Chapter 313: Premonition, Interaction, and Script
After the dancing segment ended, the gala was nearing its end.
"Yes, the situation at the time was indeed very dangerous, but it was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—"
"So I decisively fired my gun."
"I didn't expect you to be so brave!" A noble young lady in a magnificent long dress looked at Lorne with eyes full of admiration.
"Actually, it's nothing much."
After the dancing ended, quite a few people took the initiative to approach Lorne and strike up a conversation. First were some noble young masters and ladies who were very interested in Lorne's rescue experience and full of longing for adventure. They were quite interested in this kind of real story with the nature of a police-and-thief film.
This also resulted in Hazel, who had been wanting to come over and ask about the situation, being blocked outside the crowd with a depressed look on her face.
"What an interesting experience."
A slightly resonant voice came from not far away.
Lorne turned to look and found a young man dressed luxuriously, appearing to be about twenty years old, walking towards him with a curious expression.
Dela Negan, a viscount, and also the nephew of the famous Duke Negan.
Although this Charity Foundation gala was mostly organized by the Church of the Evernight Goddess, there were still many believers of the lord of storms present. As the nephew of a conservative heavyweight, his appearance was quite eye-catching.
"Hello, Your Excellency Viscount."
Lorne, who had intended to keep a low profile tonight, felt a bit uncomfortable with this sudden attention, but still adjusted his expression and gave an elegant bow.
"Don't be so restrained; you are the real protagonist tonight," Viscount Dela chuckled, appearing quite approachable.
Protagonist? I just want to be invisible right now—Lorne gave a bitter laugh in his heart.
Like most young people, this young viscount was also quite interested in Lorne's "adventure stories."
Moreover, his arrival also caught the attention of another big figure; Prince Edessak broke away from the entanglement of the people around him and walked curiously towards Lorne.
This—I always feel like there's a lot of ominous aura around this prince—Lorne naturally noticed him too.
He calmly activated some of his accumulated "luck" once again, while adjusting his expression to give a respectful bow to the Prince.
Seeing the two big figures approaching, the surrounding people tactfully withdrew, leaving enough space for their conversation.
"No need to be restrained."
Unlike the prince in Lorne's stereotype, Prince Edessak appeared quite easygoing. Although he carried a hint of innate noble Pride, he didn't seem Pride.
"I didn't expect Your Highness the Prince to attend such an occasion," Lorne asked seemingly casually.
Prince Edessak replied, "Uncle Henry brought me here. He just returned from abroad recently, and since he had some free time today, he brought me along to have a look."
He looked directly at Lorne, his eyes filled with sincere admiration: "Besides, I wanted to meet the 'hero of the east end' from the newspapers in person."
Hearing this, Lorne smiled and began chatting with these two noble young gentlemen.
They mainly discussed some non-public details about the Capin case.
"Actually, after meeting that poor mother and daughter that day, there was also a detective who participated in the help and investigation."
"A detective?" Both the Prince and the Viscount showed looks of interest; this was information not mentioned in the newspapers.
"Yes, he is a very capable detective, and—very kind-hearted."
As for his attitude towards cases—it's a bit... well, he likes to break into private residences—Lorne silently complained in his heart.
Seeing how interested the two were in this "mysterious detective," Lorne thought that since Sherlock was also at the gala, should he go with the flow and introduce him?
But this thought existed for only a moment before he dismissed it.
Sherlock Moriarty is a member of a secret organization, and he has his own significant secrets. I'd better not meddle.
Thus, he quickly skipped over the related topics.
"Mr. Scott, was the weapon you used back then that repeating shotgun?" Viscount Dela asked curiously.
Few men are not interested in weapons.
"Yes," Lorne nodded, "it was produced by my factory."
"I tried that gun later; it's indeed very exquisite," Edessak also said. "Its rate of fire and power far exceed ordinary shotguns."
"If the two of you are interested, my factory can specially customize a few for you. Whether it's the engraving or the materials, they can be made to the highest specifications," Lorne immediately offered a sincere proposal.
"Custom-made ones are good, of course, but the one Mr. Scott used at the time should have more commemorative significance. It witnessed the birth of a commoner hero, didn't it?" Edessak calmly fixed his gaze on Lorne.
Lorne immediately caught the underlying meaning. Without any hesitation, he readily stated that he could gift that weapon to the other party.
Trading a gun for a prince's favor, even if only on the surface, seemed like a good deal no matter how one looked at it.
The group chatted a few more words about weapons and the factory; Viscount Dela even showed an intention to invest in Lorne's munitions factory.
Solicitation from the Conservatives—looking at the other's enthusiastic appearance, Lorne understood in his heart.
However, there was no need to be in such a hurry to refuse gold pounds delivered to his door, so he followed the topic and exchanged some initial views with Viscount Dela.
However, just as the conversation seemed harmonious, Lorne's brow furrowed imperceptibly.
Premonition of Disaster was triggered—
In a room so pitch black it seemed not even a sliver of light could penetrate.
An ordinary quill pen was writing automatically on a desk, with lines of twisted text slowly emerging on the table.
And its "pen holder" seemed to be still in a deep sleep, likely due to excessive pleasure with a certain Demoness.
"—The arrival of the two members of the royal family exceeded many people's expectations, but considering the official's attitude toward this 'hero of the east end,' their arrival seems reasonable—"
"Since the gala hall was temporarily renovated, some safety measures were not fully in place. For instance, right above where Prince Edessak,
Viscount Dela, and James Scott were talking, the giant crystal chandelier—because it was temporarily installed—was not sufficiently fixed. After a negligible vibration, it suddenly falling off is—"
At this point, the quill's writing abruptly stopped, the tip trembling slightly as if struggling with something.
A pale hand, covered in burn and stitch marks, suddenly reached out from the side and firmly held down the quill that still wanted to continue writing.
"Screech—"
Ince Zangwill, with suppressed fury, quickly crossed out the part the quill had just automatically written. Then, he controlled the pen and forcefully wrote new content: "As a gala filled with important figures, even if the ballroom was prepared in haste, the necessary safety inspections were very thorough. No accidents will occur at the gala."
"Almost ruined the big plan!"
Ince Zangwill tightly gripped the still-trembling quill and cursed under his breath. Immediately, a bone-chilling cold surged into his heart.
"This damned pen—how much has it written on its own while I wasn't looking?!"