Chapter 165: [165] The Baroness

The baroness smiled at the crowd, then laughed, her voice ringing through the hall.

She began slowly descending the stairs, step by step, heading towards the nobles.

“I have to say…” Her voice was amplified by a similar magic device, so everyone could hear her without much effort.

“The rumours have been rather creative. I don’t know you you all think of them to be honest.”

Her shoes made clicking sounds with each step, the silent hall accentuating the sound.

She glanced at a noble for a brief moment. “No, I am not critically ill…”

The noble turned as pale as a glass of milk, sweat forming on his bald head as he smiled nervously.

She turned towards another noble, this time a flashy dressed woman. “I am not under quarantine, that is a very funny one…”

The woman’s expression immediately shifted, from indifference to shock. She opened her mouth, then closed it as the baroness walked past her, not giving the opportunity to speak.

Finally, baroness turned her attention to another noble, the first person she encountered when she got down the stairs.

“And no, I have no contagious disease. Haaa—!” She sighed, piloting playfully.

“Y-yes, m-y lady!” She stuttered.

“You guys must have missed me, haven’t you? This is why I can’t take breaks…” Diana complained, letting go of her husband’s arm and placing both of her hands on her waist…

“Well, guess what. I. AM. BACK.”

— Hahaha

One of the nobles broke out into nervous laughter, and the others followed, a wave of applause following.

She then glanced at the band, and the musicians drowned the hall in merry music, quenching the tension that had been slowly built up by her presence.

Eliron clapped as well.

“Not bad…”

The baroness had revealed herself, and one by one, she stared right into the eyes of those who started the rumors, repeating it to their faces…

Her appearance was a way of assuring them that everything was alright, but more so, it was a threat.

She was saying that she knew just who spread the rumours… that at any time, she could have snuffed them out at the source.

It was a genius play. This way, the crowd was assured that the baroness was well, and at the same time, new rumours would not be formed.

Killing two birds with one stone…

Well… Except one thing.

That wasn’t the baroness.

The woman glanced at Eliron, then winked, causing a small smile to appear on his lips.

This woman…

Of course, only Cassie could pull off such a fraudulent move.

The real baroness was still hidden somewhere deep inside the barony, away from the prying eyes of the nobles.

But to quell the gossip and prevent it from developing into something out of control, they had to think of something, and they had executed it flawlessly.

“They really look alike don’t they?” Yen muttered in a low voice.

Although she had not seen the baroness, the fact that they shared the exact same features was telling.

And apart from that, most of the work had been done on her face, where the make up was made more lavish, and little details added to make her look a slightly older.

Eliron nodded. “She said people often mistake them for twins…”

Cassie grabbed another snack and stuffed it into her mouth. “Woah, the resemblance must be very uncanny then.”

“The trick seems to have worked well…” she added, swallowing her food. “But they don’t seem too surprised…”

Elirom raised a brow. “Who doesn’t seem surprised?”

Yennefer pointed at another side of the room, her gesture discreet.

Eliron’s gaze followed her finger, landing on a certain shady looking group.

The group was made up of Marcus, the Baron’s brother, a young woman, Duke, and two guards who had followed him into the ballroom for whatever reason.

Normally, Eliron did not expect an elaborate reaction from Lord Marcus, but from the way his face looked, it was clear he was not surprised in the slightest.

’Did the Baron tell him about the plan?’

It was unlikely. According to Cassie, apart from their butler, the closest members of their family, and of course them… no one else knew.

That meant it was either Duke foolishly blabbed to his uncle, or there was someone else feeding Marcus information.

Marcus stared at Cassie for a short while, then a small smile appeared on his face, after which he proceeded to lick his lips.

’Well that was weird…’ Eliron mused.

Shortly after, a guard hurried over to him and tapped his shoulders, before leaning to whisper into his ear.

Eliron had a cup of wine in his hands, but the moment he noticed this, he handed Yen the glass.

“I’ll be back… It might take some time.”

“Mmm…”

With his eyes still locked on Marcus, Eliron walked through the multitude of bodies, his path set for Marcus.

While he walked, Eliron was slowly moving mana to his ear canal, exciting his ear bones and muscles, adjusting their frequency and blotting out the noise.

Elves had a considerably better sense of hearing than humans, but that didn’t mean they could pick out things easily in a crowded place like this.

He had to get closer!

Eliron’s ear was vibrating like a spindle that had struck iron, and he could feel an airy feeling within them. Along with the feeling came a large assortment of sounds, each drifting into his ear like harsh music notes.

Voices at various tempos flowed into his brain, some soft and gentle, others though and brash.

Eliron filtered everything, focusing on the only one he needed to hear.

And then just as he took another step, he heard it.

A gruff voice that seemed to be in haste as it hurriedly said, “Everything is in place, he has received the location of the baroness.”

Marcus’s voice followed a second later…

“Good. What about Duke? Is he ready?”

The guard nodded curtly. “He is waiting for us at the entrance, he seems jittery, but I’ve assured him the mission will be a success.”

The man smirked devilishly, and Marcus couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“Alright then, let’s go save his precious mother…”

One by one, the guards took their time, leaving the ballroom so as to not attract attention to themselves.

And then finally, Marcus himself left, leaving the ballroom behind.

Everyone was too busy discussing the appearance of the baroness to even notice…

But Eliron, who was relaxing his back on a large pillar just slowly shook his head and frowned.

’Why can’t this just be a normal party?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep