Chapter 1334: Dark Palace (4)

Along with that angry voice, Rhode saw a third Celestina storming into the torture chamber. Her outfit looked rather similar to the original Celestina: gorgeous but not arousing at all. At the sight of the demonic Celestina and Rhode, the young lady who strode in frowned with a clear and unmistakable display of bone-deep disgust.

"Bloody hell, how many times have I told you! We are high demons; be worthy of who you are. Don't behave like one of those cheap wh*res. Just look at you! Hell, you're no different than some hellish demon who sticks up her *ss at the sight of a male! You're a disgrace to us! Look at what you're wearing; you might as well be in a beggar's outfit!"

The missy glared at the demon in front of her. But in the face of the proud and noble-looking lady, the demonic Celestina curled her lips into a charming smile. She moved her body away from Rhode slowly and blinked a provocative gaze at the missy. Upon sensing her provoking gaze, the missy's eyes grew sharper and angrier as if she were shooting daggers. But unfortunately, the demonic Celestina's skin was apparently as thick as a city wall's. She acted as though she were totally unaware of the sharp gaze by the other party.

"Oh no, my adorable missy. Why are you so annoyed? We may be demons, but we're also women, aren't we? Since we're born with such beauty and a magnificent body, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Say, stop nagging like an old hag. Why don't you enjoy your life? Is there anything more important in this world than enjoying life? Take a chill pill. Nothing bad is going to happen... Indulging yourself doesn't mean the end of the world..."

"I've had enough of your nonsense! Just who is this man? Where did he come from? Why is he here? This is not the place for him!"

Upon hearing the demon speak, the missy gave a vicious glare. It seemed like this wasn't her first encounter with a demon's enticement. As for how to deal with demons, she seemed to be really experienced. As for the demon's words, the young lady couldn't even be bothered to entertain them. She waved her arm quickly and at the next moment, Rhode felt the ground beneath his feet vanish. Soon after, his vision was once again engulfed by the darkness.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself at another location yet again. This time, he was unmistakably in what seemed to be a jail cell. It could be seen from the thick iron door, heavy walls, and rough furnishing that this place was used to hold prisoners. It was apparent that the missy had imprisoned him in this cell after she seized him from the demonic Celestina.

"Why do I feel like I'm always locked up after coming into a mental world?"

Sitting in his chair, Rhode shrugged, mumbled to himself, and showed a helpless and bitter smile. First, he was locked up in the bedroom by the little Celestina, next he was tied up in the torture chamber by the demonic Celestina, and now he was locked up in a cell by the third Celestina... Life was tough for him.

But now wasn't the time to feel sorry for himself. Taking this opportunity, Rhode calmed down and thought carefully about the issues regarding Celestina's mental world. First of all, just like Celia, the personalities of the three mental projections of Celestina's had different emphases. In Celia's case, it was 'rationality' that prevailed. But here, in Celestina's mental world, it was clear that 'self-esteem' dominated. In other words, the missy, who was the third Celestina, was the most important and core presence in Celestina's mental world.

Honestly, even to this day, Rhode couldn't understand why the nobility's self-esteem was so high. After all, there was no such aristocratic system in his country anymore, plus the fact that he was just an ordinary person in the first place. Therefore, it was hard for him to understand the approach of trying every possible way to restore his family's glory like Angelina. He also didn't understand Celestina's self-esteem, which was so arrogant that no one was allowed to touch it.

But this was different from Celia.

In Celia's mental world, Rhode united her 'instincts' and 'ego' to retaliate against 'rationality', achieving victory in the end. That was because he didn't think Celia needed to shoulder so much burden all the time, but should be more relaxed and outgoing. And with her temperament, even a little bit of 'ego' wouldn't cause any problem. That was why he chose that method to resolve the issue.

