DLMSWSHH Chapter 5

TL: Hua

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Chapter 5: Spider Duchess

Jack approached with aggressive intent. Zhong Ming gave him a brief glance before lowering his gaze again, pressing his back tighter against the wall.

Seeing this, Jack’s features grew even more ferocious. He took a step forward, cornering Zhong Ming. “Talk.”

“I… I didn’t mean to.”

Zhong Ming spoke very softly, his eyes fixed on his toes. His voice carried a slight tremor at the end, making him sound quite pitiful.

The sound reached Jack’s ears, sending a wave of tingles across his scalp. His chest heaved. Zhong Ming looked up at him again, as if terrified by the brutish expression on the man’s face, and shrank his neck back.

“Yes, yesterday… I didn’t finish my work. I really didn’t mean to.”

His voice was thin and delicate. Jack’s expression became dazed as he looked at Zhong Ming’s slightly parted rosy lips; his gaze went blank for a moment. Li Yizhi, seeing that Jack had come looking for trouble, had originally intended to intervene, but upon seeing this, he stopped in his tracks. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he leaned back against the wall, his eyes practically shouting at Zhong Ming: Enjoy your performance.

“…You couldn’t even finish scrubbing some stairs?”

Jack snapped out of it. The moment the words left his mouth, he remembered it was he who had kicked over the water bucket yesterday. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, realizing he had shot himself in the foot. His little bed-warmer was gone because the boy had been stuck scrubbing stairs in the middle of the night!

“Fine.” He raked a hand through his shaggy hair and reached out to tilt Zhong Ming’s chin up, pinching the youth’s soft, delicate cheek. “I won’t give you trouble today. Just be quick with your hands and feet.”

The sting made Zhong Ming frown. Jack’s fingertips were covered in thick calluses; they rubbed roughly against his cheek, leaving behind faint red marks.

The man withdrew his hand, and Zhong Ming lowered his head again. From Jack’s nearly two-meter vantage point, a sliver of a slender nape was exposed. Zhong Ming whispered, “I understand.”

Satisfied by his obedient appearance, Jack’s frustration vanished, and he strode down the corridor.

Zhong Ming kept his head down. Only after their figures disappeared at the end of the corridor did he straighten up. Li Yizhi immediately turned around and gave him a thumbs up:

“Impressive.”

Zhong Ming glanced at him and started walking forward. Li Yizhi hurried to keep up, his smile fading slightly as he whispered, “That excuse will only work once. What do you plan to do tonight?”

Zhong Ming didn’t answer. Truthfully, he didn’t know either.

Li Yizhi couldn’t stay serious for more than a second before his phoenix eyes curved mischievously again. “Take your big brother’s advice: go act cute and flirt with Matthew the same way you just did. I think he’s quite fond of you. If you hook up with him, you’ll never have to worry about food or clothes again. You’ll be set for life!”

His tone was exaggerated, his animated expression resembling an evil auntie in a movie trying to convince her niece to find a sugar daddy. Zhong Ming gave him a cold look, thinking he had fed Li Yizhi too much this morning; the man was much less troublesome when he was hungry.

Morning routines proceeded as usual, with the menservants heading off to their respective tasks. Zhong Ming was assigned the stairs again. Matthew didn’t come to bother him today, and by noon, Zhong Ming had already finished half of them.

At midday, the sun outside the stained-glass windows was at its peak, casting brilliant, multicolored patterns onto the clean-scrubbed steps.

Zhong Ming looked down at the spots of light, wondering if pretending to accidentally kick over his own bucket would work.

Jack probably won’t be that easy to fool, he thought, letting out a long sigh.

The slight sound of the sigh echoed through the high, vaulted ceiling of the mansion.

A pair of leather shoes appeared in Zhong Ming’s field of vision. They were smaller than average, and the leather surface gleamed with a fine luster.

“Who are you?”

A crisp voice rang out. Zhong Ming looked up to see a young boy in a wool vest, standing beside the blonde lady who had sat across from him that morning. Both were looking down at him.

The boy looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, with pale skin and exquisite features. He had brown hair and emerald-green eyes, looking like a delicate and lovely porcelain doll.

