Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 113 Audrey: Read my eye! Ember: Understood.

"Really."

Hugh placed the beautifully packaged cake on the table from the room, then sat down on the sofa with her arms crossed, complaining, "I even took a whole day to prepare for your birthday. I had to order this cake from Royal Violet Bakery months in advance."

Royal Violet Bakery – as the name suggests, this is a shop that has received a 'royal certificate' from the Royal Family of Ruen.

These stores that have received royal warrants are usually extremely popular.

To order a cake from them, you have to book at least two months in advance. And the prices are extremely high, making them unaffordable even for the average middle-class person.

But what Xiu never expected was that his meticulous preparations for Fors's birthday months in advance would result in betrayal.

"I'm doing this for your own good."

Fors looked at her with a pitiful expression and said weakly.

Hugh showed her no mercy, retorting without hesitation, "People always like to impose their will on others, and then call it 'it's all for your own good.'"

"Did Emperor Roselle also say that?"

Yu Jin, who was sitting to the side watching the show, suddenly asked.

"You still dare to say that!"

Fors puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "If it weren't for you, things wouldn't have turned out like this!"

Hugh retorted irritably, "If it weren't for Ember, you weren't planning to never tell me, were you? Fors, if you really did that, do you think I'd feel at ease?"

"Even if I successfully advance to Sequence 7, I'll definitely regret it for the rest of my life!"

"So I know I was wrong!"

"Knowing you're wrong is no use! Starting tomorrow, you'd better seriously play the magician!"

"Huh? You don't really want me to go to the circus and perform acrobatics, do you?!"

"That's still better than lying at home all day. Anyway, no matter how much you lie around, your potion won't be digested. Besides, clowns do acrobatics, you're a magician, why don't you go do some magic tricks?"

"But even if it's digested, what then?"

Fors muttered, "In the end, we still don't have any money, do we?"

Regarding this issue.

Yu Jin looked at the two of them with some doubt, "Can't you borrow money?"

"Borrow money?"

Hugh and Fors exchanged a glance, then turned their gazes toward Ember.

"You mean, I want to borrow it from you?"

Fors sat up straight and asked with great interest, "How much can you lend us?"

"It's not impossible."

Yu Jin pondered for two seconds, then nodded slightly.

Anyway, he's not short of money.

"It's not that it's impossible? Who were you originally going to talk about?"

Hugh frowned slightly and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Miss Justice"

Without a second thought, Yu Jin said, "She will provide 'loan' services to members of the Tarot Club."

"justice?"

Fors blinked. "You admit you're lovers?"

"When did I ever deny it?"

"Ember asked in return," Yu Jin replied.

"And what about Miss Justice? Is she Miss Audrey?"

Ember glanced at Hugh, who had asked the question, and said, "I suggest you ask Justice himself about this."

"All right."

Hugh didn't dwell on it, but after thinking for a moment, he asked seriously, "How much can Miss Justice lend me?"

"I suggest you ask Justice himself."

Ember repeated himself, but added at the end, "But I reckon the key issue isn't how much Miss Justice can borrow, but how much you can borrow."

"..."

Fors opened her mouth, hesitated, but wisely chose to remain silent.

If Miss Justice really is Miss Audrey.

It seems she really isn't short of money at all.

Even if both of them need to advance to Sequence 7, the total cost will not exceed £6000.

For ordinary people, this amount of money is more than they could earn in a lifetime.

But for Miss Audrey, this was probably just a few months' worth of pocket money.

"If Miss Justice is willing to lend me the money, that would be best."

Xiu breathed a sigh of relief, even though the money had to be repaid.

But at least they no longer have to worry about who gets promoted first.

As for the issue of repaying the money.

Once they advance to Sequence 7 and gain greater strength, repaying their debts will naturally become easier.

"Oh, right, Ember, there's something I forgot to tell you."

Fors suddenly spoke, drawing Ember's attention, and asked in a low voice, "Do you remember Will Unsetin?"

"Who?"

Yu Jin didn't react for a moment.

Fors explained, "Well, it's the little boy who was the patient I had during my first surgery at Backlund Central Hospital."

