The Hand of Confession – Chapter 57

Volume 3: Days of Working at the Manor

Kris

The painting behind you is watching you.

Aside from the eldest young lady who doesn’t like living with others, two of the remaining three young ladies live on the right side of the second floor, with the entire right side being their rooms.

Brendan delivered the people to the young ladies in order, and Shen Maomao also mustered up the courage to observe these two young ladies.

(LP: “Brendan (布倫登)” is “Brent (布倫特)”. Might be a typo.)

The second young lady is very sexy and enthusiastic, with no prejudice against servants. She even came out specially to greet the players.

The layers of skirts fell on the carpet, and the corset wrapped her waist very thinly, with a pair of large breasts on the slender waist catching people’s eyes. The lottery initiator’s eyes almost stuck to that pair of beautifully shaped breasts, forgetting even his own words that “there’s something wrong with the young ladies.”

What excited him even more was that he and the short maid were the servants of the second young lady.

He followed the second young lady into the room almost excitedly, completely disregarding the white eyes (idiomatic expression – a look of disdain or disapproval) of the woman behind him.

The third young lady was even more lively. She wore a soft pink cake dress (cultural reference – a style of dress with a full, layered skirt resembling a cake) with a gauze hat on her head. She happily held the hand of the tear mole girl and pulled her downstairs, saying she wanted to take the new servant to familiarize herself with the environment.

Finally, only Shen Maomao and Freckles were left. Brendan led them up to the third floor.

Compared to the first and second floors, the third floor was slightly darker. There were no windows here, and they walked along a long corridor with identical doors facing each other on both sides. Crystal candlesticks and picture frames were standard between the doors.

Shen Maomao even felt a little short of breath until Brendan opened the door to the fourth young lady’s room, and warm sunlight poured out from the room, making her feel a little better.

While he was explaining the purpose to the fourth young lady, Freckles suddenly put his hand on her shoulder and deliberately said in a strange tone, “Little fox, the eyes in the painting behind you are watching you~”

Shen Maomao reflexively gripped his wrist, slightly turning her body to put him behind her. Her right foot stepped between his legs, and her right elbow struck his abdomen. Freckles winced in pain, hunching over. She took the opportunity to grab his shoulders, leaned forward, and gave him a 360-degree over-the-shoulder throw in one go.

Speaking of which, the manor’s carpet was really good. Such a heavy person falling on it didn’t make a sound.

Her movements were so fast that Freckles was completely stunned. By the time he regained consciousness, Shen Maomao was already crouching beside him, timidly saying, “I’m sorry… I’m very timid, so my parents sent me to learn judo since I was little. I’m now a tenth dan.”

Freckles: “?” Damn, is this what you call timid?

Shen Maomao continued, “And I was robbed when I was young, so I feel very insecure when you pat my shoulder without my consent.”

Freckles: “???”

The door of the room was opened from the inside, and Shen Maomao immediately stood at attention, looking up at the sky as if nothing had happened.

Brendan frowned and asked, “What’s going on?”

Shen Maomao quickly replied, “Mr. Brendan, he fell by himself.”

“How can a grown man fall by himself?” Brendan said disapprovingly. “Fortunately, the carpet is soft enough that the sound of your fall didn’t disturb the fourth young lady, otherwise I definitely wouldn’t let you off! Hurry up and stand up, follow me to meet your master!”

Freckles quickly got up and glared at Shen Maomao fiercely from an angle where Brendan couldn’t see.

Shen Maomao pretended to be scared and shrank her shoulders, but her right hand formed a fist and shook it at him.

The man’s face changed color, seemingly recalling the embarrassing moment just now, but he didn’t dare to act rashly again.

The two followed Brendan into the fourth young lady’s room.

Compared to the corridor, the room was brighter. Three transparent floor-to-ceiling windows were embedded in the beige walls. A small crystal vase was placed on the small table in front of the window, with a few blooming roses inside. A woman in a purple Western-style dress sat behind the table, holding a teacup. The steam from the red tea rose slowly into the air, and the fragrance wafted through the air.

Brendan respectfully said, “Miss Kris, these are the new maid and guard. You can use them as you wish, let them do anything you require…”

Kris was undoubtedly beautiful. Her deep blue eyes were like the clear sky, revealing the innocence and naturalness unique to young girls. Like an elf new to the human world, she made even a girl like Shen Maomao feel a sense of protectiveness rising from her heart.

Freckles was also dazed for a moment but quickly returned to normal.

Kris said softly, “Thank you, I understand.”

Brendan put his right hand on his chest and bowed: “Then I’ll take my leave.”

Kris nodded, and Brendan directly retreated.

After that, no one spoke anymore, and the room fell into a strange, quiet atmosphere.

Shen Maomao stared at the beautiful woman, as if trying to engrave her appearance into her heart through her eyes.

The baron’s adopted daughter took a light sip of red tea, her long, fair fingers gently placing the teacup handle on the table. The porcelain teacup collided with the glass tabletop, making a crisp sound.

Shen Maomao startled, suddenly waking up from that mysterious state, feeling a bit of lingering fear.

