Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 102 Informant
Should he choose to go along with Audrey's performance to gain the other person's favor and come across as gullible, or should he expose Audrey's lies and be hated by the other person while getting a handle on him?

Faced with Audrey's attempt to muddle through, Claire chose the latter. She looked at Audrey with the eyes of a troubled girl and said regretfully:
"Ms. Hall, the Hall family's connection to the church is closer than you think."

"If the Earl gets information like this about wanted pirates, he will definitely report it to the Nighthawks."

"If you want to link this information channel to your father, the Earl of Eastchester, then we should go to the Earl's Mansion now to discuss your problem."

Faced with the Red Gloves Captain's ridicule and difficulty, Audrey gave up trying to play it innocent and partially removed her disguise. She glared at Claire and asked:
"But you didn't do that. You even went so far as to kidnap my pet and force me to meet you... What do you want from me?"

Claire suddenly said, "Psychological Alchemy Society."

Without waiting for Audrey's reaction, Claire shook her head and said, "It seems your 'audience' channel doesn't come from the Psychological Alchemy Society."

Audrey bit her lip and blurted out in disbelief, "How did you know my potion path?"

Claire deliberately looked at the golden retriever Susie and said, "Secret."

Susie sighed innocently, "I didn't tell."

Audrey glared at Claire angrily and said, "Don't use such tricks to sow discord between us."

Claire didn't dwell on this topic any further and chuckled.
"What I want is simple."

“It’s a news channel.”

Under Audrey's frowning gaze, Claire said calmly:
"A secret organization that could quietly develop you into a 'spectator' without the Earl's sight, and reveal to you the news that Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilingos has infiltrated Backlund... a channel of information."

Claire leaned against the sofa, crossed her legs, and said with a smile that looked as if she had Audrey in her sights: "To be honest, I hope you can become my informant."

Audrey was annoyed by the woman's attitude, but she snorted inwardly, "A Tarot Club that uses consciousness to participate is something a guy like you will never understand or find!"

But on the surface, Audrey frowned for a long moment before speaking with difficulty, "I don't have any information channels."

Claire's attitude softened a bit, and she smiled. "It seems my sincerity is lacking, causing Miss Hall to have too many concerns. So, how about this, we can first try an equal and mutually beneficial cooperation. You can tell me valuable information, and you can also consult me ​​on anything you want to know."

Information exchange? This idea made Audrey a little tempted. After all, the transaction partner was suspected to be a mid-level official in the Goddess Church, so there should be a lot of information that would interest her.

Audrey frowned and asked, "How can we ensure that the value of the intelligence is equal?"

Claire replied, "In order to maintain our cooperation, I will do my best to balance the value of this information and will not disappoint Miss Hall."

Audrey was not happy with this: "Why are you the one taking the lead?"

Claire smiled and said, "Because I'm an official, and you're a member of a secret organization."

Faced with this naked threat, Audrey took a deep breath and snorted, "Aren't you afraid that I'll trick you with false information?"

Claire was naturally not afraid. She could listen to the Tarot Club's intelligence on her own and didn't have to worry about Audrey deceiving her with false information.

She didn't expect to get any clues from Audrey. If she got something, it would be a surprise; if she didn't, it would be normal.

She had gone to such lengths to contact Audrey, simply hoping to use her to reveal some information to the Tarot Club members, such as the location of Claire's remains. Claire leaned forward slightly, slowed her speech, and spoke calmly with sincerity:

"Ms. Hall, I come here with sincerity. Now that you've come into contact with the world of Beyonders, you should understand the importance of information to them."

Audrey's eyes darkened slightly. Although she was unhappy with Galadilla, she agreed with what she said in her heart. It was because of the information exchanged among the Tarot Club members that she was able to choose to embark on the extraordinary path that satisfied her.

Claire continued, "Emperor Roselle once said, 'Many friends, many paths.' Miss Hall, a friend's knowledge may allow you to advance safely and avoid losing control. Sometimes, a friend's timely message can even save your life."

"In my years as an official, I've seen too many tragedies caused by insufficient intelligence."

"For example, in Tingen City, not far from us, due to insufficient intelligence on the enemy, the Tingen Nighthawks successfully interrupted the advent ceremony of a certain evil god, but were then attacked by the enemy hiding behind the scenes."

"Ultimately, the entire Tingen branch suffered unbearable sacrifices and losses. Even among them was a Nighthawk of noble birth like you, whose remains have yet to be buried."

When hearing the examples Claire casually mentioned, Audrey keenly heard words like "evil god," "successfully interrupted the advent ceremony," "enemy behind the scenes," and "sacrifice."

"These words overlap greatly with the description of the 'priestess' sacrifice that Mr. Fool mentioned. Could it be..."

Audrey suddenly had a guess: Could it be that the "priestess" was on the list of victims of the Tingen Nighthawks?
This made Audrey want to know more about the incident, so she frowned and asked, "Why didn't you even bury the body of a fallen Nighthawk companion?"

Claire sighed and said, "Her remains are tainted with the indelible evil god's taint... In the worst case, this Nighthawk's remains will probably have to be made into a Sealed Object."

He was clearly the guardian of a city, but in the end, he might not even be able to be buried. Such an example made Audrey, who was easily moved, feel upset.

What's more, the sacrificed Nighthawk was very likely a "priestess" of the Tarot Club, which made Audrey blurt out, "She didn't deserve this ending... Where did you put her body?"

Claire rolled her eyes at Audrey and said, "How could something like this be leaked so easily?"

Audrey's expression froze, realizing she was getting a little anxious. She cast aside her prejudice against the woman before her and sighed, asking, "I just heard you say she's also from a noble family, so I wanted to confirm if she's someone I know... So, Captain Galadilla, can you tell me her name?"

Claire leaned back on the sofa. "I didn't expect Miss Hall to be interested in this kind of thing... Well, if Miss Hall can provide me with valuable intelligence, this level of information leakage can be traded."

Claire held up three fingers and continued, "There are three things I want to know. First, what is the secret organization behind you? Second, how did they contact you while you were protected in the Earl's Mansion? Third, what is Qilingos's purpose in infiltrating Backlund?"

The three questions were either ones that Audrey was unwilling to answer or ones that she didn't know the answers to. This made Audrey fall into silence for a while, and she even secretly criticized the bad character of the Red Glove Captain in her heart.

The goddess actually has such a bad-tempered messenger!
Seeing this, Claire deliberately added fuel to the fire and said regretfully, "It seems that this deal cannot be concluded."

Audrey hesitated to speak and glared at Claire angrily.

Claire didn't wait any longer and stood up, saying, "I still have a lot of things to do. I won't disturb Miss Hall from spending time with your pet."

"Of course, if Miss Hall finds any valuable information, you are welcome to come find me at St. Samuel's Church."

As she spoke, Claire took her hat off the coat rack and walked towards the door under Audrey's gaze.

Before opening the door and leaving, Claire suddenly turned to Audrey and added, "By the way, Miss Hall would like to pay for the bar bill."

(End of this chapter)