"He...I..."

Fors gathered her thoughts and hesitated before saying, "I used to dream about him a lot. In my dreams, he would tell me that he was dead and that I should stop bothering him."

"When?"

Yu Jin was slightly surprised and pressed for an answer.

"It was probably around the beginning of September."

After thinking for a moment, Foll replied.

"Early September?"

Yu Jin tapped the table lightly with his fingers, lost in thought.

At that time, he had just been drawn into the world of painting, which meant that no sooner had he left than the other party became entangled with Fors.

Do you remember the date of your surgery?

Yu Jin pondered for a moment and then asked.

"Tuesday, December 21th."

Fors answered immediately without thinking.

It was from that day on that he underwent a full week of surgery to complete the digestion of the potion!

That day marked the beginning of the most exhausting week of her life.

Therefore, she has a particularly deep impression of this day!

Where does he live?

Yu Jin thought for a moment, then asked.

"I have no idea."

Fors shook her head, but Hugh immediately replied, "North District, 66 Dalton Street."

"stop?!"

Fors' eyes widened. "Didn't you promise me you wouldn't investigate without my permission?"

"I didn't conduct any investigation without authorization."

A sly glint flashed in Hugh's eyes as he smiled and said, "I just found out his address by chance."

"Nobody would believe you."

Fors puffed out her cheeks, "Your excuse only works on idiots!"

How could it have been discovered by accident!

How long did the dream last? How frequently did it occur?

Yu Jin thought for a moment, then asked.

"From the beginning of September until September 23rd, it happened about once a week. Since I started reciting the name of Mr. Fool, I haven't dreamed of him again. But a few days ago..."

Fors paused for a moment before continuing, "October 10th, which is six days ago, last Wednesday, a blood moon appeared at night, and I had to urgently ask Mr. Fool for help."

"But before that, I seemed to vaguely see the shadow of Will Unsettin."

"He wants to harm you?!"

Hugh looked surprised and angry. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"I was afraid you'd worry..."

Under Hugh's angry glare, Fors's voice grew softer and softer.

"It's because you didn't tell me that I'm worried!"

"Okay, okay, it's my fault. I'm fine now, aren't I?"

Fors patted Hugh's head to comfort him.

"Whatever his purpose may be, I will visit him tomorrow."

After a moment's thought, Yu Jin said, "Try to stay home as much as possible these days."

Ember always felt that Will Unsett was seducing him.

If he did nothing, I would have almost forgotten he existed.

After all, he wasn't exactly a fire-resistant creature to begin with, and in an era before the gods had fallen, one more wouldn't have made a difference.

But the other party took the initiative to come to him, telling Yu Jin not to come looking for him.

But isn't this just a classic case of trying to hide something obvious?

Since he invited him so enthusiastically, Yu Jin couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.

"oh oh."

Fors nodded obediently like a chick pecking at rice, and said, "I'll try not to go out. Could I have Kurara instead?"

"..."

Ember glanced at Fors speechlessly and took out the bell.

"Ring ring~"

Amidst the crisp sound of the bells, the figures of the Kurara sisters quietly emerged.

"Hehehe~ My Kurara~ Long time no see~"

Hugh opened his collar and let the shrunken Kuraris crawl inside, while Fors immediately hugged Kuraris and started acting crazy.

Hugh rolled his eyes at her and said irritably, "At least wait until you've finished eating the cake before you go crazy, okay?"

This is a cake that she ordered a long time in advance and waited in line for more than two months to finally get!

Yu Jin shook his head, not wanting to disturb them.

He turned and left the house.

He can't rest yet because he still has a lot of work to do.

……

15 Minsk Street.

Klein sat at the table, lost in thought.

This morning, he visited the Roselle memorial exhibition at the Kingdom Museum. Organized by the Church of Steam and Machinery, the exhibition displays numerous original manuscripts and artifacts related to Emperor Roselle's inventions.

The reason he suddenly decided to visit this memorial exhibition was because he had seen Russell's diary presented by members of the Tarot Club. Although it still contained a large amount of obscure material, a small portion of it was of extremely high value.

