Only a single Black Death... The other ships are anchored beyond the Rorsted Archipelago's confines because they're afraid of being discovered? This is good news... Klein retracted his gaze and deliberately bit his lip to express his agitation.
After taking a glance at Helene's side profile, Mithor lit a torch and began swinging it to signal to the flagship.
Before long, a dinghy came and took him and the disguised Klein back to the Black Death.
As the dinghy was being hoisted up, Klein boarded another pirate admiral's flagship. Under Mithor's lead, he entered the cabin.
Waiting for them up ahead was a blonde female attendant. She glanced at Helene with a cold stare before pointing sideways to the room.
"Go in."
This attitude... It's like meeting a love rival in the flesh... Both men and women fall to this Vice Admiral Ailment's charm... The cuffed Klein instantly increased his vigilance as he wore a heavy expression and followed the blonde female attendant into the room.
He originally believed that he would immediately meet Tracy and obtain a chance to meet her in private. He was already ready to strike, but apart from a wardrobe, sofa, and full-body mirror in a cramped carpeted room, there was nothing.
Could it be that Tracy has deliberately given Helene the cold shoulder to express her anger? Klein recalled the romance novels and contrived television serials he had previously watched while contemplating the reason for the Ailment Maiden's actions.
The blonde female attendant shot a glance at "Helene's" male attire that lacked the androgynous beauty to it due to the lack of makeup, took two quick steps, opened the wardrobe, and pointed to the dresses inside.
"Captain doesn't like your present attire. Change."
F**k... Klein cursed inwardly.
He originally imagined that he could be granted a meeting with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy while looking like Helene and dressed as a male. He was thankful that he didn't need to overly humiliate himself to achieve his goal, but in the end, he didn't manage to escape this outcome that he wanted to avoid.
Seeing Helene standing there in a daze, the blonde female attendant glared at her.
"You have two choices. Either you change yourself, or I'll help you!"
Klein did one of red-haired Helene's habitual motions and inhaled slightly.
"Remove my cuffs."
He turned his body sideways and gestured with his chin towards the door.
"And go outside."
"Conniving whore..." the blonde female attendant cursed under her breath and used the key given to her by Mithor to release Helene from her cuffs.
After she left the room and closed the door, Klein walked to the wardrobe and stood there in a daze for twenty seconds.
Suddenly, he closed his eyes and extended his right hand.
After an unknown period of time, he came in front of the full-body mirror and saw Helene's red hair cascading down in the reflection. Her green eyes shimmered while she wore a golden-red dress. By her waist was a ribbon tied into a flower. It was pulled tight, accentuating her slender waist.
Helene's beautiful face was flushed red as her lips were tightly pursed. Her expression was heavy, looking very identical to the picture from before.
Klein looked at his present image and first felt somewhat embarrassed. However, he had gotten over it to a certain extent while changing. Besides, there wasn't anyone inside. Second, he gradually found a different feeling.
This wasn't to say that he was gradually liking such acts. Instead, while overcoming his mental aversion, he gained some form of detachment from his self-awareness. It felt like his soul had flown out of his body, allowing him to calmly observe "Helene" dressing up in female attire and adjusting her clothes through the mirror with a calm attitude. He believed this was a necessary step in his mission and that there was nothing embarrassing or odd about this.
Klein felt a baffling sense of familiarity as he tried hard to recall and compare this feeling, in a bid to fix it in place and gain an understanding of it.
Soon, he found the source. This was similar to him playing role-playing games. In it, he could choose a female character, carefully choosing the facial features and attire of the character, allowing the beauty to please his eyes.
There was nothing kinky or embarrassing while doing this. On the one hand, he was viewing it from an angle of a god through the screen, making his attitude detached; and on the other hand, he was seriously acting and going through the plot. By combining the two perfectly and not distinguishing between them, he didn't have any aversion to it because he was playing a game.
This... Klein suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, feeling like this was the Faceless state he had been searching for!
He could act as anyone, but he was still only himself.
As he got into character and worked hard to act, he could detach his feelings and observe things calmly. By making comparisons, he could figure himself out and find his true self!
It's both getting into character and detachment... This is the actual application of the Faceless's main principle. Klein suddenly felt at peace as the remnant embarrassment coexisted with his changed attitude.
With a detached attitude, as though he was playing a role-playing game, he observed himself in the full-body mirror and tried hard to find any flaws.
Thankfully, I got Danitz to get two sets of female clothing to study the way it's all put together. Otherwise, there's no way I could wear them so quickly and normally as a first timer. It will be easy to expose any flaws. Heh, this is called professionalism. Women's clothing sure is complicated... From the perspective of a Faceless, there are many flaws in Helene's facial features and contours. She might be beautiful, but it's definitely nothing I call stunning... Yes, with this state of mind, I can clearly feel the potion digesting... Klein looked at himself in the mirror as though he was looking at a character named Helene.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The blonde female attendant banged on the door and asked impatiently, "Are you not done?"
