Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 56

Before midnight, the atmosphere of the ball reached its climax.

Perhaps because of the loneliness of the winter, everyone was enjoying themselves thoroughly.

The girls danced on tiptoe, light as butterflies on grass leaves, and the moonlight streaming down from the greenhouse ceiling made the tiny beads of sweat on their noses glisten.

No one could resist being enchanted by such a beautiful sight, and the cheerful organ music seemed never to stop. The swirling skirts and lights dazzled the eyes. Even the Baron would have been absorbed in the revelry if it weren’t for the thug who followed him closely at all times.

He didn’t know what exactly the bold men who had intercepted him were after, but the young man who stuck to him like a shadow wielded a very sharp dagger. Unless a strong bodyguard could rescue him, the Baron, who was never skilled in combat even in his twenties, would never risk his life.

He feigned compliance with them, falsely claiming to the castle that he had brought a cousin with him, all the while looking for an opportunity to signal Mistress Daisy or any girl to hopefully understand his gestures and subdue the ill-intentioned man beside him.

Unfortunately, the plan wasn’t going smoothly, as Mistress Daisy, as always, was only concerned with how much money he would “donate”.

As for the naive girls, they knew only to dance and drink, and although they were inwardly anxious about their lives, the distracted Baron was still persuaded to drink several glasses of tart apple cider.

Alice breathed lightly as she stealthily glanced at Mistress Daisy, who was leaning on the long sofa, her heart pounding.

She knew Mistress Daisy was here not only as a host to accompany her so-called “noble guests” but also to monitor them. She had set very strict rules. The girls weren’t allowed to communicate alone at the ball, nor were they allowed to offer unnecessary information to the guests—which really meant any information.

There was once a guest who had become infatuated with a girl in the castle and swore during a private moment to fulfill all her wishes. The girl asked him to take her away, even if she were only to live as a humble mistress in the countryside forever.

The guest did indeed negotiate with Mistress Daisy about this in the study on the third floor of the castle, but no one knew what they discussed, and from that point on, the guest was never seen again.

As a “disobedient” example, the girl was thrown out of her room to work as a laundry maid, and in the winter, she slept in an attic without a door, where she died of illness within two months.

Even so, Mistress Daisy investigated the incident extremely severely and concluded that it was caused by a few dishonest girls whispering together, and from then on, the girls weren’t allowed to speak quietly anywhere within her and several supervising ladies’ lines of sight.

But they didn’t need to talk.

Alice, arm-in-arm with her dance partner, brushed past a girl in a pink dress, who winked at Alice and gracefully lifted her skirt and walked away. Alice saw the middle-aged man she usually danced with holding a glass of wine, tilting his head, and speaking to Mistress Daisy.

The girl trembled slightly all over, not from fear but from excitement.

Her dance partner had also drunk the cinnamon tea she had handed him fifteen minutes earlier.

Charlie had told her the doctor providing the sleeping drug was excellent, predicting the timing very accurately, so she had to complete all her plans within half an hour. During this time, he and his companion would lock the servants replenishing food in the kitchen to prevent outsiders from interfering.

Although Daphne helped her distribute the medicine, she didn’t know if everyone could understand the plan without talking: each guest would have at least one girl who was—in their words—”sympathetic” to them. Alice and Daphne, using their wide skirts and handkerchiefs, distributed all the medicine to the girls, who then relaxed the guests’ vigilance, urging them to drink a few more glasses.

When the first guest started snoring at a small round table, she knew the plan had succeeded.

Mistress Daisy initially thought Mr. Solo had drunk too much wine and was looking for a strong gardener to carry him to a room in the castle when she found that the previously lively guests began falling like dominoes, one after another, unresponsive to any shaking—even the Baron slumped over on a velvet sofa.

Miss Callia, responsible for maintaining order at the ball, gathered around a bald, wealthy banker, unable to wake him no matter how hard she tried, wringing her hands in distress.

They were good at loudly scolding and whipping disobedient people, but they weren’t skilled in first aid.

“Go! Call the coachmen, the gardeners!” Mistress Daisy commanded Miss Callia, who scurried out of the greenhouse with her skirt in hand. Only then did Mistress Daisy start to feel that something was seriously wrong.

This looked a lot like food poisoning, but even if the castle’s kitchen wasn’t serving the King, it was still more meticulous than an ordinary farm, especially when there were nobles among the guests.

The ingredients and drinks used for cooking were all inspected. Otherwise, they couldn’t appease the picky tastes of the wealthy, and nothing like this had ever happened before.

And yet… it was only the guests who had collapsed.

The girls who were their dance partners had eaten the same biscuits, drunk the same wine and tea, so why were all the girls still standing?

Mistress Daisy slowly straightened up, staring at the group of girls dressed in elegant clothes, whose cheeks were still flushed from dancing as they coldly watched her.

“Ladies,” she asked softly, congenially, “has someone done something naughty?”

