The darkness receded. The first ray of dawn cut across the distant horizon, dyeing the layered woods. It slipped along the window, passed through the curtains, and fell upon the beautiful face of a young girl lying on the bed.
The girl frowned slightly. Perhaps the dazzling sunlight had disturbed her sweet dream. She puffed out her small mouth in dissatisfaction, but as if feeling that it looked inelegant, she restrained the corners of her lips, her eyelids trembling faintly.
After a while, she finally woke up. The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to raise the back of her right hand to shield the eyes that had been struck by the sunlight.
"Audrey, my precious daughter, you're finally awake!"
Earl Hall spoke happily, his voice lacking its usual calm and carrying a slight tremor.
Audrey smiled gently. Looking at her tense yet excited father, she said with a smile, "I just had a rather interesting dream."
"It's good that you're fine. If anything had really happened to you, I wouldn't even know how to explain it to your mother."
Seeing that Audrey had fully regained consciousness and was speaking normally, Earl Hall finally truly put his heart at ease.
Audrey chatted with Earl Hall for a few more moments, then felt extremely hungry, almost to the point of making an ungraceful sound.
She blinked lightly and said, "Honored Earl Hall, I need to take care of a very important problem."
"What problem?"
Earl Hall did not understand the implication. Her personal maid stepped to his side and whispered a few words, and only then did he laugh and leave.
Earl Hall exited the room, and the personal maid immediately had suitable food and nourishing items brought in.
....
In the grand hall on the first floor of the manor, Earl Hall warmly clasped the hand of Archbishop Anthony Stevenson of the Church of the Evernight. "This time, it was all thanks to Your Grace's help. Otherwise, my daughter Audrey would still be sleeping."
"This is the Goddess's blessing." Anthony Stevenson wore a gentle smile and maintained proper, measured words.
"Yes, everything is the Goddess's blessing." Earl Hall suppressed the excitement in his heart, restraining his feelings of gratitude.
Yesterday, he had consecutively sent two groups of people to seek help from the Church of the Goddess. He had not expected that Archbishop Anthony Stevenson, the person in charge of the entire Backlund diocese, would personally rush over.
Moreover, he had cast blessings throughout the night to free Audrey from the entanglement of nightmares. Sure enough, early this morning, his precious daughter Audrey successfully awakened.
This made his faith in the Goddess deepen by several degrees.
After a while, Audrey came downstairs. Her steps were light, and she looked to be in very good spirits.
"Where's Susie? Why haven't I seen her at all?"
Audrey had originally wanted to ask Earl Hall about Hastur as well, but upon hearing her personal maid mention it, she learned that Earl Hall was very dissatisfied with Hastur for bringing about this unwarranted disaster.
So she did not bring up Hastur, instead using Susie's whereabouts to indirectly inquire about his situation.
"Susie was taken away by that Baron Hastur Campbell. He said he was going to that forest to help you recover consciousness."
There was obvious displeasure in Earl Hall's tone.
Before Audrey could ask anything further, Earl Hall introduced Archbishop Anthony to her, saying that it was precisely because this powerful archbishop had intervened last night that she was able to regain consciousness in the early hours of today.
Regarding this, Audrey maintained a skeptical attitude. If her memory was not mistaken, it was precisely because of Hastur and Susie last night that she was able to escape that misty dreamscape.
However, at present, she could not possibly voice any doubts about Archbishop Anthony. She could only offer sincere thanks.
After a few more polite exchanges, Archbishop Anthony said with a smile, "All of this is the Goddess's blessing."
"Yes." Audrey nodded in agreement, yet in her mind flashed the starlight she had seen upon reaching the top of the tower in that dreamscape.
Mm, the moon symbolized the Goddess, and the stars revolved around the moon. That should be equivalent to the Goddess's blessing, right?
She was just a little unsure, not doubting her faith in the Goddess.
When it came to believing in the Goddess, she had always been devout.
After a while, Hastur and Susie finally arrived at the door.
Seeing Hastur, clean and neatly dressed, Earl Hall's expression darkened slightly, yet he said nothing, merely nodding symbolically.
"Woof!" The moment Susie saw Audrey, she sprinted over wildly, circling Audrey many times and letting out happy, whimpering sounds.
"Susie." With many guests present, Audrey did not crouch down. She only bent slightly at the waist and stroked Susie's head.
She was also very excited at this moment. In that dreamscape, it had been Susie who led Hastur to rescue her, successfully guiding her beneath that silver-white tower.
