Chapter 243: Russell, Have Some Shame
Chapter 243: Russell, Have Some Shame
January 1, 1350.
It wasn't until 2 PM that Hastur finally got out of bed.
"Meow!"
Aisala leaped from the floor onto his blanket, letting out a very dissatisfied meow.
Last night, she had small silver fish in front of her right paw, tender fish fillets in front of her left paw, and was munching on fried meatballs. Her little life couldn't have been more comfortable.
But in the middle of the night, her owner, after drinking a bit, took advantage of his drunkenness and dragged her out of her snack house.
Originally, lying in her owner's arms and eating small silver fish wasn't bad, but soon after, her owner gently put her down and turned to drink more, completely ignoring her.
A pretty young lady fed her some snacks.
Her sleep was disturbed by the fireworks outside, making it impossible to fall asleep.
But her owner slept soundly until the afternoon. How could she tolerate this?
She was ready to slap him a few times with her little paws to teach him a lesson.
"Aisala, which new outfit are you going to wear today?"
A voice like a devil's whisper sounded, and Aisala's fur stood on end. She instinctively leaped off the blanket and slipped out through the slightly open window.
"She escaped so quickly."
Hastur got out of bed, changed clothes, went to the washroom to freshen up, and took a bath to wash away the smell of last night's alcohol.
Last night, on New Year's Eve, it wasn't until around 6 AM that Hastur had Butler Neil send Sharon home by carriage. As for Maric, he was already drunk and probably still hadn't woken up.
When Hastur came out of the washroom, Maric stretched and appeared. Like Hastur, he had deliberately not suppressed the alcohol last night, competing purely on their drinking capacity.
"It seems you lost."
"The physique of a barbarian is indeed impressive, even their alcohol tolerance increases."
Hastur smiled and let Maric go to the washroom first while he went downstairs to eat something.
The considerate Butler Neil had already prepared suitable food and made two sweet soups to quench thirst and relieve hangovers.
After Maric came downstairs and ate something, Hastur invited him to go out and have some fun, but he refused, saying that a living corpse was not suitable for daytime outings and that he needed to catch up on sleep.
Hastur could only take Aisala out for a stroll.
In the Queen's District, where the nobles lived, most of them were willing to spend money to bring in performance troupes from other countries for New Year's celebrations. Even some troupes from the Southern Continent brought animal training acts to entertain.
The people of Backlund could enjoy these performances for free, without needing tickets. The only requirement was to be neatly dressed and not have any unpleasant odors.
Hastur also spent some money, about 500 gold pounds, to book a song and dance troupe from the Intis Republic.
To experience a more authentic New Year atmosphere, the Intis Republic was the place to go. They still retained many song and dance dramas invented during the Russell era.
As he was about to enter the theater with Aisala in his arms, he saw Klein leading Benson and Melissa towards the same place.
It seemed Klein had the same idea, wanting to see what cultural heritage Russell, their fellow countryman, had left behind.
Hastur and Klein had only met during the nursing home incident. Now, they just nodded slightly to each other and found their own seats.
"So many people! Is Backlund's New Year always this lively?" Melissa exclaimed at the crowd.
Benson observed for a while and said, "It's indeed more prosperous and lively than I imagined. We'll be living in Backlund permanently from now on."
Klein was looking for suitable seats. Since no tickets were needed, there were no assigned seats, and he couldn't find three seats together.
Most of the available seats were scattered and in corner positions.
At this moment, a theater staff member approached with a smile and said, "Three guests, you can sit in the front row. This is Baron Campbell's arrangement."
Him?
Klein didn't refuse, as he couldn't find suitable seats.
"Today's performance is sponsored by Baron Campbell."
Hearing this, Klein didn't refuse and let the staff lead the way.
They smoothly reached the front row, getting excellent seats.
In the very front row, there was a single seat.
A young noble with striking blonde hair, holding a small black cat, was sitting there, attracting many glances from behind.
