After dinner, Shade and Wei Ge prepared to set out. Of course, not everyone would remain at Fragrant Residence waiting for the results. To guard against any accidents, Iluna, Vanessa, and Flora would provide support outside The Club.
Iluna was a Chosen One, Vanessa was Thirteenth Order, and Flora had mastered a variety of transformation forms. Everyone believed they would be very useful in an urban environment.
Before leaving Fragrant Residence, Shade naturally did not forget to put on the white mask with pink patterns that Desire had given him. This mask was a Relic Derivative, but Shade intended to return it to that Mermaid after using it tonight rather than keep it for himself.
As for Wei Ge, she had prepared a lace eye mask with feathers inserted along one side. Shade's mask and Wei Ge's eye mask covered only the upper halves of their faces. After all, no one at a masked ball would cover their entire face; that would interfere with the mouth's many functions.
An unmarked carriage secretly carried them away from Fragrant Residence. After switching to another carriage in the Lower District, they returned to the Upper City District.
The "Charming Lady Club" was not a club genuinely open to the public. It was located within Hazel Manor, which stood on the eastern edge of the city. The manor's owner lived in the Northern Kingdom year-round, so rumors of haunting had circulated for years—though in truth, people had merely caught occasional glimpses of The Club's nighttime activities.
The manor house itself remained sealed year-round, while most of The Club's activities took place in the greenhouse at the northwestern corner of the gardens behind the estate.
The greenhouse was surrounded by dense yews and ivy, accessible from outside only through a hidden iron gate and a