CH 66

Translate by Hua

Bisnar Orfield pressed his palm down slightly to smooth out the wind-blown corners and wrinkles of his clothes. He wasn’t particularly old, but his eyes, which were somewhat clouded by lust for power, stared at Clarice and the person next to him for a while before smiling stiffly under the emotionless gaze of the other person. He then said, covering up his dissatisfaction, “It should be. It should be. It’s just that Your Majesty’s arrival was really too sudden, so there may be some areas where the hospitality was not well received, so please be more understanding.”

As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, Clarice remained cold, but the young man next to him, whose face could not be seen, took the lead in questioning him, and the words he said simply caused Bisnar Orfield’s blood pressure to skyrocket.

“How can you say you can’t receive us well when you have so many servants? You could have just said that you didn’t welcome Clarice’s visit. Or is there something in your house that is inconvenient for us to see?”

Hearing this, Bisnar Orfield put away the smile that was barely raised on his lips. The corners of his mouth closed in a straight line, and his cold gaze was directed straight towards the sound.

Then the low, furry-brimmed hat completely blocked his gaze, which he thought was very intimidating. He could tell with his toes that it would not affect the person inside at all.

“…”

Bisnar’s forehead twitched twice, and he didn’t bother to pretend anymore. He turned away, gave a very perfunctory half-bow, and said, “The person Your Majesty brought is really good at joking. What inconveniences can we have? It’s just that my house may not be as good as the palace. No matter how thorough the preparations are, I will worry about offending Your Majesty. If you don’t mind, please come in.”

“Why would he mind? The people serving in the palace are far fewer than the people you have here. His Majesty is not a demanding person. It would be bad if what you said spread out and people misunderstood him.”

Ji Mingjiang didn’t let him off so easily, and as he walked forward with Clarice by his side, he pricked the other party with thorns in his words that may have been intentional or that he may not have even thought of himself.

Damn, what is the origin of this person?

Bisnar Orfield couldn’t help but frown when he heard this man’s voice, and this feeling reached its peak after noticing Clarice’s behavior.

The emperor, who was always difficult to get along with and very reclusive, didn’t stop this person from talking over him twice and giving him a thoughtful look after the other person finished his second sentence!

Claris happened to be near the gate at this time. When he turned his head, it can be said that the emotions in those sharp golden pupils were clearly displayed in front of him.

Bisnar lowered his eyelids and took a step back. “You’re joking; I didn’t mean that at all.”

“It’s better be.”

Sensing Clarice’s gaze flickering over his head, Bisnar waited for a while, watched the two walk away, and then signaled the shivering attendant to close the door and followed slowly.

Lichma Orfield had very self-consciously stepped to the side to show the two of them the way. When he reached the door of the reception room, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at Clarice and the man standing next to him.

The old butler’s eyes swept between the two of them several times and finally settled on the young man, who was clearly covering half his face but walking at a steady pace the whole way, but his words were addressed to Clarice.

“Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, you can let this gentleman follow me to the next room and wait for a while. There are all kinds of tea and desserts there. It’s not too late to take him away after you finish talking with the patriarch.”

He completely regarded Ji Mingjiang as the entourage brought by Clarice and didn’t intend to consider Ji Mingjiang’s own thoughts at all.

Even if this mysterious person might have a higher status than a follower based on Clarice’s attitude, he’s nothing more than an accessory.

With this in mind, Lichma said these words in a very natural tone. Although it looked like he was asking for Clarice’s opinion, his attitude was very certain, and his feet were already facing in the direction of Ji Mingjiang, ready to come forward and take the person to the next room.

Then he was stopped in place by Clarice’s arm, which suddenly stretched out.

“He’s with me, can’t you tell?”

Three people—to be precise, two groups of people—suddenly froze in place.

Bisnar Orfield, who just came over at this time, couldn’t help but twitch his brows when he heard these words and looked suspiciously at the young man whose face he couldn’t see clearly.

He didn’t even bring Rowlett with him. No matter how close the relationship was, how could he bring a random person like this… Is it because Clarice is confused, or is there something unique about the people he brought?