If it weren’t for the malevolent light in her eyes, she might have appeared like a kind woman who always helped distribute communion at church and wept with compassion at the sight of lambs.

Unfortunately, all the girls had secretly disposed of their soup, free from the influence of any potion.

Looking at Mistress Daisy, they only remembered how she lectured them with a kind smile, flanked by two women wielding whips. Even the usually brave Daphne shivered at this moment, and several girls couldn’t help showing fearful expressions.

She smiled triumphantly and coaxed, “I understand. Someone must be up to no good… Tell me who led you to do this, and I won’t punish those who were deceived.”

She stepped closer to the silently huddled group of girls, like a serpent hissing as it approached its prey.

“It was me,” a voice sounded, its tone slightly trembling.

Alice was cold to the touch, but her cheeks were flushed. Her voice was soft, but she repeated, “It was me.”

Mistress Daisy’s smile vanished. Her eyes gleamed with malice. “It’s you, eh? What are you trying to do? Hm? You think you’re clever, trying to defy me with these low tactics? You despicable, vile…”

“It’s you who are vile!” A sharp voice interrupted as Daphne pushed Alice aside and furiously glared at her. “You’re the vile one, locking us up here and exploiting us for wealth. If God’s gaze were to fall here, you would surely be struck by lightning!”

“How dare you curse me!” Mistress Daisy screamed. “Ungrateful! I took you in, gave you food and clothes, and this is how you repay me, by sabotaging my guests and cursing me!”

Alice’s voice grew louder involuntarily. “You’re lying! You’ve locked us in here! I want to take Lily home!”

The word “home” dropped like a cold splash of water into a boiling pot, sparking an explosive reaction from all the girls, who clenched their fists and glared at her hatefully.

“I want to go home!”

“We want freedom! To go home!”

Another girl couldn’t hold back her tears. “I want to go back. My mother must miss me, crying day and night.”

“You deprive us of our freedom and our dignity, yet you expect gratitude?” Alice’s eyes shone strangely bright. “Surrender now. No one will come to help you. You must open the castle doors immediately and let us go!”

Alice knew that for utmost secrecy, Mistress Daisy would have all the castle exits securely locked after the guests arrived, only reopening them when it was time for them to leave, as most guests didn’t want any intruders during their stay, which could harm their reputations.

Although the girls were all very frail, the long-suppressed grievances and suffering seemed to endow them with boundless strength. Clutching forks and small knives, they formed a semicircle and advanced towards Mistress Daisy.

Mistress Daisy was shocked by their assertiveness and involuntarily stepped back, her eyes darting around, wondering where the coachman and gardener, who should have been there by now, had gone. In her distraction, she stepped on a tablecloth that trailed on the floor. Before she realized something was wrong, someone yanked the tablecloth from under her feet, causing her to slip and fall hard onto the ground. Wine glasses and plates from the table tumbled into her lap, leaving her in a disheveled mess.

“Oh dear, my apologies,” a voice lacking sincerity came from behind her.

Erica was holding the tablecloth in one hand and juggling a green apple in the other. “Madam, are you alright?”

“You’re the baron’s cousin!” Mrs. Daisy exclaimed in horror. “You’re still awake?”

Erica flashed a bright smile. “I’m not his cousin. We’re here to rescue these brave young ladies—and just to note, if you’re hoping for the gardeners and dishwashers to come rushing in with brooms, you’ll be disappointed. My friends have probably taken care of them.”

Despite the chaos, Erica’s smile caused several girls to exchange looks, causing a hint of excitement and a desire to whisper among themselves.

Mistress Daisy’s face turned pale and then flushed as she could no longer maintain her façade. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“They are the help I hired.” Alice stepped forward, her voice louder. “You’d better hand over the keys to the castle’s main door and let us leave, or else—”

Daphne added menacingly, “Or else we’ll hang you from the tower and let you freeze to death.”

Alice and the other girls quickly nodded in agreement.

Mistress Daisy’s face turned ashen. By now, she realized she had fallen into a well-designed trap. These girls had somehow made contact with people outside the castle, not only reaching an agreement to rescue them but also planning to catch all the guests who came to the castle for entertainment.

Those asleep here were prominent figures from Ropappas and nearby cities. Over the years, she had worked hard to maintain friendly relations with them, which had brought her many benefits. However, the consequences would also be severe if something happened to these people in her castle…

Wait. This is her castle.

“Alright.” She calmed down, flicking a long-stemmed cherry from her lap and awkwardly using the table to help herself up. Her eyes gleamed strangely.

“Alright,” she repeated.

“You win,” Mistress Daisy said slowly. “If that’s the case, as you wish… but I don’t have the keys on me.”

“Where are the keys?” Erica asked.

“In the study on the third floor, on top of the bookshelf, but I must fetch them myself,” she said. “There’s a hound there, fiercely loyal to me. It won’t move unless it sees me.”

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