They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 282 Exposing the Disguise
mind?

Everyone stared at the ground beneath their feet. Beneath the surface, covered with withered leaves, lay the corpses and excrement of creatures of all sizes. Pale bones could be found by simply lifting a leaf.

While you're uncovering the leaves, a big, lively gray rat might suddenly dart out and give everyone a fright.

Even so, the person on the second floor was still very satisfied, her tone tinged with a smile.

"Not everyone has arrived yet, so please feel free to take your seats. Let's temporarily forget about those unpleasant things and enjoy the exquisite desserts I have prepared for you all at this tea party."

"By the way, I made all of these myself, and I made sure that every ingredient was properly proportioned, down to the milligram."

You are all experts in the use of poisons, so you should be able to see that they contain no toxins and are completely safe for consumption.

After the man in white finished speaking, the crowd below immediately took their seats. Of course, some people remained motionless, staring at the rotten pastries on the wooden table, hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong? Is there something you're worried about?" Everyone turned their attention to this group.

"Can you eat the stuff on the table? If you ate that, you'd probably die on the spot—"

Look at what you're eating! Dead rats, snakes, rabbits, moles... even maggots on rotten wood!

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

The people draped in burlap cloaks continued to stare at the group, their voices filled with bewilderment. The atmosphere remained eerily quiet.

"Come and try it, it's really delicious."

"Once you've tasted it, you'll never forget it."

"Come quickly."

"Come quickly..."

"Come on, open your mouth—"

"No, no!!!" People panicked and tried to escape, but they found that their way back had completely disappeared, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not find the gate they came from.

At this moment, someone suggested running from above, but the person stopped abruptly as soon as they uttered the words.

Seconds later, his head slid off his neck, and blood splattered all over the ground.

Most of the people present laughed, their voices sinister and terrifying. It was amidst this laughter that those who tried to escape lost their lives.

The fallen leaves on the ground were stained crimson, becoming much more vibrant, as if the black and white world had suddenly gained color.

"Heh, alright, Lelana, stop joking around."

On the wooden chair to the side, the person who had never left his seat gracefully picked up a shriveled rat head from the container and put it in his mouth as if he were eating a fresh, juicy fruit.

The half of her face that was inadvertently revealed from under her hood was exquisite, and her dark red lipstick was the finishing touch, making it impossible to look away.

"Favorine, how can you be so boring?"

“I don’t find this amusing at all. If I didn’t know that the Duchess is so particular about her environment that she’ll go crazy if there are any extra bacteria, I would have thought you’d been switched at birth.”

“…Alright, alright, you know me best, Faflourin.” As she spoke, Lelana suddenly stood on the railing. She took off her cloak, and the moment it landed on the ground, the entire courtyard was transformed, with the pure white fabric at its center.

A lush green lawn has replaced the original "garbage dump" of rotting leaves. Clean white tables, chairs, and parasols are placed on the lawn, while ceramic vases are placed on the tables. Exquisite pastries, which look like works of art, occasionally emit an enticing aroma.

The courtyard appeared to be more than ten times larger, with a fountain in the center spouting clear water and several golden ornamental fish swimming freely in it.

The edge of the courtyard was planted with roses, and colorful butterflies fluttered around them.

At this moment, the people who had been wearing cloaks dispelled the illusion one after another. The witches, dressed in all sorts of beautiful dresses and wearing pointed hats, smiled and greeted the people upstairs, the organizers of this tea party.

"Good morning, Miss Leilana."

Good morning, everyone.

Leilana had changed out of the research gown she wanted to wear everywhere. She lifted her pointed cap and looked up at the now clear sky.

"This is the atmosphere a tea party should have. Once everyone has arrived, we can officially begin."

As she spoke, she jumped back onto the balcony from the railing and walked into the building, clearly indicating that she did not intend to socialize at this time.

The others gradually started doing their own things, such as eating. Many of them had been hungry all day and had come from other places in the middle of the night just to attend the tea party. Their stomachs were already growling with hunger.

Now that they had the opportunity to eat, most people immediately started enjoying the unlimited refills of pastries on the table. A few more cautious people carefully checked the food and, after confirming that it was just ordinary food, lowered their guard.

"How is it?" Melfas stared at Saphir, who, after thinking hard for a while, managed to squeeze out, "No poison."

"And it's delicious. Is this the kind of food only nobles can enjoy?"

"This is also thanks to Miss Leilana. Although she is a patient and is not well-liked by her family, those people are never short of money and can barely support her. With the help of these funds, Miss Leilana can carry out her own research and do what she likes."

"That's truly enviable, but I've heard that with her abilities, she could easily rebel against her family. Why does she still have to obediently put up with this?"

"You wouldn't believe it, but someone gives me money every day and keeps my identity a secret from the outside world for fear of losing face. If I were in that situation, I would have stayed put too."

Melfas picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of hot tea. He watched with a sense of ease as more and more witches gathered in the courtyard. Everyone was dressed quite formally, and unless they spoke, it was impossible to tell who was male and who was female.

Of course, some of them are skilled at voice imitation, and imitating a woman's voice is no problem for them.

"Luckily, I've always preferred a neutral style, and the main character isn't a witch. Making me wear a skirt every day would be worse than just killing me."

Melfas took a sip of tea with some relief, then saw an elderly man carrying a medicine rack and with an IV drip hanging from it shakily pass by him, and he was immediately filled with respect.

"People are so dedicated these days, I suddenly feel that the hardships I suffered in the past were nothing."

“I think I’ve heard of that person before. My plague doctor said she’s a dream witch who is very good at devouring dreams and even modifying them. Ordinary dream hunters can’t do that.”

Rumor has it that she refused the Plague Doctor's invitation to join the ranks of the disordered, even while burdened by a curse of aging; she's truly an oddball.

Saffir was drinking a cup of hot milk while explaining things to Melfas. Melfas nodded, then suddenly realized something was wrong.

How do you even know this?

(End of this chapter)