Chapter 203 Examination and Task
On Wednesday evening, Angel arrived in the West End in a hired carriage.
She originally thought that an evil and secretive organization like the Witch Cult would hide in places like the South Side and Cherwood. Unexpectedly, like Mr. A of the Aurora Society, they liked to choose areas like Queens and the West Side where there were many wealthy people and sufficient police force.
The carriage drove to Palm Avenue. Angel paid the fare and got off. He found that this was a sparsely populated wealthy area. The streets were lined with large houses with gardens. Luxurious four-wheeled carriages with various emblems were speeding on the road, and there were almost no pedestrians.
It's much more ostentatious than I imagined...
Angel withdrew his inquiring gaze and walked along the street to the place written on the note, a three-story villa located in the exquisite garden landscape.
It was already night, but there was still a diligent guard standing guard at the door. He seemed to have known that Angel would come today, so he asked her to wait for a moment while he went in to report.
A few minutes later, a young woman in a black and white maid's dress came to the door with the guard and led Angel in.
"Madam is waiting for you in the reception room."
The maid was well-trained and only said this one sentence to Angel from beginning to end. She walked through the hall where many servants were busy, through the gorgeously decorated corridor with thick carpets, and brought her to a reception room on the east side of the first floor.
Entering the reception room alone, Angel found that the maid had closed the door behind him.
"Welcome, lost 'witch'. I'm glad you can come on time for your appointment."
A voice that sounded not very young but full of infectiousness came from behind the screen of the reception room. Footsteps were heard, and a woman in a black silk robe with long black hair tied behind her head walked out from behind the screen and sat down at the coffee table in the middle of the reception room.
Her face was round, but not fat. Under her thin eyebrows were a pair of gray eyes, which looked at Angel with a girlish curiosity, but seemed to have no ill intentions.
The latter did not wear a hood to conceal his appearance today, but he was wearing the "Ring of Madness". In the eyes of others, he still had black hair and a round face, a face that was not easy to remember.
As soon as he saw the lady's appearance, Angel guessed that she was also a pleasure witch, well, at least a pleasure witch.
Because she gives people a similar feeling to Ms. Lola. Her face cannot be called beautiful, but the subtle movements of her body, every frown and smile can touch other people's hearts.
"Hello, ma'am."
Not knowing the other person's name, Angel could only greet him briefly.
"Come, sit across from me," the black-haired lady pointed to another armchair across from the coffee table. "Don't be nervous, just call me Severia."
"Yes, Ms. Sylvia, I am Irene Watson, the Sequence 7 'Witch'."
The other party had already called out his own sequence, so Angel didn't need to hide it. As for the pseudonym, many people in Backlund already knew it.
After Angel sat down, a lady who called herself Sylvia rang a small bell, and two maids walked in from the side door of the reception room. They placed a pot of fragrant black tea and snacks on the coffee table. After pouring tea for the two of them, they left silently. Their movements were so skillful and quick that Angel was stunned.
I didn't expect the lives of the rich to be so... so luxurious. I thought a dedicated chef and a dedicated maid would suffice, but I didn't expect someone to come up and serve refreshments just by ringing a bell...
As if pleased with Angel's surprise, Ms. Severia smiled, took a sip of the teacup, and then said softly:
"Originally, someone with questionable identity like yours should have been directly examined by 'Madame Despair,' but she has more important matters to attend to lately and is temporarily away from Backlund. The West and Queens districts are under my charge, which is why we met here."
Ms. Despair?
This was the first time Angel heard this name. It sounded like this was Severia's superior, undoubtedly possessing a higher Sequence, perhaps Sequence 5, or even reaching a high Sequence.
Could it be that Sequence 5 of the Witch Path is called "Witch of Despair"? This corresponds to "Witch of Pleasure" and is very likely.
"First, tell us about your experiences before coming to Backlund. This is the first step in the assessment."
Sylvia's voice, with a hint of gentleness and temptation, brought Angel back from his thoughts.
Sure enough, the first thing is the background check...
Angel had been prepared for this, even before arriving in Backlund, when he was discussing it with Ms. Arianna, he had already made up his mind.
"I originally lived in Tingen City. I should have worked and lived like an ordinary person, and grown old like an ordinary person..."
She described the past of an "assassin" in a way that was seven parts true and three parts false.
"After meeting Madam Sharon, I embarked on the path of a Beyonder under her guidance. I punished evil and promoted good, killing those leaders of criminal organizations and those who could not be punished by law. I continued to rise through the ranks until I became a 'Witch'. To be honest, I didn't expect that after reaching Sequence 7, I would become a woman..."
