Chapter 167 – Encountering the black cat

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

“Meow.”

Suddenly, the surroundings brightened up, and the castle seemed to come to life all at once, everything regaining its vitality.

In the long corridor, the light refracted by crystal chandeliers sparkled like stars, dancing on the walls and floors. The walls were a deep red velvet, soft as clouds. The floors were covered with colorful rugs and carpets, resembling autumn maple leaves.

Tang Qing rubbed his eyes in confusion; he felt like he had been under some kind of spell, only now seeing the real side of the castle, as if stepping into a fantasy dream, splendid, mysterious, dangerous, and enchanting, like a dreamland or a mystical realm.

“99, why is this place so strange?” Tang Qing murmured.

[Host, be careful; I feel that black cat isn’t right. In Western mythology, black cats symbolize unknown magic.] System 99 also expressed concern, suspecting someone might be using illusions to deter Tang Qing.

“How could that be?” Tang Qing gazed at the cat, completely black except for its eyes glowing green, and sincerely admired:

“This cat is really handsome.”

He slowly approached the windowsill, gently calling out, “Little Kitty~”

Bending down slightly, he reached out his hand toward the black cat, wanting to touch its silky fur.

However, the black cat simply raised its head proudly, its eyes cold, casting a disdainful glance at him, exuding superiority and scorn through sharp and icy eyes, as if saying:

“Human, do you dare to touch me?”

The black cat gave Tang Qing a cold look and then swiftly darted out, its jet-black fur akin to a creature of the night, agile and soon vanished into the castle’s intricate corridors.

“Excuse me, miss, are you here for the maid position?”

Suddenly, a male voice sounded from behind.

Tang Qing turned around to see a middle-aged man dressed as a butler. His face was sunken, eyes dark, and he wore a stiff smile.

Finding the man a bit strange, Tang Qing nodded and replied, “Hello, sir, I am… I am Anne, here to apply for the maid position.”

He remembered he was currently in the role of a maid and spontaneously came up with a name.

“Ah, lovely Miss Anne, nice to meet you. I am Andrew, the butler of Castle Csejte. Welcome to Castle Csejte. Let me introduce you to the maid duties…”

As Andrew spoke, he led Tang Qing to the utility room, explaining the use of various cleaning tools and detailing the areas of the castle that needed cleaning.

Finally, Andrew smiled ambiguously and said, “Anne, there have been too many resigning maids lately. Could you please start working tomorrow?”

With that, he took Tang Qing to see where he would be residing. They reached the basement of the castle, passing through a long corridor flanked by servants’ living quarters.

These rooms were dim and cramped, starkly contrasting the grandeur of the rest of the castle.

Tang Qing entered the room and noticed only a few small windows placed near the ceiling, revealing a pitch-black view outside.

Andrew impassively led Tang Qing through the room, then handed him two hard loaves of bread:

“Since the maids’ quarters are currently under renovation, you’ll have to temporarily stay here, Anne. This is your dinner; enjoy your meal.”

The maid’s room contained only simple bedding and furniture, with walls full of holes – all temporary partitions that could be dismantled at any time, as if the owner could abandon everything here at a moment’s notice.

This was the true life of the servants, tirelessly busy in the splendid castle but resting in such rudimentary conditions – truly ironic.

Tang Qing sweat-dropped as he looked at the two hard loaves of bread, thinking, there’s no way to enjoy this.

He closed the door, sat in the cramped white room, and cursed Countess Bathory.

“I haven’t even seen a penny of wages, and they want me to start working.”

“Countess Bathory, who squeezes money out like a miser,”

“And that smirking Andrew, doesn’t seem like a good person at all…”

Probably in their eyes, he was just a blood bag that knew how to clean, and they didn’t care if he could eat enough.

He sighed.

At that moment, he casually looked up and saw a pair of green orbs flickering high up on the window.

It was the black cat from earlier.

“Little Kitty~”

Tang Qing immediately perked up, waving at the cat. “Little Kitty, come down.”

The black cat stood in the high window corner, coldly looking down at him.

Undeterred, Tang Qing broke off a piece of bread, smiling and beckoning to the black cat, “Little Kitty, come and have some bread.”

The black cat gazed out at the scenery outside, seemingly indifferent.

Tang Qing felt a bit discouraged.

Why was this black cat so aloof?

It’s not like Tang Qing was boasting; he used to be very popular among small animals in the real world, never missing a chance to pet a cat.

“Even a cat is nobler than me,” Tang Qing couldn’t help but self-deprecatingly mutter.

