Mystery: The Stars Returner

In Queens, a grand ball is being held in Duke Negan's mansion.

This place is divided into two parts. The hall on the first floor is specially used for dancing. Going up the stairs of the hall is the second part of the corridor that surrounds the circle. Here, nobles who are not dancing can stand here and hold their hands. Watch the dance below with a glass of wine.

If there are aristocratic men and women who are eye-catching, they can hold hands and walk down the stairs to the hall on the first floor to dance.

Audrey, who had skipped the opening dance, stood on the second floor of the ball hall, looking at the crystal chandelier hanging from the roof, as if staring at the lit candles above in a daze.

Finding that there were many people nearby who were about to invite her to dance, she wisely left and headed to the dining area.

As soon as I came to the dining area and walked around, I found Hastur standing near the corner holding a dinner plate, slowly enjoying tonight's food.

Mr. Hastur seems to like sweets?

Audrey, who was in the audience's state, glanced at the plate in Hastur's hand, roughly understanding Hastur's food preferences.

The chocolate cake recommended by Mr. Hasta last time was indeed delicious.

Audrey walked over and held the dinner plate. She glanced at the desserts on Hasta's plate from the corner of her eye and picked up the same desserts in order.

Then he walked to a place not far from Hasta and started enjoying tonight's dessert.

As expected of Mr. Hasta's recommendation, the taste is indeed different.

The melt-in-the-mouth, rich-scented desserts won Audrey's liking right away. She knew that as long as she followed Mr. Hasta's recommendations when tasting desserts, she would not go overboard.

While tasting the delicious food, he elegantly chatted with the nobles who came to say hello, and occasionally looked at each noble here with his peripheral vision.

According to what Mr. Hastur said, the hurricane Lieutenant General Qilingos will sneak into the dance tonight. Mr. Hanged Man said that Qilingos has a magical extraordinary item, the Creeping Hunger, which can change people. appearance and form.

If Qilingos really came, he must have replaced someone else's noble status.

Audrey hopes to discover Chillinges' disguised identity from some tiny details.

But there was not much gain, and instead some unseemly content was spied.

For example, Mrs. Feder seems to have a too close relationship with Viscount Pole, especially her peach-like eyes, which are warm and passionate, so touching that they are almost dripping with water. She does not have this kind of look when she looks at her husband. Eyes.

Audrey's face turned slightly red. She had been exposed to it since childhood and she understood many things.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Hastur's figure leaving the corner and walking towards the second floor of the ball hall.

Could it be that Hastur has discovered Qilingos's movements?

Audrey made an excuse to decline the young noble who wanted to talk to her, put down her plate, and returned to the second floor of the ball hall with elegant steps.

Not long after arriving here, she locked onto a suspicious figure.

Baron Gramir, he looks very different tonight than usual. Whether it is the smell of perfume on his body or the look in his eyes when talking to others, he does not look like the usual Baron Gramir.

Could this person be the new identity that Qilingos transformed into by using creeping hunger?

"Hello, Baron Gramir." Audrey greeted her cordially with a flawless smile.

Opposite him, Baron Gramir, with sparse eyebrows and light blue eyes, smiled and saluted: "Hello, Miss Hall, you are the most beautiful and dazzling gem at tonight's ball."

After a few simple greetings, the two people passed by each other. At this time, Audrey was already sure that the Baron Gramir in front of her was Chillinges in disguise!

At this time, she saw the look in Hastur's eyes.

That look seemed to tell her: Audrey, your idea is correct, he is Qilingos.

Audrey looked back at Hastur with a smile, and then they walked to the other side with a tacit understanding.

Audrey walked through the crowd and came to Earl Hall who was chatting with the nobles.

Hasta came to Grek who was drinking and chatting with others.

Audrey borrowed Earl Hall, and Hastur called Grek away.

"Hasta, what do you want from me tonight?"

"Yes, and it's a big deal."

Greg was startled and smiled: "Could it be that you wanted to invite Miss Audrey to dance, but lacked enough courage, so you came to discuss it with me?"

Hasta shook his head and said seriously: "I received news that there is a hurricane Lieutenant General Qilingos on the sea. He is secretly hiding in Backlund, and he is at the dance tonight."

"what!"

The smile on Greco's face gradually disappeared, and his tone became much more solemn.

"He should be pretending to be Baron Gramir at the moment. Miss Audrey and I both suspect that he came to the ball to assassinate a certain big shot."

"!!"

Greco chose to believe Hastur's words, got up and rushed to where his father, Duke Negan, was.

This is a matter of life and death!

