At the mere thought of tonight's banquet, Audrey instinctively felt disgust in her heart.
Her unwillingness bubbled up like boiling water, one bubble popping only for another to emerge.
Because this banquet was organized by the royal family, which meant those princes would also be in attendance.
Currently, although King George III was still in the prime of his life, the competition for the heir to the throne had already quietly begun.
The princes were each showing their prowess, all wanting to rally more support from parliamentarians and nobles.
And among both the House of Lords and House of Commons, the great magnate Earl Hall stood particularly prominent, especially since he had a daughter of incomparable beauty.
"Miss, even if you dislike those princes, you must maintain proper etiquette."
Personal maid Annie helped her up from the bed.
"Of course I know that."
Audrey replied.
Those princes always tried to approach her, like a flock of birds flapping their wings and showing off their bright plumage.
But Audrey only found them crude and chauvinistic.
Not only that, the royal family worshipped the Lord of Storms, while Earl Hall's family believed in the Evernight Goddess.
The two sides had different views on women's status.
If she became a prince's consort, even leaving the house would probably become difficult afterward, let alone attending Beyonder gatherings...
"Oh, remember to notify Miss Cecilia. I need her as my bodyguard."
She said to her maid.
The Psychology Alchemists Council was already attempting to contact her. Perhaps there would be members of theirs at this banquet too.
Under these circumstances, she did need someone to guard her.
"I'll arrange for someone to notify her."
Annie said. "Miss, which dress do you plan to wear tonight?"
As the two conversed, she attended to Audrey, leading her into the dressing room adjacent to the bedroom.
This was a spacious room filled with all kinds of dresses and numerous exquisitely crafted pieces of jewelry.
Four or five maids followed closely behind, entering and beginning their work with perfect coordination.
Some braided her hair, some selected accessories for her, some applied her makeup.
They worked busily but orderly, their movements efficient. Clearly, they'd been doing this for a long time.
The tall standing mirror, framed in expensive platinum, clearly reflected the exquisite, beautiful face of the young lady opposite.
Audrey looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but sigh once more.
To cater to the royal family, she had to attend in full formal attire.
Once she started getting dressed up like this, the entire afternoon would probably be spent.
"I've reattached your arm."
In the East Borough, in a filthy alley, Silas, after changing his appearance, said to the worker opposite him.
"Thank you so much, Father!"
The worker looked at his severed arm reconnected to his body once more, overwhelmed with emotion.
His tears and snot flowed together, leaving four clean tracks on his face dirtied by coal ash, looking both pitiful and comical.
"Rest more these next few days. Don't move around."
Silas said flatly. "Otherwise, the arm will fall off again... Alright, next patient."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
The worker, tears flowing, kept thanking Silas.
He spread open his severely chapped hands, his palms blackened with coal ash tightly gripping a few pennies and a soli coin.
He wanted to give this money to Silas as meager compensation for saving him.
But Silas just waved his hand, had his sister forcibly push him out, and welcomed the next patient in.
Outside the alley, even more injured people were still queuing up.
Backlund's factories devoured people.
The roaring machines loved human flesh and blood the most. They chewed up these workers' bones and blood, happily spewing out black smoke.
And so shiny gold coins were sent down the production line, tinkling as they poured into the factory owners' purses.
Silas wasn't here to save people with some lofty purpose.
Through this process, he was attempting to role-play, wanting to figure out whether the Shepherd potion was related to believers.
But perhaps because he wasn't spreading evil god doctrines to these people, the Shepherd potion showed no progress whatsoever.
"Alright, Cecilia. Let's go. It's about time."
After treating the last batch of patients with external injuries, Silas said to his sister.
The two walked out from the treatment room, slowly leaving under the grateful gazes of the surrounding injured.
Miss Audrey's side had already sent someone to notify them, saying there was a banquet tonight and she needed his sister to attend as a bodyguard.
And if his sister was going, he could only hide in her shadow and go along.
The two walked back home, left a note for their landlady Emily, then hired a carriage and headed to Earl Hall's villa in Queens District.
"Welcome."
Audrey, dressed in full formal attire, smiled at them. Her golden hair had been put up, her refined and elegant gown and the gems on her hands and snow-white neck were translucent and dazzling, reflecting brilliant light under the lamps.
"Miss Audrey."
Silas had already hidden in his sister's shadow at this moment. Only she greeted their employer.
"Cecilia, would you like to change into a different dress?"
"That won't be necessary. It would be too conspicuous and easily expose me."
What assassins needed most was concealment. If she wore a beautiful formal dress with everyone's eyes on her, how could she assassinate targets?
"I see. What a pity."
Audrey said regretfully.
The other's appearance was clearly no less than her own, yet she could only wear conservative and concealing clothes, even her face covered by a hood. What a shame.
Silas in the shadows also nodded in agreement.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group set off. The carriage rumbled forward several streets and stopped in front of a villa.
Although this evening banquet was hosted by the royal family, since most attendees were young noble children, to avoid making everyone feel constrained, the venue was chosen in a villa outside the palace.
It was said this villa belonged to a certain prince.
The tall building stood in the night, brightly lit inside, resplendent with gold and jade.
Soft and cheerful music faintly drifted out, adding warm color to the deep night.
Silas coldly observed it all.
He saw guests conversing and laughing cheerfully, pale gold champagne bubbling delicately in transparent stemmed glasses.
The glasses clinked together, producing pleasant sounds.
He saw ladies flowing gracefully and reservedly through the banquet, expensive and exquisite jewels adorning their pale necks, wearing deliberate smiles as they scrutinized and judged each other critically.
He saw gentlemen talking grandly, boasting of their legendary experiences: hunting, military service, establishing businesses...
Watching all this, Silas couldn't help but recall those workers in the East Borough, recall the innocent girls who had been abducted and abused.
Buzz, buzz. A sharp ringing echoed in his mind. He laughed mockingly, then suppressed his frenzied thoughts.
"Miss Audrey Hall has arrived."
Audrey left the carriage with Annie's assistance, and a servant immediately approached respectfully.
There are quite a few Beyonders here.
Hiding in the shadows, Silas keenly sensed the presence of lambs.
That servant, that musician, and that person hiding in the corner... and their sequences aren't low either.
Perhaps because of royal involvement, the banquet's security level was fairly tight.
Although Audrey herself faced no trouble, his sister, as a bodyguard, had her weapons required to be left behind.
As soon as Audrey entered the villa, she attracted numerous gazes. This was naturally thanks to her family background and exquisite appearance.
The inconspicuous hooded woman behind her was naturally overlooked by them as a matter of course.
"Audrey, you're here."
Several of her friends quickly gathered around, including Viscount Glaint among them.
"My apologies for being slightly late."
Audrey replied with a smile. "Fortunately, Their Highnesses the princes haven't arrived yet."
Arriving after these hosts would have seemed somewhat discourteous.
"Have you heard, Audrey?"
Glaint's eyes darted about, suddenly lowering his voice quite gossipy.
"According to rumors, attending alongside the princes this time will also be a certain princess from Feysac..."
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