For example:

"On January 20th, I prepared the second blasphemous card."

"Let me think, let me think, where should I hide it?"

"Hmm, I plan to disguise it as a bookmark and slip it into a very valuable book. Unless the recipient is destined to find it, they'll hardly imagine that the most valuable item in such a valuable book is actually that inconspicuous bookmark!"

"Great idea, that's a good one!"

Although this passage is short, it reveals a very important piece of information—

That is, Russell once disguised a "blasphemous card" as a bookmark and tucked it into a book.

At today's commemorative exhibition, Klein noticed that many books had bookmarks attached, and these bookmarks were all different in shape. One book in particular caught his attention and became his primary suspect: Emperor Roselle's plagiarized manuscript.

However, there were too many people at the exhibition during the day.

To avoid arousing the suspicion of the Steam Church, Klein did not dare to make a move.

But that doesn't mean he'll give up.

He didn't have much of a chance to verify whether the bookmark was a blasphemous card, but he wasn't acting alone.

As his thoughts raced, Klein began analyzing among the people he knew who he could find help.

Gradually, he simply settled on a partner:

Miss Justice.

Klein sighed, drew the curtains, rubbed his cheeks, and began to pray to himself:

"A fool who doesn't belong to this era;"

"The Mysterious Ruler Above the Gray Fog;"

"The King of Yellow and Black, who holds the key to good fortune."

I pray for some help;

"I pray someone can help me access that bookmark tucked inside Russell's creative manuscript;"

"Help me do some very small, hard-to-detect damage to it and tell me what the reaction is. You can silently recite the Hermes or Old Hermes words corresponding to the Pirate King during this process."

"No matter who offers help, even if there is no response, I am willing to give them £500 as a reward, which will be deducted from the £5000 that has not yet been paid."

"If there is a response, I am willing to give more."

After doing all this, Klein waited a moment before entering the gray fog and saw the light screen displaying his prayer.

He had already consulted the oracle; sneaking into the Kingdom Museum at night to steal the bookmarks was somewhat dangerous, but not extremely so.

So all that's left is to find someone to help test whether the bookmark is real.

As Klein analyzed the message, he quickly extracted the message of his prayer, thickened and increased the amount of mosaic, and slightly distorted his voice before throwing it into the illusory star symbolizing "Miss Justice".

"Hopefully nothing unexpected will happen."

Klein thought to himself.

Just making some small tests shouldn't pose too much risk, right?

Meanwhile, inside the Earl of Hall's luxurious villa in Queens.

Audrey sat at her dressing table, contemplating how to quickly flip through and memorize Russell's diary without arousing suspicion when she visited the Russell memorial exhibition that evening.

Suddenly, everything around her became hazy, with an endless expanse of grayish-white mist surging out.

In the center of that gray fog, the figure of the "Fool" sat high, listening to the prayer of a man so indistinct he could not be seen at all.

When Audrey heard those pleading words, she blinked.

After a brief hesitation, she accepted, since she was going to visit the Russell memorial exhibition anyway.

As for how to cause some minor damage...

Audrey pondered, her gaze sweeping aimlessly over the various items on the dressing table, before suddenly fixing on the open jewelry box and a pair of gemstone earrings adorned with delicate pins.

Her lips curled up slightly, her eyebrows arched slightly, and she said as if talking to herself:

"Yes, although I can complete the task by myself."

"But just to be on the safe side, it's best to have someone assist you."

"Susie is just right..."

"Miss, are you inside?"

Lost in thought, Audrey heard someone knocking on the door, and some distorted sounds coming from outside the corridor.

From the footsteps and the corresponding rhythm, she recognized that it was her personal maid, Anne.

"I'm here, come in."

Audrey glanced in the mirror, composed herself, straightened her hair, and straightened her back.

"Click~"

Anne opened the door and smiled, "Miss, I have some good news to tell you."

"Huh? What's the good news?"

Audrey blinked curiously, like a naive young lady.

Anne smiled and said, "Viscount Black is downstairs, and Lady Caitlin is entertaining him there."

