Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 462 Invitation to Cooperation

Monday morning, Backlund.

As dawn broke, the morning light spread along with the thin mist.

After having breakfast, Audrey, accompanied by her golden retriever Susie, her personal maid Anne, and her bodyguard, boarded her family's carriage as usual and headed to the "Rune Charitable Educational Foundation" at 22 Pesfield Street in the North District.

Inside the carriage, Audrey drew the curtains, her eyes half-closed, too afraid to look at the scene outside.

Although she knew that the collapsed houses, the dead bodies, and the grieving people outside might all be faked later, as a viewer, her perception of the outside world always easily affected her own emotions.

Susie lay down beside her legs, and Audrey instinctively reached out and gently stroked Susie's head.

Just then, a tinkling sound rang out from the window, bringing a strange sense of vitality.

The strange sound made Audrey subconsciously turn her head, pull back the curtains, and look at the street, watching the people and cars coming and going outside.

A faint fragrance drifted in from outside the window, so subtle it was almost imperceptible. This scent lasted for less than two seconds before quickly changing, becoming more like Audrey's own natural body odor, or some kind of "pheromone" she possessed.

Audrey seemed oblivious to everything, simply tidying her hair and tucking a strand behind her ear.

Ding ding ding.

The bells hanging in Audrey's hair swayed gently with her movements and the swaying of the carriage, making a pleasant, clear sound.

At one point, she suddenly felt a sense of peace and a renewed sense of vitality, as if the whole world was full of energy.

This made her thoughts drift a little into a daze.

She had been a member of the Psychological Alchemy Society for several months, and as her contributions gradually accumulated, her mentor told her that perhaps it wouldn't be long before she could apply for the Sequence Five Dreamwalker's potion.

If it weren't for the need to avoid arousing more suspicion and vigilance from psychological training, Audrey would actually prefer to exchange these merits for extraordinary items rather than promotions and extraordinary traits.

Silver City, having just left the land of the forsaken gods, desperately needs outside currency, and coincidentally, Audrey is quite confident in this regard.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Audrey saw a figure on the carriage.

The figure was dressed in a black three-piece suit, with a dark red bow tie, and holding a top hat. His hair was completely white but still thick, and his pale blue eyes seemed to hold endless wisdom.

This is Herwin Lambis, a member of the Psychological Alchemy Council, a demigod of the "spectator" pathway.

Suddenly, Audrey became dazed, seemingly losing all vigilance and defense. Her movements became stiff and rigid, mechanically repeating the action of stroking Susie.

Susie and Annie, who were in the carriage, suddenly looked blank, as if they had entered a semi-dazed state where they lacked focus on their surroundings.

At this moment, the strange fragrance wafted out again, but not around her; it emanated from inside her body.

Audrey's thoughts suddenly rose, and she felt her mind being elevated, her thoughts splitting into two parts: one part remained in her body, while the other part rose into the spiritual sky, looking down at her "subconscious" below.

Her spirit resided above the "sky," unable to do anything but look down at herself below, listening to Herwin Lambis's gentle voice: "Next, there are two things I need you to do."

"First, don't you know Dawn Dantes? Arrange to meet him, hypnotize him, and then you'll need to get some information from him. But there's no rush. What you need to do now is get closer to him and make it easier to open the door to his subconscious."

The gentle voice seemed to resonate with the thoughts deep within Audrey's heart. Audrey in the "spiritual sky" saw that her real self only showed slight resistance, and felt that it originated from her own heart and was her most authentic thought.

Her brow furrowed briefly before relaxing, realizing that the strange fragrance seemed to be helping her.

Although it wasn't actually necessary, Audrey still expressed her gratitude in her heart.

Anything of value can be transformed by the imprint of gold. And Audrey, literally, was a treasure from head to toe.

Although the imprint has a cooldown period, directly consuming a large amount of spiritual energy can shorten the cooldown time.

She had no particular spiritual needs, and two whole weeks had passed. Audrey still possessed at least ten extraordinary items.

However, it shouldn't be called an extraordinary item, since it doesn't possess any special properties. Using Serres's terminology, it should be called a "strange object." More importantly, this kind of strange object is not noticeable if one only activates their spiritual vision.

Herwin Lambis, who hadn't even considered that a mobile arsenal was sitting in front of him, looked into Audrey's emerald-green eyes and continued speaking at a measured pace:
"Secondly, at the following banquets and balls, be less resistant to the princes' overtures, and offer a few words of praise in front of Earl and Lady Hall."

“Remember these words, this is a reflection of your subconscious. Then, forget that I have ever come and said these words to you. Forget that this behavior is abnormal from your original behavior. Do not try to seek protection and deviate from the key position of the Night Church Grand Mass.”

"what the hell."

In the spiritual sky, Audrey puffed out her cheeks, dissatisfied with Herwin Lambis's "arrangement."

After speaking, Herwin Lambis withdrew his gaze from Audrey's eyes and instead gestured to the maid Anne and the others, so that they would not be surprised by their mistress's subsequent unusual behavior.

After finishing his business, he disappeared into the carriage without making a sound.

Audrey's separated thoughts returned to her body, causing her to feel slightly disoriented.

Subconsciously, she raised her hand again to tidy her hair.

Ding ding ding.

The bell ornament rang out once again.

The clear sound of the bell instantly brought Audrey back to her senses.

However, she remained outwardly calm and did nothing, allowing the carriage to arrive at Pestfield Street and enter the parking area of ​​the "Rune Charitable Education Foundation." She then alighted from the carriage, went up to the second floor of the foundation, and entered her own boardroom.

Audrey guessed that someone would come looking for her soon.

She sat in her assigned spot, sitting upright with a smile on her face, watching her personal maid Annie and others either tidying up the file rack or preparing black tea with the spring water they brought with them. A few minutes later, a knocking sound came from the door.

"Please come in." Audrey raised her voice slightly to make sure the person outside could hear her.

The door creaked open, and a beautiful woman with black hair walked in. She wore a white long dress, silk gloves, high black boots, and an elegant wide-brimmed hat.

She had a round face, narrow eyes, and a half-closed, smiling gaze. Her features weren't particularly outstanding, but they were pleasing to the eye.

"Good morning, Miss Audrey." The lady smiled and nodded at Audrey, her every move exuding an elegant aristocratic air.

A nobleman, or formerly a nobleman. Audrey immediately made this judgment in her mind, while at the same time feeling inexplicably that the person in front of her looked somewhat familiar.

"Good morning, madam. Please have a seat." Audrey gestured to the chair in front of her, then glanced at the maids and others around her, signaling them to leave the room temporarily.

Elsalis sat down in the chair, put her legs together, took off her hat and placed it on her knees, and introduced herself: "Let me introduce myself. My name is Elsalis."

“Yes, Ms. Elsalis. Do you have any questions about the Foundation’s projects?” Audrey asked gently.

“No, I’m here to discuss cooperation,” Elsalis replied.

“Oh, I see.” Audrey shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, you might have come to the wrong room. The office for cooperation is on the first floor.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Elsalis paused. “Well, it seems you’ve resolved that yourself. But I still wish to discuss cooperation with the Psychological Alchemy Society.”

Audrey's smile remained unchanged: "So that's what Miss Elsalis meant. Thank you so much for your help in the carriage."

Seeing that she couldn't hide her purpose from this audience member, Elsalis simply said directly, "You should have seen what just happened. I don't think you liked how Herwin Lambis of the Psychological Alchemy used and manipulated you."

"Therefore, I hope we can cooperate to a limited extent to accomplish some things that you might want to do but are not really able to do, such as..."

"kill him."

(End of this chapter)