Capítulo 211: Chapter 211: Aisala's First Move
Chapter 211: Aisala's First Move
"Aisala, you're getting more and more clingy."
Hastur pulled Aisala out of the carriage several times.
He had some business to attend to this morning and didn't want to bring Aisala along. However, as soon as Aisala saw him get into the carriage, she jumped out of the maid's arms and onto the carriage, ready to go out with him.
After being stopped by Hastur several times, she still came back. In the end, Hastur had no choice but to bring her along.
"Meow."
Seeing that Hastur no longer tried to drive her away, Aisala jumped onto Hastur's lap and let out a soft meow.
"You don't even show this kind of persistence when hunting at night."
Hastur rubbed Aisala's head. Since he returned to the suburban manor two days ago, he had been taking Aisala out every night to teach her hunting skills, helping her digest the potion through this method.
Unfortunately, Aisala showed no interest in the rats emerging from the sewers and never actively hunted them.
Even when she occasionally encountered them on the rooftop, she would just scare them away without any desire to catch them.
She was, however, very interested in watching stray cats and a stray dog fight, enjoying the spectacle like a bystander.
This made Hastur feel regretful. If he had known, he would have let Aisala choose the path of an observer to satisfy her desire to watch.
The carriage passed through the streets and arrived at the Beckland Bank, where Hastur was to meet a noble from Southwell County.
Due to the increasingly tense and chaotic situation in the southern continent, many nobles and wealthy merchants were worried about being affected. Many people from the southern continent fled to Southwell County, and most of the nobles from Southwell County chose to flee to Beckland.
During this period, many people from Southwell County were selling their land, and Hastur was only meeting this one noble.
The land in question was adjacent to his own territory, making it a suitable purchase. Once acquired, it would connect his entire territory into one piece.
When Hastur appeared with Aisala, the noble from Southwell County was visibly stunned, probably not expecting the buyer to be so young.
The transaction went smoothly. Due to the well-known situation, Hastur managed to negotiate the already low price of the land even lower.
For less than 5,000 gold pounds, he successfully bought a large amount of land connected to his territory from the noble.
If converted, it was even cheaper than the discounted land he had previously bought from Viscount Abel.
Land was currently undervalued, especially in Southwell County, with few willing to take the risk of buying it.
Some believed that as the chaos in the southern continent reached its peak, the southern continent might extend the war to Southwell County to alleviate their internal pressure.
Hastur did not rule out this possibility and also believed that the future situation in Southwell County would not be good.
With many wealthy merchants and nobles fleeing to Southwell County, pirates would surely follow the scent of money.
The coastal defense of Southwell County would become increasingly strained. Hastur even wrote a letter to the king suggesting the enhancement of coastal defenses.
Whether the king would see the letter or adopt the suggestion depended on Earl Hall and Duke Negan.
As long as the king publicly discussed the matter of Southwell County, his suggestion would likely be adopted.
After the transaction, Hastur inquired about the situation in Southwell County and the southern continent.
The information provided by the noble was similar to what Viscount Abel had said, making it highly credible.
Most of the information about the southern continent came from a noble friend of his from the southern continent.
When the Seven Gods Church personnel first entered the southern continent, they claimed they would not interfere with the internal war. However, such slogans were only good for shouting and became meaningless over time.
The Seven Gods Church, especially the Eternal Blazing Sun Church, advocated for a war that would sweep across the southern continent. This would expose the remnants of the Rose School of Thought, no matter where they hid.
Another theory suggested that the remnants of the Rose School of Thought were hiding under the protection of the Byran Empire.
The Seven Gods Church was prepared to tear off the mask and use this opportunity to establish their faith in the southern continent.
Some radicals in the southern continent claimed that the Seven Gods Church's arrival was not to deal with the Rose School of Thought but to use it as an excuse to start a civil war and then unite with the northern continent countries to seize the fertile land of the southern continent.
This theory was widely spread and resonated with the southern continent's residents.
If Hastur didn't know that the Eternal Blazing Sun Church was specifically targeting the Star Master, he might have believed this theory.
