The Shaded Castle was small, with few inhabitants.
Apart from the ordinary residents, only the members of House Marais remained. Compared with Stormveil Castle, Leyndell, and the town outside the Academy's gates, the Shaded Castle felt much quieter.
It was lifeless. Rather than a castle town, it was more like House Marais's private estate.
Apparently, any landowner of standing could build himself a home that looked like a castle.
Zhao Si led the two horses into the stables, then followed Mare Mare toward the Lord's Manor.
The tallest tower in the Shaded Castle was Mare Mare's home. It had been designed as a multifunctional, vertically integrated building, with different purposes assigned to every level from the top floor to the basement. Its rooms were staggered to make full use of the vertical space and compensate for its cramped footprint.
It could be a hassle for anyone unfamiliar with the layout. Someone looking for a toilet might climb two floors, open a door, and find a study, then go down a floor only to find another study.
Some utility rooms even had openings in their ceilings, connected by ladders for convenience.
He had to admit, the original designer had been quite creative. The Lands Between were a classic case of vast land and sparse population, and castles-multifunctional complexes serving both domestic and military purposes-were quite popular.
Mare Mare lived on the top floor, where a small window offered a view of the entire Shaded Castle. There really wasn't much worth looking at.
What Zhao Si was most grateful for was that the Shaded Castle hadn't yet become a cesspit of poison. There was solid ground beneath his feet. Ah, at that moment, he truly wanted to hug the earth.
Poison swamps where he couldn't ride a horse were a nightmare, and that was without mentioning all the annoying monsters.
Still, plenty of monsters could actually be skipped. As long as he knew how to run, there weren't many he absolutely had to fight.
And Mare Mare had a great deal to do with the Shaded Castle's future miserable state.
Simps never meet a good end.
Zhao Si shook his head as he looked at Mare Mare's back. The Valkyrie's body looked as though she had lupus. How could she possibly be in the mood to date Mare Mare?
They all rode the lift up, then passed through a corridor to reach the hall of the Lord's Manor.
An oil painting hung in the very center of the hall. It depicted neither an ancestor of House Marais nor Mare Mare himself, but Malenia.
Mare Mare excitedly showed it off to Zhao Si. "I hired a painter all the way from Leyndell for this. What do you think? Doesn't it look just like her?"
Zhao Si looked at the portrait, then at Malenia, and teased her a little. "Senior sister, you're awfully easygoing about this."
Malenia pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. "He simply wouldn't leave me alone."
"Want me to help?" Zhao Si whispered.
Malenia nodded. "If you can, that would be ideal."
Watching Zhao Si and Malenia whisper to each other filled Mare Mare with jealousy. "Well, tell me! What do you think of the painting?"
Zhao Si cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "Mediocre. Extremely mediocre."
Mare Mare grew agitated at that. "How is it mediocre? Look how detailed it is! That expression, those strands of hair, those scars! This painting has a soul!"
"But my senior sister is right here." Zhao Si planted his hands on his hips. "She's standing right here in the flesh, and you're showing off a painting? Are you stupid? I'm embarrassed on her behalf."
Zhao Si would say what Malenia was too polite to say herself. As her junior brother, he needed that much initiative. After all, he was counting on her to stand up for him in the future.
"I, well... uh..." Mare Mare was momentarily speechless. He felt Zhao Si was wrong, but couldn't figure out how to refute him.
Why was he showing off the painting? Because the painting was all he had.
The painting belonged to him. Malenia did not. He wanted to use things like this to attract her attention, deluding himself into thinking he could change her opinion of him.
But it had the opposite effect, only making Malenia find him more annoying.
The atmosphere froze, leaving everyone at a loss for what to say.
At that moment, Helena spoke apologetically. "Sorry, Lord Mare, could you have some food prepared? We haven't had a proper meal throughout our journey."
Zhao Si's wilderness survival skills still left something to be desired.
Mare Mare had no choice but to order the kitchen to prepare a feast for his two distinguished guests, however reluctantly.
Zhao Si discreetly gave Helena a thumbs-up. She grabbed his thumb. "Don't go stirring up trouble. An executioner is still an official, however minor, and his family is nobility."
