Arthur notices when the mysterious woman pulls Eliza aside, and then, a minute later, she calls her brothers and the captain of the guard before the group exits the hall with quick steps.
'Something big is happening,' Nyx comments in his mind. 'Damn, I couldn't hear anything even though I focused my magical senses on them. They must have been using a magical sound barrier.'
'No problem, dear,' Arthur looks in the direction of his group's table and is surprised not to see his mother there.
'Where did she go?' He uses mental communication to speak with Margaret.
'I don't know; she said she was going to the restroom and asked me to keep an eye on little Eve. When I noticed, she had disappeared like magic.' Margaret quickly explains.
Nyx hears Margaret's response and quickly comments in Arthur's mind, 'She must be interested in what took Eliza and her brothers away so quickly.'
'Yeah, let's take a closer look too,' he comments and heads towards the mansion's entrance with calm steps to avoid drawing further attention.
Unlike when Arthur's group arrived a few minutes ago, there are no longer dozens of armed guards at the hall's door or the property entrance. Also, those still around seem much more alert and apprehensive.
'An attack?' Nyx ponders in Arthur's mind.
'Maybe...' He looks at the few guards in front of the mansion trying to contain the dozens of nobles still arriving. 'They certainly seem to be expecting trouble.'
Arthur is not the only one who notices the change in the behavior of Eliza's guards; other more observant guests do as well. This is the case of a young nobleman who exits the hall and approaches a soldier, the same one who recognized Arthur from the journey on the road.
The nobleman doesn't notice Arthur on the other side of the mansion's entrance until he sees the soldier averting his gaze over his shoulder with a frightened expression.
"Huh?" He glances around to see Arthur, which instantly makes his expression sour. He tries to hide the anger in his eyes and looks away, but Arthur notices his expression.
'That guy really hates me,'
"He really hates you." As if she could read his thoughts, a melodious voice came from behind Arthur, catching him by surprise.
He quickly turns around and sees that mysterious woman gazing at him with bright eyes and her lips slightly curved in an animated manner.
'I didn't notice her sneaking up on us!' Nyx quickly exclaims in his mind.
Arthur isn't angry but rather very curious about that woman. "Excuse me, but who are you?"
"Me?" Her smile becomes even brighter as she starts to introduce herself as usual. "You can call me Madam Re—"
The woman stops when she sees that familiar dark gleam in Arthur's eyes, and then her fake smile fades, replaced by a curious and expectant expression.
"Lis, just Lis for you," She speaks in a neutral tone.
"Lis?" Arthur repeats that name, and it sounds much better coming from his lips. "Was that the name you gave to Eliza?"
"Do you want to know why young Master Lark hates you?" She asks, surprising Arthur.
He remembers that name, the name of the other young Master he killed with his own hands in the village. 'She knows about that???' He becomes even more curious and suspicious of Lis.
Lis smiles at seeing the surprise in Arthur's eyes. "Now, do I have your attention?" Her expression becomes even more confident. "When your aunt asked me to deliver a message to the Lark family, she left me very curious about you..."
Arthur's expression becomes even more surprised and curious, making Lis giggle. "What? You didn't think she would deal with trash like them personally, did you? Well, people like her, with golden blood, usually don't do the dirty work..."
Lis's eyes gleam darkly. "And well, let's say I don't mind getting my hands dirty when necessary, and..." She looks into his eyes and speaks in a lower tone. "Something tells me you're the same, right?"
Arthur grows more concerned about Lis, but at the same time, he can't help but feel attracted to her. The confident and mysterious way she speaks, her seductive smile, and especially the dark gleam in her eyes, all are interesting and different from anything he has ever seen.
"What was the message?" He asks.
"The message?" Lis seems surprised by that question. "You know, something like: if you approach my protégé again, I'll lock your family and all your future generations in the dirtiest and darkest dungeon on this continent and make you eat dog crap until the end of time..."
Arthur can't help but laugh, imagining Alicia saying something like that. Remembering his lovely warrior aunt warms his heart and leaves a bitter taste of longing in his mouth. Despite having spent only a few hours with her, that was enough to make him like her so much.
"Cool, right?" Lis also laughs. "But we both know she wouldn't have the patience for such an elaborate revenge... I mean, she's more the type to crush skulls with that big halberd."
"Yeah," Arthur nods.
Lis gazes at his face with a thoughtful expression and a slight smile. "You know what? What surprised me most wasn't her request but the way she described you..."
Arthur's curious expression makes it clear he wants to hear it, so Lis doesn't make much mystery before explaining.
"A young man who is much younger than he appears, 1.8 meters of the purest and most impressive masculinity ever; blond hair that sways with the slightest breeze and blue eyes like the purest pearls..."
Lis smiles as she continues speaking as if reading a poem. "Defined muscles in the most ideal proportion and every feature of his face seems sculpted by the gods... after seeing him, no other man can be considered handsome, and even the most beautiful women will envy his looks..."
Arthur starts laughing. "Hahaha... No way she said that!"
"Kukuku~" Lis also laughs. "Yeah, she wouldn't say something like that without blushing to death, right?"
"..." Arthur looks into Lis's eyes with a thoughtful expression.
"Alright, but she wanted to say that, I know," Lis says in a confident tone. "But actually, she only said you were handsome as hell and knew how to fight with a sword like a wise swordsman of hundreds of years old."
Arthur doesn't know Alicia quite well yet, but that seems like something she would say, and specifically, the part where she says he is handsome as hell boosts his ego and makes his lips curve into a proud smile.
"Fufufu~" Lis's eyes gleam as she gazes at Arthur. "You have many similarities with her, especially that proud and confident look... a fine specimen of a Golden Lion... but also, there's something dark in your eyes... something I've never seen in another of your kind..."
Arthur still knows almost nothing about the mysterious Lis, but one thing he is sure of: she is attracted to his dark side just as he is curious about hers.
Meanwhile, Nyx continues whispering in his ear like the devil she is. 'You have to make her yours! You want it, I can feel it in your bones!!'