Whether it was her own subconscious guiding things, or whether Susie and Hastur had truly helped her through their efforts last night, she needed to thank them regardless.
"Sit down. This is Archbishop Anthony, the person in charge of Saint Samuel Cathedral. It was he who brought the Goddess's blessing and saved Audrey." Earl Hall still gave Hastur a brief introduction.
It was because he noticed that Hastur's clothes were not the same as yesterday's that the anger in his heart finally eased a little.
This proved that Hastur and Susie had indeed been making efforts last night to save Audrey. Their late arrival today was probably because they had returned to the manor to wash up before coming here.
"..." Hastur's expression was somewhat complicated, but he still smiled and said, "Thank you, Archbishop Anthony, for helping resolve Miss Audrey's problem. This also makes up for my failure to properly look after Miss Audrey."
"Everything is the Goddess's blessing. She always bestows her mercy upon every devout believer."
Archbishop Anthony did not claim any credit, pushing all merit onto the Goddess's blessing.
After all, when he had come last night to examine Audrey, he had only perceived that her unawakening sleep was likely related to abnormalities in the spiritual world. He had merely performed a proper prayer and blessing.
As for Audrey being able to regain consciousness today, only the explanation of the Goddess's blessing truly fit.
"You're Voltaire's son, aren't you? Very good. You do indeed resemble Voltaire a bit from when he was young, though when it comes to looks, Voltaire still loses to you somewhat."
After some casual conversation, Archbishop Anthony took the initiative to mention Voltaire.
This surprised both Hastur and Earl Hall. An archbishop who presided over the entire Saint Samuel Cathedral still remembered Voltaire, who had been dead for many years.
And judging by his tone, they seemed quite familiar with each other.
"This is the greatest wealth my parents left me," Hastur replied with a smile.
Archbishop Anthony nodded, said nothing more, chatted with Earl Hall for a while longer, then stood up and took his leave.
Earl Hall glanced at Hastur and then at Audrey, and told Audrey to take Susie upstairs first.
All other idle personnel were dismissed, leaving only him and Hastur sitting face to face.
"Tell me about what you and Susie discovered last night."
"Last night, Susie and I went together to the area where Miss Audrey previously encountered the mist and conducted some exploration. We did indeed discover something unusual."
"What was unusual?"
"There seems to have once been a tower there."
Hastur gave only a brief explanation, not delving deeper, nor mentioning anything about the Mind Dragon.
"That's it?" Earl Hall's tone carried displeasure.
"Yes. I think it might be related to Miss Audrey's experience."
"Just a tower, and one that no longer exists?"
"Yes. It should have already weathered and decayed away over the years."
Earl Hall fell silent for a long moment, then stared at Hastur and asked, "Do you think it was you who helped Audrey awaken, or Archbishop Anthony?"
"That question… should only be answerable by Miss Audrey herself."
"So you think it was you and Susie who saved Audrey?"
"..." This was a question Hastur truly found difficult to answer. He did not dare say it was entirely the credit of himself and Susie, but at the very least, they should take up half the credit, right?
At the final moment, it had been by borrowing the power of the Hall of Stars that he helped Audrey break free from that spiritual world.
Earl Hall's gloomy expression eased considerably, and there was more satisfaction in his gaze toward Hastur. "When did you return to the manor?"
"When the rising sun first shone upon the land."
Earl Hall nodded. "No matter who saved Audrey, the only version I'll present to the outside world is Archbishop Anthony helped save her."
Hastur thought for only a moment before understanding the meaning behind Earl Hall's words.
First, many people would certainly know that Earl Hall had invited Archbishop Anthony. This credit had to belong to Archbishop Anthony, to the blessing bestowed by the Goddess of the Night.
Second, it was also a way of protecting him.
Through last night's events, Earl Hall must have realized that there was something unusual about him. Otherwise, how would he dare contend with Archbishop Anthony over credit?
"I understand."
"You're still young. There will be many opportunities for you to shine in the future."
Earl Hall was very satisfied with Hastur's attitude. Only those who knew how to restrain their sharpness, who did not flaunt their abilities, could go farther.
....
Upstairs, Audrey finally had the chance to be alone with Susie.
With no outsiders present, Susie, who had long been holding in a bellyful of words, could not help but speak. "Audrey, I was really worried about your safety!"
"I understand, Susie."
Audrey crouched down, hugged Susie's neck, and stroked her head. After a while, she asked, "Susie, was it you and Hastur who saved me last night?"
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