After returning, Ai Luo still entered through the secret passage. However, after entering the secret passage, he did not immediately return to his own room, but instead entered Abraham’s room through the secret passage.
After looking around Abraham’s room, Ai Luo walked over to a vase, took out a handkerchief and opened it. There were two rose petals inside the handkerchief, and he tossed the petals into the vase.
After he finished dancing with Fronde, he saw that the thorns on the roses in the vase on the long table were all cut off, so he took one out and looked at it. But Archie suddenly appeared beside him and reminded him that if he wanted to have a good night’s sleep, he should not take the rose back with him. At the time, he thought over Archie’s words, then while no one was paying attention, used a handkerchief to wrap up two petals that had fallen onto the tabletop and brought them back.
Because flower petals were easier to hide, he brought the petals back. Although he did not know whether the petals could have any effect, he would only know after trying.
After Ai Luo returned to his own room, he first went into the dressing room to change clothes, then went to the bathroom to bathe and remove his makeup. He did not need to worry about this process being livestreamed, because with the platform’s livestream settings, private scenes would automatically be switched away, and no one would see them.
Early the next morning, after Ai Luo got up, he went to the dining room to eat breakfast. He still had to make an appearance so that they would think he had been staying at home the whole time, making it less likely to arouse their suspicions.
After the four sat down, they all silently ate the breakfast in front of them.
Ai Luo was silent because he had nothing to say to them.
Dela was sulking because the limelight was stolen from her last night. She thought that tonight, she absolutely had to dress herself even more beautifully. If that girl appeared again tonight, she absolutely could not lose to her again. The day before yesterday, Dela was still thinking that she definitely had to ruin Ai Luo’s face, but the greater sense of crisis that suddenly appeared now left her with no mind at all to think about that matter anymore.
Kupi liked Fronde’s eldest nephew, Andre, but Andre looked down on him, which dealt a blow to his self-esteem.
Kupi glanced at Ai Luo and gritted his teeth as he thought, If I could have a face as good-looking as Ai Luo’s, I could definitely seduce Andre with ease.
The sound of dishes falling to the floor and shattering startled the three people who were deep in thought, and they turned their heads at the same time to look over. Abraham accidentally knocked the dishes onto the floor. He supported his forehead with one hand, looking extremely exhausted.
Dela asked worriedly, “Father, are you alright?”
“I didn’t sleep well last night. I kept having nightmares, and now I feel a little unwell.” There were very dark circles beneath Abraham’s eyes, and his complexion also looked extremely haggard.
Ai Luo glanced at him and thought, It was only one night, yet they could actually have this kind of effect. Those roses really are worthy of being roses that can kill people. They’re indeed very powerful.
“Should we call a doctor to examine you?” Dela asked.
“No need. I’ll be fine after going back to my room and resting for a while.” Abraham supported himself against the table as he stood up and left the dining room.
Dela ate only two bites of breakfast before she could no longer eat. She quickly walked back to her room to choose again which dress she would wear to tonight’s ball. After returning last night, she chose dresses until very late and only went to sleep when she was truly too tired to stay awake.
Ai Luo also returned to his own room. After locking the room door from the inside, he walked into the walk-in closet, opened the box containing the dresses, selected three of them, took them apart and altered them into one dress, even making the skirt hem a gradient color.
He did not have an inclination toward cross-dressing, but in order to survive, in order to accumulate more life points and return to his original world, and in order to go back and seek revenge on those people, never mind dressing as a woman, his bottom line could be even lower. He could do anything.
By evening, Ai Luo finished putting on his makeup inside the walk-in closet. He put on a petticoat and then the dress he altered himself. Finally, he wrapped himself tightly in a cloak and pulled the hood over his head, walked out of the walk-in closet, and once again left through the secret passage in his room.
Just like yesterday, the butler and coachman waited for him on the small road beside the woods at the back. This time, Ai Luo had the invitation Galen gave him, so he did not need the butler to get an invitation for him. After telling Ai Luo to be careful, the butler watched the carriage leave.
Inside the ballroom, Archie was talking with Dela, but he was clearly absentminded and would glance toward the entrance from time to time. Of course Dela noticed. She put so much effort into dressing up tonight yet did not receive even a single word of praise from Archie, which already made her very unhappy. Archie’s absentminded appearance while standing in front of her made her even angrier, but in order to maintain her image as a lady, she could only suppress the anger in her heart and pretend not to notice.
