"Sorry, a friend is looking for me." Audrey gracefully left the ambassador, who had been spouting supposedly witty dirty jokes. Just as she was looking for someone suitable to help maintain her lie, a voice suddenly said:
"Oh, my angel, chatting with that damned old lecher must have been disgusting, right?"
"!" Audrey gave a sharp start, then said displeasedly:
"Mr. Devil, could you not call me by a word you just heard?"
"All right, Backlund's brightest jewel, the sacrifice you made for Mr. Fool's mission fills me with admiration." With a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth, Sno raised a glass of pale gold champagne and lightly clinked it against Audrey's glass—
"To your sparkling eyes."
"Huh?" Audrey let out a somewhat surprised sound. Based on what she knew of Mr. Sno, he should have found another way to tease her at a time like this, perhaps with something like last time's "Backlund's hardest diamond." Yet he had actually switched to a normal social pleasantry, which caught her off guard.
Or rather...
"Mr. Devil, did you use a Beyonder Ability on me?" Audrey scrutinized Sno suspiciously. Although she had successfully advanced to Telepathist, she still could not grasp this gentleman's mental state. She did not think there was anything wrong with that, but she was very unhappy about it.
Yes, very unhappy.
"Though I apologize for causing your displeasure, I did not use any Beyonder Ability on you—aside from the power on you that blocks other Spectators' observation. Besides, on an occasion like this, you should call me Sno, or Mr. Panredax. Of course, it does not really matter, since I sneaked in today. Well, you should know that although Countess Wolf would not mind giving me an invitation, my appearance at a ball attended by ambassadors