DLMSWSHH Chapter 53

Tl: Hua

Chapter 53: Night Talk

The three of them froze simultaneously, their shoes letting out a harsh scraping sound against the floor.

As if hearing the commotion, the Duke slowly raised his eyes, his gaze landing on the three people at the bottom of the stairs.

“!”

Ye Qing let out a silent scream. Her eyes were glued to the face of the brown-haired man nearby. It’s the Duke!

Last time, she had only heard his voice without seeing the man himself. Seeing him now for the first time, her gaze was practically stuck to him.

This big boss is actually pretty handsome.

Ye Qing was unaware of the Duke’s terror and had little experience with the game’s cruel aspects. Compared to hardcore players like Li Yizhi, she had very little experience, so her focus was solely on the other’s appearance.

On the other side, Li Yizhi had turned completely rigid.

This was the first time he had faced the Duke head-on. A figure who had never appeared in his twenty-plus years of transitioning from player to servant was now standing openly before him.

His breathing grew shallow, his muscles coiled tight, and his eyes were locked on the top of the stairs.

He looked like prey facing a powerful predator, ready to bolt at any second.

The Duke seemed entirely oblivious to their shock. He looked down, ignoring Ye Qing completely. His gaze briefly brushed over Li Yizhi before finally settling on Zhong Ming.

Zhong Ming felt Li Yizhi stiffen even further beside him.

Affected by the tense atmosphere, Zhong Ming subconsciously held his breath. His eyelashes fluttered as he lowered his gaze, avoiding the Duke’s eyes.

However, the moment he made that avoidant gesture, Zhong Ming realized something was wrong. He hadn’t done anything wrong; acting like this just made him look guilty.

“Zhong Ming.”

The Duke’s deep voice drifted down from above. Zhong Ming flinched and instinctively looked up.

Being addressed by one’s full name always carried a sense of pressure.

Zhong Ming looked into the man’s black eyes; his heart skipped a beat as a strange nervousness washed over him.

The Duke watched him in silence, his brow furrowed deeply. After a moment, his expression softened slightly.

“It is very late.” He stood up straight and extended his right hand toward Zhong Ming. “I’ve come to take you back.”

Zhong Ming blinked. He thought to himself: We’re in the same mansion, just a flight of stairs away. What is there to take back?

But sensing the Duke was in a foul mood, he obediently walked up the stairs.

He came to a stop half a step away from the Duke, looking at the hand extended toward him with slight hesitation.

Li Yizhi and Ye Qing were still watching from behind.

Yet, in that split second of hesitation, his hand was seized.

The man’s grip was firmer than usual. He grabbed Zhong Ming’s wrist first, then slid his hand down to interlace their fingers.

Ye Qing: “!”

She let out another silent scream, clamping her hands over her mouth to keep from making a sound. Her cheeks turned bright red from holding it in, looking as though she might faint at any moment.

M-Mommy’s boyfriend!!

It was this guy all along!

Ye Qing wanted to slap herself for being so blind. Obviously, there were times when Zhong Ming would come out of the study after delivering tea with a strange expression and flushed cheeks. Why hadn’t she noticed? She had completely excluded the Duke from the list of potential boyfriends!

Ye Qing felt like rolling around on the floor in regret. Meanwhile, Zhong Ming felt the heat rising in his face, not daring to look back at the expressions of Li Yizhi and Ye Qing.

He instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but it was held even tighter to the point of being slightly painful.

Zhong Ming looked at their joined hands and whispered, “It hurts a little.”

The Duke paused, then slightly relaxed his grip.

He looked down, using his free left hand to stroke Zhong Ming’s cheek. “Why did you stay so late?”

His tone returned to its usual gentle and considerate state as he murmured, “Were you playing with your little friends?”

Since everything was out in the open now, Zhong Ming decided to just go with it. He nodded and said, “Ye Qing had some things she wanted to discuss with me.”

As he answered, Zhong Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He had felt it more or less before: there were certain places in the mansion where the Duke couldn’t “hear” conversations. This included the basement where the lower-level servants lived.

Zhong Ming had previously thought it was either because the Duke didn’t care what the servants were doing or because something was blocking his perception.

It seemed it might be a bit of both.

The Duke’s hand lingered on Zhong Ming’s cheek before sliding back to cup his ear. “Just chatting?”

The touch was a bit ticklish, making Zhong Ming shrink his neck slightly as he nodded.

This confirmed it: the Duke indeed couldn’t perceive what happened in the basement.

The Duke stared at him intently. After a moment, he lowered his hand from Zhong Ming’s ear and placed it on his shoulder instead.

