Audrey met Miss Salted Fish's gaze. The lady—Miss Fors—looked to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, about one meter sixty-five tall. She was dressed in a cream-colored, ruffled high-collar gown. Her light brown hair hung in soft curls, and her pale blue eyes turned toward Audrey at the mention of her name by Viscount Glaint, a smile on her lips that seemed equal parts playful and mocking.
Even as an Spectator, Miss Justice failed to notice that behind those well-hidden eyes lay the dull, lifeless stare of a "dead fish."
Still, Audrey caught many small details—like the yellow stains on Fors' fingertips, evidence of a fondness for hand-rolled cigarettes.
A smoked fish indeed, Audrey thought.
Viscount Glaint introduced the two ladies to each other. Thus, a future member of the Tarot Club and a current one shared their first polite exchange.
In public, they spoke only briefly, saying little of substance. Audrey watched Fors head toward the dining table, her eyes locked on a slice of small buttered cake. Smiling faintly, Audrey turned back to follow Glaint toward the parlor.
What she had just witnessed, though, would one day become a rare early record of the "Salted Fish's" feeding habits—a small salted fish with a fondness for sweets. No wonder she later got along so well with Gehrman.
As Audrey recalled the encounter, she analyzed every minute detail, trying to grasp Fors' thoughts and gain an advantage for any future interactions.
Then her attention was suddenly drawn to a man across the room.
He was handsome, wearing a well-fitted black tailcoat, a round top hat edged in gold, and immaculate white gloves. In his hand was a cane—its pattern subtle from afar, but ornate upon closer inspection. Every inch of him exuded refinement and nobility.
Audrey didn't know this man, and yet she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. A bead of cold sweat formed at her temple.
"That man… that man…" She studied him closer, her unease growing.
"The hat he's wearing—that's Baron Patrick Jack's favorite style. Jack always liked to add gold trim to his hats. The tailcoat—designed by Cassius Duke, who also happens to wear that same style himself. The pocket watch hanging at his back—that's Viscount Gavin Gray's habit…" Audrey took a steadying breath. That doesn't prove anything. Maybe he was just inspired by them.
Still, she kept observing.
"His facial structure looks a lot like Mason Moreno's, though his forehead's a bit wider. The eyes—those are just like Miss Rieve Burles'. The rest of his features resemble Hughes Porzingis'…"
Perhaps sensing her gaze, the gentleman turned toward her. Their eyes met.
He smiled at Audrey with perfect gentlemanly grace, and Audrey returned the standard noble's polite smile.
When he turned away again, Audrey leaned toward her maid, Annie.
"Annie, do you know who that gentleman is—the one in the tailcoat, with the pocket watch at his back?"
Annie followed her line of sight and nodded. "That's Viscount Forth, miss. Svenliel Forth."
Audrey frowned slightly. The name did sound somewhat familiar—she might have seen or heard it somewhere before—but she couldn't recall when or where.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember anything about him. It was as if she'd only begun to know of him just now—and yet he already existed within her memory, as though he had always been there.
It was a strange, artificial familiarity.
As if he had been pieced together from fragments of different people.
As if he were… a fabrication.
Sairuis felt a sudden stir in his mind—the fabricated identity he'd woven for himself began to waver. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Audrey, and he knew. So, she's noticed.
Still, as long as she didn't expose him outright, the disguise would hold.
Sairuis' command over "Mystery" wasn't yet sufficient to construct two fully autonomous false identities. Therefore, the second disguise had to be personally maintained by him.
Watching Audrey, Viscount Glaint, and Miss Fors depart in succession, Sairuis stayed behind, continuing to chat with the other guests—anchoring himself deeper into their memories.
After all, when you enter the world of Mystery and the Fool, how could you not wear a mask?
(End of Chapter)