After a pause, Anne winked at Audrey. "He seems to have come specifically to see you, Miss."

"Huh?"

Audrey immediately exclaimed in surprise, her pretty face flushing slightly as if she were a little flustered, "I...I'll put on my makeup first, I'll be right downstairs."

"Yes, miss."

A mischievous glint flashed in Anne's eyes as she bowed slightly and left the room.

Unbeknownst to Anne, the moment she closed the door to block Audrey's view, Audrey's expression returned to normal in a very short time.

Has Mr. "Lover" returned?

"Hmm~, last time during the Tarot meeting, he and Mr. Alger were already less than two days away from Port Pritz."

"Judging by the time, Mr. Lover arrived in Port Pritz around this morning."

The girl fiddled with her smooth blonde hair, repeatedly wrapping strands around her fingers and then quickly unwinding them, her fair and beautiful face filled with a thoughtful expression.

Although she appeared calm on the surface, the girl's feelings seemed somewhat complicated and conflicted.

Her father discovered her connection with Yu Jin.

In order to avoid revealing the existence of the Tarot Club, she chose to pretend to be a young girl experiencing her first love.

This would conveniently conceal the existence of the Tarot Club.

At the same time, it can also effectively explain her relationship with Yu Jin.

And indeed, that was the case; the father had no doubts about their relationship.

She even invited Yu Jin to become her tutor.

Well, although this tutor is completely incompetent, having worked only a few days in total so far.

However, considering the flexible work schedule that Ember had at the Church of the Night, he could be considered quite competent on his own.

Now back

The only problem is...

"How should I face my mother?"

"Well, I don't want to appear too enthusiastic."

"But being too indifferent won't work either."

"Hmm~"

Audrey fell into deep thought.

But soon she wouldn't need to worry about this issue anymore.

Because footsteps could be heard outside the door again.

"Not Annie."

Audrey listened to the footsteps and rhythm outside the door, finding them very familiar but unable to immediately identify any particular servant.

Until she heard a knock on the door.

"May I come inside?"

"Mr. Lover."

The girl looked somewhat surprised, patted her cheeks, and said softly, "Please come in."

"Click~"

Yu Jin pushed open the door and entered, then quickly closed it again after entering the room.

Through the crack in the door, Audrey also saw Susie lying on the floor winking at her.

"..."

Audrey was speechless. "Susie, what are you doing, Susie?!"

Audrey sighed inwardly, thinking that Susie had been hanging out with Annie and the others all day and had gone astray.

Audrey opened her mouth, about to say hello.

But then suddenly, he heard faint footsteps outside the door—

It's like someone is walking on tiptoe, and there's more than one person doing it.

"How...how did you get up here?"

Audrey's expression shifted slightly, a blush crept onto her cheeks, and she stammered nervously.

Ember shrugged. "Lady Caitlin asked me to come up and talk to you."

"Oh, I see... So... when did you get back?"

"I just arrived in Pulitzer Bay this morning and took the steam train back to Backlund at 2 p.m.

"Hmm~"

Audrey lowered her head, seemingly unsure of what to say next. After a moment, her face slightly flushed, she said, "Ash, could you... could you tell me about your experiences at sea these past few days?"

"sure."

Yu Jin smiled and nodded, pretending to ponder for a moment, before recounting his experience of "going to sea" in a half-fabricated and half-stitched manner.

"Hmm, where should I begin? I started from Port Pritz, and my first stop was Damir Island..."

I heard conversation coming from inside the house.

Not long after, the faint sound of a woman covering her mouth and giggling could be heard from outside the door.

A moment later, footsteps came from outside the door and gradually faded away.

It seemed that the woman had left the corridor, satisfied.

"Really."

Audrey's expression returned to normal instantly, and she said with some distress, "Why is even Mom like this?"

She recognized the footsteps as belonging to Lady Caitlin, and even the snickering sound was hers.

But why would a mother want to see her daughter make a fool of herself?

"Isn't it because they care about you?"

Ember shrugged and sat down on a chair nearby.

Audrey looked somewhat helpless and sighed softly.

