DLMSWSHH Chapter 13

TL: Hua

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Chapter 13: Personal servant

When gods clash, innocent bystanders suffer the consequences.

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened as he stared at Albert’s finger pointing at him, temporarily at a loss for how to react.

Madam Mary clearly hadn’t expected this turn of events either. She froze for a moment, glanced at Zhong Ming, and then gave a firm refusal: “No.” She followed up with an explanation: “There are no suitable maidservants right now. Once there is, I will arrange it for you immediately.”

But Albert wasn’t buying it. Seeming to forget his words from just a moment ago, his face shifted instantly. “I need a servant now. Am I supposed to do everything myself?”

He glanced at Zhong Ming while speaking. “He looks enough like a woman anyway. Him.”

Upon hearing this, regardless of Zhong Ming’s expression, Li Yizhi next to him immediately lowered his head, covered his mouth, and let out a ‘pfft’ sound as his shoulders shook suspiciously.

On the other side, several menservants who had been hoping for an indoor job suddenly went still upon hearing Albert’s reasoning.

Amidst the varying stares, Zhong Ming’s eyebrow twitched. Once Madam Mary processed this, her face turned even darker. The housekeeper was in a foul mood; her wrinkled face grew more menacing, and her gray eyes swept over the line with clear intent, landing on the very end.

Having finished his laugh, Li Yizhi blinked and looked at Zhong Ming, who was keeping his head bowed deep. “Hey, what’s going on with you and Madam Mary?”

Zhong Ming kept his eyes fixed on his toes, trying his best to pretend he didn’t exist. “What do you mean ‘what’?”

Li Yizhi’s gaze traveled between them a few times. He cocked an eyebrow and whispered, “The way she’s looking at you now… it’s like she’s looking at a vixen who seduced her son away.”

Zhong Ming stiffened and slowly looked up at Li Yizhi, who put on an innocent face. Right then, Madam Mary’s cold, harsh voice rang out:

“Zhong Ming, step forward.”

Zhong Ming’s breath hitched. He glared at Li Yizhi, then withdrew his gaze and stepped out with downcast eyes, walking toward Madam Mary with great reluctance.

All the way, he felt the woman’s cold, loathing gaze pressing heavily upon him.

When Zhong Ming reached her, Madam Mary continued to stare at him. After a long while, she let out a cold snort. “Zhong Ming, from now on, you are responsible for delivering tea and snacks to the Duke.”

Zhong Ming snapped his head up, only to see Madam Mary eyeing him critically. “If another mistake occurs, I will certainly punish you by sending you to the confinement room.”

Zhong Ming was utterly confused. “…Huh?”

Looking at him, Madam Mary recalled the sight of this bewitchingly handsome youth falling onto the Duke that day. She frowned, her scrutinizing gaze circling him.

“Since you have faith in the Lord, do not act in such a frivolous manner. Behave with caution in front of the Duke from now on.”

Zhong Ming didn’t understand how this job had suddenly fallen into his lap. He remained bewildered but had to nod in front of Madam Mary. “…Yes.”

Seeing him nod, Madam Mary let out a slow breath. She was originally very dissatisfied with this arrangement, but she couldn’t go against the Duke’s wishes.

While Zhong Ming was still processing the news, Albert’s face suddenly changed, his expression darkening further. He hadn’t expected that man would even snatch a servant away from him.

“Wait.” Albert stepped over to Zhong Ming’s side and suddenly grabbed his hand, addressing Madam Mary: “Delivering tea only needs to be done once every evening. He can serve me during the rest of the time.”

Zhong Ming stumbled as he was pulled, looking down at Albert. Seeing the boy’s sinister expression, he knew things were going badly. Was Li Yizhi simply a fortune teller or a complete jinx? Why did everything he said come true?! He was once again forced into the conflict between the father and son.

Madam Mary paused. Albert’s words weren’t without merit. After all, the Duke rarely appeared in the mansion and didn’t need constant personal care; delivering tea and snacks really wouldn’t take up much of Zhong Ming’s time.

She stared fixedly at the stubborn Albert, then let her gaze circle Zhong Ming once more. Without committing to an answer, she withdrew her eyes and said, “Allow me to go and ask the Duke for instructions.”

With that, she turned and left.

As Madam Mary departed, the scene fell into silence. Zhong Ming stood stiffly in place, feeling Albert’s grip on his hand slowly tighten.

The boy looked up at him coldly. “Do you have some dissatisfaction regarding serving me?”

Zhong Ming naturally wouldn’t let his thoughts show on his face. He lowered his eyes and said, “Not at all, Young Master.” Seeing the young master’s stubbornness, he added, “It is my honor to serve you.”

Children love to hear sweet words. The resentment in Albert’s expression faded, and he gave a cold snort. “You’d better not be lying.”

Zhong Ming maintained the smile on his face and said softly, “How could I?”

Truthfully, compared to seeing that Duke, he was actually more willing to stay by the young master’s side. The master and mistress of this house—one has tentacles, and the other is a spider. At least Albert is in human form.

Meanwhile, as Madam Mary left, a rustling murmur broke out among the servants. In a place Zhong Ming hadn’t noticed, the looks everyone was giving him had taken on a hint of strangeness.

A moment later, Madam Mary returned.

Her expression was cold, her hands folded in front of her. She said indifferently, “The Duke says that as long as the work is within the mansion, Zhong Ming is free to choose.”

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened in surprise. Even though he had only been here for a few days, he could hear the abnormality in that statement. Normally, a common servant was considered lucky just to be assigned indoor work.

