Mysterious: The Innate Sacred Body of Destiny

Chapter 371 Doubt and Plan

"well--"

In the middle of the night, Lorne was working at his office under a gas lamp. His desk was piled high with documents, reports, and drawings as he busied himself putting the plans in his mind onto paper.

"Let's produce a small batch of the medicine first—hmm, we can give it to a charitable foundation and have them distribute it for free. It'll serve as publicity, and it'll also be a form of charity—I'll contact Hazel later—"

"There's also the issue of industrial expansion, but as long as the money is in place, it shouldn't be a big problem. Sales are also basically resolved. Next, we just need to secure some raw material channels. Before the Negan family's investment officially arrives, a supply chain from raw materials, processing,..."

A complete arms supply chain, from assembly to sales, can then be initially established.

"And shipping—I wonder if Charles has any connections there. The Negan family also has considerable influence in the navy; perhaps they have relevant transportation channels that we can utilize—"

"Um."

Lorne, who was marking up various documents and reports, suddenly looked up. In the shadows of the office, the air swayed slightly, and a semi-transparent figure wearing a black court dress and a small black soft hat silently appeared.

"Ms. Sharon, what brings you here?" Lorne put down his pen, somewhat surprised. Usually at this time, Sharon rarely showed up unless it was for a scheduled lesson.

"I've come to deliver the documents," Sharon said succinctly and coolly.

"This is the information you asked us to collect about the last assassination attempt on Duke Negan." As she spoke, she floated closer and handed over a brown paper bag containing documents.

"Some intelligence involved nobles, so it took a little longer to process."

"Thank you for your hard work." Lorne sincerely thanked him, immediately opened the paper bag, pulled out a thick stack of documents, and quickly began reading them under the light.

"Hurricane Admiral"—Zilingus. A disguised assassination, indeed with extraordinary elements. The assassin is quite someone important too—"

Lorne sighed and continued reading. But after only a few seconds, he sensed something was amiss.

"Ms. Sharon, could you please stop staring at me like that?"

Upon hearing this, Sharon nodded slightly and withdrew her gaze. She moved, descending from her levitating state and sitting directly in the chair opposite Lorne's desk.

Okay, we're closer now —

Lorne caught a glimpse of the black skirt and the pale, delicate profile out of the corner of his eye, sighed inwardly, but said nothing more and turned his attention back to the documents.

"Audrey Hall————"

After a long silence, he suddenly uttered the name.

"Hmm?" Sharon's beautiful eyes flickered slightly.

"It was Audrey Hall who noticed the anomaly and issued a timely warning, causing the assassination to fail—well, she's also an Extraordinary, so it's reasonable for her to have noticed the anomaly. But it still feels a bit like a coincidence."

Based solely on Lorne's own deductions, this noble lady must have many secrets. The fact that she sent her pet to follow him as soon as he returned to Backlund was enough to tell.

The only people who, besides her, actively sought her out with a clear purpose of probing were Sherlock Moriarty—oh, and Hugh and Fors.

Wait a minute—Lorne suddenly thought of a possibility.

Audrey Hall hired Hugh and Fors, and then Hugh hired Sherlock.

Logically, this makes sense. But as I wondered before, this was my first formal meeting with Miss Hall at the party; we had no prior connection, so there was no reason for her to investigate me.

The last time Duke Negan was assassinated was not long after I transmigrated here. At that time, I was still in another city—

Out of town?! Lorne's pupils dilated slightly.

"Although he is Hugh's employee, Sherlock Moriarty, who harbors secrets, must have some other ulterior motives."

"This is not the will of his organization, and I have basically confirmed this with Charles."

"During that period, the only person I could possibly consider an enemy was that whistleblower letter—"

Lorne felt he had vaguely sensed something, but he just couldn't fully concentrate.

Since we're going to another city anyway—why not—

"What's wrong?" Sharon noticed that Lorne seemed a little off.

"It's nothing," Lorne quickly composed himself, forced a smile, and closed the document. "Just thinking about some things—"

"Thank you for the information. I will pay you."

