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Ivan led the horse slowly into the stable. At this moment, he was thinking about how to persuade Miss Betty to allow him to keep the horse in the villa. After this incident, Count Roberde would surely remember his purebred horse vividly. If that guy launched another attack, he would surely include this beloved mount in his plan.
To protect the horse, Ivan carefully hid it in the attic where the harness was stored. The attic was low and cramped, which really wronged the horse. Ivan felt extremely guilty and could only comfort this speechless partner with gentle words. And the horse seemed to really understand Ivan's intention and stood quietly in place, no longer restless. Ivan filled the feed bag with the best horse feed as compensation for it, and then closed the stable.
He arranged an air-condensing magic array at the entrance of the stable, and then took out his magic wand from his pocket, transforming the hallucinogenic powder solvent into a cloud of mist, making it float in the air. In this way, at least until tomorrow morning, there was no need to worry about ordinary people entering through the gate. Ivan thought to himself that Count Roberde's men wouldn't climb through the window into a stable. Such behavior was really too absurd. However, they might break through the window when attacking the villa.
Ivan turned and returned to the villa, but the scene in front of him surprised him greatly. The villa was busy and noisy, and the maids were shuttling around, all holding bedding and pillows in their arms. Ivan was full of doubts and followed the maids into his bedroom. The maids looked at him with a hint of indescribable shyness and other emotions in their eyes, which made Ivan even more confused.
His bedroom was originally small, and now it was filled with bedding, and it was almost impossible to find a place to stand.
"Oh, Ivan, you're finally back!" Miss Susanna greeted him with a smile. "I've arranged for everyone to move into the bedroom. If something happens, you can protect everyone here more conveniently. Look, is this arrangement okay?" There was a look of taking credit on her face.
"Where is Miss Betty?" Ivan blurted out, but as soon as the words came out, he realized it was inappropriate.
Sure enough, the maids all cast strange glances at him. Ivan didn't need to ask to know what they were thinking.
"Don't worry. Miss Betty will come here at night. Why are you in such a hurry?" Susanna said, and the maids blushed at her words.
"What about you? You also have toxins that need to be detoxified." Ivan said.
The maids all showed extremely surprised expressions. Obviously, they didn't know that Miss Susanna was poisoned. It seemed that Susanna had never told anyone.
Miss Susanna glanced at Ivan and said, "Don't worry. Miss Betty and the others won't be in the way. They just come here to rest at night. You have plenty of time to detoxify me. Miss Betty already knows about this. Are you satisfied now?" There was a glimmer of teasing and mockery in Miss Susanna's eyes.
The maids now understood the meaning of the previous words, and their faces became even redder. Ivan was so embarrassed that he wished he could disappear into the ground.
"How is Miss Betty?" Ivan asked, trying to find an excuse to escape from this embarrassing situation.
"The priest is treating her. If you want to see her, she is in the garden living room. Miss Lina is also there. She is the one who really needs treatment." Miss Susanna replied.
"Have the others all been treated?" Ivan asked.
"The priest said that because you treated them in time, he didn't need to do much. Besides, not everyone was poisoned. Obviously, the toxicity in the water was not that strong earlier." Susanna said, "Miss Betty could have been fine too. She only took a sip of tea, and the poisoning was not too serious. She was just scared by you later and needs to rest to recover her strength."
The maids were giggling beside them. Obviously, they also thought this was quite interesting.
Ivan blushed with shame and returned to the laboratory upstairs. He felt ashamed to face Miss Betty, especially in front of the priest. Everyone regarded him as a trustworthy expert, but he was just a fuss-making mediocrity.
In addition, Ivan sensed that danger was approaching quietly. Although he had mastered a lot of magic knowledge through his practice during this period, the only thing that could really be used for self-defense was still that magic wand.
Ivan planned to consult the magician Lavash in the distance through the magic mirror and ask for some practical magic. He thought that he now had enough strength to control the magic that he couldn't reach before.
