Midway through the banquet, Uncle-Grandfather Leif came over and said casually, "Long time no see, Anna."
"It has indeed been a long time, Count Leif." After saying this, Madam Anna turned to Altair and said, "It seems you have private matters to attend to. I'll go sit elsewhere for a while."
After she walked away with elegant steps, Uncle-Grandfather Leif stepped forward and said, "How are you feeling today? Hahn told me you've been in a bad mood these past few days."
Ever since Altair learned about the unrest in the factory district a week ago, he had begun to blame himself deep down.
For someone educated for over 20 years in a peaceful era, who wouldn't even speak loudly in public unless someone was pressuring them or threatening their safety, how could he not feel guilty about indirectly causing the deaths of hundreds of civilians?
As for the 'gang members' who had died at his hands before, he hadn't felt anything unusual. Perhaps he was just such a person with 'double standards'.
Altair smiled at Lev and said, "Today has been quite good."
Uncle-Grandfather Leif breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your performance these past two days hasn't been very good; it's not good for your physical and mental health. Try to relax a bit. The consequences of this matter weren't caused by you..."
When his Maternal Great-Uncle's counseling ended, Altair changed the subject and asked, "Is this banquet for handling the arsenal matters? I've already met many people involved today."
Lev smiled and nodded, explaining, "That's indeed the case. As you know, Count Hall is also involved, so he took the lead in hosting this banquet."
"I just saw you dancing with his eldest son."
"That's right." Altair suppressed a feeling of disgust, sighed, and shook his head. "Madam Anna said I might have been targeted by their family. She personally suggested not having too much contact with them."
After hearing Altair's explanation, Uncle-Grandfather Leif stroked the mustache on his upper lip and said, "Madam Anna's suggestion is very sincere. You can fully accept it. As long as you don't do anything out of line on the surface, you'll be fine."
"Count Hall is indeed shrewd and capable, but his sons only inherited his looks, not his abilities. The eldest son is a typically mediocre person who can only rely on his father's influence now. The second son has no special characteristics either, just average."
"Their family indeed lacks investment potential for 'us'. Count Hall's participation this time was only a result of trading a large amount of interests."
"His second son, Alfred Hall, is currently serving in the army in the Southern Continent. His direct superior is someone you know—Karel. Although on the surface he is cooperating with us to build a new type of factory, his main goal is secretly supporting that second son."
While the two were still talking, a servant in a black swallowtail coat approached and whispered something to Uncle-Grandfather Leif. After listening, Lev turned to Altair and said, "Let's go. They've made the arrangements. We're going over to sign the contract now."
Altair nodded and said, "I need to wait a moment. I have to tell Madam Anna so she doesn't worry."
Seeing Uncle-Grandfather Leif nod, Altair walked towards where Madam Anna was standing. After explaining the reason for his early departure, the two followed the servant's lead and left the banquet hall.
On the way to the private study, Altair asked curiously, "I see many people at this banquet know Madam Anna and respect her. Is there anything special about her?"
Lev paused for a moment, then smiled at Altair as he walked, saying, "Not really. She's just an ordinary etiquette teacher. If there's anything special, it's just that she's exceptionally capable and frequently teaches members of the royal family."
"As for the reason for respecting Anna, it's because of her character. Anna comes from a family of court etiquette specialists—a family of teachers who give etiquette lessons to the royal family. She can be considered to be of noble birth."
"Seven years ago, she fell in love with and married her current husband, who had nothing at the time, but he was considered a talented young man."
"With a little support from Anna's family, it took less than two years to develop the original 'Servants Academy' into the 'Servants Association' that is now spread across the country."
"But the good times didn't last long. Not long after, her husband became bedridden with a serious illness, requiring expensive medicine every day to stay alive. He is still bedridden now, and Anna has stayed by his side, caring for him for five whole years."
"To keep him alive, she has sold off many branches of the Servants Association. In fact, she could have abandoned her husband and enjoyed a new life with that money, but she didn't."
"...A tragic love story. Altair asked curiously, "Since Madam Anna comes from such a family, she should know about Beyonders, right? Hasn't she tried to find a Beyonder of the 'Apothecary' Pathway through the Church or other means? An ordinary person's illness should be very simple for an 'Apothecary', right?"
"It's not that simple," Lev explained. "She found an 'Apothecary' through special channels to see him. But after examining him, that Apothecary clearly stated he couldn't solve it; at the very least, a sequence five potion would be required."
"People of the Apothecary Pathway are already scarce, let alone a sequence five. Her husband is currently just barely surviving on the medicine from that previous Apothecary."
"Are Apothecaries that scarce?" Altair asked Uncle-Grandfather Leif in confusion. "Isn't Uncle Owen a sequence five 'Scarlet Scholar'?"
"Don't think that just because you're surrounded by Beyonders, there are many of them in this world. According to the data recorded by various Churches, there are only about 400,000 Beyonders. Including wild ones and those from secret sects, there are estimated to be around 600,000. These people only account for a small fraction of the world's total population."
"And Beyonder Pathways have many classifications. It's already lucky to find an Apothecary when needed; high-sequence ones are generally hard to come by."
"Besides, why would Owen help Anna treat her husband? They don't know each other, and there's no conflict of interest."
"Alright, stop thinking about these useless things. If you really want to help, you can ask Owen and his wife to help you make a potion. But you need to think clearly about why you're helping them."
To Uncle-Grandfather Leif and the others, Madam Anna's tragic and exasperating love story was like a novel still being updated—a source of amusement.
Beyonders hold contempt for ordinary people, as written in the original work when Audrey and Salted Fish first met. To Beyonders, are ordinary people equivalent to 'Mudbloods'?"}],