Part 1 The Joker Chapter 84 Elizabeth
Seeing the puzzled look in his sister’s eyes, Klein suddenly felt that this was an opportunity to look the other party up and down a few times with a serious expression:
”Melissa, you don’t have enough respect for today’s dinner either.”
”What?” Melissa had a puzzled look on her face.
Klein pointed at her neck and said:
”As a lady, you’re still missing a necklace that embellishes this place.”
Without waiting for his sister to say anything, he grinned and pulled a silver amulet flanked by angel feathers from his pocket:
”Luckily, I have it for you.”
”……” Melissa froze at first, then asked offhandedly, “How much?”
Sister, the focus of your concern is not quite right ah …… Klein wordlessly spat out a sentence, smilingly explained:
”It’s actually not expensive, because it was only half-finished initially, and I modeled it after artifacts I’ve seen before, carving blessing spells and beautiful patterns on it.”
”You carved it?” Melissa’s attention was decidedly skewed.
”Well? What do you think of my handiwork?” With a smooth motion, Klein handed the amulet to his sister.
Melissa looked it over and over several times, bit her lip lightly and said:
”I like the angel feathers around it.”
Think my carved spells and symbols are ugly just say it directly, no need to hide …… the amulet to see the main thing is the effect! The corner of Klein’s mouth twitched slightly, and just as he was about to persuade his sister to accept it, he saw Melissa wearing a “reluctant” expression, putting the silver necklace around her neck, and carefully positioning the amulet.
”Perfect.” Klein surveyed it and complimented it pompously.
Melissa glanced at him for a moment, looking down at the amulet and said sullenly:
”Klein, you didn’t used to be like this, like this ……”
”Maybe it’s because with a good job and a decent income, the whole thing has become confident.” Klein interrupted his sister’s words and made an explanation first.
Hey, although I received fragments of the original owner’s memories, there is nothing wrong in the big picture, but some details, or habitually presenting the real character …… Especially after getting along more and more naturally with Benson and Melissa …… He secretly sighed.
Melissa seemed to recognize his reasoning, pursed her lips and said:
”You’re good like this now, really good ……”
After the siblings chatted for a while, Benson changed his clothes and went downstairs, white shirt, black vest, tuxedo, black bow tie and straight pants made his whole person new, like the kind of successful person who had his own career after years of hard work.
The hairline was also very similar …… Klein chuckled in his mind.
”Very nice, Benson, that’s how you fit in.” He said with a wide smile and a spread-eagle hand.
Melissa chimed in with a serious nod of agreement.
”As it turns out, the clothes are more important than the person.” Benson chortled to himself.
Klein took the opportunity to pull out the rest of that amulet and repeated what he had said before, ending with:
”I made one for you as well.”
”Not bad, I’ll keep it handy.” Benson accepted it openly and joked, “Klein, even if in the future you suddenly know how to cut hair, make clothes, fix clocks, and feed curly-haired baboons, I won’t feel surprised.”
”Life is always full of surprises and surprises.” Klein replied with a smile.
Next, the three siblings picked themselves up, walked out the front door, and took a trackless public carriage to arrive on Fania Street in the North End, where Selena’s house was located.
The Wood’s house was also a townhouse, but unlike Klein’s and theirs, it had a porch and a small front lawn, making it more elegant.
Pulling the doorbell, Klein, Benson, and Melissa waited for just ten seconds or so before they saw Selena Wood, the main character of the day.
The girl with the long burgundy hair gave Melissa a delighted hug:
”I love this dress of yours, it makes you look especially beautiful.”
Next to Selena was her father, Mr. Wood Sr. a senior employee of the Tingen branch of the Bank of Birkeland.
”Welcome, our honorable elder brother, and welcome, our young historian.” He greeted Benson and Klein in a pretentious manner.
Young Historian …… Why don’t you add the description “conscientious” …… Klein belly laughs twice, removes his hat, and responds with a smile:
”Mr. Wood, you are more spirited and younger than I expected.”
His complimentary style was unconsciously skewed towards the Big Eater Empire.
For his part, Benson reached out and shook the elder Wood’s hand and said:
”I’ve known quite a few bank employees, but they’ve all been just as condescending and stiff as the latest model of machine, and none of them as poised as you.”
”Perhaps you wouldn’t be so judgmental if you were meeting me at the bank.” Old Wood laughed heartily.
After the pleasantries were exchanged, Selene, slightly bouncy in her new gown, guided the siblings inside, at times saying “Elizabeth has arrived” at a normal volume, and at other times lowering her voice to say to Melissa, “Your two brothers are more handsome than I thought.”
Hey, my hearing is very good …… although you are saying compliments …… Klein looked helplessly at the two sixteen year old girls walking side by side in front of him.