Archie was only unconsciously looking toward the entrance, while Galen was deliberately standing near the entrance waiting. In his heart, he was both looking forward to Ai Luo’s arrival and very worried that Ai Luo would not appear today.
When the doors of the banquet hall slowly opened, everyone in the hall subconsciously looked toward the entrance. Ai Luo walked in wearing a noble and elegant light-purple long dress and immediately became the focus. Almost everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him.
Ai Luo appeared in the ballroom and once again became the focus of the entire venue. When Galen saw him, he immediately went forward to welcome him with delight.
“Miss Aixi.” Galen looked at Ai Luo’s face, unable to control the joy he felt inside. And in his eyes, Ai Luo today seemed even more beautiful than yesterday.
At this time, the dance music began to play. Galen seized the opportunity and immediately invited Ai Luo to dance.
Ai Luo had just raised his hand and had not yet placed it on Galen’s hand when a broad palm suddenly reached over from the side, grasped his fingers, then pulled him to the side and gently drew him over.
Ai Luo’s body turned, and an extremely handsome face appeared before his eyes, making him involuntarily freeze.
Galen also froze for a moment because he did not react immediately, then looked at Olesen and called out, “Third Uncle.”
Olesen ignored Galen and instead looked at Ai Luo with a faint smile and said, “May I invite you to a dance?”
Ai Luo looked at the gentle smile on Olesen’s handsome face, then looked at the hand holding his own and thought, He’s already holding my hand. Could I still refuse? So he answered, “Of course.”
Galen could only watch helplessly as Olesen took Ai Luo away. Thinking that he once again missed the chance to dance with Ai Luo, his mood instantly became extremely dejected.
After the two bowed to each other, they began dancing gracefully under everyone’s gazes. The people who were originally dancing also withdrew, and everyone watched the two of them. Olesen’s gentlemanly manner and Ai Luo’s elegant dancing made their dance extremely pleasing to watch. The scene was truly too beautiful.
“What’s your name?” Olesen asked.
“Aixi,” Ai Luo answered.
“Miss Aixi, how come I’ve never seen you before?”
“I came from Yakubila and came here to seek refuge with relatives.”
“So far away?” Olesen said with a smile, “There must be some very wondrous fate guiding you that brought you here.”
Ai Luo raised his head and met his eyes for a moment, then immediately looked away again. If someone else said those words, they would make the person seem very frivolous, but strangely, when Olesen said them, it did not give that feeling at all.
Olesen originally had no interest in the ball at all, but when he heard that a very beautiful lady came last night and that his Second Brother even invited her to dance, he came with intense curiosity to see exactly how beautiful this lady was. After seeing her with his own eyes, she really was a peerless beauty.
Olesen was very happy and also very relieved that someone who might finally make his Second Brother’s heart move appeared. This also meant that his Second Brother had a chance to break the curse, so he decided to find a way to bring this matter about as soon as possible.
After the dance ended, the butler suddenly walked over quickly and said a few words into Olesen’s ear.
Olesen looked at Ai Luo and said, “I have something I need to deal with. Excuse me.”
Ai Luo nodded, then watched Olesen leave.
Galen already left the ballroom because he felt too depressed inside. Ai Luo stood there alone. Some people boldly stepped forward to invite him to dance, feeling that if they succeeded in inviting him, it would be something that gave them a great deal of face. But everyone who came to invite him was refused, because Ai Luo appeared here dressed as a woman not specifically to dance with people.
Ai Luo suddenly needed to use the toilet, so he found a maid and asked where it was. The maid seemed to have been instructed to take special care of him. Instead of taking him to the toilet used by guests, she brought him to a guest room on the second floor, where there was a bathroom he could use.
Because Ai Luo was wearing a dress, it was relatively troublesome, and he spent quite a while in the bathroom before coming out. He walked out of the guest room wanting to return to the banquet hall, but after wandering around the second floor for a long time, he still could not find the stairs going downstairs. Then he discovered that he actually got lost.
Ai Luo felt very speechless about this situation. It was not as though he was someone who easily got lost, so he did not understand why he could get lost on a single floor. But there really were many rooms on the second floor, many corridors as well, and many interconnected doors of different sizes. He thought that no matter who it was, he just wanted to quickly run into someone so he could ask for directions.
