Chapter 1896

The atmosphere in the dining room was exceptionally heavy.

This was a Gothic long table that spanned the entire dining room. The heavy metal long table emitted a dull light. The table runner on the table was a dark blue so deep that the color was almost indistinguishable, and vases and pure white flowers of the same color were placed on top of the table runner.

The napkins and tableware in front of everyone were pure white. Except for the flames on the candlesticks placed between the two vases, no warm colors could be seen on the entire table.

The people sitting at the table were almost all wearing dark suits, wearing ties without any color bias, their collars were arranged very neatly, and even their tie knots were tied in exactly the same way. This attire and atmosphere didn't look like a wedding banquet, but rather like attending a funeral.

It was not hard to see that some of them were not used to wearing suits at all, but they still tried their best to stuff themselves into black shells and adapt themselves to this gray and heavy outer casing.

Precisely because the vast majority of people were like this, the remaining few appeared particularly conspicuous. When Lady Nihilite walked into the dining room, she almost immediately noticed those few out-of-place figures.

Shiler was refolding his napkin, his movements not large but very serious. Be-Bat was smiling and exchanging pleasantries with another businessman. Seeing Natasha was just sitting quietly, yet she was very eye-catching. Batman was examining the silver tableware in his hand.

And their most prominent point was that they did not have the aura of being terrified of doing something wrong, but were very calm, and didn't even feel that they were outliers.

Lady Nihilite squeezed the handkerchief in her hand slightly, but she still walked into the dining room with her head held high and showed a slightly stiff smile to all the guests.

Shiler looked up at the lady who walked in. She was a noble lady whose physiological age looked to be just over 30, but who looked as tired and decadent as someone in her 50s or 60s.

She wore a black dress that was just right, with a high collar and long sleeves. The collar flower turned forward and stuck to the tip of her chin, and the cuffs covered half the back of her hands. Only the curve of her waist could show her graceful figure, but it was also mostly covered by the shawl draped over her arm.

She wore a small hat with a half-veil. The eyes under the black mesh were slightly turbid. Although the dark circles and bloodshot eyes greatly covered up her beauty, one could still tell from the bone structure and facial features that this was a quite beautiful lady.

Shiler sighed lightly. It was a pity that this lady's stiff and even stereotypical behavior wiped out most of her beauty, but it didn't support the inner spirit of her external personality either, looking just like a walking corpse.

In Shiler's view, everyone else in the living room was posturing with their appearance because their status was not as good as the members of the Nihilite family, and they mostly came here with requests for them, so they hoped to make themselves feel a bit more confident by using information they had obtained in advance to act in the way the Nihilite family liked best.

But wasn't this lady the same? She was by no means a person with real courage who could support the family, but she also had to dress in this direction, which was also the source of her confidence.

If one wanted to know the difference between having real confidence and pretending to be something, one only needed to look at the images of Seeing Natasha and Lady Nihilite at this moment.

From the perspective of clothing and attire, Lady Nihilite was more worthy of the title "Black Widow." After all, she was black from head to toe, her complexion was gloomy, and her temperament was somber, looking just like a new widow full of resentment.

But Seeing Natasha was as beautiful and bright as a sword out of its sheath. Her loose red hair set off her bright face, looking like a rose newly bloomed on a withered branch in a garden that had been burned.

Lady Nihilite naturally noticed this too. There were quite a few women among the guests, many of whom were also beautiful, but none of them were as eye-catching as Seeing Natasha. The fundamental reason was Seeing Natasha's sharp and aggressive temperament, which made her beauty her best weapon.

Seeing Natasha turned to look at Lady Nihilite. After her eyes widened slightly for a moment, she nodded at her in a friendly manner. Lady Nihilite's hand gripping the handkerchief tightened even more, almost showing blue veins.

She smiled stiffly again, sat in the main seat with the help of a servant, pursed her lips and was silent for a while, then raised her wine glass with her hand to toast everyone.

"Thank you very much for coming. The Nihilite family expresses our heartfelt gratitude for everyone being able to grace us with your presence."

After speaking, she tilted her head and took a sip of red wine, while Shiler's gaze fell on the slightly trembling muscles of her wrist.

That looked like just a very ordinary physiological cramp, but on a withered and pale hand, it added a kind of morbid gloom.

Shiler slowly put down his wine glass and withdrew his gaze before Lady Nihilite noticed his stare. Lady Nihilite continued: "I won't hide it from everyone, the Nihilite family has indeed encountered some trouble. The butler should have informed everyone of some of the details before you came here."

"Because the situation is urgent, I won't engage in too many pleasantries. In the eyes of you capable masters, why did my eldest son Owen suddenly fall ill? And why did my daughter go crazy?"

Lady Nihilite could not hide her anxious and sad expression, and in the eyes of a group of professional swindlers, this was the characteristic of a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, so someone immediately spoke up and said: "Sorry, Madam, no offense intended, but from my experience, this might be ghosts at work..."

"Nonsense, this is probably a very ancient curse, coming from the bloodline of the Nihilite family, which can be traced back to the 'Nihilite who is good at fighting'."

"Yes, that's right, this is an Indian curse. I saw the wronged souls of Indians roaring on the body of your young lady!"

