Just as Klein was feeling dizzy, Alice seemed to remember something and suddenly chuckled lightly:
"Oh dear, I think I forgot to suppress that alluring side effect. Hang in there, darling~"
"You…!"
Klein felt his face flush instantly, unsure whether it was because he had believed her half-hearted claim about the love token, or because he was embarrassed and annoyed by her unrestrained, bewitching charm, or perhaps because of that intimate address with its rising syllable. Helpless
, he could only recite the activation syllable for the leaf-shaped earring—well, calling it just an "earring" didn't seem quite right, and its original name was indeed too long and difficult to remember, so he might as well call it… well, let's call it "Breath of Thought."
Thinking this, after feeling a noticeable improvement in his clarity, Klein, taking advantage of the convenience of telepathy, mentally "asked" Alice:
"So, have you controlled that charm ability now? I don't want to fall for it like those people earlier! That would be too foolish!"
"Hmm, Mind's Breath Earrings... that's a good name."
Alice nodded first, mentioning the name he had first thought of, before leaning into his arms with a smile.
"Okay, don't be so tense, I've... well, I've controlled it, it won't be as exaggerated as before."
Klein was still stiff. After deactivating the Mind's Breath, which was in an active state, he almost half-embraced the soft, boneless petite body on his body and walked awkwardly into the lounge she had pointed out earlier.
"Um... what." He heard himself suggest, seemingly calmly, "There's no one else here now, you... you don't have to be so dedicated to acting, do you?"
With the man beside her offering a considerate and gentle support, Alice sat down against the deep red leather sofa in the lounge.
During this time, she never let go of Klein's hand, simply kicking off her high heels, turning her body to half-recline on the long double sofa, smiling with a slightly hazy gaze.
"No."
...No? Klein didn't react for a moment, frowning as he racked his brains trying to figure out what she meant.
"It's not acting... um, I'm really not feeling well right now."
She casually removed the silver-white mask, chuckling as she tossed it into some unknown corner of the lounge.
Klein looked at the girl before him, his heart skipped a beat, and a very ominous premonition began to surface.
Could it be that she was still... implicated by those things added to the drink...?
"Um—actually... I have a very low alcohol tolerance. A few sips and I get dizzy."
Alice sighed softly, closing her eyes slightly dazed, her voice cloying as if she were about to fall asleep.
"If I drink any more, I'll… um, I don't know if my drinking has improved… so, do me a favor. Help me get some hangover medicine…"
…Are you kidding me? Knowing you have a low alcohol tolerance, you still drink? You're just like an old smoker who knows smoking is harmful to their health but can't resist taking a sip?
Klein was dumbfounded, feeling the image of the girl in front of him begin to crumble: what a mysterious and powerful astral traveler, what a superb actress with Oscar-winning acting skills, what a calm, unpredictable, and wicked witch…
She's just a little glutton who gets drunk easily and loves to drink, right?
At least she knows to bring hangover medicine…
wait, she didn't tell him where the hangover medicine is!
Klein suddenly jumped up and was about to shake Alice a few times to wake her up, but his hand stopped halfway and he withdrew.
Shaking her shoulders… no, her dress is off-the-shoulder, it would touch that snow-white skin…
…Other parts? No, no, even more not!
Slapping her face? That's good,
that's what I'll do. After making his decision, Klein took a breath, half-squatted down, and reached out to pat that rosy, lovely face. Just
as he was about to touch the girl's delicate skin, her vibrant blue-green eyes opened.
"Hmm… what do you want to do to me?"
Alice gave a soft, nasal hum, seemingly giving him a reproachful look.
"Hangover medicine, along with other potions, on the leg band… um, the pale purple one, don't get it wrong…"
She finished these two sentences in her final moments of lucidity, then closed her eyes again, succumbing to the effects of the alcohol, and drifted into a hazy state.
The pale purple hangover medicine, on the leg band… Ah, so that's it, hiding the bottle under her skirt would indeed make it harder to spot…
under her skirt…
Klein was about to nod when he suddenly realized something crucial, and his expression instantly froze.
