Chapter 73: It's Here! (2/4)

Chapter 73: They're Here! (2/4)

Eunice offered a reserved smile, saying, "I will."

Piaget turned his gaze toward Karen and stepped forward on his own initiative, enveloping Karen in a hug while firmly patting him on the back with both hands:

"I am terribly sorry; yesterday after getting back, I simply went straight to sleep."

"I understand, it is fine."

"Right, is there a party being held today?"

"It is Eunice's birthday."

"Oh, alright." Piaget adjusted his tie, then gestured toward himself with both hands, "So, I..."

Karen said nothing.

Piaget blinked once, then blinked again;

Karen remained silent as before.

Eunice spoke up: "Mr. Adams, may I have the honor of inviting you to attend my birthday party?"

"Oh, of course, of course, the honor is entirely mine."

With that said,

Piaget even rolled his eyes at Karen.

"This is my uncle, Mason," Karen said, formally introducing him to Eunice.

"I am so very sorry, Miss Eunice, the last time you and your mother came to visit our home, we happened to be out enjoying ourselves, I am truly sorry."

"It is quite alright, you are far too polite."

"I shall take you to meet my aunt and my aunt-in-law."

Karen took Eunice by the hand and went upstairs; upon reaching the second floor, Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie had already removed their aprons and wiped their hands, standing there waiting with smiles upon their faces.

"This is Aunt Mary."

"Good evening, Aunt Mary."

"Hello."

"This is Aunt Winnie."

"Good evening, Aunt Winnie."

"Hello."

Aunt Mary said hurriedly, "Dinner will be ready momentarily, the banquet can begin in just a short while."

"Thank you for your hard work, Aunts."

"It is only right, only right."

Perhaps because Karen had his own unique circumstances, he did not sense it, and Eunice did not act this way when she was being a teacher, but when she faced social activities, she would quite naturally display the habits of attending social occasions from her former life at home.

It was not that she was intentionally aloof, but rather that she had always lived this way before, and additionally, she was currently somewhat nervous.

One must understand that Pu'er had even looked down upon her own family's descent to the point where they had to accompany the old royal dowager for afternoon tea;

Yet even so, this aura of aristocratic etiquette, soaked deep into the marrow of her bones, still caused Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie to experience an instinctive nervousness and restraint.

In Aunt Mary's eyes, this Miss Eunice's aura was far more formidable than that of the minor starlets she had interacted with in the past.

Karen said to Eunice, "Let us go up first."

"Alright."

"Yes, you two head up first, Mina and the others are upstairs," Aunt Mary urged quickly.

Karen led Eunice to the third floor, where Mina, Lunt, and Chris were already standing and waiting; they were now on winter break and did not have to go to school.

Once Eunice arrived upstairs, Mina stepped forward on her own initiative:

"Hello, Sister."

Lunt also stepped forward: "Hello, Teacher."

Chris stepped forward: "Hello, Sister."

"Karen, the gifts I prepared were left in the car, I prepared gifts for everyone, my mother helped me pick them out," Eunice said.

"It is fine, we can just have Lunt go down and get them." Karen felt his pocket—hmm? The hearse keys seemed to have been left downstairs as well.

At that moment, a golden retriever came up carrying a ring of keys in its mouth, propping itself up on its hind legs to stand erect with its mouth open.

Seeing that Karen did not reach out to take them, it turned and ran over to Lunt, dropping the keys directly in front of him, before trotting right back to squat obediently before Eunice, panting with its tongue out.

"He really is so well-behaved and clever," Eunice could not help but reach out to stroke the golden retriever's head.

The golden retriever also smiled very happily.

On the windowsill nearby, the cat's expression remained grave.

"Should I push this dog into the sea during the boat trip to Wien?"

"Or perhaps, put some poison into its dog food tonight?"

"Or maybe, steal Mina and Chris's underwear and put it into its doghouse?"

Karen led Eunice to the door of Dis's study;

"Knock... knock..."

"Enter."

Inside the study, Dis sat in his place; today he wore the sweater that Aunt Winnie had knitted for him with her own hands.

"Grandfather," Eunice stepped forward, greeting Dis.

"Yes, hello."

Karen led Eunice to sit down opposite the desk.

Dis looked at Eunice and said, "I bless you both, that you may be together happily forever."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

"I also believe in my grandson, he is a man of great responsibility; to be precise, the men of our Inmerles family all possess a great sense of family responsibility, he is a man worthy of your trust."

"I think so too, Grandfather."

"I hope you will always think so." A gentle smile appeared at the corner of Dis's mouth, "And I hope you will always be willing to rest your head upon his shoulder."

Dis picked up his teacup,

and said,

"Very well, I have said enough; give my regards to your grandfather and your father, tell them that Dis Inmerles will always keep them in his thoughts."

"Alright, Grandfather, I shall convey your words for you; my grandfather and father have always kept the friendship with the Inmerles family in their thoughts."

Karen led Eunice out of the study, and the moment the study door closed, the smile vanished from the corner of Dis's mouth:

"In truth, even if you have forgotten, it does not really matter."

…

The dinner party commenced.

Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie had prepared a table of Chinese dishes learned from Karen, and it had to be said, they had mastered the craft remarkably well.

The initial theme was naturally to celebrate Eunice's birthday, and after Eunice blew out the cake candles, cheers erupted from everyone.

Subsequently,

The atmosphere of the banquet grew increasingly fervent; once Dis left the dining table, Alfred used the radio to tune into various melodies, and everyone began to dance and interact to their heart's content.

What the crowd failed to notice was Dis standing at the third-floor staircase landing, listening to the clamor below, pausing there for a very, very long time.

…

When the music finally faded and the guests were about to disperse, Karen came to the third floor.

He saw Purr crouching on the windowsill, gazing out at the night sky with a face full of desolation.

Karen reached out and stroked Purr's back.

In truth, this particular spot on a cat, possessing more flesh and thicker fur, offered the finest texture to the touch.

Purr remained motionless, allowing Karen to caress her:

"Aren't you supposed to be walking Eunice home?"

"I asked her to wait a little longer."

"What is there to wait for?"

"Because there is still one more person who hasn't eaten any birthday cake yet."

Karen placed a small, whole cake before Purr, topped with a single candle, which he lit with a lighter as he softly hummed:

"Happy birthday to you..."

Staring at the birthday cake before her and listening to the birthday blessings by her ear, a thick mist instantly welled up within Purr's amber-like feline eyes.

"Thank you,

My Lord Evil God who is not an evil god."

……

Last night, everyone in the household had celebrated until very late, leaving no time to clear the mess in the dining room and kitchen before morning.

In the morning, Dis walked downstairs clad in his priestly vestments.

Near the doorway on the first floor, he spotted Karen, who had moved a sofa there and was now lying fast asleep.

Dis walked over and reached out to nudge Karen awake.

Karen opened his eyes and sat up.

"You slept here last night?"

"Yes, after taking Miss Eunice back, I was too exhausted to climb the stairs, so I fell asleep right here."