He pulled Zhong Ming around to turn him away.

In the next instant, the solitary bulb in the stairwell flickered and died. Simultaneously, the oil lamp in Li Yizhi’s hand sputtered and went out.

The basement was plunged into total darkness.

“Ah!”

Ye Qing’s short shriek came from behind Zhong Ming. Then came a dull thud of something heavy hitting the floor, followed by a muffled groan from Li Yizhi.

Startled, Zhong Ming instinctively tried to turn around, but he was held firmly in place by the Duke.

“It’s alright.”

The Duke’s voice sounded right in his ear. “I didn’t do anything to him.” Zhong Ming noticed he used the masculine “him,” not “her.”

Ye Qing was likely just startled by the sudden darkness; Zhong Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Li Yizhi, he was thick-skinned and tough; nothing major would happen to him.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Zhong Ming stopped struggling.

The Duke seemed satisfied with his compliance. He withdrew his hand from Zhong Ming’s shoulder but kept their hands firmly interlaced.

Zhong Ming followed obediently at his side, glancing up at the Duke’s profile. He couldn’t read anything from the man’s face.

His expression was calm and unreadable.

After staring for a while, Zhong Ming whispered, “I wasn’t doing anything bad.”

The Duke turned his head to look at him, his expression softening further. He leaned down and naturally pressed a kiss to Zhong Ming’s temple.

“Mm. I believe you.”

He said “believe” rather than “know.” Zhong Ming paused for a moment before finally asking, “Your Grace… do you not know what we discussed?”

The Duke’s movements stilled. He looked down at Zhong Ming and curled his lips into a smile, though the warmth didn’t reach his eyes.

“He played a little trick, so I couldn’t hear.”

Who is ‘he’? Zhong Ming blinked, then realized it must be Li Yizhi.

Zhong Ming was secretly shocked that Li Yizhi possessed such power. The Duke continued: “But it doesn’t matter. My power will protect you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ming immediately thought of the statues in the chapel. This mansion and its surroundings seemed to be permeated by the Duke’s influence to some extent. Aside from the Duke himself, there were many passive-triggered attack mechanisms. It was likely the combination of both that made this dungeon as impenetrable as an iron fortress, standing firm despite the long passage of time and the endless waves of players.

Zhong Ming remained silent for a moment, then looked up and chose his words carefully: “…Your Grace, you don’t mind?”

The Duke’s fingers slowly stroked Zhong Ming’s forehead as if he were deep in thought. He had always known about the tricks Li Yizhi played in the lower levels, but he had never cared. His philosophy was “if you use a man, do not doubt him; if you doubt him, do not use him.” These servants, converted from top-tier players, naturally had their own little schemes. The Duke had never paid them any mind. He had the confidence to be indifferent.

But now—

The Duke fell silent for a long time. He lowered his eyes, took Zhong Ming’s hands in his, and whispered: “I suppose you need some privacy.”

He said this with the air of someone who had given the matter deep thought and found the words difficult to utter.

Zhong Ming: “…”

You say I need privacy, yet you wait for me at the door? Zhong Ming lowered his eyes to look at his hands, which were being held quite tightly.

Furthermore, his bedroom was connected to the Duke’s study. I have privacy, but not much, right?

Zhong Ming was somewhat speechless, but he didn’t want to argue with the man, and he was also mindful of Li Yizhi. So, he nodded obediently: “Thank you, Your Grace.”

The Duke’s expression instantly brightened, and his grip loosened slightly. The gloom on his face vanished. Looking down at Zhong Ming, he couldn’t resist murmuring: “You aren’t allowed to stay out too late.” He glanced at Zhong Ming’s dress. “And don’t wear dresses.” And preferably never see Li Yizhi again.

Fearing a long list of “don’ts,” Zhong Ming nodded like a woodpecker. “Mm-hm, okay.”

Seeing this, the Duke stopped mid-sentence and laughed. He reached out to pat Zhong Ming’s hair. “Enough talk. Let’s go.”

The Duke led him by the left hand toward the main hall. His palm was warm, and his scent was very pleasant; Zhong Ming gradually felt a wave of sleepiness. He had been spinning like a top from morning till night and was exhausted.

Zhong Ming walked very close to the Duke, naturally tilting his head to rest his temple against the man’s arm.

The Duke’s movements hitched slightly. He turned to look at Zhong Ming, his expression softening completely. He gave the hand he was holding a gentle, meaningful squeeze.

Zhong Ming looked up at him in return.

