At night in Backlund, scattered streetlights dimly illuminated only small patches near the street corners.
Places like the Empress Borough and the West Borough, where nobles and wealthy merchants lived, were brightly lit. In other areas, many people were reluctant to light lamps, darkness was the main theme there.
The West Borough, a place where light and gloom intertwined.
"Meow!"
"Smack!"
Inside a pitch-black alley, three stray cats were fighting over food in a trash can and accidentally knocked it over.
The food inside spilled out, some leftover slices of bread and sausages, and it seems their luck was good, even a few pieces of steak that hadn't been completely gnawed clean spilled out.
Just as the three stray cats were scrambling for food, above the alley, on the rooftops, a small cat with pitch-black fur and deep blue eyes walked gracefully, leaping calmly from roof to roof.
Passing by, it stopped, looking down from above at the three stray cats fighting over food below.
Like a queen inspecting her subjects.
"Meow?" The three stray cats only let out an indistinct meow, then continued fighting over the food.
During the day, they were no match for the vagrants. Only when night fell could they gain the upper hand in competing for food.
This was one of their better chances to fill their bellies.
Ariella did not linger. She followed the rooftops, leaping from one house to another.
Continuing on, Ariella encountered two stray cats hunting a rat that had just crawled out of a sewer.
Her eyes lit up slightly as she stared at the rat darting along the corner of the wall, her claws lightly scratching, giving her an itchy sensation.
But after watching for only a short while, she lost interest, because the rat was caught by one of the stray cats and carried away in its mouth.
Under the crimson moonlight, late at night, all things were quiet.
At such times, the loudest and most excited animals were dogs, stray dogs.
They were far more aggressive than stray cats digging through trash cans. Especially some stray dogs that were already starving to the point of madness, not only would they learn from cats and hunt rats, sometimes even cats themselves became their prey.
Some roamed the streets alone, others gathered in packs in small alleys.
They were a dangerous small group. Sometimes, when a lone person encountered them, they would be frightened into quickly leaving.
Aside from searching for food, still searching for food, this was the reason most animals appeared at night, roaming streets and alleys.
After wandering around, Ariella found it boring and lay down on a rooftop to rest. But after lying there for only a short while, she stood up again, shook herself, and brushed off the dark, glossy fur dampened by the night.
The environment here was not as warm and clean as home. The more she wandered outside, the more she missed her own cozy, fragrant little nest.
"Meow." Ariella wandered a bit longer, then sprinted back in the direction she had come from, leaping from roof to roof.
Her body was as light as a feather, each jump covering a great distance.
When a familiar house came into view, Ariella let out a soft meow and quickly arrived near the second-floor window. But she didn't go in immediately. Instead, she stayed in the shadows and peered inside through the window.
After waiting a few minutes, when she saw Hastur appear before her and extend his hands toward her, she finally leaped in from outside the window.
Mid-jump, she was grabbed by the back of her neck and lifted up.
"Go take a bath first."
"Meow?"
"I told you to go out and try hunting, but you just wandered around and came back."
Hastur flicked Ariella lightly on the head with his finger. After Ariella had left earlier, he had followed her in spirit form as well, to prevent any accidents.
He had thought that driven by instinct and the influence of the Assassin potion, Ariella would perform some behaviors fitting an assassin's. But instead, she had merely circled the nearby area once and returned.
After coming back, she even knew to observe outside for a while first, only coming out of the shadows after he appeared.
"Meow."
"Alright, go take a bath first. I'll slowly teach you later."
Hastur carried Ariella out of the room.
....
Saturday morning, outside the city, at the Aster Manor.
Glaint stepped down from the carriage, looking at the grand manor before him, unable to hide his surprise as he asked, "Hastur, your Campbell family actually still has such a large manor?"
"Is it really that surprising?"
"Well, um, your father's reputation is well-known. I thought he had already sold off everything valuable in your family."
Glaint felt a bit embarrassed bringing up the bad rumors about Voltaire in front of Hastur.
Hastur smiled and patted him on the shoulder without explaining anything, leading him into the Aster Manor. The sculptor in the sculpture garden was still carefully working on each of his pieces.
The old butler's cousin was still guarding this place. Hastur had tried many times to get him to return to live in Backlund, but he had always politely refused, wanting to stay here forever.
Hastur had Butler Neil arrange a room for Glaint and also prepare several guest rooms.
