Chapter 84: Elizabeth

Changing into his formal suit, Klein looked at himself in the mirror before walking over to the first floor in satisfaction.

At that moment, Melissa was sizing up Benson's clothes.

"Is there a problem?" Benson raised his cane, feeling a little lacking due to his sister's gaze.

Melissa said with a serious expression, "Benson, that is a very old suit you're wearing."

"There will be a lot of excellent ladies and madams participating in today's birthday banquet. I believe that by wearing that, it'll be a form of disrespect to them."

Klein went over and said, "Benson and I share a similar build. He can wear my other tux."

He had already informed his siblings about buying a new suit. He explained it away by saying that his clothes had been torn while inspecting certain objects and that the company generously compensated him. Of course, he concealed the matter of him being "promoted with a pay rise."

"There's no need to, right?" Benson retorted.

"No, it's extremely important." Klein pushed Benson up the stairs. "My tuxedo is hanging on the clothes rack."

Klein turned around and smiled at Melissa. "Are you hoping that Benson will use the opportunity provided by Selena's birthday banquet to begin a new romance?"

He had been reading quite a fair amount of newspapers and magazines recently and knew that aristocrats and middle-class banquets were typically grounds for blind dates.

Melissa nodded solemnly. "Yes, Benson has missed out too much because of us."

Klein looked at Melissa and said with a solemn expression, "Melissa, I think you aren't showing enough respect to today's banquet as well."

"What?" Melissa wore a puzzled look.

Klein pointed at her neck. "As a lady, you are lacking a necklace that accentuates that area."

Klein took out a silver amulet wrapped with angel wings from his pocket. "Thankfully, I prepared one for you."

"..." Melissa was taken aback at first before she asked, "How much was it?"

Klein explained, "It's actually not very expensive. Since it was in an incomplete state, I imitated an item that I've seen before and engraved blessing incantations and beautiful patterns on them."

"You engraved them?" Melissa said.

"How is it? What do you think of my work?" Klein took the opportunity to hand over the amulet to her.

Melissa studied it. "I like the surrounding angel feathers."

Klein saw Melissa put on the necklace with a forced expression on her face and carefully adjusted its positioning.

"Perfect." Klein sized her up and praised.

Melissa looked down at her amulet. "Klein, you were never like that before. Acting like that..."

"Perhaps it's because of my good job. With a decent income, I've become more confident." Klein interrupted his sister and gave a preemptive explanation.

Melissa pouted her lips. "It's great that you're like that... really great."

After the two engaged in a short conversation, Benson came down having changed his clothes. He wore a white shirt with a black vested tuxedo. His black blouse and a pair of long, straight trousers made it seem like he had undergone a complete makeover.

"Excellent, Benson. It suits you very well," Klein said, throwing up his hands.

"The facts show that my clothing is more important than me." Benson gave a self-derisive comment.

Klein took the opportunity to fish out the remaining amulet and repeated his explanation from earlier before saying, "I also made one for you."

"Not bad. I'll bring it with me." Benson accepted it without a fuss as he quipped, "Klein, I wouldn't find it odd, even if you were to suddenly know how to style your hair, make clothes, fix watches, and feed curly-haired baboons."

"Life is just so full of surprises," Klein replied.

Following that, the siblings tidied themselves up before walking out the main door and taking a trackless public carriage, arriving at the North Borough's Fania Street, where Selena's house was.

The Wood family lived in a terrace house as well, but unlike Klein's place, they had a porch with a small lawn in the front, which made it look very elegant.

When they rang the doorbell, Klein, Benson, and Melissa only had to wait for around ten seconds before seeing the star of the day, Selena Wood.

With a head covered in wine-red hair, the girl gave Melissa a delighted hug. "I like this dress of yours. It makes you look exceptionally beautiful."

Standing beside Selena Wood was her father, Mr. Wood, a senior employee of Backlund Bank's Tingen branch.

"Welcome, our honorable elder brother. Welcome, our young historian." He deliberately addressed Benson and Klein in an exaggerated manner.

Klein retorted as he took off his hat, "Mr. Wood, you look much more spirited and younger than I imagined."

Benson held out his hand and shook Wood's hand. "I know a lot of bank employees, but they're all equally arrogant and stiff, as though they're the latest machines. None of them are as civilized as you."

"If you were to meet me at the bank, you might not say that about me." Wood laughed.

