Chapter 330
It was already past the time for Aivina to sleep. She had been lying in front of Shaer for nearly two or three hours, but she didn’t want to return to her sleeping compartment alone, wishing instead to keep him company.
“Aivina, wake up. We’re almost there…”
Shaer leaned slightly forward, gently ruffling Aivina’s hair as he spoke softly.
Aivina, who had been dozing lightly, let out a faint grunt. She opened her eyes, a bit dazed, and looked up at Shaer, asking, “Are we there yet?”
“Yeah, let’s sleep once we get to the hotel.”
Shaer took out a handkerchief and wiped the drool from the corner of Aivina’s mouth.
This action jolted Aivina fully awake. She quickly covered the small, darkened spot on the newspaper in front of her.
“Clang… clang…”
The train had begun to slow down. With fewer stops along the way, they were arriving faster than Shaer had anticipated.
The train passed through Aiden Town and entered Ansu City. After traversing a small part of the urban area, it came to a halt at Yousden Station.
It was already close to midnight, yet the station was packed with people.
As Shaer glanced at the crowd near the train station, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
“What are those? Soldiers?”
He asked, looking at the figures standing on the platform.
Aivina followed Shaer’s gaze, her brow furrowing slightly.
“It seems… those nobles and railway company folks aren’t being very honest…”
“That’s the Russell family.”
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PS1:
194 (overdue) - 0.5 (extra) = 193.5 (overdue)
Just a little more, warming up my hands, aiming for 6k tomorrow, striving for 8k!
Good night!
PS2:
Chapter 184: Adele’s Astonishing Idea.
Accompanied by the hissing of steam, the train’s whistle, and the warning bells, the train slowly pulled up to the platform.
The crew, holding onto the metal-adorned door handle, swung the door open.
Through the train window, Aivina saw the Iron Guards and the crowd outside. Calmly, she stood up and walked toward the door, saying, “You wait for me here.”
It seemed Aivina was preparing to face the Russell family alone.
But Shaer wouldn’t just sit still. Without a word, he stood up and followed closely behind Aivina.
Seeing this, Tara and Nia also stepped in line behind them, descending the train together.
Aivina heard the commotion behind her and realized Shaer had followed, but she couldn’t scold him; she merely sighed inwardly.
In a scene switch, if someone were blocking Shaer’s door, Aivina would have followed without hesitation.
At the train door, armored guards stood in two lines, and in the middle stood a woman with a mask covering her face, revealing only her chin. She held a bouquet of flowers, smiling as she slightly bowed toward Aivina.
“Welcome home, Miss Aivina. The carriage is ready.”
She extended the flowers toward Aivina while stepping aside, making an inviting gesture.
This display was clearly not a simple “invitation” to return.
“I’ll arrange my own hotel, no need to trouble Miss Seraphine.”
Aivina replied calmly, clearly not intending to follow her.
“What a pity…”
The woman, referred to as Seraphine, shook her head gently, her tone laced with regret. “You know, not long ago was the Queen’s coronation celebration. Nobles from all over came to Ansu, and the festivities will continue into July, with banquets every night… I’m afraid there are no vacancies left.”
Shaer calmly assessed the woman with the sharp, fearsome mask.
He had seen her in simulations before, but Tara seemed unaware of her identity, only introducing her as “just a ‘Crown Guard.’”
Dealing with a Crown Guard was something Shaer had plenty of methods for.
Noticing Shaer’s gaze, Seraphine’s eyes flicked to him standing beside Aivina, and she offered him a faint smile, a brief acknowledgment.
Who is this? A friend of the young lady from Beren City? I’ve never seen this character before; she must be from some minor noble family… Seraphine thought to herself.
At that moment, Lucy, who had already noticed the commotion outside, didn’t step out immediately. However, upon seeing Shaer’s left hand hanging by his side with fingers slightly curled, forming a grip-like posture, she felt a sense of foreboding and hurriedly exited the compartment.
