Chapter 315: Trouble and a Gentleman
"Quite an acquaintance indeed—" Lorne whispered in his heart.
If his spiritual intuition wasn't wrong, the pitiful lady before him should be the one who sold him the "Instigator" potion at the "Eye of Wisdom" gathering.
However, looking at her current state, she didn't seem much different from their last meeting—the feedback from "Premonition of Disaster" was even slightly lighter than before. Considering he had already advanced, had she not advanced yet? Or was she in a weakened state—
But she shouldn't be able to recognize me now. My current appearance and this luxurious style of dress are completely different from before.
Lorne sized her up for a few moments, then bowed slightly, performing a standard Gentleman salute.
"Beautiful lady, may I ask if you need help?"
In fact, the best way would be to pretend not to see her and have the coachman drive around. But since he had already been stopped, pretending nothing happened in front of the coachman would seem too cold, not fitting his current persona as the hero of the east district.
"It's too late, I can't find a rental carriage. Could you... give me a ride?" The woman's tone was weak, her eyes filled with anticipation.
"This—" Lorne glanced at the coachman beside him.
The coachman was full of excitement, looking like he really wanted to be a helpful Gentleman in front of a beautiful woman.
Seeing him like this, he really hopes I'll help—and if the rumor that the hero of the east district refused to help a young girl in distress late at night were to spread, it wouldn't sound very good.
"Of course, miss. Please get in." Lorne bowed slightly in a very Gentleman manner, opening the carriage Door for her.
"Mhm."
Once in the carriage, Lorne looked at her slightly disheveled attire and then asked, "May I ask where you are going, miss?"
"The Pier, I want to go to the Pier area," the woman replied.
"The Pier—" Lorne pursed his lips.
How foolish. He should have asked for the location first and then politely declined due to the distance. Now that she was already in the carriage, it would be inappropriate to kick her out directly.
"To the Pier," Lorne said to the coachman in the front.
"Alright, sir!" the coachman in the front replied cheerfully and then cracked his horsewhip hard.
With the crisp sound of the reins snapping, the carriage slowly began to move again.
"I wonder what you want to do at the Pier so late, miss?" Lorne asked with feigned curiosity.
"Traveling. I have to catch a boat tomorrow morning."
"I see—" Lorne nodded slightly, wanting to say more, but seeing that she kept her head down with an air of "do not disturb" and didn't want to talk much, he didn't bother further.
He turned his head to look out the small window of the carriage at the receding gas streetlights.
"There are quite a few carriages," he whispered. These ornate carriages should all belong to guests who had just finished attending a banquet.
"Earl Hall's—Viscount Dela's—"
"And... the Royal Family's."
Royal Family!
Oh?!
Lorne keenly noticed that when he said the word "Royal Family," the woman opposite him visibly trembled.
There's definitely a problem. If I just take her directly to the Pier, it'll probably bring me trouble—he rubbed the soft leather seat of the carriage, lost in thought.
After about ten minutes, Lorne observed the scenery outside the window and estimated the distance.
"Stop," he suddenly spoke, his volume not loud but enough for the coachman to hear clearly.
"What's wrong, sir?" Although the coachman was a bit confused, he immediately pulled the reins and stopped the carriage.
"We haven't reached the Pier yet." The woman also glanced at the scenery outside the window, her tone carrying a hint of alertness.
"I'm very sorry, miss." Lorne's face showed just the right amount of apology, "I suddenly remembered an urgent matter I need to handle nearby. I'm afraid I can't take you to the Pier anymore."
"But don't worry," he continued in a gentle and convincing tone, "there's a Police Station not far ahead. I can entrust the police officers there to take you in a police carriage; it will be safer and faster."
Honestly, if the banquet at the Backlund Police Station headquarters hadn't just ended, with many dignitaries still lingering there, Lorne might even have had the carriage turn around to take her back to where he had just left.
"No... no need, I don't want to trouble the police officers," the woman quickly refused.
"How can that be trouble?" Lorne's smile became even more Gentleman. "I have some connections with the police chief. Besides, I'm sure the police officers there would be very happy to help a beautiful lady like yourself."
"If it's really inconvenient, I can just walk there myself," the woman said, trying another approach to make him feel guilt when she saw how persistent he was.
"How could that be?" Lorne immediately countered. "Allowing a beautiful lady like you to walk the streets alone late at night is not something a Gentleman should do."
As he spoke, he stepped out of the carriage first, then turned around and made a "please" gesture to the woman inside.
The woman's brow furrowed slightly; she knew she couldn't refuse anymore. Under his polite but unquestionable posture, she could only reluctantly step out of the carriage.
Lorne walked ahead in a very Gentleman manner, leading the way toward the Police Station with its lit gas lamps not far away.
After a few steps, the woman suddenly stopped and reached out her soft arm, grabbing Lorne's arm.
"Sir—" Her voice trembled slightly, and she looked up at him pitifully. "Actually... I'm in trouble. I barely managed to escape from home, so could you please not—"
Why is it this cliché reason again—Lorne complained silently in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Rest assured, no matter what problem you've encountered, the police will definitely help you."
He ignored her pitiful gaze and the soft touch on his arm, continuing to lead her step by step toward the Police Station with its lit gas lamps—
"Dammit!"
"I finally caught an opportunity when he left!"
Seeing the gate Door of the Police Station getting closer, the woman finally realized the man before her was unmoved by both soft and hard tactics. She cursed under her breath, suddenly broke free from Lorne's hand, and turned to flee without hesitation into the nearby Darkness alleyway.
"Uh—on the run?"
"She didn't use force, probably afraid of making a noise—"
Watching her back, Lorne rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
"Forget it, better not meddle in others' business."
After a while, the coachman saw Lorne walking back unhurriedly from the area lit by gas lamps.
"Sir?" the coachman asked curiously. "Was that lady... taken away by the police officers?"
Lorne shook his head, his face showing a hint of helplessness and lingering fear.
"No. That lady suddenly ran away halfway to the Police Station."
He lowered his voice and analyzed, "I suspect tonight might have been a setup. Having a beautiful lady act as bait late at night, and once we reached the secluded Pier, her accomplices might have jumped out to hijack us."
"The Dock Area is sparsely populated, and it's night; no one would notice for a while."
—
"This... this—" The coachman was terrified, his face turning pale under the gaslight. He was just an ordinary coachman; he had never experienced anything like this.
Lorne patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Of course, this is just my guess. It might just be a misunderstanding.
I've already explained the situation to the people at the Police Station. Whatever happens next has nothing to do with us."
"Take me back."
Returning to the carriage, Lorne immediately activated his Spirit Vision, carefully scanning the entire carriage to make sure nothing that shouldn't be there was left behind.
In his Spirit Vision, the carriage held the faint spirituality of himself, the coachman, and the lady from just now; other than that, everything was normal.
The only abnormality was that he found a single... long black hair left on the seat where the woman had just been sitting.