Chapter 325: What the Hell, Is This Place Haunted?
Upon hearing Count Laurien's words, Gwen maintained an expressionless face. However, her continuous nodding clearly revealed that she was very satisfied with Count Laurien's arrangements.
Meanwhile, Aurelianne stood aside, blinking in confusion.
Wait, what just happened? Teacher Viktor was going to sleep in the same room as Teacher Gwen!? And what was that about a larger bathtub!?
Aurelianne wanted to ask for details, but no one gave her the chance. Because Viktor had already nodded and politely responded to Count Laurien:
"Then I thank the Count for his arrangements."
Before the dazed Aurelianne could speak, a servant had already appeared before her.
"Respected guests, please allow me to guide you to your rooms."
Aurelianne blinked and could only nod, her mind somewhat confused as the servant led her into the castle. Vanilla steadily followed behind Aurelianne.
At this time, Count Laurien raised his head again and looked toward Viktor. More precisely, he looked at those neatly arranged demi-human guards.
Seeing so many demi-humans made him feel somewhat troubled. The knights were easy enough to handle - put their horses in the stable and find them a shared dormitory to rest. But these demi-humans... where should they be arranged?
Prepare rooms for them? Preparing rooms for demi-humans - unless he had gone mad.
But before he could take any action, those masked demi-humans quickly dispersed. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into several dark shadows, scattering in all directions until they vanished without a trace.
The cat-eared guards flew up to rest in the trees, while the dog-eared guards penetrated deep into the forest and fields, concealing their forms and presence.
These demi-humans possessed animal-like habits and physical structures, making them never picky about their environment.
Seeing their swift departure, the nobles couldn't help but gasp in surprise. Even Count Laurien's eyes narrowed slightly, surprised by the speed of these demi-humans.
When they disappeared, they didn't make even the slightest sound. Unless one observed carefully, no one would notice that under the cover of night, a cat-eared demi-human was actually hiding nearby.
If this agility and stealth were used in assassination operations, these demi-humans would definitely perform better than humans.
Count Laurien became more curious about why these demi-humans suddenly dispersed.
Just as he was puzzling over this, he heard Viktor calmly say:
"I told them to find their own places to rest."
"They will gather here again early tomorrow morning, Count, there's no need to worry."
Seeing this, Count Laurien was once again surprised. The discipline and self-management abilities of these demi-humans were even stricter than those of regular kingdom soldiers.
Could demi-humans really achieve this?
Though amazed, Count Laurien still felt a hint of regret.
Ah, what a pity. No matter how excellent they were. They were still just demi-humans after all. Beasts will always be beasts. They cannot be compared to humans.
Being able to avoid preparing rooms for these demi-humans made Laurien breathe a sigh of relief.
He stopped thinking about the demi-human matter and smiled at everyone, extending a hand toward the massive castle:
"Everyone, please."
...
Aurelianne was led through the enormous castle by the servant. The massive castle was magnificently splendid - though not as luxurious as the imperial palace, it could certainly be considered extremely opulent.
Gold-threaded red carpets covered the entire corridor, with white lights shining down brightly from above. Vases stood along the corridor, filled with various intricate flower arrangements.
This environment pleased Aurelianne, showing that Count Laurien had put great care into receiving them. Though this was likely just to make a good impression on her grandfather.
Aurelianne well understood these nobles' thinking.
As they passed by a room, Aurelianne paused slightly. She seemed to sense something and walked toward the room.
Soft light leaked through the door crack, but a notice hung on the door. Driven by strong curiosity, she went forward and turned it over.
But what met her eyes was a string of shocking crimson letters, like a warning:
'No Entry, Leave Immediately!'
Looking at the door notice, Aurelianne couldn't help but feel a chill.
So she curiously asked:
"This room... what's inside?"
The maid, seeing Aurelianne's reaction, calmly replied:
"This is the Madam's quarters, she always rests here."
Madam? Count Laurien's wife?
Why would Count Laurien's wife stay in this forbidden room?
The servant seemed to notice Aurelianne's confusion and explained further:
"Madam likes peace and quiet, so she specifically hung this sign to avoid being disturbed while resting."
