A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1010

Chapter 1010: Chapter 697: Invitation Chapter 1010: Chapter 697: Invitation For Mary, this was an unusual afternoon tea time.

“Are you really willing to take us to see it, Mary?”

Asherica, petite and adorable, her eyes gleaming, stared at Mary who sat across the table, while Shirley watched her uneasily.

“Yes, haven't you always been worried about me? I've spoken with Mr. Duanmu, and he thinks having a few people over for a tour isn't a bad idea, after all… what we do isn't something shameful.”

At this point, Mary hesitated too.

Was what they did really something shameful?

It seemed not?

Yet, it seemed so?

“…………”
Hearing Mary's response, Asherica and Shirley exchanged glances and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As Mary's close friends, they knew she had often taken leave for “internship inspections” recently, supposedly for work reasons, but she had never specified what kind of work that was. Moreover, they had noticed that Mary's demeanor had slightly changed. Originally, among the three, Mary was the strongest and most proactive, but during these few tea parties, they noticed that her demeanor had become more… unique, and they didn't quite know how to put it–it seemed like Mary had an aura that made it hard for others to refuse her.

This also made Shirley and Asherica somewhat curious, until once, Asherica's fiance Howard met them at a tea party and was greatly surprised to see Mary. Afterwards, he specifically asked Asherica.

“Has Miss Mary encountered anything recently?”

“Eh? No? Is there something wrong?”

“Hmm… it's quite strange.”

Howard hesitated for a moment, then still quietly shared his feelings with Asherica.

“I can feel, Miss Mary has a unique aura, kind of like… a soldier.”

“Soldier? But Mary hasn't been in the military, do you mean training in self-defense techniques or something?”

“No.”

Howard shook his head.

“It's not the demeanor of a new recruit, but that of a veteran… I have met a veteran who returned from overseas combat, and Miss Mary's demeanor now closely resembles his–there's an indescribable authority…”

Indeed, Howard used the word “authority,” although to outsiders, Mary still appeared as a well-mannered middle-class noble miss, speaking quietly and delicately as a lady should. But even standing before her, a businessman like him felt nervous, not the nervousness a man feels when facing a beautiful woman, but rather a primal sense that the person in front of him was of a different class, making one feel as distraught as if facing a duke or general. Despite her approachability, she could still make one feel uneasy, and that was the feeling Howard got from Mary.

After hearing Howard's explanation, Asherica was also uneasy. She found Shirley, and after discussing, they decided to ask Mary what work she was doing–after all, such a significant change in such a short period didn't seem like Mary's usual behavior.

So they used this tea time to inquire about Mary's situation, only to receive an unexpectedly surprising answer.

“I knew it, I just knew it had something to do with that man!”

Hearing the name “Mr. Duanmu” come from Mary's mouth, Asherica slammed her hand on the table and jumped up, grimaced in pain or perhaps heartache.

“So Mary, you were really deceived by that man?”

“Eh? No, no, no, not really…”

Hearing Asherica's accusation, Mary quickly gestured with her hands.

“Mr. Duanmu just looks rather fierce, but he is quite nice to his own people.”

“That's right, Asherica, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.”

Just then, Shirley, who had been quietly listening, spoke up, put down her teacup, and with a smile, looked at Mary.

“After all, judging by appearances can be too harsh, though that gentleman looks terribly fierce, like a ruthless executioner, perhaps deep down he's a delicate soul, too timid even to kill a fish, right, Mary?”

“Ah… um…”

Faced with Shirley's question, Mary was momentarily speechless–the ruthless killer, she really couldn't deny…

Even Asherica had an odd expression hearing Shirley speak, thinking how awkward it was for a man so fierce and large to have a delicate heart…

“So, Mary…”

Yet Shirley stood up, continuing regardless.

“Can we go now to see your work?”

“Now?”

Shirley's question genuinely surprised Mary, only then realizing her friend could be so assertive–well, she couldn't say it was a new discovery, since the time at the Antarctic when Shirley, sobbing, claimed she wanted to kill herself and stay with Mary forever, Mary realized that her friend could be rather extreme.

Luckily, Shirley had lost the memory of that time; otherwise, Mary didn't know how she would face her once she regained consciousness.

After all, in Mary's view, Shirley had always been the true model of a rich young lady… but since that incident, how to put it… Mary found her friend to be quite eye-opening.

In various senses.

“Is there any inconvenience?”

“No, but your afternoon classes…”

“I can take a leave.”

Shirley spoke softly, and Asherica was momentarily stunned, as if she was seeing Shirley anew before she nodded in agreement.

