Secret: The years I served as a foreign aid for the Aurora Club

Chapter 298 Bad News

608
"came back?"

The crimson light faded away, and just as Leonard took in the interior scenery, the old voice of the parasite sounded in his ears.

"came back."

He answered calmly and lit the gas lamp in the house. This cold house inexplicably had a feeling of home, as if there was really someone waiting for him in the house, who would say "You're back" when he opened the door and came back.

Leonard pinched his brows, his vision brightened, and he felt a little more relaxed:
"Old man, is there a possibility that Ince Zangwill is just an unlucky postman, and 0-08 is actually sent to a certain customer by the church?"

Pales didn't say anything for a long time: "...How did you come up with these ideas? And you even used rhetoric. Tell me, how long have you been polishing these two sentences in your mind?"

Sure enough... Leonard, who had verified his thoughts, asked further:
"Is it for the Angel Who Must Not Be Named? You told me that 0-08 would attract someone!"

In his mind, the old voice was silent for several seconds, and finally asked doubtfully: "How did you connect these things together? What happened during my sleep?"

……

In the evening, dark clouds covered Backlund and a drizzle began to fall.

Audrey withdrew her gaze from the rain outside the carriage window, glanced at her personal maid Anne, and had a silent conversation with Susie who was squatting next to her.

She said with her eyes, facial expressions and subtle body movements:
Since that day, Anne's attitude has been a little strange.

Susie wagged her tail, raised her paw, and sniffed in Annie's direction while lying on the ground. Combining the color changes of her etheric and mental bodies, she expressed her meaning:
Don't worry too much, you have already healed her heart and the malicious outburst is long over.

Audrey nodded slightly and watched the carriage drive into the Hall family's luxurious mansion and stop in front of the covered foyer.

Since joining the "Loen Charity Student Aid Fund", she has been spending less and less time at home during the day. She is usually busy in the foundation, and has to deal with more matters than usual recently. Mr. Dwayne Dantes seemed to have just returned yesterday. Although she was a little anxious about Alfred's situation, she couldn't be so presumptuous to ask her parents to visit him, not to mention that the Hall family was not the only one entrusted.

The carriage stopped at the designated location, and Anne helped Audrey get off the carriage. In the hallway, the maids who had been prepared helped the dusty lady change her shoes with damp soles and toes, and her dusty coat.

Audrey, who had a new look, turned around in the dressing mirror. Her fingers brushed across the pearls woven into a pattern on her cuffs, and an inexplicable feeling surged in her heart.

But if the noble lady's clothes were missing expensive accessories, the maids and servants around her would be held accountable. Just as she was thinking about where to take a pearl without being noticed, her mother's head maid came over in a hurry. She used her eyes to signal the dressing maids around to step back a few steps, and then lowered her voice and said to Audrey:
"Miss, the master and the mistress want you to come over."

"……OK."

Audrey suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart. Combined with Mr. Dwayne Dantès's return to his country, Audrey suddenly had an extremely bad guess. But before she could prepare herself, the elderly head maid had already turned around.

Audrey had no choice but to lift her skirt and follow him. Her footsteps were faster than her heartbeat. Even Susie was disturbed by the inexplicably heavy atmosphere. Her ears drooped and stuck to the sides of her head.

The three people and the dog walked in silence all the way, and the only sound was the sound of the servants' heels hitting the ground, echoing on the smooth floor.

Arriving at the door of the study, Audrey keenly heard soft sobbing coming from inside. She clenched the hem of her skirt, and the fingers that were knocking on the door began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.

"Come in." My father's voice, as if he had aged ten years in an instant, came from behind the heavy wooden door.

Audrey tilted her head back slightly and took a deep breath.

The Countess's head maid stepped forward silently, reached out and pressed the door handle, and made a solemn gesture of invitation.

Audrey clasped her hands together, unconsciously letting go of her role as an audience member. She slowly walked into the study, and the head maid closed the door to the living room outside, stopping Susie from following her in, leaving the Hall family some time alone.

In the study, her mother, the beautiful countess, was sitting on the sofa, wiping her tears gently with a handkerchief. Her demeanor was still elegant and decent, but she seemed to have cried, her eyes were red, and tears were slowly and unstoppably falling from the corners of her eyes.

Her father and elder brother remained silent, one sitting and the other standing. Earl Hall stood by the window with his back to them, leaving only his back to his daughter. He only turned slightly and nodded to Audrey when she came in. Hibbert sat alone on the sofa opposite his mother, holding a torn piece of paper in his hand, his expression and body movements showed fear and confusion.

Audrey suddenly felt as if her heart was empty and tears almost fell.

As soon as her eyes touched the bloody piece of paper in Hibbert's hand, she quickly looked away as if she had been burned. She had already guessed what had happened, and had already had the worst thought one night, but she still felt a great fear of the upcoming verdict.

