"Wait."
The five of them immediately stopped and stood outside, dazed.
Wen Shen pushed a wheelchair over from a corner, laboriously lifted Miss Wen onto it, and then moved her to the window.
Miss Wen's room featured five massive floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a complete view of Eden Garden.
Wen Shen's silhouette obscured Miss Wen; she stood behind her like a cold guardian.
"Clean up."
Nan Yue sighed, lowering her head to help the others tidy the room.
Although she couldn't see Miss Wen's face clearly enough to judge her condition, Nan Yue noticed her clothes were excessively ornate.
For someone who spent all her time in bed, her attire should have been comfortable pajamas.
Nan Yue had watched some movies with Wen Xiang Yuan before, where the nightgowns of noblewomen were simple and form-fitting, even if made of silk or satin.
But Miss Wen's clothes were magnificent; the top was form-fitting and breathable, but the bottom featured a massive skirt that completely enveloped the wheelchair.
It was the largest skirt Nan Yue had ever seen—layered, enormous, and fluffy, with a texture like red velvet.
From a distance, it looked as if Miss Wen were sitting atop a giant rose.
Or rather... she herself was like a giant rose.
Whether it was the room's decor or the fabric of her clothes, the scene should have been exquisite and beautiful, like an oil painting.
However, an inexplicable sense of chilling dread rose in Nan Yue's heart.
For a moment, a bizarre thought even crossed her mind.
Was Miss Wen truly human?
Was she... a rose?
The five of them quickly cleared the shards, replaced the bedsheets with new, soft ones, and returned to stand against the wall.
Just as Wen Shen was about to push Miss Wen back to the bed, the silent woman suddenly spoke.
"You're afraid of him too, aren't you?"
Wen Shen's movements stiffened as Miss Wen's sharper questions followed.
"You look loyal to me, but in reality, you know I have no say in this Eden Garden. I'm just a rose he keeps."
"You're afraid of him too, you useless thing."
As she finished, Miss Wen flicked her hand, and a silver light flashed.
Wen Shen stumbled back two steps and turned her head; Nan Yue saw a streak of blood on her face.
It seemed Miss Wen had hidden a shard of broken glass earlier and had suddenly turned on Wen Shen.
Miss Wen was clearly volatile, her mindset perhaps driven to extremes by her disability.
Wen Shen said nothing, merely lowering her head. "The young lady is right to scold me."
Miss Wen sneered and let go, allowing the shard to fall onto the red Persian carpet.
"I want a servant who is loyal to me."
"You're nothing more than his lackey."
After saying this, Miss Wen fell silent.
Wen Shen pushed her back to the bed, then leaned down to pick up the shard and walked over.
"Dispose of this."
An assistant maid took the shard.
Nan Yue saw Wen Shen about to turn back and decided to take a risk.
"Wen Shen, your face... it would be best to tend to it."
Nan Yue's expression remained blank, no different from the others, but the genuine concern in her eyes made Wen Shen pause.
She glanced at Nan Yue, her thoughts unreadable.
"I'll step out for a moment. You, go and watch over the young lady."
Nan Yue nodded in agreement.
She didn't miss the subtle looks of relief from the other maids when Wen Shen told her to take her place.
Everyone in Eden Garden was terrified of Miss Wen.
Was it because of her eccentric temper?
Or... some other reason?
Nan Yue walked over to the curtains and stood still.
Without a request from Miss Wen, she couldn't easily enter; it would be too abrupt.
Now that she had gained Wen Shen's initial trust, whatever she did next should be easier.
Not long after Wen Shen left, Miss Wen's voice suddenly drifted from behind the curtains.
"Are you the one who called him 'Master' at the door earlier?"
Nan Yue's heart skipped a beat. "Yes."
Silence fell behind the curtains for a moment. "Are you new?"
"Replying to the young lady, I arrived just yesterday."
Everything was proceeding normally until Miss Wen suddenly burst into laughter.
"He let someone who just arrived and knows nothing take care of me?"
Nan Yue was somewhat speechless; Miss Wen's personality was far too eccentric and difficult to deal with.
If anyone else were in her position, they would have been driven to paranoia by this unpredictable woman.
But Nan Yue remained steady, lowering her voice. "Yes. I believe there are benefits to having someone who knows nothing take care of you, Miss."
Miss Wen fell completely silent this time and didn't speak again until Wen Shen returned after tending to the wound on her face.
Upon her return, Wen Shen's attitude toward Nan Yue had noticeably softened.
She addressed the five of them. "The working hours for the young lady's personal attendants are the same as before. You may rest at night, but your quarters are in the workroom next door."
"If anything happens during the night, you must come here immediately."
The five maids complied and left Miss Wen's bedroom one by one.
The workroom was hidden behind an inconspicuous small door at the end of the fourth floor.
Nan Yue hadn't even noticed it when she first came up.
She had assumed it was a storage closet or something similar, not a room.
But a room it was.
The conditions, however, were abysmal.
Five beds were squeezed tightly together, and the washroom and toilet were cramped into a tiny space at the back.
At least they had the basics.
Nan Yue and the others quickly washed up and lay down.
Nan Yue found it strange.
It was normal for Wen Shen to stay in Miss Wen's bedroom, but her act of dismissing everyone else didn't quite make sense.
Miss Wen was disabled, after all; the more people caring for her, the better, especially at night.
Nan Yue decided to wait one more night.
If there was still no progress today, she would have to explore the castle tomorrow night.
The longer the mission dragged on, the more troublesome it would become.
...
Nan Yue fell asleep.
The sound of a woman crying arrived as expected, this time accompanied by screams that were terrifying on top of being sorrowful.
Nan Yue easily broke free from the dream.
Just as she was about to open her eyes, a powerful sense of crisis struck.
She kept her eyes closed, but her other senses instantly flared to life to probe her surroundings.
A stench.
That was Nan Yue's first sensation upon waking—a faint smell of blood mixed with a raw, meaty odor.
Drip.
Something landed on her face.
It was icy cold and carried that same stench.
Since she had been targeted, Nan Yue didn't intend to hide.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Before her was a pink, fleshy, tube-like entity, as thick as half a person.
The tip of the tube was splayed open like a mouthpart, revealing layers of writhing, tentacle-like little fleshy strips inside.
Rate on N.U.