In the laboratory, Ivan waited for the whole afternoon. Unfortunately, he never got in touch with the magician Lavash.
Having nothing to do, he had to make a few air-condensing talismans. Although this talisman was not powerful, it worked well with the flying mist made from the hallucinogenic powder.
As usual, at dinner time, a maid woke Ivan up from his magic experiment.
Ivan walked downstairs and came to the garden living room. Miss Susanna and Miss Betty were sitting there safely. There were boiled eggs, baked rice flour buns, and a bowl of conch meat on the table, which was Ivan's dinner.
Ivan took out the poison-testing tool he carried with him and carefully examined the conch meat repeatedly.
"Hey, you've stirred it with that thing for so long. Can it still be eaten?" Miss Susanna frowned and said, pretending to be disgusted.
Ivan didn't care and put the conch meat that was confirmed to be non-toxic into his mouth and chewed it. He never wasted food easily.
"It's a helpless measure. I have to be extremely careful at all times. Besides, the food I eat is different from yours, and the target is too obvious." Ivan said helplessly.
"Is everyone all right?" Ivan asked.
"Lina is still in bed. The poison she was poisoned with is quite severe. It may take some time to recover completely." Miss Betty said.
"Let her bask in the sun often. In this way, she can recover more quickly and won't have any sequelae. That kind of poison will erode the bones, making them loose and fragile. Basking in the sun and drinking milk are the best ways to recover as soon as possible." Ivan said.
"You are really an expert. It's almost the same as what the priest said just now." Miss Susanna said, but the sarcasm in her tone was far more than sincere praise.
Hearing Susanna's sarcasm, Ivan silently lowered his head and swallowed the conch meat on his plate.
Perhaps because the dinner was too "simple and refined", everyone quickly finished this dinner.
Miss Susanna walked straight to Ivan and pulled him up. Except when the drug addiction broke out, she usually had quite a lot of strength.
Ivan understood and silently followed Miss Susanna to the bedroom.
Seeing the two walking away gradually, a maid whispered, "After dinner, it seems that it is appropriate to take a short break and wait for a while to digest before doing strenuous exercise."
"How dare you!" Another maid scolded with a smile.
"Yes, yes, Aina, are you tempted by what Miss Susanna said? Tell the truth quickly." Another maid joked.
"Yes, I'm tempted. So what? Aren't you tempted? Don't pretend to be a lady and act innocent." The maid named Aina argued.
These words made everyone blush and feel shy.
Miss Betty spat gently and said, "You guys, without aunt around, you are becoming more and more presumptuous."
At this time, from Ivan's room came bursts of moans full of happiness. The rising and charming sounds echoed freely in the whole villa, spreading wantonly in the garden living room and in the hearts of Miss Betty and the four maids.
It was an indescribable strange feeling, mixed with uncomfortable embarrassment and a hint of subtle beauty.
"Hi... Miss, you said we were presumptuous. However, for those who are really presumptuous, will you discipline them? Have you disciplined them? And dare you discipline them?" Aina whispered in argument.
Miss Betty was speechless when she heard this and didn't know how to answer.
The sound became higher and higher, like a surging wave, instantly reaching the peak and lingering there for a long time, and then everything gradually calmed down.
For Miss Betty and the others who were used to such sounds, they naturally knew that the "interaction" between Ivan and Miss Susanna had just begun and was far from over.
Usually, they listened to these embarrassing sounds alone in their rooms. No matter what they thought or how they reacted, it was only their own private matter. But now, everyone was gathered in the living room, and this embarrassing atmosphere was almost unbearable.
Everyone lowered their heads and endured this strange emotion silently.
If there were no other people around, they might let their emotions go and immerse themselves in that indescribable strange feeling with the rising and falling sounds. But now in front of everyone, shame and reserve made them unable to let go of themselves. It was simply a kind of torment.
