Chapter 690 Actor
At this moment, Angel almost thought that he had used the "Hypocrisy" ring to transform back into the "Shadow of the Goddess" and appeared in Archbishop Anthony's office.
Could he have discovered that I was the "extra" who reported the mission results to him just two days ago? The Faceless Man's disguise is a physical transformation at a real level, and shouldn't be easily seen through. But we are now in Saint Samuel Church, outside the core of the Chanis Gate seal. The Archbishop who controls the seal does have the possibility of "sensing" me...
Thoughts flashed through Angel's mind, but Anthony in the shadows did not make any further movements. He even looked away and looked at other guests, which made her confused and uneasy.
Fortunately, the guests' applause interrupted her thoughts. At Bishop Elektra's invitation, Klein slowly stood up and walked towards the stilt platform with a somewhat nervous look, ready to give a speech before the fundraising.
Of course, Angel knew that the forcibly suppressed tension was all a disguise. As the "Master of Secret Puppets," Klein's ability to control his expression would only be stronger than when he was the "Faceless Man." Even if his inner thoughts were truly surging, he could still feign a calm expression.
But there was one, no, two "audience members" present, whose expressions were slightly abnormal, which could easily lead to problems... Angel glanced at "Justice" Audrey Hall sitting on the other side and found that this new "hypnotist" was looking at the podium with bright eyes. The dark blue hairpin in her hair had been removed, and the part of her hair that was no longer fixed was hanging down from the side of her face, making her already flawless face even more lovely.
Could that hairpin be a magical item made with the extraordinary characteristics of the "Calamity Priest"? No wonder she almost fell to the ground when they first met. It was almost as unlucky as me when I went out with the "Good Luck" revolver and the axle of the carriage broke... Angel's mouth twitched slightly, and she suddenly felt another hidden gaze sweeping over her from time to time.
With the help of his spirituality, Angel quickly found the owner of his gaze. He, no, it was Susie, the big golden retriever lying in the shadow by the door.
Another audience member... Now I believe that Klein's nervous expression is not fake. How can an "actor" like him withstand the pressure from two audience members... Holding back his laughter, Angel quickly returned to his normal sitting position under Susie's gaze and looked at Klein on the high wooden platform.
The latter's speech was nearing its end. He combined his real experiences in the East District and the fictional experiences in the South Continent into a half-true and half-false story, and told a moving and tragic story based on a mother and daughter in the East District who made a living by washing clothes and pasting matchboxes.
Although the ending of the story is relatively good, a pair of sisters who survived the heavy smog at the end of last year received help from the church and were able to continue their studies, but more poor people in the East District had to terminate their studies due to the high tuition fees, or had to work from dawn to dusk and gave up the opportunity to study in free night school. In the end, they could only work in factories with poor conditions, taking odd jobs that did not require any knowledge but only physical strength, and died tragically in their twenties.
Angel noticed that many ladies present showed expressions of pity, and some young girls even had tears in their eyes, moved by the lives of the poor that rarely appeared in newspapers.
"...For their bright future, and to ensure they can benefit from the Kingdom's development, I have decided to donate all of my shares in Coim Corporation to establish a fund for the poor. This will provide a portion of the funds for students attending the church's free night school, and will cover tuition and living expenses for students who are able to attend public colleges. This way, everyone who aspires to knowledge will have the opportunity to realize their dreams."
Klein's final speech was delivered in a calm tone, without any deliberate attempts to stir the audience's emotions, yet it moved every guest.
“Huahua——”
Led by Earl Hall, the guests gave a warm round of applause. Under their gaze, Klein returned to his seat, straightened his dress, and sat down.
“Excellent speech.”
Angel whispered.
"I noticed you were looking around." Klein also tilted his head and responded in a low voice.
"Because I'm helping you monitor those two 'audience members'."
Angel retorted, successfully drawing Klein's attention to the large golden retriever at the door, his expression slightly stiff.
Since the applause had just died down, their conversation had to stop quickly to avoid being heard by the "audience".
The evening's agenda also entered the donation stage. First, Bishop Elektra placed an envelope representing Klein's shares worth 15,000 pounds into the donation box next to the shrine. Then, guests who agreed with the concept of this fund could put checks or cash into the box on their own, making their own contributions in a registered or anonymous manner.
Of course, since they were willing to attend the party, they must have come with the intention of donating, and they would donate some amount. Moreover, almost all the people present were aristocrats, factory owners, and bankers. Even if they did not have a competitive spirit, they would not expose their stinginess.
Therefore, under the bishop's earnest gaze, the guests stood up from their chairs, walked to the donation box one by one, and cast their gifts.
Angel was also well prepared. She pulled out a check from Backlund Bank from her bag. It contained the amount she and Klein had agreed upon: £1,000.
