Under the Heiress' Facade

When warning the Astral Nova Auction staff member about "troublemakers", Camille naturally referred to Hera.

"Understood."

With Samantha's invitation card, Hera could only access the fourth-floor balcony. Once the staff left, she sent a WhatsApp message to the Grandmaster of Astral Nova. "I'll come to the seventh floor at 8:30 pm."

Then she called Bernard.

"Bernard, are you here yet?"

At that moment, Bernard was sitting in the grandmaster's office. He held his phone and looked at the WhatsApp conversation with Shadow on his computer screen. "Where are you? I'll come find you," he said.

"In auction room 404," Hera replied.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door of room 404. When she opened the door, Hera saw Bernard and quickly let him in.

"What's with all the secrecy? Who are we meeting?" Bernard asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Someone on the seventh floor."

Hera pointed upward.

Bernard feigned surprise.

"The grandmaster? How do you know him?"

"We met by chance," Hera answered vaguely.

"He's quite interested in you. You should have a good chat with him. Astral Nova has considerable influence. You can use this opportunity to make friends with him." Bernard was rendered speechless. He wondered if he was meant to hang out with himself.

Still, he replied, "Alright."

Just then, the auction officially began.

Hera glanced toward the seventh floor but saw no movement. It seemed the Grandmaster of Astral Nova hadn't arrived yet.

She checked her WhatsApp behind Bernard's back and saw his reply.

"Come to my office."

Hera recalled Skyscraper from her last visit. She felt that he was indeed a peculiar person.

After pocketing her phone, she turned around and sized up Bernard's physique. She contemplated if Bernard could handle it if the grandmaster acted out of line. "Thanks for this, Bernard."

Bernard was confused by her sudden gratitude.

"Let's go. We need to meet him now."

Hera handed Bernard a mask and put one on herself.

They left the auction and headed toward Skyscraper. They didn't encounter any staff on their way, most likely because of the ongoing auction.

They walked through the corridor and reached Skyscraper. The main door was closed, but lights were on inside. No one was around.

Hera suddenly stopped, clutching her stomach.

Bernard asked, "What's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts. You go on in first. Just tell them that we arranged this meeting on WhatsApp. I'll be right back after using the restroom." Before Bernard could refuse, she ran off in the other direction.

She trusted that he could handle whatever came next and would explain her identity to him later.

Hera couldn't care less about how the Grandmaster of Astral Nova might react to her changed gender and physique since their last encounter.

Her goal was to have Bernard stall the Grandmaster to buy her some time. She had something important to take care of.