After exchanging pleasantries, Selena, who was wearing a new dress, led the siblings inside with a hop in her step. At times, she would mention that "Elizabeth is already here," and at other times, she would suppress her voice, saying, "Melissa, your brothers are more handsome than I imagined."

Hey, I have good hearing... Although you are flattering me... Klein helplessly looked at the two sixteen-year-old girls walking ahead of him.

This isn't right. I'm still quite far from being considered handsome... Tsk, Miss Selena, how ugly did you imagine Benson and I to be? Klein pinched his glabella in passing as he diligently practiced his Spirit Vision.

Miss Selena Wood is healthy. She's excited and very happy... Mr. Wood's lungs are a little problematic. Right, I see his pipe... Klein swept his gaze across the crowd.

"Elizabeth, Melissa is here." At that moment, Selena introduced herself with a brisk tone.

A girl dressed in a blue frilly dress walked over. She had naturally curly brown hair and a cute face.

Klein was stunned when he saw her because he knew the girl.

He had helped her choose an amulet back at the underground market!

Elizabeth greeted Melissa first before looking at Benson and Klein.

She was stunned as though she was thinking about something, but smiled and politely greeted them as though nothing had happened.

Klein also pretended not to recognize her. Under Wood's lead, they came to the sofa in the living room, where they were introduced to Chris—Selena Wood's brother—and the other guests.

As Klein watched Benson chat with Chris and the other solicitors happily over the topic of their neighbor, Mr. Shaud, he couldn't help but feel envious.

I don't have such socializing skills. He picked up a cocktail from a table in the corner of the room as he listened quietly. At times, he would nod and echo with a smile.

It didn't take long before all the guests arrived and the banquet officially began.

As too many guests had been invited, the Wood family's dining table couldn't accommodate everyone. Therefore, the banquet was done in a buffet manner. The maidservant served the steak dishes, roast chicken, fried fish, mashed potatoes, etc. and placed them on different tables. The male servants were responsible for carving the meat, allowing guests to take what they wanted.

Klein clicked his tongue when he saw the elegant enamel plates and silver cutlery. He felt that the Woods were being too extravagant as a middle-class family.

Since they're so rich, why would Chris need so many years to prepare for his wedding?" When he thought of what his sister had previously mentioned, he was puzzled. "Yeah, it was probably to save up money to buy this cutlery that would have taken them many years to afford. To such families, they have to look respectable!

Klein picked up a plate, walked in front of a dining table, and forked a piece of honey-glazed roasted meat.

At that moment, Elizabeth came over. As she looked at the food, she whispered, "So you are Melissa's brother... Thank you. Selena likes the amulet I gave her a lot. She said that she felt healthier the moment she wore it."

Klein recalled the reason for selecting an amulet for the girl beside him.

It was to give to a friend who liked mysticism as a birthday gift.

That friend was Selena? Selena liked items related to mysticism. Klein smiled politely.

"It might just be akin to a placebo effect." After saying that, he began waiting for her to praise Emperor Roselle.

However, Elizabeth's reaction was that of confusion. "What's a placebo effect?"

"It means it's completely psychological. At times, we believe that we will turn for the better and end up really becoming better," Klein explained crudely.

"No, she said it's different from the amulets that she bought in the past. It feels different," Elizabeth emphasized.

She cocked her head and shot a glance at Klein curiously. "I never expected Melissa's brother to be an expert at mysticism."

"As you know, I studied history, so it's common to encounter similar matters." Klein then asked, "Are you also studying at the Tingen Technical School?"

"No, Selena and I were Melissa's former schoolmates. Later, she went to a technical school. I study at the nearby Ivos Public School," Elizabeth explained.

A public school wasn't established and maintained by the government. It was a school that accepted students from the public. And was an evolution of good grammar schools whose goal was to groom graduates so as to enter university. The schools were rather expensive, and they'll consider the students' family background.

Elizabeth didn't talk much. After choosing her food, she returned to Selena's side.

After congratulating the star of the day on a happy birthday, the banquet gradually came to an end. Klein and Benson were invited to a game of Texas hold'em. The small blind was half a penny, and the big blind was a penny. As for Melissa, Elizabeth, Selena, and their friends, they went upstairs. It was unknown if they were chatting or playing games.

Klein's luck was pretty bad. He resisted the urge to use divination to cheat and got up, leaving the table.

At that moment, he suddenly came to a halt because his spiritual perception told him that there was a strange fluctuation upstairs!