Several questions kept swirling in his mind, but Bisnar Orfield didn’t show anything on his face. He quickly stepped forward, reprimanded Lichma severely, and then personally opened the door of the reception room.

“Lichma is a bit old-fashioned and confusing. So I’d like to ask your majesty and this gentleman not to bother with him anymore; let’s go in first.”

Ji Mingjiang flicked the soft white velvet that almost floated to his eyelashes and looked at the layout of the reception room with some curiosity. He really didn’t care about Lichma’s attitude or Bisnar’s repulsive gaze from the first moment he saw him.

After all, if there are no accidents, this should be the last time they can look at people with this attitude.

***

“The temperature in the room should be fine now. Isn’t this gentleman going to take off his hat?”

He didn’t know what was going on with Clarice today. He came to see him suddenly without any warning, but what he talked about was a commonplace topic that the two of them would quarrel about at every Monday morning meeting.

Bisnar Orfield had an intuition that the other party definitely didn’t come for these things, but he really couldn’t figure out his purpose. After adjusting his sitting posture a little uneasy, he changed the topic of conversation to the young man, who had not spoken since he entered the room, as if he were mute.

“Huh? Me?”

Ji Mingjiang, who had been cautiously spreading out his mental power to carefully examine the furnishings of Orfield Mansion, raised his head and asked with a sleepy look.

A short part of the chin was exposed, and the lips alone would not reveal the owner’s emotions. Bisnar regretfully withdrew his gaze, and although he knew that the other party couldn’t see it, he still nodded and said, “Yes, if you have a chilly constitution, I can ask someone to raise the temperature a bit. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s really my fault. His Majesty Clarice will feel distressed.”

“?”

The corners of Ji Mingjiang’s eyes twitched.

What does this have to do with Clarice? Feeling distressed… When did his image ever get anywhere near that word?

“It has nothing to do with my physique. You will understand when the time comes.”

After replying perfunctorily, Ji Mingjiang pulled his hat again and leaned back on the back of the chair with his arms crossed.

Lowering his head, the mental power that had been cautiously stopped just now slowly continued to expand the detection area. The invisible mental thread shuttled synchronously on the ground and in the air, deftly avoiding the people walking back and forth. The gentle force was just like a gust of wind blowing, and it did not arouse anyone’s alertness.

The conversation between Clarice and Bisnar is still going on. Although he has not carefully listened to the content of what they are saying, Ji Mingjiang, who is very familiar with the tone of the other party, knows that this person is definitely talking nonsense in a serious manner.

He didn’t let his mental power out for too long, and after sweeping through the huge Orfield mansion, Ji Mingjiang, who found nothing, withdrew his mental power. The mental thread that could sense the master’s emotions didn’t show any reluctance this time and very sensibly shrank back into the spiritual sea.

Ji Mingjiang’s eyebrows wrinkled slightly, and his expression was a little solemn.

Although he was mentally prepared that he might not be able to detect anything, when it really happened, he still felt a little frustrated. And the most important thing now is how to tell Clarice about this as soon as possible…

As he was thinking in his heart, the door of the reception room was suddenly pushed open. A man whose clothes were torn into strands had some bloodstain on his exposed skin and clearly had a fearful look in his eyes when he saw Clarice. But after a simple salute, he walked directly to Bisnar Orfield with panic and anger on his face, leaned over, and said something.

Ji Mingjiang’s ears twitched, and the tips of the ear fins hidden under the hood struggled hard to rush in the direction the voice came from and shifted a bit disgruntledly when Ji Mingjiang lifted his hand and pinched them.

“Crazy……”

“Beating people, full of blood…”

The other party was obviously still worried about something in this panicked mood. Ji Mingjiang listened calmly and only captured a few key words.

But this is enough with the supporting evidence of Bisnar Orfield’s uncontrollable expression at that moment.

Through the fluff in front of his eyes, Ji Mingjiang clearly saw the anger and fear that suddenly appeared on Bisnar’s face after hearing what the man said.