But here in Celestina's mental world, he wouldn't choose to overthrow his pride. Because based on the current situation, putting aside the little Celestina, the demonic Celestina also didn't flip out solely to the missy's high self-esteem. In other words, in Celestina's innermost consciousness, self-esteem and honor were far more important than instinct. Besides, she was also dismissive of such instincts, which was naturally a good thing for Rhode. After all, if Celestina also instinctively screwed around like those demons, it would be big trouble for him.

Well, the best thing to do would be to unite the missy and the little brat to handle the demon's 'instincts'. Rhode would love to do that because if he could partially strike down the demon's instincts, it would be good for both Celestina and him.

But what should be done to put that demon in order?

At this thought, Rhode couldn't help but frown and ponder the problem. He thoroughly experienced firsthand just how powerful projections in the mental world were. In this place, Celestina was the omnipotent god, while he was just a passerby. Although he could forcefully break through her restraints if he wanted, that would cause irreparable damage to her mental world. That was why he didn't retaliate at that moment. If that was the case, his resistance wasn't really a threat. Even the little brat could throw him out of the room in an instant, so it simply wasn't realistic for him to deal with anyone in the mental world. It was especially so if the other party was still the owner of this world; it really wouldn't be good for him to do so.

But now, Rhode couldn't find much of an opportunity. And so far, the only information he was able to get was that in this mental world, Celestina's 'self-esteem' dominated. And her world was... Depressing.

That's right, depressing.

Celia's mental world was always filled with blue skies and white clouds and seemed really soothing. But here, in Celestina's world, there were countless labyrinths and oppressive dark corridors. And no matter where one looked, all one saw was darkness. It wasn't surprising that Celestina, being a demon, had such a mental world. And it would be most frightening for Rhode if her mental world became as fairytale like Celia's. Sometimes, dark fairytales were more frightening than horror stories.

As for her self-esteem... Rhode couldn't find a good solution for the time being. After all, he had too little contact with the 'self-esteem' part of her.

At this thought, he suddenly recalled the little Celestina he met at the very beginning. Come to think of it, it was really strange. Up until that moment, he still hadn't understood what exactly that little brat represented in Celestina's mental world. Was it 'naivety'? No, she didn't seem naive at all. Besides, she must hold a great importance in Celestina's mental world to be able to take shape inside it. But even now, Rhode hadn't figured out exactly what she represented.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Rhode caught a glimpse of a shadow flitting across the corner of his eye. And when he turned around, he saw a petite figure like a terrified rabbit scurrying away. And upon seeing this scene, he couldn't help but twitch his brow. This scene felt so familiar...

After a few moments, the petite figure appeared in front of him again. And this time, he clearly saw that it was the same little Celestina he initially encountered. The little one lay on the window of the cell door, staring curiously at him, who was locked up in it. The two of them exchanged looks. After a few moments of silence, the little one finally asked in curiosity.

"Who exactly are you?"

"I'm Rhode."

Rhode gave a quick answer and continued to stare at the little girl in front of him. But soon, he noticed that the little girl was somewhat different from before. At the very beginning when he met her, the latter was very mischievous. But looking at her now, she wasn't acting as high-and-mighty. On the contrary, she was more curious and somewhat inexplicably closer to him. And just when he hadn't figured out who the little one in front of him really was, she spoke up.

"Rhode? Is that your name? I'm Celestina. What are you doing here? What did you do to get locked up by Big Sister? You didn't do something bad, did you? Hahaha. It's funny. It's the first time I've seen an outsider apart from the other fella locked up by Big Sister."

That's interesting.

Rhode clearly recalled that she didn't want to talk to him half the time before. But now, she kept asking him questions like a curious baby. This piqued his interest. And it was also a good opportunity for him to communicate with her. After all, he still hadn't figured out who this little one was yet.

"I don't know. I just happened to be discovered by that missy, and then she locked me up here."

Facing her question, Rhode answered ambiguously. He neither told the truth nor lied. And when the little one heard his response, she blinked curiously. Just as she opened her mouth, intending to reply to him, all of a sudden, her ears perked up as if she heard something. Then, she fled and disappeared into the darkness without a trace.

