Northern Faloro, Flotz.
In the afternoon, in the southern suburbs of Flotz, the sun in the sky was gradually setting in the west. The halo of the setting sun was gradually plating the century-old ancient buildings. As the day was about to end, the annual audience banquet in the Temple of Beauty was finally approaching its grandest moment.
At this moment, in the spacious Hall of Singing, dignitaries from all over Faloro gathered in different levels of the stands. The original chairs in the stands had been removed and replaced by dining tables filled with delicacies and fine wine. Ladies and gentlemen in bright clothes gathered around the tables, tasting desserts and fine wines while gazing at the venue of the Hall of Singing, looking at a prominent main guest platform located on the east side of the third-level stands, which was decorated with grandeur.
On that main guest platform, the serious-looking, plainly dressed Governor Sansone was standing there, holding a speech manuscript in his hand, reading the content of the manuscript in a calm and low tone, delivering a speech to everyone present.
"...Therefore, the reason why you are gathered here today is for the unity and cooperation of Faloro in the new year, and to maintain the achievements of the revolution, not, as some people with ulterior motives say, to inherit the decay of the kings, or to summon the spirits of the Bourbons.
"I do not agree with completely negating all old traditions, but I will not let tradition become a breeding ground for regressive spirits. In the new era, tradition should be given new meaning. Just like this audience banquet, some people say that I proposed to cancel or refuse to participate in this annual gathering, which is wrong. I believe it has a positive effect in uniting the elites of Faloro and should be retained, but the name should be changed. The name 'audience' has too much of that dynastic decay. It's fine to call it the New Year Celebration Banquet or the Unity Banquet..."
Sansone was speaking on the stage, and the many dignitaries of Faloro in the Hall of Singing were listening attentively, without making any other sounds. When Sansone finally announced the end of his speech, the people present immediately applauded, and a round of warm applause erupted throughout the Hall of Singing.
"Alright, now let's enjoy this pleasant banquet..." After the applause, Sansone said his final words, then he put down the speech manuscript in his hand and retreated to a dining table behind him and sat down in the main seat. After Sansone was seated, the banquet in the entire Hall of Singing venue officially began.
The dignitaries who had been waiting for a long time began to enjoy the wine and food to their heart's content. The ready orchestra began to play melodious music. After a simple announcement by the host, several dancers came to the stage and began to dance. The entire Hall of Singing was immersed in an elegant and peaceful atmosphere for a time.
And in a certain corner at this moment, by the railing of a stand, Adele, holding a cup of fine wine in her hand, was watching everything on the scene with a serious expression.
"The purpose of those masterminds... is to assassinate Sansone and frame us, the remnants of the Bourbons. Where are their assassins now? What method are they preparing to use for the assassination?" Adele said gravely in her heart, while Dorothy, who was far away at this time, was also responding to Adele through the information channel.
"This is not quite clear yet... In the past hour, a large number of outsiders have poured into the Temple of Beauty, including servants, guests, guards, and others, totaling about a thousand people. It is difficult to conduct a detailed screening of so many people in a short time. They could all be assassins..."
"Is that so..." Listening to Dorothy's words, Adele scanned the surroundings, looked at the many guests present in the Hall of Singing, and then continued to speak in her heart.
"Among the personnel present, within my perception range, apart from the remnants of the Bourbons who came with me, no one else has shown killing intent. The assassins may not have entered the venue yet. Can you find anything unusual outside? Like a sniper or something?"
"I have scouted all possible sniper points and found no trace of snipers. I have also checked the key points in the Temple of Beauty and found no bombs or the like. Then they should make their move directly in this Hall of Singing, and they should utilize this'stage' here. However, I have already checked the actors who are about to perform here, and I haven't seen anything unusual..."
Dorothy continued to respond to Adele. After listening to Dorothy's words, Adele focused her gaze on the center of the Hall of Singing, on the stage with the seven-petal lotus pattern. Dancers were still dancing on it at this time.
"But the problem now is... we don't know what the function of this stage is? I want to go up and check, but the security there is too strict. A bunch of people are guarding there, and Sansone is also present. It's not convenient for me to openly use my ability to get onto the stage and check in front of him and so many people..."
Adele said this in her heart. At this moment, she did not have an identity that could openly and legitimately stand on the stage of the Hall of Singing. After thinking about other things, she looked at Sansone's position and continued to speak.
"Speaking of which, can we now inform the Honorable Governor about the danger here and ask him to be careful..."
"You're thinking too much. For Faloro's high officials, no matter what identity we use to remind them, it will cause suspicion. Whether the reminder is successful or not is secondary, but alerting the enemy is certain. Your identity is extremely sensitive, and such a direct reminder might even be used against you by that group of people...
