Mystery: Becoming a Creator Through the Doorway

Three o'clock in the afternoon, at the Viscount Grelint's residence.

A magnificent private carriage, adorned with the Hall family crest, came to a smooth stop outside the ornate iron gate.

The carriage door was nimbly opened by Audrey's well-trained personal maid, Anne, and Audrey gracefully leaned out of the carriage.

According to the customs of the Kingdom of Rune, the period from June to the New Year is the social season among nobles.

Nobles often left their fiefdoms for the capital, Backlund, to begin their daily social lives, and Audrey Hall was no exception.

She left East Chestershire a few days ago and has just arrived in Backlund.

As the daughter of Earl Hall, a powerful nobleman and banker, Audrey, whose beauty was renowned in aristocratic circles and who was about to come of age, received numerous invitations to banquets and salons.

One of the invitations that caught her attention was from Viscount Grelint.

Aside from the usual social niceties, this invitation contained 200 gold pounds.

While inviting her to the banquet, the other party also vaguely mentioned that he had obtained some clues about becoming an extraordinary being, and attached his request—a horn of an adult unicorn pegasus kept in the Hall family's treasury.

Presumably, the 200 pounds was used to buy this horn.

As a fellow enthusiast of the occult, Audrey realized that the invitation was no ordinary document and was excited that she might actually have the opportunity to come into contact with the mystical.

Because this involves the simplest and most basic question:

How did Grelint know that the Hall family possessed the horn of an adult Pegasus?

Unless one is invited to visit the family collection, the contents of such a treasure trove are virtually unknown to an outsider.

Audrey knew very well that neither her two brothers nor her father had ever invited Grynt to visit the family collection.

As for herself?

That's even more impossible.

Putting aside the fact that she was a minor and had no right to host banquets or salons, and that her relationship with Grelint was merely that of ordinary friends who shared a love of the occult, she would never have done such a thing.

Furthermore, considering that in recent days, a person frequently mentioned in upper-class circles, especially among aristocratic young women and ladies, is "Aleister Mathers," a handsome man with exotic features.

If Audrey's personal maid Anne was not mistaken, Grelint seemed to be the one who introduced this gentleman to the upper echelons of Backlund.

Moreover, it is said that Grelint was particularly enthusiastic about him, even to the point of being "loyal".

By connecting the information revealed in the invitation, the clever Audrey immediately pinpointed the truth.

The clues that led Grynt to become an extraordinary being must have come from this mysterious Mr. "Aleister".

Perhaps, he is an extraordinary person.

So she came here.

"Your beauty makes my banquet even more radiant," Grelint said in his usual pleasantry, then lowered his voice and asked eagerly, "Did you bring the horn of the adult Pegasus?"

Audrey glanced at the guests in the center of the banquet hall out of the corner of her eye: "Anne has already given it to your servant as a gift."

Anne, the personal maid who was standing next to her, nodded.

Having failed to find her target, Audrey asked, seemingly casually:

"Did Mr. Aleister attend today's banquet? I've heard he's quite knowledgeable about history and many languages."

Upon hearing this, Grylint realized something, but it wasn't surprising.

He shook his head and said frankly, "I send Mr. Aleister invitations every time I host a banquet or salon, but he doesn't attend every time."

For some reason, seeing Grelint like this reminded Audrey of some gentlemen who sighed and lamented their unrequited love for the ladies they admired.

At the same time, she was also somewhat disappointed.

Didn't you participate...?

Oh well, what bad luck.

Perhaps we'll just have to wait until next time.

Just as she put on a polite smile to hide her disappointment and was about to say something, Audrey suddenly noticed Grelint's expression.

She witnessed firsthand the entire process of his expression changing from a sigh to surprise, and then from surprise to eagerness. Even his eyes seemed to light up, like a student hearing the school bell ring.

Amazed by the richness of his changing expressions—perhaps he could be a theater actor—Audrey realized something and turned to look behind her, in the direction Grelint was looking.

A tall, imposing, and dashing figure stood at the entrance.

The lights in the banquet hall and the natural light of the afternoon sun shone on him from both inside and outside, illuminating his handsome face and casting a halo around his features.

Almost at the same moment Audrey looked back, his gaze met hers precisely.

It looked just like a hero's entrance in a play, Audrey thought to herself.

"Mr. Aleister!"

Audrey could hear the undisguised joy in Viscount Grelint's voice.

He almost immediately abandoned Audrey, who was still talking to him, and hurried to greet her: "It's so good to have you here! I thought you had some important research to do today."

"The goddess and fate gave me some inspiration."

An Ruowang lowered her hand from adjusting the brim of her hat, nodded to everyone, and walked into the banquet hall amidst their admiring gazes.

Because of the host Grelint's undisguised voice, everyone's attention was inevitably drawn to him.

Originally, after lunch, he would take a nap as usual to replenish the spirituality and energy lost from playing with his new toys.

After waking up, since the secret gathering of the Wild Extraordinary Ones was at 8 p.m., he had plenty of free time in the afternoon, so he casually did a divination to see what he should do.

So he came to the banquet hosted by Grynt today.

The servant at the entrance, seeing that it was An Ruowang alighting from the carriage, bowed and greeted him without even checking the invitation.

All the servants in this mansion recognized this face.

After all, even Viscount Grelint himself treated Tamara with utmost respect after researching Tamara's history, so his servants naturally had even more to say.

Audrey, who was temporarily left where she was, turned around gracefully and slowly, watching Grelint almost eagerly lead Mr. Aleister toward her.

"Please allow me to introduce you," Grylint said, standing between the two. "This is Miss Audrey Hall, daughter of Earl Hall, the most dazzling jewel of Backlund. Miss Audrey, and this is Mr. Aleister Mathers, whom you just asked about."

An Ruowang's gaze naturally fell on Audrey, the future first investor of the Tarot Club, "Justice".

Unable to tell whether it was because the other person was extraordinary or because of his outstanding appearance, Audrey still felt subconsciously nervous when he looked at her, even though she had checked that her clothes and appearance were impolite before going out.