Audrey

To confirm whether the future events would be affected, Altair asked curiously, "Grellint, what kind of 'occult' knowledge have you found? Have you managed to collect any Potion Recipes?"

Altair was genuinely afraid they might find Potion Recipes and gradually become Beyonders. It wouldn't affect her much, but it could impact what happened later. Could Klein, who knew nothing about any of this, handle two Beyonders?

Would Audrey, who had already spent many years in the Beyonder world, still become the Justice of the Tarot Society—and its sponsor?

Hearing Altair's question, Grellint wasn't surprised. Instead, he explained:

"Following your advice, we stopped limiting ourselves to the usual channels and began investigating further. For example, we started gathering information from institutions like the Police Department. In just one month, we collected as much as we had in the several years before."

"Recently, there were several murders in the Dock District and the East District. From what we learned, a Beyonder was targeting the gangs. At first, we wanted to use that Beyonder as a lead to find Potion Recipes, but unfortunately, she hasn't appeared again since."

"We learned from a constable at Qiao District Iron Gate Street that there's a place there that might be a gathering spot for Beyonders, so we sent someone to investigate. We haven't managed to get into the gathering yet, but we've still learned some useful things."

"For instance, people who take the Apothecary Potion on that Pathway are good at concocting all sorts of remedies. As you know, health is often a priority for nobles like us. There are also abilities from Pathways like Hunter, Lawyer, and Arbiter. The names of these Potions are really strange."

"Oh, and most importantly, Audrey has joined our gathering too. She's interested in becoming a Beyonder. She's at the ball tonight as well, so I'll introduce you to each other in a moment."

Altair listened to Grellint with rapt attention, as earnestly as if she were back in school. When she learned they hadn't obtained any Potion Recipes yet, she felt relieved for the time being.

"By the way, you still haven't answered my question. Why have you been sitting here since the ball began?" After telling her about the knowledge they'd gathered, Grellint brought the conversation back to the point.

Altair was sick of answering that question tonight. Who could've expected that she'd be forced to attend the ball even after spraining her ankle? And these nobles were all so "polite"—every single one of them came over to ask.

Like a machine activating its most basic routine, Altair replied expressionlessly, "I twisted my ankle while watching the horse races this afternoon, so I can only sit here and wait for the ball to end."

"That's unfortunate," Grellint said with regret. "The balls held these few days are the rarest events of the year."

Grellint hadn't planned to keep chatting with Altair. Before the next dance began, a young noblewoman came over to speak with him, and he took the opportunity to invite her to dance.

Just as he'd said, these were some of the rarest days of the year in the Loen Kingdom. Most of the people who held power were gathered here, and meeting even one more of them was a great opportunity.

As more and more nobles came over to rest, Altair felt the ball must be nearing its end.

Grellint brought a beautiful young woman over to Altair and introduced her. "Altair, this is Miss Audrey Hall, the daughter of Earl Hall and Bexland's Most Dazzling Gem."

"Audrey, this is Lucius Sheffield, whom I told you about earlier. Though I only recently learned her real name is Altair Sheffield."

Altair looked at Audrey Hall. She had golden hair and blue eyes, and wore a light blue satin ball gown with a high collar, raised waist, and leg-of-mutton sleeves. Layers of fine gauze supported the skirt, which was decorated with ribbon bows. The gown's pale blue elegance complemented her golden hair and blue eyes.

Her long golden hair was swept up into an elegant bun, making her neck look even more graceful and swanlike.

Whether she considered it through the lens of the information age she'd experienced in her previous life or her close acquaintance with Vivian, whose Witch Potion enhanced her charms, Altair couldn't help but praise Audrey Hall's beauty.

Her beauty blended her appearance with her natural elegance. Altair had to admit that she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

"Good evening, Miss Audrey." After taking in her beauty, Altair greeted her with a smile and pointed to her foot, explaining, "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm not in any condition to stand and greet you."

Audrey Hall looked at Altair, who remained seated, and smiled politely. "Good evening, Count Altair. Grellint told me about your misfortune on the way over. I hope you recover soon."

When Grellint heard Audrey address Altair as Count Altair, his face filled with disbelief. He cut in, interrupting their conversation to ask, "Audrey, did you just call Altair a count?"

Audrey replied with a curious question of her own. "You didn't know? Altair inherited the title of Earl Sheffield three months ago."

"What?" Grellint stared at her in shock. After a few seconds of silence, he recovered and said, "I really didn't know. After the Memorial Service, I did look up some information about you, but what I found said you were a baron."

"I'm terribly sorry, Count Altair. I was disrespectful before."

Grellint wanted to strangle the person who'd given him that information. He'd had someone look into Altair because he wanted to apologize, but the report said she was only a baron, so he hadn't gone to apologize in person.

Now he was being told that he'd offended an earl. Grellint really wanted to slap himself twice and wake up from this nightmare.

Altair could see exactly what he was thinking. The Mind Reader Potion only failed against the suppression of a lower Sequence by a High Sequence. Reading an ordinary person's thoughts was still quite easy.

"You don't need to apologize again, Grellint. When we first met today, I told you that the ignorant were not at fault." Altair chuckled, then turned to Audrey and noticed her startled movements.

Audrey was only fourteen, after all. A young girl's mind was still developing, and girls liked to fidget. Even Audrey was no exception.

The atmosphere had clearly changed once Altair's status was revealed, though they'd been able to chat easily before. Keeping her tone light, Altair said, "You don't need to treat me with such deference because I'm an earl. Don't forget, I'm only a fifteen-year-old girl. I don't really want this title. You can just call me Altair as usual."