bookpub Chapter 171 Mask
Chapter 171 Mask
Chapter 171 Mask
"Silver Moon Corridor, Masquerade Ball, Titian—Cedric's Guest."
"When the nightingale sings, a trap is set for the peacock before the statue of the Rose Saint in the garden."
Geb repeated the two sentences several times. He was familiar with some of the words, but had never heard of others.
The Silver Moon Corridor is that brothel—a place capable of hosting masquerade balls and other such frivolous entertainment, it's definitely not an ordinary brothel.
He had asked the Swordswoman, and she said that the Silver Moon Corridor was a social venue for the young nobles of the Upper City, where the most stylish artists, poets, and musicians of the New Kingdom usually gathered. This group led the fashion trends of the entire Matiana, and indeed, the entire New Kingdom.
Young nobles lingered in these corridors, mingling with poets and actors, whiling away the time and indulging in all the pleasures that status and money brought—both spiritual and physical. Meanwhile, the emerging merchant class desperately tried to infiltrate the noble circles, hoping to use their privileges to make money for themselves.
Amidst the fragrant scents of perfume, what is exchanged is ideals, sweet words, tenderness, and even money and power.
Ordinary people can't get into places like this, not even if they have the money. They have to be invited by regular customers.
It seems that the "regular customer" Yvette has chosen for herself this time is "Titian-Cedric".
I had never heard of the surname Cedric before, but the name Tissant sounded somewhat familiar.
He appears to be Cardinal Martina, the number one figure in the Holy Church of the New Kingdom.
"It's probably just a coincidence," Geb thought to himself. "How could Yvette and her friends have so much power? If they can just use the cardinal's name, dealing with a peacock would be a piece of cake. What do they need Geb for?"
The mask he kept for himself was a fox. What does that mean? Does it mean he's being told to steal a chicken?
A fox is fine, as long as it's not a dog, otherwise it'll really turn into a dog-headed man.
I was already wearing a thousand-face mask—so I'll change my face first, then put on the fox mask. That way, even if I'm recognized, my halfling identity won't be exposed.
"The time when the nightingale sings" refers to the period between 2 and 4 a.m., before "the time when the pearl sinks." This time is suitable; if everything goes smoothly after dealing with the peacock, there will still be time to trade with the Golden Mask.
As for "Garden Rose Saintess", it should refer to a place, which, if I'm not mistaken, is in the Silver Moon Corridor.
So, in layman's terms, these two sentences mean: "Using the identity of Titian's guest, she infiltrated the masquerade ball and, between 2 and 4 a.m., lured the peacock to the Rose Saintess in the garden."
It sounds simple, but it's actually quite difficult to do.
First of all, the location of this masquerade ball is the Silver Moon Corridor, which happens to be the same place and on the same day as the transaction between Gebu and the Golden Mask. This is no coincidence.
Yvette, the Rat King's man, didn't know why the Peacock had come here at this time, but Gebu did.
While Geb was helping the Rat King plot against Peacock, Peacock and her men were also searching for goblins in the Silver Moon Corridor.
The peacock hunts in the forest, with the mouse following behind.
This complicated situation made Geb's predicament very delicate: Peacock was a seasoned veteran and would not easily reveal himself without seeing Goblin Benlin.
However, if he reveals his identity, he will be targeted by Peacock's men, and whether he can survive until the garden is another matter.
Hmm—I need to think of a way.
Just as Gebu was feeling troubled, someone knocked on his door.
"Who?"
Geb waved his hand and opened the door with the Wizard's Hand.
Clutching a flowing evening gown, the woman with the sword cried out to Gebu in surprise and embarrassment, "What—what is this?!"
"Uh—you received an invitation too?"
"What invitation?" Just as the woman with the sword was about to step forward, a mask fell out from the middle of her evening gown.
"Hey, you're a cat?"
"I hate cats the most—wait," the swordswoman suddenly realized something. "Why did you say that?"
Geb showed the fox mask in his hand to the woman with the sword, then gave her a bright smile.
"My dear Rose Knight, Miss Dove, would you like to come with me to a grand masquerade ball?"
'
The woman's expression shifted from confusion to shyness, and then to anger after realizing what she had just seen.
"What the hell—what did you and that half-elf discuss?!"
"So it is, so it is." Gebu explained his plan to the swordswoman.
