Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 564

The carriage had already stopped, and the Hersha estate was just a few steps away, yet Jenkins and Miss Mikhail remained, simply looking at each other.

"Mr. Williams, I think it's best if you go and ask. The Earl and Countess don't like me very much."

Miss Mikhail, sitting opposite Jenkins, made the suggestion.

"No, no, Miss Mikhail, I think you should go. I'm just an ordinary friend of Miss Hersha's. Even for a casual visit, I should be in formal attire. You see, visiting an Earl dressed would be absolutely improper."

The Earl had once suggested marrying Hathaway to Jenkins, an offer Jenkins had refused. He was worried about the awkwardness and was thus quite reluctant to set foot there again.

"Perhaps you could use 'opera composition' as an excuse. That way you could ask Hathaway out directly instead of going inside for a visit."

As she said this, Miss Mikhail wondered to herself if those words had truly come from her own mouth.

"No, no, that would also be very impolite. Perhaps you could use the excuse of discussing the pet fundraiser with Miss Hersha. That's an excellent excuse!"

For their own various reasons, neither of them wanted to be seen here by the Earl's family. But they were equally worried about Hathaway Hersha's safety, so after a few rounds of passing the buck, they decided to visit together as friends.

It wasn't the building that was strange, but the situation they were facing. In Miss Mikhail's eyes, Mr. Williams was a very charming rival; in Jenkins's view, Miss Mikhail was constantly worried about someone intruding on her relationship.

Yet here these two were, about to visit Hathaway's home together.

They rang the bell outside the tall, iron-barred gate, and a guard quickly noticed the two visitors. They had expected a servant to come and lead them in, but to their surprise, it was the Hersha family's old butler who appeared.

It was a weekday afternoon, and the Countess happened to be out with her eldest daughter choosing jewelry for next week's ball. The only person at home to receive guests was Hathaway's younger brother.

Young Baines Hersha hurriedly pushed the door open. When he saw the two people sitting in the drawing-room, the expression on his face was quite a picture.

He was aware of some of his sister's romantic troubles, so for the life of him, he couldn't imagine why these two would show up together.

Jenkins looked at Miss Mikhail. The blonde girl looked back, signaling for him to speak first.

"Alright, I'm the baron. I suppose it's my place to speak on such an occasion."

He thought to himself, subconsciously reaching up to stroke the cat on his shoulder before rising to his feet.

"I do apologize for dropping by unannounced. Is Hathaway Hersha at home? Miss Mikhail and I came because..."

They had forgotten to coordinate their reason for visiting. He glanced down at the blonde girl, who subtly pointed to the cat on his shoulder.

"We wanted to talk to her about the pet fundraiser. We were supposed to meet this morning, but she never arrived at the club."

It was indeed a good excuse.

"I'm so sorry, Baron Williams."

Young Baines was very polite. "I think my sister must have forgotten. She mentioned at lunch that she was going to Mrs. Baxter's dress shop alone to pick up a custom-made garment. My apologies, but I expect she'll be back soon."

Jenkins was no stranger to Mrs. Baxter's dress shop. He had been there twice before. The first time was during one of the repeating 31sts, and the second was after Miss Miller left Nolan City, when he helped her take care of some unfinished business from her hasty departure.

The so-called dress shop was just a front. In reality, it was an illegal organization, something like a mercenary guild. People in need could pay in gold pounds to post missions, and those with the ability could accept them for a reward.

Jenkins didn't know what Hathaway was doing there, but when he recalled the deadly threat the red-haired girl had faced the night he returned from Bel Diran, he couldn't help but worry.

Even though he now knew Hathaway had been home this morning, and that the issue with Miss Mikhail was just a one-sided "cold war" on her part, he still wanted to confirm his friend's safety.

Miss Mikhail's thoughts were surprisingly in line with Jenkins's. She didn't want to stay and wait for Hathaway to return either. So, they politely bid farewell to Hathaway's younger brother and set off once more in the carriage.

"I'm sorry. My behavior at noon was very rude. I apologize, Mr. Williams."

The atmosphere in the carriage had been awkward for a while, and Jenkins couldn't find a good topic of conversation. It was Miss Mikhail who broke the silence, apologizing for storming into Pops Antique Shop earlier.

"Friends should trust each other, Miss Mikhail. That's very important. And don't worry, I won't hold it against you, but I do hope you won't act like that again."

