Standing before the main gate, Silas hadn't even rung the doorbell when the side gate next to it opened. A middle-aged man dressed in a thick cotton tailcoat walked out. Upon seeing Silas, he asked with a smile, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Silas Sotos?"
Silas nodded. "And you are…?"
"I am Mrs. Michelle's butler. You can just call me Butler. Mrs. Michelle knew of your arrival and asked me to meet you at the gate." The butler's smile was very amiable, making one feel very comfortable.
Silas looked at the butler's frostbitten red ears and slightly trembling legs and said, "Then let's go see the madam quickly!"
Afterward, the group of three people and one dog, led by the butler, followed a small path and entered through the east side gate of the large villa.
Walking into the vast house, the first thing they felt was a warm atmosphere blowing on their faces.
Silas and the other two didn't feel much, but it was evident that the butler's eyes were filled with comfort and happiness, as if he had entered paradise.
"This expression is just like when I used to work in Shanghai, the feeling of walking from outdoors into an air-conditioned room in summer," Silas deeply empathized.
The three stood in a not-too-large hall. Directly in front was a long corridor. On the right side of the corridor was a neat row of rooms, and on the left side was frost-covered glass.
The floor of the hall was paved with marble, and in the middle, a huge tulip pattern was pieced together, looking very beautiful.
The top of this hall was a huge space connected to three floors. Looking up, one could see the surrounding corridors of the second and third floors.
On the right side was a spiral staircase. The walls were adorned with some animal specimens and quaint oil paintings.
The butler smiled. "I apologize, sir, but your dog will have to stay here for a moment."
Saying this, a middle-aged woman in a black and white maid outfit walked over, holding a dog leash.
Silas waved his hand. "No need, my dog is very intelligent and won't hurt anyone."
Then Silas had Lupo sit here and wait.
Under the gaze of the two, Lupo very obediently lay on the ground, looking at the maid holding the dog leash with a hint of arrogance, as if provoking her.
"..."
The butler couldn't help but smile and didn't insist. "Then let it be. This way, please, the three of you."
Saying this, he led the two up the spiral staircase to the second floor.
The structure of the second floor was more compact compared to the first floor. Upon reaching the second floor, the first thing they faced was a surrounding corridor from which they could see the main hall on the first floor.
Following the corridor forward for about twenty meters, the four entered through a door and arrived in a luxurious living room.
The floor was covered with high-grade soft fur carpet. In the middle was a genuine leather sofa. The fireplace in the distance burned with a warm flame. The floor-to-ceiling windows opposite were very clean, offering a perfect view of the white snowscape outside.
The overall high-end environment left Silas somewhat stupefied.
"I'm truly sorry, sir, but you need to change your shoes here," the butler said apologetically.
Silas smiled, not minding, and after changing into the slippers prepared by the butler, the butler stepped aside. "Please come in, Mrs. Michelle is waiting for you."
After the three walked in, the butler respectfully closed the door and left.
"Mrs. Michelle, if she is Master Jeros's mistress, she must be an incredibly beautiful noblewoman," Silas thought, walking to the middle of the living room with a hint of anticipation.
"You must be Silas Sotos, right?" At that moment, a female voice sounded.
Silas hurriedly turned his head.
Instantly, his expression became very colorful.
Mrs. Michelle was wearing a purple long dress. She had short, silver-white hair, her face was full of wrinkles, and because she had lost many teeth, her lips were wrinkled and shrunken.
Her body was somewhat hunchbacked, and she needed to support her waist with her hand when walking.
"..."
With a crash, his fantasy shattered.
The incredibly beautiful image he had just imagined was completely smashed by this old lady who was at least seventy years old.
"Hehe, I am Mrs. Michelle. You look somewhat surprised," Mrs. Michelle said, walking over with a smile.
"Cough, cough!" Silas immediately coughed twice and said with a smile, "Hello, esteemed Mrs. Michelle. My name is Silas Sotos. Master Jeros introduced me."
Mrs. Michelle walked closer, carefully sized up Silas, then looked at Helles and the other, and then said with a smile, "Jeros's judgment is still as sharp as ever. A truly fine young gentleman."
Silas smiled. "Thank you."
After some simple pleasantries, Mrs. Michelle asked, "Where is the letter Jeros gave you?"
Silas hurriedly handed over the letter.
After Mrs. Michelle finished reading the letter, her eyes, full of meaning, stared at Helles and Bernice for more than ten seconds.
Here, Helles and Bernice instantly bristled like startled kittens, their bodies tensed, their faces guarded.
Mrs. Michelle's smile deepened. "Not bad, very good."
Then, without sitting down, she turned directly. "Wait here for a moment. The person who wants to see you will arrive soon."
"Aren't you the one I'm meeting?" Silas was taken aback.
Mrs. Michelle smiled. "I am just an ordinary person responsible for gatekeeping. I don't understand much about you mystics."
Saying this, she returned to the inner room through the door.
Silas didn't act rashly but stood here quietly, waiting patiently.
Two minutes later, Silas suddenly smelled a special fragrance.
The fragrance seemed to be that of tuberose mixed with a hint of mellow wine aroma.
"What an surprise, it's actually two Demonesses," a noble and mature female voice came.
Swish!
Hearing this, Helles's skin instantly turned into pitch-black scales. Her mouth filled with fangs, her eyes became indifferent scarlet vertical pupils, her fair little hands directly transformed into ferocious sharp claws, and even four pitch-black dragon horns grew from her hair.
Silas turned his head slightly and saw a beautiful, mature woman dressed in a black tight-fitting robe embroidered with purple, wearing black leather gloves and high-heeled leather boots, strolling out.
This woman was tall, probably one meter eighty, with deep purple hair, fair skin, large eyes, and a high nose bridge – a typical beautiful and elegant Western mature older sister type.
"Calm down, it's alright," Silas grabbed Helles's claw and said gently.
Helles looked at the calm Silas, then, within two breaths, transformed from a ferocious monster back into a beautiful girl.
"Are you the person Master Jeros trusts most?" Silas confirmed first this time.
The mature and alluring older sister smiled, her rosy lips curving at an enticing angle. "Yes, my name is Adeline Michelle. I am Jeros's partner."
"Indeed!" Silas thought upon hearing this.
Adeline sat down gracefully, crossing her alluring, slender legs. "Sit. I believe we should have a lot to talk about."
Silas didn't sit down rashly but asked with a serious expression, "I want to confirm, you should also be a heretic wanted by the Church, right?"
Adeline was somewhat surprised, her almost black eyebrows rising slightly, then she smiled. "Yes, I am a sorceress, belonging to the Sorceress Sisterhood."