He lowered his head slightly, his bangs gently falling beside his cheek. This petite and delicate Eastern maid had a fair and exquisite face, dark and beautiful hair, eyes like black grapes, and lips as red as roses, a unique Eastern appearance.

As Tang Qing lowered his head, the cross necklace around his neck gleamed briefly.

The black cat squinted slightly, then elegantly leapt down from the windowsill, landing soundlessly on the bed.

Tang Qing’s eyes instantly brightened as he cheerfully greeted, “Little Kitty, come here.”

Ignoring Tang Qing’s warmth, the black cat extended its claws, aiming to play with the cross necklace around Tang Qing’s neck.

Noticing the cat’s intent, Tang Qing carefully tucked away the necklace and explained, “Kitty, this is a beautiful gift from a princess, not a toy for you to play with, okay?”

He then took off the red bow on his head and used the tassel attached to it to play with the cat.

The black cat seemed surprised by the rejection.

It coldly retracted its claws, looking disdainful.

It was being treated as a silly, playful cat that could be toyed with by humans.

If it weren’t for the necklace seeming a bit special, it wouldn’t have bothered to move at all.

“Are you hungry?” Tang Qing then took out the piece of bread and offered it to the black cat.

The black cat coldly stared at Tang Qing.

Besides blood, it had no need for other food.

However, the scent emanating from this maid was quite pleasant.

It couldn’t help but approach this chatty maid, rubbing against her¹No I didn’t make a mistake. As you know, the cat still doesn’t know that Tangtang is a crossdresser. So to the cat, Tangtang appears to be female fingers and sniffing.

There was a light and sweet fragrance emanating from her, not overpowering but pleasant.

Like delicate rose petals from the East.

This maid from the East, the blood flowing in her veins must also be deliciously sweet and exquisite.

The black cat quietly revealed its sharp fangs, preparing to pierce through the tender skin before it.

“Ah, those damned vampires. When will they disappear from the world?”

Tang Qing had a harrowing day, remembering what System 99 had told him and couldn’t help but remark, “I heard Countess Bathory isn’t even the worst vampire.”

“She captured so many people just to pay tribute to an evil vampire prince.”

“Named… Sephiroth or something… Oh, these foreign names are too long, can’t even remember.”

“In any case, they’re all not good people, all big villains.”

The black cat seemed amused by her words, giving a faint smirk.

Even the famous vampire prince Sephiroth’s name couldn’t be remembered. This maid was so foolish; it’s no wonder she was deceived into becoming a blood bag.

Tang Qing failed to notice the black cat’s sharp teeth almost touching his fingers. He bent down and lifted the black cat in his arms, continuing to caution:

“Little Kitty, you also need to be careful. This castle is full of ruthless villains who wouldn’t blink at killing. If you see them, make sure to hide well and not let anyone discover you, understand?”

The black cat fell silent, looking somewhat speechless.

It wanted to break free from the maid’s embrace and run away but heard the person rambling on:

“I’m sorry, all I have on me now is this stone-like hard bread. I hope you don’t mind.”

“When I manage to escape this witch’s castle in the future, I’ll buy you the best dried fish treats.”

The maid’s chest was unusually flat, uncomfortable.

But her embrace was warm, evoking a long-forgotten sense of sunlight.

Though it had not seen the sun in a long time.

Lost in thought, the black cat found a piece of bread shoved in front of it.

In a trance, it involuntarily opened its mouth and took a small bite.

“Ah! Once you’ve eaten it, you’ll be my cat!” The maid said joyfully, burying her face in the black cat and giving it a rub.

“Meow!”

The black cat seemed a bit angry; its fur bristled all over as it sharply scratched Tang Qing’s hand.

Then, with a swift movement, it darted out.

In an instant, it disappeared into the darkness.

“Tsk…”

Tang Qing helplessly looked at the fresh red scratches on his hand, sighing, “It’s like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, a black cat biting Tang Qing.”

He finished the remaining piece of bread, adjusted his mood, and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, in the daylight, Tang Qing carefully inspected the castle once more.

He noticed that during the day, the butler would hide in his room to sleep, and the rumoured Countess Bathory was nowhere to be found.

There were many other servants like him scattered around, toiling away at their tasks.

He asked a few of them and found out they were all children from poor families in the nearby villages. The pay offered by Castle Csejte was just too good to pass up, so they came to work there.

“Hello, may I ask if you’ve seen Countess Bathory?” Tang Qing curiously inquired to a more talkative-looking young lad.

The young lad, gazing at this beautiful, exotic maid, stuttered for a moment before responding, “I have seen her once.”

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  No I didn’t make a mistake. As you know, the cat still doesn’t know that Tangtang is a crossdresser. So to the cat, Tangtang appears to be female