Good heavens, was his reputation ruined just like that? Lifting a girl's skirt?
That was too despicable… too despicable!
Klein considered himself a respectable man and couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.
...
... Well, Klein was a respectable man, but Edward wasn't.
If he said he wasn't, then he wasn't.
"Edward" took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then reached out to pull up the hem of his dress, which was being stretched taut by several petticoats...
Just as he was struggling with those damned petticoats, there was a sudden knock on the door.
The person immediately turned the doorknob and looked into the lounge in a soft voice:
"Excuse me, is this Ms. Claire Sibley? Mrs. Beatrice would like to invite... Ah, I seem to have disturbed your enjoyment?"
Klein looked up somewhat blankly from the hell of petticoats at the maid dressed as a servant by the door; little did he know that in her eyes, he was a sinful face peeking out from under the dress, just like most people in this manor, indulging in the fleeting pleasures of others' charity.
"I've left Lady Beatrice's invitation here. Please continue..."
The maid, seemingly representing the will of the banquet's hostess, Lady Beatrice, placed a card-like object on the low cabinet by the door, leaving behind only a meaningful, ambiguous glance before departing the room. "
Damn it, someone saw me... Oh well, I'm called 'Edward' now, so be it."
Klein thought with a touch of self-reproach, struggling to remove the leather leg ring holding multiple vials of potions. He quickly straightened the girl's dress, pretending nothing had happened. Fortunately,
Alice wasn't completely unconscious. When Klein helped her up and tried to pour the pale purple hangover potion into her mouth, she obediently opened her mouth, slightly frowning as she swallowed the small vial.
Within about seven or eight seconds, Alice regained consciousness; her eyes were no longer hazy, and her expression returned to its lively state.
"It took a little time, but thankfully… well, Lady Beatrice's invitation has arrived, right? Then there's no problem. Just as I guessed, she won't ignore someone who broke the rules at the dinner party…"
Heaven knows how Klein forced himself to stop thinking about what had happened before.
"So… are you going now?" he heard himself ask in a fairly calm tone.
"Now. What's wrong, really want to stroll in the garden with me? We might see something we shouldn't."
Alice took the card with Lady Beatrice's invitation from the door and shook her head with a smile.
"Actually, I wanted to say…"
Meeting her smiling gaze, Klein gradually mustered his courage.
"The steaks and goose at the dinner party were quite good, and I was planning to try the roast lamb leg and dessert later… um, I mean, you can eat something before going to see the witch, it won't make a difference if you eat a little more, right?"
Klein became more and more self-righteous as he spoke—after all, they had both been misunderstood like that, so going half an hour or even an hour later would be perfectly reasonable!
As for the delicious food in the hall… it would have been cleared away if we had gone any later, and dinner time is precious!
"By the way, try to keep a low profile this time. I don't want to experience being overwhelmed by the crowd again; it's ruined my appetite…"
Recalling his previous experience, Klein patted his chest and patted himself to catch his breath.
Alice seemed to pause for a moment, then sighed helplessly, ultimately not refusing the sincere invitation from this true foodie.
"…Alright."
The two returned to the banquet hall like two drops of water blending into a river, attracting no attention from anyone else.No one realized that the young couple strolling around the banquet table, enjoying the various delicacies, were the very people who had caused the small commotion earlier. They not only returned to the hall as if nothing had happened, but they also seemed completely unconcerned about the discussions around them, their eyes only on the roast chickens, roast geese, roast oysters, cakes, and puddings.
"See? I told you the dinner here was good. It's a pity the drinks were spiked…" Otherwise, he would have actually liked to try those drinks… After all, they were expensive beverages he couldn't normally afford. He could just treat it as a taste of something new and experience the feeling of money.
Klein swallowed the cheesecake in his mouth, receiving a long-lost feeling of simple happiness from his stomach.
Alice, who didn't have a good appetite like him but had actually taken quite a few desserts, nodded slightly, finally remembering his earlier warning.
"Spiked? What was added to the drinks?"
