The Fallen's Guide - chapter 19

The middle-aged man’s tone was low and measured, carrying a pretentious sense of refinement.

With his voice, a game character introduction panel popped up in Tang Nian’s field of vision, showing that the seemingly gentlemanly man before her was the Butler of the Earl’s Mansion, Greco.

His meticulously tailored black uniform was not a tailcoat, but the working attire of a Butler.

Tang Nian turned back, “I need some food.”

“Your meal has already been delivered to your room by the Maid.”

As the Butler spoke, his gloved hand drew a pocket watch from his lapel, his voice tinged with slow contempt, “You are of common birth, so you may not understand. In the Earl’s Mansion, meals are served at designated times. Your next meal will be tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll go out for a walk.”

“It’s not safe outside.” The Butler stepped across, blocking her path with his body. “Several Nobles at yesterday’s banquet… In short, there are unknown Hunters outside now. You’d best not go out.”

Tang Nian raised her eyebrows, “What happened at the banquet yesterday?”

“You don’t need to know. In short, until the danger is resolved, please do not wander about…”

Suddenly, his voice faltered. The Butler, who looked down his nose at people, fell silent, his pupils narrowing imperceptibly.

Tang Nian followed his distracted gaze downward.

On the next level of the spiral staircase, a figure pushed open a door and stepped out from the steam-filled bathroom.

It was a familiar person.

The Slave Boy who had been locked in a cage and toyed with yesterday was now dressed in snow-white silk pajamas. His soft golden hair curled slightly, obediently framing both sides of his face.

His eyes were like translucent cat’s eyes, fringed with feather-like long lashes, making anyone who saw him feel a tenderness in their heart.

Clearly a boy, yet possessing a beauty that would make girls envious. He looked less like a Slave and more like a noble, untouchable member of the Nobles.

The Butler’s breathing grew noticeably heavier.

The Slave Boy stood at the bend of the spiral staircase, like a small animal intruding into a strange environment, his eyes full of caution and wariness as he looked up at Tang Nian from below.

His slightly upturned eyes were moist and clear, his gaze lowered. On his fair, warm skin-smooth as mutton-fat jade-were red marks left by abuse, evoking both pity and darker thoughts.

As a string of data, a line of game code, he was crafted with exquisite detail.

So much so that Tang Nian could not tell whether he was a living person or just a game NPC.

Tang Nian tried to open the character panel, but as before, there was no background information. He seemed to be just a passerby character.

The Slave Boy was barefoot, his ankles slender and sinewy, pale blue veins visible beneath his skin like a priceless painting.

She quietly admired him for a moment, then, under his increasingly nervous gaze, turned and leisurely brushed past the entranced Butler.

“If you keep staring at me, I’ll gouge out your eyes.”

The Butler’s face flushed red. “I am the Butler of the Cavendish Family. If you dare lay a hand on me, the Count…”

She looked back, lips curling into a red smile. “Try me.”

She followed the staircase down and walked to his side.

After bringing him back last night, Tang Nian had forgotten about his existence, vaguely recalling tossing him to the mansion’s servants.

So he was here, and had even bathed.

“Go back to your room.”

The Slave Boy stepped back half a pace, hearing her say, “Otherwise, if anyone else in this house sees you, I can’t guarantee what will happen to you.”

A young and beautiful Slave Boy was the easiest prey for Nobles.

His face instantly turned pale.
He was the Slave whom Rose had spent a fortune to purchase; at this moment, that Noble lady must be frantically searching for him.

But why…

The boy turned back, gazing at the young lady as her figure grew more distant, his eyes full of confusion.

She didn’t touch him-so why did she save him?

There is no kindness in this world without reason.

He did not believe in the existence of pure goodwill.

–

As a Player with a strong sense of purpose, Tang Nian always adhered to the principle of not offending any unknown character in the game. So, upon seeing this beautiful boy and sensing he was anything but ordinary, Tang Nian’s first reaction was to treat him amicably.

After all, it’s never wrong to leave oneself a way out: help first, then observe.

Tang Nian didn’t want to bring trouble upon herself before the game could proceed to the next stage.

Judging by her sixth sense, this boy might play an important role in the subsequent stages of the game. This mysterious, stunning NPC who drew every gaze could not possibly be just a nameless passerby.

Although the real reason she decided to save him yesterday was because she saw the familiar cloak the boy clung to in his arms.

He sat in the mud, yet didn’t let the cloak fall to the ground, protecting it in his embrace as if it were his most precious treasure.

It was just a cloak, after all-just the cloak she had casually given him.

Tang Nian felt complicated.

Gardeners and Maids picking flowers gathered in the garden, as if nightfall marked the true beginning of their day.

And the flowers, which should have bloomed during the day, blossomed even more fiercely at night. In nature, many flowers close at night and bloom during the day. Everything here defied the rules she knew.

Do they hide by day and come out at night?

Tang Nian slept on the soft, fluffy bedding of Cavendish Earl, and woke up even hungrier.

Her vision darkened in waves, as if she were about to suffer from low blood sugar. Yet the Earl’s Mansion had strict meal times; a servant brought her a glass of water and told her that outside of meal times, only water was allowed.

Tang Nian truly couldn’t understand how that tiny piece of mousse cake at dusk could count as dinner.

She drank several glasses of water in succession, her face growing paler. To distract herself, she focused her energy on exploring the game.

She asked the servant, “What did Greco mean today? What happened outside? What happened to the guests who attended the banquet?”

The servant’s eyes darted away, shaking his head desperately, as if resisting the topic.

Tang Nian took off her pearl-and-diamond earrings and placed them in his hand; their weight was substantial, and the servant’s eyes immediately lit up. He hesitated, then quietly began to share the gossip he’d overheard among the staff.

Rose had disappeared.

Not only that, several Nobles who had been invited to the ball with her yesterday had died-without exception, all in bizarre and mysterious ways, in their own bedrooms or at the dining table.

The terrifying part was that these deaths happened in an instant, without even alarming the well-trained guards of those Nobles.

The remaining Nobles were all terrified; some were protected by their families, some fell ill and shut themselves away.

Tang Nian asked the servant again, “Do you know who did these things?”

This time, the servant truly didn’t know, only saying, “It might be… the Hunter, or a Curse.”

Tang Nian asked, “What kind of Hunter?”

The servant fell silent again.