"In addition, our goal is not necessarily to protect this Governor, but to obtain the legacy of Xiaer King. Directly reminding this Governor can save his life, but we won't gain any benefit. If the masterminds choose not to act after we remind him, then Sansone will see the tip as false, and we will instead be suspected and investigated. There is no need for this. If we save Sansone after he detects the assassination, then we will have something to talk about with this Governor."
Dorothy said this to Adele. Her meaning was simple: use this assassination attempt as an opportunity to gain some support from the official Faloro government and covet the legacy of Xiaer King. Anyway, from the current situation, even if those people succeed and Adele is in danger, Dorothy's current ability to protect her and retreat safely is not a problem. And Adele, understanding Dorothy's meaning, also nodded and spoke softly.
"Then now... we just have to wait and see how they make their move."
Saying this in her heart, Adele took a sip of the fine wine in her hand, and then began to observe the situation on the scene while quietly waiting.
Just then, the dancers performing on the stage below also finished their performance. After bowing to the surrounding people for their curtain call, they slowly walked off the stage. Then the host responsible for announcing the acts also came to the stage and announced loudly to the guests around.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Now let's enjoy the next act, which is also the most unique act of this year's audience banquet! Please welcome our famous emerging dance star, the eternally charming and sexy Miss Sandrina!"
As soon as the host finished speaking, there was an immediate stir of surprised discussion. Some of the guests who were still dining seemed a little surprised by the name announced by the host and began to talk to each other, while more people had a hint of confusion in their eyes.
"Sandrina... Who is that?"
Seeing this scene around her, Adele frowned slightly in confusion, and then asked a guest next to her. The other person answered after giving a hiccup.
"Miss doesn't know who Sandrina is?...Hehe, that's right... It's normal for a rich young lady not to know this. This Miss Sandrina... is a dance star who has risen in Faloro in the past year..."
"Dance star... If it's just an ordinary dance star, those people wouldn't react like that..."
"Hehe... Of course, Miss Sandrina is not an ordinary dance star. She is an exotic dancer who debuted in pleasure houses. It is said that she became famous for her various sensual and bold dances. Her excellent looks and dance skills have not only become famous in the underground venues of many cities in Faloro in a short period of time, but recently she has also begun to enter the mainstream theaters with a wider audience, gradually transforming into a public dance star with a wider reach."
"Although she has successfully transitioned recently and gained considerable fame in Flotz, to compromise with the popular aesthetic, the sensuality of her dance has also decreased significantly. It's such a shame, a loss for many of us male viewers. While her debut method has been controversial, it's undeniable that she's recently become very popular... *hic*... But I really didn't expect her to perform at this audience banquet. Given her rapid rise, perhaps she'll soon become the 'Adele. Brillez' of Flotz..."
The somewhat tipsy guest chuckled foolishly while saying this to Adele. Hearing his words, Adele's expression became serious, and she refocused her gaze on the hall. Then, she saw a woman wearing a loose suit and a top hat walking out from the guest seating area and onto the stage.
The woman had fair skin and a handsome face. She had slightly curled dark brown long hair. Although her complexion was very pale, she boldly applied various Rich eyeshadows, lipsticks, and other cosmetics. Her expression revealed an unusual beauty of sick decadence. From Adele's perspective, her makeup style was quite unconventional.
However, Adele's attention was not focused on the newly arrived woman's attire at this moment, but rather on a cane taken out from a gift box held by a servant below the stage as she walked onto the stage. The large cane head wrapped in silk reminded Adele of some unpleasant memories.
'That cane...'
"Sandrina..."
On the main guest platform, Sansone couldn't help but frown slightly when he saw Sandrina walking onto the stage, and he asked a follower beside him.
"Is it appropriate for her to perform at this kind of occasion?"
"As a new generation of dance stars who break tradition, it is, of course, appropriate for Miss Sandrina to appear at the audience banquet hosted by Captain. I believe her dance will bring a new atmosphere to the Temple of Beauty."
The follower beside Sansone responded. After hearing the follower's words, Sansone couldn't help but nod silently, his gaze fixed on Sandrina as she finally stood on the stage reflecting a seven-petal lotus pattern.
After standing firm on the stage, Sandrina spread her arms towards the guests below. Many people in the stands then responded with a round of enthusiastic applause, and Sandrina began to formally dance on the stage.
Immediately, rhythmic music filled the air, and Sandrina's feet rapidly moved on the stage, her whole body swaying with the rhythm. A solo dance performance began.