She didn’t feel like herself just now, but rather like a “dog licker” (contemporary language – internet slang for an overly devoted fan or follower) of this woman called Kris.

During the time she was staring at her, Shen Maomao fanatically loved this beautiful woman, even wanting to stay in the game world forever and never be apart from her!

She couldn’t help but take half a step back, not even daring to get too close to this woman.

However, Kris stood up and walked towards her step by step.

Shen Maomao used all her strength to stop the urge to retreat, sticking out her neck and staring wide-eyed as she approached bit by bit, as if watching 《Final Destination》.

An indescribable floral scent entered her nostrils, making her feel a bit dizzy. Freckles had already cautiously taken a step back but showed no intention of warning Shen Maomao.

The woman was almost entirely pressed against her, her cool breath exhaling on her cheek. Her crimson lips parted slightly as she said, “I like you very much… Will you stay and keep me company tonight?”

Shen Maomao reflexively agreed, “Sure…”

The woman chuckled softly, seemingly satisfied with her answer. She straightened up and instructed, “I’m going to take a nap. Don’t disturb me, but I hope you’ll still be here when I wake up.” With that, she gracefully lifted her skirt, walked into the bedroom, and gently closed the door.

Shen Maomao: “…”

“…”

“Holy crap?!!” She immediately covered her mouth after shouting, afraid of disturbing the woman and being sent to meet God.

Freckles gloated, “You’d better keep your promise, you know.”

Shen Maomao was completely at a loss, the kind that couldn’t be taken back, and didn’t even have extra energy to deal with him.

She paced anxiously around the room, her high heels making no sound on the soft carpet.

What to do?

What’s going on?!

Is that woman called Kris a magician? Why did she involuntarily agree to her request? What’s the principle behind this? If the whole world is like this, how can she even play the game?

She urgently wanted to find Lou Jingmo and ask her what she should do in this situation, but Kris had specifically reminded them before entering the bedroom that “I hope you’ll still be here when I wake up.” Who knows how long she’ll sleep?!

Damn, this is really tricky.

Freckles watched the joke for a while, then began to search the room. He had no awareness of being a gentleman or an outsider, recklessly searching every corner of the girl’s room, from the clean and tidy desktop to the dusty area under the sofa, and even the fireplace that had been cleaned by the servants.

Shen Maomao plopped down on the soft and comfortable sofa, expressionlessly watching him jump up and down, her heart calming down a bit.

What’s done is done, and there’s no point in dwelling on it. She’s not a “silk worm” (cultural reference – a parasitic plant, used metaphorically to describe someone overly dependent on others) that can’t live without Lou Jingmo. Instead of racking her brains to figure out how to connect with Lou Jingmo, it’s better to think about how to survive this night.

Fortunately, she has two lives, so even if she dies, she can start over – it’s just a bit wasteful to use up one life right after entering the game.

Freckles had finished searching around but didn’t find anything of value. He took off his guard’s hat to fan himself and chose to chat with Shen Maomao: “How old are you?”

Shen Maomao was still wary of him. Hearing his question, she asked back, “Is that important?”

Freckles smiled, “I see you’re not very old, but you’re quite brave.”

Shen Maomao: “Hehe, don’t talk nonsense, I’m very timid.”

Freckles: “Then why weren’t you scared when I told you about the painting?”

Hearing him mention this, Shen Maomao remembered that before entering the room, he had put his arm on her shoulder to scare her.

“The painting behind you is watching you.”

However, she had played many horror games, and paintings with moving eyes in mansions were practically standard.

“What’s so special about moving? I’d look down on them if they didn’t move!” Shen Maomao laughed nonchalantly, a wave of showing off coming at her, “Maybe if you stick a knife and fork into the eyes of the oil painting, it might even bleed. Haven’t you watched horror movies? Haven’t you played horror games? How come you don’t have any common sense?”

Freckles: “…” What kind of common sense is this?

He realized that Shen Maomao wasn’t as easy to fool as she looked, so he spoke frankly, “There are paintings everywhere outside, but there’s not a single painting in this young lady’s room. Don’t you find that strange?”

He clearly doesn’t understand girls. Which beautiful woman would want to hang paintings of other beautiful women in her own room? Of course, except for idol-fan relationships – Shen Maomao thought, as straight as steel.

She didn’t intend to communicate much with Freckles, so she perfunctorily said, “There are many strange things, what does it have to do with me?”

The topic ender came online, angering Freckles so much that he no longer tried to talk to her.

The two sat facing each other on the sofa, silent, letting time pass bit by bit. The sunlight outside the window changed from dazzling to peaceful.

Cool wind blew in through the open windows, bringing them the fragrance of flowers from the garden. The birds in the courtyard chirped noisily, making this scenario seem even quieter and more peaceful than Lingyu Village – probably it will be as brutal as Lingyu Village?

As the sun set in the west, it was suddenly evening.

Night equals danger, which is universal in every scenario.

Kris still hadn’t woken up, and there was no movement at all in the bedroom. Freckles was getting a bit restless.

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