Zhong Ming heard faint gasps from behind him and felt a flurry of burning stares piercing his back.

However, he had no time to worry about the others’ expressions because Madam Mary turned her gaze toward him. “The Duke’s meaning is that during the day, you can help Tao organize the archives.”

Zhong Ming didn’t say anything, but Tao, who was leaning against the wall, immediately protested. He straightened up abruptly, his brow furrowed. “Hey, don’t shove him off on me.” He glanced at Zhong Ming, a flash of contempt in his eyes behind his lenses. “Working in the archives requires a brain.”

The implication was that he thought Zhong Ming was a pretty vase with an empty shell who relied on his face to swindle his way through life.

“Quiet,” Madam Mary rebuked him mildly. Then she looked at Zhong Ming. “What do you choose? Make the decision yourself.”

Zhong Ming froze. He looked at the cold-faced Albert beside him, then at the displeased Tao nearby, and fell into silence.

Zhong Ming: …Can I choose none of the above?

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Working is, indeed, a difficult business.

When you choose no one, you end up having to choose everyone.

Zhong Ming successfully landed three jobs during his first month as a horror game NPC. Madam Mary used an old-fashioned typewriter to print out his schedule. He was to simultaneously serve as the young master’s personal servant, the archives assistant, and the tea server to the Duke.

Zhong Ming looked at the paper and found that although he had three roles, the schedule was quite empty.

It only listed which location he needed to be at what time, but it didn’t specify what exactly he needed to do. It was all blank.

Just as Zhong Ming was frowning at the schedule, Li Yizhi squeezed into the room soundlessly.

“What’s wrong? Why such a deep frown?”

He sat down beside Zhong Ming with a smile and reached out to smooth the space between Zhong Ming’s brows. “Be careful, or you’ll get wrinkles, and then you won’t be pretty anymore.”

Zhong Ming swatted his hand away. He was already used to Li Yizhi’s habit of flirting before speaking. Li Yizhi wasn’t angry; instead, he hooked an arm around Zhong Ming’s shoulder and said, “Hey, can Big Brother ask a favor of you?”

This was rare. Zhong Ming looked at him. “What?”

Li Yizhi’s eyelids lowered slightly, the color of his phoenix eyes darkening. He leaned down, lowering his voice as if sharing a scandalous secret: “Can you help me see what the Duke looks like?”

Zhong Ming blinked, remembering Madam Mary’s words. He said, “But Madam Mary said you must never look at the Duke’s face.”

This time it was Li Yizhi’s turn to freeze. He said thoughtfully, “There’s even a rule like that?”

Zhong Ming asked, “Why do you want to know what the Duke looks like?”

Li Yizhi turned his gaze back and smiled at him. “Nothing, just curiosity.”

“After all, most of us lower-level servants have never even seen the Duke’s face.” He watched Zhong Ming’s surprised expression and continued, “He is the big boss of this dungeon, so curiosity is normal, right?”

Hearing him say this, Zhong Ming suddenly recalled the blue-and-yellow-spotted tentacle that had wrapped around his waist that day, and the hair on his arms stood on end. Li Yizhi didn’t notice his strange reaction; he looked down and said reflectively, “Besides, if I don’t even know what he looks like, then I—”

Zhong Ming didn’t catch the rest. “What?”

Li Yizhi cut himself off and shook his head. “No, nothing.” The youth’s phoenix eyes curved into a smile without a trace of gloom. He reached out to pat Zhong Ming’s head. “Since Madam Mary won’t allow it, forget it then.”

Zhong Ming nodded hesitantly, but he felt as though something was surging beneath Li Yizhi’s smile.

He harbored doubts about that vague sentence, so much so that the next day, while standing behind Albert, he was still thinking about it.

Today was Zhong Ming’s first day on the job as the young master’s personal servant.

The schedule didn’t say what he needed to do, so Zhong Ming arrived at the second-floor nursery early in the morning. He essentially just stood stiffly behind Albert, watching the boy reading a book.

“What are you dazing off for?”

Zhong Ming was lost in thought when he heard Albert say this as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He was startled and looked up at the boy sitting by the window.

Albert’s back was to him. He was holding a book and turned a page.

Zhong Ming composed himself. “Young Master, is there anything you need help with?”

Hearing this, Albert tilted his head, revealing half of his pale face. He glanced at him and turned back. “Forget it. Just stay standing.”

Zhong Ming: …

He really didn’t know why Albert insisted on having this personal servant. Thinking back to the boy’s stubborn expression that day, Zhong Ming felt that Albert simply wanted to spite the Duke; having him here didn’t actually serve much purpose.

Zhong Ming felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, quietly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

The nursery was very quiet, save for the faint sound of the wind and the ticking of the clock as time ticked away. Albert really was different from ordinary children; he was incredibly quiet, just sitting by the window flipping through a book as thick as a brick.

Just as Zhong Ming was about to find the silence unbearable, a crisp bell rang.

Zhong Ming was startled and turned around. On the wall to the right, a small service window slowly opened, revealing an exquisite tray inside. Zhong Ming stepped closer and found a small bowl of oatmeal, warm milk giving off a sweet steam, and a small plate of cut fruit.

It was the young master’s breakfast, sent up from the kitchen.

Finally, a task to do. Zhong Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward, picked up the tray, and walked to Albert’s side. He picked up the oatmeal and stirred it evenly, then scooped up a spoonful. He leaned down, bringing it to the boy’s lips, and subconsciously used the soothing voice one would use for a baby:

“Come on, eat up.”

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