and paranoid.
Annan habitually looked into Old Viscount’s eyes and continued to ask gently.
“I’m just asking casually. Don’t mind it.”
—Take my words seriously. You should think carefully before answering.
“Of course, even if I don’t get an answer that satisfies me, I will not persecute you. There are other places where we can cooperate.”
—You are useful to me. But your answer best satisfies me.
Annan paused, making sure that the Old Viscount had grasped his hints, and then asked in a low voice,
“If you were to choose between the Third Prince and Chilly Austere’s Grand Duke, who would you choose?
“And why did you choose this way? Please answer quickly. We may not have much time for talking.”
Annan asked slowly. At the same time, he gently patted the blood-stained kitchen knife on the table, revealing a bright and gentle smile, “You know what I mean.”
There was no doubt that it was an interrogation.
But it was different from Old Alvin’s understanding.
Annan didn’t care about the first answer at all. It was just a cover for distraction and lowering Old Alvin’s vigilance.
What he wanted to ask was [Why]!
He wanted the Old Viscount answer subconsciously without being vigilant – a correct answer from the heart.
Alvin was in a daze, feeling that Annan’s ice-blue pupils were as gentle as water without any malice…
But it felt like a god.
Annan appeared aloft without any emotions.
[1] A Starcraft abbreviation. ‘F2’ key will select all units, and the ‘A’ key will issue an attack. It means using all the units under him to attack the enemy in full force.