Chapter 211
In the compartment, there were two peeping tubes, allowing those inside to observe the interrogation room while making it difficult for those in the interrogation room to detect the observing eyes.
In an era without one-way glass, this was a decent way to protect privacy. After all, some individuals, perhaps due to their beliefs or personal reasons, might not want to be remembered by the faces of death row inmates.
At Shaer’s request, several female death row inmates were brought in one by one.
There were about twenty of them, but most were emaciated and severely malnourished.
These women had mostly been convicted of murder, with a few sentenced for infanticide, treason, and illegal abortion.
They had not been executed immediately; instead, the prison intended to sell their bodies.
After observing the group, Shaer found no particularly good options. She barely noted down a few numbers before leaving the prison.
In fact, the female thief who had attempted a burglary earlier fit Shaer’s needs quite well. If she couldn’t find a suitable corpse, Shaer would have to consider performing the surgery herself.
After all, skin could be taken from softer areas of her body and sewn onto the thief; all that was needed was to refine the bone structure a bit.
In the following days, Shaer found the address of the tailor that Aivina had given her and brought along her abstract design sketches.
Aivina had recommended an elderly tailor who once specialized in making dresses for the nobility. She had a decent shop and family in Ansu but, in her old age, had not saved enough to buy a house in a good area. Instead, she returned to her hometown of Bolun City with her husband and son, purchasing a few properties and occasionally taking on tailoring jobs to keep her skills sharp.
The old lady lived near a gem processing factory in the Gem District, where the security was relatively better than in the Bell Tower Lane area, and housing prices were not as exorbitant as those near Gem Avenue.
Most importantly, she could buy leftover materials from the gem factory at low prices from local vendors, making gem collecting one of her few remaining hobbies.
Thanks to Aivina’s introduction, Shaer met the somewhat sharp-tongued old lady without any trouble.
However, after reviewing Shaer’s design sketches and discussing her ideas for the dress, the initially aloof old lady began to show interest. Together, they explored various details of the garment, and the old lady started sketching the design by hand.
Having seen the original version of the dress, Shaer was able to articulate her vision for the details. Coupled with the old lady’s solid professional skills, a rough draft emerged after about an hour and a half.
The old lady seemed to have never encountered such a design before. According to her, the aesthetic was very retro, yet the use of accessories was quite bold, especially the red and gold color scheme, which exuded a sense of luxury.
The old lady was eager to help Shaer create the dress, but when Shaer heard the estimated production time, her brows furrowed slightly.
The gown was quite complex, and all the embellishments needed to be custom-made, requiring coordination with various craftsmen. It could take as long as several months, or at best, three weeks for the dress to be completed.
Three weeks… that was too long.
Unless she spent fate points to simulate the process for over a month and then exchanged it back into reality using fate points.
One hundred fate points just for a dress… even Shaer found that hard to bear.
Realizing she might not have any other opportunities to spend money later, Shaer pulled out the six hundred Su pounds she had received from Aivina and placed the cash directly in front of the old lady.
“Can you have it ready in five days?”
Shaer looked at the old lady and said, “It doesn’t need to be overly detailed; it just needs to resemble the original. If you need any craftsmen’s help, I can contact Miss Aivina to assist you.”
It turned out that the power of money was indeed formidable.
When Shaer laid out the six hundred Su pounds, the old lady’s eyes widened, and without a moment’s hesitation, she nodded vigorously in agreement.
She was likely no longer seeing a pile of cash but rather a set of middle-class row houses in Ansu.
Shaer left a deposit of 200 Su pounds and provided her address before leaving the tailor’s home.
Shaer didn’t feel it was a waste of money; after all, she could directly exchange the dress in reality—she certainly couldn’t wait five days for the old tailor to finish it.
With the “safe time” found, and the dress and suitable corpse ready, all that remained for Shaer was to help Aivina process the “psychologist” potion while waiting for the dress to be completed.
Glancing at the time, it was already noon, just in time for lunch.
Shaer hailed a carriage, gave the address of Aivina’s home, and began recording everything that had happened that day in Chinese, so her real self could refer to it later.
Once she finished her notes, the carriage stopped at the entrance of Aivina’s estate.
After paying the fare, Shaer got out. The gatekeeper, upon seeing her, didn’t even bother to announce her arrival and simply opened the gate. A maid stepped forward to lead Shaer inside.
The servants in the estate had mostly seen Shaer before, and the butler had instructed that Miss Shaer didn’t need to be announced; they could take her directly to the young lady.
At that moment, Aivina was having lunch and seemed surprised to see Shaer, as she hadn’t expected her visit.
Sitting beside Aivina, Adele was still focused on her steak, seemingly oblivious to Shaer standing at the door.
“Would you like to have a bite?”
Aivina gestured to the chair beside her and said, “I’m not that hungry, and I actually wanted to call Adele over to discuss your matters.”
Aivina didn’t ask the maids to bring out extra cutlery but instead pushed her unused utensils toward Shaer, knowing she wouldn’t mind such trivialities.
“Where’s Nia?”
Shaer sat down next to Aivina and casually inquired.
At that moment, Adele finally noticed Shaer sitting across from her. Blushing, she swallowed her food and wiped her mouth with a napkin, saying, “Shaer? What are you doing here? Are you feeling better?”
Having skipped breakfast and lunch, Shaer picked up Aivina’s fork and began to eat from her plate without hesitation.
“She went to check on the security situation at the venue for tonight’s banquet and will be back later.”
Aivina adjusted her glasses and curiously asked, “Do you need her help?”
“No, just tell her not to meet me directly when she returns,” Shaer replied straightforwardly. “I’m cursed; encountering extraordinary beings brings misfortune. The higher the rank of the extraordinary being I see, the stronger the misfortune.”
Aivina’s expression turned slightly puzzled.
A curse?
As far as she remembered, there didn’t seem to be any extraordinary pathways that possessed such abilities…
“It’s not an extraordinary being; it’s a sealed object,” Shaer clarified, sensing Aivina’s confusion.
“Oh…”
Aivina nodded. If it was a sealed object, it made sense.
Was this the reason Shaer had left the estate earlier?
“Has the issue not been resolved yet?” Aivina asked.
Meanwhile, Adele, concerned about Shaer’s health but feeling ignored, quietly observed Shaer’s complexion, which seemed to have improved slightly, before returning to her steak, seemingly unfazed by being overlooked.
“Not yet, just a little more to go.”
Shaer set down her knife and fork and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
At that moment, focused on completing her task, Shaer realized she had forgotten to respond to Adele. She turned to her and said, “Adele, thanks for your concern. I’m feeling much better.”
“Huh?”
Adele looked up at Shaer, her expression blank, as if she had forgotten what she had just asked.
After confirming that Shaer’s condition hadn’t worsened, Adele turned back to her meal, lost in the delicious food.
“It’s fine, just keep eating.”
Shaer quietly watched Adele before turning to Aivina, only to find her wiping her mouth with a napkin.
Was she trying to hide a smile?
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Aivina asked, setting down her napkin.
She knew Shaer wouldn’t come to her without a reason, and from Shaer’s demeanor, it didn’t seem like she was here just for a casual visit.
“I do have something I’d like to trouble you with.”
Shaer didn’t hold back; in the simulation, there was no need for unnecessary formalities. She just needed to lay everything out clearly, prioritizing efficiency.
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