A noble was still a noble, after all, and certainly outranked a commoner like Zhao Si.
"Relax, relax. Besides, my senior sister is here. It wouldn't even be my turn to handle things." Zhao Si pulled his thumb free, feeling that Helena had become much stricter since their last argument.
Sensing their little exchange, Malenia couldn't help remarking, "They say a Tarnished and a Witch make the best partners. Seeing you today, I can certainly believe it."
"Senior sister, it's not what you think." Zhao Si had no idea where Malenia's thoughts had wandered.
Mare Mare led the three of them to the dining room and seated them. The tower had no room for a long table, so they used a small one.
Naturally, Mare Mare took the head of the table, while Zhao Si and Helena each sat down. As the guest of honor, Malenia did not sit beside Mare Mare. Instead, she moved her chair between Zhao Si and Helena.
His senior sister really didn't stand on ceremony.
The feast passed in a relatively pleasant atmosphere. The spread was quite lavish, with plenty of wine and meat. Zhao Si had no table manners whatsoever. He grabbed large chunks of meat and gnawed on them, drinking wine straight from the bottle.
Helena didn't act like a young lady either. She looked more like the reincarnation of someone who had starved to death, ravenously shoveling food into her mouth.
Mare Mare raised his cup, intending to speak to Malenia, but Zhao Si snatched it with his greasy hand and poured the wine into his mouth. "Thanks!"
That left Mare Mare deeply embarrassed, yet he still had to say, "You're welcome."
Then he tried to offer Malenia a plate of sliced steak, only for Zhao Si's hateful hand to reach straight onto the plate and grab a fistful.
His hand was already greasy, and the steak was covered in sauce. When he squeezed, some pieces slipped from his grip and landed right on Mare Mare's robe. Mare Mare shrieked and sprang to his feet, frantically wiping at it.
"Oh, sorry, sorry!" Zhao Si actually moved to help him.
By now, Mare Mare was afraid of him and hurriedly dodged away. "I-I'll go change."
With his mask removed, Mare Mare had a delicate, youthful face, his pale complexion tinged with blue. He looked sickly and listless.
Only after he left did Zhao Si grow serious. "Senior sister, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it?" Malenia asked.
"Here's the thing. Whether you believe me or not, I want to help you. I know you and Miquella both want to cure the Scarlet Rot, and I know the Full Moon Queen of Caria has a Great Rune that can grant rebirth." Zhao Si spoke earnestly, concealing nothing.
Malenia said flatly, "Just tell me what the Fingers sent you here to do."
"The Fingers didn't send me. Old Man told me you were here." Zhao Si grew a little anxious. "Mare Mare keeps pestering you, so I could take you away. Wouldn't that be great?"
"I can leave whenever I wish. I don't need help." Malenia rejected him coldly.
Zhao Si shook his head. "If you could leave, you'd have left long ago. You know Mare would follow you, and that could easily expose your identity."
Malenia said nothing, merely raising her cup and taking a sip of wine.
A tactical sip. There's an opening.
Zhao Si struck while the iron was hot. "My plan is to get him to teach me Ohega's Dancing Blade, then practice the Flowing Sword with you. Finally, I'll help you shake him off and take you away."
Malenia turned her face toward him. "Haven't you skipped rather a lot of steps?"
"We'll have to work out plenty of things when the time comes. The point is to stop him from following you." Zhao Si stood and wiped his mouth, then washed his hands with wood ash to remove the grease. "I'll go find him first."
Zhao Si met Mare Mare on his way back after changing clothes and blocked his path.
"What exactly do you want?" Mare Mare grew so agitated that anger flushed his face, giving him an unhealthy look.
"You like my senior sister, right?" Zhao Si cut straight to the point.
All of Mare Mare's anger vanished. He stammered, unable to get a word out.
"Look, I won't beat around the bush. I heard you have a unique technique here called Ohega's Dancing Blade." Zhao Si smiled. "Teach it to me, and I'll help you woo my senior sister."
"It's a deal!" Mare Mare agreed without a second thought.
Before you continue