Earl Hall spoke in a grave tone: "Baron Campbell? Did he tell you about this matter, or did you tell him?"
"We discovered it together."
"Together?"
"Yes, we both heard at Glaint's gathering that Rear Admiral Qilangos was hiding in Backlund. Tonight, it was just by chance that we discovered he was disguised as Baron Germani."
In order not to reveal the existence of the Tarot Club, Audrey could only push the matter onto Glaint.
This was the method Mr. Hastur had once told her was effective in avoiding inquiries.
"Very well. If anyone asks, just answer according to what you said just now."
"Father, has something happened?" Audrey sensed that this sounded rather ominous.
"Qilangos has escaped. His whereabouts are now unknown."
"Ah?" Audrey was genuinely shocked. So many Beyonders tonight, and yet they still couldn't keep that Hurricane Lieutenant General?
Earl Hall looked at his beloved daughter and said softly: "Qilangos is a brutal pirate. Now that he has escaped, he will surely try to take revenge on whoever revealed the news tonight. I will not allow this matter to be connected to you, so someone else must draw his attention."
"Glaint?" Audrey was a little dazed.
"Yes. Don't worry. The people of the Church of Storms will certainly protect him. You needn't worry about his safety."
After a few words of comfort, Earl Hall added with a smile: "No matter what, your information tonight was of great importance, you are the hero of the evening."
"Duke Negan has already promised to gift you his holiday estate on the Desi Bay. It includes a large rubber tree plantation. I'm not sure of its exact value, but it won't be less than ten thousand pounds."
"I never even thought about rewards…" Audrey whispered in her heart. She only wanted to fulfill her commission with Mr. Hanged Man, to complete a Justice adventure story of her own.
"For the time being, stay at home and try not to go out. As for the other matters, Duke Negan and I will handle them."
After a few more instructions, Earl Hall turned and left. He needed to coordinate his story with Duke Negan so that this incident would not implicate his beloved daughter.
Qilangos wasn't dead, he had escaped. Based on her earlier words, wouldn't Glaint now be carrying the blame for both herself and Mr. Hastur?
Had Mr. Hastur already foreseen the possibility of Qilangos escaping?
"No, I must tell Mr. Fool and Mr. Hanged Man about this." Audrey went to the washroom and began praying to Mr. Fool.
Above the gray fog, Klein sat at the head seat, listening to the reports from Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man.
Their reports were identical: Qilangos had escaped.
After a moment's thought, Klein tossed each one's prayer vision to the other, so they would be reassured and informed.
Once this was resolved, Klein muttered to himself: "A pity Mr. Azik didn't go to Backlund. With his strength, he should have been able to kill Qilangos."
He remembered Azik had said that he had originally planned to go to Backlund, but after learning what Klein had revealed about Ince Zangwill and 008, he had chosen to remain in Tingen.
These days he had been tracking Ince Zangwill's whereabouts many times, and even encountered him once, but Ince had still escaped.
According to Mr. Azik, it was because the Sealed Artifact 008 had chosen to help Ince with all its might at the critical moment, allowing him to escape.
Although Klein regretted the matter with Qilangos, with Mr. Azik staying in Tingen, his own safety was better guaranteed.
"I need to make the Captain realize the seriousness of the situation. Only then can we prevent Ince Zangwill from causing more trouble in the shadows."
Thinking for a while, Klein really felt that the Creeping Hunger was a Beyonder item of great value.
A Sequence 6 Wind-blessed, with its help, had actually managed to escape even after a failed assassination attempt.
Among the Beyonder items he knew of, the Creeping Hunger ranked second. First place was still the magical pen known as 008.
"Qilangos escaped? How could he not be dead!" Hastur had also received the news from Greg.
He immediately realized how serious this was.
According to the original timeline, Qilangos was supposed to die at Mr. Azik's hands. But now, he had safely escaped.
This meant the world line had already begun to shift.