"Mm." Sharon nodded slightly, not refusing.

After reviewing the documents, Lorne pondered them while continuing with his work. Sharon didn't leave either, sitting quietly opposite him, her gaze occasionally sweeping over Lorne's focused profile, and sometimes looking out at the deep night. A tacit silence fell between them.

After a long silence, Lorne broke the silence and said, "I plan to leave Backlund in a while—"

Why?

"I've been in the limelight lately, 'Hero of the East District,' 'Savior of the Duke'—the attention these titles bring doesn't look good to me. Too many eyes are on me." Lorne rubbed his temples. "Besides, I'm not good at dealing with those nobles, handling all that insincere social niceties and probing."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Sharon asked directly.

Lorne gave a trusting smile: "Just keep an eye on things here for me. The only thing to watch out for is the ghost under my villa. I'm worried that it might do something while I'm gone—"

"Oh, right, if—" He hesitated for a moment, then took out a piece of stationery and a pen from the drawer, quickly wrote a few lines, put them in an envelope, sealed it, and handed it to Sharon, "If I don't come back for a long time, and there are no letters or news."

"Please deliver this to Charles Horn of the Truth Guild."

"Okay." Sharon didn't ask any further questions, simply nodding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sharon replied softly, then vanished from the spot in a flash.

"Sigh—" Lorne looked at the empty chair opposite him, sighed softly, and turned his gaze back to the pile of documents on the table.

"One person, one pen, one night—"

"Hayrle is back." Representative Macht put down his newspaper and looked at Hazel, who had just finished a day's work at the foundation.

My daughter walked into the house looking tired.

"Yes, Daddy." Hazel handed the handbag to the maid and rubbed her slightly sore neck.

This was her first time truly involved in managing a sizable charitable foundation. Despite having experienced staff to assist her, the sheer volume of paperwork, coordination, and decision-making work still left this novice feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

James Scott was basically a hands-off manager; he only set the general direction and left all the specific tasks to her.

"Have you read the recent newspapers?" Congressman Macht asked.

"The assassination attempt on Duke Negan? James Scott saved him. And he luckily became the hero of the rescue."

"Everyone in the foundation is talking about this now." Hazel recalled that every employee she had encountered at the foundation in the past two days had been discussing this matter. Their own director had once again become a hero and even saved a high-ranking nobleman; the topic was far too popular.

There were even female employees from the foundation who came up to her with infatuated looks and asked if she knew anything about James Scott's private information.

For example, what do they like? What are their hobbies? Do they have a crush on someone? These questions made her feel flustered, but she had to maintain the polite smile of an assistant and give vague answers.

What frustrated her even more was that even Heyole's former classmates, after learning that she was working at this foundation, contacted her in various ways, wanting to know if she had any information about the other party, their words full of envy and teasing.

Seriously, what kind of hero is this guy trying to be now? Why does he have to make himself so popular?!

"Yes. That's the matter." Councilor Macht nodded, his expression much more solemn than his daughter's. As someone who had been in politics for many years, he knew very well that saving a group of civilians and saving a duke who stood at the top of the kingdom's power structure were completely different in terms of their significance and subsequent impact.

"I received word that the Negan family gave him a very generous reward as a token of their gratitude," Congressman Macht said, recounting everything he had learned about the Negan family's dinner party.

"So much?!" Hazel covered her lips, her eyes wide with astonishment. Leaving aside the other real estate, that rumored sum of cash alone probably exceeded the Macht family's current publicly disclosed total assets!

"From this perspective, James Scott has already been labeled a conservative, even though he is an emerging factory owner —"

As a member of parliament for the New Party, he is now in a somewhat awkward position. Moreover, with the other party's sudden increase in fame, he also feels a greater sense of crisis.

"But then again, I wouldn't refuse such a huge gift either." Congressman Macht gave a wry smile, then looked at his daughter, his gaze becoming profound.

"Scott—didn't he mention these things to you? Like the details of the dinner, or the specific promises made by the Negan family?"

"I--"