Although this time he had invited Audrey and Earl Hall to come enjoy the countryside manor, it was not certain they would stay here.
They surely had a grand manor of their own nearby and would likely choose to return to their own estate to stay.
It was close to noon when Audrey and Earl Hall arrived at the Aster Manor by carriage.
"This manor still hasn't been sold. Voltaire really had some restraint back then." Earl Hall stepped down from the carriage, looking at the Aster Manor before him, filled with emotion.
Audrey's eyes sparkled. She hadn't known that Mr. Hastur had such a large manor. The location and conditions here were excellent, if it were put up for sale, it would definitely fetch no less than one hundred thousand pounds.
"I didn't expect Mr. Hastur to be this wealthy. He might even be richer than me now?"
Audrey did a quick calculation in her mind, she was indeed no longer as wealthy as Mr. Hastur.
This made her feel a little down. The one advantage she had once held had also been caught up to by Mr. Hastur.
Didn't that mean she was falling behind in every aspect?
She patted Susie on the head, then, under Susie's resentful gaze, pinched and rubbed her ears a few more times.
At the main gate, Hastur and Glaint came out to welcome them after receiving the news.
When Glaint saw that Susie had come as well today, he was very happy and wanted to greet her. But catching sight of Earl Hall beside her, his expression drooped again.
"Earl Hall, Miss Audrey, welcome."
After a brief exchange of greetings, Hastur led Earl Hall and Audrey on a tour of the Aster Manor.
When they reached the sculpture garden, Earl Hall stared at the middle-aged man engrossed in carving for a while before saying, "Master Miller, I thought he had long since left Backlund. I didn't expect him to stay in this manor, quietly dedicating himself to sculpture."
This remark aroused the curiosity of both Audrey and Hastur.
Hastur had never known the true identity of this middle-aged man and had only regarded him as an ordinary sculptor. He hadn't expected him to be a master, known even to someone like Earl Hall.
"There are always people in this world who don't like power and money, but instead are determined to pursue their own life's path. Master Miller is one of them. His sculpting skills enjoy great renown throughout Backlund."
Earl Hall didn't elaborate further, nor did he disturb Master Miller, who remained absorbed in his work. Instead, he looked at the new sculptures in the garden, letting out occasional exclamations of praise.
As for sculpture, Hastur didn't know much. Audrey, on the other hand, understood it quite well. She had seen the royal sculpture garden, which was known as the largest and most beautiful in the Loen Kingdom.
Yet some of the works displayed there were still inferior to several vine-covered sculptures at the edge here.
These were likely new works created after Master Miller secluded himself here, reflecting another transformation in his artistic style.
Hastur didn't feel much about it. He could only tell that these sculptures were very good, but as for exactly what made them good, he lacked the breadth of knowledge and experience.
Noticing this, Audrey deliberately had Hastur accompany her on a proper tour of the sculpture garden. The two of them chose a route different from Earl Hall's.
Along the way, whenever they encountered particularly interesting or exquisite pieces, Audrey would stop and explain to Hastur exactly what made the piece exceptional.
Hastur could only satisfy Audrey's small wish while also expanding his own knowledge.
After completing the entire place, Audrey sighed, "This sculpture garden is really huge. If all these works were carved by Master Miller alone, then he must have been quietly working here for at least ten years."
"Perhaps this is the spirit of craftsmanship, striving for perfection." Hastur also deeply admired such pure individuals. Only people with such a mindset could continuously achieve new heights in art.
"Shall we stay at the manor for lunch today?"
"I've also always wanted to try the desserts from Mr. Hastur's home."
"Does Earl Hall prefer strongly flavored food?"
Audrey nodded in confirmation.
"What about Miss Audrey's preferences?"
"I prefer lighter flavors, and the presentation of the dishes must be appealing."
The two chatted at the entrance of the sculpture garden while waiting for about ten minutes before Earl Hall emerged.
This time, to host Earl Hall and Audrey, Hastur had Butler Neil hire two additional master chefs and asked them to prepare some new dishes for Earl Hall and Audrey to sample.
Food could sometimes also serve as a weapon of bribery.
Anything a person has a preference for is a potential point of bribery.
For example, if someone used desserts to bribe him, so long as the dessert was sufficiently amazing, Hastur felt he would probably be successfully bribed.
After enjoying a delicious lunch, in the afternoon, Hastur, Earl Hall, Audrey, Glaint, and more than a dozen attendants arrived at the entrance to the adjacent forest.