Saint-Leiden District, Upper Town District, East District, it has many names, but the most appropriate name is still the Noble District.
Standing on a high hill facing the sea in the east of the city, the Noble District is tightly protected by the traditional old city walls. Except for the 30-degree cable car laid along the avenue, from a distance, you can hardly see any modern industrial buildings.
trace.
Here, horse-drawn carriages are the real upper class, and those who drive cars are the lower class.
Even the street lamps use electric incandescent lamps and are shaped like traditional kerosene palace lanterns. The slightly dim yellow light shines through the treetops, leaving mottled silhouettes on the floor tiles.
The Dorothy Salon is located in a small villa on the edge of the aristocratic district.
Compared with the mansions and estates of real nobles, the garden in front of the main building of this villa is not large. The circular vestibule can barely park eight carriages and leave an aisle for the carriages to go out.
Passing through the iron gate opened by the servant, and as soon as he got out of the car, Mark heard the melodious music faintly coming from the salon. Unlike radios in this era where strong electronic noise was common, this sound was purer, clearer, and melodious.
Well, it's the sound of a gramophone.
A middle-aged man dressed as a butler came up to him, smiled and bowed.
"Mr. Destiny, my lord cannot wait to hear the story of your great adventure."
Mark 'recognized' an old acquaintance: this was Dorothy's housekeeper.
Mark smiled and responded: "I hope all distinguished ladies and I will have a pleasant evening."
"Definitely."
Walking up the three steps along the red carpet, the door full of colored glass was opened by the waiter.
mark:"……"
Gallian: "..."
The silent silence lasted for less than half a second.
"New here?"
"Yes, sir. My name is Galian." The dignified captain stepped into his role, but with that humble attitude, God knows whether there is even 1% sincerity.
Mark nodded as a greeting and walked inside.
Looking at Mark's back as he entered, there was something inexplicable in Galian's eyes. Suddenly, a hand came over, and Galian hesitated for half a second without blinking.
"Pah!" slapped him on the butt.
The one who hit him was the housekeeper who had just hit Dame Dorothy.
Mr. Butler was quite satisfied with Galian's lack of resistance: "Boy, it's not that you're not handsome, but it's a pity that you are more suitable for the 'Ladies' Night' organized by Dame Anastee next door."
When Gallian thought of the 130-kilogram lady next door, with wrinkles on her face that could hold a soybean between her fingers, she suddenly felt like vomiting out her lunch.
This is the tragedy of the times. The more peaceful the era is, the less popular the sunny and handsome man is.
The next second, four rolls of banknotes were stuffed into the inside of Galian's belt on his back, almost falling into his pants.
"Behave yourself tonight when we tell you a story." These were the words left by the butler.
This is like an employee at a haunted house in an amusement park. When he sees a couple coming, he naturally knows what to do.
This is an additional fee.
It's just this way of tipping that makes Galian feel even more ashamed.
Mark didn't know this scene.
Although the original owner has been here many times, this is actually his first time here.
Between the columns on the right side of the spacious corridor is a double-height glass window. The light from the street lamp in the distance penetrates the colored glass, casting dazzling light and shadow on the wall on the other side.
On the left are large oil paintings that are close to the size of murals. They use a painting style similar to impressionism to outline the scenery of this port city that has not changed for hundreds of years: either the stormy waves crashing on the shore, or the ancestors of the St. Leiden people driving
The dhow sailed through the waves.
On the low table between the two oil paintings, a gramophone with a morning glory-shaped loudspeaker played melodious music.
The wall lamps in the corridor also have a Western-style classical atmosphere, resembling the shape of blooming crabapple flowers. Because of the color of the glass, the incandescent lamps present a yellowish-reddish light and shadow.
In this atmosphere, it seems as if the entire corridor is covered with a veil. Walking inside, you will feel as if you have traveled through a time tunnel.
At the end of the corridor, a passing waiter pulled open the brass handle, revealing the true appearance of the salon hall.
"Mark, you're here."
In the nearly 100-square-meter hall, a blond lady wearing a black dress was leaning on a red velvet chaise longue. She was not a peerless beauty, but her appearance was better than many class beauties.
The hair tied up on the back of her head and the position where she sits illustrate her identity.
"Good evening, Ms. Dorothy." With a faint charming smile on his face, Mark took the other person's hand very naturally and gave an elegant kiss on the hand.
"You were the first to arrive."
"This is as it should be."
Mark sat down at the guest seat and started chatting with Dorothy.
Not long after, three rich ladies from different baron families arrived one after another. They were Yaldai, Ge Yadili, and Anweina.
The arrival of a group of young noble ladies gave Mark a dream of going back to the university campus and watching the department beauty pageant. It would definitely not make his eyes go dark like watching Miss Hong Kong. That would at least be eye-catching.
Considering that there is no such thing as eye-opening or micro-plastic surgery in this world, this actually needs to be given extra points to them.
In addition, the girdle is very unfriendly to women's bodies. In this era, it is one of the biggest evil arts for women. At least it has the ability to transform the terrain in a short period of time. As long as it does not cause fractures or even suffocation, its
Existence has fully proven that you only need to pay a small price to obtain beauty, and this formula is established.
After Mark greeted the three of them, Dorothy's housekeeper came.
After greeting everyone, he cleared his throat: "For tonight's storytelling session, according to Mr. Destiny's request, we have made some... special arrangements to make the ladies feel like they have experienced it firsthand.
