The instant Audrey's eyes met Kons's,"she suddenly understood where the sense of wrongness came from.
Because Kons liked her.
Audrey had always known that Kons harbored special feelings for her, but since her current interests lay entirely in the field of mysticism and she had no plans for romance, she simply pretended not to notice.
Yet the man before her now had no trace of that subtle admiration in his eyes.
Instead, he seemed cold and calculating.
He was scrutinizing Audrey, performing the words and actions she expected to mask the fact that he was an impostor.
But Audrey had realized it too late.
Across the carriage window, he looked at her, his face breaking into a cruel smile.
"BOOM!"
Seeing that smiling face, Audrey's body trembled as a thunderous crash suddenly erupted in her mind.
It felt as though a seed of unease had been planted in her brain.
In the next instant, this seed took root and sprouted at an alarming rate, growing and expanding until it filled her entire mind with the most extreme terror!
Help me!
Audrey wanted to scream, but the emotion was so extreme that it even affected her body, rendering her unable to move or make any sound.
So despite her mind being flooded with overwhelming emotion, Audrey could only slump weakly against her seat, eyes half-closed, motionless, as if trapped in a waking nightmare.
Fors and Xio didn't notice her abnormality at all. They simply thought she was tired, so they didn't disturb her.
"Crack!"
The coachman urged the horses forward, and the two solid-colored steeds pulled the carriage away with a clatter.
No one noticed what had just happened in that brief moment.
The demon Noss, disguised as Kons, stood in place, smiling as he watched the carriage depart.
"This young lady is quite impressive, to actually discover me," he thought to himself. "You have good taste, Kons."
"Go to hell!"
A voice full of hatred and pain echoed in his mind. It was the original owner of this body, Kons Lierson.
"Don't be so angry.
Look, I at least spared her life. I only used emotion to control her so she can't report me, that's all," the demon Noss said with a soft laugh. "You should thank me."
"Kill you! I will definitely kill you!"
But Kons ignored his words, continuing to curse him relentlessly.
Though Noth said this, in reality, not killing Audrey was the better choice.
While killing her would best ensure he wouldn't be exposed, a noble dying here would be too conspicuous and would instead create unnecessary trouble that could ruin the assassination plan.
So using emotion to control her like this was fine. By the time she recovered, Noss would have already finished what he needed to do.
"Kons, it's almost time."
As he communicated with the consciousness inside his mind, his companion Reeve spoke up.
"The parliament members will be arriving one after another. We should head inside too."
"Alright."
Noth replied with a smile.
The two men instructed the police to continue guarding the street entrance, intercepting and inspecting vehicles.
Then they turned and climbed the steps into the House of Lords.
Standing at the top of the staircase, Noss turned to look down at the street below.
He saw numerous carriages gradually gathering below, each one luxuriously appointed with family crests mounted on their sides.
The parliament members stepped down in their fine attire, greeting each other according to rank and station, engaging in meaningless small talk.
"Heh."
Noss almost let out a contemptuous snort, a look of anticipation flickering in his eyes as he turned and entered through the parliament doors.
***
At the same time, in the moving Hall family carriage.
So terrifying... He controlled me with just one expression... This is bad... Kons is in danger... Duke Negan is in danger too...
Audrey thought anxiously.
She tried to activate her own abilities to suppress her emotions, but the panic continued to fill her mind, making it difficult to maintain control.
No, if this continues, it will be too late!
Just as Audrey found herself in this predicament, the carriage turned a corner at the intersection, and the delicate small purse she kept close beside her tipped over.
"Clatter..."
The contents of the bag spilled out, tumbling onto her lap.
Besides the typical items found in a lady's purse, there was also a peculiar accessory among these things.
It looked like a pendant, shaped like a golden gemstone with a vertical slit in the center, resembling an eye.
"Buzz!"
The moment the pendant fell onto Audrey's lap, it suddenly began to emit golden radiance that flowed into her body.
As the light entered her body, Audrey immediately felt a sense of relief.
The golden glow soothed her emotions, giving her the strength to contend with the extreme feelings and freeing her from the completely paralyzed state.
This pendant was the Beyonder item she had purchased at the Tarot Club.
The one provided by [Temperance], commissioned to [The Hanged Man] for crafting, which she had bought with her own money.
It was a Beyonder item made from the "Psychologist" Beyonder characteristic!
This Beyonder item could treat a person's psychological state!
"Thank goodness I have it..."
Audrey thought with relief.
The Sequence 7 Beyonder item couldn't completely eliminate her panic, but at least it gave her the ability to move.
Because this item came from Silas, Audrey worried that he might recognize her as [Justice], so she hadn't worn it around her neck and instead kept it in her bag.
"Miss Audrey, what's wrong?"
At this moment, both Fors and Xio in the carriage noticed her abnormality.
Audrey didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she first looked outside through the carriage window.
After confirming that the carriage had moved far away from that street and she was temporarily safe, she turned to face her two friends and bodyguards.
"Something very troubling has happened."
She said seriously, "Both of you, I need you to get out of the carriage immediately and go to the nearest of the three major churches to report this."
"Huh?"
Both Xio and Fors were confused, but seeing Audrey's expression, they sensed she wasn't joking.
"Report what exactly?"
Xio instinctively asked.
"Duke Negan may be assassinated. The assassin is a high-sequence Beyonder."
Audrey's next words shocked them both.
"This... Miss Audrey..."
Fors said in a panic.
She couldn't understand the situation at all. Nothing had happened, so why would she suddenly say something like this?
"I'm sorry, time is urgent and there's no time to explain."
Audrey knew that she had to act as quickly as possible to have any chance of changing the situation, preventing the assassination, and saving her friend Kons.
"Please trust me!"
"I..."
Fors looked into her incredibly earnest eyes, not knowing what to say.
"...I understand."
Xio said in a low voice, exchanging a glance with Fors.
"Thank you both so much."
Audrey relaxed slightly.
After this, she called for the coachman to stop and let the two of them off at the roadside, then urged the coachman to speed up the journey back to the Earl's villa.
The coachman naturally followed her orders and drove the carriage at great speed.
In the moving carriage, Audrey made a gesture of prayer and said in a low voice:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era..."