Backlund. The opulent villa garden of the Holl Earl's residence.
Audrey watched Stephen making his farewell and blinked. "Has it really been ten days already?"
When she'd first hired this bodyguard through Lady Natasha, it had been to guard against Mr. A. But Audrey had since discovered that having someone who could answer all her questions about the Beyonder world at a moment's notice was something else entirely.
"Indeed. Ten days are up, and Mr. A was dealt with last night — you don't need to worry about his threat any longer."
"Wait—"
Audrey's eyes widened. "When? How do you know?"
"I only just found out myself. The Beyonder I fought last night was Mr. A. After I got you all clear, a... colleague of mine arrived and handled it."
He was killed?
Someone that Xio and Fors had talked up as so formidable — just gone, like that, matter-of-factly?
"Is your friend even more capable than you are?"
"Isn't that obvious? What — already looking to hire her as your next bodyguard? Fickle as ever, aren't you."
Audrey waved her hands quickly. "Not at all!"
Well — she had been entertaining that thought for just a moment. But she suspected whoever it was would cost more than her pocket money could cover.
Stephen bowed with a smile. "Then I'll be off. Looking forward to our next meeting, Miss Audrey — the most radiant young lady in all of Backlund."
"Oh — "
Before she could finish, Stephen stepped backward and slipped into the Spirit World. Gone.
"Ah, he just disappears like that."
She puffed out her cheeks, envy clear on her face. "A Traveler's ability really is something else. No wonder so many Beyonders want to get hold of a Traveler and turn them into a Beyonder item. Honestly... even I'm a little tempted."
No. Absolutely not.
Miss Fors seems to be a Beyonder on the Paragon Pathway. Having that thought is terribly disrespectful to her.
But I really want it.
Maybe I could just commission someone to buy one?
Before she could finish the thought, the air around her shimmered with a blaze of colour — and Stephen stepped back out of thin air.
"Mr. Stephen, you changed your mind?"
"Not quite. Lady Natasha would like to ask you a favour. Would you be willing to come and see her?"
Audrey's eyes lit up. "Of course."
A few minutes later.
Audrey and Stephen stepped out of the Spirit World and found Lady Natasha sitting on a sofa, coffee in hand. She rose with a warm smile. "Welcome, Miss Audrey."
"Good morning, Lady Natasha."
Audrey greeted her, then peered curiously out the window at the street below. "That's genuinely extraordinary."
Then she turned to Stephen and Vincent. "If I wanted to buy a Beyonder item with teleportation abilities — how much would that cost?"
Vincent hadn't expected that to be Audrey's opening question. After a quick consultation with Bernadette, he said, "Generally speaking, the Beyonder characteristic of a Sequence 5 Beyonder goes for around eight to nine thousand pounds. But given how scarce a Traveler's characteristic is — and factoring in the artisan's crafting fees — the total could easily double."
So, under twenty thousand pounds?
That's actually not so expensive.
Audrey's heart gave a leap.
Vincent continued, "That said, it's just a reference market price. In practice, teleportation-type Beyonder items are exceptionally rare. A Traveler's ability is too universally useful — even high-Sequence Beyonders prize it. You'd find it very difficult to actually acquire one."
"Naturally, given the Holl family's considerable wealth, it's not impossible to get one at a premium. But my recommendation is not to use one before reaching the mid-Sequences."
"Why?"
"At its core, teleportation works by traversing the Spirit World to cover large distances quickly. But the Spirit World is not safe. All manner of dangerous spirit creatures live there, and if one fixes its attention on you and drags you into the depths, the consequences would be fatal."
"Oh?"
Audrey genuinely hadn't considered that.
"Additionally, most Beyonder items carry negative side effects — ones that a low-Sequence Beyonder may simply not be equipped to handle."
"Ah..."
She nodded, then caught herself and stammered: "You — you knew I was a low-Sequence Beyonder?"
Vincent and Stephen exchanged a look and laughed simultaneously. "We guessed. But now you've confirmed it."
"..."
Audrey puffed out her cheeks. These two are absolutely insufferable.
"Right."
Vincent composed himself. "The reason I asked you here today is that I need your help with something."
He laid out his need — dressed up naturally as "a friend of mine" — explaining the desire to become a Prosecutor.
"That's roughly the situation. Do you think Miss Audrey might be able to help?"
He added, after a beat, "I should mention — this friend has never attended university, has no law degree, and holds no relevant professional qualifications."
"That's..."
Audrey stared. That's a rather substantial ask.
Inside his head, Bernadette said calmly, "For the record: I have been to university — the finest in the world, in fact. I have also studied the laws of several nations and hold the relevant certificates."
"Really?"
"It's just that... they're all from over a century ago."
Vincent: "..."
So for all practical purposes, the same as having nothing. The certificates alone would be forgeable — but at least the dates wouldn't be a problem if they were forged.
Seeing Audrey's troubled expression, Vincent said, "I know this is complicated. But I believe you'd find a way, wouldn't you?"
"That's... I can't really say right now. I'd need to ask my brother, or Father." Audrey paused, thinking. "Though — from what I've overheard at various gatherings and salons — the Prosecutor's Office in the Kingdom of Loen is currently a rather unpopular department. Most law graduates would rather spend a few years as a junior associate at a private firm than take a post as a Prosecutor."
Vincent blinked. "Why?"
"Several reasons."
Audrey dredged up what she'd overheard: "First, Prosecutors have a fixed government salary and no access to the high commissions lawyers can earn through winning cases. A top barrister's fee for a single case can sometimes exceed an entire year's salary for a Prosecutor."
"Second, the work is thankless and invites hostility. And crucially — the Prosecutors' conviction rate in court is very poor, so the Backlund Prosecutor's Office is largely staffed by retired lawyers who have come to coast to retirement."
Bernadette said quietly, "In a major city like Backlund, I'd wager the majority of top barristers are Beyonders of the Lawyer Pathway. Ordinary Prosecutors who can't match them — it's no surprise they lose."
"Makes sense," Vincent said. By the same logic, if he were on the Lawyer Pathway, he'd choose the bar over the public office every time.
Audrey hesitated. "Lady Natasha... there's actually a question I've been meaning to ask you for a while."
"Go ahead."
"It's about... the fact that you've always referred to yourself as a Broker. I'd like to know — is the Broker a Sequence name?"
She had already mentioned her curiosity about this to Mr. Stephen, and Stephen knew Lady Natasha. It seemed pointless to hide it.
Vincent smiled slightly. "In a manner of speaking — yes."
Beside him, Stephen looked faintly surprised. Audrey pressed on: "But Mr. Stephen told me he'd never heard of any such Sequence or Pathway."
Stephen burst out laughing. "Ha! Well — that would be my own ignorance showing."
Vincent could see that Audrey was asking on behalf of Klein. He said: "There's not much I can tell you about the Broker. The subject touches on a great existence that I have my faith in."
Audrey's eyes went wide. "A faith? Lady Natasha, you don't follow one of the seven gods?"
"I do not. And yourself, Miss Audrey?"
She touched her chest in the devout gesture, drawing the sign of the crimson moon. "I follow the Evernight Goddess. The Holl family have been among the Night Church's most devoted believers for generations."
To be continued…
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