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On the carriage back, Hobert remained tense, only truly relaxing after leaving the embassy carriage and returning to his office, where he finally let out a long breath.
Hobert calmed down, and after some deliberation and conjecture, the logic of the matter gradually became clear to him: it must have been that the "Dawn Paladin," during negotiations with Carrie, had Tim send people, or the "Judgement Group," to follow Jessica.
However, they didn't track her to the negotiation site in the suburbs, possibly because nighttime surveillance in the suburbs is easily detected, or for other reasons. They didn't know the exact movements of Hobert and his group, nor could they confirm if they were the killers...
No, no, Hobert realized that if that were the case, they would "rather believe it than not," and should have already launched retaliatory actions.
Hobert thought that at the time, he was wearing a signet ring made of "Order Crystal," making it impossible to find the culprit through extraordinary means.
The information they had should be minimal; Tim had no way to confirm the murderer.
Perhaps the only clue they had was that Hobert was also involved, likely determined later through investigation and information obtained from the "Judgement Group."
Following this clue, they could certainly find out that Hobert and Jessica left together in a carriage on Tuesday night last week.
Although the disappearance of the four members made Hobert and the other two the prime suspects, an 'Artisan' unskilled in combat, a Sequence 7, and a Sequence 9 could not possibly have silently eliminated Bolton and the others.
Based on some of Tim's questions, it was clear that they didn't believe Hobert and his group were the killers.
Therefore, Hobert and the other two would instead be used as bait to lure out the "big fish" behind them.
After today's "interrogation," Hobert believed Tim would continue to observe and only take new action after finding new clues.
Hobert decided to find an opportunity to put on his mask and use the "Travel" ability to counterattack, creating an alibi for himself and completely clearing his suspicion.
Thinking of this, Hobert frowned. If that were the case, Jessica and Carrie might be in some danger now.
Carrie had moved, so she might not be easily found by the "Judgement Group," but Jessica had been working normally during this period, making it easy for them to find her.
He was about to call Jessica in to give her a few words of warning, but before his hand could touch the bell cord, he suddenly thought: "Tim wouldn't harm Jessica and Carrie. If Tim arrested Jessica or Carrie, it would almost be like 'showing his hand'.
"If Military Intelligence Section 9 learned that the Feynapotter ambassador had suddenly captured a wild Beyonder, they would definitely investigate, and this investigation would easily lead to the 'Judgement Group'.
"The Loen royal family certainly wouldn't care about the life or death of a 'low-sequence' wild Beyonder, but they would definitely use this to extort a large sum from the Feynapotter Kingdom!
"If Tim has any brains, he wouldn't do this, but it's still necessary to prevent Jessica and Carrie from being found by the 'Judgement Group'."
Thinking of this, Hobert still pulled the bell cord.
This type of bell design was very popular in Backlund's office buildings or homes. The supervisor's side had a rope; pulling it would ring the bell on the assistant or secretary's side.
The assistant would then know the supervisor needed them and would immediately go to the supervisor's office.
The home version of the bell had the rope in the owner's room and the bell in the servant's room.
Because electricity hadn't been widely adopted yet, electric bells hadn't appeared.
A dozen seconds later, Jessica appeared at the door.
Hobert raised his chin and pointed to the opposite side of the desk: "Sit."
Jessica understood Hobert's meaning, closed the door, and sat opposite Hobert.
"Be wary of the 'Judgement Group's' retaliation in the near future. If necessary, take a leave of absence for a while. I will communicate with Barton the barrister, and you can return to work normally in two or three months."
Jessica was taken aback: "Did you receive any news?"
"Sort of," Hobert said. "That 'Dawn Paladin' is, after all, a backbone member of the 'Judgement Group,' and they will definitely investigate.
"And we had agreed to negotiate with the 'Judgement Group' at the time, and then something happened to the 'Judgement Group' members. You and Carrie are, of course, the prime suspects."
At the time of the negotiation, Hobert never thought those four Beyonders had such deep backgrounds, let alone that an ambassador would help investigate.
Hearing Hobert's explanation, Jessica visibly relaxed: "Even if they find our current residence, they would never dare to act. And with you at the law firm, I am safe. There's no need to worry."
This time, it was Hobert's turn to be surprised: "So confident?"
Jessica smiled and nodded.
Hobert smiled: "Alright. Oh, right, I prepared a few Beyonder materials for Carrie. I'll bring them back to her next week... no, I have something to do tomorrow. I'll bring them back on Saturday."
"You can hand them to Carrie yourself," Jessica said with a smile. "We trust you completely and aren't afraid of you knowing our current hiding place."
"Alright, I want to see where you're hiding that makes you so confident."
After Jessica left, Hobert spent the entire afternoon working.
Actually, he didn't have much to do. Most of the time, he was handling documents, helping his subordinate lawyers review their defense plans, and so on.
After work, Hobert took a rental carriage back to his home in the Empress Borough. As the carriage drove down the street, Hobert saw a performer putting on a "puppet show" on the side of the road.
The entertainment options of this era are scarce for a modern person like Hobert, but for the people of this era, they are already quite rich.
More refined options include dramas, operas, dances, symphonies, etc. More common options include circus performances and the "music box," also called the "magic sound box," which can often be seen on Backlund streets.
The "magic sound box" generally has the appearance of a cart with a box or some animal-like shape on it. There is a handle outside the shape. As long as the handle is wound, it can start playing music.
In fact, there is a music cylinder inside the shape. For citizens who rarely hear music, this is a good entertainment option.
This is actually a means of attracting customers. Small vendors will play music to attract many children and then sell small toys or small tools and cosmetics used by the children's mothers.
Another common option is the "puppet show." For Hobert, who has watched cartoons, puppet shows are actually nothing to see.
First of all, the balding uncle who messes up the speech while imitating the princess is very distracting, and secondly, the movements of the puppets are actually very stiff. Many times, they are actually dragged back and forth on the small stage by ropes.
However, it still attracts a lot of viewers, most of whom are children, and some citizens who have finished a day's work.
The puppet show actor's income mainly comes from the audience's tips.
The children will use their meager pennies to ask the puppet show actor to continue performing.
Today, Hobert, sitting in the carriage, glanced at the puppet show on the side of the street, and a thought suddenly occurred to him: I wonder if that balding puppet show actor is a "Marionettist"?
Along this line of thought, Hobert suddenly thought of an application of the "Nation of Disorder." He planned to go to the "Nation of Disorder" to try it out at night.
Back at home, the dining table was much quieter. At the dining table, Hobert told Christian that he planned to follow a mercenary team to explore an ancient tomb tomorrow.
"Be careful. More than the ancient tomb, you should be careful of your teammates and prevent being double-crossed by those who have been eyeing you for a long time." Christian seemed to think of something: "Don't feel burdened. Just live your normal life. There's no need to worry that your actions will conflict with me here."
Hobert nodded: "I know."
After dinner, Christian called Hobert to the study.
Arriving at the study, Hobert realized that the three mystical items had been completed: a dinner knife, a small wine glass, and a soup spoon.
The soup spoon was larger and deeper than the "Psychological Spoon," making it easy to distinguish the two.
Needless to say, this must be the master Artisan that the original owner's birth mother found to make the mystical items. Hobert didn't understand how that craftsman got involved with tableware.
The appearance of these mystical items was too distracting. He was supposed to be looking for someone to fight, but he went with a dinner knife and a dinner fork.
People who didn't know would think he was going to a restaurant to eat and went to the wrong place.
After thanking Christian, Hobert took the three mystical items and returned to his room to study them.
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