Shireen felt that she knew the Ms. Woflin just now, at least she looked familiar. But for some reason, she just couldn't remember...

Is there something wrong with her memory?

No, Shireen told herself, it's because of the wine, you drank too much.

Maybe she overestimated her drinking capacity. After all, she didn't have many opportunities to drink, and the opportunities to taste these black wines from Grazzo were even rarer.

"I was lucky to have you here just now, Miss Marron." Gram said suddenly.

Shireen turned around and smiled at him, "This is my honor. And I just confirmed that the lady does not need help. It is not really a great achievement worthy of praise."

"You may have prevented a potential social disaster." Gram showed a scholar's thoughtful expression, "I have a hunch that Ms. Woflin just now is probably an important person."

Shireen thought the way he looked when he was deep in thought was really interesting. On the surface, Pavel's personal bodyguard seemed to be a ruthless and tough guy, but privately he was a person who loved reading.

Most of his imagination came from those books. "There is no doubt that I just talked to her for a few words and saved Fire Seal City from destruction." She said with a smile.

Gram shrugged, "Okay, I just said it casually... Then, if you feel that you have had enough fun making fun of me, I suggest that we return to Lord Sedu's box."

She suppressed her laughter and said, "Hmm, then please lead the way."

They returned to the second floor of the banquet hall along the same route. When passing by the harbormaster's box, Shirin vaguely heard the sound of coughing coming from inside.

It seems that the harbor master's health problems are not disguised, and appear to have appeared recently... because he does not look like a sickly person.

Shireen just hoped that his illness would not recover too quickly. In that case, the harbor master would not bother to pester her.

But this was probably her extravagant hope. Even if the harbor master was ill in bed, Ms. Clover would not let her go easily.

That woman might still be remembering her grudge.

But now that Gram is by her side, Shireen at least doesn't need to worry about the Port Authority guards. I wonder if it's her imagination, but those people's eyes seem to have been following her.

They walked through the corridor and came to Lord Sedu's box. It was located on the innermost side of the second floor of the banquet hall and was only half the size of the other boxes.

When Shireen entered the room, Pavel's friend Lord Russo Greco whistled frivolously at her.

She frowned.

"Welcome back, Miss Marron." He fiddled with his cloak, and then showed a smile that he thought was very charming.

Russo Greco is one of Pavel's friends. He is a strong young nobleman, almost as big as Gram. He is also handsome in appearance, and there must be many female suitors around him.

But Shireen had only spent less than five minutes with him before going out, and she had already realized how annoying his pretentiousness was.

"Miss Mallon is a guest of Lord Seydoux." Gram said politely, "You should treat her with some respect, Lord Greco."

"Oh, you nagging nerd, of course I know she is Pavel's guest. But that doesn't stop me from being friendly to her, right?" Russo looked at him with disgust, "You have to stay here.

Isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be guarding your master?”

Shireen had never seen Gram in anger. Although the relationship between him and Costa was tense, the two men's conversations were not as tense as they were now.

"Do you have to be an annoying bastard, Russo?" Lord Warmingelo sighed on the balcony, "If you don't want Pavel to be angry, it's best not to cause trouble for the two of them."

"It's not your turn to take care of me, Wo Ming." Russo said angrily.

"There has to be someone to remind you when you are being stupid." Wo Ming said and walked back to the box.

He is a young aristocrat of medium build and elegant manner, who may not look more than twenty years old. If he took off his finely made clothes, Shireen would never guess that he was a nobleman.

The reason is that he has an approachable temperament, which makes him different from all the nobles she has met before. Pavel can also be regarded as a very polite son of a count, but compared with Warminguello, he is simply

Like an arrogant playboy.

Therefore, even though Woming seems to be the least visible person in Pavel's small group, the other two people care about his opinion. Wominguello has a kind of innate affinity, even as Russo

people also hope to become friends with him.

The first time Shireen saw him, she understood why Katie Moridi was willing to accept his investment in the White Cat Cafe. It was too difficult to refuse someone like him. When he showed a gentle smile, she couldn't.

One can doubt his good intentions.

However, Gram didn't seem to like him very much, "Thank you for your support, Lord Gallo." Although his words were polite, his tone was cold.

"It's nothing," Warming showed a gentle smile, "As you said, Miss Marron is Pavel's guest."

Gram ordered a dinner for herself, and she enjoyed it slowly in the private room.

Russo seemed to want to practice a certain unarmed combat technique with Gram, but Gram was obviously more interested in the book in his hand. He rejected Lord Greco's proposal in a polite but sarcastic way, which surprised Shireen.

Yes, Russo Greco didn't understand what he meant.

Warmingello did not participate in their conversation. He stood silently on the balcony, looking down at the banquet hall below, as if it were his family estate.

Shireen didn't know if he would own his own manor in the future. Pavel and his two friends were the second sons of the three major political nobles in the city, and none of them had the right to inherit the family.

Gram told her privately that these people called themselves the "Second Sons Alliance". They would occasionally hold small gatherings like this and talk about any topic of interest to each other except politics.