In the extremely depressing atmosphere, she stood there at a loss.

Not only her, but even Hibbert was a little at a loss. He looked up at his sister who had just come of age, and for a moment he didn't know how to tell her the news. He stammered a few times, and finally gritted his teeth and waved to Audrey.

In the silent atmosphere, Audrey walked over slowly.

"…Audrey."

Her eldest brother was still a little hesitant, wondering whether to show the cruelest and bloodiest side of the tragedy to his innocent and cute sister who had limited understanding of the outside world: "You can choose to watch it or not..."

Audrey clasped her hands together: "Is there a part for me in it?"

Hibbert nodded silently and reminded again: "You don't have to read the rest."

"Did Mr. Dwayne Dantes bring this back?" She tried to keep her voice steady.

Hibbert looked at Earl Hall, who had turned around but remained silent, and said slowly:

"No, it's not."

"If Dwayne Dantes stayed there, he might not be able to come back."

Then he glanced at his mother who was still sobbing, hesitated for a moment, and began to embellish the truth:

"A tragic battle took place in Berens. Some officers and soldiers boarded a ship at the port, intending to return to their homeland... However, they were robbed by pirates on their way back. Although they repelled the pirates, they also suffered heavy losses... Alfred... He fought bravely to protect his companions until the last moment, but unfortunately he didn't make it to shore for rescue..."

"Where...is he...now?"

Hibbert pursed his lips and whispered: "He suffered a lot of torture and endured great pain before his death."

Audrey said nothing more. She took the piece of paper from her brother's hand and held it carefully, her fingers deliberately avoiding the part that was soaked in blood and turned black. She opened her eyes wide and tried to recognize the handwriting on it.

"Dear Audrey, how are you doing?"

"Haha, the new social season has begun. Our Miss Hall is still the most beautiful and shining gem in Backlund."

This sentence should have been written in May. From that time until now, the communication between the northern and southern continents has not been restored... Audrey's tears burst out. Hibbert handed her a handkerchief and pulled his sister to sit beside him.

"Interesting things often happen in the army..."

"The food here is really strange. The food flavor of Berens is influenced by Feynaport and Loon. Because of the warm climate, they are good at making pickled seafood... They always add a lot of spices..."

In the letter, Alfred talked about the customs and habits of the southern continent and many interesting things that happened in the team in a light-hearted tone. He probably hoped that this letter would make his family feel a little more at ease about him, but he didn't expect to return home in this way.

"Audrey, you know what?"

"I have never wanted to see you so badly...to see your faces and hear your voices..."

There were deep creases on the letter paper, and some places that seemed to have been scratched by bullets. The blood overlapped and covered much of the words.

"…Forgive me, Audrey. I shouldn't have said this to you, but I really can't stand it anymore."

"We were attacked tonight. I haven't slept for days and nights. The will to go home supports my last belief. But, but, my dear sister, I think I may not be able to hold on until then."

"It's very painful, every day is very painful, prayer can't redeem our souls, every night someone quietly shoots themselves, we have to confiscate guns to stop this waste of ammunition, but suicide has not been effectively curbed." "I feel like I can't go back, Audrey."

Turning to the back of the paper, the handwriting became even more sloppy and chaotic, as if it was written randomly on some uneven place.

"I received the things you sent me. I'm very happy. When I read your letters, I felt like I was back in the normal world again... Mr. Dwayne Dantes handed them to me properly, but I don't want him to stay here any longer... He brought good news. It seems that we still have a chance to survive. This may be our last chance."

"I want to go back, Audrey. I want to go back to you."

"Someone leaked the news, and the army mutinied... the gap was sealed."

"Haha, in fact, not many people escaped. Is this really the only gap, or is it a strategy used by the enemy to cause chaos within us?"

"I'm in pain, Audrey, and I can't go back."

"God, why are we here? We repeat meaningless actions. We take away others' wealth, and we are also taken away by wealth. We take away others' lives, and we are also taken away by life. Why should we stay here?"

"How I long to see you again..."

"I can not go back."

609
After spending an entire afternoon interacting with the nobles and exchanging pleasantries and inquiries, Mr. Dawn Dantes ended his invitation to the last dinner party and returned to his residence.

It was already late. After washing up, Klein gathered his thoughts and lay down on the bed. Without the help of meditation, he fell into a deep sleep little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes and noticed someone entering the house at 160 Böklund Street!
Here it comes again... Klein couldn't help but raise his hand and rub his forehead.

The next day after returning to Backlund, he was awakened again in the middle of the night.

He appeared in the dream as Dwayne Dantes in his nightgown. As his thoughts raced, he left the bed, put on his slippers, straightened his nightgown, walked to the armchair, sat down slowly and said:

"Please come in."

The door of the master bedroom opened silently, footsteps slowly approached, and a young man with black hair and green eyes appeared outside the door.

