bookbashuk Chapter 299 Why are so many ladies looking for me?
Chapter 299 Why are so many ladies looking for me?
Chapter 299 Why are so many ladies looking for me?
Hugh and a lady?
It must be Fors—Lorne knew in his heart. Hugh had come to see him when he was in detention, so it was only natural that he would come to check on him now that he had been released.
"Gentlemen, I have guests. Could you please step aside for a moment?" Lorne smiled at Marich and Sharon.
"Hmm." Marich didn't say anything more, just nodded, got up and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he paused slightly and glanced at Sharon, who was still sitting there as if she hadn't heard a sound.
?
"Ms. Sharon, could you please excuse us for a moment?" Seeing that the other party did not move, Lorne had no choice but to speak up.
"I have business to discuss."
"Understood." Upon hearing this, Sharon nodded slightly, then her body became transparent and disappeared silently from the spot.
"What a convenient ability," Lorne thought to himself.
A short while later, there was a knock on the office door, which was then pushed open. He peeked out and saw a petite woman dressed as a trainee knight and a female writer wearing a white dress, a flesh-colored coat, and an elegant soft hat standing in the doorway.
"Long time no see, ladies." Lorne smiled, stood up, and bowed slightly in a standard gentlemanly manner.
"Didn't we just see each other not long ago?" Hugh rubbed his slightly frizzy hair, feeling a little uncomfortable with Lorne's behavior.
“That’s different,” Lorne shrugged and explained. “I was in prison back then, and those days felt like an eternity. It seems like a long time has passed to me.”
"Thank you for your concern, Hugh," he said sincerely, leaning slightly forward.
"I was very happy when friends came to visit me while I was locked up."
"Um—we're friends." Hugh nodded, looking a little awkward.
"Ahem." Fors coughed lightly twice to make her presence known. These two seemed to have completely ignored her.
"And you, Ms. Fors," Lorne said, turning his gaze and smiling, "Did you come all this way to see me too?"
"Ms. Fors—" Fors pursed her lips slightly, somewhat displeased with the address, "I'm just here on my day off—"
"Really?" Lorne scratched his cheek.
"Actually, Fors is also very worried about you." Seeing the two of them acting so awkwardly, Hugh couldn't help but say.
"I knew it, Ms. Fors must care a lot about her friends," Lorne said, continuing the conversation.
"Gulp." Fors unconsciously swallowed, feeling her cheeks slightly hot. She turned her head and glared at her friend.
Forehead?
She felt a little impatient when she met Hugh's confused and bewildered gaze.
Hurry up and tell me, Xiu! Didn't we agree to question him about why he lied to us? Why are you silent now that he praised you a couple of times?
"Why did you deceive Hugh in the first place?" Seeing that her friend was unreliable, Fors had no choice but to stand with her hands on her hips and ask with a hint of feigned anger.
"Lies?" Lorne was taken aback at first, then realized, "The situation was unclear at the time, and I was afraid of dragging Hugh into it."
He looked at Hugh and said gently, "I think Hugh can understand my concerns, right?"
"Yes," Hugh nodded immediately, "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't want to drag my friends into this either."
"Oh dear—" Fors looked at her friend who had instantly "switched sides," and helplessly rubbed her forehead. She gave up.
A moment later, she took out her notebook, letting her writer's instincts kick in again.
"Well then, Mr. Scott, could you share the complete story, especially the part about his dramatic transformation from prisoner to hero? It would be excellent writing material!"
"If there's anything inconvenient—" Hugh said, but his face was also full of curiosity.
Meeting their probing gazes, Lorne nodded slightly: "This is nothing to hide, of course I can tell you."
Lorne then briefly recounted what had happened.
"So that's how it is. I didn't expect there to be such an inside story—" Fors's pen flew across the notebook, his eyes shining.
Seeing her so engrossed in her creative process, Lorne felt somewhat relieved that she was a writer who pursued storytelling rather than an investigative journalist who pried into every detail.
"By the way, Scott, did you see a ghost at the scene?" Hugh asked, getting down to business.
"ghost?"
"Hmm." Hugh nodded and told them about the bounty someone had placed on the "Black Emperor Ghost" at the party.
A ghost—of course I've seen it. If I'm not mistaken, I was caught in the gas explosion he caused, which injured me and landed me in jail for several days.
However, those looking for him are probably government officials. He and I were, in a sense, "colleagues" who were also involved in the rescue efforts.
After some thought, Lorne gave a brief description of what he had seen that day, but deliberately omitted some of the details.
"Have you ever heard of an organization related to tarot cards?" Hugh asked again.
Tarot cards? If it's playing cards, I know that. Tarot—wait! Lorne suddenly remembered that the "Black Emperor" ghost had thrown a tarot card at him before leaving.
Is there any connection between the two?
