Help, I've become a paper man

The banquet hall was on the first floor. Song Yi looked at the map and led the way based on his memory and found the place. However, it seemed that he had been here before. There was sunlight and lights at that time, which was different from now.

Song Yi only took a glance and felt instantly more uncomfortable. According to the literal meaning of "dinner", the lights should be on at this moment, but the lights used were the same as those in the corridor. He could see the light, and tiny flames swaying in the air, making the surroundings in a hazy feeling of "being able to see" but "not being able to see clearly". He could see the outline of the dining table and the dishes on it, but it didn't look like a banquet for living people.

He paused for a second, and was about to figure out what he was feeling at the moment when Jasmine calmly walked past him. When their eyes met, she shook her head slightly, and it was not noticeable in the dim light.

It was obviously telling Song Yi not to delve into it further.

Song Yi gathered his thoughts, raised his legs and prepared to step into the banquet hall. While he was stopping, others were still moving forward. If he wanted to move forward at this time, he would have to wait in line and be the last one to enter if he didn't cut in line.

There were only seven people, so the queue wouldn't take long, leaving him with more time to observe.

After each person entered, a maid immediately followed. Under the light, the headband and bangs covered half of their faces, making it difficult to see their features clearly. Only the upturned corners of their lips could be vaguely seen. They moved very lightly, and the sound of their heels hitting the ground was heard as they slowly moved towards the dining table with the footsteps of the guests.

Song Yi frowned and followed the girl. Just as he was about to step forward, two maids moved together. One followed the girl normally, and the other stood in front of him, with a clearer face appearing before his eyes.

He paused, his raised foot fell back to its original position, and his accelerated heartbeat quickly calmed down. It was not that he was frightened by the maid's action, but Song Yi was "shocked". For a moment, he saw the face of the woman in front of him clearly. It was the appearance of the head maid. What shocked him was the familiarity of her appearance, as if he had seen her before but could not remember her for the moment.

The head maid did not stop and said first: "Sir, I hope you can pay more attention to your manners when you attend the banquet next time."

Song Yi was confused for a moment, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with his outfit. The shirt matched with trousers and short boots was also very good. The next moment, he suddenly remembered the vest jacket that was discarded in the garden. To be honest, he didn't like that one. The style was childish. After taking it off, it could still maintain a casual style. Putting it on just looked like pretending to be young.

Seeing that he had realized what was happening, the head maid smiled and said, "This is the outfit that the Duke personally selected for you. I hope you like it."

He nodded in silence and said honestly, "I forgot my vest in the garden. It's too late to look for it now. In addition, it's late at night and the dew is heavy. If the clothes are too wet, I don't know if I can wear them tomorrow. If there are other vests in the castle..."

Song Yi wanted to ask about other clothes, a windbreaker or a denim jacket would be nice too, or at worst an ill-fitting suit, so he could overcome the discomfort of running and jumping.

The head maid continued, "There is a new vest and coat. It will be delivered to your room after the banquet."

That smiling face is still considerate and gentle.

Song Yi continued to nod quietly, not entangled with her too much on this matter. He also understood that the Duke was handsome and capable, but his aesthetic taste was really not that good!

If an adult man wears children's clothing and the vest is loose, it can be considered a lazy style. However, it would feel too awkward if worn close to the body. But he didn't notice it at this moment. The vigilance that was just rising up in his heart was completely dissipated in these one or two sentences.

The head maid turned sideways and stood behind him to make enough space for him. Song Yi naturally raised his feet and continued to move forward, but this time there was no maid following him. Instead, it was the head maid who followed him and accompanied him to his seat.

Behind them, the other maids dispersed in an orderly manner. Two of them walked in the opposite direction and slowly closed the heavy door. The other maids scattered around. The lights were mainly focused on the dining table. Away from the central position, their figures became more blurred, leaving faint outlines in the darkness.

The head maid pulled open the seat to the right of the Duke. Song Yi had already observed the seat when he walked over. Sitting down now, he had to face a reality. When the main clues were not solved enough, even if there were maids following him and helping to pull out the chairs, everyone tried to keep a distance from the main seat. Although he was the last to come in, he still got the "best" seat.

The Duke's eyes swept across him, then looked at everyone else, smiling and clapping his hands gently. Her movements were orders. The maids walked out from all sides, carrying meals in their hands and placing them on the dining table. After they left, they came back up with cutlery in their hands. This time they did not put them down directly, but stood around the dining table, waiting for the next order, and stayed there on standby.

The head maid then asked, "Why did you only send six sets of tableware?"

There was no accusation in her words. After she opened her mouth, a maid immediately stepped forward and said after bowing, "It has been raining heavily recently. The road outside has collapsed. The purchasing team has not returned yet. This set of tableware is most suitable for this banquet. The only regret is that there are only seven sets."

She spoke in a relaxed tone, and also without any regrets. There were six sets among the seven of them, and it was self-evident who would get the remaining set.

Song Yi listened with his chin supported, then turned his gaze to the Duke, waiting to see what he really wanted to say.

As expected, the Duke began by saying, "I'm really sorry for the poor hospitality," and then continued, "The guests are elites from all walks of life, so naturally they have their shortcomings. I believe that everyone can find a proper way to help solve the problems I encountered."

Her voice was automatically translated in Song Yi's mind as "Let me see how you can deal with my difficulties."

Jasmine was the first to act. She raised her hand, which was appropriate for her age, and said enthusiastically like a primary school student, "I think we can get a different set. I can help get it. If it's a problem with distribution, I'll use the new tableware."

This was the most direct way. Perhaps because of the advantage in gender and age, the Duke nodded approvingly, and his eyes looked a little softer.

The Duke said, "You are thoughtful, positive and enthusiastic, which is very good, but I want to hear other people's opinions."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at the two people beside Jasmine.

The boy still lowered his head and remained silent. The girl looked disdainful and had no intention of answering. Instead, the lady beside the girl took the initiative to smooth things over and said, "I'm not very hungry. In fact, we don't need tableware."

After hearing this, the girl's expression became even uglier. She glanced at her and turned her head to the other side.

There was a longer silence. The young man was distracted, his eyes fixed on the cutlery in front of the Duke. It was unknown what he was thinking. The sturdy man swept his eyes over everyone at once, as if he was selecting his prey before taking action.

The sturdy man said, "You said they are elites from all walks of life. Since they are elites, they must have some real skills. Why don't we see who should stay here based on their real skills?"

The Duke skipped over the woman's answer and also did not directly comment on the strong man. She said: "Some of us have not expressed our views yet. Everyone should have the opportunity to choose."

His eyes followed the voice and stopped on Song Yi. Everyone looked over and fixed their gazes on Song Yi, waiting for him to make a choice.