"
"Really? I'm looking forward to it more and more." Miss Yaldai looked surprised, and everyone nodded.
"Please rest assured, everything is just a show effect. We are a group of servants at the edge of the hall. As long as anyone shouts 'I can't stand it anymore, please turn on the light!', we will immediately terminate this show." The butler raised his hand.
Four waiters dressed in black put on black hoods in front of them. Except for their two eyes, they were completely black.
Dame Dorothy chuckled and raised an envelope in her hand: "This is an adventure story meeting and a courage test. The one who is the most timid will have to accept a mysterious punishment afterwards."
"Oh oh oh! It's definitely not me."
"Anweina is definitely the first to be eliminated."
"Huh! I won't!"
A group of warblers started teasing each other.
The housekeeper waited for them to finish playing and continued: "In addition, there are some small props, all of which have been specially processed."
The butler took out a toy sword that was obviously made of rubber and handed it to Mark in its scabbard. Also handed over was... Mark's heavy revolver.
Mark smiled: "There are fireworks shells made of a very small amount of gunpowder."
He pulled the trigger casually, and suddenly there was a burst of fire from the muzzle and a sound like a cannon being thrown.
To be cautious, he even opened the drum in public and showed that there was only a small amount of gunpowder as thick as a fingernail inside, and there were no blanks or live ammunition.
Mark smiled: "Then... the story will begin."
"good!"
The eyes of all the ladies were filled with complex emotions of excitement, excitement, and a little bit of fear. Due to their status, they had no real freedom, and this kind of salon was already a rare entertainment item for them.
Of course they came today to see Mark, which did not prevent them from taking the opportunity to vent their long-suppressed emotions.
Mark and the four ladies gathered around the four-meter-long and two-meter-wide long table in the middle of the room and sat down. In front of everyone, Dorothy's butler stood at the other corner of the table and put on a pair of pale white hats.
Mask, a buzzing sound came from behind the mask.
According to the script received in the afternoon, Mr. Butler, who acted as the GM and also helped with a guest role, spoke: "Gentlemen and ladies, the Abandoned Castle Adventure Horror Night begins now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the 'waiter' Gallian on standby at the edge of the hall pulled the switch. Since even the windows were closed with thick curtains, the whole room suddenly became dark.
Just as several ladies hummed, a ray of light rippled on the table.
It was the light of a portable gas lamp.
Of course, the dim light cannot illuminate this nearly 100 square meters hall. The weak and constantly swaying light barely extends to two or three meters away, and nothing can be seen further away.
Even those chaise longues four meters away, you know they are there, but with all your eyesight, you can only see a blur.
Even though the ladies were already extremely familiar with the furnishings of this salon, a fresh sense of excitement surged in their hearts at this moment.
"Oh oh oh oh!" Even the eldest Dorothy sighed.
At this moment, the atmosphere and the expectations of the four spectators were heightened at the same time.
This is a bit like the scripted killing game that Mark played before time travel, except this time the four ladies purely acted as spectators.
The butler carried the script on his back and said in a slightly excited voice: "Mark! Have you seen this majestic and deserted castle? Wealth and mystery are waiting for us."
"But, Parker, where is the Earl's bedroom?" Mark continued to endorse.
At this moment, the butler playing Parker seemed to be about to speak, and a rustling sound suddenly came from their right side.
"Ah!" Ge Yadili screamed softly, and immediately covered her mouth with her hands. Under the dim light, she nodded sheepishly, signaling to continue.
The ladies didn't know the script, but the two gentlemen did. It was the hard-working Joseph who tied a handful of branches and leaves to his buttocks and crawled on all fours at the edge of the hall.
Not to mention, even if the person involved knows what is going on, it still sounds quite scary.
Mark's mind couldn't help but have the ghostly appearance of "The Lost Heart Demon".
He suddenly laughed at himself: There is a whole team of night watchmen in this house, what a ghost!
The butler seemed to be muttering in his mind, and he kept saying, "What is that sound?"
Mark looked around: "Wait, where is my classmate Ruth Fang?"
He picked up the lantern on the table and turned it around with his arm, as if he was really looking for his mysteriously missing companion.
At this time, the four ladies had already entered the state and were a little frightened.
Some of them covered their mouths with fans, and some held the hands of their companions, looking trembling.
As if to reassure the ladies, when Mark put the lantern back, the butler placed a plate in the middle of the table and then placed a white object in front of everyone's sight.
Under the dim light, you can see the misty white smoke blowing away.
It was silent, like the indescribable and terrifying fog in the dark night.
In fact, it is a piece of dry ice, which is solid carbon dioxide. It can be made with simple substances such as baking soda, vinegar, etc. It can also be used as a fire extinguisher.
In this atmosphere, even with kerosene lamps, a sense of spreading darkness immediately captured the hearts of every audience member.
This time, even the boldest Dorothy, together with the other three women, secretly moved her chair closer to where Mark was.
"Wait! Who? What's that sound?" This was supposed to be a line in the script, but Mark couldn't help but vibrate when he read it.
On the other side of the table, the butler suddenly jumped on all fours on the table.
A loud "click" sound erupted from the butler's neck, as crisp as fried beans. In front of a man and four women, the butler's head and the pale mask on his face slowly turned 180 degrees...