Suddenly seeing two large open doors, Ai Luo walked inside, wanting to see whether anyone was there. As soon as he entered, he saw many bookshelves, each one filled with books. There were so many books that it was as though he entered a library.
Ai Luo walked around inside once without seeing anyone and wanted to go out, but to his surprise, he discovered that he could no longer find the door leading out. He immediately became somewhat panicked inside, but could only keep searching continuously for the exit. As he walked, he finally saw someone. Thinking that it should be someone from Rose Manor, he immediately walked over quickly to ask for directions.
But when Ai Luo approached and discovered that the person was actually Fronde, he almost subconsciously turned around at once to walk back. However, those bookshelves suddenly began moving and blocked his path. Ai Luo looked at the bookshelf blocking him, startled inside as he thought, So these bookshelves can move. No wonder I couldn’t find the way out.
Fronde put down the book in his hand and walked toward Ai Luo.
Ai Luo sensed that Fronde was already standing behind him and could only slowly turn around to face him.
Fronde looked at Ai Luo and asked with a frown, “How did you end up here?”
Ai Luo sensed Fronde’s displeasure and immediately explained, “I accidentally got lost. No matter what I did, I couldn’t find the stairs back to the hall. I didn’t deliberately come here.”
Fronde lifted Ai Luo’s chin and looked directly into his eyes as he said, “Why have I had a familiar feeling ever since the first time I saw you? Have we met before?”
Ai Luo immediately shook his head in denial. “We haven’t.”
Ai Luo was already trying very hard to remain calm, but inside, he was still incomparably panicked. Facing this former fiancé of his, he did not know what kind of fate would await him if his identity was exposed.
Fronde’s fingers slowly moved downward and lightly closed around Ai Luo’s neck. Looking at Ai Luo’s neck, he thought that with this perfect swan-like neck, he only needed to use a little force to easily snap it.
Ai Luo sensed Fronde’s killing intent and felt very frightened and terrified inside, looking at him with pleading eyes glistening with tears.
Fronde froze for a moment when he saw the tears glistening in Ai Luo’s eyes, but he did not soften. Instead, he tightened his fingers slightly and questioned him, “Who exactly are you? What exactly is your purpose for appearing here?”
Ai Luo grabbed Fronde’s wrist and tried to pull his hand away, but Fronde’s fingers tightened even more. Ai Luo felt it becoming difficult to breathe and could only open his mouth and breathe hard. But he did not know why, even though he clearly sensed a threat, his mental power showed no sign of erupting. His body only became weak and felt completely powerless.
Toward a young beauty he never saw before who suddenly appeared at Rose Manor, Fronde naturally held some wariness in his heart. Inviting Ai Luo to dance last night was a kind of test. And tonight, Ai Luo actually managed to find his study, which both surprised Fronde and made him even more suspicious, so he deliberately used this method to interrogate Ai Luo.
Fronde felt that if Ai Luo came to Rose Manor without ulterior motives and without any bad purpose, then he would be very willing to see Ai Luo fall in love with one of his nephews. That way, at least one of them could break the curse. But if Ai Luo’s purpose was impure or he harbored ulterior motives, Fronde would personally kill him.
When Fronde saw Ai Luo looking as though he could no longer breathe and was about to faint, he immediately loosened his fingers. Ai Luo’s body went weak and he nearly fell to the floor, but Fronde immediately reached out and caught him in his arms.
Ai Luo was caught by one of Fronde’s arms and, following the motion, leaned against his embrace. He opened his mouth and breathed hard, but his body still felt very weak. And at this moment, in Fronde’s eyes, Ai Luo was leaning in his arms with tears glistening in his eyes and his lips slightly parted as he panted. Coupled with feeling Ai Luo’s body trembling slightly, even Fronde, who was never interested in women, could not help but soften.
Archie, who specifically came looking for Fronde, happened to see this scene through the bookshelves. In his eyes, Ai Luo was leaning in Fronde’s arms while Fronde held Ai Luo, the two intimately nestled together. Archie felt that he saw something he should not have seen and immediately turned around and walked out. After reaching the corridor outside, he frowned deeply, his feelings becoming somewhat complicated for a moment.
At this time, Galen hurried over with a serious expression. Archie froze for a moment when he saw him, then walked over and asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“A monster escaped from the dungeon. Third Uncle and Eldest Brother are leading people to search for it. In order to stop the monster from escaping Rose Manor, Third Uncle activated the Rose Formation. I need to report this matter to Second Uncle now. The butler said Second Uncle is in the book pavilion.” Galen looked at Archie with a serious expression as he spoke.
