The Fallen's Guide - chapter 17

The banquet was in chaos and ended early.

Many elegantly dressed Nobles were leaving, accompanied by music flowing like water. Not far away, scantily clad Male Attendants draped garments over departing guests, while several seemingly refined ladies half-covered their faces with Feather fans, pressing their hands against the smooth waists exposed beneath the Male Attendants’ tight jackets.

They took a few Male Attendants with them, but their expressions were far from pleasant.

Their faces were anxious, as if burdened with sorrow and fear.

Looking around, Tang Nian noticed that many more people had appeared in the Earl’s Manor.

Dressed in red robes from head to toe, these Red-robed Figures exuded an inexplicable sense of religious eeriness. They seemed to hold high status, as even the Prideful Nobles became respectful and cautious in their presence.

They appeared to be searching for something, interrogating the departing Nobles one by one.

Tang Nian belatedly looked up, stunned by the bizarre scene before her.

A vortex of dark clouds hung heavily over the manor, creating a surreal tableau reminiscent of a religious painting depicting the invasion of demons.

Thunder rumbled faintly within the twisted bands of clouds, as if something was about to tear through the sky and emerge.

Rose noticed Tang Nian’s distraction and asked sharply, “Just now, when the ceiling collapsed, where were you?”

Tang Nian withdrew her gaze and raised her hand. “I lost my Ring and came out to look for it.”

Rose glanced down and saw that her finger was indeed bare, where the Cavendish Earl’s ruby Ring had once been.

Even with a plausible explanation, Rose still felt something was amiss.

Background information showed that ever since Tang Nian’s game character, Carly, married the Cavendish Earl, she had been subjected to Rose’s hostility-after all, no one wanted a Stepmother their own age.

Dawn was approaching.

Rose glanced at the sky, now tinged with pale light, her expression irritable.

A few years ago, when the New Emperor ascended the throne, she had prophesied that darkness would once again sweep over their world.

Immersed in an era of peace and prosperity, the Nobles had grown complacent over the past century, dismissing the New Emperor’s warnings as the overreactions of a timid ruler.

After all, the New Emperor was a woman-so beautiful yet seemingly useless. It was only natural for her to fear the powers of darkness.

They thought it was nothing more than the New Emperor’s anxious fussing.

Until a few months ago, when everything began to change in secret, and a series of strange phenomena seemed to fulfill her worries one by one.

The Nobles still maintained their habit of hosting banquets and balls, but carelessness had led to trouble… Rose frowned deeply, her eyes full of annoyance.

A servant approached her and whispered, “The New Emperor and the Prince have both been alarmed. It seems last night truly was the Full Moon Night, and a taboo was broken…”

Seeing the servant’s deliberate avoidance, Tang Nian gently said at the right moment, “I’ll take my leave now; I need to care for your father.”

“Escort Madam back. She must be missing my father dearly,” Rose summoned an Attendant, speaking through gritted teeth.

The Cavendish Earl had fallen into a coma a month ago and had been staying in the Villa ever since.

–

With no Mission prompt forthcoming, Tang Nian could only rely on her instincts to play the game.

Everything in the Earl’s Manor was unfamiliar to her. The two Attendants ordered by Rose to escort her back led her to a carriage and forcibly sent her to the Villa where the Cavendish Earl was recuperating.

The journey was bumpy. Due to her heart condition, Tang Nian rarely experienced such rides, so she lifted the curtain for some air.

“What’s that in the sky?” Tang Nian asked the servant driving the carriage, seeking background information for the game.

“Sorry, Madam, we don’t know either.”

“Who are those Red-robed Figures?”
The Attendant gave her a strange look twice.

Then said, “It’s a Priest from the palace.”

As dawn approached, it was even quieter than at night.

The surrounding clamor gradually subsided. Tang Nian leaned against the soft cushion of the carriage, drowsy from the game’s realistic and immersive time progression, when she suddenly heard the sound of chaotic footsteps.

Next came deliberately hushed shouts.

Someone was excitedly discussing something.

Tang Nian opened her eyes.

She lifted the curtain slightly to look outside. Several men and women, not dressed particularly well, entered the alley. Their voices drew nearer, low discussions and whistles drifting over.

In the shadow at the corner of the wall, there seemed to be someone. Whether out of fear or not, only a thin, hunched back could be seen, arms tightly protecting something, perhaps trying to shield themselves.

A pale blue light glimmered at the horizon, but there was no clear illumination. Dawn seemed unable to drive away the darkness in the alley-probably one of the game’s realistic settings. Tang Nian couldn’t be bothered to look further and let the curtain fall.

Yet, as the carriage paused to give way, she vaguely caught snippets of conversation.

“Here’s a poor little one all alone… Lift your head, let us see your face!”

“That collar around his neck-he must be a Slave, right?”

“Lift your head, can’t you hear us?”

The lewd, vulgar words were extremely clear.

Tang Nian frowned, sensing a trace of familiarity from those descriptions.

She lifted the curtain again, peering through a narrow gap in the direction of the voices. Not far away, under dim lights, several men were closing in on the corner, bending over to scrutinize a figure sitting there.

Apparently offended by their words, the figure turned slightly, revealing delicate features.

Tang Nian was a little surprised; she hadn’t expected him to still be here.

In the game, an NPC with excessively superior looks was being cornered against the wall, chased and blocked in the dark alley. Those filthy, vulgar men and women mocked him, attacked and hurt him.

He looked about to be violated.

Tang Nian felt she was cold enough, quietly sitting in the carriage as a spectator.

Meanwhile, the youth kept desperately trying to evade them.

“So beautiful…” A few of them, almost dumbstruck, bent closer to the figure on the ground.

“I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful!”

Tang Nian had her servant stop; the carriage did not move forward. She hid in the shadows, telling herself not to meddle, yet kept a close ear on the commotion outside.

That NPC’s character model was almost too attractive. As a passerby with no introduction, he drew an unusual amount of attention-so much that Tang Nian felt something was off.

With the Player’s sensitivity to Missions, Tang Nian didn’t leave rashly, convinced that such a refined, beautiful face couldn’t be just a random passerby.

The person sitting against the wall kept his eyes tightly shut, thick lashes trembling but not opening.

He seemed utterly exhausted, as if he might never wake up.

Until someone tried to snatch what he was holding, “What’s he hugging? Looks like a piece of clothing?”

In the darkness, something was beginning to fester.

The clouds hanging over the city grew heavier and heavier.

It felt as if they were about to collapse.

Those reaching out to the fragile youth with closed eyes slowly froze, as if some special force had restricted their movements.

Faces full of Greed gradually flushed red, as if their necks were being strangled and blood could not flow.

Eyeballs bulged, veins engorged, as if they might pop out of their sockets at any moment.

The youth slowly lifted his lashes.

In his violet eyes, dark currents surged, as if something extremely dangerous was awakening deep within his soul.