MTL - The Law of the Silent Gentleman-Chapter 48 Masquerade 4
Just when Giuliano was in a dilemma, a door behind him opened slowly, and a cool fragrance diffused out, which lifted his spirits. Giuliano turned around. A woman in a white mask held the doorknob and looked at the two servants in the corridor in amazement.
The senior servant immediately reacted: "Did it bother you, ma'am? It's nothing serious, I'll take this kid away right away..."
"No." The white-masked woman stared at Giuliano and said decisively, "You are mistaken. I called him here."
"…what?"
The woman pressed the back of her hand to her forehead: "My head is so dizzy, I need to rest for a while. You, didn't you say you want to give me some incense, and you want to massage me? Why are you dawdling?"
The eyes of the senior servant became a little strange. Giuliano flushed. Guests demand something special from a servant...and it makes sense. But he has nothing to do with this lady! She must be mistaken!
The senior servant couldn't disobey the guest's wishes, so he stammered an apology: "I'm so sorry! I called and disturbed you, please rest at ease, and if you need anything, just order the servants." He ran away as if fleeing, Leaving Giuliano and the woman in the white mask staring at each other.
The woman gestured. "Go inside and talk."
Giuliano thought carefully about the possibility of escape, and finally decided that it was almost impossible. The lady had seen that he was no ordinary servant, and if he didn't obey her orders, she could have screamed so loud that everyone in the vicinity would have been heard, and Giuliano would have been unable to fly!
He walked into the room resignedly, and the white-masked woman closed the door behind him. There are beds and a set of sofas in the room, and the decoration is simple, which makes people feel comfortable and at ease. It seems that Fernando converted this area into a guest room.
Giuliano's legs were heavy and he couldn't take a step, and his underwear was soaked in cold sweat. The woman in the white mask slowly turned to the front of him from behind, her eyes were like arrows falling from the sky, nailing him in place.
"You are not a servant here," she said coldly. "You wear a servant's clothes and a mask, but I can see that you are not a servant at all. Are you a thief?"
Giuliano bit his lip. The woman guessed right, he was indeed a thief, but not an ordinary thief.
"Since you know, why help me?"
"I see that you are still young, and I don't want to see you go astray. I advise you to stop as soon as possible and stop doing such sneaky things."
"You misunderstood, ma'am, I... I have a reason to do this!"
"I don't want to hear this kind of talk. Every criminal has a bunch of reasons like this."
"But I really..." Giuliano's mouth was dry, and he didn't know how to refute. He felt as if he had turned back into the little boy who couldn't recite books in front of his tutor, was sweating profusely but couldn't get away with it.
"Go away, I won't report you."
Giuliano squeezed out a smile: "Sorry, ma'am, I still have something to do, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave."
The white-masked woman stared at him suspiciously, probably thinking that he was out of his mind—wouldn't you run away if you were given a chance? Don't even want your life for a small profit?
"...I excuse myself."
Just as Giuliano was about to turn around, the woman took off his mask with lightning speed!
— exposed!
Giuliano covered his face subconsciously, but he understood: it was too late. The woman saw his face, and it was meaningless to cover it up.
"You..." The woman was dumbfounded and backed up again and again until she hit the sofa behind her. Giuliano touched his face. Does he look that scary? Could it be that the people of Zanodia have different aesthetics and think his appearance is particularly terrifying?
The woman looked suffocated. Giuliano hesitated to step forward to help him. After a while, the woman let out a breath slowly, and said in an inconceivable tone: "You...look like someone I know..."
Julia Norton felt baffled: "You recognize the wrong person."
"It's really similar, but..." The woman dropped Giuliano's mask, put her hands on her chest, and shook her head, "I guess it's impossible, he should be dead already."
"Who do you think I look like?"
The woman stared at his face, her gaze was like a sharp knife, as if she wanted to cut open his skin, looking for the **** truth underneath. "What's your name?"
Do you want to tell her? Giuliano thought to himself. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to tell the truth either. At this point he should have remained silent. However, for some reason, he suddenly felt a familiar feeling of intimacy with the white masked woman, as if they had been together for a long time a long time ago. Have they met? He didn't remember knowing such a woman, and he didn't think they should. Did she really admit the wrong person? Thinking of this, Giuliano felt a little disappointed.
It doesn't hurt to tell her. He whispered in his heart. "Giuliano" was such a common name that no one could guess his actual identity based on just one name.
"My name is Giuliano," he said.
Then the woman asked a question that Giuliano had never expected.
"You are Giuliano Sacon? Son of Vito of Vanessa?"
Giuliano froze.
-she knows!
This idea quickly invaded Giuliano's brain like wildfire. She knows his identity! Damn, how could he be so careless? This is Xanodia, the residence of Fernando Infonçon, of course there may be one or two people who know his face! How did he reveal his identity so easily?
