Chapter 3 III. Rough Task Along With Fine Dining

Even though she was given a headset to muffle the sound of the helicopter's engine during the flight, Elly was still trembling while holding Hana tightly. Hana, seeing her friend in panic, couldn't stop worrying and continued to stroke Elly's head to calm her down.

"Elly? Elly? Hey, can you hear me?" Hana asked, ensuring the communication between the headsets was working well with Elly.

"Lo-lower your voice, Hana," Elly whimpered, trembling.

The helicopter crew, who had picked them up earlier, were puzzled to see Elly so panicked just by hearing the helicopter's engine noise. "Sorry if it's rude, but may I know what's happening to your friend?" he asked.

"She has sensitive hearing, and she often panics when hearing loud noises," Hana explained. Hearing Hana's explanation, the crew member just nodded understandingly without asking further, afraid of saying something wrong.

After about twenty minutes of flying, the helicopter's landing destination began to come into view. "Get ready, ladies, we're about to land soon," said Sir Edric's emissary while looking ahead, ensuring the landing site.

A grand three-story mansion with a yard larger than the mansion itself came into view. A large flower garden filled the side yard, and a gigantic fountain stood majestically in the middle of the yard.

The helicopter carrying Hana and Elly prepared to land on a private aircraft runway, located behind a concrete wall behind the mansion facing the sea, where four helicopters and two private jets were neatly parked.

The helicopter landed successfully, and the helicopter crew carefully guided Hana and Elly out of the helicopter. Not far from the landing site, a Mercedes Benz with a driver was already waiting. "The rich don't know what 'walking' is, do they?" Hana muttered.

"Just enjoy it, it's not every day we get to experience this," said Elly.

Hana held Elly's hand, guiding her into the car, then they drove towards the mansion, which was quite a distance from the landing site.

After a few minutes of driving, Hana and Elly were welcomed politely by a maid at the back door of the mansion after they got out of the car. "Welcome to Arathorn Mansion, the Master is expecting you," the maid greeted politely with a gentle nod.

After welcoming Hana and Elly, the maid led the way, followed by Hana and Elly, who walked while feeling their way around with her white cane. Upon entering the mansion, they were greeted with a spacious room connected to the entrance, decorated with classic items and what appeared to be expensive paintings from the medieval period.

"Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three," Elly murmured as they walked through the mansion.

"Elly, what are you doing?" Hana asked curiously.

"Thirty-five, thirty-six. Counting steps, a habit when arriving at a new place. It's natural for a blind person like me, isn't it? Forty-one, forty-two," Elly replied, continuing as she focused on feeling her surroundings with her white cane.

The maid walked towards the stairs, climbed up to the second floor, then walked to a door in the corridor and entered it. Inside the room, four male servants stood on the right and left sides of Sir Edric Arathorn, who sat at the end of a large dining table.

The dining table was filled with appetizing dishes, including roast steak with a special greenish-red sauce and carrot decorations on the side and parsley on top, a large plate of roast turkey accompanied by roasted lemon slices beside it, and three glasses of orange juice neatly poured into wine glasses, complete with shiny metal straws. All of them were dishes that could only be made by top-class chefs.

"Ah, my guests have arrived, please, please, make yourselves at home. I assure you, our turkey is very delicious," Sir Edric greeted warmly.

"I wish this were my home," Hana murmured softly, surprised by the five-star restaurant-like service.

The aroma of the food filled the air, instantly stimulating Elly's sense of smell. "It smells delicious," Elly said, sniffing gently.

Two male servants pulled out chairs on the right side of the dining table, inviting Hana and Elly to sit and enjoy the meal. The two servants then took plates, forks, and steak knives from the food trolley and neatly placed them in front of Sir Edric and his guests. Then, the two servants took kitchen knives and forks and swiftly cut the turkey and steak, placing them neatly on each plate.

"Thank you very much, sir," Hana said awkwardly to the servant who had just placed the beef and turkey on her plate.

"It's my duty, Miss," the servant replied politely.

Sir Edric seemed to enjoy his meal, especially the turkey breast on his plate. Elly gently sliced the beef that was served and ate it slowly, savoring the taste of the food she had never tasted before. Although curious and wanting to ask about the purpose of this invitation, Hana calmly enjoyed the meal like everyone else, not wanting to spoil the warm atmosphere of the feast.

"Is everything to your liking, Miss?" the male servant asked Elly politely, bowing slightly.

"Oh! Yes!" Elly replied, startled. "Um, what sauce is used on this meat?" she continued, asking.

"Salsa Verde with Penfold Grange Hermitage 1951 reduction and Osaka Oysters grilled with Truffle, Miss. We can change it to another sauce if you don't like it," the servant detailed.

"Oh no-no. This is perfect, thank you," Elly hastily declined the servants offer.

"I just found out that wine can be used as a cooking ingredient. And they used the old one. This plate of food must be more expensive than my 10-year apartment rent," Hana remarked while eating the steak.

"A hard day feels better when closed with a delicious meal, don't you agree? Hahaha," Sir Edric quipped, making Elly startle slightly, remembering that Sir Edric's hard day was caused by her.