After hesitating for a moment, Lorne shook his head. On the one hand, he himself wasn't sure if the two were really related; on the other hand, he had too many things to deal with lately and just wanted to completely extricate himself from this matter and didn't want to get involved in any more trouble.
Hugh was somewhat disappointed, but still expressed his gratitude.
"Hugh, there's also Miss Audrey's matter," Fors whispered a reminder from the side.
"Miss Audrey?" Lorne asked, somewhat puzzled.
"That's right, back then, to help you, we asked Miss Audrey for help—"
Listening to their description, Lorne roughly understood the situation. To help him, the two women sought assistance from Audrey Hall, the daughter of the high-ranking noble Earl Hall, but he was released a few days later—
Hiss—although he had never met this Miss Hall before, well—at least it sounded like this matter was connected to her. Perhaps she really had spoken on his behalf at the higher-ups, which was why he was able to get out so quickly, and the authorities had even given him quite a few benefits this time.
He vaguely remembered meeting her once in that luxury store—Lorne was lost in thought. "I understand. So, what kind of thank-you gift do you think I should give her? A noble lady of this caliber probably wouldn't be interested in ordinary expensive items, right?" He looked at the two of them.
"We've thought about that too—" Hugh and Fors exchanged a glance. "Miss Audrey seems to be a newcomer to the field of mysticism and is quite interested in this kind of knowledge. Perhaps we can start from that angle."
A noble lady who is fascinated by the occult — Hmm, this setting seems familiar, like I know someone similar.
"Okay, I've got it in mind." Lorne thought he could give the other person some low-risk but flashy talismans, or teach him some basic mystical knowledge that the captain had once taught him.
"By the way, does anyone here know how to dance?"
"Dancing?" Both of them were somewhat surprised.
"Yeah, I'm going to a charity gala soon, and I might need to dance." Lorne shrugged. "But I've never been interested in dancing, so I really need to catch up."
"What kind of party?"
Lorne briefly explained the situation regarding the charitable foundation.
The foundation that specifically helps those victimized girls—the authorities have finally done something good—this thought simultaneously crossed Hugh and Fors' minds.
"A party, ah—"
As a writer, Fors had attended many literary salons hosted by nobles and was quite familiar with these social etiquettes. But—she turned to look at her friend.
Compared to Hugh, who was once a true noblewoman, my own experience is nothing.
"I know these things quite well. I can teach you if you need it," Hugh suddenly spoke up. Just as Fors had thought, she might not be of much help with other things, but she was no problem with these matters of etiquette. Don't let her somewhat impulsive nature fool you; she was once a true noblewoman.
"Hmm—why don't you come with me?" Lorne glanced at Hugh and suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?" The two ladies were stunned when they heard this.
"I don't have much experience with these kinds of occasions. With you here to guide me, I won't make any mistakes," Lorne said matter-of-factly. This way, he wouldn't have to waste his precious time learning all that messy etiquette.
"No way! Do you know what the consequences are of bringing just any woman to a public place like this?!" Fors retorted excitedly before Hugh could even speak.
"Won't people misunderstand?"
"Of course!" Fors said urgently, hands on her hips. "You're both unmarried young people. Showing yourselves together in public like this can easily be interpreted in other ways!"
"Besides, there will definitely be a lot of reporters at your party! It's not convenient for Hugh to make a public appearance right now!"
"It's just a simple friendship between a man and a woman—but it's inconvenient for Hugh to show his face—" Lorne curled his lip at Fors's aggressive appearance.
"Since it's inconvenient for me to take a break, how about you come with me?"
"What—" These words silenced Fors, and her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed.
"You're a writer, so making public appearances is probably a common occurrence for you. With so many reporters here, it's a good opportunity to promote your new book—a win-win situation."
"Hiss—" Fors lowered his head and nervously rubbed his hands together.
"Well—it's not impossible—"
"Huh? No way, sister—" Hugh looked at her friend, who had suddenly fallen into deep thought, with a complicated expression. "I was really touched that you stood up for me earlier, but why did your stance become so wavering when it came to yourself?"
dong dong dong.
"Mr. Scott, someone else is here. It's Miss Macht."
Miss Macht?!
The two women present instantly regained their senses.
Is today some special day? Why are so many people coming to see me? Is Hazel here to discuss investment matters?
Lorne glanced at the two women beside him, each with a different expression, and said to the door, "Please let her in."
A moment later, under the somewhat tense and inquisitive gazes of Hugh and Fors, the office door was pushed open, and Hazel Macht appeared in the doorway.
"James Scott! Do you need a dance partner for that party? Of course, I'm mainly worried that since it's your first time attending an event like this, you might not find a suitable person to accompany you, so—"
Before Hazel could finish speaking, she saw three pairs of eyes looking at her from inside the office.
stare--