"Are you sure you want to stay in that villa tonight? Believe me, it is really not safe," Kaila asked, her hands clasped in front of her ample chest, her face full of genuine worry.
"Don't worry, I've already checked the villa. Although there are some issues, it's not as serious as you all are making it out to be. So please rest assured, you'll see me perfectly fine tomorrow morning. By the way, dinner was really amazing. It's still hard for me to believe a rich lady like you can cook such wonderful food. Most noble ladies tend to look down on that sort of thing," Ed, happy to be cared for by a beautiful woman, offered the compliment, making Kaila's cheeks flush slightly.
"Oh, come on, don't joke. It wasn't as delicious as you're making it sound. And you have a misunderstanding about noble ladies, learning all household work is actually a compulsory course for them. It's just that they usually have enough servants, so they don't like doing those things themselves," Kaila said with a chuckle.
Then her expression turned serious. She walked up to Ed and placed a crescent-moon necklace made of abalone shell on a golden chain around his neck. The necklace looked expensive and high-end.
"Although I can't help you with this suicide mission of yours, take this lucky necklace of mine. My late husband gave it to me, and until now, it has brought me luck and helped me a great deal. I hope it can help you, too… By the way, don't forget to give it back tomorrow. I'm only lending it temporarily," Kaila chuckled happily, breaking Ed's fantasy, and continued, "Hehe, otherwise, do you really think I'd give such an expensive thing to a stranger I've known for only three hours at most?"
"It doesn't cost anything to dream, right?" Ed replied shamelessly, touching the abalone-shell moon pendant, which felt quite cold to the touch.
"Alright, thank you for everything you've done for me. See you tomorrow," Ed gave Kaila a warm bear hug, stole a quick kiss on her cheek, and hurriedly ran off.
"Pervert. Hehe," Kaila shook her head with a chuckle and walked into her house, humming a song, clearly in a very good mood.
…
Returning home, since it was only 9 o'clock, Ed changed his clothes and began writing in his book. Around 11 o'clock, he put down the quill, turned off the light, and lay down on the bed he had taken out from his Inventory. There was no way he was going to sleep on a bed full of dust and spiderwebs that hadn't been cleaned in years.
The room fell into darkness. Ed closed his eyes, touching the holster under his arm and the gun on his thigh.
Keeping a little alert, his eyes grew heavy, and just like that, he gradually relaxed his vigilance before falling into a deep sleep.
Time passed. Around 1 o'clock.
In the darkness, the air felt slightly cool. Ed sensed a chill on the soles of his feet and pushed the quilt aside slightly with his legs. Snug again. A touch of warmth returned.
Slightly cool.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
The simple pump next to the house seemed to be drawing water from the tank.
Tap! Tap!
There was the sound of someone walking on the floor in slippers.
With a creak, the quaint bronze faucet was turned on.
The sound of water drops falling echoed.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The only sound in the darkness was the dripping water. The wind, the chirping of insects, even the moonlight, all seemed to fade away, as though vanishing.
Ed opened his eyes, placing his hands on the handles tucked vertically alongside his thighs.
His other hand felt beneath the pillow.
He threw off the quilt, picked up the oil lamp from the bedside table, and slowly walked out the door.
The sound of dripping water was so conspicuous in the silent darkness that it would be enough to give a weak-willed person a minor heart attack.
The dim light of the oil lamp pierced the darkness, seeming to slice through the silence.
Slowly pushing the door open, Ed lifted the oil lamp and saw water dripping from the brass faucet into the washbasin. Each drop fell into the iron basin below, splashing lightly.
Ed walked over and tightened the faucet, all the while looking around vigilantly.
The moment he turned back with the lantern in hand, he immediately reached for the gun at his thigh, but stopped halfway, letting out a long breath.
He gazed into the mirror in front of him and fell into deep thought.
…
Ed studied his own reflection.
"Damn, I actually got scared by my own face. No wonder Raila always teases me that I'd look like a villain when I'm old," Ed couldn't help but complain bitterly to himself.
He was already on edge the moment he saw the mirror, after all, in 90% of horror movies, mirrors are the casual residence of ghosts, from which they come and go, scaring people to death.
The main reason he'd been startled by his own face was that his mind still held the image from his previous life. Suddenly seeing a new face, he'd been scared out of his wits.
But fortunately, his reaction was quick, otherwise, it would have been very embarrassing if he'd fired at his own reflection.
Ed leaned closer to the mirror. He hadn't noticed it during the day, but with the help of this clear glass, Ed was now able to examine his appearance carefully.
His jet-black hair hadn't been trimmed much and had already grown past his ears into a medium length. He definitely wasn't used to it in the past, but now he'd grown accustomed.
It wasn't easy to find a good barber in this area. When he'd first arrived in this world, the original owner of this body looked more like a girl with shoulder-length hair than a boy, he'd almost mistaken himself for one. Later, after he'd charmed Raila, she became his regular barber, but now it seemed he'd have to find someone else.
Looking at his face, he could still see a hint of immaturity in his hairless, baby-like features. However, his expression was rather mature and somewhat old-fashioned, like a middle-aged man's, making him look slightly older than his actual age.
He studied his eyes carefully. His emerald-green eyes were as dark as ink, truly rare. No wonder beautiful ladies couldn't help but lose themselves in them.
"But this body really is handsome, at least compared to my previous life; it's many times better looking," Ed said aloud, a satisfied smile on his face.
As the words left his mouth, Ed paused slightly. He subtly rubbed his hands, took off the magician's ring, and put it back on.
A slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at himself in the mirror.
"Hello, handsome," He said softly to his reflection, his face smiling.