Klein thought the real attraction was Baron Hastur Campbell's wealth.
Booking such a troupe for New Year's would cost at least a few hundred gold pounds and required a certain noble status.
Wealthy merchants could afford it, but this was the Queen's District, a noble's domain. Money had to take a back seat to power, an unchanging rule since ancient times.
Extravagant.
Klein sighed, feeling like a rather unsuccessful transmigrator.
Russell was born a noble, later establishing the Intis Republic and reaching the pinnacle of power.
As for himself, he was still a member of the Night Watchers, earning about a thousand gold pounds a year, just a high-level worker.
Klein thought for a while, feeling that his luck must have been used up in the transmigration, hence his poor financial fortune.
After about ten minutes, the performance finally began.
The first act was a musical.
As the classic music played, the exciting plot unfolded, and the slightly eerie atmosphere began to envelop...
Hastur and Klein both twitched their mouths, cursing Russell in their hearts for shamelessly plagiarizing "The Phantom of the Opera."
When the second act, a ballet of "Romeo and Juliet," appeared, Hastur and Klein were too tired to complain about Russell, the great plagiarist.
They both regretted coming here today.
The music was good, the ballet was beautiful, but with Russell involved, everything seemed a bit off.
They wanted to see performances with a hometown flavor, even if it was just drums, suona, and erhu. That would have made the trip worthwhile.
After three hours, Hastur was the first to leave.
What he couldn't stand was that after the performance, the troupe praised Russell to the skies.
The audience also began to praise Russell, the historical figure who combined art and literature.
Klein had the same feelings. He was even more worried that Melissa might be influenced by these performances.
Fortunately, his worries were unnecessary. For Melissa, her studies and making money were still the most important.
Benson, half-understanding, thought for a moment and commented, "The brain of Emperor Russell is worth ten thousand curly-haired baboons, right?"
Leaving the theater, Klein wanted to thank Baron Hastur Campbell, but he was already out of sight.
Benson curiously asked, "Klein, are you close to that noble?"
"We've only met once. He's closer to a friend of mine."
"He looks very young and handsome."
This was Melissa's affirmation, and Klein immediately canceled the idea of introducing Benson and Melissa to him.
Klein suggested, "Let's find a place to taste some local delicacies."
In winter, Backlund was completely dark by 5 PM. The sky was already pitch black.
Fortunately, the Queen's District was well-lit, with bright streetlights and lights from shops and performance troupes, making everything visible.
Melissa hesitated, "Eating here must be expensive. We should go back and eat. There's still a lot of food left from last night."
Benson thought for a moment and agreed, "Yes, I still trust your cooking more, Klein."
"Sometimes, we need to taste Backlund's special food."
Klein didn't give Benson and Melissa a chance to refuse. He planned to take them to other places after dinner.
Going back to the South Bridge District would waste the carriage fare for the day.
...
After a round of strolling, Hastur didn't choose to dine out because every restaurant was full.
Besides, he had tried almost all the food in the Queen's District and found nothing new.
Back home, Hastur urged Aisala to change into her New Year's outfit. Last night, he was too busy drinking with Maric and forgot about it.
"Meow!"
Aisala waved her paw, expressing her displeasure.
"Ten small silver fish!"
"Meow."
Aisala obediently followed the maid.
After enjoying dinner, Hastur played with Aisala, dressed as a little lion, for a while, then let her enjoy her small silver fish.
Seeing Hastur idle, Butler Neil approached with an invitation, saying it was from the king.
Hastur opened the invitation and glanced at it. The king wanted to see him on January 5.
Usually, after meeting the king, he would leave for Southwell County in three to five days.
This timing was acceptable. He had arranged everything in Backlund before the New Year, and this time he didn't plan to take Butler Neil with him, leaving him in Backlund to handle matters.
As for the new butler, he would find someone familiar with the local situation in Southwell County.
This was the common solution for most nobles when leaving Backlund for business.
(End of Chapter)
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