City of Generosity, Bayam, inside the Intis Consulate.
Elaine sat in front of a dressing table, looking at her beautiful but slightly haggard reflection in the mirror. She fell into a daze for a few minutes.
The period of her escape from the Black Death was filled with anticipation and torment. She was afraid that she would be discovered by pirates or adventurers, resulting in her being captured by Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy. She would then completely lose her freedom and never be able to return to her hometown to return to her original life.
Only when she used her family's remaining connections to hide in her country's consulate and obtain a ticket to leave the sea did she relax a little.
However, this still wasn't enough to make her feel at ease. She believed that everything would only end when she truly reached the Northern Continent.
With this in mind, Elaine couldn't help but raise her right hand and caress her cheeks, which weren't too fair but were sufficiently healthy. She discovered that the smoothness of her cheeks was much better than when she was a sea merchant. She had the illusion that she had returned to her teenage years.
In fact, after entering the Intis Consulate, she had another option other than escaping the sea. It was to cooperate with the Church of the Storm, Rouen's military, and some of the consulate's spies. She could use herself as bait to capture Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy.
However, after thinking for a long time, she finally gave up on this plan. She even requested her family's elder, who was a military officer in the consulate, not to tell others that she was hiding here.
Regardless, she ultimately didn't cause me any actual harm. Instead, she accommodated me and satisfied me in many areas … Apart from every night, every night … Th-that's just on the surface … As she recalled, Elaine's face suddenly flushed red.
Those intoxicating nights, the heat of their limbs intertwining, and the unimaginable pleasure flashed past her mind. She found it difficult to calm down for a short period of time.
Elaine slowly took a deep breath and exhaled.
She shook her head, allowing her yearning for freedom, her longing for her hometown, and her family to occupy her heart once again.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror again and coiled up her drooping red hair.
Then, she applied thick makeup, straightened her eyebrows, and enhanced the shadows, making her look more chiseled and with deep lines.
After a round of makeup, Elaine had become more androgynous and looked more heroic.
She took off her clothes and wrapped a strip of cloth around her chest, then put on a white shirt, a black vest, men's trousers, and a double-breasted frock coat.
Finally, she took off her silk top hat and put it on her head, covering her red hair.
At this time, in the mirror, she looked more like a handsome young man than a woman, especially her pair of emerald green eyes, which seemed to be especially suitable for this kind of appearance, had a kind of enchanting depth.
Helene waited patiently for a while until someone knocked on the door.
She picked up her luggage, opened the door, and followed the family elder's friend all the way to the side door of the consulate's garden.
A carriage was already waiting there to take her to the port, where she would board a liner to Pritz Harbor in the Kingdom of Rouen, from where she would take a detour back to Intis.
Elaine had extraordinary anti-tracking skills, and she carefully examined her surroundings, including the carriage driver.
A local native, thin and strong, doesn't like to wear hats, and his facial features haven't changed from when she first saw him. He looks a little nervous, which is normal … After confirming it, Elaine thanked the family elder's friend, picked up her luggage, and boarded the carriage.
As the carriage rolled, she pursed her lips and looked out the window, only to see the sycamore trees of Intis quickly passing by.
This gave her the illusion that she had returned to Trier.
It was a metropolis filled with sunlight, located in the area between the Ryan River and the Srenzo River. The scenery was beautiful, there were many varieties of roses, and the humanities and arts were flourishing. It was a holy land for artists, musicians, and artists.
It was the capital of Intis, the first true metropolis of the World after Rosell The Great rebuilt it. It was also Elaine's hometown, the place where she grew up, the city she often saw in her dreams and shed tears over.
After an unknown period of time, Elaine suddenly felt that something was amiss. This was because the surrounding streets were becoming more deserted and remote.
As a former sea merchant, although she had been active in the Fog Sea for a long time and wasn't familiar with Bayam in the Sonia Sea, her Sequence 9 Hunter gave her enough vigilance.
"Is this the right route?" Elaine moved and cautiously asked the carriage driver.
She was prepared to jump out of the carriage at any moment, ready to condense a fireball.
The carriage driver didn't turn back as he looked at the road ahead and smiled obsequiously.
"Honorable Lady, this route is closer, and it's less likely to encounter traffic jams.
"As you know, Bayam was built many years ago. Back then, there weren't so many people or carriages. Many of the streets are very narrow, and it's very easy to get jammed around noon and evening. It's faster to walk than to take a carriage."
