Mystery: The Stars Returner

the next day.

Audrey woke up from bed just after dawn. She had a rare insomnia last night.

He lifted up the quilt and leaned half against the cushions at the head of the bed, looking through the stained glass at the dimly lit world outside.

It is already October, and the weather is starting to get slightly cooler. In two months, it will be the Chinese New Year, and it will snow in Backlund at that time.

She had been looking forward to inviting Mr. Hastur, Gray Lint, Hugh and Ms. Fors to play together when the New Year was approaching.

Even if you are just sitting and chatting, drinking hot tea and looking at the hazy snow scene outside the window, there is a different feeling.

But now, Mr. Hastur may leave Backlund before the New Year and go to South Wales, which will become a battlefield.

"Audrey, what's wrong with you?"

"Quiet, don't talk, let me think."

Susie heard this, turned over, and fell asleep on the ground again.

It wasn't until the sun jumped up from the top of the mountain and dispersed the mist outside that Audrey withdrew her gaze, lifted the quilt and got up.

She did not disturb Susie, who was still sleeping, and went to the bathroom to wash up, and then let the maids dress her up as Backlund's most dazzling pearl.

When he went downstairs to eat, Earl Hall took a special look at Audrey today, and Audrey responded with a sweet smile.

Everything seemed to be the same as usual.

Today, Earl Hall was rare and gentle. He told some interesting jokes at the dinner table. Audrey and Countess Hall also participated in the conversation many times. The entire dining atmosphere was very relaxed and pleasant.

At about 9:30 in the morning, Audrey went out in a carriage. Susie wanted to follow her, but Audrey refused and told her to stay at home.

The carriage crossed the King's Road and arrived at the door of Hastur's house.

At this time, Hastur had just woken up from his deep sleep. He had successfully taken in the extraordinary characteristics of the Corrupted Baron last night and was successfully promoted to Sequence 6 Corrupted Baron.

His spiritual power was overflowing slightly at this moment, and his head still hurt a little. Hearing Audrey's visit made him feel surprised and unprepared.

He could only suppress the overflowing spiritual power, then pick himself up, wash up, and before he could have breakfast, he met Audrey in the study, who had been waiting for a while.

Seeing that Audrey remained silent, Hasta spoke first: "Miss Audrey, why did you suddenly come to visit today?"

Under normal circumstances, Audrey would have someone send a greeting note in advance, which would indicate when she would come to visit.

This is the first time for me to visit directly at my door.

It doesn't look like she just happened to be passing by and came to visit.

Audrey said calmly: "Mr. Hastur, what do you think about the Southern Continent and South Wales?"

"Is Miss Audrey also interested in this kind of thing?"

"Yes, this may be something that will affect the situation on the entire continent. I also want to know something about it."

It was probably during the Tarot Club that Alger the Hanged Man entrusted her to find out what the upper echelons of the Loen Kingdom were saying.

She didn't want to ask Earl Hall directly, so she came to her.

"War is inevitable. The best case scenario is that the war occurs on the land of the Southern Continent. The worse case scenario is that a large-scale naval battle occurs on the sea between the North and South Continents. The worst case scenario is that the war starts in South Wales. .”

Hastur told Audrey his views on this war without reservation, which should be enough for her to go back and submit a task to Mr. Hanged Man.

But Hastur did not see the expression of joy on Audrey's face, but instead saw a touch of sadness.

"Mr. Hastur, what do you think our Loen Kingdom's chances of winning are?"

"Winning or losing is naturally a matter of half and half, either losing or winning." Hasta laughed a little, but did not speak directly.

Audrey's eyes seemed to sharpen suddenly, "Mr. Hastur shouldn't be optimistic about the Kingdom of Loen, right?"

After being exposed, Hastur had no intention of continuing to deal with it, and said solemnly: "I am really not optimistic about this war. The later it breaks out, the more beneficial it will be to the Kingdom of Loen."

"why?"

Hastur stood up and brought out a hand-drawn world map. This was an accurate map drawn by the kingdom's navigators who went to sea many times. It was very precious.

In some places, Hastur completed it a little, but did not write specific location information. He just needed to understand it.

"It looks like a duel between the north and south continents, but in fact it is not. The ones that really need to face the threat from the southern continent are the Kingdom of Loen and the Kingdom of Fenebaud."

"Only these two kingdoms have a large part of their land area near the sea. If the Southern Continent counterattacks, considering the battle route issue, their first target will definitely be the coastal ports of the Kingdom of Loen and the Kingdom of Feneport. It is impossible to go around a large area. Circle, run to the Amanda Mountains in the northeast, and attack the Fusac Empire."