Something unspoken and mutual seemed to hang in the air between them.

Seeing Zhong Ming looking at him so affectionately with his large, beautiful eyes like two dark grapes, the Duke’s brow twitched. A faint smile touched his lips as he leaned down toward Zhong Ming—

However, at that exact moment, the hall doors suddenly creaked open.

Zhong Ming froze and snapped his head toward the entrance.

The door had been pushed open a crack. The brown-haired priest was leaning half his body against the doorframe, his face and head covered in blood. He was so pale he looked like a dead man.

But the fact that he had managed to get this far already surprised Zhong Ming. He immediately frowned.

Seeing him turn away, the Duke paused, then reached out to cup Zhong Ming’s cheek, trying to turn his face back toward himself.

“!” Zhong Ming slapped the man’s hand away. “Look over there!”

Being struck out of the blue, the Duke looked momentarily stunned. He glanced at Zhong Ming for a heartbeat before slowly raising his head to look at the door.

The priest’s black robes were completely soaked through with blood. He seemed gravely injured, his breathing sounding like a broken bellows.

Zhong Ming noticed the fabric pressed against his abdomen was particularly dark; thick blood dripped steadily onto the floor. He likely had a penetrating abdominal wound.

It was a miracle he was still standing.

Zhong Ming’s frown deepened as the heavy scent of blood filled the air.

The Duke’s expression remained indifferent. After a single glance, he withdrew his gaze and whispered to Zhong Ming: “What is there to see?” He took Zhong Ming’s hand. “Let’s go back.”

Zhong Ming looked up in disbelief. Did he not notice at all? What on earth is inside this man’s head all day?!

The priest spat out a large mouthful of blood and looked at the two standing in the hall. Even his eyelashes and the insides of his eyelids were stained with blood, yet his expression didn’t show the slightest hint of distress.

Zhong Ming felt a strange sense of unease from that calm expression.

The priest stared at them for a few heartbeats. Curiously, he didn’t fixate on the Duke; instead, his gaze shifted to Zhong Ming, who was standing close to the Duke’s side.

The priest stared at them for a moment, but strangely, he didn’t keep staring at the Duke. Instead, he looked away and went to Zhong Ming, who was standing close to the Duke.

Then, he smiled and suddenly opened his mouth to say something to Zhong Ming.

The sentence was in German. Zhong Ming didn’t understand it.

But in the next instant, a tentacle appeared out of thin air and instantly crushed the man’s skull.

The movement was so rapid that Zhong Ming didn’t even see what it looked like before the tentacle retracted. Only the priest’s body remained, frozen in place, as fragments of his skull scattered. A moment later, his stiff corpse wobbled and collapsed backward onto the floor.

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened in shock.

“He did it on purpose.”

The Duke’s deep voice echoed.

Zhong Ming’s breath hitched, not quite understanding what he meant.

Then, a pair of hands suddenly scooped him up under the knees. Feeling the weightlessness, Zhong Ming instinctively reached out to hook his arms around the man’s shoulders.

The Duke’s face was cold and stern, a slight furrow appearing between his brows. He stepped over the priest’s corpse and headed upstairs.

Zhong Ming felt the icy aura emanating from him. Without struggling, he lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and understood. The priest was severely injured; these injuries wouldn’t heal anyway, so it was better for him to actively seek death to trigger a respawn.

Zhong Ming looked up and asked softly, “What did he say just now?”

The Duke replied coldly, “Nothing.”

His answer was stiff. Zhong Ming was slightly surprised, wondering what could have been said to make him this angry.

The Duke seemed to notice his tone. He paused, then leaned down to press a kiss to Zhong Ming’s temple. “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Zhong Ming shrank his neck slightly, thinking that this man had become quite cunning. At the beginning, he was so polite and gentlemanly. Now, he was getting a bit shameless.

Once the man reached the top step, Zhong Ming whispered, “Put me down.”

The Duke paused and followed his wish, setting him down. Zhong Ming’s feet hit the floor, and he smoothed his skirt, looking up. “That player just now—”

Just as he was about to speak, the Duke pushed open the study door and said, “Come inside and we’ll talk.”

Zhong Ming choked back his words. He looked past the door and bit his lip, hesitating. It was so late; should he really be alone with him at this hour?

The Duke didn’t rush him. He stood by the door with one hand on the handle, waiting quietly.

Zhong Ming glanced at him. He did have things he wanted to ask the Duke. Although his own room was right next door, it was so small that being alone in there would probably feel even worse.

Ultimately, Zhong Ming lowered his eyes, nodded, and stepped into the study.