"You bunch of swindlers! What does it have to do with curses and ghosts? It's clearly that the magnetic field of the Nihilite Manor has problems. The magnetic field here will affect people's spirits, leading to brain wave disorders. We must believe in science!"

"Science my ass! Didn't you see how much strength Miss Nihilite just burst out with? Is that the strength a five or six-year-old girl should have? She was definitely possessed by an evil ghost!"

"I think so too, and her situation is very dangerous. The ghost is likely manipulating her to hurt people in the manor. Madam, you had better hurry up and lock her up, and then perform an exorcism ritual!"

Everyone spoke one after another, some agreeing and some opposing, but in the end, the ghost and curse theories accounted for the vast majority.

Many people, in order to show their enthusiasm, could be said to be spitting as they began to recount their own theories, putting more attention on refuting their opponents' theories, but didn't notice that the expression on Lady Nihilite's face was becoming increasingly gray and defeated.

Just as they were talking, a figure rushed into the dining room under the obstruction of several servants. Shiler, who was eating, paused his knife tip and looked up at the figure who broke in. It was a middle-aged man wearing a camel-colored plaid suit. His face shape was somewhat like Lady Nihilite's, and he had a slightly ridiculous handlebar mustache.

"Drive all these damn swindlers out, drive them all away, they are all a bunch of fame-seeking, dirty, low-class, stupid, brainless bad seeds..."

The middle-aged man was shouting while spitting. Lady Nihilite immediately changed her expression and stood up, pointing at the middle-aged man and shouting at the servants: "Take him away, hurry and take him away!"

"Mr. Plosi, Mr. Plosi! Please leave here quickly, hurry and leave here with us, this is the Lady's important banquet, you cannot..."

The short middle-aged man broke free from the manservant's restraint and shouted at Lady Nihilite: "Sister, you know it's not a ghost, you know it's not a ghost!"

Mr. Plosi was still taken away. Lady Nihilite watched his back as he was carried away, her expression unreadable. After a while, she turned her head back, looked down at the tableware and said: "He is my crazy brother. Since my maiden family fell, he has been living here. He has very serious mental problems and will make a scene every few days. He is really getting crazier and crazier. Everyone, please don't mind."

An old man who looked like a priest stood up and said: "Madam, the situation of your children is really not quite right. Although it is slightly hasty and presumptuous, we had better prepare a simple exorcism ritual first."

"Hello, sir, may I ask you..."

"I come from the church in the Trapp district and am now a bishop of a rural church. If you trust me, I will go prepare holy water and a cross now."

Lady Nihilite was just about to speak when the old man made a cross on his chest and said: "Please don't mind, Madam. I am raising funds for the orphanage in the district. There are many children in the orphanage who were mistakenly thought by their parents to be possessed by demons. I have quite a bit of experience with this. Please let me try."

Lady Nihilite immediately wiped the corner of her eyes with the handkerchief in her hand and said: "Thank God, it must be God who sent you to my side. If my children are saved, my husband and I will personally go to your church in the second half of the year to express our gratitude."

Others looked at each other, not daring to speak out to refute or seize the opportunity. This old man was a certified priest, and even if they were unwilling, they didn't dare to cross him to steal the limelight.

Besides, everyone was also a bit nervous about the so-called demon possession. The performance of that young lady in the garden was really too scary. It would be fine if there were no demons, but if there really were demons, wouldn't they be torn to pieces? So letting others explore the path was also good.

Just like that, the following banquet was enjoyed by both host and guests. Lady Nihilite's gaze fell on the two Batmans and Shiler several times, but she didn't speak, and these few weirdos in strange clothes were exceptionally silent at this time, as if they were not interested in evil spirit possession at all.

Until the banquet was nearing its end, it was already past 12 noon, the famous Mr. Nihilite and another tall man returned to the manor together.

As soon as he walked into the dining room, he attracted everyone's attention. No one looked at Lady Nihilite sitting in the main seat anymore, but instead walked up one after another to exchange pleasantries with Mr. Nihilite.

Mr. Nihilite's figure was a bit short and relatively thin. Wearing a pair of round-rimmed glasses, he looked like an approachable businessman.

But he was also wearing a black coat, pants, hat, and bow tie, all matte black. Only the sweater underneath was white, and it was still pure white without any patterns. The whole person blended perfectly into the heavy and solemn atmosphere in the dining room.

But he was not the most exaggerated. The man behind him, known as Mr. Hancock, was the real walking black sculpture. He was black from head to toe, whether it was his shirt, coat, or boots, all wrapped tightly. Under the brim of his hat was an extremely serious face, and his gloomy gaze was like a scanning beam, constantly sweeping back and forth over everyone.

Finally, Hancock saw Shiler and his group sitting at the dining table without rushing to get up. Shiler watched him with his own eyes, his eyebrows twisted together, the deep lines on his forehead overlapping into crisscrossing gullies, his eyes full of contempt and dissatisfaction.

And the moment Seeing Natasha stood up from her chair and turned around, Hancock's eyes went blank for a moment, but he didn't look away immediately. A smile immediately rose on the corner of Seeing Natasha's mouth.