Chapter 473: "Hi, wife!

But to his surprise, Daeli remembered.

The moment Daeli suggested they wait, Mockray’s expression stiffened slightly. He forced a smile and said, “Of course. We’ll do as Duke Daeli says. We’ll wait a little longer.”

He then turned his head to glare at Howard, who was standing beside him. His eyes were practically shooting fire, a look that screamed, ‘What the hell is going on?!’

‘It’s almost seven. Where are those two friends of yours?’

‘Don’t they know Duke Daeli is here?’

‘How dare they be late for such an important occasion?!’

Howard: “…”

‘How am I supposed to know?!’

‘He had specifically told Sean to be on time last night, and Sean had agreed. Who knew some big shot who could casually reel in a great white shark would stand up a nobody like him…’

“Maybe he got stuck in traffic?” Howard ventured, forcing himself to make an excuse for Sean.

His gentle mother offered an understanding smile. “Why don’t you give him a call? Just to make sure nothing’s happened.”

Mockray rolled his eyes.

‘The entire Harbor City is Grev Family territory, and Sean and Elise are our guests. What could possibly happen?’

‘She was clearly just giving Howard an out.’

He shot his wife a mild glare.

‘You spoil him too much.’

“I’ll go call him right now!”

Howard, looking as though he’d been granted a pardon, quickly stood up and walked out of the banquet hall to call Sean.

Daeli smiled but said nothing.

‘To her, this was all just a trivial matter.’

‘But given her status, they wouldn’t believe her even if she said it was fine. Might as well let them sort it out themselves.’

The soft notes of the piano continued to drift through the air.

Daeli turned to her sister. “Any news?”

Elvire had been holding her phone, likely waiting for a reply from the Blazing Angel Family.

Logically, it had been two days. They should have found that damn couple by now.

And yet—

“Not yet.” Elvire was clearly displeased just talking about it.

From her perspective, she never considered that the Blazing Angel Family’s inefficiency might be a case of overlooking what was right under their noses. After all, if a behemoth like the Blazing Angel Family was after you, any normal person would run as far away as possible. Who would be crazy enough to run toward the Medanzo Flame Territory?

Their search must have started from the “spawn point” Elvire had provided—the Kovri Ruins—and focused Inland. Sean and Elise hadn’t taken a plane; they drove the entire way, and you didn’t need to register your ID to use the highways. So, until someone discovered that Sean and Elise had crossed the ocean on the Rose Goddess, it would be difficult for anyone to imagine that the two people they were hunting were right under their noses.

Elvire never imagined Sean would be so audacious. She considered another possibility—

“Sister, do you think he might have found out we’re looking for him and just skipped town?”

Having spent so much time with Sean, Elvire knew he was very sharp. If his and Elise’s method of hiding was to simply log off and go home, then it would be perfectly normal for the Blazing Angel Family to be unable to find them.

Daeli thought for a moment, then nodded. “That is a possibility.”

“Should I go back and check now?” Elvire asked.

Daeli: “?”

“That wouldn’t be appropriate…”

They were in the middle of a dinner party. It would be incredibly rude for her to just disappear.

But before she could finish, Elvire was already shaking her arm, pleading coquettishly, “Oh, come on, Sister. I’ll be quick.”

“Howard’s two friends aren’t here yet anyway. I’ll go and come right back. It won’t delay the dinner.”

“I promise!”

Elvire raised a small hand as if taking an oath.

Daeli: “…”

‘She still felt it was inappropriate.’

‘But she had little resistance to her sister’s pleading.’

Just as Howard’s mother doted on him, she had always been indulgent with Elvire.

The perceptive Viscount Mockray noticed that Elvire seemed to want to leave for a moment. He smiled and said, “It’s quite all right. If Miss Elvire has something to attend to, please do. Don’t let an unimportant dinner delay your business.”

His words instantly improved Elvire’s impression of Viscount Mockray.

‘Before, she hadn’t really had any impression of the Grev Family’s Clan Leader at all. She had been so single-mindedly focused on finding that damn couple that she hadn’t paid any attention to the Grev Family. But now… this Clan Leader was quite the smooth operator.’

With their host’s blessing, and her sister looking at her so pitifully, like a begging kitten, Daeli felt a headache coming on. She had no choice but to relent. “Alright. Be quick about it.”

‘Otherwise, Howard’s two friends would arrive only for Elvire to be gone. The dinner would never start until midnight. What a farce that would be.’

“Don’t worry, I only need ten minutes,” Elvire guaranteed.

She then turned to Viscount Mockray and smiled. “Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Mockray. I’ll be back shortly.”

With that, she rose and left the banquet hall, striding quickly toward the Guest Castle.

‘With her sister nearby, she could log on and off directly from her room without worrying about safety.’

‘The person who should be worried about their safety was Sean.’

‘And her supposed best friend.’

Elvire clenched her fists.

‘Online or offline, those two fooling around behind her back… neither of them was going to get away!’

Meanwhile, a frantic Howard had been dialing Sean’s number over and over. Finally, the call connected.

“Hello? Hello? Sean?”

“Where are you?”

“What have you been doing?!”

“The dinner party has already started! Why aren’t you back yet?”

“Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?”

The barrage of questions came so fast that Sean couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Only when Howard was finished did Sean say, “We went to see that friend of yours this morning. We didn’t expect it to take so long and lost track of time.”