Really.

I should have pretended to have a different relationship from the beginning. Now that things are going on like this, it's going to be very difficult to end.

Moreover, thankfully Dad wasn't home, otherwise the situation would probably have become even more complicated.

but.

The arrival of the embers doesn't seem like a bad thing.

"Hmm~, embers."

Audrey composed herself and said softly, "Just now, Mr. Fool's retinue commissioned me to do something subtle and imperceptible to a bookmark at the Roselle commemorative exhibition."

After thinking for a moment, Audrey added, "That bookmark seems to contain some very important secrets. Mr. Fool's family values ​​it so much that they've offered an unlimited price for it."

"I accepted the commission, but it's difficult for me to do it without anyone noticing. So..."

Audrey blinked. "Ember, are you coming?"

"Can."

Ember was somewhat surprised, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded slightly.

Although he wasn't particularly interested in Russell's diary.

But he didn't have much else to do, so accompanying Audrey on the trip wasn't a bad idea.

Ember thought for a moment, then asked, "How's your mind-reading potion digesting?"

"Just a little bit more."

Audrey's lips curled up slightly, her smile bright, and she said in a light tone, "I estimate I should be able to finish digesting it by the end of the month, at which time I will also be able to become a mid-sequence Extraordinary."

She only became an extraordinary person through the audience route in early July.

By the end of August, she had been promoted to mind reader.

And now, just over a month later, she will soon be able to fully digest the potion.

And most importantly, she has obtained all the potions she needs to advance to the 'psychiatrist' level.

Once the potion is digested, you can immediately advance in rank.

In less than four months, he went from an ordinary person to a Sequence 7 Intermediate Extraordinary.

Such speed is undoubtedly unimaginable for ordinary people!

Even with the aid of acting techniques, her speed is still among the fastest.

Although she has become accustomed to hiding her emotions due to her audience's perspective.

But this doesn't mean she wouldn't feel excited and proud inside; she just doesn't often show it.

"ember."

Audrey winked at Ember and said slyly, "I think you should be able to prepare the Sequence 6 potion recipe for me in advance. I want to collect the main ingredients ahead of time. Hmm, it would be best if, like the last few times, I could complete the collection of the main ingredients before digesting the potion."

The Sequence 7 potion recipe costs 800 pounds, and with all the materials, she spent a total of 2300 pounds.

Sequence 6 will only be more expensive.

Although theoretically, a Sequence 6 potion recipe only costs less than 1600 pounds.

However, the higher the sequence, the less likely the potion recipes are to circulate.

This results in potion recipes of medium to high quality usually having a very high premium.

Based on market prices, a Sequence 6 potion recipe could even cost as much as 3000 pounds!

At Sequence 6, the cost of each of the main ingredients required to prepare the potion is no less than 2000 pounds.

In other words, it would cost at least £7000 to complete the promotion!

Even for Audrey, this was a considerable burden.

Because this is equivalent to her allowance for a full six months.

This situation was even more precarious, especially considering that she also had to pay a monthly 'rental fee' for the Ember Sacrifice Ring.

However, this is not really a big problem.

After all, although she was poor, her father, Earl Hall, was rich!

£7000 is less than one percent of the Hall family’s annual income.

It's just a small amount of money!

Audrey thought to herself with a pleasant mood.

"no problem."

Ember nodded slightly, then poured cold water on Audrey's enthusiasm, "However, most of the Sequence pathways possessed by the Church of the Goddess of the Night only go up to Sequence 5. After all, major powers are extremely strict about keeping high-sequence potion recipes secret, and the Church isn't omnipotent. Therefore, you'll have to find potion recipes for Sequence 4 and above on your own."

"Sequence 5."

Audrey pursed her lips, her feelings somewhat complicated.

Just a few months ago, she was an ordinary noblewoman full of longing for an extraordinary world.

But now she has reached the threshold of becoming a mid-sequence extraordinary being.

Even the demigods who were once high above and could only be looked up to seem to be within easy reach.

It's important to know that even within the Church of the True Gods, demigods are highly sought-after high-level combatants!

