Chapter 714 Surprise and Joy
Give me a winery?
Angel almost thought she had misheard, but the extraordinary hearing and memory denied it. She once again cast her eyes on the property certificate and transfer contract in her hand and read them carefully.
This was indeed a document proving a winery outside Backlund, and it was a place Angel had visited once.
Shortly after returning to Backlund as "Christine Theresa," she had been invited by a coal mine owner to spend a weekend at this manor. She was deeply impressed by the vast grape-growing area and the attached luxurious villas, especially the large tracts of woodland belonging to the manor, which were extremely valuable in the capital of the Loen Kingdom, where every inch of land was valuable.
Finally, she saw the current valuation of the estate in the corner of the transfer agreement:
35,000 pounds.
Suddenly, Angel heard his breathing become heavier.
"I want to hear your thoughts first."
After a moment, she calmed down a little, reluctantly placed the documents on the coffee table, and looked at Baron Sindras who was sitting opposite her.
It's not that Angel was not tempted by the 35,000 pounds, but he felt that even as a "thank you" or a "hush money" that was difficult to say out loud, offering a manor worth tens of thousands of pounds was too extravagant.
In fact, with Audrey's reminder, she was mentally prepared to a certain extent that the baron would give her some compensation, but at most it would be three to four thousand pounds, which was equivalent to the annual expenses of many small noble families.
Is there some conspiracy here? Perhaps it's another test from that demigod "audience," or is Baron Sindras trying to use the high operating and maintenance costs of a manor of this size to bankrupt me, as revenge for embarrassing him that day?
Not knowing that Angel was slandering him in his mind, Baron Sindras smiled slightly, picked up the wine on the table, and signaled his servant to go to the balcony in the corner of the living room where he had quietly walked out last week and almost jumped off the building to "commit suicide", avoiding the conversation between the two.
After Ribak had also left, the Baron spoke:
"Let me first talk about other things that happened to me after that day.
"After listening to your and Miss Hall's advice, I went to the Holy Wind Cathedral that evening and visited the newly appointed Archbishop, Raydar Valentine. I received the Mass and purification ceremony presided over by him, and then went home for a good night's sleep. When I woke up the next day, everything that had happened before seemed like a dream, becoming blurry and unclear in my memory. I don't want to recall it."
The archbishop or a high-ranking deacon hidden in the shadows must have used a seal from the Mandated Punisher to break the hypnosis and suggestion the spectator demigod had placed on you... Angel's mind automatically replaced the Baron's words with "occult" terminology, nodded, and asked in agreement:
"Then what?"
In Sindras's well-organized narration, Angel learned about the subsequent turmoil in the previous dispute over the equity of Coim Company.
The shareholder Caron, who hastily sold his shares to Klein and then committed suicide, initially drew the police's attention to the beneficiary, Dwayne Dantès. However, subsequent investigations, likely involving the Nighthawks, revealed that the true murderer was most likely Baron Sindras, who had paid several times the premium to acquire the shares.
"...They say I was there before Caron died. That's ridiculous. I was at the Kingdom Theatre with two MPs that night. There's no way I was at the scene in Hillston."
The Baron took a sip of white wine, his expression somewhat confused and puzzled.
"Fortunately, the Storm Church helped me again. They took the case from those aggressive police officers and quickly cleared me of suspicion... I say this to let you know that your advice helped me a lot. If the church hadn't intervened, the police's in-depth investigation might have involved certain...gray areas in my business."
At the end of his speech, Sindras lowered his voice with a mysterious smile on his lips.
With the qualities of a "former Night Watchman", Angel quickly translated the Baron's obscure words in his mind and understood the real reason why the other party was grateful to him.
The business of this baron, who experienced three bankruptcies but finally returned to the upper class, obviously had some shameful aspects. Perhaps he has now cleansed himself up through donating titles and value investing, but like Angel and Klein's fake identities, it cannot withstand a real in-depth investigation.
Thinking of this, Angel seemed to understand the true purpose of the "audience" demigod.
He might not want to kill Syndras, and even hinting at something would hardly make someone actually kill him. But as long as he made a big noise that couldn't be covered up, the attention of the police and official Beyonders would focus on the Baron, and his past would be exposed, and the Conservative's "purse" might suffer a severe blow.
Now, thanks to this incident, Sindras was protected by the Church of the Storm and, in a sense, became the church's spokesperson among the business community and the nobility. His political inclination inevitably shifted towards the New Party, which in another sense struck a blow to the Conservative Party and achieved the goal of the "audience."
