Chapter 268: Susan's Despair
"Let's go, we're going too!"
Alisa grabbed Susan's hand.
She pulled Susan towards the guest room door.
"Alisa, wait, wait!"
Susan, coming back to her senses, panicked.
Now was definitely not the time to disturb Silver Mask.
Although she was very grateful to Silver Mask,
to her, that kind of thing was still too small.
Moreover, she didn't know Silver Mask well enough to be this casual.
But Susan's strength was too weak to stop Alisa.
"Knock, knock!"
In Susan's desperate gaze, Alisa knocked on the door.
Footsteps could be heard from behind the door.
The next moment, with a "click," the door opened.
"Princess Alisa?"
Seeing Alisa and Susan outside the door, Emma's eyes flashed with slight surprise.
Wearing a thin nightgown, Emma discreetly adjusted her shoulder strap.
Alisa glanced into the room.
"Emma, is Mr. Silver Mask inside?"
Emma nodded.
"Mm, that's good!"
Alisa pulled Susan into the room.
"Princess Alisa, you... why are you here?"
Aya's somewhat flustered voice rang out in the room.
Aya was sitting on Li Meng's lap on the bed.
Her thin nightgown had slipped down to her waist.
Alisa and Susan's sudden intrusion made Aya quickly pull up her nightgown.
"Aya, what are you doing?"
"N-nothing, my shoulder hurt a bit, so Mr. Silver Mask was checking it for me."
Alisa showed an understanding expression and smiled slightly.
"So that's it. Mr. Silver Mask really knows a lot."
Alisa looked at Mr. Silver Mask on the bed with admiration.
Li Meng sat up from the bed.
The five people in the room stared at each other.
Before long, the sound of women's chatter filled the room.
Time passed little by little, and the night gradually deepened.
It wasn't until the dead of night that the room finally quieted down.
"Susan, what exactly is going on?"
On the bed, the five of them slept huddled together.
Susan and Alisa slept on either side of Li Meng.
On the outer edges were the Emma sisters.
Susan's face flushed, and she leaned toward Li Meng's ear and whispered softly.
After a while, Susan pulled away from Li Meng's ear.
Her face was flushed, and she lowered her head shyly.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to, I... I couldn't stop Alisa."
Hearing this, Li Meng understood.
No wonder the two women had suddenly barged in at this hour.
But then again, Alisa really was as pure as a blank sheet of paper.
"Sleep, just think of it as sharing a bed!"
It was just sleeping on the same bed; there was nothing to it.
The Emma sisters wouldn't mind.
Alisa had the wrong idea.
And Susan and Li Meng naturally didn't care much either.
"Mm!"
Susan closed her eyes.
With Silver Mask by her side, she might finally have a good night's sleep tonight.
That night, the night grew deeper.
The next morning, Susan blushed as she pulled Alisa away.
The Emma sisters had long since woken up and were preparing breakfast.
"Susan, what's wrong with you?"
In the long hallway, Susan and Alisa walked side by side.
Both women wore nightgowns.
Susan's nightgown was black, while Alisa's was white.
"N-nothing!"
Susan rubbed her flushed face.
Last night, she had slept so soundly.
She hadn't even dreamed; she had slept straight through until dawn.
In the past, she would often wake up from nightmares.
Her sleep had always been fragmented, waking up frequently.
Thinking back to that scene earlier, Susan's face turned even redder.
She had actually clung to Silver Mask like an octopus.
"Alisa, go change your clothes. I'm heading back!"
As they walked, Susan arrived at her room door.
"Mm, then I'll head back too!"
In the early morning, as everything awakened,
the Bard Earl's mansion welcomed another day of routine.
By mid-morning, the sun grew hotter.
In an open space outside the pavilion in the courtyard,
Li Meng and Emma stood facing each other about twenty meters apart.
"Mr. Silver Mask, please guide me!"
Emma, holding a wooden sword, gave Li Meng a formal chest-covering salute.
Li Meng casually twirled his wooden sword.
Emma's face tensed, and she stepped forward with her left foot.
Her figure flashed, and she sprinted forward.
Her running stance was wild.
The maid's skirt flew high.
From behind, one could definitely see an alluring sight.
Emma quickly closed the distance to Li Meng and stabbed forward with her sword.
Li Meng lightly swung his sword and effortlessly blocked Emma's strike.
Emma retreated, then swung her sword again.
Li Meng once again blocked Emma's wooden sword.
In the open space, Emma moved swiftly around Li Meng.
Her wooden sword attacked Li Meng from all directions.
But each seemingly fierce attack was blocked by Li Meng's wooden sword.
Shockwaves burst forth, sweeping in all directions.
Before long, Emma was drenched in sweat.
"Huff, Mr. Silver Mask, I... I can't anymore!"
After her final strike was blocked, Emma retreated repeatedly.
Finally, she plopped down onto the ground.
Aya, standing nearby, smiled and stepped forward.
She handed over a towel and water.
Aya took the wooden sword from her sister's hand.
She turned to face Mr. Silver Mask.
"Mr. Silver Mask, it's my turn!"
The fierce exchange earlier had stirred Aya's fighting spirit.
Although she and her sister sparred regularly,
they would always hold back, afraid of hurting each other.
But with Mr. Silver Mask as a sparring partner, there was no need for such worries.
Facing her sister's earlier attacks, Mr. Silver Mask hadn't moved a single step.
Aya placed the sword in front of her chest, bowed slightly, and then lunged forward.
For a while, the sound of Aya's fierce yells filled the pavilion area.
"I... I'm joining too!"
After resting for a while, Emma stood up again.
She grabbed a wooden sword and joined the fight.
The two sisters attacked Li Meng together.
The sound of wooden swords clashing filled the air.
The sisters moved swiftly around Li Meng,
their swords striking again and again.
"I... I can't anymore!"
Ten minutes later, Aya's hands trembled, and her wooden sword fell to the ground.
She staggered back and collapsed onto the grass.
Emma also stopped, her chest heaving heavily.
Her face was covered in sweat, and her clothes were soaked.
"Mr. Silver Mask, what sword style do you practice?"
Emma looked at Silver Mask curiously.
"I'm just swinging the sword. I don't follow any sword style."
Mr. Silver Mask's response left Emma stunned.
The two sisters exchanged a bitter smile.
"You two must practice the Sword God style, right?"
Li Meng had seen the Sword God style before.
One night, he had snuck into the royal palace and saw someone using it.
It was incredibly powerful; every swing could break the sound barrier.