First Meeting

After Miles left, Lorry devoted himself to conquering the cream ice cream before him. Just as he was making steady headway, he suddenly heard a languid female voice.

"Hello, Fors."

He looked up and saw a brown-haired lady standing outside the screen with a wineglass in hand.

"If Altair hadn't introduced you, I wouldn't have known another remarkable fellow writer had appeared in Backlund. Your Young Roselle was very well written.

"Mr. Raven."

Fors told the lie without the slightest blush.

Her gaze shifted slightly before settling on the sofa opposite Lorry. With a faint smile, she asked, "May I sit here?"

"Of course, ma'am. It would be my honor." Lorry rose politely to greet her. "Miles and I were just discussing why Stormy Mountain Villa sold so well."

In truth, he had only learned the book's exact title less than half an hour ago.

He barely remembered the original novel's description of Stormy Mountain Villa, either. All he vaguely recalled was Klein calling it a multifaceted novel.

Hmm... it included romance, mystery, supernatural elements, and more.

After exchanging a little professional flattery, they both sat down.

Lorry wanted to start a conversation about her work, but since he knew practically nothing about the book's plot, he could only lower his head and eat his ice cream.

His gaze swept over the crimson wine in Fors's glass, then caught her slightly yellowed fingers and the silver bracelet around her wrist.

Two rough, dark bluish-green stones were set into the silver bracelet. They were uneven, their surfaces covered in scorch marks.

Something valuable. A Mystical Item? Lorry silently guessed.

-That was the feedback from Exceptional Observation.

He discreetly looked away and was about to say something when Fors, who had noticed his gaze as well, gave a self-deprecating smile.

"I'm used to relying on a few little things to keep me alert at night."

An idea struck Lorry, and he agreed, "Although I'm a believer in Steam, I have to admit that the darkness of night sometimes does bring inspiration."

He knew perfectly well that, at this point, Fors had yet to pass the Tarot Club's screening and still believed in the God of Steam and Machinery.

"You're a believer in Steam too?" Fors's eyes brightened slightly.

"Yes, ma'am." Lorry nodded with a smile, deftly tracing the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery's Triangular Sacred Emblem over his chest as he spoke.

Fors let out a relieved breath, and her posture visibly relaxed.

With a faintly complaining tone, she said,

"You're absolutely right. A quiet night truly is a source of inspiration. I often go an entire day without managing to write more than a few words.

"Unfortunately, my editor never seems to understand that."

Perhaps it has nothing to do with inspiration, ma'am. You just want to procrastinate... Your editor is right. He ought to mail you razor blades to push you to finish your manuscript...

Didn't you write pretty quickly when you were helping Gehrman later on...?

Lorry grumbled inwardly while nodding in agreement.

After a little more casual conversation, Fors slowly straightened, picked up her wineglass, and took a small sip. Feigning indifference, she asked,

"Mr. Raven, since you were able to create such an excellent work as Young Roselle, you must have studied that emperor of Intis quite extensively, right?

"I've heard he left behind some extremely valuable notes.

"Unfortunately, since he used symbols of his own invention to write them, no one has truly managed to decipher them all these years."

So she wanted to ask about Roselle's Diary... No, she hadn't joined the Tarot Club yet, so she wasn't looking for it for herself...

After a moment's thought, a name surfaced in Lorry's mind.

Audrey Hall!

The current Earl Hall's only daughter, a beauty comparable to a Demoness, and one of the Tarot Club's founding members and its greatest financial backer.

Simply put, she was rich. The pocket money she casually spent each month far exceeded everything he currently owned...

Lorry gathered his thoughts and gave a light cough.

"That's true.

"I once collected a few pages out of curiosity as well, but unfortunately, I got nowhere.

"In the end, I could only give up on that pointless idea."

Fors said slowly, "I have a friend-ahem, an actual friend-whose experience is almost exactly the same as yours. However, she's still continuing her research."

She paused, then asked,

"Mr. Raven, I have a request. If you don't mind, could you sell your Roselle's Notes to that friend of mine?"

Lorry hesitated.

"I'm not particularly keen to sell them.

