Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 56 Clues to the Psycho-Alchemy Society
On the outskirts of Queens, in a sprawling but spectator-less racetrack.
Audrey Hall, leading a date-red filly, deliberately padded into a corner and pretended to discuss matters with Viscount Graylingt.
She wore white pants and knee-high black boots, while the upper part of her body was a simply decorated lady’s blouse with a waist-cinching black jacket-style rider’s uniform, and a protective helmet of the same tone, making the whole of her look unusually valiant, with a different beauty from usual, while Susie, the big golden dog, crouched obediently at her feet and seemed to be carrying a small leather bag.
Hugh, disguised as Viscount Grelint’s squire, glanced enviously at Audrey’s long, straight legs, and unconsciously stood on tiptoe.
”Mere horsemanship has no meaning, it only has vitality when it is combined with hunting, of course, I mean male horsemanship, a beautiful lady riding a horse is a sight no matter what she does.” Grelint shot Audrey a look, half-emotional, half-joking.
Audrey returned a light smile and said:
”It’s still months until the next hunt.”
Every year from June to the New Year, the nobles of Ruen Kingdom would come to Beckland according to the tradition, to participate in various banquets, balls and salons, this was a very important event for them, and a lot of things would be finalized during these months, as the year passed by, this tradition gradually got a fixed name, called “Beckland Social Season “The Birkeland Social Season.
After the New Year, the landed nobles would return to their fiefdoms, to their mansions, castles, country estates, and large plantations, and spend the time relaxing and enjoying themselves, and the most popular game of the season was hunting.
The nobles would invite guests of equal status to enjoy the fun of riding horses and chasing game, and as long as their finances permitted, they never skimped on the purchase of hounds.
The most famous of the hounds was the foxhound.
”I already miss that kind of life, Berkland is a place that makes people feel constrained, and its air is unspeakably bad, but of course, its prosperity and its extravagance still make me love it.” Viscount Graylingt put on his gloves and stepped back to make it easier for Audrey to talk to Hugh and Forsyth.
”Honorable Miss Audrey, what is your business with us this time?” Hugh retracted his gaze and took the initiative to ask.
Her recent large income came from Audrey, the other party was honest, trustworthy and generous, a rare good employer.
I seem to smell the ink scent of the banknotes again …… I hope it s not too difficult a task …… Miss Audrey is perfect in everything, only one thing is not good, every mission is unexpected and very dangerous… …Hugh thought with anticipation and apprehension, and couldn’t help but glance sideways at Forsyth, realizing that his companion, disguised as a maid, happened to be looking at him.
And the expressions reflected in both eyes were so alike.
Audrey took her gloves and smiled haughtily and gracefully:
”It’s a simple commission this time.”
As she spoke, she signaled with her gaze for Hugh and Forsyth to open the small leather bag Susie was carrying.
Hugh, who had always been known as a man of action, immediately took two steps forward and bent down to probe his hands.
During this short process, she originally wanted to stroke Susie’s head to show her own goodwill, but in the end, just as her right palm was extended, Susie had already twisted her head, half-turned her body, and brought that leather pouch in front of her.
I am usually very popular …… with animals For example, the mosquito …… Hugh maintained his expression unchanged, tugged the zipper, and took out a stack of papers from the leather pouch.
She stood up straight and spread it out, realizing that it depicted a young man with an ordinary face, but the neatly back-combed hair, the round glasses, and the brown eyes with a mocking smile all struck her as unusually familiar.
I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere before! Hugh gazed down and saw the corresponding written description:
”Formerly known as, Lanlus, a wanted swindler.”
I know where I’ve seen him before! Hugh snapped out of it and nearly made the unseemly gesture of slapping his forehead.
Before she met Audrey, one of her main sources of income had been going through the newspapers, studying the wanted posters, and using her connections within quite a few gangs in the East End to find criminals who were worth their weight in gold.
I had thought of looking for this Llanerus, who had a bounty of £100 and who had rolled up over £10,000 in cash! But afterward, busy with Miss Audrey’s commission, I forgot the matter …… Hugh and Forsyth looked at each other, and then spoke frankly:
”What was the amount of the commission?”
The amount of the commission? Audrey was stunned for a moment.
She had completely forgotten about the matter of payment, because in her opinion, this was Mr. “Fool”‘s examination.
What kind of examination pays the other party instead?
”Eh ……100 pounds?” Audrey gave a figure at her discretion.
”Deal!” Hugh and Voorhees responded at the same time.
If they could catch Langelus, not only would they get paid the 100 pounds by Miss Audrey, but they could also collect the same amount of bounty …… It was really a good mission! Hugh asked casually with glowing eyes:
”Why do you want this swindler? Has he cheated you out of your money?”