After hearing Klein's hesitant answer, she seemed to recall something, shaking her head and chuckling softly, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
"Oh, you mean this when you say 'added something'… Think about the nature of this dinner party, adding something to liven things up is quite normal. Besides, the other guests are all drinking, and no one seems to be acting strangely. This means the amount of drug added to the drink wasn't actually enough to make someone… well, you should understand what I mean."
…Was she implying he overreacted?
Klein expressionlessly chopped off a large piece of caramel pudding from his dessert plate and stuffed it into his mouth, pretending not to hear what she said.
Alice, after laughing, quietly finished the last small piece of strawberry pudding on her plate and placed her knife, fork, and plate aside.
"I'm finished, Klein… Edward, remember what I said, don't forget."
As she spoke, she glanced at the tie clip on Klein's coat—now, a closer look at his coat would reveal something hidden underneath.
The potions that had once been hidden under her skirt had been handed over to Klein. These included healing potions for external injuries, antidotes, purification potions to remove curses, and even a completely transparent invisibility potion.
She had already tested the effects of these alchemical potions on the prisoners of war the previous night; the results were quite good, with no rejection reactions from the other world.
This was why she was willing to entrust the potions to Klein.
No further explanation was needed. Alice believed she had made ample preparations and provided sufficient safety for her companion—unless he intentionally committed suicide, he would have a chance to save himself using the alchemical products.
Moreover, in case of any unforeseen circumstances, they could communicate telepathically, avoiding any information asymmetry.
"Yes, go... good luck."
Klein wiped his mouth with a napkin and nodded solemnly to her.
The two parted ways. The young woman, holding the witch's invitation card, left the gradually quieting banquet hall, while the young man with wheat-colored skin turned to find some hot soup to cleanse his palate—he had inadvertently eaten too much meat and sweets that evening!
...
Rieslan Manor, second floor, in front of the Red Rose Hall.
Alice had let her elegantly braided hair fall loose over her shoulders, and her expression had changed slightly, deliberately displaying obvious interest and composure.
Before entering the banquet hall where the witch resided, she had prepared herself, gradually immersing herself in the role of the witch. Feeling the time was right, she opened the two tightly closed doors without further delay.
As the solid wooden doors opened, the scene in the Red Rose Hall unfolded like a scroll, completely filling Alice's eyes.
It was a room filled with dreamlike colors.
In the distance, the curtains were made of fine, light red velvet, and several magnificent chandeliers above held numerous burning red candles, casting a hazy, ambiguous atmosphere over the space, which was filled with a faint fragrance.
The entire Red Rose Hall was covered with heavy carpets, but the furniture and decorations were sparse, with only a few sets of wide sofas, almost large enough to be used as beds, blooming like flower petals around a central circular platform, each displaying a hue of rose red, vermilion, coral red, violet red, and more.
Beneath the layers of sheer curtains, five pairs of beautiful eyes, each with its own unique charm, gazed at the girl outside the door.
After what felt like an eternity, a woman clearly in the main seat stood up.
She had long, slightly wavy, beautiful black hair, captivating features, and deep blue eyes as bright as jewels. Her graceful figure, accentuated by a magnificent high-waisted red dress, exuded the unique charm of a mature woman.
This stunningly beautiful face had appeared alongside the excessively obese Baron at the start of the banquet.
"It seems our snack-loving guest has finally decided to come... How was the 'dining' at the banquet?"
Lady Beatrice smiled as she approached Alice, her figure alluring and her expression friendly.
The remaining four beautiful women, some pure and lovely, others elegant and intellectual, remained silent, like serpentine beauties disturbed from their meal, casting chilling glances at the visitor.
Seeing Alice meet their scrutinizing gazes, one of them quickly averted their eyes, lowering their head to avoid her probing. A few seconds later, another gave up on meeting her eyes, while the remaining two remained poised and confident, showing no sign of timidity.
However, after Alice looked around at the five people in the Red Rose Hall, she couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed:
weren't witches supposed to become exceptionally beautiful under the influence of potions? In the end…
they were still not as beautif