Part 4 The Undead Chapter 132 The Actor and the Audience
When the golden-haired dog’s serene gaze from the shadows caught his eye, Klein’s forehead jumped imperceptibly, not hiding the fact that he was a little frightened.
His eyes then naturally turned away and looked toward Ms. Justice’s group.
Really scary ah …… this dog has nothing to crouch what corner, hide what shadows …… it just seemed to be watching everyone in the hall ghostly …… uh… Ms. “Justice” seems to have taken an “audience” magic potion and fed it to the animals, and once asked Mr. “Hanging Man” for advice… …It couldn’t be this Golden Hair, could it? Two “audiences”, one in the light, the other in the dark, which “actor” can stand it? In the high society, the “audience” should not be limited to Ms. “Justice”, she joined the Psycho Alchemy Society, also led by other nobles, seems to be the sister of Duchess Negan? While analyzing the situation, Klein walked towards the Macht family and asked in a seemingly casual manner:
”The few who just came in seem to be very noble?”
Macht glanced at Dawn Dantes and laughed:
”The Earl of Eastchester’s family, you can just call him the Earl of Hall, you should have heard of him.
”That’s his wife, Lady Caitlin, and that’s his eldest son, Lord Hibbert, you’ve already met …… him.”
Hearing Senator Macht introduced here, Klein suddenly burst into a sweat, because he did meet Hibbert Hall at the ball held by the other party, but just now, he actually did not pay attention to this Lord at all, otherwise there would not have been a question of which noble this is.
Surprised by the sudden appearance of Ms. Justice …… Klein maintained a smiling and listening posture.
Senator Macht continued:
”That’s his daughter, Miss Audrey Hall, who for the last two years has had the title of Bakerland’s brightest jewel in the social scene, which is quite realistic, isn’t it?”
Not waiting for Dawn Dantes to respond, he nodded politely:
”Her suitors have included princes, heirs to dukes, and many, many dignified Excellencies and gentlemen.”
Senator Macht’s latent meaning was clear, that is, you, a fellow with extensive hobbies in women, should refrain from hitting on this young lady, she is a target you cannot and must not touch.
What turned inside Klein’s head was a different thought:
”So Miss ‘Justice’ is the daughter of Earl Hall, no wonder she’s so rich, no wonder she never pays back ……
”The Earl of Hall is one of the top big bankers in the kingdom, one of the most influential members of the House of Lords, a hereditary nobleman, and is only a little more wealthy than Baron Sindras ……
”Even if Miss ‘Justice’ does not inherit the title and the family fortune, her share of the fortune will be in the region of a hundred thousand pounds ……
”Together with her looks, her birth and her character, she is indeed the best object of marriage for the royal family and the great nobles ……
”However, her continuous performance of purchasing magical items does not look like a property of only a few hundred thousand pounds …… Is this reimbursable? I also want to spell father ah ……”
In an electric flash of thought, Klein responded to Councilor Macht’s reminder with a smile:
”I have heard all sorts of rumors about Miss Audrey before, and I realized today that they are not too exaggerated.
”Unfortunately, I am not a prince, nor am I the heir to the title of Duke Marquis Earl Viscount, otherwise, I could have been her suitor as well.”
He was implicitly stating that he knew his status and position.
Councilor Macht didn’t continue with this aspect of the topic, and instead introduced Dawn Dantes to some of the guests he knew, and truly brought him into the upper class society, of course, the biggest booster for this matter was the Black Night Church, without this charity gala held by them for the Scholarship Fund, Macht wouldn’t have been able to bring Dawn Dantes directly into the presence of those of noble status.
Marquis Losente, Earl Gross, Viscount Lavland …… a noble follower of the Goddess respectively exchanged pleasantries with Dawn Dantes, all with a rather genial attitude.
Before Macht could finish his introduction, an old man came in at the door.
He wore black with red clergy robes, five dark holy emblems on his chest, his face was clean and beardless, and his eyes were deep, dark and serene.
Everyone, including Earl Hall, turned to face the old man and saluted in a respectful manner:
”Good evening, His Excellency St. Anthony.”
This old man was none other than Saint Anthony Stevenson, one of the thirteen archbishops of the Black Night Church!
He was the head of the Bakerland Diocese, the true meaning of the church hierarchy.
As soon as Klein saw this archbishop, his body and mind involuntarily trembled, it was hard to contain it, hard to hide it, as if he had gone back to when he was a young boy, and was walking on the country paths where there were no street lamps for the occasional graves.
He swept his eyes and saw that other guests did not have such a strong reaction, and immediately realized that the “fear” brought by St. Anthony was the stronger the spirituality, the clearer the feeling, and was busy meditating to try to restrain it.
When he initially controlled the trembling, St. Anthony has revealed a smile, looked around the circle, in the chest clockwise point four times:
”Praise the Goddess.”
”Praise the Goddess.” The guests attending this charity gala responded.
