DLMSWSHH Chapter 18

TL: Hua

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Chapter 18: Mystery

Zhong Ming had never even considered that possibility.

He frowned. Thinking back, the moment he saw the text on the pages, he understood the stories immediately. There was no hesitation or struggle; it didn’t feel like looking at a foreign language at all, which is why he naturally assumed the translation system was responsible.

Li Yizhi watched him closely, taking in the confusion and bewilderment on Zhong Ming’s face. He lowered his eyes, a dark glint flashing momentarily in his pupils.

A moment later, he looked up with his usual smiling face. “Forget it. Maybe you studied it before?”

Zhong Ming’s expression remained unsettled. He didn’t remember what his major was in his past life, but no matter how he looked at it, he shouldn’t be this familiar with an ancient European language.

Seeing his pale face, Li Yizhi actually comforted him. “Don’t overthink it. It’s a good thing. Being educated always opens more doors,” he said. “At least you might get to read bedtime stories to the young master.”

Zhong Ming looked at Li Yizhi, feeling that things weren’t that simple.

His life in this game had been relatively peaceful, so much so that he occasionally forgot he was in a horror game dungeon. A chill ran down his spine. For the first time, he felt the deep, terrifying secrets churning beneath the mansion’s calm surface.

He didn’t press the issue. Instead, he gave Li Yizhi a small smile and pushed the doubt to the back of his mind.

–

Over the next few days, the targeting of Zhong Ming by the lower-level servants intensified. Zhong Ming hid a dinner knife under his pillow, just in case.

The servants in the mansion received one day off per month. Every day of rest, Madam Mary would lead the menservants to the chapel behind the mansion to pray.

That day, as Zhong Ming walked up the stairs, he felt a cold gaze fixed on him.

“What is wrong with your clothes?”

Madam Mary was dressed in a grey robe buttoned all the way to her throat. She stared at Zhong Ming’s shirt with a deep scowl.

The collar of the shirt beneath his vest was washed out to a pale white and was slightly wrinkled. While it wasn’t particularly noticeable, a perfectionist like Madam Mary couldn’t tolerate the slightest flaw.

Zhong Ming lowered his eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Each lower-level servant had two sets of clothes to rotate. Yesterday, Zhong Ming had prepared the shirt he intended to wear today, only to wake up and find it shredded on the floor.

He’d had no choice but to quickly wash his dirty shirt and iron it until it was semi-dry. Right now, the shirt was damp and cold against his skin, which was very uncomfortable.

Madam Mary, who valued etiquette above all else, was clearly dissatisfied. She stared at him for a long time before turning to Tao, who was standing nearby. “Are there any spare clothes? Get him something.”

Tao looked up, glanced at Zhong Ming, and arched an eyebrow. “My size won’t fit him.”

Madam Mary looked at him. It was true; while Tao wasn’t as hulking as Matthew, he was at least 1.8 meters tall. Her gaze returned to Zhong Ming. She looked him up and down and let out a long, weary sigh.

Zhong Ming: …I feel targeted.

He bit his lip, thinking that being short wasn’t his fault. And frankly, he wasn’t even that short. Looking at the sea of menservants around him, all over 1.8 meters, with several pushing 1.9, it was just that everyone else was a giant.

Tao gave him a playful look. Suddenly, an idea seemed to strike him. His eyes gleamed behind his glasses as he turned to the blonde woman nearby. “Miss Joan, your clothes should fit him.”

Zhong Ming was stunned. He looked up to see the blonde woman slowly raising her eyes toward him.

Joan’s expression was consistently haughty and cold. As her gaze landed on his face, Zhong Ming unconsciously held his breath. For some reason, he saw a spark of genuine interest in her bright blue eyes. He immediately said, “There’s no need—”

Before he could finish, Joan spoke. “Maybe.” Her voice was crisp and aloof. She looked at Madam Mary. “My size should be just right.”

Zhong Ming’s head snapped up in protest. “…That’s hardly appropriate.”

Madam Mary immediately glared at him. “What’s inappropriate about it? You intend to go to church looking like that?”

Zhong Ming was stifled. But still, wearing a girl’s clothes was just too… He stood his ground. Madam Mary sharpened her tone and barked, “Go, now!”

Zhong Ming had no choice but to shut his mouth. Joan gave a slight nod to Madam Mary, then turned around and said softly, “Follow me.”