When he was about to arrive at Duke Negan's location, Greco spotted Earl Hall. The two men's eyes collided in mid-air, and they understood each other's thoughts and came to Duke Negan's side at the same time.

After solving the Qilingos matter, Hasta felt much more relaxed and was ready to go to the dining area to enjoy some delicious food.

Halfway through, he saw Audrey surrounded by a crowd.

Audrey looked at him with a smile, her expression seemed to say: Mr. Hastur, I knew you would come here to enjoy the delicious food.

Hasta smiled across the crowd and bowed, then went to the familiar dessert area and started to choose his favorite dessert.

Qilingos' whereabouts have been exposed, and the assassination attempt on Duke Negan has failed in advance.

As for whether he could leave the dance alive, Hastur felt a bit uncertain.

Many major events happened in Backlund some time ago, which resulted in the protective force here being strengthened a lot.

It is a bit difficult for Qilingers to break through the encirclement and then die at the hands of Mr. Azik.

Originally, this assassination was only difficult for Qilinges. After Audrey saw through his identity, it rose to nightmare level difficulty. Adding him in, it basically reached hell level difficulty.

If Qilingos knew the truth, he would probably look up to the sky and shout: How can I, Qilingos, be able to let two Crouching Dragon and Phoenix chicks target him at the same time?

Well, this metaphor is a bit inappropriate. Wolong and Phoenix seem to be almost becoming villains.

Hastur smiled, putting aside these little fantasies.

After enjoying the food for a while, Audrey freed herself from the crowd of enthusiastic nobles, came to Hastur's side, and said nonchalantly: "Good evening, Baron Campbell."

"Good evening, Miss Audrey, you are the most dazzling jewel in the ball tonight."

Audrey took a deep look at Hastur and said, "Just now, Baron Gramir praised me in the same way."

"...This shows that no matter who in the eyes, Miss Audrey is the most dazzling pearl. This is a recognized fact and the only truth of this ball."

Audrey chuckled and lowered her voice: "Is Mr. Hastur always so exaggerated when he praises others?"

"I'm not good at complimenting others."

"This is not acceptable. Praise is a must in aristocratic interpersonal relationships. A just right compliment can make both host and guest happy."

"Miss Audrey seems to be very knowledgeable about these situations?"

"You need to cultivate this knowledge from an early age. Didn't Mr. Hasta do the same when he was a child?"

Hasta thought for a moment and said, "I always failed this class when I was a kid."

“Is it hard to compliment others?”

"It's not difficult, it's just a bit against my will."

Audrey showed an expression that seemed enlightened, and pretended to be displeased: "It turns out that praising me makes Mr. Hastur feel very contrary to his wishes."

"..."

Hasta picked up a piece of caramel pudding with a knife and fork and said, "This dessert is not bad."

The two men's relaxed chat quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding nobles.

One is recognized as Backlund's most dazzling pearl, and the other's appearance is also impeccable. His slender and powerful figure is even more different from some nobles who have bulging bellies.

As more and more eyes came around, Hasta had no intention of enjoying the food quietly. He put down his plate, bent down and stretched out his hand and said with a smile, "Can you invite Miss Audrey to dance?"

"Of course, that's my luck."

Audrey put her hand on Hastur's arm with a smile, and left gracefully, heading to the ball hall on the first floor.

In the ball hall, the candlelight was bright and swaying, and nobles in pairs danced freely in the candlelight. In the outermost circle, there was an orchestra specially playing music.

The arrival of Hastur and Audrey once again attracted a lot of attention.

Although Audrey is known for her elegance in interpersonal interactions, there are not many people who can actually dance with her. In most cases, Miss Audrey will decline the invitation with an elegant and appropriate reason.

For example, tonight, many young nobles have already hit the wall and returned.

Not long after Hastur and Audrey started dancing, a sudden strong wind swept over the dance floor and blew out the candles on the crystal chandelier.

Just when the light and darkness changed, when everyone's attention was attracted, a few thin wind blades used the cover of the strong wind to cut off the metal chains hanging on the crystal chandelier.

Squeak!

With a heart-breaking sound, the huge crystal chandelier fell straight from the top of the head onto the dance floor, making a clanging sound all over the floor.

At this time, Hastur had already led Audrey to dance to the edge of the dance floor, and was not disturbed by the falling chandelier.

"Did Zillingus take action?"

Audrey, whose right hand was still in the palm of Hastur's hand and whose left hand was resting on Hastur's shoulder, raised her head, her green eyes shining like a pure emerald under the changes in surrounding light and darkness.