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened slightly. From the corner of his eye, he saw the portrait hanging on the wall and felt for a moment as if the boy had stepped right out of it.

“He is the new manservant.”

While Zhong Ming was dazed, the blonde lady’s gaze swept over him. She leaned down to speak to the boy, her voice flowing like water: “The one who was scared by the mistress last night.”

“Oh?”

The boy’s eyes lit up immediately. For the first time, his gaze truly landed on Zhong Ming, his eyes narrowing slightly. Zhong Ming actually read an expression of mockery on the small boy’s face.

“So you’re that coward?”

Zhong Ming didn’t know how to react. He felt that any normal person would be terrified upon suddenly seeing a spider larger than a human.

Perhaps something in his reaction offended the boy, for the young master’s face suddenly changed. Mockery turned to cold cruelty as he abruptly kicked over the bucket at Zhong Ming’s right hand.

“Young Master.” The blonde woman beside him frowned, her tone somewhat sharp. “You shouldn’t do that.”

The boy looked at her, a smile curling his lips as he gave a very gentlemanly bow. “I am sorry, Miss Joan.”

Then he turned back and walked down the stairs. As he passed by Zhong Ming, who was bowing his head, he cast him a cold, dismissive glance:​​​​​​ “How boring.”

The blonde lady named Joan followed, her royal blue velvet hem sweeping past Zhong Ming’s vision. Only when their footsteps faded did Zhong Ming slowly straighten up. He looked at the bucket that had rolled to the bottom of the stairs and pursed his lips.

That young master has quite a temper. It was the first time he’d seen a child with such an imposing aura. This Miss Joan appeared to be something like a private tutor.

He wondered what kind of bad luck he had to be picked on by everyone every single day. But it was fine; at least he could stall Jack for another day.

Thinking this over, Zhong Ming leaned down to pick up his rag and walked down the stairs to start scrubbing from the very bottom again.

As expected, he scrubbed until the middle of the night. The moonlight slowly crawled over the treetops. When the faint rustling sound began again, Zhong Ming took several deep breaths, mentally preparing himself before slowly looking up.

A giant spider was slowly crawling out of the darkness. One of its eight eyes fixed on him. Zhong Ming froze instantly. Watching the spider, which had only emerged halfway but already occupied most of the staircase, he held his breath.

The spider noticed him and instantly accelerated. Its eight legs tapped against the floor with a click-clack rhythm. In less than half a second, it was right in front of him, all its eyes simultaneously reflecting his pale face.

Cold sweat beaded on Zhong Ming’s forehead. He lowered his head stiffly. “Good evening, Mistress.”

“Ah, it’s you again.”

A woman’s voice drifted down from above his head. Zhong Ming looked up in astonishment, shocked to find that the voice, exactly like that of a human female, was actually coming from the mouth of the giant spider before him.

“I thought you’d fallen to your death,” the spider said. She circled Zhong Ming, her pointed legs clicking against the floor with a sound like blades scraping marble, making Zhong Ming’s scalp tingle. “Are you new? Why so timid?”

“Yes.” Zhong Ming’s legs felt weak, his voice trembling. “I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright, I forgive you.”

The Spider Duchess’s voice carried a hint of a smile. She looked at Zhong Ming and suddenly remarked, “Your blood is quite sweet.”

Zhong Ming froze instantly. His mind uncontrollably conjured an image of himself collapsed at the foot of the stairs, with a giant spider circling his body, lowering its slender mouthparts to lap up the fresh blood on the floor.

“Look at you, timid little thing.” The Spider Duchess sounded even more amused. “Don’t be afraid. I haven’t reached the point of eating the servants yet.”

If she doesn’t eat servants, then what does she eat? Zhong Ming’s brain provided the answer: it could only be the players.

It seemed this spider was one of the bosses of this dungeon or perhaps even the final boss. Zhong Ming shivered at the thought of players rounding a corner only to be met by a giant spider. If it were him, he’d definitely be dead. This game’s difficulty was a bit too high, wasn’t it?

“Come here.”