She began to walk toward the interior. Zhong Ming watched her back, paused to glare at the snickering Li Yizhi behind him, and followed her.

He followed Joan to a bedroom on the first floor.

One look was enough to tell it was a girl’s room. It was very tidy; the bedsheets were an elegant pale blue, and a bouquet of blooming purple irises sat on the desk, filling the air with a faint floral scent.

Zhong Ming stood awkwardly at the door, watching as the blonde woman walked to the wardrobe and pulled out two long dresses.

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened. A smile played at the corners of Joan’s mouth. Holding a long red velvet dress in her left hand and a blue one in her right, she said to him softly, “Which of these two do you choose?”

Zhong Ming: “…??!!”

He froze entirely, his gaze darting between the two dresses as his lower lip trembled slightly.

Joan stared at his expression for a long while. Then, as if she had seen enough of his embarrassment, she turned around, put the dresses back into the wardrobe, and pulled out a white shirt, handing it to Zhong Ming.

“Take this one.”

She stood in the room, extending her hand toward Zhong Ming, who was still outside the door.

Zhong Ming hesitated for a moment before stepping into the room to take the shirt, letting out a small sigh of relief. Even if it was a woman’s garment, a shirt was at least relatively neutral.

Just then, Joan’s indifferent voice rang out: “Change into it.”

Zhong Ming blanked, looking up at her, only to find Joan standing her ground with a cold expression, showing no intention of leaving.

“I… change here?” Zhong Ming was at a loss and felt a bit awkward. “That’s hardly appropriate.”

Hearing this, Joan’s long, thick eyelashes fluttered, and her sapphire eyes peeked through as she slowly looked him up and down. “What? Are you afraid I’ll look?”

Zhong Ming choked on his words. Looking at the woman’s cold, exquisite features, he didn’t know how to argue back.

“Hurry up.” Joan’s delicate brow furrowed slightly as she said coldly, “How long do you intend to make Madam Mary wait?”

Zhong Ming paused. Although it felt strange, he figured as a grown man, he shouldn’t be afraid of a girl looking at him. Steeling his nerves, he reached out and took off his jacket.

The rustle of fabric filled the room. Zhong Ming placed his fingers on his buttons and looked at Joan hesitantly. Seeing her aloof expression, yet with those blue eyes staring at him without blinking, he felt incredibly self-conscious. He couldn’t help but turn around to face away from her.

As the final button of his shirt was undone and his skin was exposed to the air, Zhong Ming shivered from the cold. Fortunately, he was wearing a vest underneath his shirt, so he wasn’t completely bare-chested in front of Joan.

However, at that moment, a faint, phantom-like sigh sounded behind him.

Zhong Ming paused. Just as he was about to turn his head, he felt a hand touch the small of his back.

“Your waist is so thin.”

Zhong Ming shuddered and spun around abruptly, only to find Joan standing a mere step away. She gave him a small smile, took the discarded shirt from his hands, and looked up at him. “Raise your arms.”

Zhong Ming stood in a slight daze, allowing Joan to dress him. The woman’s movements were gentle, and her expression calm, as if the hand that had just touched his lower back was merely a figment of his imagination.

Joan fastened the shirt to the very last button. She placed her hand on his right shoulder, tracing the line down to the edge, and looked him over.

“It really does suit you.” A smile touched her eyes as her lips curved. “If you wore a dress… you’d likely look even better.”

The woman’s soft voice drifted into Zhong Ming’s ear. A sudden sense of eeriness surged in his heart, and he lurched backward a few steps.

Joan didn’t seem to mind his reaction. She calmly withdrew her hand, maintaining her elegant posture and cold demeanor.

“Let’s go.”

Joan turned and walked out of the room. Zhong Ming lingered for a second before following. Watching her tall, slender silhouette, he told himself he must have been overthinking things.

Girls often have strange ideas; perhaps Joan simply had a hobby of seeing men in women’s clothing? Zhong Ming felt a bit embarrassed.

Fortunately, Joan didn’t speak again. They walked back to the main hall in silence. When the other male servants looked over and saw how well the shirt fit Zhong Ming, their expressions turned mocking. They were clearly ridiculing his slight frame for being similar to a woman’s.

Zhong Ming ignored their glares. He looked down at his cuffs, thinking that the belongings of upper-level servants really were different. Even the shirt was made of silk; the light fabric felt much softer against his skin than the standard-issue uniforms of the lower-level servants.

