At the outskirts of Queen's Borough, inside a spacious racetrack without any spectators.
Audrey Hall was leading a chestnut mare, deliberately moving to a corner, pretending to discuss matters with Viscount Gleinert.
She wore white trousers and knee-high black boots, a simple ladies' blouse with a fitted black jacket-style riding suit, and a matching protective helmet. She looked exceptionally dashing, with a beauty different from usual. Her golden retriever Susie obediently crouched at her feet, seemingly carrying a small leather bag.
Xio, disguised as Viscount Gleinert's attendant, enviously glanced at Audrey's long and straight legs, unconsciously standing on tiptoe.
"Pure horsemanship has no meaning; only when combined with hunting does it have vitality," Gleinert said, looking at Audrey with a half-emotional, half-joking tone. "Of course, I'm referring to male horsemanship. A beautiful lady on horseback is a landscape no matter what she does."
Audrey replied with a light smile, "The next hunt is still months away."
From June to the New Year, the nobles of the Loën Kingdom traditionally came to Backlund to attend various banquets, balls, and salons. This was a very important activity for them, and many matters would be settled within these months. Over the years, this tradition gradually acquired a fixed name, called the "Backlund Social Season."
After the New Year, land nobles would gradually return to their fiefs, to their own mansions and castles, rural estates, and large plantations, spending leisurely and pleasant times. In such times, the most popular game was hunting.
Nobles would invite guests of equal status to share the joy of riding and chasing prey. As long as their finances allowed, they never hesitated to buy hounds.
The most famous of these hounds was the foxhound.
"I already miss that life," Viscount Gleinert put on his gloves, stepping back to make it easier for Audrey to talk with Xio and Fors. "Backlund is a place that feels constraining, its air indescribably terrible. Of course, its prosperity and luxury still appeal to me."
"Dear Miss Audrey, what did you call us for this time?" Xio withdrew her gaze and took the initiative to ask.
Recently, her large income had come from Audrey. She was honest, trustworthy, generous, and a rare good employer.
I seem to smell the scent of banknotes again... I hope it's not too difficult a task... Miss Audrey is perfect in everything, except for one fault: every task is unexpected and very dangerous... Xio thought with both anticipation and anxiety, involuntarily turning her head to glance at Fors, disguised as a maid, and found her companion looking back at her.
And the expressions reflected in their eyes were so similar.
Audrey held her gloves, smiling with restraint and elegance, "This time it's a simple commission."
As she spoke, she gestured with her eyes for Xio and Fors to open the small leather bag on Susie.
Xio, known for her strong initiative, immediately stepped forward, bent down, and reached out.
In this brief moment, she originally wanted to pat Susie's head to show goodwill, but just as her right hand extended, Susie had already turned her head, half-turned her body, and brought the small leather bag in front of her.
I'm usually popular with animals... for example, mosquitoes... Xio kept her expression unchanged, pulled the zipper, and took out a stack of papers from the leather bag.
She stood up straight, spread them open, and saw that they depicted an ordinary-looking young man, but his neatly combed-back hair, round glasses, and brown eyes with a hint of sneering smile made her feel very familiar.
I must have seen him somewhere! Xio's gaze moved down and saw the corresponding text description:
"Former name, Lanarvus, wanted fraudster."
I know where I saw him! Xio suddenly realized, almost making the indecent gesture of slapping her forehead.
Before meeting Audrey, one of her main sources of income was flipping through newspapers, studying wanted notices, and using her connections in the East Borough and many gangs to find valuable criminals.
I once thought about looking for this Lanarvus; his bounty is 100 pounds, and he ran away with over 10,000 pounds in cash! But after that, I was busy with Miss Audrey's commission and forgot about it... Xio exchanged a glance with Fors and frankly asked:
"How much is the commission?"
Commission amount? Audrey was stunned for a moment.
She had completely forgotten about paying a reward, because in her opinion, this was an investigation by Mr. Fool.
Since when does an investigation involve paying the other party?
"Uh... 100 pounds?" Audrey cautiously gave a number.
"Deal!" Xio and Fors responded at the same time.
If they could catch Lanarvus, they would not only get 100 pounds from Miss Audrey but also the same amount of bounty... Really a good task! Xio's eyes lit up and she asked casually:
"Why are you looking for this fraudster? Did he cheat you out of money?"
I don't even know who he is... It really is a simple commission, settled for 100 pounds... No need to tell Mr. Fool about this... Only 100 pounds... Audrey kept a polite smile, ignored Xio's question, and instead mentioned:
"I received news that he is in Backlund."
"Ah, right, there are about a dozen portraits here, different ones. I considered that Lanarvus would definitely disguise himself, so I made drawings of him without glasses, with a beard, with a changed hairstyle... um... conjectural drawings."
I'm also very good at sketching and oil painting! Audrey slightly raised her chin.