"But since you've asked, ma'am... how about fifty pounds for five pages of Roselle's Notes?"

He knew Miss Justice was most likely a member of Mr. A's gatherings, so three of the diary pages might be duplicates, but the other two were not.

Besides some steamy passages, they also contained valuable historical and mysticism knowledge.

That alone made fifty pounds a reasonable price.

Besides, Miss Audrey was collecting Emperor Roselle's Diary everywhere, so buying duplicate content was perfectly normal. She was so wealthy... if he didn't make that money, someone else would.

A smile filled Fors's blue eyes.

"Thank you for your generosity.

"However, I'll need to ask my friend first. If she accepts that price, how should I let you know?"

Since this was a literary salon, there were pens and paper in the little basket hanging from the screen. Lorry immediately took a sheet and wrote down his address on Iris Street.

"I'll give you an answer within three days.

"I see your friend is back. Let's talk again when we have the chance."

With her goal accomplished, Fors happened to spot Miles walking over with several others, so she took the opportunity to rise and leave.

"Let's talk another time."

Lorry stood and nodded to her.

Then he turned toward Miles and the others.

Miles's mouth hung open, his eyes bulging as he looked incredulously from Lorry to Fors's departing figure.

Half a minute later, he said wistfully, "Should I have stayed away...?"

Lorry was inwardly speechless.

Why did this neighbor of his always think of such strange things...?

Still, Miles had mostly been joking. He soon began introducing Lorry to the fellow writers beside him, with whom he was on good terms.

They chatted over food and drinks for a while, then started moving around, talking with the other writers attending the salon or with people from publishing houses.

Time passed swiftly

in this harmonious atmosphere.

As eleven o'clock approached, people began leaving one after another. Before long, Lorry and Miles joined them.

After leaving the villa, they walked a few blocks and successfully hailed a carriage.

The carriage slowly set off.

Lorry propped his chin on his hand and looked out the window, feeling rather excited.

Today had been quite rewarding...

He'd met the first member of the main cast... sold the Roselle's Diary pages in his possession... and even secured publication for Young Roselle...

The first two needed no further explanation.

The publication of Young Roselle truly exceeded his expectations.

Thanks to Miles's tireless efforts to make introductions, the deputy editor-in-chief of a medium-sized publishing house had been persuaded to publish a thousand copies of Young Roselle to test the waters.

-This did not conflict with the underground publisher.

The former would target the higher end of the market: middle-class readers, wealthy merchants, and nobles willing to spend money on beautifully produced books.

The latter focused on affordability and value.

Its target customers were ordinary people who did not care about paper or print quality.

Not only did this mean Lorry would soon have another source of income, but it also meant he had earned recognition from fellow writers and publishers and officially entered the profession.

Mr. Miles really was a warmhearted man...

Once he considered you a friend, he spared no effort to help. No wonder he'd thought of paying the remaining rent on the house for him...

As Lorry thought, he turned to look at Miles on the other side.

At that glance, he inwardly frowned.

Something seemed off about Miles.

He'd been perfectly fine at the salon... when had he become like this...? After getting into the carriage? No, he hadn't seemed very enthusiastic during the latter half of the evening...

Lorry carefully went over his memories and finally narrowed it down.

Miles was quite popular. He had flitted about like a butterfly all evening, exchanging a few words with everyone, yet there was one person he had never approached.

And that was not all.

Whenever that person seemed about to come over, Miles would move away in advance.

At that thought, the gentleman's image surfaced in Lorry's mind-

He was a gentleman who paid considerable attention to his words and manners. His formal attire remained immaculate, his hair was meticulously groomed, his expression was mild, and his conversation was poised.

Lorry could not help wondering whether the two had some kind of grudge.

Miles seemed to sense his gaze and turned his head.

Lorry saw that his eyes were bloodshot.

"Raven, as the senior who brought you into this profession, I'm going to give you a second piece of advice today." Miles drew a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth.

"You'd better stay away from Alyosha, or you'll definitely come to grief!"

Alyosha was that gentleman's name.

Apart from Altair and Fors, he was the most professionally successful writer there that evening.