With the arrival of this Archbishop, Councilor Macht no longer introduced the remaining guests to Klein, as the gala had officially begun.
As is customary, everyone first took their seats and prayed reverently to the goddess for three minutes, and then the church choir walked to the front of the shrine and praised the goddess with ethereal and neat songs that seemed to wash the soul.
After the religious service, Bishop Elektra, assigned by St. Anthony, went to the side of where the choir had just stood, where there was a raised wooden platform on which various canonical books could be spread.
”I thank you all for coming, your character is a bright star in a quiet dark night ……” Bishop Elektra began with a few words of politeness, and then said, “Our establishment of this bursary fund for the poor originated with Dawn Don Mr. Tess’s proposal, he is a truly noble gentleman, his piety and character are impeccable enough to serve as a model, please invite Mr. Dawn Dontess to make a short speech for us.”
Klein, though prepared, hissed quietly when he heard the last half of the sentence.
This wasn’t like normal times, there were two or more people in the ‘audience’, he couldn’t just brag all he wanted, the speech had to be truthful enough not to be seen to be lying or using false examples!
Holding down the clothes on his stomach, he quickly stood up and walked towards the tall wooden platform while fastening the buttons of his formal attire.
Coming to the back of that tall wooden platform and standing firmly on his feet, he looked around the circle of nobles, councilors, clerics, and senior government employees and spoke with a smile:
”I’m a bit nervous, it’s the first time I’ve been watched so much by so many people of high status.
”I used to be active in the area where the poor gather, active in the chaotic southern continent, so I’ve seen a lot of things, there is a little girl who, since she was 6 years old, was helping her mother gluing matchboxes, if she didn’t do that, the family wouldn’t have the money to even buy black bread after they paid the rent, the kind of black bread they ate had a lot of bran, and the occasional bite of grit and stones that were so hard that they could be used as clubs to attack people ……”
”As the little girl grew older, although she was tired every day, and although her family did not have any extra money, she still aspired to the night school organized by the church, hoping to learn the words and acquire knowledge, because she knew that this was the only way she could not go on with her present life, to not go hungry, to wear clothes that could really protect her from the cold, and not to go to the factories where the conditions were bad , dying in their twenties ……
Klein picked out parts of the experiences of the poor kids he had seen, blended them together, and told them with real emotion.
He could clearly see the ladies more or less showing sympathetic compassion, and some of the young girls even had waves of light flashing in their eyes, such as Audrey Hall.
What an easily touched child …… My performance is from the heart, even I can move myself, let alone the “audience” …… However, most of the gentlemen, was not touched much, there are of them should have known the situation of the poor for a long time, and some of them are of the type who do not care for those of low status …… Klein continued with a sweep of his eyes:
”Our industry is developing, and we will certainly need more literate workers in the future …… Our election conditions are being relaxed, and those who are eligible to vote in the future will necessarily include the vast majority of educated people …… upholding the children of these poor people In the name of compassion for these poor children, in the name of expectation for the future of the kingdom, I have decided to donate to the church all the shares of the Cowiem Company on my hand to establish a bursary fund for the poor, so that they can have the opportunity to enter the real temple of knowledge after the free night school ……”
Earl Hall, who had two beautiful moustaches, nodded his head as he listened, and was the first to raise his hands and gently applaud.
Amidst the warm applause, Klein returned to the position that belonged to him, while Bishop Elektra stepped forward and announced:
”Mr. Dawn Dantes donated shares worth 15,000 pounds, we will use it to establish a ‘Ruane Charity Scholarship Fund’, ladies and gentlemen, if you approve of his ideas and sympathize with the children who are thirsty for knowledge, you can participate in this fund. ”
As he spoke, he pointed to the offering box next to him.
Audrey then withdrew her gaze, pressed the corners of her eyes, and turned her head sideways to her own father:
”Dad, I’m going to donate a thousand pounds, what about you?”
As she spoke, she quickly summarized within her mind what she had just observed:
”Dawn Dantes should have had a life located at the bottom, his sympathy his pity his speech are very real …… Those poor children are really pitiful ……
”Just now when the bishop mentioned that the shares were worth 15,000 pounds, the corners of his mouth unnaturally curled up, and it was obvious that he should be very heartbroken about the money, however, the sincerity of his donations did not look like a forgery …… This can only show that he is a man who loves money but is more ‘in love with ‘ kind gentleman ……
”And what was the reason for his surprise and cover-up when he saw me before?
”Where had he seen me before without knowing my identity? But there was no need to cover it up ……
”He recognized my necklace as a magical item, so he felt surprised and later tried to cover up that aspect?
”If that’s the case, it means he’s definitely an Extraordinary, and the sequence can’t be too low ……
”Well, I’ll ask Suzie when I get back, maybe it has observed other details, it hides in the shadows, it won’t be defended, it can find out more.”
In the midst of her thoughts, Audrey saw her father, the Earl of Hall, smile and remove his checkbook and pen.
The sum he wrote down was:
Ten thousand pounds!