This wouldn't cause Angel, whose cash flow already exceeded ten thousand pounds, any significant financial loss, nor would it create the impression that this young lady, attempting to enter high society, was being too stingy. According to their butler, at such charity events, guests without titles and modest means typically donated between 500 and 1,000 pounds. To maintain their dignity, nobles with titles often donated more, depending on their status, but usually no more than 2,000 pounds.
Moreover, this amount of money can also slightly alleviate the anxiety in the East District after seeing the misery after the heavy smog, and Angel who understands the difficult life of the poor in this world.
She walked up with the check and dropped it into the donation box to Elektra's friendly smile.
At this moment, Audrey stood up from the other side and came to the donation box. Angel glanced over and found that Miss Justice's check also had an amount of 1,000 pounds filled in.
"Thank you again for your help just now, Christine. Um, can I call you that?"
After putting the 1,000 pounds into the box, Audrey took the opportunity to get closer to Angel, smiled slyly, and said.
I always feel like she's being too intimate. Could it be that she recognized me as the "Queen," the Irene Watson who helped her before... Impossible, absolutely impossible. My current appearance is 70% similar to Angelica, but I have no resemblance to Irene in the disguise of the Ring of Madness. How could "Justice," who has never seen my true face, recognize me... Angel's thoughts raced, and he forced a smile:
"Of course, Miss Audrey."
"You can also call me by my first name. As Mr. Dantes said, we are all equal."
Audrey spoke in a light tone, then seemed to remember the poor people in the East District mentioned by Klein, and the smile on her face disappeared.
To be able to maintain such a pure heart in Backlund's upper class, should it be said that it was her nature, or that her parents protected her well? But no matter what, compared to those nobles whose pity and sadness were more performance than reality, Miss "Justice" was already an angel... Angel muttered as he and Audrey left the donation box and followed the other guests who had completed their donations to the dining area in the back to start the real "party".
The long tables here are filled with various drinks or simple food, almost like a buffet. After taking their food, guests can walk around the hall and communicate with others instead of sitting down to eat.
In order to reflect the theme of the party, there were no waiters in the hall, and the nobles' servants were left outside the church, so they had to get their own drinks and food.
Knowing the format of the dinner, Angel arrived after dinner and only took a glass of sweet white wine to moisten his throat. Audrey chose a glass of champagne and continued to follow Angel, which made the two of them the focus of everyone's attention again.
"Christine, can you tell me more about your experience in Intis? I'm very interested in that place."
Backlund's most dazzling gem blinked his emerald eyes, staring intently at Angel's face, and asked expectantly.
If nothing unexpected happens, Miss Justice should have recognized me. The Audience is truly terrifying. I still don't understand how I was exposed... Seeing Audrey's behavior clearly inconsistent with her status and personality, Angel's smile could hardly be held. She took a sip of wine, making up the "Trier Story" in her mind. After a moment, she spoke:
"The people of Trier are quite proud. They call all non-Trier people 'outsiders,' but they also have an open and positive side. For example, a woman I know married, out of true love, a descendant of a noble family who had fallen on hard times and had already been married. That noble's daughter is still busy earning money at sea to support the family, while her father has remarried... The men there are also very welcoming. One knight stopped me on my way home and asked me to go with him... Of course, I refused, and he was eventually taken away by his men."
Angel swore that what she said was true!
"Knight? Didn't Intis abolish that system? I heard it was replaced with a medal of honor."
Audrey covered her mouth and asked in surprise.
That's because he's the "Iron-Blooded Knight"... Angel's mouth twitched. He was racking his brains to come up with an excuse to get away with it, but he found Klein slowly walking towards him with a glass of champagne, accompanied by Audrey's father, Earl Hall.
"Dawn," she greeted immediately, cleverly avoiding Audrey's follow-up questions, "Your Excellency, I admire your generosity."
Although she was some distance away from the donation box, Angel's eyesight still allowed her to notice the amount of Earl Hall's donation.
12,000 pounds.
Without a doubt, this was the second largest donation at the gala after Klein's. The latter had no choice but to donate his uncashable shares, while Audrey's father, Earl Hall, donated cash.
"This is out of my recognition of Mr. Dantes's philosophy. We cannot ignore suffering just because it persists and cannot be truly solved."
The middle-aged gentleman, who was a bit overweight but still bore some resemblance to Audrey and Hibbert, replied with a smile.
"Also, this is partly because of the help you gave Audrey just now."
What does my help to Audrey have to do with the amount of his donation... Angel looked at the Earl in confusion, then at Klein.
He probably misunderstood something. Well, it wasn't really a misunderstanding... She muttered, feeling that both father and daughter were "human savvy," the former due to life experience, the latter due to her extraordinary characteristics.
"Your Excellency is right. I hope those who are suffering can be free from fear and find peace."
A soft voice came from beside them. Saint Anthony, the Archbishop of the Backlund Diocese, who very likely possessed Sequence 3 strength, approached quietly with his hands tucked under his robe, followed closely by Bishop Elektra.
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