Mystery: But the Witch's Path

After the ball ended, Altair was pushed away from the venue in a 'wheelchair' by a servant.

Looking around at the scene, which was different from when they arrived, Altair looked at the servant with a cold expression and asked, "Where are we going? This isn't the way back to my room."

The servant offered no explanation, but simply continued pushing the wheelchair forward.

Altair was at a loss regarding the servant's actions. The simplest solution would be to kill him, but the servant was ostensibly a royal servant, and dealing with him now would cause unrest. Moreover, only members of the royal family could mobilize the palace servants.

After winding and turning, Altair was finally pushed to the front of a remote hut. Only after the servant knocked on the door and listened to the sounds inside did he dare to open the door and push him inside.

When the door opened, Altair saw King George III, dressed in casual clothes, sitting in the living room looking at a book.

After the servant pushed the wheelchair into the house and parked it, he left immediately, closing the door behind him. Altair greeted him with a smile, "Good evening, Your Majesty. May I ask what brings you here so late?"

As soon as he finished speaking, King George III seemed to lose interest in the book in his hand, looked up at Altair and said, "It seems you have been very successful in your etiquette studies recently."

Altair really wanted to punch the old man at that moment, but he suppressed his urges, put on a smile, and politely replied, "This is all thanks to you for finding me an excellent teacher. Mrs. Anna's teaching quality is very good."

King George III nodded slightly at Altair's words and said, "I called you here because I need you to infiltrate the social circles of those ladies."

"You should know about the recent proposal in the House of Lords to repeal the Grain Act. I need you to get information from them now."

Upon hearing this, Altair began to look troubled and consider the feasibility of the matter.

The main reason for this should be the insufficient "population" to build the mausoleum and the excessive cost of storing grain for the mausoleum.

Are they already secretly building a large-scale mausoleum?

After pondering for a moment, Altair looked troubled and said to King George III, "Your Majesty, you should know that most of the members of the House of Lords are old nobles and members of the 'Conservatives'."

"They will not agree to cede their own interests by passing this bill."

"Of course I know." King George III was not surprised by Altair's answer. As the ruler of a country, he knew that the bill would not pass so easily.

Those old aristocrats only needed to rely on their accumulated land to earn a substantial income each year by renting out land or selling crops. They didn't need to do anything extra; they could simply indulge in a life of pleasure and debauchery.

All of this was backed by the Grain Act. If this act were repealed, a large number of nobles and farmers would go bankrupt.

After a moment's thought, King George III said to Altair, "You are smart enough to know my purpose, and I also know that this matter is difficult to accomplish, so I don't need you to do anything, just give me the information you have heard."

........

After the conversation ended, Altair was pushed away from the hut by his servant.

On the way back, Altair began to ponder the true purpose of "George III".

Gathering information is probably not the main purpose of seeking information. If the royal family has been operating for so many years and doesn't have its own intelligence department, then it might as well hang itself.

Sacrifice a piece? Probably not, the cost of losing this piece would be too great.

.........

"Count Altair, we've arrived at your room. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Hearing the servant's words, Altair snapped out of his reverie and said to him, "That's all, you can go back now."

Altair opened the door directly, and Vera came to greet him at the door and pushed him into the room.

After closing the door, Vera puffed out her cheeks and said, unable to bear the boredom, "Count Altair, it's so boring here. I can't even go out for a walk after you left."

Altair was helpless to deal with Vera's complaints. The banquet was of an exceptionally high standard, and even after the nobles identified themselves, their servants were restricted in their freedom of movement.

Helpless, he said to Vera, "Look, none of Eileen and the others dared to complain, only you dare. Don't say those words after you leave this room."

Vera instinctively covered her mouth, looked around, and, considering her current situation, whispered, "I know, I won't do it again."

Altair couldn't bear to watch her behavior and said calmly, "I know you're all bored staying in your rooms. Come with me tomorrow during the day, and we'll go watch them hunt."

"As for helping me up to change my clothes now, I'm really uncomfortable with the dance dress I wore tonight."

Upon hearing this, the three of them realized what was happening and quickly helped Altair up to start taking off his clothes.

Altair expressed his incomprehension of the clothing designs of this era, saying that he thought everyday wear was already anti-human, but who knew that dance dresses were even more anti-human.

Not only did they have to wear corsets, but they also had to wear petticoats, and the skirts were layered on top of each other.

Once they were down to their undergarments, Altair told the three to stop what they were doing, joking that he hadn't completely changed yet and that if he lost even his last piece of clothing, he would definitely be exposed.

"Why are you still here?" Altair asked, looking at the three people in front of him. He had already told them to leave after they had taken off their clothes.

Regarding Altair's problem, Freya said helplessly, "There are many nobles here for this hunt, so the manager of this palace hasn't arranged sleeping places for the servants yet, so..."

After saying this, Freya lowered her head and rubbed the ribbon in her hand.

Seeing the same expression on the three faces, Altair patted his head and said helplessly, "So your current idea is to go into my room and sleep."

Upon hearing this, Vera quickly stepped forward, grabbed Altair's arm, placed it against her chest, and swayed it, saying, "Count Altair, we're so pitiful. He hasn't told us where to rest yet. It's already midnight, and Vera doesn't want to sleep in the corridor."

"Please take in the three of us. We can sleep on the floor in the room."

Altair was also helpless about their request. He couldn't reveal himself yet, but if he didn't let the three of them stay, they might really have to sleep in the corridor.

Before Altair could react, Freya and Irene stripped off all their clothes and said, "Count Altair, we both already know the secret you've been hiding."

"Although you've hidden it very well, we are, after all, your personal maids. We take care of everything from your daily meals to your clothing and appearance. It's impossible for us not to notice anything at all."

"This is a perfect opportunity for us to fully integrate into your family."

Altair's expression shifted from shock and confusion to relief at the two's actions, and he turned to look at Vera, who was still standing.

At this moment, Vera looked at the scene around her and, just like the two of them, began to take off her clothes.

Altair asked the two clever people in a cold voice, "You two probably have more to say than just this, especially Freya."

Looking at the three from the perspective of a "mind reader," we see Vera's bewildered expression, Eileen's submissiveness, and Freya's scheming.

Freya looked up at Altair and said through gritted teeth, "I need Count Altair's help to become a powerful Extraordinary. Since I entered this house, I have observed the extraordinary abilities of some people, and I want to have the same power as them."

"You should know about me. I was originally a product of my father's training to be traded, but luckily he died before I was born."

"If you're willing, I can trade myself to you and become your personal property completely."

Altair was still very curious about Freya's actions. He stroked his chin and asked with a smile, "Freya, why do you want to become an Extraordinary, and how can you guarantee that I will agree to your request?"

Freya didn't even consider Altair's question before jumping straight to it.

"It wasn't until I entered the Earl of Sheffield's mansion that I truly understood what nobility was. When I was threatened by gangsters to pay money, you only needed to have Hahn make a call and someone would take care of it. When I was assigned to deliver messages to other nobles, they greeted me with smiles."

"I found myself slowly becoming addicted to this feeling."

"At the same time, I know that I will lose these things sooner or later, and I don't want to lose them. I want to always have this right that I won't be looked down upon. Since then, I have been working hard to stay in the Sheffield family."

"But Vivian's arrival made me realize the truth: I need more than just power; I need to become extraordinary. Power alone is not enough; I also need ability."

"As for how to guarantee your agreement, I think I am the best guarantee."

After hearing Freya's words, Altair turned to look at Eileen, who said directly, "Eileen is Count Altair's private property."

Altair didn't even look at Vera.