In the video, Alderich Kubit knew much more than what was apparent; he virtually turned his face into a palette mixing multiple emotions that not even the best actor in the world could display such complexity!
——Secretive anticipation and utter astonishment intertwined in his eyes.
The smugness and incredulous annoyance caused his facial muscles to twitch into a pulled shape.
He was angry for being kept in the dark and panicked about being abandoned, even his body twisted as his head seemed to want to look towards Chairman Hosone, but his feet instinctively turned towards the estate's gate as if wanting to flee.
Vilan froze the frame, marveling at this moment of acting art and also flagged it with a big "suspicious" tag.
Beside him, Victor also noticed the last key individual marked on the list——
Reginald Perez.
Unlike Kubit, who was frozen all over, Perez instinctively stepped forward half a step when he saw the Gold Powder burst forth, raising his hand as if he wanted to catch the shimmering Gold Powder with his bare hands.
His face displayed an almost obsessive fervor, as if he saw nothing and no one else!
Vilan, watching him repeatedly view the footage, said puzzled:
"I saw it too. Isn't this guy extremely obsessed with Time Magic? Wouldn't that reaction be normal? Moreover, his response wasn't much different from others when the Scourers appeared earlier in the video."
Victor said, "I know, but…"
He dragged the progress bar back a bit, slowing down, analyzing almost frame by frame:
"Look, his sobering speed was too fast! When others were still worrying whether the powder would be harmful, he had already begun patting his collar ahead of them!"
Compared to those around him jumping around, casting Spells to keep the powder away, Perez's patting wasn't conspicuous.
But combined with his "obsessive fascination with Time Magic" personality, this action seemed peculiar.
Vilan tapped a button to freeze the frame again.
The man in the video lowered his head, the Beetle Poppet didn't capture his expression at the moment, but it vaguely showed his downward tilted mouth corners.
"Disgusted… disappointed?" Vilan mumbled: "But how could he judge in an instant that what fell on him… wasn't his dream Time Particle?"
"There's only one reasonable explanation." Victor said solemnly: "He has come into contact with real Time Particle and knows what it feels like when it touches a body."
Although Antoine was focused on sending messages, his ears weren't blocked, naturally hearing the occasional discussion beside him.
Initially, he didn't pay much attention, but over time, Antoine's writing speed involuntarily slowed, glancing again and again at Vilan and Victor.
Vilan suddenly turned his head 180 degrees, looking at Antoine with a smile: "What's wrong? Mr. Moro wants coffee?"
Antoine was startled, quickly waving his hands: "No, no! Please continue!"
Vilan turned back, while Antoine felt his heart begin to race.
At this moment, he really wanted to ask Vid——
These Poppets of yours… what's their situation? Did you really just throw the souls of a few random unlucky souls inside them?
...
"Miss Elsie."
The House-Elf blinked its large, tennis-ball-like eyes, respectfully looking at the girl practicing puppet making:
"All the Congress people have left."
"Oh."
The blonde girl dropped the pale doll in her hand that seemed to die with eyes open, stood up, and walked outside, asking: "Did they get any results?"
"No, Miss." The House-Elf's ears drooped down, its tone carrying a bit of disdain for those people.
"Hmm… That was expected."
Elsie smiled and asked, "What about the Gold Powder?"
The House-Elf said: "It's just regular yellow iron powder, neither valuable nor magical."
Elsie asked again: "Any footage from the Scourers?"
The House-Elf said: "Apart from the Flow Mirror in the estate, no similar footage was received elsewhere, confirming this was a very targeted act of deception."
"The Aurors from Congress believe their aim was to undermine Chairman Hosone's prestige, portraying the respectable chairman as a fool unable to distinguish truth from illusion. But they all say, after this incident, everyone respects Chairman Hosone even more!"
"I see… It's another political conflict, truly boring."
Elsie stood on the balcony, looking at the now-empty courtyard below.
Recently brightly lit, the courtyard was now in disarray, the lawn trampled and disordered, shrubs slanted and toppled, with trash casually thrown away by Congress investigators.
Yet the air still carried the lingering sweet scent of perfume, mixed with the cool night breeze, surprisingly refreshing.
The House-Elf said angrily: "Master, don't lend the estate to these Congress people again next time, they don't cherish it at all!"
Elsie affectionately patted the House-Elf's large ears, saying tenderly:
"Silly child, compared to the orders we receive from Congress, what is an estate? If it weren't for Chairman Hosone's unwillingness to accept it, I'd even give this small estate directly to him!"
The House-Elf, after having its ears patted, flushed with excitement, mumbling phrases like "flowing Congress President, solid Vanderbilt."
Elsie chuckled, not correcting its beliefs, softly saying:
"Alright, clean up today. Tomorrow, Dad will send some Herbology experts over, and the yard will be restored to its former glory quickly."
Elsie lightly lifted her skirt hem, about to return to her bedroom to rest, however, at the turn of her moment, her peripheral vision suddenly caught something unusual.
She stopped, turned her head to look, then suddenly bent down, reached out, and wiped the narrow gap between the window frame and the stone wall.
A small ant appeared in her palm, its six slender legs helplessly moving in midair.
Elsie flipped the ant over, examining it closely.
Compound eyes, antennae, mandibles, back plate, thorax, abdomen, stinger…
Even at a close look, it was indistinguishable from a real ant.
But…
How could an ant, such a small creature, possess Magic Power?
Despite the extremely faint magical reaction, Elsie had been sensitive to Magic Power since childhood, and when placing the ant on her palm, she distinctly felt the presence of Magic Power.
She slightly lifted her lips, her eyes reflecting a shimmer of ripples.