"This is not a problem I should be thinking about right now."

Audrey shook her head, her tone still light and cheerful, and said with a smile, "I'm still a long way from becoming a Sequence 4 demigod, and besides, that's not something that can be achieved overnight, is it?"

The rapid advancement of low-order sequences does not necessarily mean that the same applies to medium- and high-order sequences.

It now takes less than two months to digest a magic potion, but in the intermediate stages it may take at least six months.

Based on that calculation, it will still be at least a year before she becomes a Sequence 5.

She doesn't need to think about things that far ahead.

not to mention.

Isn't there still the all-powerful Mr. Fool?

With Mr. Fool around, we can use our accumulated merits to exchange for the potion recipe, right?

"Achoo!"

At 15 Minsk Street, Klein touched his nose and looked around warily.

Could it be that a villain is plotting to harm me?

……

Six o'clock in the afternoon.

The Kingdom Museum saw off its last group of visitors.

But soon, they welcomed a new group of visitors—

A delegation of visitors consisting of daughters of counts, children of dukes, young viscounts, and other distinguished individuals.

These noble children, of course, would not mingle with commoners to visit the exhibition, so they chose to come after the Kingdom Museum closed, and were received by special personnel.

Audrey and Ember were among them.

"In the gloom of Backlund, she was like the bright sun."

At that moment, Max Livemores, the captain of the West District squad of "Mechanical Heart" who was in charge of guarding the exhibition, was admiringly looking at the blonde, blue-eyed girl to his side.

But when his gaze fell upon the young man beside the girl, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

"It's a pity that such a gem is covered in dust!"

At this moment, Audrey, like a noble lady with great curiosity about everything in the outside world, was looking with great interest at the toilet inlaid with gold leaf and carved with intricate patterns.

"Is this the first flush toilet in the modern sense?"

"Yes, I personally believe that this is one of Russell's outstanding contributions to human civilization. It and its accompanying sewer system transformed Trier from a place full of, well, full of filth."

The guide originally wanted to say the word "feces," but after looking at the girl in front of him, he felt that he should not lose his elegant demeanor.

Viscount Grelint chuckled from the side:

"Why are you so curious about this too? No matter how old it is, it's still just a toilet."

The other noblemen who were on good terms with them all laughed.

"No, Grylint, you don't understand. This is the glory of human civilization."

Audrey responded with a faint smile, internally making a vomiting face.

If it weren't for fulfilling the request of Mr. Fool's followers, I wouldn't want to do this.

She sighed helplessly.

Although there were still embers, Audrey had already figured out the division of labor between the two sides before she came.

The other party will only be responsible for covering for him.

Furthermore, given Yu Jin's image, he is indeed not suitable to play a naive and innocent young girl.

Audrey imagined the scene in her mind and couldn't help but laugh.

"Pfft~"

"Um?"

Ember cast a questioning glance, which immediately made Audrey look away as if she were doing something wrong, and she pretended to be curious as she walked to the other exhibits.

soon.

Led by the guide, the group entered the exhibition hall containing Russell's diary.

Audrey showed great interest as always, requesting to carefully examine something in each exhibition hall, and her requests were generally granted.

The guide could neither refuse the beautiful young woman's request nor refuse her request.

Because she was the most dazzling jewel in Backlund, and the daughter of Earl Hall.

No one would refuse her request unless she intended to take all of these things home.

Yu Jin also glanced at a diary entry in the exhibition hall.

"May 21st, Mrs. Alice is wonderful!"

"May 22nd, hmm, her daughter is pretty good too."

"May 24th, wow, Mrs. Alice actually has a little granddaughter with the same name as her. But to distinguish them, let's call her Little Alice. You wouldn't believe it, Little Alice is already 19 years old, yet she still has such a petite and lovely figure. Mrs. Alice is also quite nice; she doesn't look like someone who's almost sixty at all, she looks at most in her twenties."

"On May 25th, Little Alice was wearing white stockings and stepped on me yesterday, I'm so happy!"

"Hmm, I've found myself becoming somewhat infatuated with Alice; the white stockings are really nice."

