Chapter 457 - 254: Exposed

This was likely the first time the Attendant had ever received such a strange request, but he still brought over two glasses of Coca-Cola, bubbling in stemmed wine glasses. Apparently, the auction’s bar wasn’t equipped with the proper highball glasses for soda.

The woman in red swirled the wine glass. Even though it only contained Coca-Cola, her graceful demeanor still lent it an indescribable air of sophistication.

They clinked their glasses and silently drank their Cokes, not saying a word.

In reality, the two were talking, but via a Spiritual Power transmission. Drinking was just a cover, as there were too many eyes and ears around. All attention was on the woman in red; everything she did seemed graceful, like a flower blooming in an unexpected place.

Their conversation went something like this:

Baron said, "You shouldn’t have come."

The woman in red said, "And yet, I’m here."

Baron said, "Now that you’re here, leaving will be difficult."

The woman said, "But I am here, after all."

Baron said, "They’re only here because you are."

The woman said, "So, you’re saying this auction is a trap set just for me? They’re using the Red Dragon Reverse Scale to lure me in, just like how they used that Red Dragon Scale to ambush me at your ex-fiancée’s engagement party?"

Baron nodded.

The woman, however, simply downed her Coca-Cola in one gulp and smiled.

A seductive charm blossomed in her smile, yet it was tinged with an inexplicable brokenness and solitude. She was like a flower that didn’t exist anywhere else in the world, blooming in some secret corner, unseen and uncomprehended.

"So, in Mr. Constantine’s eyes, I’m just some reckless woman who doesn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation."

The woman in red—no, the Dragon Witch—suddenly let out a surprisingly girlish sigh. It was this very sigh that allowed Baron to pinpoint her current state: Witch KK.

KK glanced at the Coca-Cola in front of Baron. He shook his head. KK’s eyes lit up, and like a wombat guarding its food, she poured the contents of Baron’s glass into her own.

"I have my own mole at this auction, you know... He’ll give the Red Dragon Reverse Scale to me." KK finished the Coca-Cola, wiped her mouth, and sighed in satisfaction. "How else do you think I’ve managed to escape from these people for the last hundred years?"

Baron, however, thought to himself, ’Looks like the Witch really is getting old.’

He continued to muse, ’And that mole stealing the Red Dragon Reverse Scale... it couldn’t be who I think it is, could it? But I’ve never heard him mention any connection to the Dragon Witch... No, that’s not right. Knowing his personality, he wouldn’t say anything even if it were true.’

He asked, "If you have a mole in the auction, why did you still put yourself in danger?"

An Attendant brought over more Coca-Cola and some pastries. KK seemed to have a sweet tooth. Like a squirrel waking from a long winter’s hibernation, she stuffed pastries into her mouth and chugged the soda, her cheeks puffing out. She had completely lost the ladylike elegance she’d displayed on stage, so much so that Baron couldn’t help but ask a rather indelicate question:

"Was that Carmen doing the hosting on stage?"

KK, however, shot Baron a harsh glare. "How rude, Mr. Constantine."

Baron offered a sincere apology, but then he heard KK let out a soft laugh. "Of course it was me. What do you think? My acting is pretty good, isn’t it?"

Baron watched the bewitchingly beautiful Witch before him and thought to himself, ’A Witch is a Witch... She’s like the final, most difficult question on a math exam; an ordinary person could never hope to figure her out.’

KK said, "Actually, it was the Red Dragon’s guidance."

"The Red Dragon’s guidance?" Baron raised an eyebrow. He never expected this matter to be connected to the Red Dragon, which had fallen a century ago. ’Is the Red Dragon’s Soul inside her at work?’

He noticed many eyes on him and Carmen. Aside from a few well-dressed gentlemen, there were several individuals he was more concerned about: Elder Pence, the Law Enforcers, a woman in a white cloche hat, and Pound, who was glaring at him and gritting his teeth.

Pound said, "Windsor... why did you do that?"

His sister, Windsor, replied, "Then what would you have me do, Brother Pound? For instance, why did you suddenly stand up and offer to pay fifty thousand pounds for a strange woman?"

She stared silently into her brother’s eyes.

Pound couldn’t bear the questioning gaze from his usually gentle sister and had no choice but to tell the truth. "I just... thought she looked a lot like someone."

After he said this, he saw Windsor fall silent as well. She sighed. "Yelena, isn’t it? After all these years, you still haven’t forgotten her, have you, brother?"

Pound’s face instantly flushed red. "No... it’s not what you think! I just saw her as a sister..."

He trailed off, quickly shutting his mouth as he remembered his actual sister was standing right in front of him.

Windsor sighed. "Brother, when will you ever break that habit of acting before you think? I can’t look after you forever, you know."

"But..." She glanced toward Baron and KK in the corner and whispered, "There is a certain resemblance."

Baron wanted to ask more about the Red Dragon’s guidance, but KK stood up and extended a hand to him. "Mr. Attendant, would you care to ask me for a dance?"

Baron replied via Spiritual Power, "This doesn’t fit the helpless image you were projecting earlier. Those Ancient Noble Families who were harassing you are still close by."

He was referring to Hilde and his group, as well as Pound... ’Hmm, why does Pound’s stare remind me so much of Hamilton’s...?’ Speaking of Hamilton, Baron remembered the beautiful woman waiting for him in Room 505. That, in turn, made him think of Vivian, waiting to be rescued in the adjacent Room 506.

His powers of association and logical deduction had always been excellent.