"Mr. Butler, the Young Lady has already entered the bath," Lina respectfully said to the butler, who was dusting a vase with a pompom duster.
"Lina. Speaking of which, don't you think the Young Lady returned a bit too hastily and nervously today? She has never been so eager to ask where the Master went," the old butler said, his brows tightly furrowed.
Lina quickly bowed: "Sir, the Young Lady is not for me to evaluate. Perhaps the Young Lady wants to give the Master a surprise."
"A surprise?"
"Yes, Mr. Butler. St. Giles Festival is not far off, perhaps the Young Lady is preparing a gift for the Master, you never know.
Also, the Young Lady asked me to tell you that her armor needs deep cleaning and maintenance, and also re-blessing, replacement of the holy seals, and a second set of replacement power armor to be retrieved from the armory."
"Good, I will immediately have the Tech-Priest begin the maintenance work."
"The armor has already been sent to the isolation room by a Servitor, Mr. Butler."
Seeing Lina successfully distract the butler, the Female Hunter-Duke, dressed in casual clothes, quietly walked towards the machine soul control room.
'++Iris Authentication++'
'++Authentication Approved++'
Hiss—the door to the control room opened, and the Female Hunter-Duke looked at the room full of various alarm array layouts, somewhat at a loss, and finally chose the simplest and purest method—pulling the switch.
As the power to the main building's control room was cut, the Female Hunter-Duke let out a long breath, pretending as if nothing had happened, and walked gracefully towards the bathroom.
—
At dusk, the sun was setting, and the artificial horizon was a fiery red, like a prairie fire.
Horatio yawned wearily, feeling sleepy, but his empty stomach made him feel hungry and thirsty, constantly driving away his drowsiness.
[+Get ready.+]
Suddenly, the Female Hunter-Duke's exceptionally ethereal voice came from the communicator.
Horatio listened carefully, then slowly spoke: [+Are you taking a bath?+]
In a 300-square-meter Roman-style bathroom, sitting in a bathtub as large as 100 square meters, the Female Hunter-Duke suddenly blushed.
[+What are you asking about! Bastard.+], she cursed in a low voice.
[+So, what should I do?+]
[+I will distract the Guards in a moment, you take the opportunity to enter through the small servant's door at the back, my personal maid will cover for you, remember, absolutely do not get discovered!+]
The communication ended, and Horatio leaned against the hatch, wondering how this girl could manage to distract the Guards while bathing.
"Sergeant!" A clear female voice shouted.
"At your service, Miss Lina. What is it?"
"Just now I saw a figure outside the Young Lady's bathroom, who is so audacious!"
"Just now… was there someone?"
"I'm sure, sir. And I saw that person heading towards the ornamental garden."
Although the sergeant didn't see anyone, he still called the nearby Guards and sent them to search the ornamental garden and the hedge maze.
Horatio seized the opportunity, quietly extended a leg, stepped off the shuttle, and walked towards the maid.
"Hello, Young Lady."
He was unarmed and openly greeted the maid, who was frowning and scrutinizing him.
[This boy… is he the Young Lady's Adeptus Arbites colleague?]
To get Lina to help her, Farida hadn't told her that Horatio was actually a death row inmate from the Lower Hive.
She lied, claiming he was a Adeptus Arbites colleague who had gotten dirty on a mission and was brought home to rest.
But why not just walk in openly? The Young Lady's reason was strange no matter how she thought about it.
Could it be…
The only reasonable explanation the maid could think of was that the Young Lady had secretly brought someone back.
She scrutinized the handsome young man in front of her; though he looked good, with a handsome and generous face, every aspect of his appearance scored high marks.
It was just that he looked too slender; the Adeptus Arbites armor barely managed to fill him out.
[Does the Young Lady really like this kind of skinny monkey? Does he have some special skill?]
Special skill…?
The personal maid's face instantly turned red, and her eyes quickly darted away from Horatio's lower body.
"Uh… Young Lady, should I go in now?" Horatio nervously looked in the direction the Guards had left.
"Alright, please change into slippers." The maid placed the pre-prepared shoes on the ground. Horatio took off his mud-caked combat boots, and the maid took them.
The unpleasant mud from the battle in the Lower Hive effectively concealed his embarrassing situation of not being able to bathe for a long time in prison, not arousing the maid's suspicion.
The maid lowered her gaze slightly and sprayed him with perfume. The pleasant scent allowed Horatio, whose nose had been numb from the stench, to breathe freely for once.
He carefully walked into the Female Hunter-Duke's home, and a sense of luxurious quality enveloped him, as if he had stepped into the Palace of Versailles.
The floor was meticulously laid with black and white high-grade marble, and every five meters along the walls there was a carved Roman column embedded in the wall, with gilded flower stands and pots placed beneath them, each flower vying for beauty and unique.
The hall adopted an arched design, and the walls and ceiling were covered with magnificent space battles and various world reliefs.
"These reliefs are all based on the navigation logs recorded by the Scribe on the Master's ship. The Master greatly enjoys the pleasure of crushing the Empire's enemies and also enjoys appreciating the beautiful worlds he has visited." The maid walked quickly, also upholding the etiquette of hospitality, introducing these frescoes to Horatio.
"Uh… but isn't that Master quite volatile…" Horatio found it difficult to associate such a volatile person with appreciating beauty.
"Please mind your words, young sir." The maid frowned, quite displeased, but she did not tell Horatio what kind of person Captain Alexander Hood truly was, as if his true personality was a secret that could not be mentioned.
"I apologize, where are we going now?"
"The Young Lady said to take you to her room first." Lina sighed heavenward.
When the Young Lady brought up this suggestion, she had tried to dissuade her for a long time, until she couldn't think of a single room that the butler couldn't enter, and only then did she have to give up trying to dissuade her Young Lady.
"Her room? Why?" Horatio was very surprised.
"Because only the Young Lady's room is a place where the butler cannot enter. If you don't want to be discovered by the butler, who is skilled at detecting subtle clues, please follow me quickly."
[Uh, nobles really have a lot of rules.] Horatio shrugged, completely ignorant of these customs, but it was undoubtedly true that such a well-bred, traditional unmarried noble girl would usually not allow a strange man into her boudoir.
It seemed she was truly going to great lengths and sacrificing her reputation to help him.
Horatio followed the maid to a double door on the second floor. When the maid pushed the door open, the luxurious interior decoration left Horatio speechless.
The room was at least 200 square meters, divided into a tea room, dressing table, changing room, and bedroom, all decorated in dazzling Rococo style, definitely a dream paradise for countless young girls.
Although he had indeed entered the young lady's boudoir, the bedroom where the bed was located had already been blocked by Lina with thick pink velvet curtains, so he couldn't see the true 'boudoir'. The place he was in was merely a tea room with a sofa and coffee table placed in front of the fireplace.
"Please do not touch anything carelessly. As per the Young Lady's request, you must bathe first." Lina gently stroked her mouth and nose, spraying perfume everywhere Horatio passed.
"Emmmm, where do I bathe?"
Lina walked to the corner of the wall and pulled open a blue curtain, revealing a large carved porcelain bathtub, wide enough for him to sit in with his legs stretched out, and a fountain shower above it.
Horatio had heard tour guides explain the purpose of this design: it was where nobles, as children, were helped to bathe by maids or attendants.
However.
When nobles grew up, this place was usually used more after finishing bedtime activities.
"Please bathe and change here, and try not to spill any water."
May 1st is a glorious holiday, wishing all laborers a happy holiday! Everyone, have a good rest!