“I’m very sorry, Your Majesty. As you have seen, there is something going on at home. This servant has pissed off the primary beastman kept in the backyard. That little guy is having a temper tantrum right now, and his life may be in danger. The situation is really urgent, and I need to go there first. Do you want to wait here for a while, or should we talk another day?”

Sure enough, the next moment, Bisnar suddenly stood up with a proper apology on his face. The chair that was knocked back made a piercing sound in the empty reception room. Ji Mingjiang couldn’t help but tightly press the fabric in his palm against his ear.

“Since it’s related to the primary beastman, let’s get on with it. It’s okay if we wait a while. Do you need me to help contact the protection center?”

Clarice nodded and said it very understandingly.

“No need to bother you. I’ll go check out the situation first. We have doctors on standby here.”

With a drop of cold sweat dripping from his forehead, Bisnar barely kept his face calm and declined quickly.

“Then I’ll go over there first. Someone will come to bring you some tea and meals in a while. Please don’t mind the negligence.”

After saying this, Bisnar hurriedly followed the servant, who broke in and walked out.

The door to the reception room was closed again. After looking around, Ji Mingjiang took off his hat, and the light blue ear fins that were exposed to the fresh air again writhed happily among the silver hair.

Catching Clarice’s constant glances at his ears, Ji Mingjiang ruffled his hair a little to hide the overly perky pair of ear fins underneath the layers of hair.

Then he told him everything he had just discovered with his mental power.

“It’s expected, so don’t worry too much about it.” After simply comforting the mermaid, who didn’t seem to need comfort, Leiden looked at the place where Bisnar was sitting and said in a relaxed tone, “Someone just happened to show us the way. Just follow him.”

Although they said this, considering what Bisnar Orfield said just now, the two of them were still sitting comfortably in their seats and did not leave rashly.

Within a few moments, the heavy door was gently knocked on and then pushed open by a hand with careful restraint.

“Your Majesty, this is the tea prepared for you two as ordered by the patriarch. Please enjoy it.”

The visitor bowed his head respectfully, stepped forward in small steps, and placed the tray he held in his hand on the table. His footsteps were light and silent throughout the whole process, and his drooping head was never raised from the beginning to the end.

“That’s all there is?”

After putting down the tray, the attendant who stood with his hands down and waited for the next instruction did not hear Clarice’s familiar voice, but instead a clear and pleasant voice rang out.

His eyes were confused for a moment, and he suddenly wanted to raise his head to see the face of a person with such a voice.

But soon, the training rooted in his brain made him suppress this impulse, and after only a slight movement in the direction of Clarice and Ji Mingjiang, a low and hoarse voice emerged from the attendant’s mouth due to his head hanging down.

“The patriarch left in a hurry, and all that has been explained is this. But I can go get some more for you two if you need them.”

“Well …… I mean, will anyone else but you be delivering things again?”

The voice suddenly came closer, and the attendant could see a strand of silver-white hair this time.

So silky… It must feel nice to the touch. His pupils trembled, and then his eyelids quickly lowered. “No, if you two need…”

“Very good!”

What’s good?

The suddenly raised tone in his ears was obviously joyful, and it made him a little confused.

“Although I feel sorry, maybe it’s a good thing for you. You can sleep here now.”

What?

When the attendant heard this, although he still didn’t know what the other party meant, the alarm bells were already ringing in his mind. But before he could react, Ji Mingjiang’s relaxed and joyful voice fell, and the palm of his hand formed a knife and slashed precisely at the neck of the attendant, who suddenly raised his head and looked at him.

“How did you…” It seems to be the mermaid who was live broadcasting recently?

The fully exposed face without a hood was reflected in the eyes of the slowly falling attendant. Before he fainted, he still did not understand why he was suddenly attacked and how the mermaid had become a guest of honor at Orfield House.

Perhaps he knew it in his heart, but it was just that the idea of being happy to see it happen clashed fiercely with the idea that he had always been taught to be loyal to this family, causing him to cover himself up like an ostrich.

