Chapter 270: This Is Not a Fantasy
Arabella Donovan had barely finished speaking when Mr. Wyatt—the tall, powerfully built man who looked particularly rugged and imposing compared to the others—was the first to cry out in shock.
Mr. Cole’s expression also grew serious, but he didn’t rush to question her like the others. Instead, he had a different suspicion...
"Did someone tip you off that there was a gold mine buried under the Norwall Barrens?"
Arabella Donovan let out a wry laugh. "Do you really think that’s possible? There were so many people at that auction. Every single one of them had more connections and a better background than I do. If there was really a leak, is it possible they wouldn’t know something that I managed to find out?"
The logic was sound, but when he thought about it, Arabella Donovan wasn’t exactly without backing. Mr. Cole glanced at Dennis Donovan again.
Dennis Donovan saw right through him and was both amused and exasperated. "Don’t look at me. You all know me better than anyone. I wouldn’t deny something I did, and I’d never admit to something I didn’t. I’ve been busy planning my wedding lately; I’ve barely gotten any real work done. Where would I find the time to mess around with this? Besides, if it really were me, do you think you all wouldn’t have uncovered a single clue?"
Mr. Cole and the others fell silent. His words were crude, but his point was valid. It was true.
"Even if I could have received a tip about the land, what about the stone? It’s not like I could have scanned it with some machine beforehand to know there was a treasure hidden inside, could I?"
As Arabella Donovan spoke, her heart suddenly lurched.
’Oh no, how could I forget? I just took over that auction house not long ago. What if these powerful men investigate and find out? They might actually think I colluded with Man Vance and examined the stone beforehand!’
Arabella Donovan belatedly realized her example had a glaring flaw. It seemed she had once again been inadvertently screwed over by her unreliable master.
「Meanwhile, her master, napping leisurely under a large tree at the Sacred Temple, sneezed. "ACHOO! Who’s talking about me?"」
But as it turned out, Arabella Donovan’s worry was entirely unfounded. Even if she’d had a chance to examine the raw stone beforehand, no instrument exists that can accurately determine the color, clarity, type, or other properties of the jadeite within. Unless the stone is cut open, no one can be certain if there is a treasure inside, let alone what kind.
"So, how did you know all this?"
"I divined it."
"Divined it?" The men present frowned slightly. "Like that incident at Jennings Plaza?"
"Yes." Arabella Donovan met their increasingly sharp gazes without flinching. "May I ask how much you gentlemen heard about Mrs. Kohl just now?"
The men exchanged a look and answered truthfully, "A lady was just leaving when we arrived."
That meant they had arrived just as Mrs. Shelby was leaving. They had overheard the entire affair with Mrs. Kohl’s family.
"That lady left in such a hurry because she was rude to my grandmother—the bride—and in response, I pointed out that her husband was keeping a mistress. Today also happens to be the day his illegitimate child was born. She rushed off to confront her husband, his mistress, and their child."
"This..." The men’s eyes widened in astonishment. They immediately looked to Dennis Donovan for confirmation.
"What Serena said is true. If you don’t believe it, you can have someone look into it when you get back."
With Dennis Donovan’s confirmation, the men were somewhat convinced.
"It was the same with Mrs. Kohl. She tried to make an issue of my grandparents not having children, so I exposed all the nasty business about her own heirs, making her shoot herself in the foot." Arabella paused. "But before today, I didn’t know either of them. I’d never even met them."
Mr. Hughes, who was clearly a blunt man, frowned and said in a low voice, "You’re not going to tell us you divined all of this, are you?"
"Exactly. How else could you explain it? How could I know about private family matters that even the parties involved might not be fully aware of?"
"...Perhaps you investigated them beforehand."
"Why would I investigate them for no reason? Besides, there are so many guests at my grandfather’s wedding today. Let’s say I really could predict the future. That I knew these two would be in the backyard badmouthing my grandparents, that I would happen to run into them, and that I should therefore investigate their entire life stories just in case. Wouldn’t that be even greater proof of my abilities?"
Mr. Hughes opened his mouth to argue, but Arabella Donovan cut him off again.
"Mr. Hughes, were you about to suggest that perhaps those two were plants?"
Mr. Hughes was speechless. ’Damn it, how does this girl know what I’m about to say?’
"Setting aside how incredibly bored I’d have to be to stage such a scene at this time and place, did the reactions of those two families look like an act to you? In other words, even if they were acting, could they really have deceived all of you?"
Mr. Hughes wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. He was left speechless by Arabella Donovan’s retort, unsure whether to agree or disagree.
The other men also had deeply furrowed brows, each seeming to weigh the truth of Arabella Donovan’s words.
Mr. Cole stared intently at Arabella Donovan for a long moment before asking, "You’ve said a great deal. What is it you actually wanted to tell us by calling us here today?"
"Mr. Cole, have you ever heard of ’unlimited flow’?"
"’Unlimited flow’?" Mr. Cole didn’t understand why Arabella Donovan had suddenly steered the conversation in this direction, but he answered honestly, "I’ve heard the term, but I’m not very familiar with it."
Arabella Donovan raised her eyebrows in surprise. The fact that Mr. Cole had heard of it was a pleasant surprise. After all, the concept had only been around for the last decade or so. Many people their age had probably never even heard the term. For him to know it was quite impressive.
"The concept of ’unlimited flow’ posits that other, independent worlds exist outside our own. Those worlds are filled with slaughter, treachery, cruelty, and bloodshed. People from our world—let’s call it the ’real world’ for now—are pulled into those other worlds for specific reasons. They have to find a way to survive there for a chance to return. Otherwise, they’ll die there."
"This..." The men exchanged bewildered glances.
"It sounds thrilling, but that’s just fantasy. Other worlds don’t actually exist."
"But what if I told you it isn’t a fantasy?"
"What?!"
Arabella Donovan met their shocked and probing gazes, her expression solemn, her tone firm. "This is the real reason I’ve brought you all here today. A short while ago, I sensed a shift in the world’s balance. After calming my mind and performing a divination, I determined that in the next six months to a year, the entire world will face a massive catastrophe."
"And this catastrophe will begin when ordinary people start getting pulled, silently and without a trace, into these ’unlimited flow’ worlds."
Hearing this, the expressions on many of the men’s faces changed.