"It would be good if small countries such as Sehgal and Lemberg can protect themselves. It is impossible to send troops to join the war. The Republic of Intis does have enough national strength, but if they want them to join the war, they will probably come up with a strategy of using the interior of the Kingdom of Ruen. This is something that cannot be agreed to easily.”

"As for the Fusac Empire, it exclusively occupies the northern region, and its north is covered with ice sheets and frozen soil. It is the country that most hopes for a large-scale war to break out."

"It will sit back and watch the Kingdom of Loen and the Kingdom of Fenebaud fight against the Southern Continent Fleet, and then look for opportunities to reap the benefits."

Hasta talked eloquently that if the existence of gods was not considered, Fusac should be the country most likely to unify the northern and southern continents.

Unfortunately, the God of War doesn't have much brains.

Audrey just listened quietly and glanced at Hastur's high-spirited look from time to time. This was a rare side of Mr. Hastur.

She had always thought that Mr. Hastur was a scholar-type nobleman, but now, she discovered that Mr. Hastur had another side that was not well known.

He has his own set of views on analyzing the war situation and how the situation in the northern and southern continents will evolve in the future.

She didn't quite understand these views and opinions, and could only understand some of them. She had never been very interested in this aspect.

But she still understood that Hastur was not optimistic about the current situation in the Kingdom of Loen.

No wonder Earl Hall is always sighing and frowning recently.

"Well, these are all events that have a probability of happening. No one can be sure how the situation will change in the future. After all, miracles and accidents are very likely to happen in war."

After Hasta was satisfied with scolding Fang Qiu and giving advice to Jiang Shan, he thought of his identity at the moment.

I am no longer the "Civilization 6" player who can sit at the computer desk, drink a can of Red Bull, and sit down day and night.

The evolution of the situation he just mentioned was based on the absence of divine intervention.

It was difficult for him to speculate on how the battle would evolve once the god himself came to an end.

Especially the trends in the Republic of Intis, the most important reason for this conflict between the North and South Continent was instigated by the Eternal Blazing Sun himself, and other Orthodox Churches only helped him.

But judging from the current situation, it is indeed the Kingdom of Loen and the Kingdom of Feneport that are in the most difficult situation.

"Is it because of these reasons that Mr. Hastur wants to go to South Wales?" Audrey finally asked the most important question about coming here today.

"The territory that our Campbell family has inherited from generation to generation is in South Wales. I cannot leave it alone and restore the glory of the Campbell family. This is the promise I made to the old steward."

Hastur couldn't tell his true purpose directly, so he could only use restoring the Campbell family's former glory as a reason.

There is indeed part of the reason for this.

Audrey hesitated and asked: "Is Mr. Hastur doing this voluntarily? Or is it because of responsibility?"

"All."

"I understand."

Audrey stood up and said very relaxedly: "Thank you Mr. Hastur for clarifying my doubts today."

"Is that why you came here today to ask this question?"

Hasta looked at the pretty and charming Miss Audrey in front of him with puzzled eyes.

She seemed different today than usual. She obviously came with a heavy heart this time.

But now, she seemed to have figured it out, and it was her turn to be confused.

"Mr. Hastur wants to leave Backlund. Isn't this reason enough?"

Audrey also looked at Hastur with a puzzled look.

The two looked at each other for a while, each smiled, and settled the topic in a tacit understanding.

Hastur saw that Audrey didn't want to explain clearly, so he had no idea of ​​asking further.

Audrey smiled lightly and said, "Mr. Hasta, can you send me away?"

"Of course, it's an honor."

He sent Audrey out of the study and down the stairs. He didn't look back until Audrey got on the carriage.

Audrey's arrival today was like a breeze blowing gently, and then she left quietly, leaving only little thoughts that people could not guess.

Hasta didn't think too much about this issue. Audrey's arrival today was obviously due to rumors from Earl Hall.

It is estimated that he will be promoted to a knighthood and then be sent to South Wales. This is what he has been looking forward to.

“I just don’t know whether it’s the end of the year or the end of the year.”

Hasta sighed. He naturally hoped to leave Backlund after the end of the year, but if the situation was too tense, he would be sent to South Wales at the end of the year.

He didn't think too much anymore, his head still hurt a little, and his mood was much more irritable than usual.

After returning to the restaurant to enjoy breakfast, Hastur ignored Azshara who was looking at him eagerly, but returned to the room, ruthlessly shut Azshara out, and continued to sleep.