Lucy had no doubt that Shaer had ways to deal with the person before them, but since Shaer was in Ansu, and Lucy was the host, she couldn’t let him get into any trouble.
“Hey, isn’t that Lady Seraphine? What brings you here to greet us?”
Lucy smiled as she stepped out of the compartment, removing her golden token mask. She extended her right hand toward Seraphine, shaking hands with her.
“Commissioner Hilufa, what are you doing here…”
The unexpected arrival of someone from the train caught Seraphine off guard, disrupting her intended speech.
“Of course I’m here. This investigation task in Beren City owes much to Miss Aivina’s great assistance. She was also invited to visit the group.”
Lucy didn’t release Seraphine’s hand but continued, “As for the hotel you mentioned… Haha, isn’t it a coincidence? Our Derdun Group’s members-only hotel probably still has vacancies… Would you like to come along? I can arrange a temporary Black Gold card for you?”
Listening to Lucy, Seraphine maintained a neutral expression, staring at her for a long moment before finally withdrawing her hand from Lucy’s grip, slowly raising it to wave, and saying, “Fall back.”
The armored guards lined up and departed. Seraphine cast a deep glance at Lucy, smiling lightly as she spoke:
“Since that’s the case, I won’t disturb you any further.”
“It’s late, and it’s not easy to rent a carriage. I’ll leave the carriage here, Commissioner Hilufa… I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Though Seraphine wore a smile, there was an underlying threat in her voice.
Lucy, being sharp-witted, naturally picked up on the threat in Seraphine’s tone and clenched her teeth inwardly.
After all, when she handed over the keys to the corpse, she had already boarded Shaer’s ship and couldn’t jump off midway.
Since she had offended them, she might as well go all the way.
“Hahaha, you can take the carriage; leaving it for us means you’ll have to come back tomorrow to retrieve it. What a hassle,” Lucy said, waving her hand with a smile. “The station has carriage rental services.”
Lucy’s bluntness about something everyone already knew caused Seraphine’s smile to fade slowly. With a cold snort, she turned to Aivina and said, “The family’s patience is limited; I hope you understand that.”
With that, Seraphine stepped aside, making an inviting gesture as she said, “Please… welcome to Ansu City.”
Seraphine’s demeanor was clearly meant to openly monitor them, watching where they intended to go.
Lucy leaned slightly toward Shaer and whispered, “Miss Shaer, should we stay at the Derdun Members’ Hotel tonight?”
Hearing Lucy’s question, Shaer turned to Aivina.
Not being very familiar with Ansu City, Shaer naturally sought the opinion of the local, Aivina.
Seeing Aivina nod slightly, Shaer then looked at Lucy and said, “Alright, please make the arrangements.”
Since Aivina had no objections, Shaer naturally followed suit.
However, this series of actions caused Seraphine’s brow to furrow slightly beneath her armor.
What’s going on? Did she misjudge the situation?
A high-ranking officer of the Derdun Group, a bona fide Tier 3 “Destined One,” was actually bending down to ask a little girl for her opinion.
Did she misread the situation? Who exactly is she?
Seraphine’s gaze lingered on the beautiful red-haired girl, but no matter how she scrutinized, she couldn’t discern anything unusual about her.
With Lucy’s negotiations, everything regarding the carriage rental and luggage transfer was arranged smoothly. After everyone disembarked, they boarded the carriage heading toward the Derdun Hotel.
Had they prepared in advance, Lucy could have arranged everything clearly, avoiding the need to rent a shabby carriage from the station.
Upon arriving at the Derdun Group hotel, Lucy got out first, opened a separate suite for each person, and then took her leave. Shaer and the others could stay at the hotel until they rented or purchased a place.
In the suite on the fourth floor of the Derdun Group hotel, Shaer looked out at the night view through the room’s glass.
It was already one in the morning, yet outside, the lights were still bright. The wide street, paved with neatly arranged stones, was illuminated by gas lamps that shone throughout the night, casting light on the tall buildings lining the road.
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