Is that so? Elaine thought for a moment and believed this explanation. This was because she had encountered similar situations in many cities.
Trier is still the best. When Rosell The Great renovated the old city, he had the foresight to expand the roads. Even to this day, it's still sufficient … Just as this thought flashed through Elaine's mind, she suddenly heard the horse pulling the carriage neigh, as though it was in pain.
"Wait a moment. It seems to have stepped on something." The carriage driver stopped the carriage by the side and jumped off.
Elaine didn't think much of it, but from the corner of her eyes, she saw that it was a quiet alley with no one around.
Her heartstrings tightened, and without any hesitation, she wanted to smash through the carriage and roll out.
Regardless of whether this was an overreaction, she believed that she had to do so.
At this moment, a strong sense of fear suddenly surged deep in her heart, as though she had been targeted by an extremely hungry monster.
The pressure from her spirituality made her hesitate, not daring to rashly take action.
Soon after, she heard a deep voice.
"I won't hurt you.
"I'll ask you some questions."
Thoughts raced through Elaine's mind as she quickly weighed the various options available to her.
In the end, she didn't flee blindly. Under the immense and terrifying pressure, she sat back in her seat.
She planned on adjusting her plan of action bit by bit according to the situation.
The carriage door opened, and the thin and muscular native carriage driver walked out and sat opposite Elaine. He was none other than Faceless Klein.
In order to act as a carriage driver, he had specially practiced how to control horses and carriages. This was a skill that he hadn't truly learned back in Tingen City's Nighthawks team. Due to the lack of time, he didn't have enough control, so he could only use the aura of Creeping Hunger to successfully make the horses obedient.
At the same time, Dhaniz, who was hiding nearby, ran over, sat in the carriage driver's seat, and drove the carriage.
His round-brimmed felt hat was pressed low, and he was dressed like a real carriage driver.
Elaine warily bent her back slightly, ready to pounce like a cheetah at any moment.
She felt the man's gaze slowly sweep across her forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, neck, chest, waist, and legs. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She had seen similar gazes and sizing her up in Intis, in Trier, and back when she was out at sea. It was a hooligan, a disgusting fellow filled with lust.
But this time, she strangely didn't feel insulted, nor did she think that he wanted to tear off her clothes and was fantasizing about some abnormal scene.
Instead, it's more like he's studying food … It's like there's a cold and slippery snake slithering across my skin … Elaine finally couldn't take it any longer.
She took the initiative to ask, "What do you want to ask?"
Klein, who had completely grasped the other party's physical characteristics, leaned forward, his arms naturally resting on his thighs, and his palms clasped together in a half-solid manner.
"Have you heard of a person named Jimmy Necker?"
Elaine recalled for a few seconds and firmly shook her head in denial.
She frowned slightly and asked in confusion,
"Did you find the wrong person?"
"He is a wealthy businessman, a wealthy businessman who likes to collect things. Have you heard of such a person from Tracy?" Klein asked again.
Tracy … Helene sighed inwardly as she replied seriously, "That's right.
"No, she has never mentioned a wealthy businessman who likes to collect."
Klein looked into the red-haired girl's eyes and said unhurriedly,
"Then, does her room have ancient documents from the Southern Continent's Balam Empire?"
"No, she's not a person who likes to read these materials. She hates reading books. She even needs me to read to her." Elaine revealed a bitter smile.
"What is she looking at?" Klein asked without changing his tone.
"Rosell's classics and the current popular love stories," Elaine answered honestly.
Klein nodded.
"Does she have a collection room?"
"Yes, but apart from her and a few mysterious visitors, no one else can enter, including me," Elaine said as she recalled.
Klein fell silent for a few seconds as he maintained his posture.
"Tell me your story."
"My story?" Elaine pointed at herself in surprise.
Klein nodded slightly and didn't repeat himself.
Elaine was stunned for a moment.
"My story is very simple.
"My father was a member of the Sauron family, the former royal family of Intis. He received quite a bit of wealth, but he was addicted to alcohol, mistresses, marijuana, and gambling. Eventually, he went bankrupt.
"In order to repay the debt, I chose to accept some of the family's conditions and became a Beyonder. I then went out to sea to become a sea merchant."
PS: I've finally recovered today and can be considered to have recovered. As there aren't any drafts, the number of words in this chapter is a little short, and it hasn't been edited yet. I'll have to fill in the drafts in the next two days.
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