While he was grumbling inwardly, the Spider Duchess turned around, her leftmost eye glancing back at him. “Follow me back to my room.”

Zhong Ming actually detected a trace of flirtatiousness in a spider’s gaze. He shuddered, his feet feeling as if they were glued to the floor. He didn’t budge.

After waiting a few seconds without seeing him move, the Spider Duchess slowly turned back, all eight eyes fixing on Zhong Ming at once. Under her gaze, Zhong Ming felt as if cold water had been poured over his head; his body grew even stiffer, rendered immobile.

“…What a hassle.”

In the next instant, Zhong Ming felt the weight leave his body. He had been picked up by the collar, dangling from the spider’s mouth. The woman’s disdainful voice rang in his ear: “So cowardly. I don’t know what the Duke was thinking—”

Muttering under her breath, she carried Zhong Ming away. Her eight legs scurried rapidly. Soon, Zhong Ming was tossed into a room. Holding a massive comb in his right hand and looking at a spider leg resting across his lap, he fell into a stunned silence.

“What are you dazed for?” The Spider Duchess called out in a dissatisfied, high-pitched tone, her leg twitching. “Hurry up and comb!”

Zhong Ming looked down at the spider leg resting on his thigh. It was divided into several segments, purple-black in color with black joints, and covered in sparse fuzz. Looking at those few hairs, Zhong Ming couldn’t see any logical reason to comb them. However, out of professional work ethic, he obediently picked up the comb.

“Mmm—”

The Spider Duchess let out a sigh of satisfaction. Her mountain-sized body leaned back with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Zhong Ming jumped slightly, but his hands remained steady. He carefully combed through the fuzz on the spider leg, trying to channel the mindset of those girls on social media who groom their cats and dogs.

“You’re the best one yet.” The Spider Duchess stretched her limbs and automatically swapped another leg onto Zhong Ming’s thigh. “Those other servants are clumsy and rough. None are as careful as you.”

The eight eyes on her head turned in different directions; one of them clicked as it focused on Zhong Ming’s hand.

“Look at these little hands. So white and soft.”

Zhong Ming felt his hand being touched by a slender mouthpart, and he shivered, feeling inexplicably like he had been harassed.

“…Thank you, Mistress.”

Zhong Ming took it as a compliment. Combing seemed to be pleasurable for any animal; the Spider Duchess looked like she was drifting off to sleep, her rounded abdomen rising and falling slowly. Zhong Ming was currently grooming the fuzz on her back. Seeing this, his movements slowed down. But the moment he paused, the woman’s voice snapped:

“No slacking!”

Zhong Ming bolted upright and hurriedly sped up. He glanced at the spider’s eight round eyeballs. The creature had no eyelids, so it was impossible to tell if she was actually asleep.

After several rounds of this, Zhong Ming became numb. His eyes grew dull, and he moved like a robot, combing the spider’s fuzz from head to tail over and over.

It wasn’t until the next morning that the Spider Duchess finally let him go.

Having not slept all night, Zhong Ming was pale with dark circles under his eyes. His legs felt like jelly from kneeling for so long. Walking down the stairs, he nearly slipped and tumbled headfirst.

Luckily, Li Yizhi was quick and caught him. “Whoa, careful there!”

Zhong Ming stumbled to a halt and looked at him in a daze. “Ah… it’s you. Thanks.”

“What happened to you?” Li Yizhi looked at his pale face, the dark circles, and his unsteady gait. Suddenly, a look of realization dawned on him. He winked at Zhong Ming. “Were you… with Matthew last night? Did he go too hard on you?”

Zhong Ming was speechless. He had no idea where Li Yizhi’s outrageous assumption came from. He pushed the youth’s hand away and walked forward, whispering, “I like girls.”

“You?” Li Yizhi raised his voice exaggeratedly, catching up in a few steps to peer at Zhong Ming’s profile. “I don’t believe it.”

Zhong Ming glanced at him and lowered his head, deciding not to argue. Li Yizhi clicked his tongue, staring at him.

“Look at that face of yours. Liking women? Hah!”

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You can purchase the translation of chapter 1-50 (epub format) HERE. The second half is coming soon ~~