"Yes, I'm truly sorry."

Jenkins's "between friends" referred to his relationship with Miss Mikhail as well as Miss Mikhail's with Hathaway. To be honest, his relationship with Hathaway was much better than his with the beautiful lady before him, and he disliked seeing his friend's morals unjustly questioned, especially since he knew Hathaway was not that kind of person at all.

More importantly, the matter involved Jenkins himself, and he knew he wasn't that kind of person either.

Perhaps sensing Jenkins's lingering resentment, Miss Mikhail spent the rest of the ride trying to find topics that would interest them both.

She almost succeeded; at least on the topic of raising cats, they had plenty to talk about. Unfortunately, Chocolate was no ordinary cat, and some of the feline habits and customs Miss Mikhail mentioned, especially regarding diet, were completely different from Chocolate's behavior.

The cat, who had been feigning sleep on Jenkins's lap, had to listen carefully to their every word, diligently identifying any sentences that might arouse the sensitive Jenkins's suspicions.

Mrs. Baxter's dress shop was located on an inconspicuous street on the outskirts of the city. An unremarkable sign hung in front of an unremarkable storefront, hardly inspiring anyone to step inside for a look.

It was a weekday afternoon, a cold winter day with poor air quality, and the entire street was deserted. The horse pulled the carriage at a relaxed pace down the somewhat narrow street. Jenkins hopped down from the carriage first. Seeing that the ground was a bit uneven and might be difficult for Miss Mikhail, he offered her a hand.

The girl, who had just peeked her head out of the carriage, was taken aback for a moment, but a shy smile immediately appeared on her face as she placed her hand in Jenkins's.

Jenkins wasn't worried that Miss Mikhail would uncover the secret of Mrs. Baxter's dress shop. The disguise of a professional illegal brokerage organization wouldn't be that flimsy.

So when he and Miss Mikhail pushed open the shop door and walked in, he wasn't worried about any trouble.

"Welcome. How may I help you two?"

Mrs. Baxter, wearing a dress with a shockingly cinched waist and a shockingly wide skirt, personally came to greet them. Her face was heavily made up, and she didn't recognize Jenkins's current face.

Only Jenkins possessed the memories of that 31st, and when he had helped Miss Miller, he had worn a black robe. As far as this shop was concerned, Jenkins Williams was a first-time customer.

"Hello, we're looking for a friend. Is a Miss Hathaway Hersha in the shop right now?"

Jenkins spoke again, while Miss Mikhail stood quietly by his side.

"You are... Baron Williams? Yes, I've seen your picture in the papers. Heavens, I never thought you'd grace my shop. Oh, I do apologize, I'm getting a little overexcited."

The middle-aged woman's acting was superb. Jenkins knew that while she wasn't an Enchanter, she was one of the biggest information brokers in all of Nolan City.

"Yes, Miss Hersha was here earlier this afternoon. She picked up that lovely nightgown she had custom-ordered."

She said this with a somewhat suggestive smile.

"It really is a beautiful gown. But she's already left..."

She turned to look at the clock on the wall, which was fashioned in the quaint shape of a little angel blowing a trumpet.

"About an hour ago." Newest update provıded by novel※fire.net

"Excuse me, did she seem alright?"

Miss Mikhail finally spoke her first words since entering the shop. Her expression was tense; she was still worried about Hathaway not showing up for their date over the weekend.

"She looked to be in fine spirits, and in a good mood too. The generous young lady even gave me an extra three shillings when she paid."

She held up three fingers. Although she didn't know the relationship between the three young people, she still answered their question.

"Well, looks like we've missed her again."

Jenkins turned to Miss Mikhail and shrugged. The cat on his shoulder bobbed up and down with the movement. This displeased it, so it lightly swatted the back of Jenkins's head with its tail.

"Yes. Where should we go now?"

She had already taken it for granted that Jenkins would stay with her. Neither of them had mentioned it, but they had reached a strange, unspoken understanding.

"Let's go back to Miss Hersha's house, then. We don't have to go in; we can just wait on the street corner for her to show up."

"Excuse me, but if you'd like to know where Miss Hathaway Hersha went..."

Mrs. Baxter's eyes darted between Jenkins's and Miss Mikhail's faces, as if curious about the passionate, heart-wrenching love story that might be unfolding.