This was not the first time he came into contact with someone who saw his appearance clearly. Ji Mingjiang easily decoded his unfinished meaning.

“Probably because I am that mermaid you know.”

Shrugging his shoulders, his soft hair slid down the same silky fabric. Ji Mingjiang grabbed the arm of the man who was about to fall to the ground in time and gently leaned the man against the soft chair beside him.

After losing consciousness, his face, which was no longer hidden in the shadows by his master, was also exposed to Clarice and Ji Mingjiang.

Looking at the face that looked more immature under the bright light, Ji Mingjiang clicked his tongue. No wonder he felt wrong when he heard the voice just now. If it weren’t for his overly childish face…

“Why is child labor still a thing here?!”

He turned to look at Clarice and asked.

Obviously, a few days ago, Lin Nan and Zhuang Zhino had sworn to him that basically anyone within the empire could go to college.

However, the expression on Clarice’s face was not pretty either. He raised and lowered his wrist, as if he planned to take a picture of the attendant, but gave up in the end.

Facing Ji Mingjiang’s suspicious eyes, Leiden turned the light brain on his wrist and said helplessly, “This should not be a formal recruitment. Among the servants in noble families like theirs, there is some kind of domestic servant. It’s perfectly normal for them to exist. No matter how clean some noble families are, they definitely have a lot of secrets, just like the Orfield family. And because these servants know too much, they can’t freely choose to go to school and work. Things like this shouldn’t be uncommon.”

“Let him stay here for a while. After we resolve the matter with the basement, we can deal with this situation in a unified way. ”

After looking at the time, Leiden said.

They couldn’t wait any longer, and if they continued to wait, it’s not certain when Bisnar Orfield would come back.

Ji Mingjiang nodded, took one last look at the child, who had been knocked unconscious but had a much more relaxed expression on his face, then turned around and followed Clarice’s footsteps.

He didn’t know whether Bisnar Orfield had explained or if the others were afraid of Clarice; except for the attendant who came to deliver tea, there was no one else guarding the reception room.

Closing the door without making a sound, Ji Mingjiang released his mental power again, which he had not rested for long, and followed Bisnar Orfield with a very clear goal.

“The road is quite roundabout; let’s go.”

This level of exploration was simply no burden to Ji Mingjiang, and after opening his eyes again, he spoke with great disgust.

Don’t blame him for this because Bisnar Orfield’s roundabout course of action reminded him of a rat that had fought countless passages in the underground sewer.

A rat in the sewer fits his image quite well.

“How come the direction of his bestialization is not that of a mouse…”

Unsure of why Ji Mingjiang suddenly muttered this, Leiden snapped off a branch from a flower pot by the porch, broke the camera in front of him, and then pulled Ji Mingjiang’s hand.

“There is someone up ahead.”

Almost being pulled to the point where he was directly mounted on Clarice’s back, Ji Mingjiang was able to halt his footsteps when he heard the other party soften his words.

Her ears moved as several somewhat scattered and misplaced footsteps came, interspersed with some clunking and banging.

“Four or five people were probably just passing by carrying things.”

It’s a pity that they have no place to hide temporarily, and the two groups of people are bound to collide.

“Put them in that room later?” Ji Mingjiang asked softly as he looked around before noticing a room diagonally opposite, his fingertip pointing in that direction.

“Okay.” Leiden nodded without any objection.

Then, the five attendants who were just walking on a fixed route carrying plates suddenly saw the somewhat familiar faces of Clarice and Ji Mingjiang, who were supposed to be in the reception room.

Before they could realize something was wrong, the person in front of them suddenly disappeared, so fast that one couldn’t help but wonder if they were dazzled.

Just as they looked at each other and planned to say something, a pain suddenly came from their necks. Then their vision went dark, and they lost consciousness. When the silver tray and other items in their hands were about to fall to the ground, Ji Mingjiang quickly used his coat to catch them.

After quietly placing these unlucky people who were passing by into the small room, Ji Mingjiang closed the door and continued to lead Clarice in the direction tracked by his mental power.