Chapter 421
After waiting for a few minutes, the door was gently pushed open, and Adele peeked her head in, looking at Shaer and asking, “Can I come in?”
“Of course, it’s your room…” Shaer nodded, watching as Adele stepped inside.
Now, Adele had changed into her own clothes; she must have returned the maid outfit.
“Did he pay you?” Shaer asked with a smile.
“Oh right, I forgot,” Adele seemed to remember only after being prompted. She turned to leave, clearly planning to go collect her wages.
“Don’t go, come here and sit down,” Shaer had to call her back.
The temporary butler was already sweating bullets; if Adele went to ask him for her pay again, Shaer worried he might just kneel down and beg her.
After all, it was just a small misunderstanding—there was no need to put any more pressure on him.
“Okay.” Adele turned around and walked back, obediently sitting across from Shaer.
The fact that Adele had managed to stay afloat without being swindled out of her last penny could only be attributed to her sister, Yulisi.
Speaking of Yulisi, Shaer suddenly remembered to ask, “Has your sister returned to the Church?”
“She’s back already.” Adele nodded. “I’m going to have lunch with her later… Shaer, do you want to join us? It seems you haven’t met my sister yet.”
I have met her, but whether she has met me is another story.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude. Adele, thank you for helping me with the potion earlier,” Shaer said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out five twenty-pound notes, handing them to Adele. “This is your reward.”
Adele looked a bit disappointed at being refused. She waved her hands at the money Shaer offered, saying, “That’s too much, Shaer… I really didn’t do much; it was just a bit of practice.”
“Do you have enough money for food?” Shaer asked, looking at her.
Adele replied, “I… should?”
Shaer pressed on, “What about next month’s rent?”
Adele hesitated, “But…”
“Didn’t you say you’d listen to me from now on?” Shaer shook the notes in his hand and said, “Just take it.”
“Okay… thank you, Shaer, you’re so kind!” Adele stood up, taking the bills from Shaer with both hands and bowing deeply.
Adele… has she forgotten she has over a hundred pounds with Aivina?
But that money was probably already in the red—since Aivina had also helped cover Adele’s rent.
“By the way,” now that she had the money, Adele seemed to remember something. She looked at Shaer and said, “Shaer, I need to buy new instruments for the new lab… where do you think I should go?”
This had been a dilemma for Adele for quite some time.
Previously, she had bought her instruments at a low price from the Redemption Society, and even after leaving, they hadn’t come to reclaim them.
But this time, coming to Ansu was urgent, and Adele couldn’t pack everything up; she only brought the most important materials and all her reagents. The rest would likely be cleared out by the landlord after the rent was due.
Since Adele had promised Shaer that she would consult him on any important matters in the future, she thought it best to ask him about buying instruments, which was indeed significant.
“Buying instruments?” Shaer pondered for a moment before replying, “Make a list of the instruments and materials you need.”
This was a sensitive time; after the explosion at the Ansu Royal Medical Society, if a personal extraordinary being suddenly started purchasing lab equipment in bulk, it could easily attract the attention of the Royal Orchestra or the Queen’s Sword.
She needed a supply channel that wouldn’t be traced back to them. Giving the list to Lucy would be much more discreet than going directly to the Redemption Society.
It seemed that after the last incident, Adele had changed; the girl was indeed taking advice.
In the remaining time, Adele and Shaer chatted a bit about her upcoming research plans. Now, Shaer was able to understand the things Adele was saying with his professional knowledge.
Once they confirmed there were no issues, Shaer took his leave from Adele’s new home.
On his way, he stopped by to check on Amy, then headed toward Lucy’s residence with the list Adele had given him.
As he passed by the Church of the God of Order, Shaer had the carriage take a slight detour, passing by a private park nearby—deep within the park lay Aivina’s family graveyard.
After asking Tara to wait in the carriage for a moment, Shaer stepped down.
As soon as he got out, he spotted the gravekeeper standing at the park entrance, looking worn out with heavy dark circles under his eyes, as if he were waiting for someone. Upon seeing Shaer approach, he instinctively took a step back.
“Uh… Miss, please hold on, ahead is private property,” the gravekeeper stammered, standing nervously in front of Shaer.
For some reason, whenever he caught sight of the eyes behind that silver chip mask, an uncontrollable wave of fear surged within him.
Shaer raised his hand and took out a silver coin—it was a one-shilling coin.
“Heads or tails?” Shaer asked the gravekeeper.
“Ah?” The gravekeeper was taken aback.
“Heads or tails?” Shaer repeated.
“Tails… tails…” the gravekeeper stammered, hoping the girl would just leave quickly.
Shaer gently flicked the coin into the air, then caught it, revealing the tails side facing the sky.
“Congratulations, you’ve won.” Shaer pulled out a fifty-pound note and handed it to the gravekeeper. “This is your reward.”
The gravekeeper stared at the coin, his mouth slightly agape. He instinctively reached for it but hesitated, fearing it might be some kind of trick… This amount was far too much and came too easily.
At that moment, both the gravekeeper and Shaer heard footsteps approaching from the park. The gravekeeper gritted his teeth and took the bill from Shaer, stepping aside and whispering, “The Duke is coming out; you should leave quickly…”
The Duke?
Charles Russell? Aivina’s father?
He was also a troublesome figure… It would be best to avoid him during this sensitive time.
But just as Shaer was about to turn to leave, the Duke stepped out from behind a hedge, and their eyes inadvertently met.
Fortunately, the gravekeeper had already stuffed the cash into his pocket.
The silver chip from Dutton?
Charles maintained a stern expression. He only glanced at Shaer’s mask, but when he looked into the girl’s eyes, an inexplicable sense of unease washed over him.
This wasn’t normal.
There was nothing ordinary about her that should provoke such a reaction in a fourth-tier extraordinary being; it was counterintuitive.
Originally intending to walk toward his carriage, Charles halted, quickly sizing up the girl before him.
Red hair… not very old… slightly taller than his daughter, with ties to the Dutton Group.
Is she the one who came to the city with Aivina?
At that moment, Seraphine, who was following Charles, also noticed Shaer standing at the entrance.
“It’s you?” Unlike Charles, Seraphine recognized Shaer the moment she saw her red hair.
“Your Grace, she’s the one I mentioned before, the one close to the young lady,” Seraphine stepped forward and whispered in Charles’s ear, “It seems she has a close relationship with Lucy from the Dutton Group; it was she and Lucy who stopped me from bringing the young lady back.”
Seraphine had no qualms about reporting to Duke Charles right in front of Shaer, seemingly hoping to give Shaer a hard time through the Duke.
“A friend of Aivina?” Charles asked, his expression unchanged. He looked at Shaer and nodded slightly. “I’m glad to see that even though Aivina has left Ansu, her standards in friends remain high.”
The Duke had already stopped, and at this point, it was unlikely for Shaer to leave.
“Shaer.” Shaer slightly lowered her head and bent her right knee, performing a curtsey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”
From Charles’s simple statement, Shaer could sense a bit of his character.
He was a very traditional old-school noble, with a strong desire for control.
“Miss Shaer, are you here to meet someone?” Charles seemed unwilling to leave, directly engaging Shaer in conversation.
“No, I just saw a boring person here, so I got down to have a little coin toss with him,” Shaer replied, half-truthfully. “I lost fifty pounds.”
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