Moreover, none of them dared to leave the living room without permission because it would make others misunderstand them, as if they were eager to return to their rooms and let loose.
Because everyone had the same concern, they could only sit quietly in the living room, monitoring each other and also enduring the strange impulse and feeling in their hearts.
After a long time, the villa gradually returned to calm.
"I wonder how Lina is. It's late at night. Maybe it's time to move her to the bedroom and settle her properly. Didn't the priest mention that the cold at night is not good for Lina?" Aina whispered.
The other two maids looked at Miss Betty. Seeing that she was silent, they quickly slipped out of the living room like a string of sneaky little mice.
In the bedroom, Ivan and Miss Susanna had just gradually calmed down from the passion. As usual, they hugged each other tightly in a habitual posture. After the passion, extreme exhaustion of body and mind followed.
At this moment, Ivan realized why Herbert had always been indifferent to women. It turned out that the relaxed state after pleasure was really dangerous for a killer who needed to stay vigilant at all times.
When the three maids carried Lina into the bedroom, Ivan truly knew how great the danger was. He didn't even notice the heavy and messy footsteps of the maids at all.
Ivan hurriedly let go of Miss Susanna and moved away from her. Then he hurriedly pulled up the quilt that had fallen to the ground and covered himself and Miss Susanna.
In a hurry, Ivan accidentally knocked over the ointment placed on the bedside. The pot rolled far away.
This pot of ointment was originally something to be smeared on a woman's body before lovemaking to enhance passion. However, in the past, it had never had any effect on Miss Susanna's body. Only now had it been mixed with a hallucinogenic powder solvent.
Using the magic wand as a tool to add spice all the time was really a bit over the top. Moreover, it was rather difficult to accurately control the dosage of the hallucinogenic powder.
Seeing Ivan's embarrassed look, the three maids quickly turned their heads away, not daring to look directly. Although at first they did have the intention of taking the opportunity to peek at that embarrassing scene, the "performance" of Ivan and Miss Susanna was clearly so hot and exciting that it far exceeded their expectations.
"We just wanted to settle Lina properly. We didn't see anything. We didn't mean to do it on purpose," Aina explained in a flustered manner.
"Forget it, forget it. Whether you saw it or not, whether it was on purpose or not, there's no need to say any more," Miss Susanna said languidly with her arm under her head. "Lina is really pitiful. She was dragged around like a shield by you. How could her delicate body withstand such treatment?"
Reminded by Miss Susanna, the maids then remembered Lina in their arms and quickly settled her down properly.
Ivan quietly slipped down from the other end of the bed, got dressed neatly, picked up the ointment that had rolled onto the floor, and put it back on the bedside.
The floor of the small room was covered with bedding and sheets, making it extremely inconvenient for Ivan to walk. He carefully stepped on the edges of the quilts, trying his best to avoid leaving footprints on the maids' beds.
This situation reminded Ivan of the hopscotch game he played in his childhood.
When he walked to the maid lying beside the bed, he saw that her cheeks were unusually flushed, her eyes were slightly closed, her nostrils were slightly fluttering, and her lips were as red as blood, all of which were the consequences of that terrifying poison.
Ivan squatted down and gently touched Lina's forehead. His hand was full of cold sweat. Fortunately, her breathing was still fairly even.
Ivan put his hand on her chest. This was an extremely sensitive move and could easily arouse people's wild thoughts. However, due to the solemn atmosphere in the room, all the people in the bedroom only felt nervous.
The heartbeat was clear and strong. Ivan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "She's okay. She should be able to wake up tomorrow. But if she wants to move freely, it may take two or three weeks of careful recuperation."
"It's good that she's okay," a maid said.
"Fortunately, the toxicity of these two poisons isn't too strong," Ivan said with a bit of relief.
"And it's also thanks to you for detecting the poison in the food in time and detoxifying Lina with peanut oil in time," another maid said.