The explanation seemed reasonable. Though Aurelianne still found it strange, she returned to her senses. After all, this was someone else's home - she shouldn't be too curious.
Just as she was turning the notice back over to return it to the door, suddenly, from the servant beside her came an extremely surprised voice:
"Young Miss, why are you out..."
Hearing this, Aurelianne turned to look in the servant's direction.
At some point, a girl about her age had appeared around the corridor's corner.
The girl had silver hair identical to Aurelianne's, but that white hair showed an obviously unhealthy pallor. Her equally pale face made her appear somewhat weak, though her red pupils seemed even more bewitching under the lamplight.
Her delicate features carried a hint of melancholy.
Though it was late at night, she wore an elegant black dress with a red shawl flowing down her body. On her feet were a pair of black leather boots.
Aurelianne couldn't help but look her up and down, immediately feeling a sense of defeat. The black dress perfectly accentuated her well-proportioned curves.
When Aurelianne examined her delicate face again, she saw something in her expression that looked like... fear?
Their eyes met.
The next second, the girl suddenly ran quickly past the path Aurelianne had come from.
Aurelianne hurriedly looked back, but in the blink of an eye, the girl's figure had vanished in the long corridor.
This left Aurelianne even more confused.
How could a living person suddenly disappear from right under her nose!?
At this moment, the previously very calm servant now seemed somewhat anxious.
She hurriedly explained to Aurelianne:
"Respected guest, please pay no mind to what just happened."
"That was the Young Miss, the Count's daughter."
After saying this, she closed her mouth.
From her manner, she clearly didn't want to tell Aurelianne anything more.
Aurelianne naturally noticed her unusual behavior, but she just waved her hand to indicate she didn't mind, then continued following the servant.
After all, this was someone else's home.
Even if she was curious, Aurelianne couldn't directly show it.
The servant led Aurelianne and Vanilla into a huge, spacious and bright room, bowing respectfully to the two:
"If you need anything, please let me know at any time."
With that, the maid left without delay.
Only now did Aurelianne have a chance to examine the surrounding room.
The entire room was extremely luxurious and spacious, brightly lit, illuminating the whole room as if it were a paradise.
The luxurious furniture constantly exuded an air of nobility and refinement - even the vases by the bed were painted with exquisite oil paintings.
It was clear that this Count Laurien was very wealthy.
This was normal, after all, he owned such vast territories and so many farmlands.
Plus with the Goddess of Abundance's blessing, he could make a fortune year after year.
Aurelianne sat on the soft and springy bed, lying back and bouncing twice on the softness, her mind full of thoughts:
Who exactly was that girl from earlier?
Why did Count Laurien prepare a larger bathtub for Teacher Viktor - could it be that Teacher Viktor would bathe together with Teacher Gwen?
Thinking of this, she suddenly sat up, the two thoughts constantly colliding in her mind.
So what was the deal with that girl earlier? And why wasn't anyone allowed near that room?
Ah! It's unbelievable that Teacher Viktor and Teacher Gwen would spend the night together! This is too much!
Aurelianne's thoughts were like tangled ropes, making her unconsciously roll around on the bed.
Meanwhile, Vanilla stood in the corner of the spacious room, deep green light flowing from her eyes.
In Vanilla's vision, the environment was gradually swallowed by thick darkness, the sticky blackness tightly wrapping everything, even Aurelianne's cheeks gradually becoming blurry.
Only the magic power flowing through her body remained, gently outlining the surrounding objects, everything becoming hazy with only vague silhouettes remaining.
Besides Aurelianne, she could no longer see the existence of any other living beings.
When her vision returned to clarity, Vanilla respectfully bowed to Aurelianne:
"Your Highness."
"I can confirm that this place is safe."
Aurelianne nodded slightly, her face still carrying traces of worry, her brow somewhat furrowed.
At this point, Vanilla immediately moved closer to her, lowering her voice slightly to whisper:
"Your Highness, I just confirmed some things that I believe I should inform you about."
Aurelianne slowly raised her head, looking at Vanilla with eyes full of confusion.
Vanilla took a deep breath and solemnly said:
"The Count's daughter we just saw..."
"She... is not human."
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