What's going on?

Before Rhode figured out what was going on, he heard a series of footsteps and what sounded like high-heeled boots. Soon after, the third Celestina appeared before him. She knitted her brows, scanned the place, and turned around to look at him.

"Human, I don't know how you got here, but this isn't a place you can just walk in and out of. And with that annoying fella around, I'd like you to get out of here as soon as possible." The missy said and came to a pause as if she was considering her wording. But shortly after, she shook her head again, throwing what she was going to say to the back of her mind. She lifted her head, staring at the man before her with scarlet eyes.

"Do you have any questions, human?"

"Seems like I have no other choice."

In response to her words that sounded no different from expulsion, Rhode appeared really calm and didn't oppose her directly. On the other hand, he shrugged and forced a smile, spreading his hands apart in a rather helpless manner. He knew very well that this missy's self-esteem was really high, and the self-esteem of the so-called nobility would never allow others to defy her.

He witnessed Celestina on more than one occasion berating others for defying her. And he knew that if he were to oppose her, she would likely throw him out of her mental world without saying a word. She was indeed capable of doing such things, so in the face of her question, Rhode chose to comply sensibly.

"Good."

As expected, Celestina nodded in satisfaction after seeing his obedience.

"Then I'll go ahead and handle the other side of the problem. Once I'm done with that annoying fella, I'll let you leave this world. Until then, you will stay here and remember; don't leave no matter what happens, or I can't guarantee the safety of your life."

"Got it."

Rhode nodded in response to her warning. He realized that this projection was also the same as Celia's; perhaps neither of them knew him, but they accepted his existence subconsciously. Otherwise, with Celestina's character meaning what she said, there was no need to wait for her to finish dealing with other things before kicking him out. As long as she was willing to just wave her hand, no matter how reluctant he was, he would need to leave. And now, it looked like things weren't completely without a turn of events.

At this thought, Rhode's eyes glinted.

"I have a question, Miss Celestina."

"What question do you have?"

Upon hearing his question, Celestina frowned and asked. And in response to her gaze, Rhode thought quickly before speaking his mind.

"Do you have a younger sister?"

"If you're referring to that wh*re in oestrus, then no, she is the furthest thing away from being my younger sister. It's always been the two of us here. But she was always unwilling to do my bidding and is a problematic scum!" Celestina grumbled and let out an angry snort. Then, she turned around and walked into the darkness with the same graceful steps she came in with. This time, however, Rhode didn't show any worrying expression. On the contrary, as he looked at Celestina's departure, he showed a meaningful gaze. Judging from the answer she gave him, Rhode noticed a problem.

It seems like she is totally unaware of the existence of that little Celestina.

Was it really possible for such a thing to happen? This was the mental world: Celestina's subconscious. And now, to say that there was a being in the mental world that even she didn't know about or wasn't aware of? This was an unlikely possibility. But if that were the case, it only meant that something was seriously wrong. One had to know that the projection in Celia's mental world that represented her true self was still aware of the existence of 'instincts' and 'ego'. But now, it seemed like Celestina's 'self-esteem' wasn't even aware that there was a little one running around in her mental world.

As he pondered this question, all of a sudden, a petite shadow shuttled across in front of his eyes again. Shortly after, he saw the little Celestina lying on the window of the cell door once again, staring at him curiously. She looked to her left and right as if to make sure no one else was around and whispered to him.

"Rhode, do you want to come out? I can let you out."

"Of course."

Upon hearing the little Celestina's question, Rhode hesitated for a moment and eventually nodded. He discovered that the key to his success this time was probably this little one. And although he had yet to figure out what was going on with her, he was certain that she was the key to his victory in Celestina's mental world. When the little one heard his answer, her face brightened up. She jumped down with a flip and soon after, he heard a click from the door. The locked door opened quietly and the little one peeked out from the opening with a smug smile, beckoning to him.

"Come with me, Rhode. I'll take you to a nice place that they'll never find!"