Especially the Goddess of the Night, who definitely coveted the faith of the southern continent.
Perhaps soon, the Ruen Kingdom would send a navy to the southern continent under the pretext of aiding the Seven Gods Church.
...
At night, Hastur followed Greck to visit Duchess Georgina Augustus.
The potion of the Briber in his body was almost fully digested, needing only ten days to half a month.
Hastur originally had no interest in meeting Duchess Georgina Augustus. It was Greck who invited him, saying it was a gathering with many nobles attending, so he decided to meet the duchess.
Perhaps it would help him digest the Briber potion faster.
The gathering was held at Duchess Georgina Augustus's private estate. Before reaching the entrance, they saw many noble carriages parked on both sides of the road.
"Duchess Georgina Augustus is a legendary figure, known for her wisdom and capability, and is deeply trusted by the king. Even the princes vie to please her."
"Many royal family members will be present tonight. If you're interested, you can try to make connections. But be careful not to flaunt your charm too much; royal women are not easy to deal with and can be quite troublesome if they take an interest in you."
"However, if you want to please Duchess Georgina Augustus, you can fully display your masculine charm. She likes men who are both handsome and brave."
Listening to Greck's chatter, Hastur, who hadn't even gotten out of the carriage yet, already regretted agreeing to attend the gathering.
He got out of the carriage and walked through the estate's gate.
As the heir to Duke Negan, Greck naturally attracted a lot of attention and interaction. While Greck was busy socializing, Hastur quietly held a plate and began searching for the best dessert of the night.
He tasted a bit of each dessert and finally chose a clever layered cake as the winner of the night.
Compared to the desserts at Earl Hall's house, the taste here was only average, indicating that Duchess Georgina Augustus did not favor sweets.
Hastur then tried some meat dishes and found them to be excellently cooked and far superior to those in restaurants.
Such distinctive food preferences.
While Hastur was busy tasting the food, a figure emerged from a room on the second floor, took a glass of red wine from a nearby servant, and scanned the crowd below with a commanding gaze. The gaze paused on Hastur for two seconds before moving on to others and then returning to Hastur.
Someone nearby immediately said, "That's Voltaire's son."
"So, it's him."
The figure watched for a while longer before looking elsewhere and never returning their gaze to Hastur.
Until the end of the gathering, Hastur did not see Duchess Georgina Augustus.
Greck's expression was strange when Hastur asked him why, but he refused to explain.
As they were leaving, Greck cryptically said, "If I had known about this connection, you wouldn't have needed to come tonight."
Riddler...
Hastur felt an urge to punch Greck into a pig's head and shout, "Riddler, get out of Beckland!"
Fortunately, he remembered his identity as a Star Reclaimer and forgave Greck's behavior.
...
Late at night, near the border between the West District and the Queen's District.
Two drunkards walked through an alley and saw several stray cats searching for food in a trash can. As they passed by, the stray cats did not flee but continued searching for food in the trash can.
They should have passed by each other without incident, but one of the drunkards suddenly grabbed a nearby chestnut-colored stray cat, lifted it high, and slammed it against the wall!
"Meow!"
A painful scream startled the nearby stray cats, causing them to scatter.
The two drunkards laughed heartily, kicked the trash can over, and walked away with their arms around each other's shoulders.
As for the chestnut-colored stray cat, now curled up in a corner and unconscious, they didn't even spare it a glance.
High on the rooftop, a small black cat gracefully and silently followed the direction the two drunkards had taken.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
After a while, two screams pierced the night sky.
The next day, the West District had two unlucky fellows with white bandages on their faces.
According to those who knew them, the two had been attacked by a black cat while drunk and walking through an alley the previous night.
Their faces were scratched, sobering them up instantly.
In the following days, another unlucky person in the West District was attacked by a black cat while drunk and walking through an alley, nearly losing an eye.
Some even reported the incident to the police, asking them to clear out the stray cats in the alleys.
They called it: Restoring peace to the West District at night.
The incident even made it into the newspaper. Hastur, sitting on his balcony and holding a tired-looking Aisala, waved her little paw and declared her responsible for the attacks.
(End of this chapter)
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