Mystery: The Witch and the Calamity

"At the ball tonight, someone is going to assassinate me."

A very short sentence made everyone in the audience a little terrified. They all turned their heads to look at the people around them, only to find that they were all familiar faces. Just when they were secretly puzzled, they heard Duke Negan say again:

"However, the assassin has been arrested. I will find out the mastermind behind him and make him pay with his life."

The powerful announcement aroused cheers and applause from the crowd.

In the midst of the jubilation, Mr. Duke raised his wine glass, drained the champagne celebrating the victory in one gulp, and said loudly:

"Have a nice evening, everyone."

Soon, the atmosphere of the dance party returned to its previous enthusiastic and joyful appearance, but no one could tell if anyone was distracted.

The smug Duke Negan walked into the crowd, drank two more glasses because of his joy, and was slightly drunk. He didn't know what he saw, and suddenly turned his head and asked:

"Have you found anything unusual?"

The blond secretary behind him had been waiting for a long time, he pretended to think for two seconds, and replied firmly, "No."

"Miss Louise, like most people, was affected by the ability of the 'Sealed Artifact' brought by the 'Nighthawks', and she did not show any abnormalities."

"So, she's just an ordinary person!" Duke Negan said with a smile on the corner of his mouth, shaking the red wine in his glass lightly.

"Yes, this is also consistent with our investigation." The blond secretary replied meticulously: "Because of living in the Southern Continent for a long time, Miss Louise has a better understanding of the extraordinary world. It is precisely because of this that she Only then will we quickly establish a close relationship with Miss Audrey."

"And, as far as I know, the two of them, together with Viscount Grelint, formed a small party that they thought was very secret, working together to become Extraordinary..."

"What an ambitious child." Duke Negan's eyes rested on Louise and Audrey, and he suddenly expressed emotion, and said simply without turning his head:

"I'll leave the rest to you."

The blond secretary lowered his head, the gleam in his eyes flickered, and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. Unfortunately, no one could see it. Only a familiar word that conformed to the rules came into his ears:

"As you order, Monsieur Duke."

Just when everything seemed to be developing on the path he expected, suddenly, an "uninvited guest" hurried over.

Duke Negan glanced at the person coming, and whispered:

"In a panic, what does it look like!"

The person who came was a butler in the Duke's mansion. He first stood still, and then reported softly with a heavy face:

"Mr. Duke, just now, someone broke into the treasure house in the backyard without authorization, killed all the guards, and stole something."

Hearing this, Duke Negan's drunkenness was instantly wiped away, and the wine glass in his hand was about to shatter due to the force, and he asked in a deep voice:

"What did the thief steal?"

The butler quickly glanced around twice, and then whispered something in Mr. Duke's ear.

With a sound of "crash", the wine glass shattered, and the red wine fell down between his fingers, which seemed a little dazzling. Duke Negan turned and left the ball hall without heeding his gaze.

The guests around were inevitably a little surprised, but thinking that Mr. Duke had just been assassinated, he might become angry when he found out something, so he didn't care too much, but continued to enjoy the happy time... After all, happiness is the eternal theme .

"What's the matter, Mr. Duke?"

Audrey looked at the back of Duke Negan walking away quickly, as if she could see the anger hidden on his body, then turned her gaze to Louise beside her, and asked curiously:

"Hasn't the assassin already been caught?"

It's a pity, the members of the "Secret Order" are not assassins at all... Louise cursed in her heart.

Judging from Duke Negan's performance just now, it seems that the other members of the "Secret Order" have accomplished their real goal and stolen what they want... Louise watched the figure of Mr. Duke disappear completely without squinting. In the line of sight, I accidentally found that the blond secretary suddenly turned his head and glanced at him with a blank expression on his face, as if he did it unintentionally.

After a moment of silence, she casually replied:

"Maybe it's to find out the mastermind behind the assassin... Think about it, the person who dares to assassinate Duke Negan must be a person of the same level... When two tigers fight, one must be injured!"

Louise turned her head to the side, and said meaningfully:

"This Backlund, I'm afraid it's going to be a mess!"

When Audrey heard this, she felt quite empathetic. Perhaps it was because of her rapid identity change. Before she became a Extraordinary, the first half of her life was uneventful.

But when she was lucky enough to join the "Tarot Club" and become an "audience", her life seemed to become a water surface that was constantly being dropped by stones, with ups and downs and abnormal excitement.

Miss "Justice" couldn't tell whether this change was good or bad. She pondered for a while silently, and then she opened her mouth to raise her biggest doubt:

"Why did the members of the 'Secret Order' assassinate Duke Negan, and what good does it do them?"

Louise took a sip of the red wine and said noncommittally, "Who knows?"

"Maybe they want to get what they want, or they may be instigated by others, just like Qilingus... As long as the reward is good enough, anything is possible."

Audrey nodded thoughtfully.

…………

As the top aristocrat in Backlund and one of the largest landowners in Loen, the villa that Duke Negan lived in was naturally extremely luxurious and very large.

Mr. Duke took the lead and walked in the front, followed by the blond secretary and the butler who just reported.

The three of them strode quickly towards the secret treasure house in the backyard, and soon, several corpses appeared in sight.

The housekeeper stepped forward, pointing to the well-preserved corpses scattered everywhere, and introduced:

"This corpse was shot between the eyebrows, but no bullets were found... There is no wound on this corpse, but the person is dead..."

The blond secretary immediately opened his mouth to remind: "'Air Bullet', 'Spiritual Body Thread'... are the same as the guy who used the 'Paper Doll Substitute' at the ball just now, and they are all abilities of the 'Seer' pathway."

"The 'Seer' pathway..." Duke Negan frowned and thought for two seconds, unable to hide his surprise, he said, "Secret Order?"

At this time, the middle-aged captain of the "Nighthawks" team asked for an interview, and reported:

"Mr. Duke, the Extraordinary who was caught was the 'Faceless Man' of the Seer Path, a member of the secret organization 'Secret Order'. His original purpose of appearing at the ball was to create confusion, attract attention, and give him The actions of our associates create opportunities.”