Klein's face instantly sank, as though she hadn't returned him the ten thousand pounds she owed him.
He maintained this state as he walked to the door and pulled it open.
The blonde female attendant shot him a glance and raised the handcuffs.
"Put your hands to your back.
"You're now a prisoner!"
As red-haired Helene was on the Black Death, she wasn't afraid that she would bring her any harm. All she wanted was to humiliate her as much as she could.
Klein grunted and half-turned his body, putting his hands to his back. He felt relaxed because the woman wasn't paying too much attention to his attire.
After putting on the cuffs, he was led by the blonde female attendant to the entrance of the captain's cabin.
The door was half open, allowing a fragrance of warmth emanate outside. It wasn't too strong, but it was sufficiently long-lasting. It was a scent that kept pulling one back as they would involuntarily wish to head to bed for pleasure.
The blonde female attendant knocked on the door and was just about to say a word when a gloomy but sufficiently beautiful female voice sounded from the inside.
"Let her come in alone."
The blonde attendant's face instantly sank as she pushed open the door, signaling with her eyes for Klein to enter.
The moment of truth is here... Klein took a deep breath and stepped into the room.
The door behind him closed with a thud, isolating the inside from the outside.
Klein walked across the thick carpet and, using the candlelight from the golden candle racks, saw a rather beautiful lady sitting behind a desk while leaning back. She was wearing beige trousers with her feet extended diagonally while crossed.
Her brows were long and straight, and her azure-blue eyes were sharp and bright. She wore a white linen shirt, allowing her intimate body to faintly peek through. Raven-black curled hair cascaded down to hide the critical bits, making Klein instantly feel uncomfortable.
Upon seeing red-haired Helene enter, Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy raised her left hand and asked with an ambiguous smile, "Tell me, how should I punish you?"
She held a black leather whip in her hand.
... Ma'am, there's always room for discussion... Klein lampooned to resist his discomfort.
His eyes first moved upwards before leveling towards her. He said without a hint of emotion, "Returning to this place is already the greatest punishment. Anything else is just a bonus."
"You're as stubborn as usual, yet always so indecisive..." Tracy stood up. She was tall and slender, and under the illumination of the candlelight, her figure's shadows danced with extreme charm.
She held back her smile and walked towards red-haired Helene, with the leather whip in her left hand. She didn't have an ounce of doubt.
During this process, Klein noticed that she wore a bangle with inlaid diamonds on her right wrist.
The mystical item described by Helene? It can reduce most forms of damage? Klein, who had originally planned to take action the moment the gap between them narrowed, held back his urge.
"Oh, they cuffed you. That's nice. We haven't played such a game before," Tracy said with a smile, but her azure-blue eyes seemed to be a stormy ocean that was gathering strength.
Ma'am, your lines are quite terrible... Klein pursed his lips tightly and didn't say a word.
Tracy came in front of him and raised her right hand to slide down his cheek.
"Returning is the greatest punishment?"
As she spoke, her eyes turned misty, looking extremely alluring.
"You usually don't seem to think so. Although you always resist in the beginning, you're often more passionate than me towards the end..."
Before she finished her sentence, Klein pulled out his left hand from the handcuff, and he grabbed the bangle on her wrist in a manner that was as fast as lightning. He then violently swiped it down!
At the same time, that hand turned a shade of gold. Klein's green and deep eyes suddenly lit up with two bolts of lightning.
This was Creeping Hunger! This was Psychic Piercing!
And the ability to pull his hand out of the cuffs was a Magician power. It was the Bone Softening power which Klein very seldom used!
He had long made plans and preparation for what he would do after infiltrating. It was to find a chance to be alone with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy and assassinate her without holding back.
Only by doing so did he have a chance of defeating a pirate admiral. Only by doing so could he severely injure and capture her.
And even if it couldn't be done, he didn't mind killing her. He was already very accustomed to channeling spirits above the gray fog. He wasn't afraid of not being able to obtain the intelligence he needed. A human trafficker didn't deserve any pity!
In addition, in order to prevent himself from tripping himself up, he only brought the most difficult-to-detect Creeping Hunger, which was good at disguising itself. The other mystical items were placed in the mysterious space above the gray fog. Furthermore, he was on the Black Death with several opposing Beyonders on board. He had to finish the battle as quickly as possible!
This was also to avoid being taken down by Tracy's ailment powers.
The longer he fought her, the worse the ailments inflicted on him would be!
In that instant, the bangle with inlaid diamonds was removed from Tracy's wrist. Klein's green eyes flashed with lightning while the beautiful and charming Vice Admiral Ailment remained in a daze. All she did was instinctively dodge.
She couldn't believe that Helene would attack her, or dare believe that she possessed such reactions and abilities.