“…” Archie did not want Galen to see the scene just now, so he said to him, “Second Uncle isn’t in the book pavilion. I went to check just now. He may have returned to his room. You go help first. I’ll find Second Uncle and report this matter to him.”
“Alright.” Galen nodded, then turned around and quickly left.
Because Ai Luo’s legs were too weak for him to stand, Fronde scooped him up and carried him toward the sofa nearby. Ai Luo rested his head against Fronde’s shoulder. As he felt Fronde’s strong and powerful arms as well as his firm chest, another strange sensation arose in his body. He did not know why he was like this.
Fronde placed him on the sofa, poured a glass of water, and brought it to his lips. Ai Luo slightly opened his mouth and drank a little.
“Did you bring any medicine?” Fronde felt that Ai Luo’s condition definitely was not some symptom that suddenly appeared.
Ai Luo slightly shook his head. He was not sick, so no medicine would be useful.
Fronde looked at Ai Luo’s face. He originally wanted to continue observing whether Ai Luo was pretending or not, but gradually became lost in staring at him. Those bright, pale-golden eyes looked more dazzling and precious than any gemstone, and his fair, tender skin was like that of a baby. Yet what Fronde found hardest to look away from were those rosy, fresh, seemingly delectable lips, especially the way his lips were slightly parted. It looked as though Ai Luo was deliberately tempting him, yet also as though he was extending an invitation to him.
The sudden sound of knocking made Fronde abruptly return to his senses. He was very surprised by the thoughts he just had toward Ai Luo. Before this, whether toward men or women, he never experienced such feelings or thoughts.
“Come in,” Fronde responded.
The closed door at the side was pushed open, and Archie walked in from outside. After quickly glancing at Ai Luo, he looked at Fronde and called, “Second Uncle.”
“Something happened?” Fronde turned his head and asked.
“The… thieves in the dungeon escaped. Third Uncle activated the Rose Formation.” Because Ai Luo was there, Archie did not say that a monster escaped and instead said thieves. He knew Fronde would understand, because there were only monsters in the dungeon and no thieves.
“The Rose Formation was activated?” Fronde frowned.
“Yes,” Archie said. “The guests who came to attend the ball today will all have to stay for a few days before they can leave.”
As soon as Ai Luo heard that they had to stay for several days before they could leave, he immediately became somewhat panicked inside. It was not just staying for one night, but several days. The potion he brought that could change the color of his eyes could only last one or two days at most. When his eyes returned to their original color, they would very likely discover his identity.
“Go with Galen and the others to calm the guests down, and have the butler make the proper arrangements,” Fronde instructed.
“Yes.” Archie was just about to turn around and walk out when Fronde called him back.
“Take her back to the banquet hall as well.” Fronde glanced at Ai Luo as he spoke.
Ai Luo already recovered some of his strength and stood up, preparing to walk out. But just as he took one step, his legs went weak and he fell back down onto Fronde’s lap.
Both Archie and Fronde froze. Ai Luo lay against Fronde’s chest, raised his head and met his eyes for a moment, then immediately lowered his head again, wondering whether Fronde would think he was deliberately seducing him.
Fronde silently looked at him, waiting to see just how long he intended to keep sitting on his lap.
“I’m sorry…” After Ai Luo apologized softly, he placed his hand against Fronde’s chest to support himself as he stood up. Fronde lowered his head and glanced at Ai Luo’s hand. The place his palm touched still had a very distinct sensation.
Ai Luo followed behind Archie as they walked out. Both had their own thoughts on their minds and did not speak to each other at all as they returned together to the hall where the ball was still underway.
Today was the second day of the ball. Because fewer invitations were sent out for the second day’s ball than for the first day, there were also fewer guests than the previous day. Moreover, there were enough rooms in Rose Manor for all these people to stay.
Ai Luo felt very anxious inside. After returning to the ballroom, he immediately walked quickly outside. He wanted to go out and see whether there was any way to leave. If he really stayed here for several days, it would be extremely unfavorable for him, and he might soon be exposed. He did not expect something like this to happen. This was still because he lacked experience with games. If he knew this would happen, he should have brought everything he needed with him. That way, even if he had to stay for several days, he would not need to panic so much.
But now, he had to find a way to leave.