This time, he and the woman with no reservations, starting with the deal involving the golden mask, explaining everything to her from beginning to end. Tonight, the woman was attending the banquet with him, and both of them would be in danger. It would be dishonest to keep it from her at this point.
"Are you sure you want to take such a huge risk?" the woman with the sword said uneasily. "Even if your plan succeeds, how do you intend to get away with it?"
"Have you forgotten? I'm a wizard," Geb laughed.
"Hey, this isn't the old kingdom, but it's still Obak Holy Church territory. We can't just use magic like that, can we?"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Besides, even if I can't use magic, I have a Plan B." The halfling walked past the swordswoman and casually tapped the half-sword hanging at her waist. "Hurry up and get ready. I'll go and call the inn to book a carriage—we can't just walk to the banquet in such fine clothes."
"What Plan B—I haven't even agreed yet. Hey, Geb, I admit you're full of tricks, but isn't this situation beyond your control?" The swordswoman took a step back, standing in front of the door, blocking the halfling's path, and said seriously. "There are too many uncontrollable factors at this ball. What will the peacock do? What will the Rat King's people do? You don't even know if that golden-masked man will show up, or what he'll do if he does. Don't mess things up."
Seeing that the woman in front of him was genuinely worried, Gebu's smile faded and he became serious.
"Whether Golden Mask will show up or not, I really don't know. Perhaps he'll find a middleman to handle the deal. But one thing I'm certain of—Golden Mask won't make any moves until Peacock and I have settled our score."
"What?" The woman with the sword was stunned. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"Actually, ever since I learned that Peacock had come to Martina, I've had this question in my mind:"
Who told her about my deal with the Golden Mask?
Gebu looked into the woman's eyes and said seriously.
"Our communication is entirely through magical teleportation, making it impossible for any third party to discover—and the only people who know that the manticore's stinger is on me, besides you and Dulin, are that stupid cat. But that cat is locked up in the camp and cannot communicate with the outside world."
"Didn't that cat receive a magical message from the Golden Mask? Is it possible that the Golden Mask and she have been communicating privately without your knowledge?" the woman with the sword asked. Doffin wasn't as quick-witted as Geb, but she possessed a woman's unique and keen intuition, and pointed this out.
“Even so, the only one who could have leaked the secret is the Golden Mask himself,” Geb replied. “I heard from Yvette and the apothecary manager that Peacock was recently poisoned and aged considerably overnight, unable to even get out of bed—I think, how could someone who has spent his whole life dealing with poisons fall victim to it so easily? I think it must be the effect of some kind of magic, perhaps a curse.”
"A curse—so you think Peacock was harmed by the Golden Mask? But why would he do that? Wasn't Peacock working for him?"
"I discovered that Peacock was planning to make poison for Golden Mask two months ago, but she still hasn't made the poison. I beat her to it. I think Golden Mask must be very disappointed in Peacock."
"Disappointed, but they spared her life? I don't understand."
"Not only did he spare her life, but he also told her my whereabouts, and even revealed the time and place of the delivery—what do you think the Golden Mask is doing?"
"I'm not him, how would I know?" The woman with the sword was a little confused.
"Golden Mask is testing me," Geb answered himself. "He's testing whether I have the ability and courage to kill this old peacock, take her place, and cooperate with Golden Mask."
"You mean—he's deliberately creating obstacles for you?"
"Yes, for him, whether the peacock wins or I win, he can still get the Kiss of the King-Slayer. And we are both in the know, he is leading us to kill each other, there are only two outcomes." Gebu held up two fingers, "One, we both die—then he will have no worries."
"Second, if one of us survives, then Golden Mask can continue to cooperate with the winner, whether it's me or Peacock."
"In other words, if I can't even get past the peacock, I'm not qualified to cooperate with the Golden Mask. That's his plan."
"You wizards—are you so scheming and backstabbing? You're all so wicked!" the swordswoman said angrily.
"That's normal procedure. If I were him, I would have done the same thing."
"Aren't you afraid that he'll eventually kill you to cover his tracks, no matter what?"
"That's where the risk lies. However, I think that since this is the kingdom's territory, the Golden Mask won't make such a big move. If he really had the ability to easily kill me and Peacock, he wouldn't need to make any deal with me. He could just show up and rob us. It's precisely because he doesn't have enough confidence to crush us, get the stuff, and escape unscathed that he came up with this scheme of using one enemy to devour another."
