In Queen's District, inside Earl Hall's luxurious villa.
Audrey used a white napkin as she watched the dining maid cut her bacon, arrange fried eggs cooked on both sides to perfection, spread jam on soft bread, and add sauce to the grilled mushrooms.
In a true aristocratic family, maids were divided into many categories. Besides personal maids, there were maids for different bedrooms, study maids, living room maids, guest room maids, clothing maids, shoe maids, jewelry maids, dining maids, laundry maids, and kitchen maids, strictly corresponding to one task per maid.
Although this largely wasted manpower, for aristocrats, dignity was everything, and they wouldn't lower such standards unless burdened by numerous debts.
Audrey took a sip of the tawny red tea, letting the faint malt and rose aromas linger in her mouth.
At this moment, she heard her father, Earl Hall, a member of the upper house of the kingdom and a great banker, mutter over the newspaper in his hand: "The Aurora Society is truly insane."
Aurora Society? Audrey blinked her eyes and asked curiously: "Did they do something?"
"Oh, darling, you wouldn't want to know. They actually assassinated the ambassador of Intis, Beckler. That does them no good." Earl Hall shook his head as he flipped through the newspaper.
Audrey's eldest brother, Hibbert Hall, the earl's eldest son, swallowed the grilled mushrooms in his mouth and offered his opinion: "Perhaps they want to disrupt the relationship between the kingdom and Intis, extending the war from the colonies to the Northern Continent."
This young aristocrat had a handsome face and brilliant golden hair. No matter from which angle you looked at him, he had a beauty akin to classical sculptures.
"No, if that were the case, they wouldn't have left so many obvious clues. Moreover, the kingdom has many new policies about to enter implementation, requiring a stable environment for some time. We won't rashly start a war. The fact that what happened last night is in the papers this morning, with detailed accounts and specific perpetrators, is enough to show the king and the ministers' stance." Earl Hall instructed his children.
Audrey listened blankly as her father and brother discussed this issue, and it took her a while to react: Beckler was assassinated? Mr. A succeeded? He truly is from the Aurora Society? He deliberately exposed that the Aurora Society did it, just to prove that he completed the task, that we didn't dupe him on the final payment? So fast and efficient! I only paid the first installment yesterday afternoon, and this morning I hear the result, a good result!
Aside from her shock, Audrey felt an uncontrollable joy, and alongside that joy was an instinctive fear.
The mission entrusted by Mr. Fool's Blessed had been completed so easily and simply, which was certainly a joyful thing, but the strength and execution displayed by Mr. A and the Aurora Society behind him made Audrey instinctively afraid.
Hmm, luckily, I already communicated with Gletterlin yesterday and reached a loan agreement. As a viscount, he should have succeeded in raising the funds without attracting attention... I need to pay the remaining amount to Mr. A in the next two days, through Xio and Fors. I absolutely cannot show up personally... I also cannot attend Mr. A's parties for this month or two. Fortunately, I have other circles... Audrey demurely bit into the soft bread spread with jam.
As breakfast drew to a close, a small cake with cream, cherries, and strawberries was placed on her plate. Calming down, she suddenly felt a bit complacent.
Mr. Hanged Man wanted to participate in this mission, but he might have only just completed the preliminary commission... It's already over. Who told him to be at sea~ Audrey felt cheerful, amusement in her brows and eyes as she savored the dessert.
......
Hilston District, Xio and Fors looked at the newspaper in front of them, remaining still for a long time.
"...Did Mr. A do this?" Xio asked her friend, shocked and doubtful.
Fors twisted the stone-studded bracelet on her wrist and shook her head in equal confusion: "Perhaps." "I know the Aurora Society, but I don't know if Mr. A is a member."
"It should be, since we only gave him 2000 pounds yesterday, and no one else would want to assassinate Ambassador Beckler, right..." Xio said uncertainly.
Fors was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly lamented: "Whether or not Mr. A did it, we still have to give him the remaining 8000 pounds. No one can prove he didn't do it, and if we still want to stay in the circle, we can't welch!"
"Anyway, we're not paying for it... And we still have 500 pounds in commission!" Xio suddenly cheered up as she spoke.
"The problem is, I feel it's very dangerous to go to Mr. A again..." Fors mused. "When delivering the final payment, I'll go alone. That way it's better for us."
"But..." Xio instinctively felt uneasy.
"Having you along would affect my escape." Fors shook her wrist bracelet and said in a disdainful tone.
"Alright." Xio scratched her messy short golden hair and replied helplessly.
Just as they were nervous about this matter, a new message from Mr. A was passed to them through a secret contact channel. He told them not to come to him, but rather to deposit the remaining balance into several bearer accounts at different banks.
Ah... Xio and Fors both breathed a sigh of relief.
......
In a spacious basement that seemed like a shrine, Mr. A, dressed in a hooded black robe, knelt in the darkness, whispering piously.
Before him stood a nearly three-meter-tall statue of a man hanging upside down, his legs bound with chains connected upwards.
This hanged man had the unique vertical single eye of giants, with arms stretched horizontally in a cross shape.