While everyone was relaxed, enjoying the meal, Will pushed the dining room door open roughly and walked in with an angry expression, still in clothes stained with Frappuccino. "What does this mean, old man? Why are you interfering with my work!?" Will exclaimed, furious.

"Your work? What have you been poisoned with, Wilfred?" Sir Edric responded calmly.

"That blind woman messed up my business! I should handle this myself! I don't need your help!" Will shouted again, pointing at Elly.

Hana stood up, hearing Will's rude words towards Elly. "Hey, watch your mouth! Respect my friend's limitations!" Hana snapped back.

Will walked face to face with Hana. "I will make you and your blind friend lick my shoes for what you did today!" Will threatened.

SLAP!

Hana was stunned to see Elly already beside her, delivering a hard slap to Will's face. "I hate loud noises, especially from screams interrupting my friend!" Elly snapped angrily.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Will, who was about to strike back at Elly, was blocked by one of the servants who swiftly intercepted him, keeping him away from Elly. "Watch out! Wait for me outside! You'll see who I am!" Will raged, though being forcibly dragged away by the servant.

Feeling that the feast he hosted had been ruined by Will's arrival, Sir Edric stood up and clapped his hands twice. Hearing this, the servants quickly cleared the dining table, lifting all the dishes and cutlery back onto the food trolley.

"Although it's not certain, let me guess, all this is related to my article about your subsidiary, isn't it, Sir?" Elly guessed.

"More than that," Sir Edric replied. "Allow me to speak with her alone, do you mind?" Sir Edric asked Hana.

Hana, feeling uneasy about Sir Edric's request, remained silent, unable to speak. On one hand, she felt bad about rejecting a request from such an influential person in England, but on the other hand, she didn't want anything bad to happen to Elly.

Sensing Hana's hesitation due to her silence, Elly reached out until her hand found Hana's. "It's all okay. Sir Edric is a good man. Proof of that, we were welcomed like royalty. Wait for me outside, okay?" Elly said.

Hearing Elly's words, Hana could only trust her friend. She nodded and hugged Elly. Before the servants left the dining room, Sir Edric approached one of the servants and whispered something to him. After whispering, the servant followed the others out of the dining room.

"Shall we?" Sir Edric asked, inviting Elly to sit back in her chair.

"Sir, I want to apologize if my article caused you trouble today. I also want to apologize because no matter how much you want to pay, I will not retract the article I wrote," Elly asserted.

"I already knew you would say that. Come on, I'm dealing with Ether, a freelance journalist who has contributed numerous articles to prominent media outlets in England. Your name is well-known among journalists, especially after you declined the offer to become a full-time journalist at the BBC," Sir Edric praised.

"Please don't over-praise me, but I am quite impressed to hear that you know so much about me. Can we talk about the purpose of bringing me here?" Elly asked.

"Meeting you is like finding a pearl in the depths of the ocean. Because I admire all your writings, especially those you sent to Fox and CNN, let's make a deal," Sir Edric proposed.

In the middle of the conversation, the servant who had whispered with Sir Edric returned to the dining room carrying a folder. The servant placed the folder he was carrying on the dining table in front of Elly politely. "There is a special task I want to give you. Please open the folder in front of you to learn more," Sir Edric explained.

Elly felt the dining table until her hand reached the folder. She then opened the folder containing dozens of sheets written in Braille.

"Northern Union Loot? It says here that this document belongs to The Council for British Archaeology or CBA. What do I have to do with this that you printed these documents in Braille?" Elly asked, puzzled after reading one of the sheets inside the folder.

"Northern Union Loot, post-war loot from the ninth century in the northern region of Britain. It is said to be the most historic find due to the estimated abundance of treasure from centuries of warfare. However, for reasons that cannot be disclosed, the search was halted. But lucky me, I met someone who can complete this search, right in front of me," Sir Edric explained.

"Sir, you seem too optimistic. This is CBA's archaeological research. It must require professional experts to carry out this search. Also, it says here that the search was stopped 19 years ago. And now you're assigning some obscure journalist? I can't even see? I'm afraid the search might not be completed in the next decade," Elly argued.

"An obscure journalist who managed to expose the racism scandal in Westminster police and the misuse of power by the mayor of Liverpool, of course. The findings of artifacts and vital reports post-research have already been obtained. I once invested in this search, but CBA apparently wasn't interested in continuing the search even at my request. All you have to do is read all those files and piece together the puzzle," Sir Edric insisted.

"You are full of surprises, Sir Edric. Surely there must be a special reward if the Northern Union Loot is found, right? And considering the fact that this task was given after the news about Thorn Construction was broadcast, doesn't this seem like a bribe, Sir? What if I refuse?" Elly challenged.

"Your article about Thorn Construction caused a 21% drop in the main company's stock. I want you to make up for every penny of my loss. Who is right and who is wrong can be easily arranged. So, accept my offer or compensate for my loss, Eleanor Aetherelt? You have two weeks," Sir Edric replied, intimidating.

Elly was startled and silent, unable to respond to Sir Edric's words. She was also shocked to know that Sir Edric knew so much about her.

~TO BE CONTINUED~