For a moment, Giuliano became murderous towards Mrs. White Mask. He carried a weapon—a leaf as thin as a flap of a flap, a sharp blade hidden in his sleeve, and as long as he flicked his wrist, the blade would slide into his palm. He can slit a woman's throat in the blink of an eye, and she probably won't notice the wound on her neck until she dies.
At this time another thought quickly overwhelmed his killing intent. If he did this, wouldn't he become the kind of person he hated the most? Become Boniwell, Fernando and others who kill and silence villains?
The thought made him tremble with shame.
"How do you know it was me?"
The woman answered his question silently with movement—she took off her mask.
As Giuliano imagined, she has a dignified and serious face, and the years have left ruthless marks between her brows and eyes, but it does not take away her beauty, but makes her more dignified.
There is a very similar face in Giuliano's memory - the same facial features, but younger, with a lively look floating between the brows.
But how is it possible? Unless he was mistaken, that person should have died long ago.
"Theodora... Teacher?"
When Giuliano was a child, there was a governess who took care of his life and studies. Her name was Theodora, and she came from the city-state of Akdon. It was she who brought the mysterious and dangerous word "reticent" into Giuliano's life.
During the great plague of Vanessa, Miss Theodora left without saying goodbye. The mother told Giuliano that the teacher "went back home to get married". When Giuliano understood the meaning of "death" ignorantly, he guessed that his tutor must have died of the plague. His mother was afraid that he would be sad, so she made up a white lie to appease him.
How could Miss Theodora, who should have died of illness, still be alive? How could it happen to appear at Fernando's ball? It is impossible for the dead to be resurrected, let alone meet him on such an occasion!
"Didn't you pass away?" Giuliano asked in shock.
Theodora was even more shocked than him: "Who told you?!"
"My mother...she said you went back home and got married—doesn't that mean 'passed away'?"
Theodora looked at him silently. Giuliano was also speechless. After a long time, the teacher said: "You think too much. I really went back to my hometown to get married, so I resigned as a tutor."
It turned out that my mother never lied to me! I've been wrong all these years! Giuliano was sweating profusely, not knowing whether he should apologize to his mother or the teacher.
"Your husband...?"
"Not long after we got married, he fell ill and died." Theodora sighed, "I haven't married since then, and stayed in the city-state of Akton, and later entered the university to study dragon studies."
"Wait, Dragonology? So Giannis and Constantia are yours...?"
"They are my students in the university." Theodora paused, "How do you know them?"
The two remained silent again. After another long time, Theodora suddenly realized: "You are 'that' Giuliano! No wonder! This name is very common, I didn't realize it for a while! Antoine often mentioned you to us! How could I have thought, Antoine That 'friend' you mentioned is actually my former student?"
Giuliano didn't believe in "fate" before, but now he has to believe it. There seems to be a mysterious force that gathers his former teacher and present friends under the same roof. Was this not some obscure portent of a vague future?
Theodora asked: "How did you become a member of the 'Frost Poetry'? I heard about your family. It is said that your family was executed for treason. I thought you were dead... What happened? ?”
Giuliano had a sore nose. Yes, all his family members are gone, but he would meet his teacher again by such a coincidence, it's like... like he still has a family member alive!
"I can't explain clearly for a while, teacher, if I have a chance in the future, I will definitely tell you the whole story. But it's too late now, I must return to the ball as soon as possible."
Theodora nodded hesitantly: "I see, the so-called 'band' is just a cover, right? You sneaked into this mansion as a member of 'Frost Poetry', what are you actually looking for, right? And Fernando, About your family case?"
Giuliano could not help admiring Theodora. As expected of his teacher, she was so perceptive, and before he said anything, she made a wild guess of his reason for coming.
The young apprentice put on the mask, and Theodora did the same.
"I'll go back with you, so it's less likely to arouse suspicion. If someone asks, you can say that you have been with me all the time."
"...Thank you." There was a wave of warmth in Giuliano's heart. Theodora still cared about him like a teacher and protected him like a family member, even at the expense of her own reputation. For the first time since Vanessa's **** night, Giuliano felt so emotional.
The two left the room together. Giuliano first asked Theodora to wait on the stairs. He found the servant who was stunned by him, changed back into his clothes, turned around to meet the teacher, and returned to the side hall together.
When approaching the destination, the young apprentice vigilantly noticed that the side hall seemed to be in chaos, and could not hear the soft music, but heard screams and roars one after another.
The teacher and the student exchanged glances. Giuliano stopped Theodora: "You stay here, I'll go and see."
"But, it's dangerous...!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the door leading to the side hall was knocked open forcefully. A group of guests didn't care about their appearance, they scrambled for the road and fled, like small animals that collapsed in panic when a ferocious beast descended the mountain.
Heart-piercing cries reached Giuliano's ears.
"Help! Killing!"
"Guards! Where are the guards! Come!"
"Assassins! There are assassins!"