Sandrina's dance seemed like a tap dance, but it was in fact different. In this dance, Sandrina, in conjunction with her cane, performed a series of suggestive movements. These movements flashed by but left a deep impression on the gentlemen present, making them stare at Sandrina even more intently.
During the dance, a strange magic emanated from the center of the stage, spreading towards everyone except Sansone. Everyone's desires were stirred by Sandrina's dance movements, and they all gazed at her. Adele quickly noticed the abnormality in the venue.
'This is... Desire Control... As expected, is that cane really that thing? Is it Teacher's...'
Immediately, Adele recalled how her Teacher, Dalena, looked when she was made into a tool. She instantly became certain that the object in Sandrina's hand was also something similar, perhaps a part of her Teacher that hadn't been used up yet!
'Damn Placenta!'
Thinking of this, a surge of anger welled up in Adele's heart. She couldn't help but release her killing intent towards Sandrina on the stage. At this moment, a slight smile appeared on Sandrina's lips.
'Seeing this... you still couldn't help it, Adele...'
On the stage, Sandrina waved the hand holding the cane. Immediately, Adele felt the trace of killing intent she had just produced suddenly surge countless times, and the target of the killing intent quickly shifted, transferring to the main guest platform! Adele looked there, her eyes filled with bloodshot.
'Hmm...'
Just as Adele was about to lose control for a moment, an incredibly powerful controlling force instantly dominated her limbs and body, restraining her at the peak of her impulse, preventing her from making any movements. This was Dorothy's doing; she used the Puppet Mark to turn Adele into a Living Puppet, forcibly controlling her.
After the most intense surge of impulse was suppressed, Adele's own will finally began to resist. She started to drive her own abilities to control her desires, and her expression returned to normal.
'Heh... Your willpower is pretty good. So, can you handle what comes next?'
Seeing Adele in the stands resisting the sudden desire attack caused by her memories of the cane, Sandrina couldn't help but smile slightly. Then, she waved the cane in her hand again, continuing to exert her ability on the venue.
Immediately, the anger and killing intent in the hearts of the remaining Bourbons members scattered throughout the venue burned uncontrollably. They also looked furiously at the main guest platform.
'Sansone... that traitor...'
At this moment, Adele also took action again, using her ability to timely suppress the murderous desires in the hearts of the other remaining Bourbons members, making them all return to a normal state for a moment. Facing this situation, Sandrina's smile deepened.
'As expected of Dalena's favorite disciple, you have some skill... But as long as I stand on this stage, you can't win against me!'
Thinking this, Sandrina began more intense movements on the stage. She tore off her loose clothing, revealing the outfit she was wearing underneath.
It was a black leather bodysuit. Sandrina's entire body was encased in shiny, tight leather, fully outlining her curvaceous figure and displaying it before everyone. There was a large area of exposed skin on her chest. This kind of attire was undoubtedly extremely bold for this era, causing many ladies on the stage to exclaim in surprise for a moment.
"Sink into depravity! Everyone!"
After a declaration-like shout, the rhythm of Sandrina's dance immediately became faster. For a moment, her ability to manipulate desire began to rapidly increase, and Adele felt as if she was about to be unable to suppress the opponent's power.
'What...'
Facing this situation, Adele frowned, then changed her approach, starting to control Sandrina's desires. She began to use her rich dance experience, combined with Dorothy's computational power, to predict Sandrina's movements, calculating and predicting what Sandrina's subsequent movements in this dance would be, carefully analyzing the controllability of each movement.
Then, with the assistance of the powerful computational power at the Scarlet level and her own experience as a genius dancer, Adele quickly saw through the creative idea behind Sandrina's dance, saw through her subsequent series of movements, and found the nearest one that could be utilized.
When Sandrina began a rather forceful and large-scale cane-throwing movement, Adele, who had already predicted it, concentrated her ability to strengthen and deepen the desire she was about to have for the cane-throwing movement. For a moment, Sandrina swung the cane in her hand with more force than she had intended, causing her to lose her grip and accidentally send the cane flying out, hitting a nearby pillar.
'Good... This way I can disable her cane!'
Seeing this scene, Adele thought happily in her heart, but the next scene that occurred made her freeze on the spot.
The cane that Sandrina had accidentally thrown off hit the pillar directly, and the large cane head wrapped in silk was immediately shattered. However, what shattered out was not the brain tissue and flesh Adele had expected, but just ordinary glass.
There was no one's brain hidden in Sandrina's hand. And even after the cane was thrown off, her control over the desires at the venue showed no sign of weakening... The ability to control desire seemed to come from her herself, not the cane...