"So, are you a tiger or a wolf?"
"No, I'm the one who's holding the stick behind the scenes to drive away the tiger—the Rat King is my tiger," Geb said confidently. "Doffin, that's my consideration. We're partners, and I respect your opinion. But I feel I should do this. If I succeed and establish a connection with the Golden Mask, I'll have a powerful ally in the Empire. You helped me after I became stronger, and I'll remember that; I won't let you down."
"A man's mouth is a lying devil—" the woman with the sword murmured.
"Should we come or not? Maybe everything will go smoothly. We might not even need to lift a finger; Peacock will be taken care of by Yvette and her gang."
The swordswoman hesitated for a moment, then placed her hand on the hilt of her sword and said, "I'll come, I definitely will. Now that you've made up your mind, I won't abandon you."
"That's more like it!" Geb finally smiled when he saw the swordswoman's agreement. The halfling grabbed the gossamer-thin hem of the evening gown, smiled at the swordswoman, and said, "Go change into that gown, bring out your feminine charm, we need to blend into the masquerade ball atmosphere—hey, do you need me to borrow a coconut for you to sit on—"
'
"————###I've been putting up with you for so long, goblin!"
Gebu, died.
The carriage moved at a steady pace through the night streets, the horseshoes striking the cobblestones with a rhythmic thud.
In this prime real estate of Upper Town, there stands an independent manor—lush ivy climbs the carved metal fence, and behind the fence, a three-story mansion is simple yet stylish, with abundant flowers adorning the white stone walls, and under the bright lights, a silver moon is reflected in the shallow pond in front of the mansion.
In front of the double gate, a dozen or so magnificent carriages were parked, with the drivers standing in the small garden to the side waiting for their masters. Their clothes were very elegant, and they were clearly servants of a wealthy family. Even when they were resting, they were quite reserved.
A carriage arrived in front of the mansion. The door opened, and two people dressed in fine clothes, one tall and one short, stepped out.
This was the first time Gebu had worn such an elaborate outfit: a black tuxedo with a purple lining. The chest was tightly bound, and the shoulders were padded much wider. Gebu felt as if his entire body was being supported, and he walked with his arms outstretched, unable to hunch over even if he wanted to.
He used to find the arrogant manner of those nobles quite annoying, but now that he's wearing a formal suit, he realizes that their imposing presence is all thanks to the clothes. Once you put on this suit, it's hard not to look down on people.
The woman with the sword got out of the car with Gebu. She was wearing a flowing sky-blue fitted long dress.
Due to long-term training, the swordswoman had an exceptionally upright figure, like a natural clothes hanger; her straight and slender shoulders beautifully supported her long dress. The dress had a strapless opening, revealing her long neck and collarbone. The waistband of the long dress clung to the mercenary's firm and slender abdomen, and the morning glory-like skirt flared out at her hips, revealing glimpses of her long, strong, doe-like legs at the slit in the skirt.
"It's so cold, who would wear clothes like this on an autumn night?" The swordswoman shivered and complained softly.
Geb turned around and looked the mercenary up and down. Doffin covered her shoulder somewhat embarrassedly. Geb noticed something under her hand and, upon closer inspection, saw a scar more than an inch long, extending from the base of her neck to her collarbone. It was still red and didn't look completely healed.
"Was that left over from the battle with the manticore?"
"What, is it not allowed?" The woman with the sword looked away and said stiffly.
"No need to cover it up, the scar is a knight's emblem."
"————" The woman glanced at the half-body man, hesitated, and then let go of his hand.
"Much better. Be more confident. Let's see who dares to laugh at you—there are plenty of delicate noble ladies out there, but a female knight who hunts manticores is one of a kind!"
As Gebu spoke, he put on the fox mask. Seeing this, the swordswoman also put on her cat mask. Gebu politely extended his hand to the swordswoman.
"Please—let us go keep our appointment."
Dove awkwardly took Geb's hand. Due to the height difference between the two, the scene was slightly comical, like a mother leading a child.
"Once inside, speak less and observe more—I'll communicate with you using telepathy, and we'll act according to the situation."
After saying that, the two walked towards the gate of the manor.
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