บท 302: Provocation
Cons did not go into detail about the Hunter pathway with the "outsider" Audrey, glossing over the fact that the Conspirer belonged to it. However, Audrey already knew this. Skipping to a new topic, she feigned curiosity and asked, "Did Mr. Cotton Surrey attend tonight's gathering? If so, could you introduce me? Haha, if my father agrees, I'd like to be friends with his granddaughter."
"Mr. Surrey was indeed invited and is over by the dining area. I know him, so I can introduce you," Cons replied, hesitating slightly before adding, "However, as for becoming friends with Mr. Surrey's granddaughter… I suggest you give it careful thought."
"Why?" Audrey stopped in her tracks, puzzled.
"Mr. Surrey's granddaughter, Fanny, was raised in Intis and only recently came to Backlund. You know how Intis girls tend to be more… open compared to Loenites," Conce said, lowering his voice. "According to some reports, she's spent a few nights at the home of that 'Hero Detective' with several other girls."
Several other girls... The Hero Detective has such a chaotic private life? I remember Emma and Miss Makt even quarreled over him at Duke Negan's ball… Wait, Emma is Viscount Horatio's youngest daughter. Did she meet the detective through Fanny? I wonder if she was one of those girls... Do Xio and Fors know about this?
While Audrey entertained a moment of silent gossip, Cons continued with a hint of warning in his tone, "Also, if you run into the 'Hero Detective' at any gathering, don't let his sweet talk fool you. If he praises you, it's likely just a ploy to get closer."
Now that's just offensive, Audrey thought, pursing her lips. After a brief pause, she replied, "I think I'll go to the ladies' room first. When I return, we can go meet the honorable Mr. Surrey."
"My pleasure, dear lady." Cons made a gentlemanly gesture, his voice full of charm.
In the Intis Embassy's abandoned underground prison, Ebner was intently "deciphering" the Guardian Ritual through a thin layer of the floor when, suddenly, his surroundings seemed to blur.
Realizing this was the "sign" of the Fool activating his "crimson star," Ebner quickly shut down his Pure White Eye, careful to avoid inadvertently analyzing anything dangerous in the Gray Fog.
Soon, a thick gray mist appeared in his vision, and within that mist, he could vaguely make out a figure in a courtly gown.
She remained in a prayer posture, continuously murmuring, "Please relay to Mr. Tower… that Cotton Surrey is attending Count Wolfe's ball tonight."
Ebner pressed a hand to his chest and lowered his head in respect. "Praise be to you, Mr Fool!"
Before his voice faded, the vision and everything he heard vanished, as if it had never happened.
Since the ritual's overseer is confirmed to be away, it's time for me to act!
After a brief pause, Ebner identified the weak points in the Guardian Ritual and quickly painted a "door" on the dungeon ceiling using prepared pigments.
The abandoned dungeon was not far below one of the embassy's wine cellars, so he didn't need to rely on Underground Sneak—Door Opening was enough to pass through the thin barrier of earth.
Thanks to his exploitation of the ritual's weak points, the unattended ritual did not immediately detect the intruder. Moving cautiously, Ebner retrieved a handful of glowing powder from a concealed pouch, recited an incantation, and scattered it over himself. Instantly, his outline seemed to vanish, as if erased with an invisible hand.
The ritual's defenses against Stealth were not the issue; rather, it was the ambassador himself, armed with the Puppeteer's Sealed Artifact, along with Rosago, who had the ability to detect through stealth.
But both of them were out of the embassy tonight—the ambassador attending the ball, and Rosago likely still clashing with MI9 operatives outside.
Relying on his deep understanding of the ritual, Ebner quickly reached the door of a room on the lower level.
This room housed one of the three main ritual cores and was also the embassy's storage area for Sealed Artifacts.
With the Pure White Eye, Ebner swiftly deactivated the storage room's seals, slipping in without alerting anyone.
Inside, the room held roughly a dozen Sealed Artifacts, most of them Grade 3; only two were Grade 2, including the Guardian-related object anchoring the ritual.
Ebner didn't touch any of the artifacts; he wasn't interested in the risk or the hassle. Instead, he took out some spiritual materials and subtly arranged them around the altar.
A faint glow shimmered through the materials before they vanished, their effects now hidden from view.
This act was both an alteration to the ritual and a means of "bribery" to seamlessly link the core to his new anchor.
Satisfied, Ebner meticulously inspected his setup, ensuring there were no visible flaws. Exiting the storage room, he resealed it and quietly climbed to the second-floor archive room, which housed the second ritual core.
Just as he was about to employ the same methods to disable the archive room's seals, he noticed a figure descending the stairs from the first floor and stealthily approaching the room's entrance.
To avoid alerting her to his presence, Ebner did not dare stare directly at the woman. Instead, he glimpsed her in his peripheral vision: around twenty-five or twenty-six, with red-brown hair tied in a ponytail, and a faint impression that her eyes were strikingly clear.
Is this the mysterious "Witch" Bianca, the female officer personally recruited by Bakerland? What is she doing here?
While Ebner puzzled over her purpose, Miss Bianca glanced around and, finding no one nearby, took out a card adorned with complex patterns from her pocket.
She pressed the card against a small recess on the archive room's door, and with a soft hum, the seals were temporarily nullified.
The card in her hand disintegrated into ash.
Miss Bianca carefully collected the ashes, pocketed them, and slipped into the archive room.
That was likely a counterfeit "Pass"—this lady is an actual spy? But Becklund, for all his weaknesses, is also cautious. Surely, he would have thoroughly investigated her background?
Ebner's curiosity deepened, but he quietly followed Bianca into the room.
Once inside, Bianca took out several ritual materials and began conducting a concealed "covert ritual," temporarily shielding a particular bookshelf from the ritual core's detection.
She moved swiftly to the shelf, pulling out a specific "file" and carefully studying it.
After a few minutes, Bianca closed the file, packed up her materials, and exited the archive room, restoring the door's seals as she left.
So she's genuinely a spy. Looks like Bakerland was manipulated from the start. But whose agent is this Bianca? MI9? Or an operative from another nation's intelligence service?
Speculating on this, Ebner wasted no time in taking out his own prepared materials and establishing a link with the second ritual core.
But just as Ebner was preparing to leave, the door to the archive room opened again.
This time, a man in his thirties with striking red hair cautiously entered… and, just like Bianca, headed straight to the previously accessed bookshelf.
This guy… I think I saw his profile in Xio's report. Charles Sauron, a Sequence 8 Provocator…
Could it be that even the Sauron family has been compromised?
Is the embassy full of traitors?
Ebner grumbled to himself but quickly resumed his task, temporarily assuming control over the ritual core to suppress the alarm that was about to sound. He also worked to erase any record of this intrusion.
Unlike the previous intruder, this Provocator was far less skilled in ritual magic; although he used a mystical artifact to obscure his presence, the core's detection systems still picked up his intrusion.
Even if his ritual magic was lacking, however, his own expertise was undeniably polished.
At that moment, forced to clean up the mess left behind by the Provocator, Ebner couldn't help but feel a spark of indignation…
He was feeling provoked!
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