“A'Xie can also take leave,” Shirley said.

“Alright,” Asherica replied.

Since the conversation had come this far, Miss Mary could only helplessly nod her head in agreement.

“Then come with me.”

After leaving the restaurant, the trio took the subway to Queen's District and then followed Miss Mary to Mr. Duanmu's house in Fog City. And then… they saw Miss Mary reach out, take a key from her pocket, and open the door.

Seeing this, both Shirley and Asherica were shocked.

Miss Mary had actually brought them to a man's home, and she even had his key!

This couldn't possibly mean they were already living together, could it?

Of course, Miss Mary was unaware of her friends' thoughts. She opened the door and walked in, while at that moment, the maid also came to the doorway.

“You're back, Miss Mary.”

The maid was Mr. Duanmu's agent left in this world, responsible for handling most issues concerning this world. Of course, with the spread of weapons from the Tribunal boosting the investigators' morbid curiosity, most of the time Mr. Duanmu didn't need to intervene personally; he only had to continue running his shop to attract customers and wait for those investigators to meet their fate.

Hearing this, Shirley and Asherica exchanged a glance. The maid's greeting wasn't a simple welcome but a “You're back,” implying that…
“Miss Mary, you wouldn't be living here… with that gentleman, would you?” Shirley asked cautiously, unsure whether or not to voice her suspicion as even Asherica dared not speak. After all, in their world, in their country, mainstream public opinion about women was still very conservative. Although Asherica was engaged to Howard, their intimacy was limited to kissing during dates.

For an unmarried girl like Miss Mary to be living with a man was considered as immoral as being pregnant before marriage!

“Who are these two?” the maid asked, looking at the two standing behind Miss Mary, confused.

Miss Mary hesitated for a moment before answering.

“They are my dear friends, and they wanted to come with me to check out… the situation over there.”

At this, Miss Mary quickly added,
“Mr. Duanmu has already agreed.”

“No problem,” the maid said, nodding her head, then stepped aside.

“Please come in.”

Under Miss Mary's lead, the two entered the house, clearly tense faced with this unexpected situation.

“What is really going on, Mary? Didn't you say you were going to show us where you work?” Shirley looked around nervously.

“But this… is that gentleman's home, right?”

“Uh… you could say it is, and you could say it isn't. Just come with me…” Mary said as she began to climb the stairs, with her two friends following her.

At this moment, both felt their hearts beating fiercely. Shirley stared at her friend's figure, having a bad feeling. Why was Mary here? Could she have fallen in love with that man and started living with him here? Then what was her job? Being a Noble Miss, Shirley knew several dirty secrets of high society where some officials and nobles kept mistresses, turning them into tools for their desires. Such knowledge was no secret to Shirley.

But could her own friend become one of them, abandoning her dignity and intelligence to become a plaything at a man's disposal?

Shirley could hardly believe it, but the possibility seemed increasingly likely as she watched Mary's retreating back, her mind even conjuring chaotic fantasies. On a soft, large bed, her friend tightly embraced a strange man, continuously gasping and moaning, her face not showing her usual elegance and wisdom but tangled with confusion, her features twisted in pleasure…
“………”
For some reason, Shirley suddenly felt a dry cough coming on, she subconsciously swallowed hard, forcing herself to look away from Mary. What was wrong with her? Mary was her childhood friend, a longtime companion, and yet she was viewing her with such eyes?

And it even excited Shirley a little?

Mary shivered, feeling suddenly uneasy, perhaps because of nervousness?

After a moment of consideration, Mary decided not to dwell on this issue. She reached a room on the second floor, took out another key, opened the door, and led Shirley and Asherica inside.

The room looked like an ordinary bedroom, nothing unusual about it from the outside. Asherica looked around curiously while Shirley was distracted, pondering over the meaning of being here. Could it be that Mary had already become that man's slave and was now intending to throw her own friends into the same pit? Did she wish her and Asherica to become guests in his private chamber as well?

Thinking this, Shirley suddenly felt her heart beat wildly, not out of fear but tension, as she considered the possibility of sharing a bed with Mary, bringing a certain special anticipation.

Unfortunately, what happened next was not what Shirley had imagined. Mary took out another key and opened another door on the wall that seemed to lead to a balcony. She then opened the door in front of them, motioning them forward.

“Go in.”

“Go in??”

Staring at the door in front of them, Shirley and Asherica gave each other a puzzled look, wondering what Mary wanted them to do on the balcony, but they still followed her instructions and went through the door.

And in the next moment, what they saw left them both stunned.

Chapter end

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