Chapter 12: Meeting

“Uh, I’m sorry, but we’re still in the research phase for this disease. As for its contagiousness and lethality… there’s no reliable conclusion yet.”

Faced with the elderly butler’s impatient question, Aide showed an embarrassed look, as if questioned about a weak point.

“So I can’t give a trustworthy answer either. That is our failure. If we had more investment funds and patient data for reference…”

“I understand, I understand! This is not your fault at all! I will report to the head of the house immediately. Rest assured, even if the master refuses to see you two, I am willing to personally offer my enthusiasm to help with this disease research!”

The elderly butler’s last trace of doubt completely vanished after hearing Aide’s intentional emphasis on the phrase “investment funds.”

Aide’s wording had indeed shaken the elderly butler’s vigilance, but to achieve a decisive effect, it was best to hint and let this stubborn old man come to his own conclusions.

Using money, something everyone loves, as the goal, is the easiest way to dispel people’s wariness of unknown visitors.

The mutual value placed on money forms the first cornerstone of trust.

“Please wait here for a moment. I will go report to the head of the house!”

Watching the elderly butler walk deep into the mansion, Aide turned his head toward Moya, who was spacing out beside him.

“Don’t you have any comments on my performance?”

As the butler crossed the front yard and entered the depths to report to the fake head of the house, Aide couldn’t help but ask, seeing Moya bored and looking around.

He had thought his inspired move this time was quite interesting.

But Moya beside him showed no reaction, as if she was already used to it.

“Comments? My comment is, as expected of a loan shark debt-collecting hero. You’re even good at scamming the elderly. That’s an area where I can’t compete. I’ll come to you if I need an elderly health supplement salesperson next time.”

Hearing Aide’s question, Moya couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

A mere debt-collecting hero, and he’s proud of his sales pitch?

“Alright, alright.”

Not expecting Moya to react like this, Aide shook his head with a wry smile and joined Moya in observing the scenery.

He felt that this little angel was gradually forgetting the pain after the wound healed.

She had been getting more restless since coming here.

But he was in a good mood, so he wouldn’t argue with Moya for now.

It would be more satisfying to spank her when her injuries healed, otherwise he’d feel a bit guilty.

Aide’s observation was correct.

Since coming here, Moya had grown increasingly irritable.

Under the scorching sun, she had to wear a stifling, airtight cloak.

How was that different from a steamer with the lid closed?

Under the cloak, Moya’s body was drenched in sweat.

Her dress and white stockings felt like they were absorbing the sweat, sticky and uncomfortable, extremely unpleasant.

‘I want to go home.’

‘I want to go home and eat a milkshake.’

‘I want to go home, lie in bed, and eat a milkshake.’

‘I want to go home, lie in bed, eat a milkshake, and sleep.’

‘How much longer will this hell last?’

“You two, the head of the house has agreed to see you! Please follow me!”

After a while, the elderly butler quickly walked back to the front yard, his expression showing the relaxed joy of having completed his persuasion task.

“Let’s go, let’s go. Finish early and go home early.”

Moya, who had been sitting in the front yard pavilion to escape the heat, jumped up instantly and pulled Aide to quickly follow the butler.

Following the butler through the quiet front yard and into the mansion, compared to the empty outside, the interior had more signs of life.

Under the splendid decorations, a few servants in charge of noble household affairs could be seen, briskly carrying out their tasks.

After inviting Moya and Aide into the reception room, the elderly butler closed the door from outside, locking himself out.

A signal for a private meeting.

Understanding the signal from the vagrant wearing the Suerfu family head’s skin, Aide and Moya both looked up at the same time, gazing forward.

On the soft leather sofa in the reception room sat a middle-aged noble with a potbelly, dressed in splendor, with a neatly trimmed mustache, a face shiny from long-term pampering, and a talisman around his neck symbolizing faith in the Holy Light.

It fit Moya’s stereotype of nobles.

However, the restraint and wariness in the middle-aged noble’s eyes couldn’t be hidden, like a tightrope walker who might fall into an abyss at any moment.

Even his sitting posture had a sense of shrinking in an unfamiliar environment, making Moya inexplicably imagine a hedgehog with nowhere to escape.

The moment he saw the middle-aged noble, Aide’s belief in the reality of the body swap reached about eighty to ninety percent.

Body swapping indeed sounded too fantastical.

Even if Aide could accept such a thing happening, the method was too bizarre.

For a moment, he couldn’t determine if the truth was that the two had swapped bodies, or if it was a mass collective hallucination.

But the sense of dissonance this middle-aged noble gave off was too strong.

Even Moya, who hadn’t been immersed in noble society, could sense something was off, let alone Aide, who had grown up in luxury.

This middle-aged noble’s attire from head to toe told him that this was a legitimate noble of no low rank.

But the noble’s eyes and behavior told Aide from another angle that this person should be a newcomer to noble society who didn’t even know how to bow.

Feeling such a strong conflicting dissonance upon first meeting, it was no wonder the elderly butler was so worried about his master.

Compared to Aide, who was calmly examining this vagrant wearing a noble’s skin, Moya felt a ripple of wariness in her heart.

As a guardian angel who guides souls to the staircase of heaven, Aide was quite sensitive to the traits of a person’s soul.

For example, his own soul was like a chaos of unknown elements, occasionally emitting a hint of malice, yet always radiating a gentle light, as if continuously guided by some belief.

The fake person in front of him emitted a soul fluctuation that wasn’t much different from an ordinary person, but with an extra hint of ruthlessness.

Moreover, the soul indeed had a trace of evil magic, but it didn’t seem to originate from the soul itself; rather, it seemed to be attached to it.

“…”

As if telepathic, Aide and Moya didn’t exchange a single glance after entering the reception room. They stared straight at the middle-aged noble without saying a word.

“…”

“I appreciate your visit, but you are mistaken. I do not have the illness you described to me through the butler. You may leave.”

Seeing the two remain silent, the middle-aged noble finally showed a flustered look, unable to keep up the act.

He spoke slowly, opening with a respectful phrase that didn’t fit the situation.

“Is that so? I originally thought the person who stole the Suerfu family head’s skin would be a smart one.”

Seeing the fake noble’s flustered expression, Moya, who was eager to get off work quickly, didn’t want Aide to drag it out any longer.

She started with a direct face-off.

“Was I mistaken?”