Also not right, there is still not a short distance between my current appearance and handsome ah …… Hiss, Miss Selena, just how ugly did you think of Benson and me before? One introspective and gloomy, unkempt, pale, with lifeless eyes, and one with thinning hair and premature aging? Klein pinched his brow and practiced his “psychic vision” diligently.
Miss Selena is in good health, emotionally excited, and very happy …… Mr. Wood Sr. has a little problem with his lungs, yes, I saw his pipe …… Klein was in a good mood as he scanned the crowd present.
”Elizabeth, Melissa is here.” At that moment, Selena greeted in a brisk tone toward the front.
A young girl in a long blue lace dress with long naturally curly brown hair and an adorable baby bump walked over.
Klein froze for a moment as he looked on, as he recognized the young girl.
He had even helped the other party pick out an amulet at the underground trading market!
Elizabeth greeted Melissa first, then looked over at Benson and Klein.
She was stunned, her brows slightly furrowed as if she was pondering something.
Soon, Elizabeth broke into a smile and greeted them politely as if nothing had happened.
Klein also pretended not to recognize the other man, and was led by Old Wood to the living room couch area, where he was introduced to Selena’s brother, Chris, and the other guests.
Watching Benson chatting quite happily with Chris and the other solicitors, using his own next-door Mr. Schauder as a topic of conversation, Klein couldn’t help but feel a little envious.
I don t have such social skills …… He picked up a glass of pre-dinner wine from the table in the corner and quietly listened, nodding his head every now and then and chuckling twice in agreement.
Before long, the guests all arrived, and the dinner party officially began.
Because the invited guests were too many for the Wood family’s dining table to bear, the dinner was unfolded in the form of a buffet, with the maids serving steaks, roasted chicken, fried fish, mashed potatoes and other food on one plate and placing them on different tables, while the manservants were in charge of cutting them to make the portion sizes suitable for picking up.
Crane couldn’t help but be staggered at the sight of the elegantly glazed dinner plates and silver knives and forks, thinking that the Wood family, who were merely middle class, were too extravagant.
”If they are so rich, then why does Chris need to prepare for the wedding for a few more years?” He thought suspiciously of something his sister had once said, “Well, maybe it’s just to accumulate such cutlery that he has to prepare for a few more years, decency is important to such a family!”
In the midst of his thoughts, Klein picked up a china plate and made his way to the table, spearing a piece of roasted meat coated in honey.
Just then, Elizabeth, who had an adorable baby fat on her face, leaned in, looked at the food, and whispered:
”So you’re Melissa’s brother …… Thank you, Selena loved the amulet I gave her and said she felt healthy just after wearing it.”
Selena …… amulet …… Klein suddenly remembered the reason why the young girl beside him had picked the amulet in the first place:
A birthday gift for a friend who loved the occult!
That friend was Selene? Selena liked things in the occult realm? Klein frowned slightly and laughed politely:
”That might just work like a placebo.”
After saying this, he began to wait for the other party to praise Roselle the Great.
But Elizabeth’s response was one of confusion:
”What’s a placebo?”
”It’s the purely psychological effect; there are times when we are convinced that we will get better, and we really will.” Klein explained roughly.
”No, she said it’s different from any amulet she’s ever bought, it feels different.” Elizabeth emphasized.
She gave Klein a sideways glance and said curiously:
”I didn’t realize Melissa’s brother was an occultist.”
”You know, I’m a history student, and I’m always exposed to similar things.” Klein brought the subject over without a trace and asked instead, “You’re at the Tingen City Technical School as well?”
”No, Selena, Melissa and I used to go to school together, then they went to the technical school and I was at the nearby Evers Public School.” Elizabeth explained seriously.
A public school was not a public school, but a school for public enrollment, evolved from a good grammar high school with the goal of producing graduates who would go on to college, the tuition was quite expensive and tested the students’ family backgrounds, making it unaffordable for even the average middle class person.
Without much chatting, she picked out her food and returned to Selena’s side.
After congratulating the day’s protagonist on her happy birthday, the dinner drew to a close, and Klein and Benson were invited to join in the Texas Hold’em poker, with the small blind betting halfpence and the big blind betting 1p, while Melissa went to the second floor with Elizabeth, Selena, and other friends, unsure if they were chatting, or playing some other game.
Klein was having a bad day, and after twenty or so hands of play, he was surprised that he never got a good hand, and had to keep looking at the cards and folding them, acting as a spectator.
Once again he cocked a corner of his card and realized it was the two of hearts and the five of spades.
”Should I bluff a hand?” Klein considered for a moment, but still couldn’t muster up that courage and resisted the urge to cheat with divination.
He covered his cards and tapped the table to signal no call, then got up and left the long table for the washroom.
Russell was also compulsive enough to find strange reasons for continuing to name this play Texas …… Klein shook his head as he moved forward.
Just then, he stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing.
His inspiration told him that there was a strange fluctuation upstairs!