"On May 27th, Alice's husband suddenly came to visit, which startled me. He asked me if I knew where Alice was. Hehe, how did he know that when he asked that question, Alice was hiding in my arms, only a blanket away from him?"

"June 4th, I'm getting tired of it, a little tired of it. White stockings are nice, but you get tired of them after a while. But little Alice came again today, and she brought one of her sisters, another one wearing white stockings!"

"AWSL! White stockings never get old! White stockings are forever the best!"

"On June 10th, Mrs. Alice suddenly stormed into my door, berating me for being so obsessed with her granddaughter."

Yu Jin expressionlessly withdrew his gaze and followed the group that was preparing to head to other exhibition halls.

at last.

They walked and stopped along the way until they arrived at the restored study where Russell had lived.

When the guide introduced the 'creative manuscript,' the girl's eyes lit up and she spoke:

"May I take a look? I want to see what the great inventor Russell's manuscripts look like and what ingenious ideas they contain."

"No problem, beautiful Miss Hall, esteemed Viscount Grelint, you may both take a look, oh."

If any of you are devout believers in the church, you may even be able to apply for a copy.

The guide answered based on Max's hint.

As a devout follower of the goddess, Audrey could only respond with a faint smile, unable to speak.

At the same time, she pretended to flip her hair, reached out and touched her right ear, and quietly removed the earring.

Immediately afterwards, the glass covering the desk was opened, and Audrey stepped forward, pressed down on the manuscript, casually pulled out the bookmark, and turned a page at random.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, a soft sound.

A startled cry seemed to come from nearby, drawing the attention of everyone around.

Looking to the side, I realized that Yu Jin had accidentally swept the ink bottle off the table.

As the ink bottle fell to the ground, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

But just as the ink bottle was about to hit the ground and shatter, Ember caught it with lightning speed.

Immediately, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"I apologize for my oversight."

Yu Jin put the ink bottle back on the table and said somewhat apologetically.

"No, it's okay."

The guide breathed a sigh of relief, but then added, "Please be careful, especially when handling items that are easily damaged."

"Honestly, how could Miss Audrey have taken a liking to such a reckless young man?"

Max frowned, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

However, given the other party's status as a nobleman and the fact that no items had actually been damaged, he couldn't very well step forward to reprimand him.

Taking this opportunity, Audrey, having finished her probing, threw the earring in her hand to the ground, then turned her head and looked at it, saying:

"Excuse me, my earring fell off."

The maid quickly came closer, picked up the earring, and helped her put it on.

This brief interlude passed quickly, and everyone's attention returned to the manuscript.

"How could you be so careless?"

Audrey walked over to Ember and said something that sounded somewhat reproachful.

"It was my fault."

Yu Jin raised his hands, looking helpless. "It was right on the edge, and I almost dropped it without noticing. But it's okay, isn't it? It's just an ink bottle, how much could it be worth?"

"That's not just an ink bottle!"

Audrey seemed a little angry, and said with annoyance, "You don't understand at all! That's Emperor Roselle's relic, it's..."

"It is the glory of human civilization."

Yu Jin chimed in, with a nonchalant expression, "I understand, I understand."

Audrey puffed out her cheeks and glared at him angrily.

This scene immediately made the people around them gloat.

Not only the sons of nobles, but also Max, the guard, were among them.

After all, no one wants Backlund's most dazzling gem to be swindled out of its possession.

Even if someone's going to be scammed, they should be the ones doing the scamming!

It's good that we've broken up; it would be best if we just broke up on the spot!

Max thought with no small amount of malice.

Unfortunately.

Audrey had her back to them, so no one saw the subtle hints in the girl's eyes.

Otherwise, they should realize that this is all an act.

soon.

Many of the visiting noblemen showed great interest in the manuscripts, taking turns to look through them and even occasionally expressing their admiration.

They may not be genuinely interested; they are more likely simply hoping to curry favor with Backlund's most dazzling gem.

But this only made Audrey, who was still watching from the sidelines, smile faintly, and occasionally roll her eyes at Ember beside her.

