Chapter 7: Banquet
Julian felt a sensation on his back, a smooth hand gently caressing him. It seemed the maid Alice was very good at taking care of people; Julian comfortably narrowed his eyes. Unconsciously relaxing, his body tilted back slightly. He didn't feel anything wiping his back, and after two seconds, Julian realized what he had rubbed against.
"Don't bother…" Alice frowned protectively, not annoyed by Julian touching her, but annoyed that she still hadn't recognized his holy mark.
Gradually, the other person's movements became faster, and the up-and-down motions increased, as if confirming something.
After mentally reviewing every lower-tier holy mark in the Codex, Alice opened her eyes again, her shock completely undisguised.
Glancing at Julian's profile, Alice closed her mouth, suppressing the surprised thought in her heart and saying, "Please wait a moment."
With that, in less than five seconds, Alice picked up the maid's dress from the floor, skillfully put it on after turning around, and while tying the string behind her neck, she spoke to Julian: "Unless there are other lower-tier holy marks not recorded in the Codex, your holy mark is at least of the middle-tier or higher."
"You didn't say…"
"That's right, no man has ever awakened a holy mark of that tier."
Tying up the collar at her chest, Alice continued, "For a moment, I even wondered if your true identity was a girl, but you are standing right in front of me now, so that can be directly ruled out."
After speaking, her gaze quickly shifted downwards a little, then immediately looked to the side.
Picking up the dress that had fallen to the floor, Alice frowned, tossed it aside, and went to the wardrobe to find a new set for Julian to wear from head to toe.
While putting on the clothes, she glanced at Julian's body and pretended to casually say, "There's no men's underwear in the territory. If you're really uncomfortable, should I find you a women's style? It's inside anyway, so it doesn't matter."
"Thank you, but I'll pass…" Julian refused.
Alice's mood suddenly improved a little, and she gave Julian a kind reminder: "If you really can't suppress it in public, you can learn to adjust your dress by lifting it like a lady. Otherwise, it will be a mess when you stand up in the dress."
"Alice, is your holy mark a venomous snake?" Julian said helplessly, while lowering his head and reaching out to pull at his dress, trying to adjust his movements and posture.
"Venomous snake? Why do you say that?" Alice didn't understand the hidden meaning in Julian's words.
Because of her 'sharp tongue'.
Julian wasn't speaking in style of this world's language, so Alice naturally couldn't understand the meaning of his words.
Straightening his clothes, Julian pulled his hair up with both hands, tucking it behind his ears and at the back of his head. He then glanced at Alice, who was taking a white lace hairband and putting it back on her head in front of the mirror.
"I will tell the Lord about this," Alice emphasized to Julian after she was ready.
"I was planning to tell Losiya sister myself," Julian said.
Alice looked at him closely after hearing this, then nodded contentedly.
He was obedient, understanding, and self-aware. It seemed she could save herself some trouble in the future.
"So, shall we go see the Lord now?" Resuming her maid's duty, Alice placed her hands in front of her, following Julian with a respectful demeanor.
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Arriving at the first floor of the manor, the dinner party was being prepared in full swing, with maids constantly moving through the living room.
"Alice."
Such waiting sounds constantly echoed around, and Alice nodded in response to the chattering maids.
Julian, however, thought of the continent's tradition of female superiority and male inferiority, and curiously asked, "Do nobles not have male servants?"
A humorous look appeared in Alice's beautiful eyes. She said, "For personal care, female servants are naturally more considerate and careful. Most men are slaves doing hard labor. Of course, there are some mistresses who will assign men as personal male servants, but such people are ultimately a minority, and their intentions are not pure."
Julian then realized he had made a cognitive error. A female-dominated world was not a gender-swapped world where everything could be simply interchanged.
Men as slaves and women as courtesans basically explained the lowly status and treatment of both.
The two walked into the living room, which was already filled with tables. Small oil lamps and candles were placed on the tables, and preparations for the meal were slowly being completed in the kitchen, just waiting for the banquet to begin at the appointed time.
As dusk gradually fell, Alice stood at the door, guiding the arriving guests inside.
Julian, however, didn't know what to do, standing by the side of the living room with his fingers intertwined in front of him.
Passing maids couldn't help but look at him several times when they saw him, and a few bolder ones even came up to chat with him.
"Why are you standing here?" A pleasant voice suddenly came from behind him.
An arm wrapped around his shoulder. This time, Julian had changed into a pure white, off-the-shoulder long dress, so the touch of the other person's hand startled him.
Turning his head, Losiya's blue eyes met his. She had changed out of her close-fitting leather outer garment and into a black evening gown, her dress propped up like a blooming black rose.
"I don't know what to do," Julian whispered.
"Don't know what to do?" Losiya raised an eyebrow, her hand on his shoulder moving down to touch his waist.
Holding Julian, Losiya led him with a smiling face to a nearby dining table.
She brought over a plate and placed it in front of Julian, saying, "Do you want me to feed you?"
This question was naturally just a pretense. Without waiting for Julian to respond, she picked up a roasted drumstick wrapped in tin foil and brought it to Julian's mouth.
"Open your mouth," she prompted.
Julian was helpless and had to open his small mouth, relying on Losiya's upper body to bite the roasted drumstick.
"The banquet hasn't started yet, is this okay?"
"Since I'm the host, if I say it's fine, then of course it's fine."
"And…" Losiya's voice became lower, but her face was still smiling.
"There will be a ball tonight, and you explicitly accepted my invitation, understood?"
Julian looked troubled: "I don't know how to dance."
"It's fine, just follow my movements. Everyone starts from not knowing how to," she said carelessly.
Before long, the guests in the living room became more numerous; almost… no, all were female nobles. After being received by the maids, they all raised their wine glasses to chat with Losiya.
This dinner party was held at Losiya's manor. The number of invitees was very small, and although it was low-key, the atmosphere was unusually warm and sweet. Everyone was enjoying the evening.
The maids were also like this. Losiya treated them very casually, and after receiving the guests, she even reserved a special table for them, so they didn't have to constantly serve food everywhere.
The imagined scene of mutual intrigue at a noble banquet did not happen at all. Julian also held a wine glass, a relieved smile on his face.