"Ivan, you should be really grateful to me. If I hadn't poured tea for you, you wouldn't have known that the water had been poisoned," Miss Susanna said as she sat up on the bed, propping her cheek with her hand.
Ivan was quite impressed by Miss Susanna's thick skin. Besides nodding in agreement repeatedly, what else could he do in response?
"I hope Count Roberde won't take any extreme actions," a maid sighed.
"It's okay. Even if there's danger, Master Ivan will protect all of us," Aina said with a smile, casting a furtive glance at Ivan from the corner of her eye.
"I'm really not that confident about this. I can only be more careful myself. When you rest, try to wear more clothes. Although it might be uncomfortable, at least you won't be so embarrassed or shy when you need to run away in a hurry," Ivan said. He didn't want to leave the impression of being someone who made empty promises to these maids.
"Don't worry. We've already made plans. Besides, neither Miss Betty nor the other women have any intention of showing their charm in front of you," Miss Susanna said. Obviously, the focus of her words was quite different from what Ivan meant.
To Ivan's surprise, this ordinary sentence made all the women except Miss Susanna, who had a thick skin, blush.
"Where will I sleep tonight?" Ivan asked.
"If you don't want to lie on the bed, I don't mind. This bed can hold three people. But when there are only two people left, it will be much more spacious," Miss Susanna said with a smile.
How could Ivan give up the good opportunity to sleep with Miss Betty?
Without saying a word, he took off his coat, quickly got into the quilt, and occupied the position between Susanna and Betty.
Seeing Ivan's behavior, the maids understood what was going on. They looked at each other, all with strange expressions on their faces.
Ivan and Miss Susanna were lying side by side on the bed. At that moment, he was just looking forward to Miss Betty's arrival. However, with these maids around, it was unlikely that anything romantic would happen.
Ivan was rather depressed.
The days when he lived with five women passed quietly. In a blink of an eye, a week had passed. During this period, Ivan always paid attention to the surroundings.
He knew that Count Roberde wouldn't let the matter rest.
Teacher Lavash still hadn't replied. Ivan couldn't help wondering what had happened on his side.
The life of being on tenterhooks all day made Ivan feel very restless. At this moment, he understood why Herbert had such an eccentric temperament. Such a life would make any ordinary person behave abnormally.
Since the poisoning incident, Count Levi had dispatched the guards of Saisburg to guard around the villa. However, Ivan didn't think this could restrain Count Roberde. But in this way, it would be easier to create chaos once something happened.
Herbert had taught him how to take advantage of chaos.
Chaos was similar to darkness. It was both an opportunity for assassination and a way to escape from danger.
In the fight among killers, whoever could use and create chaos more skillfully was evidence of their higher or lower skills. Ivan, who had learned from the assassination master Herbert, was quite confident in using chaos.
Apart from using chaos, another thing that made him confident was poison testing.
Since that day, Ivan had been always on guard against whether someone was poisoning.
He definitely didn't want to see anyone poisoned again.
However, during this extremely tense and fearful extraordinary period, there was also something that made him happy. It was just that Miss Betty was still reserved and unwilling to let go of her airs, which made Ivan feel quite regretful.
He had once envisioned a most romantic passion - in a life-and-death situation, in a dangerous environment, two lovers snuggling up to each other. However, Miss Betty, who loved poetry and drama, was too lacking in romantic sentiment in real life.
Ivan always felt that she was too serious and reserved.
Ivan didn't want Miss Betty to be with him just to follow the order of old Miss Medin, just to give birth to a child with the blood of the Medin family and officially recognized by the family, just to continue the bloodline of the Medin family. Such a purpose was too utilitarian!
He earnestly hoped that there could be some elements of love in this marriage.
Ivan carefully inspected the villa.
This was a habit he had developed recently.
He didn't do this entirely for safety reasons, because few killers would carry out assassinations when it wasn't too late at night.