Chapter 34

“The matter concerning the Dehydration Syndrome seems to involve some hidden information. Even when Xia’er asked, Aivana did not give a clear answer.”

Xia’er’s intuition told her that this matter was not simple; there was likely an Extraordinary force involved.

The Clock Tower Lane District didn’t seem very peaceful… Xia’er felt she could no longer afford to wait.

Aivana kept Xia’er around for a while, moving a table opposite to place it as Xia’er’s workspace, and handed her several files to compile, seemingly testing her abilities.

Xia’er completed the task excellently, which made Aivana increasingly satisfied with her assistant. Since Aivana had other things to do today, she simply dismissed Xia’er and told her to be on time tomorrow.

Thus, Xia’er left work directly at one o’clock in the afternoon.

With some time before afternoon tea, Xia’er wandered near the police station, looking for rental houses.

After a while, she found nothing satisfactory; the rents were either too high or the spaces too cramped. Finding a suitable house in this area still required some time.

Xia’er was already considering staying at a hotel with her sister for now, but she didn’t know what excuse to use.

The quickest way without explanation was…

To set fire to the original house — but that would be too unethical towards the landlord who kindly rented them a place at a low price, and she wasn’t sure if she could afford to replace a whole house.

She needed to find an opportunity to sell the “Avenger” potion to Aivana; with the pact in place, she wouldn’t reveal her secret.

As for the “Tempter,” she could keep it and try to digest it in a simulation.

The only problem was, she wasn’t sure if the ritual left by Thomas was accurate — because he himself had been tortured beyond recognition by the ritual.

With the remaining time, Xia’er went to the Jazz Bridge District and entered a dessert shop, buying a vanilla pudding — costing her three shillings — but fortunately, the cake packaging was exquisite and looked delicious, making it a decent little gift.

Xia’er walked toward Amy’s residence and arrived at the front of her villa.

It was almost two o’clock, and many invited young ladies, holding invitation cards, had already entered Amy’s home. Her garden was filled with tables and refreshments, and the tea party was about to begin.

At this moment, Xia’er remembered — she hadn’t brought an invitation card.

What did she have in her bag?

Two notebooks, two potions, these were the most valuable items in her shoulder bag.

“Xia’er?!”

A surprised call caught Xia’er’s attention.

Amy, lifting her skirt, ran through the garden and stopped in front of Xia’er, her face full of surprise, as if she hadn’t expected Xia’er to actually come.

Luckily, no awkward situation arose.

Xia’er smiled at Amy and handed her the vanilla pudding, saying, “This dress suits you well, Amy.”

“How did you know I like this!” Amy widened her eyes, taking the pudding from Xia’er’s hand, her smile unable to be concealed, “Their pudding is so hard to get, limited edition or not, the supply time is random, even if they had money, they wouldn’t sell it…”

Xia’er had heard her complain about this in the simulation, which was why she remembered Amy’s preferences.

“We can eat it together later, it has to be paired with black tea…” Amy held the pudding with one hand and directly took Xia’er’s hand with the other, pulling her along.

Shax’s hand, holding hers, led her into the garden, as if afraid that not holding onto Shax would make her run away.

Shax had come this time to repay the favor for the intelligence Amy had passed on earlier.

Everything was going smoothly during the middle of the banquet, as long as Shax didn’t mention the Heishuidang or anything similar, she wouldn’t be asked to leave like in the simulation.

She found a corner to sit down and listened to the conversations among the noble ladies.

It wasn’t that Shax didn’t want to join in; it was because she couldn’t understand what they were talking about.

Fragrances, cosmetics, jewelry, desserts… This tea party, which was supposed to be for learning, had basically discussed everything except learning itself.

Amy spent most of her time after the initial socializing by Shax’s side, chattering non-stop, while Shax kept nodding along.

How did she manage to talk about different things for an entire hour without any overlap? Even none of the topics matched those from the simulation.

She could really talk. They should give some of that eloquence to Aivana.

“By the way, Amy,” Shax suddenly thought of something and said, “Have you heard of Dehydration Syndrome?”

“Dehydration Syndrome?” Amy was taken aback. Just a moment ago, they were discussing whether to use tomato sauce or strawberry jam for Idalia’s face, and now they jumped to something strange. Amy shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”

“An unknown illness, in the Clock Tower Lane District,” Shax continued asking.

“I’m not sure…” Amy scratched her head, but quickly realized and looked nervously at Shax, “Is something wrong in the Clock Tower Lane District? You’re not… “

Amy realized she had let slip something, so she quickly lowered her head and took a big bite of cake to cover her embarrassment.

Shax didn’t mind. In the second simulation, she already knew that Amy knew her address, but she had been mindful of her own dignity and hadn’t mentioned it.

“Nothing major, I just heard a senior officer mention it at the police station,” Shax shook her head and smiled. “It’s fine if you don’t know; it’s not a big deal.”

“Police Station?” Hearing this, Amy’s eyes lit up as she shot up, supporting herself on the table.

“Shax, wait for me,” she said, and before Shax could react, Amy dashed into the villa, instantly filling Shax with a bad premonition.

This naive child… Is she going to look for her father again?

She was kicked out once in the simulation, will it happen in reality too?

While Shax was considering whether to sneak away, Amy had already returned.

“Shax, come over here,” Amy took Shax’s hand and said with a smile, “Father wants to see you.”

Of course.

After hesitating for a moment, Shax stood up and let Amy lead her forward.

This time, she didn’t have any issues with the Heishuidang, nor was she entangled with the church, so she shouldn’t be kicked out, right…

Although she had visited once in the simulation, it was only described in words, and Shax had never actually met Amy’s father. Meeting the parents for the first time made her a bit nervous.

Shax was led to the study on the first floor, designed to be easily accessible for visitors, indicating that Amy’s father often entertained guests at home.

Opening the door to the study, Shax saw a tall, slender middle-aged man with half-white hair and a straight posture, looking very efficient.

“Lord Hastings,” Shax gave a slight curtsey and looked up at the baron.