"People are leaving the banquet hall," Wo Ming said suddenly. "The Duke seems to be giving a speech in the courtyard to introduce the sage who has just arrived to protect the country."

"The sage who protects the country has arrived?" Shirin asked in surprise.

"It seems so." Wo Ming glanced at her.

"I'm not interested in listening to the wizards talking," Russo said. "They're all arrogant people who think they're smart."

Wo Ming doesn't seem to be interested in wizards either. Shireen suspects that the two of them will have a better chance to meet the Protector of the Country in the future, maybe face to face with him?

But now she wanted to see what the Protector of the Country looked like, so she asked Gram to accompany her to the courtyard. He closed the book and readily agreed.

People gradually walked out of the banquet hall and came to the courtyard of Seydoux Manor. The night sky was dark, and the stars and the moon were gone. Shireen found that the Duke was standing on the podium in the center of the courtyard, so she leaned over there.

However, the crowd surrounded the place tightly. Shireen tried to get closer, but was almost suffocated by the crowd. Fortunately, Gram held her hand in time, and Shireen was able to escape from the whirlpool formed by that person.

She gave up. In order to return the party dress to her landlady unscathed, it was best for her to stay outside the crowd.

Suddenly there was the sound of an argument not far away, and it sounded like the two guests of Count Sedo had had some minor friction in the crowd.

The argument quickly turned into a quarrel and then into name-calling.

"I've got to go take a look," Gram said, "before they settle the matter in a disgraceful way like two savages..."

"Okay." She nodded.

He left in a hurry. Shirin looked at the Duke on the podium. He was looking at the audience, as if waiting for a suitable moment to speak.

The Protector stood quietly beside the Duke. He fit almost everything Shireen imagined for a wizard, and he cleverly made those mediocre parts perfect.

He is young, handsome, tall, yet elegant.

His brilliance eclipsed everyone else around him. Count Seydu seemed to be a brave soldier, and his eldest son was his younger version. However, when they stood next to the wizard, they both looked extremely mediocre.

Pavel looked very nervous, and Shireen had never seen him show such emotions. Moira, who was standing next to him, had a blushing face and seemed to be about to faint with excitement.

Shirin was secretly glad that it was not her who was standing there. When she just left the banquet hall, she saw several senior managers of Avon Insurance Company.

If they saw her standing on the podium... when she returned to the company tomorrow morning, would the greeting she heard change from "Good morning, Mademoiselle Marron" to "Good morning, Madame Seydoux"?

The rumors about her were exaggerated enough, and it was best not to add new elements to them.

"Don't look back, Miss Marron. I'm right behind you." She was lamenting how badly she had been hurt by Mr. Devon, when a voice suddenly came from behind her.

Shireen recognized the voice immediately... Thomas Ende's voice.

She took a deep breath slowly, trying not to tremble. Except for the two of them, everyone's attention seemed to be focused on the Duke and the Sage Protector.

"Mr. Ende," she replied softly, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"To each other, I didn't expect to see you here either."

"I was invited." Shireen closed her eyes and said, "I thought I still had this little freedom."

"I have no intention of interfering in your personal life, but don't you think you've been a little too busy recently? How are you, Mr. Juventus?"

He knew it, and it was a matter of course... Mr. End seemed to know everything about what was happening in the city.

"I'm just doing magic disaster insurance work, and I happen to need the help of the Duke of Night."

"So you also happen to need the help of the harbor master?" For some reason, Shirin felt that Mr. Ende seemed to show some rare emotions when he mentioned the harbor master...

Is it hatred?

No, it's hard to tell.

"I was forced to see the harbor master," she said cautiously. "He is very interested in what is going on in the harbor gardens."

"I guess you didn't satisfy his curiosity."

She shook her head, "I don't believe him." He looks worse than you.

Mr. Ende was silent for a while without making any sound. Not even breathing.

Shireen thought he had left, but then she heard his voice again: "You haven't forgotten your mission, have you? I hope you haven't forgotten." The voice was still calm, but it made her hair stand on end.

Shireen nodded stiffly.

"Very good. In fact, I'm really relieved to see you standing here instead of on the Duke's podium." He said, "You must have a good mentor who taught you to deal with everything with caution.

The less contact you have with the Protector of the Country, the lower the risk of your identity being revealed... But no matter what, you will have to deal with him starting tomorrow. I hope you have learned all the runes."

She didn't answer. She didn't dare to answer. Because too many things happened recently, she had no time to care about the study of runes.

Master Irene's manuscript was left in her room in the cafe, and there was still about a third of the content in it that she had not even read, let alone written down.

"You seem to be behind some schedule." He said, "But a smart girl like you must know what to do. You don't need me to remind you again how important this task is, right?"

She nodded slowly.

"Great, then... we are all waiting for your good news. Remember, Miss Marron, everything you do is just. If anyone is the evil party in this matter, it is undoubtedly

Our enemy."

His footsteps gradually faded away, but Shirin never dared to look back.

She thought she had gradually won back some initiative. But she was wrong, very wrong.

Shireen is still a pawn in Mr. End's plan, but she misjudged her position before... She is not a pawn, but a queen.
Chapter completed!