After losing Duke Negan, the Church of the Storm has been actively seeking support from other emerging nobles and is naturally very active in this matter.
As for the Baron himself, although he'd lost his fortune, he'd received help from the Church of the Storm and would likely have the long-term protection of the Mandated Punisher. It was a blessing in disguise...
After figuring everything out, Angel was no longer anxious about receiving the high-value "reward". She asked in detail about the winery, even the output of red wine and the cost of hiring workers. She showed that although she had some doubts, she could not resist the temptation. She wanted to agree but was afraid of the trouble later.
In the end, she "reluctantly" signed the transfer contract, making the "Iris Winery" legally the property of "Christine Theresa".
"The relevant procedures will be completed by the end of the month. Most of the servants and winery workers employed by Winster will stay. You don't need to pay their salaries this year. Everything in the villa, including the wine in the cellar, will belong to you."
Baron Sindras also signed his name and handed the document to Angel's butler, Ribark. He would hire a professional lawyer to handle the subsequent matters, and the two traders would not need to worry about it.
Thirty-five thousand pounds... This was the only number in Angel's mind. He couldn't help but smile. It was not until Baron Sindras left that he slowly returned to his normal expression.
Of course, throughout the conversation, she did not lose the basic qualities of a Beyonder. She clearly noticed that someone not far away was peeping into the reception room, observing her conversation with Baron Sindras, and the focus was on her.
It couldn't be that 'audience' demigod, he wouldn't be so obvious... The most likely person is the 'Manufactured Punisher'. It seems Sindras has officially been brought under the protection of the Church of the Storm. This is a good thing for him, but not necessarily for me. Since I'm a believer of the goddess, perhaps tonight, I'll have to face another 'dream review'...
Angel was thinking silently until Riback approached quietly and asked in a low voice:
"Miss, after taking over the Iris Winery, you may need to hire a new housekeeper, several financial staff, and some servants who truly belong to us, not the previous owner. Autumn will arrive in two months, and you will need to prepare to invite guests to spend the weekend at the estate. While there's no shortage of wine, other supplies are also needed... I estimate that this year's expenses will be at least 1,500 pounds, and next year, with repairs and the salaries of workers and servants, the expenses will probably double."
3,000 pounds a year?
Angel stared at his butler with wide eyes. The winery he had just acquired didn't seem so tempting anymore.
————
At night, Angel, who was fast asleep in a soft velvet quilt, suddenly woke up. Reminded by the "Secret Holy Emblem" that he had always kept with him, he clearly sensed that someone had entered his dream.
The next second, she came out of the quilt in the bedroom and onto the sofa in the living room. Her silk nightgown changed into daytime attire. Everything was quiet outside the window, as if it was the darkest moment before dawn.
Is it the "Manufactured Punisher" who uses the seal to invade the dream world, or is it a "Night Watcher"?
Thinking about it, Angel pretended to be still in an uncontrollable dream, picked up the coffee cup on the table, smelled it and put it back.
It's all cold.
A moment later, a figure flashed into the room from the door, bowed casually, and sat down opposite Angel. He took off his hat and put it aside. The messy black hair and the green eyes underneath made Angel almost laugh.
Why is Leonard here again? Apart from him, is there no one else from Backlund's Nighthawks working? Angel looked at his old colleague with lifeless eyes, waiting for his "questioning".
As usual, after confirming that the target had entered the dream, Leonard stopped being polite and quickly asked a few questions, which were indeed related to Baron Syndras. Angel knew that they must have asked the Baron for details of the day, so he didn't hide too much. He just described the effect of Audrey's "lucky hairpin" as the Baron being too unlucky, and the two ladies were able to pull the tall Syndras back from the balcony because the other party's desire to survive overcame his guilt.
"A winery worth 35,000 pounds..."
After hearing that the Baron would visit Angel again today and give the Iris Winery as a thank you gift, even in his dream, the "requiem master" smacked his lips and subconsciously tilted his head, recovering after a moment.
Angel gave him a stiff smile in return.
Five minutes later, Leonard Mitchell, who had completed the interrogation process, put away the pen and paper, stood up from the sofa, took his top hat, saluted and said goodbye, his body almost disappearing into the darkness of the dream.
Suddenly, he stopped moving, stared at Angel with his green eyes, and said:
"Ms. Theresa, have you ever heard of the name 'Angelica Sage'?"
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