Madam Mary looked him up and down, her expression softening slightly. “That’s more like it.”

With that, she turned and led the servants out the door.

The Haunted house was located in a basin in the middle of a mountain range, surrounded by dense black forests. To the east of the mansion was a rose garden, to the west were warehouses for wood and coal, and the chapel was situated at the rear of the mansion.

Zhong Ming followed at the back of the group. He looked up at the chapel spire gradually emerging from the trees, his eyes widening in surprise.

In Western religious tradition, it is said that the higher a church’s tower, the closer it is to heaven.

The spire of this chapel pierced the sky, looking as if it were about to puncture the clouds. Atop it sat a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary, her eyelids lowered as she looked down with pity upon the masses beneath the dark clouds.

“I heard Madam Mary used to be a nun in a convent.”

At the very end of the line, Li Yizhi whispered to Zhong Ming. “That Duke built this chapel specifically for her.” He let out a low sneer. “If you didn’t know better, you’d think she was his mother.”

Zhong Ming glanced at him. Li Yizhi smiled and shut his mouth. As they entered the chapel, he even gave a mockingly pious nod toward the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Upon entering the chapel, the light dimmed instantly. The shadows of the stained-glass windows cast patterns on the floor. Zhong Ming looked ahead to see the Twelve Apostles lined up neatly at the front.

Madam Mary walked to the front, took hold of the crucifix around her neck, and lowered her head to recite a devout prayer.

Zhong Ming looked up at the statues, falling into a bit of a trance. The interior was dark and the atmosphere heavy, yet a sense of familiarity rose within him. He sat down, naturally raising his hand to tap his forehead and shoulders in a cross, clasped his hands, lowered his head, and began to softly recite the Gospel of Matthew.

His heart felt serene and peaceful, as if he had prayed to God a thousand times before. He did this not out of sudden piety, but out of pure habit.

“Amen.”

Zhong Ming whispered, slowly opening his eyes.

Upon opening them, he found Madam Mary looking back at him, her expression uncharacteristically soft.

Zhong Ming asked confusedly, “…Madam?”

Madam Mary withdrew her gaze and looked up at the divine statues. “Have you believed in God since you were a child?”

Zhong Ming blanked, remembering his previous dream. He couldn’t say for sure if he actually had faith; it was more of a habit. He replied, “…I grew up in an orphanage run by a convent.”

Hearing this, Madam Mary looked back with considerable surprise, eyeing him up and down as if seeing him for the first time. “…That is a rarity.”

She whispered to herself, walked over to Zhong Ming, and handed him something.

“Take this.”

Zhong Ming looked down to see a small crucifix. This was essentially the first time Madam Mary had shown him any kindness. Surprised, he looked up, only to see her walk past him and bark at the others behind him: “What is wrong with all of you? Sit up straight!”

Zhong Ming looked back and saw several menservants slumping in the pews with lazy expressions. Only under Mary’s command did they assume a crooked posture of prayer. Li Yizhi had his palms pressed together but was whispering Buddhist sutras. Jack had one foot propped up on the back of the pew in front of him and looked like he was about to fall asleep; he jerked awake at the sound of Mary’s voice, coughed, and pulled his leg back.

Zhong Ming: …I think I know why Madam Mary suddenly finds me agreeable.

It was entirely thanks to the quality of his colleagues.

When the prayer ended, Madam Mary led everyone back to the mansion. Li Yizhi let out a long breath. “Finally over.” He cracked his neck and added, “I hope God will be more responsive this time.”

Zhong Ming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, thinking that reciting Buddhist sutras in front of a crucifix and expecting God to answer was a bit much.

Back at the mansion, Madam Mary turned around, her gaze toward Zhong Ming much gentler.

“Xiao Zhong, you are a good child with a devout faith.” Her voice was uncharacteristically mild. “From now on, the task of cleaning the chapel is yours.”

Zhong Ming was surprised. Truthfully, as for being devout, he wasn’t particularly religious; he was just used to the rituals. Moreover, he already had enough work; if this kept up, he really wouldn’t be able to finish everything.

But seeing Madam Mary’s rarely pleasant face, Zhong Ming couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He had finally managed to improve this lady’s impression of him.

Had Zhong Ming known what he would eventually see inside that chapel, he never would have accepted this task.

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