When talking about "punishing evil and promoting good", she saw a hint of sarcasm in the eyes of Sylvia sitting opposite her, which was instantly replaced by curiosity to listen to the story.
"Such concealment and self-aggrandizement will only make people believe your past more..."
She thought of Arianna's instructions.
"Although Madam Sharon mentioned the 'Witch Cult' to me, she always said that I wasn't ready to join. With her death, I also lost the path to further advancement. So I came to Backlund, hoping to get more opportunities."
Ms. Severia nodded slightly, her expression became serious, and she asked:
"I heard about the death of Madam Sharon in Tingen City. Do you know the details?"
"She attacked the Church of Evernight's Nighthawks base to eliminate a defector. I never saw her again."
"It's consistent with what we know. Sharon Hoy's death nearly cost us a crucial piece. Luckily, Mitis was able to retrieve her. However, Mitis also died in Tingen a month ago... Strangely enough, we lost two members there in quick succession. Hehe, perhaps after you're promoted, you'll be sent there, too."
Sylvia said jokingly.
Forget it, I don't want to go back and face those old teammates...
Thinking of the night watchmen in Tingen City, Angel felt a pain in his heart.
She forced herself to divert her attention and analyze Sylvia's words.
Mitis is likely the "Pleasure Witch" with long gray hair, and what important chess piece did she "take back"? It sounds like she's also a woman...
"One last question, do you know Tris?"
Tris? The "instigator," no, the newly crowned "witch"?
Angel was briefly stunned by the interruption of her train of thought, but she quickly realized that Tris was most likely another subordinate of Mrs. Sharon, and Sylvia asked this question to determine whether she was lying.
"I know him. He's also Madam Sharon's subordinate and an 'instigator', but I haven't seen him since he went to sea and caused the 'Alfalfa Incident'."
"Very good, it seems you haven't concealed anything or lied," Sylvia nodded slightly with a satisfied look. "According to the rules, you still need to accept a mission. Your completion will determine whether you can join the Witch Cult. This will be a long process. Before that, you can only contact me alone. You cannot and will not contact anyone else."
Angel secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in response:
"That's exactly what I should do. This is consistent with what happened in Tingen City."
"I'm glad you understand. I'll find an opportunity to take you to a viscount's salon this week. I originally planned to get you close to him, but after meeting you, I don't think you'd be up to the task..."
Sylvia looked at Angel's face with some regret, which reminded her of Ms. Lola's strange expression before.
"But I will help you choose another target. You can approach one of Viscount Glint's good friends, the earl's daughter, through his salon. She seems to have an extraordinary interest in the occult and supernatural powers. You might as well use this opportunity to become her friend."
"You don't need to think too much. Just approach her normally. That way, you won't be noticed. Become her friend and interact with her normally. That's your only mission."
Sylvia added with a smile.
"If you can complete the task, I will provide you with the recipe for the 'joyful' potion and the corresponding potion materials."
The recipe and ingredients are both rewards? Doesn't that mean completing this mission will give me a chance to advance to Sequence 6?
Angel was a little surprised. She originally thought that she came to Severia this time just to accept the test of joining the "Witch Sect" and complete some simple or complex tasks to prove her ability.
I didn't expect the other party to offer such a generous reward.
"Who is that Baron Gralint?"
Why was it worth it for the Witch Cult to spend such a huge price to get close to her? She didn't ask the second half of the question.
"Him? He's just a guy who inherited the title at a young age. He's not the point."
Sylvia picked up a piece of exquisite tea, took a small bite and put it aside before continuing.
"Your target is Earl Hall's daughter, Audrey Hall."
"She's only 17 years old, but her beauty has already spread throughout Backlund's upper class. She's known as 'Backlund's most dazzling jewel,' and owns hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of real estate, land, stocks, and bonds."
Hundreds of thousands of pounds... The largest sum of gold pounds I've ever seen before was on Lanevus' wanted poster, and that ten thousand pounds was just the total amount he defrauded...
Before Angel could express her surprise, Sylvia's next words made her mouth open.
"Her father, Earl Hall, is a top banker in Loen and an influential cabinet member. His publicly known assets exceed 10 million pounds. As a banker and investor in various industries, the stocks and bonds he secretly controls would probably be no less than 30 million pounds if converted into gold pounds."
This kind of figure sounds as worthless as the British pound...
Angel had lost the ability to be surprised by the amount of "tens of millions".
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