章 537: Chapter 537: Hastur and Audrey's Engagement
Chapter 537: Hastur and Audrey's Engagement
"Daybreak... it's time to get up..."
On a large bed, the quilt was gently lifted, and the bed itself shook slightly. The hand-embroidered flowers on the quilt had deep wrinkles after a night of tossing and turning.
"No...," a soft moan, like a helpless kitten, whispered, "I need to restrain myself..."
This whisper did not show much determination.
"I'm not a member of your restraint faction."
"No, I need to restrain myself."
"Are you saying that to yourself?"
"..."
"It seems you haven't even convinced yourself."
Sunlight, bright and dazzling, streamed from the window to the rooftop. Only those who loved to linger in bed were just getting up.
Downstairs, Aisala, who had been waiting all morning, was curious to go upstairs but was caught by Hastur, who told her to stay quiet to avoid disturbing Sharon's sleep.
"Something must have happened last night!" Aisala's eyes widened.
"Eat your fish snack." Hastur stuffed a small fish snack into Aisala's mouth to stop her from talking.
"Don't think you can shut me up with food... I'm almost full!"
Faced with her master's forced feeding, Aisala finally surrendered, lying on the table with a reluctant pout.
Seeing Hastur's gaze sweep over, she quickly covered her mouth to avoid being fed more fish snacks.
After eating and drinking, Hastur took a delicate meal upstairs to Sharon's room, not coming out until the next morning.
For several days, until January 5th, Hastur got up early, had his maid dress him, and changed into a custom-made black suit.
In terms of dressing up, men always have fewer steps than women.
Around eight in the morning, Hastur took a carriage to the engagement venue.
Initially, Earl Hall preferred to hold the engagement ceremony in the Church of the Goddess of the Night, but Hastur found it awkward. He thought the Goddess might secretly watch and reveal a miracle, blessing his and Audrey's engagement.
Hastur did not want their special day to be mixed with such schemes, so he chose to hold the engagement ceremony at the Violet Manor of the Campbell family in the countryside.
Butler Neil had people start decorating early. Hastur, who arrived early, spent most of his time entertaining the nobles and friends attending the engagement ceremony.
Even though it was just an engagement, the scene was grand. If not for deliberately reducing the number of guests, almost all the nobles of Backlund might have attended.
The engagement ceremony was naturally scheduled for the evening.
As followers of the Goddess of the Night, Audrey and Earl Hall had no objections.
At six in the evening, Audrey arrived at the manor gate in Earl Hall's luxurious carriage.
Notably, Xio and Fors were among Audrey's bridesmaids for the engagement ceremony.
They helped Audrey out of the carriage, accompanying her as she handed her small hand to Hastur's large one.
Tonight, Audrey was undoubtedly the most dazzling presence under the starry sky.
Even at ordinary evening banquets, her simple attire was enough to attract attention. Tonight, after being meticulously dressed by over twenty maids for half a day, she was even more radiant, like a brilliantly polished diamond, perfect from every angle.
Audrey wore a pure white wedding dress symbolizing purity and loyalty. The neckline, shoulders, waist, cuffs, and hem were adorned with lace, fine gauze, ruffles, ribbons, bows, layered cake cuts, pleats, and gathers.
Each process was handcrafted by master tailors, taking over half a year to complete. This wedding dress was prepared by Earl Hall in advance for Audrey.
The heart-shaped blue sapphire necklace from the Southern Continent, the ruby-encrusted bracelet, and other matching earrings and jewelry made Audrey's beauty even more stunning.
Hastur held Audrey's gloved hand, walking down the red carpet laid out on the ground, amid countless envious and blessed gazes, step by step into the manor. Before Archbishop Anthony and Earl Hall and his wife, they completed a series of intricate ceremonies.
It looked no different from an actual wedding ceremony.
"Oh, I'm so envious of Miss Audrey!" Xio exclaimed, barely holding back a loud scream, "Wearing such a wedding dress and walking into the hall of marriage with the one you love, life is simply perfect."
"Yes, it's really enviable." Fors murmured with a dreamy, blessing, and slightly lost look.
"Fors, why is there no script in your novels that matches Miss Audrey's perfect life?"
"Because I can't imagine it either."
Fors's thoughts were pulled back. In her novels and the simple understanding of many readers, noble ladies from powerful families often had no choice in their marriages.
Unhappy, painful marriages yearning for freedom were their norm.
Therefore, in literary works, they often fell in love with simple, kind-hearted commoners symbolizing freedom and equality.
This was the driving force and interest for readers to continue reading such books.
If it were merely depicting a happy life, it would fail to resonate widely with readers, leading to poor sales.
Such a happy life was only suitable for the person experiencing it, not for spreading as a literary work.
It would undoubtedly invite malicious criticism and suspicion.
"Is that Miss Sharon?" Suddenly, Xio tugged at Fors's sleeve, pointing in a direction.
Fors followed Xio's direction and saw the delicate and beautiful Miss Sharon in a classic black court dress, looking at Mr. Hastur and Miss Audrey's engagement ceremony. Beside her was a sweet, cute little girl.
"Miss Sharon must be very sad at this moment." Xio whispered, quickly covering her mouth and looking around in panic. Seeing no one noticed her words, she sighed in relief.
"Don't say that; let's pretend we didn't see anything." Fors pulled Xio away from that spot to a place where they couldn't see Miss Sharon.
Sensing someone mentioning her, Sharon instinctively looked over, only seeing Fors's back. Xio's small figure was lost in the crowd, with only the back of her head faintly visible.
"Miss Sharon, I'm really angry for you." Aisala angrily waved her fist in Susie's direction.
She didn't think she lost to Susie, nor did Miss Sharon lose to Miss Audrey.
Sharon just gently patted Aisala's head, showing no sadness or disappointment. Instead, her deep eyes had a hint of inexplicable emotion.
These days, Hastur had been staying in her room. Although it wasn't something to boast about, at this moment, she couldn't help but recall the days spent alone with Hastur.
She understood that Hastur felt sorry for her, but she still walked ahead of Miss Audrey, just like in the life game they played in Southwell County.
In the first life game, she indeed won against Audrey.
As for future life games, she didn't think she would lose either.
"Restraint..." Sharon's cheeks flushed slightly. She seemed not to dwell on this matter.
Soon, the music played, and cheers erupted, congratulating Hastur and Audrey on their engagement.
Phew, the ceremony was finally over. It was really exhausting... Audrey also breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't slept well since last night and got up early today, busy until now. The engagement ceremony was finally over.
"Tired? I'll take you back to your room to rest for a while."
Hastur's whisper sounded in Audrey's ear, making her inexplicably flustered, not daring to look at Hastur.
It was just an ordinary, caring sentence.
Audrey's slightly panicked gaze met Susie's watching eyes.
"Audrey, you're still not used to the change in your identity, so you feel flustered and at a loss. You need some time to accept your new relationship with Mr. Hastur."
Although Susie didn't speak, Audrey understood the meaning in her eyes.
Audrey felt a bit more relaxed, even being guided by Susie during the engagement ceremony.
She suddenly realized she was getting used to Susie's psychological guidance...
This made her glare at Susie lightly, then nodded, accepting Hastur's suggestion to rest in the room for a while. After all, she would be busy entertaining the noble ladies later.
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