Xu Ke forced himself to suppress his body’s instinct and refrained from snapping the hand reaching out to him. But Xu Ke’s gaze uncontrollably followed Claude’s hand, which eventually stopped at the corner of his eye.
"There’s a bit of blood here." Claude noticed Xu Ke’s tension and explained as he wiped the blood drop from Xu Ke’s face.
"Thank you." Xu Ke couldn’t help but touch the spot on his face that had just been touched when Claude’s hand moved away, suppressing the discomfort and awkwardness in his heart as he spoke.
"You’re welco. You’ve also had a long day today and should go back to rest. I’ll handle this matter myself." Claude put one hand behind his back, his expression returning to its previous aloofness, but the hand behind his back rubbed his fingers, as if feeling sothing.
Claude watched Xu Ke leave until Xu Ke’s silhouette completely vanished in the sunset’s afterglow before retracting his gaze.
"Master, shall we go back?" the butler in the manor whispered to Claude.
"No, let’s go to the secret chamber and have a look." Claude refused the butler’s suggestion.
"But the secret chamber hasn’t been cleaned yet, it might dirty your shoes and sully your eyes." The butler tried to stop Claude’s steps but was gently yet firmly refused by Claude.
"No problem, I can change clothes later. I’m not a child anymore and won’t be scared by what’s inside." Xu Ke turned his head and calmly looked at the butler, saying: "You don’t need to follow in; just go and do your own things without worrying about ."
Claude shut the butler outside and walked into the dim and damp chamber alone, gazing at Xu Ke’s various masterpieces with a look of obsession. He even took deep breaths of the air laden with the scent of blood, shedding his repressed deanor to reveal infatuation.
"Art, it’s all art, even the sll in the air is so sweet." Claude gazed at the surroundings, saying with a face full of intoxication.
His eyes were red as if blood could drip from them. He approached the piece of human skin Xu Ke had skinned, extending his hand to trembleingly caress it, his fingertips gliding inch by inch over the skin, his breath turning inexplicably heavy with excitent.
"The knife work is truly perfect, but alas, the skin isn’t good enough. Otherwise, this would have been the most outstanding work in the world; I wish I could add this to my collection." Claude muttered to himself while looking at the piece of human skin, his fingers curling, several tis wanting to take the skin but ultimately giving up, as it was an imperfect work due to the skin quality. His collection had to be perfect; sothing so imperfect shouldn’t appear in his exhibition cabinet.
Claude gazed at the piece of human skin with a look of regret, rendering the situation particularly eerie. The person fortunate enough to survive Xu Ke’s hands clutched their own body tightly, looking at Claude with terror, fearing what unimaginable action the other might take.
Fortunately, Claude only looked at the human skin draped on the rack with blazing eyes, but unfortunately, their life ended before Claude left the chamber. Claude would never allow anyone who sees him like this to survive in this world. Upon leaving the chamber, he reverted to the graceful and courteous man.
After leaving the chamber, the butler had prepared tea and snacks for Claude.
"Everyone in the chamber is dead, clean it up and make sure it’s discreet, don’t let it be discovered." Claude wiped the moisture from his hands, instructing the butler.
"Yes, Master, I will have soone handle it imdiately."
"No, you handle it personally this ti." Thinking of the scene in the chamber, Claude’s fingers holding the teacup unconsciously tightened for a mont, but returned to normal in the next.
"Understood." The butler didn’t question Claude’s specific instructions but followed orders as he always did.
He was the butler left to Claude by his mother, claiming his loyalty was unmatched. Thus, after pondering Claude’s action a bit, he felt it was a sign of trust, and a wrinkled smile appeared on his elderly face.
Once the door was closed, only Claude remained in the room. He put the cup on the table, his body slightly leaning back, his spine pressed against the cold and hard chairback. Claude’s deep laughter slowly filled the room.
Claude didn’t know why he felt like laughing at this mont, but he just felt incredibly joyful, unable to restrain the smile that tugged at his lips. Right now, he resembled a madman, unceremoniously slouching on the chair in deranged laughter. However, the state didn’t last long, only for a brief mont before he returned to his usual poise, resuming his proper posture, eating snacks in small bites, then continuing his work.
After leaving Claude’s manor, Xu Ke began to search for an inn in the town once more. The awkward incident with Alice the day before, and the landlady’s gaze in the morning, made it unjustifiable for him to continue staying even though the landlady had kept quiet due to past help received. Xu Ke couldn’t bring himself to continue staying any longer.
It was fortunate that his past outing with Alice ca to his aid, leading him to another inn not long after. Though not as close to the Calvin Family as Alice’s house, this inn had plenty of young people, and the owner was also young. Therefore, the inn’s decor was interesting, brightening his mood upon entering.
Moreover, this place was essential for Xu Ke in obtaining more information, so he quickly paid a month’s rent, receiving a complintary beer from the owner.
After settling his accommodation, Xu Ke returned to Alice’s inn, hurriedly packed his belongings, then went to the front desk to bid farewell to the owner and landlady.
"Weren’t you staying here well? Why are you leaving? Is our place not good enough?" The owner and landlady were cleaning the front desk area, chatting and smiling as they polished the spirits on the counter. Upon seeing Xu Ke co down with his luggage to say goodbye, the owner looked surprised, while the landlady seed slightly awkward.
"Not at all, it’s due to personal reasons. I’m used to wandering and don’t like staying in one place too long, so I wanted to try living elsewhere. It’s not about you, please don’t bla yourselves." Xu Ke replied nonchalantly, as if he didn’t notice the awkwardness on the landlady’s face.
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