It was as if she was saying to him, "See? It's not me who's wrong, it's you who has no taste!"

As if provoked, Yu Jin walked towards the booth without saying a word.

This made Max wary, fearing he might tear up the manuscript in a fit of anger, but—

That would be good if that were the case.

A cold smile crept across Max's lips.

He will stop the other person and teach them a lesson they'll never forget.

At the same time, Miss Audrey must realize that she has chosen the wrong person!

This is just another good-looking but rotten-hearted playboy.

however.

To his disappointment, the embers showed no sign of wanting to tear it apart violently.

He casually flipped through it for a while, then tossed the manuscript back onto the display stand, saying indifferently:

"generally!"

"Oh."

Max was so angry he laughed, but he knew he was in the position of a security guard and had no right to reprimand the other party.

So he just walked up with a cold face and confirmed it again.

Upon discovering that the bookmarks for the manuscript were sticking out, I put them back in and closed the glass cover again.

Meanwhile, as expected, Miss Audrey started sulking at Ember again.

He ignored Yu Jin no matter how he tried to talk to him.

This offered Max some comfort.

Max gave the guide a subtle nod.

The guide quickly understood and immediately led the group out of the study and towards other exhibition halls.

In the next exhibition hall, Miss Audrey continued to show great interest.

Ember, standing nearby, seemed to be trying to salvage the situation, occasionally chiming in, but each time he only received a soft snort from Miss Audrey.

Even after leaving the museum, their relationship seemed to remain strained.

Even the maids were a little worried.

"Who let you come up here?"

Audrey boarded the carriage and looked at Ember, who was also preparing to board, and said with dissatisfaction.

"You can't expect me to walk back, can you?"

Yu Jin shrugged and shamelessly squeezed in.

Audrey simply puffed out her cheeks but did not voice any further objections.

This scene undoubtedly made those who saw it secretly curse it as shameless, but in reality, they were all extremely jealous.

Max, in particular, had been waiting for Miss Audrey to refuse him.

If Miss Audrey refused, he would rush up and pull the boy off his horse.

Unfortunately, he didn't get that opportunity.

It was already evening, and Backlund, where the sun was rarely seen, was already shrouded in darkness, with the gas streetlights turning on one after another.

The carriage moved silently through the streets, heading north towards Queens.

The two people inside the carriage seemed to have had a disagreement, and remained silent the entire way.

In the end, it was Ember who took the initiative to admit his mistake and finally managed to calm Audrey down.

When they arrived back at the Hall family's villa, Yu Jin got out of the car first.

He reached out his hand to the girl in the car.

"uh-huh?"

Audrey raised her snow-white neck, deliberately ignoring him, and instead got out of the car from the other side, led by a maid.

Earl Hall had also returned home and was standing at the door with Caitlin.

She looked at the two of them with a motherly smile.

They had already learned from the maid that the two had a falling out, but they didn't take it seriously.

It's normal for young people to have some minor disagreements with each other.

A little comforting is all it takes.

Ember watched Audrey return home, and said with a slightly embarrassed expression, "Count, Lady Caitlin, I must take my leave now."

"No rush."

Earl Hall chuckled and said, "Dinner is being prepared. Have dinner before you go back. Also..."

Earl Hall gave Ember a look and said in a knowing tone, "Girls need to be coaxed. Go up and have a good talk with Audrey."

Yu Jin touched his nose and did not insist on refusing.

As if he was just missing an excuse, he turned and went up the stairs.

Guided by the maid, they entered the room that Audrey had deliberately left open.

The maid outside the corridor smiled slightly, as if she could tell that her mistress had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Upon entering the room, Audrey still looked sullen.

Once the embers closed the door, Audrey's expression immediately calmed down, and she asked with some curiosity,

"How is it?"

"It went very smoothly."

Ember nodded and said something that left Audrey somewhat puzzled.

Then, she saw a note in Yu Jin's palm, and her eyes widened.

She looked at Yu Jin, and Yu Jin looked at her; they remained silent.

P.S.: The Chinese national football team made an outstanding contribution to the ban on gambling during the World Cup.

(End of this chapter)