Mystery: But the Witch's Path

To confirm whether it would affect future plot developments, Altair asked with curiosity, "Grelint, what kind of 'occult' knowledge have you found? Have you collected any potion recipes?"

At this moment, Altair was genuinely afraid that they would receive the potion recipe and gradually become Beyonders. This wouldn't affect him personally, but it would affect the subsequent plot. Could Klein, who knew nothing, deal with two Beyonders?

Having been in the extraordinary world for many years, will Audrey still become the "justice and financial backer" of the Tarot Club?

Hearing Altair's question, Grelint wasn't surprised, but instead explained:

"Based on your method, we no longer limited ourselves to the channels of cause and began to explore downwards step by step, such as going deep into institutions like the police department to collect information. In just one month, we collected what we had accumulated over the previous years."

"For example, a while ago, several murders occurred in the dock area and the East District. According to the information we received, it was confirmed that an extraordinary person was cracking down on the gang. We initially wanted to find the formula through this extraordinary person's channels, but unfortunately she has not reappeared since."

"We learned from the auxiliary police officers on Tiemen Street in the Qiao District that there was a place that was suspected to be a gathering place for extraordinary individuals, so we sent people in to investigate. Although we haven't entered the gathering place yet, we have still gained some useful knowledge."

"For example, the 'Pharmacist' pathway. People who take this potion are skilled at concocting various potions. As you know, health is often the priority for nobles like us. There are also abilities through the 'Hunter', 'Lawyer', 'Arbitrator' pathways, and so on. The names of these potions are really strange."

"Oh, and most importantly, Audrey has also joined our party. She also aspires to be an extraordinary person. She's at the ball today, and I'll introduce you all to each other in a bit."

Altair listened intently to Grelint's words, as if he were back in his student days, and was temporarily relieved when he learned that they had not yet obtained the formula.

"By the way, you haven't answered my question yet. Why have you been sitting here since the beginning of the ball?" After introducing the knowledge they had acquired, Grelint steered the conversation back on track.

Altair was sick of answering that question tonight. Who would have thought that he would be forced to attend a ball even though he had sprained his ankle, and that these nobles would be so "polite" that everyone would come over and ask him questions?

Altair, as if mechanically triggering the underlying logic, said expressionlessly, "I twisted my ankle while watching the horse race this afternoon, so I can only wait here for the banquet to end."

"Then you are truly unfortunate," Grylint said with a regretful expression. "These few days of banquets are the most precious time of the year."

Grelint had no intention of chatting with Altair indefinitely. Before the new dance music even started, a young noblewoman approached him and invited her to dance.

As he himself said, these few days are the most precious days in the Kingdom of Rune, as most of the power holders are here, and getting to know even one more person would be the greatest gain.

......

As more and more nobles came to rest, Altair felt that the ball should be coming to an end soon.

Grelint brought a beautiful young woman to Altair and introduced her, "Altair, this is Count Hall's daughter, the most dazzling jewel of Backlund, Miss Audrey Hall."

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

Altair looked at Audrey Hall before him. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and wore a light blue satin ball gown with a high collar, high waist, and leg-of-mutton sleeves. The skirt was made of multiple layers of tulle and decorated with ribbon bows. The light blue color complemented her blonde hair and blue eyes perfectly.

Her long, golden hair was piled high, making her neck appear even longer and more graceful, like that of a swan.

Whether it's the influence of the information age in his previous life or his current deep understanding of Vivian, who is enhanced by witch potions, Altair can't help but admire Audrey Hall's beauty.

Her beauty was a fusion of her appearance and her temperament, and Altair had to admit that it was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.

"Good evening, Miss Audrey." After seeing her appearance, Altair greeted her with a smile, pointing to his own feet and explaining:

"I'm so sorry, I'm not in the right state to stand up and greet you."

Audrey Hall looked at the seated Altair, gave him a polite smile, and said, "Good evening, Earl Altair. On my way here, Grelint told me about your misfortune today. I wish you a speedy recovery."

Upon hearing Audrey's address to Altair, Grylint's face turned to one of disbelief. He abruptly interrupted their conversation, asking, "Audrey, you just called Altair Count?"

In response to Grynt's question, Audrey asked intriguedly, "Don't you know? Altair inherited the title of Earl of Sheffield three months ago."

Upon hearing Audrey's answer, Grylint looked on with a puzzled expression. After a few seconds of silence, he reacted and said, "I really don't know. I've looked into your information since that 'memorial service,' but the information I received was that you are a baron."

"I am truly sorry, Count Altair; my previous behavior was rude."

At this point, Grelint wanted to strangle the person who gave him the information. He had specifically asked someone to investigate in order to apologize to Altair, but it turned out that Altair was just a baron, so he didn't go to apologize in person.

Now that he's been told he's offended a count, Grelint really wants to slap himself twice, hoping to wake himself from this dream.

Altair could see right through his thoughts. After all, the Mind Reader's Potion was only suppressing the lower sequence from the higher sequence, and reading the minds of ordinary people was still quite simple.

"There's no need to apologize to me again. I already said 'ignorance is no excuse' when we first met today," Altair chuckled, turning to look at Audrey and noticing her flustered reaction.

At this time, Audrey was only a 14-year-old girl. As a girl, her mind was not fully developed and she always liked to do some small things. Even Audrey was no exception.

In a situation where the atmosphere had clearly changed after her identity was revealed, which could have been a relaxed conversation, Altair said in a relaxed tone, "There's no need to be so respectful to me because of my count status. You've forgotten that I'm just a 15-year-old girl now. I don't really want this identity. You can just call me Altair as usual."