Only one Black Death… The other ships, afraid of being discovered and not having time to escape, were staying outside the Rosed Archipelago waters? This was good news… Klein withdrew his gaze and deliberately bit his lip to show his inner turmoil.
Glancing at Elaine’s profile, Misol lit a torch, swung it repeatedly, and signaled to the flagship.
Before long, a small boat came over, taking him and Klein, disguised as Red-haired Elaine, back to the Black Death.
As the small boat was hoisted up, Klein boarded the flagship of another pirate admiral, and led by Misol, entered a cabin.
A blonde maid was waiting ahead. Her gaze coldly swept over Elaine, and she pointed to a side room and said: «Go in.»
This attitude was exactly like meeting a love rival… The Admiral of Disease’s charm really knows no gender… Klein instantly grew more alert. Handcuffed, with a gloomy face, he followed the blonde maid into the room.
He had thought he would see Treacy immediately and get a one-on-one chance, already primed for action, but the carpeted room was small, with nothing except a wardrobe, a sofa, and a full-length mirror.
Could Treacy be deliberately ignoring him to express her anger? Klein recalled romance novels and melodramatic TV shows he’d read, speculating on the «Disease Maiden’s» intentions.
The blonde maid glanced at Elaine, who was dressed in men’s clothing but lacked androgynous beauty due to having no makeup. She went quickly to the wardrobe, opened it, pointed at the numerous dresses inside, and said: «The captain doesn’t like the way you look now. Change.»
Fuck… Klein cursed in his mind.
He had thought that with Elaine in male disguise, he could directly see «Admiral of Disease» Treacy, and was glad he might achieve his goal without too much embarrassment, but in the end, he couldn’t avoid the part he least wanted to face.
Seeing Elaine stunned, the blonde maid glared at her: «You have only two choices: change yourself, or I’ll change you!»
Klein imitated Red-haired Elaine’s usual manner, took a small breath, and said: «Open my handcuffs.»
He half-turned his body, pointed his chin at the door, and said: «Then get out.»
«Pretentious bitch…» the blonde maid muttered, using the key Misol had given her to unlock Elaine’s handcuffs.
After she left the room and closed the door, Klein walked to the wardrobe, stood there, and was blank for nearly twenty seconds.
Suddenly, he closed his eyes and extended his right hand.
After an unknown amount of time, he came to the full-length mirror and saw Elaine in it with red hair flowing, green eyes sparkling, wearing a golden-red dress, the ribbon at her waist tied into a knot, tight, emphasizing her slenderness.
Elaine’s delicate face was slightly flushed, lips tightly pressed, expression solemn, very similar to the feeling in the previous photo.
Klein, seeing himself turned into this image, felt somewhat ashamed, but during the process of dressing, he had gradually become accustomed, passing the initial stage, and since no one else was there, he began to find a different feeling.
This wasn’t to say he had started to like such things, but during the process of overcoming psychological barriers through disguise, his self-awareness experienced a certain detachment, as if his soul had left his body, calmly watching «Elaine» put on women’s clothes, adjust in front of the mirror from an elevated perspective, considering this a necessary means for the mission, nothing shameful or strange.
Klein inexplicably felt this sensation was very familiar. He tried hard to recall and compare, attempting to fix it and understand it clearly.
Soon, he found the source. It was like playing a role-playing game, choosing a female character, carefully customizing her face, selecting clothes, letting beauty please his eyes.
There was no lewdness or shame in it. On one side, it was a god’s-eye view through the screen, an aloof attitude; on the other side, it was earnest role-playing, going through the plot, the two perfectly integrated, indistinguishable, and wouldn’t cause psychological or cognitive barriers just from playing a game.
This… Klein’s half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide, and he felt that this was exactly the state of «Faceless» that he wanted!
He could impersonate anyone, but only as himself.
Immerse himself in the character, try hard to play it, while detaching his emotions, calmly examining, and through subtle comparisons, recognize himself, find his true self!
«Both immersed and detached… that’s the practical application of the most important rule of the Faceless.» Klein suddenly calmed down, the remaining shame and changed mentality coexisting.
With that detached attitude, with the attitude of playing a role-playing game, he examined himself in the full-length mirror, seriously looking for shortcomings.
«Fortunately, I had Danitz get two sets of women’s clothes in advance to study the components; otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to put them on so quickly and normally on the first try. It would be easy to show flaws. Heh, this is called professionalism. Women’s clothes are really complicated… From the perspective of a ‘Faceless’, Elaine’s facial features and lines still have many defects. Pretty as she is, she’s by no means stunning to me… Hmm, in this state of mind, I can clearly feel the digestion of the potion…» Klein looked at himself in the mirror as if looking at a character named Elaine.
Knock knock knock!
The door was knocked, and the blonde maid asked impatiently: «Are you ready?»
Klein immediately