I didn’t even know who he was……It was a simple commission, 100 pounds and it was done……There’s no need to talk to Mr. Fool about this! …… It’s only £100 …… Audrey, with a polite smile, ignored Hugh’s question and mentioned it instead:
”I have received word that he is at Birkeland.”
”Ah yes, there are a dozen portraits here, different portraits, and I have given separate portraits of him without glasses, with a beard and altered hairstyle, well …… guessed portraits, taking into account the disguises Llanerus is sure to make.”
I’m equally good at sketching and painting! Audrey raised her chin slightly.
Hugh instantly forgot his earlier doubts, and said in surprise:
”This is very good news!”
She seemed to have seen the bounty of two hundred pounds beckoning to her.
–The mysterious person she had met earlier at Mr. A’s party had not yet established contact with her, and she could only continue her own business of saving money.
Audrey nodded imperceptibly and mused:
”Any leads on the Psycho-Alchemy Society?”
Forsyth smoothed her long curly hair and glanced at Viscount Graylingt, who was listening in, and said:
”I recently joined a new gathering of Extraordinary Ones, and it is rumored that the recipes for ‘Audience’ and ‘Mind Reader’ magical potions once appeared in it, and I suspect that there are members of the Psycho-Alchemy Society among the members of that gathering. ”
”When there’s another gathering, I’ll put in a request and take you along.”
”Okay.” Audrey deliberately didn’t hide her elation.
She had just read Hugh and Forsyth’s true state of mind from their aura colors, body movements, and subtle expressions, thus judging that they were enthusiastic about the mission and weren’t lying about the Mental Alchemy Society.
Viscount Grelint then muttered:
”The Audrey thing is about to work out, where’s my ‘Apothecary’ formula?”
”That’s really no clue for now, the ‘Apothecary’ pathway is more to the south, in the Kingdom of Feneport.” Voorhees made a gesture of deep regret.
”Well, I’m young, I’m only in my early twenties, I have time to wait.” Graylint returned with humor.
”Well, thanks for your help, we’ll see you next time.” Audrey gave a graceful curtsy, put on her gloves, turned on her horse, and marched down the track.
Susie followed cheerfully, seeming to find a way to have fun.
……
It was 9:34 a.m. on Tuesday morning when Klein woke up from his late-night “experiment”.
He took a piece of bread with butter on it, put on his coat and hat, and hurried out of the door, writing in the guest book hanging next to the bell drawstring:
”Master out, to return after five o’clock in the afternoon.”
In fact, he had nothing to do that needed to be done, purely in case of a sudden visit from that old gentleman, Miller Carter.
If the other party found out that the detective hired for a full fifty pounds had not been busy looking for information, organizing his staff, and confirming the layout of the building, but had been relaxing at home, drinking tea and reading the newspaper and novels, he would surely withdraw his commission and stop paying the final payment of forty pounds!
I really have nothing to do, just wait for the information of Ms. Justice …… Klein stood at the street corner, looking at the gloom in the sky, helplessly muttered to himself in his heart.
Last night, he had already thought about where to go today to pass the time:
In the morning, he’d go to the Kraig Club to practice shooting, read the paper, and get a free lunch; in the afternoon, he’d take a nap, work out with squash and other sports; and then, when the Bar of the Brave opened, he’d take a ride over there to see if he could find out more about the party for the Extraordinary People from Kasperos.
Klein didn’t plan to look for Maric, although the other party certainly had more than one circle of extraordinary people, but he was afraid that Ms. Bodyguard also belonged to those circles.
It wouldn’t be convenient for him to sell magic potion formulas, which would be highly suspicious.
If the “Real Creator” gave you the ability to divine and a strong body, would it still give you a magic potion formula that you can’t use yourself? Think about it, it’s impossible! Klein brainstormed for a while and boarded the public carriage to the Hillside District.
After most of an hour, he entered the Krag Club and saw an acquaintance.
It was Talim Dumont, the equestrian teacher who had recommended him to join the club, and a close friend of Mary Gale.
Talim, who wore a black tweed coat and had short curly brown hair, greeted him and examined Crane up and down with an odd smile:
”Good morning, Mary and Doragu are in the process of finalizing their divorce.”
Is this a sign of skepticism about my purpose in joining the club? Klein relied on his “Joker” ability to easily make a surprised expression:
”Really? That’s surprising!”
Talim gave him a deep suspicious look and suddenly laughed:
”A friend of mine has been struggling with a matter recently, and I was wondering how your marksmanship and fighting skills are.”
A commission? Only asking about marksmanship and fighting, not mentioning reasoning, this is a commission involving violence ah …… Klein smiled:
”I happen to be planning to go to the shooting range to practice shooting, so you can follow and watch, but fighting is something that requires an opponent to see the level.”
”I’ve studied fighting.” Talim replied with a leap of faith.