Chapter 181: 177 Careful

Kelake washed his face simply, then changed into the clothes the master of the Castle had sent him. While preparing to change, he suddenly recalled Milaier's opinion; she had said that the red outfit suited him quite well.

Thinking of that cute maid's smiling face and what she had said, he pondered for a moment and decided to follow her suggestion, putting on that set of clothes.

Facing the mirror in the room, Kelake adjusted his attire. The Kelake in the mirror had his brows tightly furrowed; he was not admiring his own handsomeness, because this style of clothing, which was popular among nobles around the 17th century, had deeply offended his aesthetic sense.

It had taken him ages just to figure out how to put these clothes on, and the design and color of these garments were simply too exaggerated for him, to the point where he found them hard to accept.

"Why do I even have to wear silk stockings..." Kelake felt the texture of the high-end, soft silk fabric against his skin, and a sense of shame and helplessness welled up inside him.

Of course, what made him even more helpless was yet to come; he also had a pair of high heels he was forced to wear.

Once finished dressing and tidying his attire, Kelake stood blankly in front of the mirror, doubting life for a long while, until he heard the sound of Walunte coming to knock on the door. Only then did he snap out of it, answer, and head out, subsequently following behind Walunte back into the dining room.

The Castle was truly too large. On the way back to the dining room, Kelake tried hard to secretly memorize the labyrinthine route he had seen along the way. The more deliberately he tried to remember, the more he couldn't help but sigh to himself.

Returning to the dining room, Kelake greeted Count Bluebeard, who had been waiting for a long time: "Apologies for keeping you waiting, honorable Count Bluebeard."

"Ho ho ho, Mr. Kelake, you look more like a noble gentleman now." Count Bluebeard clapped his hands lightly and praised him.

"Thank you for your affirmation." Kelake nodded slightly and, following Count Bluebeard's gesture, took his seat at the dining table.

Looking at the steaming bread in front of him, Kelake felt his eyes heat up and his heart stir; he suddenly felt truly hungry and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Count Bluebeard noticed Kelake's rising appetite and grinned: "Then, without further ado, let us begin our meal."

As he spoke, Bluebeard glanced at Butler Walunte, who was waiting to the side. Walunte understood and stepped forward unhurriedly to clap his hands. Immediately after, the cute maid Milaier, whom Kelake had seen before, walked in pushing a dining cart along with another red-haired maid who had a sexy figure and a charming face.

"This is our cook for tonight, and also the most beautiful maid in our Castle; her name is Hela." Seeing the two maids pushing the dining cart in, Count Bluebeard's gaze focused primarily on Hela's curvaceous figure, his eyes making no attempt to hide his intense desire. His thick tongue licked the edge of his lips, which were submerged in his beard. As Hela passed by him, Count Bluebeard acted even more exaggeratedly, leaning his head forward to press against her lower abdomen, and through the fabric of her clothes, he took a fierce, deep breath of the faint orchid scent emanating from her body.

Milaier was somewhat reserved and timid, but she was clever enough to stand behind Count Bluebeard, trying her best not to appear in his field of vision, and as it happened, Count Bluebeard's interest in Hela was far greater than it was in her.

Hela did not mind Count Bluebeard's actions; instead, she returned a silent, charming smile, then added the appetizer for the evening: a dish of escargot in garlic butter.

"Oh, Hela, you are just as fragrant and alluring as tonight's delicacies." Count Bluebeard sneered.

Hela smiled: "Thank you for the compliment, Count."

Kelake sat to the side and witnessed the whole thing, secretly muttering to himself about the lecherous man; as expected, the more he looked at this guy, the less he seemed like a good person.

While secretly slandering Count Bluebeard, Kelake also did not forget to observe the expressions and actions of the others present.

Butler Walunte seemed accustomed to everything and showed no reaction; he was as cold as a stone. His etiquette might be that of a gentleman, but his true nature could hardly be called "gentlemanly." Of course, Kelake also understood the Butler's total acceptance of his master's every action; perhaps it stemmed from a kind of loyalty.

Although the beautiful Hela appeared very composed on the surface and did not dodge or resist Count Bluebeard's presumptuous behavior, even managing a natural smile, Kelake noticed that the speed at which she served the meal to Count Bluebeard had increased slightly. Clearly, she was also uncomfortable and resisting internally, but... those wicked feudal nobles, indeed.

Poor Milaier, her emotions were almost written all over her face...

This dinner was generally quite good; the cook and maid Hela's culinary skills were excellent, bringing Kelake a wonderful dining experience, though the experience was greatly diminished by the presence of the Castle's master, Count Bluebeard.

After finishing dinner, Count Bluebeard threw a few questions at Kelake and chatted for a while.

"Mr. Kelake, I wonder where you come from and where you intend to go?"

"I come from the south and am heading to the north." Kelake gave a vague answer.

"Doing business?"

"Yes... yes."

"..."

Facing Count Bluebeard's few inquiries about his background, Kelake tried his best to respond vaguely. He was nervous inside, his palms were sweating, and he secretly prayed for the other party to end the conversation quickly.

As if God had heard his prayer, Count Bluebeard did not chat with Kelake for too long. After just a few brief words, he stood up and said he was going back to his room to rest, and even kindly suggested that Kelake get some rest early as well.

Returning to the bedroom where he was temporarily staying, Kelake felt as if he had used up all his strength. He plopped onto the bed, and the cold sweat that had been accumulating for a long time flowed down from his forehead.

Exhaling a long breath, Kelake took his pocket watch out of his clothing pocket, checked the time, and muttered: "It is 8:45 in the morning."

"Sleep early." Kelake comforted himself, put away the pocket watch, tucked it under his pillow, and then undressed.

While checking his personal belongings to see if anything was missing, he suddenly discovered that hidden on the collar of his red coat was a tiny pocket. The fabric, material, and color of the collar were so similar that he hadn't even felt anything wrong while wearing it; it was only after noticing a strange greasiness on the collar and touching it that he realized it was there.

"How did this get smeared on?" Kelake thought while recalling, "I remember my position at the time was... the person standing behind me was Milaier? Did she smear it on purpose?"

He felt it carefully and sensed a small, hard bump on the collar, though it was not obvious; it was so small and thin that it was difficult to perceive the existence of a foreign object.

Realizing that this might be some kind of hint, Kelake flipped open the small pocket on the collar and found a folded piece of paper inside. After unfolding it, it was a square piece of paper less than two centimeters in length and width, with the word "careful" written on it!