Leonard Mitchell looked at Dwayne Dantes in front of him, hesitated for a few seconds, and stopped outside the door.

He was not sure whether the person who appeared in this appearance was the "old monster from the Fourth Epoch" or the "Klein Moretti" who wanted to chat with him.

Seeing this, Klein couldn't help but feel a little amused. He wiped his face, and his image twisted like water waves. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into the cold-looking "World" Gehrman Sparrow.

Leonard breathed a sigh of relief. He walked into the bedroom in his dream. He did not ask Klein Moretti why he could stay awake in his dream, nor did he ask why he wanted to meet him in this image. He made another chair appear next to him and sat on it.

"…How was your trip to the Southern Continent?"

He held it in for a long time before finally uttering these words.

Klein wanted to laugh, but he held back: “Not bad.”

Before the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence again, Klein took the initiative to ask, "You seem to have something else troubling you?"

Leonard didn't answer the question directly, but asked an unrelated question:
"Klein, what exactly is your faith?"

Klein hesitated for a moment and said with the serious look of Gehrman Sparrow, "Fool."

Leonard was not surprised, so he asked again:

“I have to state in advance that I have no intention of blaspheming your beliefs, nor do I mean to disrespect Mr. Fool. I just want to know, if one day you encounter a fatal crisis and lose a lot of things, and after surviving you find out that it was Mr. Fool who did it on purpose, how would you feel?”

Why did the poet suddenly ask himself such a strange question... Did he start to distrust the Church of Evernight because of Ince Zangwill's death and Adam's incident?
Hermann frowned, but replied calmly, "I would consider this a test."

If the captain and Mr. Lawrence hadn't died, I would have thought this was a test. But in fact, without your two high-quality sun charms, Klein, we wouldn't have been able to hold on. The loss Tingen suffered from the advent of the true Creator's offspring would have been incalculable... Leonard pursed his lips and asked a sharper question:
"Then, if Mr. Fool made some deals with other great beings, and the terms of the deal tacitly allowed the other party to kill or even destroy their own believers, as the Fool's follower, would you stop it, tacitly allow it, or just stand by and watch?"

Klein pursed his lips. He felt that if he still wanted to maintain the image of "German is a devout believer of fools", he should immediately stand up and loudly rebuke Leonard's nonsense as blasphemy against "fools", just like a devout believer rebuking a pagan. But he didn't stand up immediately, and he had already missed this opportunity.

"If I had known about this, I would have done everything I could to lessen the disaster," he said.

"Because we cannot interfere with the will of the gods." Leonard was not surprised by this answer. "I would do the same."

Then he paused and continued:

"If this situation really happens... I mean if, will you still continue to believe in The Fool?"

what?
Klein was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized—Leonard’s faith in the Goddess of Night had wavered!
How should I answer at this time? Should I persuade you to stay or follow your own will? I don't believe in any gods, and I don't know what you devout believers think... If someone I trust does such a thing, I will show disdain for him and never associate with him again. But in your world, is such behavior equivalent to betraying the church...

Klein didn't answer for a full half minute.

“…Until that day comes, I won’t be able to answer your question.”

He could only say this stiffly, and then immediately changed the subject: "I have another message, maybe you will have more ideas after listening to it."

Leonard sighed: "What is it?"

Klein thought for a moment, looked into Leonard's eyes, and asked:

"Why do you think the gods want to preach?"

God loves the world.

This standard orthodox answer popped up in Leonard's mind. All the scriptures, history and myths repeatedly emphasized this: those who believe in gods will be blessed, and those who do not believe will suffer.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Klein continued:
"The gods have no specific images, only emblems and scriptures as a means of identification."

“Such knowledge can help the spirit maintain its state, just like an anchor stabilizing the ship in wind and waves.”

What did you say... At this moment, Leonard Mitchell was truly stunned. If this sentence was said by Pales Zoroast, he would not find it strange at all, because the other party always instilled in him such fallacies as "don't believe in the mercy of the gods" and "just believe in their power", and even when he himself was having the most blasphemous fantasies, he could not think of such a reason!

Is this the real reason for believers’ existence?

Even in his most daring moments, Leonard was just thinking in confusion - the gods nurtured humans, just like a shepherd herding sheep, and it was natural to want to kill one or two to eat or give away.

This is sad and makes people feel insulted, but it seems to be a matter of course.

But, right now, Klein's answer gave him a new direction.

It turned out to be like this... Leonard was a little terrified, thinking that he seemed to have heard something blasphemous. He didn't dare to think too much about it, and he didn't dare to speak out.

It turns out to be like this.

TBC
------

"Why do I feel like... Klein doesn't really believe in that Fool?"

"But he is clearly a favored one, and he should be the one who can most directly feel the favor of the gods. It's really strange..."

(End of this chapter)