He, this butterfly who should never have appeared, had finally triggered a butterfly effect.
Greg sighed: "It's all the fault of the Church of Storms' Beyonders. They came far too late, which allowed Qilangos to slip into the crowd. With the help of an Beyonder item, he managed to hide and escape."
"This is not good at all." Hastur smiled bitterly.
"Yes. In the days to come, you must be careful. Do not let anyone know that it was you who exposed Qilangos's disguise, or you'll draw his revenge."
Greg's expression grew serious. "Just now I heard Earl Hall say that you and Miss Audrey first learned of Qilangos infiltrating Backlund at Glaint's gathering. That was how you could expose his identity at the ball tonight."
"If anyone asks, just stick to that version. Shift the responsibility onto Glaint. As for his safety, the Church of Storms will protect him."
This was exactly the excuse he had taught Miss Audrey in case of trouble, and now it had indeed come in handy.
'Glaint, this time you'll have to be the scapegoat.' Hastur sighed inwardly.
Greg went on, advising Hastur to stay cautious in the coming days, and also mentioning that Duke Negan and the Prime Minister were very grateful to him.
As for what reward there might be, it would be revealed later, but Greg guaranteed it would be generous.
After sending Greg away, Hastur fell into thought.
Qilangos wasn't dead. That meant Glaint's safety was threatened. Since he had made Glaint take the blame, he couldn't simply watch as Glaint fell into danger.
The best course now was to find Qilangos and kill him, to correct the shifting world line.
He would take over the task originally meant for Mr. Azik.
Just as Hastur was about to leave, Glaint came over, his face full of excitement.
"Hastur, tonight was incredible! A Beyonder actually tried to assassinate Duke Negan! And it was that Rear Admiral Qilangos you and Miss Audrey mentioned!"
"He's truly a powerful Beyonder! Even with so many people from the Church of Storms, they couldn't catch him and he still got away."
"Hastur, do you think we'll ever become that strong someday?" Looking at Glaint's clueless, gossip-loving expression, Hastur couldn't help but feel guilty.
He hadn't truly meant for Glaint to take such a heavy burden of blame.
But Audrey's source came from the Tarot Club, and his own from his memories, neither could be explained.
So Glaint had to become the source. At least when it came time to distribute credit, Glaint would get a share.
But now Qilangos had escaped! The change had put Glaint in danger.
Hastur said earnestly: "Glaint, that Rear Admiral Qilangos is a murderous pirate. Having failed in his assassination, he will surely go mad with revenge. Once you return home, don't go out. Stay inside."
Glaint froze for a moment and asked softly: "Is it really that serious?"
"Yes, maybe even more serious than you think."
Hastur nodded solemnly. Others might not be in danger, but Glaint would definitely attract Qilangos' revenge.
"Alright, I'll listen to you. As long as Qilangos is still alive, I won't leave my house."
"Qilangos is very skilled at changing his appearance. Keep that in mind."
After a few more reminders, Hastur hurried to his carriage and rushed home.
Back in his bedroom, he lay down and entered the Hall of Stars.
Tonight, Qilangos was badly injured. Though he had escaped, Hastur might still be able to locate him.
Since they had already crossed paths, their fates had intertwined. Through that, it wouldn't be too hard to glimpse his current whereabouts.
Closing his eyes, focusing on Qilangos, he soon received a revelation in the darkness.
This time it wasn't a frozen image, but a short video.
It showed Qilangos transformed into a frail old man leaning on a cane, hunched over as he strolled in a park. Around him were other elderly people, as well as young couples on dates.
Hastur memorized his current face and carefully studied the surroundings.
Very quickly, he identified the place, Green Park in the West Borough!
After committing everything to memory, he withdrew from his divination. In the Hall of Stars, he blessed himself before exiting.
Manifesting his spirit body, he unfurled the War Emblem, passed through the walls, and sped toward Green Park.
It wasn't far. In spirit form, he could get there in just over ten minutes.