Chapter 309: A Dejected Hazel
The auditorium of the Backlund Police Headquarters had been transformed into a glittering banquet hall.
Huge crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daylight. The walls were decorated with exquisite oil paintings and gilded reliefs, and the air was filled with a complex scent of perfume, cigars, and high-end food.
"Hello, Mr. Roll."
"Hello, Ms. Hilly."
Hazel, dressed in a luxurious evening gown, was smiling and greeting people she knew or didn't know. Her demeanor and speech were quite generous and appropriate, without a hint of pettiness.
In her eyes, these distinguished high nobles were essentially the same as the commoners on the street. Therefore, she did not appear particularly restrained.
This was a kind of arrogance born of power, unique to immature Beyonders, but she herself had not yet fully realized this.
So far, the only ones who had made her feel different were her teacher and that bastard named James Scott.
But currently, her relationship with these two people appeared very subtle.
Her teacher had disappeared. She had tried to find his whereabouts, but there were no clues at all, which made her lose her greatest current reliance.
As for James Scott—the other party was definitely a Beyonder, and definitely much stronger than herself. He had been threatening her with her secret, but—though he called it a threat, he had never done anything substantial. This time, he even took the initiative to suggest that she manage that newly established foundation—
Because her father's investment failed, their family's current situation was not good. This "gift" sent by the other party would greatly improve her family's situation—although her father also provided him with some weapon sales channels, compared to this gift, the weight was much lighter.
And for some reason, she seemed—not as disgusted with that guy who always wore a playful smile as she was at the beginning.
In fact, there were some things she wasn't even clear about herself: how much attraction a powerful, mysterious male who held her secret but reached out to help and provide important opportunities at a critical moment would have for a teenage girl in the midst of puberty.
"This guy—what exactly does he mean—" Hazel pursed her lips.
She felt that since meeting him, everything she had encountered seemed like a dream, with an inexplicable sense of unreality.
"What's wrong? Not happy?"
Councilor Macht finished his conversation with Bishop Electra and walked over when he saw his daughter staying alone in the corner.
"I—" Hazel opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"It seems our 'hero' hasn't arrived yet, making our Miss Hazel a bit impatient." Councilor Macht joked.
"No! Dad! What are you talking about!" Hazel's face instantly turned bright red, full of shame and indignation.
Since the day she told her father about the foundation, she felt like her father had become a different person. In his words, his attitude toward James Scott no longer had the previous contempt. He even implicitly inquired about her relationship with him several times. This made her both angry and speechless—
Just then, the conversation in the venue suddenly stopped.
Is Scott here? Hazel looked toward the sound curiously.
However, the person who came was not the figure who always wore a playful smile—but a noble girl with emerald-like eyes, a face of indescribable pure beauty, and long hair as moist as gold, who seemed to be glowing herself.
Just her presence alone made the ladies and madams around her in their gorgeous dresses instantly pale in comparison.
That was Audrey Hall, Backlund's most dazzling jewel.
Hazel was also a bit dazed for a moment. Always proud, she suddenly felt a hint of inferiority at this moment. She believed that such a radiant young lady, even without extraordinary powers, would definitely not be any worse than her. In some aspects, the other party was even much stronger than her.
Hazel subconsciously pursed her lips tightly, her gaze quickly scanning the surroundings, finding that almost all the guests' eyes were involuntarily attracted by the other party, though the emotions in their eyes varied: admiration, envy, awe,
desire—
She lowered her head, a hint of dejection quietly taking root in her heart. She had never been so popular.
She turned her head to look aside, only to find that her father was no longer there. Presumably, he had gone to talk with Earl Hall.
"Sigh—"
"I seem to see someone being dejected here all by themselves—" a playful voice suddenly came from beside her.
Hazel snapped her head around and found Lorne looking at her with a smile.
"You—when did you get here?" she asked in surprise, her heartbeat inexplicably quickening a bit.
"I came in behind Earl Hall and the others. Unfortunately—" Lorne shrugged, "unfortunately, everyone's attention was caught by 'Backlund's most dazzling jewel,' and no one noticed me at all."
This was the truth. And precisely because of this, he took the opportunity to come over and show his face to Hazel. After all, no one cared about this 'hero' right now.
"And you? Weren't you attracted?" Hazel asked subconsciously.
"If I were attracted, how would I have noticed you being dejected here alone?"
"Who's dejected!" Hazel retorted, then turned her face away.
"Yes, yes, yes—you're just here contemplating life." Lorne comforted her jokingly for a few words, then also cast his gaze toward the figure who had become the center of attention.
"Hiss—Backlund's most dazzling jewel really lives up to her reputation—" Lorne murmured to himself.
Although they had met once before in a luxury store, this was the first time he had looked at her so openly. Moreover, this time the other party was wearing an exquisite dress and was carefully made up.
She is indeed very beautiful, a typical, flawless noble young lady—Lorne commented in his heart.
Looking purely at appearance, she was the most beautiful among all the women he had ever seen.
But—the way she looked at the surrounding guests made Lorne notice something slightly off. Especially, she also had a familiar aura about her.
This made Lorne feel a bit strange.
Fors and the others had said that Miss Audrey was a newcomer in the field of mysticism; even if she were a Beyonder, she should only be Sequence 9. But now it seemed, perhaps more than that.
"Hey!"
Seeing Lorne really turn his gaze over and even keep staring at Audrey, Hazel got a bit anxious. She inexplicably had an urge to reach out and cover his eyes.
"More than Sequence 9—" Lorne withdrew his gaze from Audrey, turned to Hazel, and said in a low voice, "Actually, you don't need to be so inferior."
"Inferior? I'm not!" Before Hazel could finish, she was interrupted by Lorne in an even lower voice.
"She is likely—just like us, a Beyonder."
"Really? How do you know?"
"Intuition." Lorne said in a charlatan-like tone.
"You—" Hazel was somewhat speechless.
"Her Sequence is likely higher than yours, but not by much." Lorne estimated that she probably hadn't reached the Mid-Sequences yet, likely at the level of Sequence 8.
"Work harder, and you will surpass her."
"You mean, as long as I advance, I can surpass her? In all aspects?" Hazel suddenly became excited.
Looking at her eyes shining with light, Lorne did not deny her words, but just nodded slightly.
Indeed, I won't lose to her—Hazel clenched her palms.
But not long after this thought arose, the cold reality made her dejected once again.
Her teacher had disappeared, and she had no way to obtain more miraculous and powerful strength. Then, would she forever be unable to compare to the other party—
"Hey—" She looked at Lorne hesitantly, with a hint of hope in her eyes, "Do you—do you have a way for me to obtain further—" Her teacher was gone, and the man in front of her seemed to be the only channel she could contact that was deeply related to the Beyonder world.
But Lorne focused his attention on another person in the distance.
"Excuse me. I see an acquaintance and need to go say hello."
With that, Lorne just left.
"Hey, where are you going?" Hazel looked at the receding Lorne, somewhat dazed.
Sherlock Moriarty? Why would this ordinary detective appear on such an occasion? I wonder how his investigation into that Will Auceptin matter is going.
With doubt, Lorne walked toward Klein, who was staying in a corner waiting for Charles to talk business with others.
But just halfway there, he heard a burst of suppressed exclamations from around him.
He looked over and saw a young man with a rounded face and narrow eyes slowly walking into the hall. Beside him was a middle-aged man with a serious expression and a cold face.
"It's people from the royal family!" Bursts of discussion reached Lorne's ears.
"I didn't expect people from the royal family to come. This party was worth coming to."
"Who are those two?" Lorne took the opportunity to ask a well-informed gentleman nearby.
"That is Count Lustin, Prince Edessak. Beside him is his uncle, Duke Sivier, His Excellency Henry Augustus."
A prince and his uncle? Lorne muttered in his heart. For a charity ball led by the police and the church, and not of the highest scale, was it necessary to disturb these two big figures?
He curiously looked at the royal uncle and nephew a few more times.
Hmm—a middle-aged Duke who looks quite serious and old-fashioned, fitting my stereotype of such old-school nobles.
However, the moment his gaze inadvertently met that of Prince Edessak, a cold chill rushed up his spine without warning! He almost subconsciously took half a step back.
"He shouldn't appear on this kind of occasion."
This thought appeared in Lorne's mind as if by divine providence.
This prince—his fortune is very strange! It seems like he's encountered some big trouble.