Shrouded Seascape

Charles pretended to be oblivious to the underlying meaning of Elizabeth's words and calmly took a seat.

"Miss Elizabeth, what's the matter?"

"You said you needed the jelly. You seemed rather urgent about it, so I brought it here," Elizabeth replied and took a small box from behind her.

"Thank you. How much is it?" Charles inquired.

Elizabeth pushed the box directly into Charles's arms.

"Why the formality? It's a gift; it's not worth much anyway."

Elizabeth then entered the room and scanned the dimly lit space. "My love, why don't you find someone to keep you company? It can be quite lonely being all alone."

Before Charles could respond, Elizabeth closed the room door behind her and sat down by the edge of the bed.

Watching her actions, Charles felt a jolt in his heart. Staring at the pairs of eyes underneath the bed, he let out a cough and walked to the table to set down the box in his hand.

The corners of Elizabeth's lips raised into a mischievous smile. A flush appeared on her face as desire glimmered in her eyes. "In that case, why don't you give yourself to me?"

"W-What...?" Charles stammered.

Before Charles could utter another word, Elizabeth raised the short wooden staff in her hand and tapped it against the oil lamp on the table. The oil lamp shattered instantly and darkness engulfed the room.

In the next moment, Charles caught a whiff of a fragrant scent as a supple figure pressed against him.

"Relax, my love, You must learn how to relax. It's already quite stifling out at sea," Elizabeth whispered into his ear like a seductress.

Charles's breathing grew rapid. Before he could say anything, in the darkness, a mass of softness pressed against his lips.

Even though Charles hadn't fully understood the situation, he wouldn't be considered a man if he felt nothing considering the circumstances. A lustful fire ignited in Charles' heart as he eagerly reciprocated.

When the air-stifling softness finally withdrew, rapid gasps sounded in his ears.

Just when Charles couldn't hold it in any longer, a squeak sounded from beneath the bed. The squeak felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over him, and instantly extinguished the lust in him. If it were any other matter, it might have been manageable. But the room was filled with a horde of light bulbs.

With a raise of his left hand, the invisible tentacles swiftly coiled around Elizabeth and pushed her away.

"Miss Elizabeth, I'm sorry, but I'm not really feeling up to it today."

In the darkness, her expression turned bitter. Being decisively rejected like this made her doubt her own allure.

Her voice turned icy as she questioned, "Charles, aren't you too much? Don't tell me it's that time of the month or something."

Charles took a deep breath and opened the door, allowing the light from the hallway to seep in. "I'm sorry, but I'm really not feeling up to it today."

"At the Association, I've always been there to give you advice and help but yet you show not a single ounce of gratitude. How heartless," Elizabeth muttered as she adjusted her disheveled clothes before walking toward the corridor with a calm expression.

Before the towering beauty left, she left her final remark, "You wouldn't happen to have a preference for men like the governor, would you?"

A wry smile formed on Charles' face. The friend he had worked so hard to befriend might become a stranger once more. Although her motives were impure…

Lily was still in the room. She might just be a mouse but fundamentally she was an 11-year-old girl.

In the dark room, Charles fumbled through the cabinets to retrieve a candle and lit it. He contemplated his words for a moment before he said, "Lily, actually, just now—"

A voice from under the bed cut Charles off. "I know what you were doing. My father is a doctor, and he taught me about these things. Mr. Charles, did I get in your way?"

"Erm…."

The next morning, Lily was still asleep, curled up on the pillow. As she opened her eyes and was about to greet Charles with a "good morning," she found the bed to be empty.

"Jumpy, is Mr. Charles in the bathroom?" Lily asked.

A brown mouse scurried out through the door gap and quickly darted in again. He squeaked a couple of times toward Lily on the pillow.

"Mr. Charles left so early in the morning. He must surely be busy," Lily muttered to herself and stretched on the pillow before sitting up.

After pondering for a moment with her head tilted, Lily looked at the mice under the bed, "Let's go out to play, shall we?"

Hearing the brown mice's enthusiastic response, a smile appeared on Lily's furry face as she leaped from the bed.

Ignoring the screams and shrieks around them, Lily led the mice as they darted through the bustling streets within the inner island.

They encountered women in fancy dresses, screaming with a hand over their mouth, stray dogs barking, old ladies brandishing their brooms, and even drivers who slammed on their emergency brakes. From the mice's perspective, everything looked large and were a novelty.

But with the increasing hostile glares gathering on them, Lily hurriedly led the rats into a nearby alleyway.

The secluded alley had fewer people than on the main street. Lily leisurely strolled around with the mice tailing behind her.

"Woah! Look at how big that bread is. I can even sleep in it. Jumpy! Don't go near it! It belongs to someone else!"

"Don't touch the meat either! You will get Mr. Charles in trouble!"

Just as Lily was wandering aimlessly through the streets, she spotted a familiar figure from afar. It was the muscular man working in the turbine chamber on the Narwhale.

Lily was about to approach James to greet him when she realized that the latter was now dressed in a tightly fitted suit when he was usually covered in grease. He even held an expensive bouquet of flowers in his hands.

He appeared nervous and the back of his suit was already damp with sweat.

"Let's quietly follow him and see what he's up to," Lily suggested.

James navigated through a series of twists and turns in the alley before arriving before a bakery.

Just then, a graceful woman in a dress emerged from the shop. James took out a small box from his pocket and knelt down on one knee. The crowd in the bakery erupted into applause.

"Wow! It's a proposal!" Lily shouted in excitement.

Witnessing the woman tearfully nodding and hugging James, a sweet smile lighted up Lily's face.

"How sweet," Lily remarked.

Watching them enter the bakery, Lily continued her path forward. Just then, her stomach growled loudly.

"Since Mr. Charles said I'm his crew member, he ought to give me a salary. Then I will be able to buy food for everyone."

The mice around her squeaked in agreement.

Scanning her surroundings, Lily noticed a grand clock tower in the distance. She then turned to the mice around her and said, "Everyone, my house is not too far from here. Let's go see my mother and then we can go back and ask Mr. Charles for food."

Lily then dashed off with the group of mice tailing her. This time, she learned her lesson and chose secluded corners to avoid startling others.

Once again, they arrived before the villa. The brown mice skillfully formed a tower for the white mouse to stand at the top to look through a window.

Pressing against the glass, Lily gazed intently at the family of three eating their meal at the table.

"Daddy knocked off so early today?" Lily wondered aloud.

Watching the laughter and conversation inside the house, tears welled up in Lily's eyes. She stood by the window until lunch ended. Upon seeing her mother coming out to dispose of the trash, Lily quickly hid to avoid being seen.

Lily continued to stare at her mother in longing. It was only when the woman entered the villa that Lily jumped into the garbage bin and searched for leftover scraps of food.

She picked up a fishbone and devoured the remaining fish meat off it. The brown mice rushed in and swiftly cleaned up all available food scraps.

Just then, Lily heard the joyful cheers of a little girl from within the house.

"Mommy and Daddy! Thank you for the birthday gift! I love you!"

Holding the fishbone in her trembling paws, the white mouse raised it up and showed it to the mice around her.

With tears streaming down her face, she sobbed, "See, I was right, wasn't I? Mommy's sweet fish soup is really delicious."