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

Chapter 504 The Answer to Life and Death
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"Really? No reason is needed..."

Hearing Anthony's words, Letty Orr's light blue eyes first widened, then gradually darkened. She gritted her teeth, and her eyelashes and messy bangs cast a heavy shadow on her forehead.

"It's not because the highlands are dangerous, nor because we have been invaded. We just attack other countries and other people because we need to..." Audrey whispered to herself. As she spoke, she raised her head, looked directly into the other person's dark eyes, and asked solemnly, "Then, respected Archbishop of the Northern Continent, may I ask, after occupying the highlands as a colony again, will the lives of the people of Loen become better?"

“Can the homeless people find jobs?”

“Can poor children get subsidies for their studies?”

"Those unemployed people, those East End workers who can't find jobs, those disabled soldiers who the country can't help, those poor patients who are sick and can only wait to die... Will their lives and sufferings be improved by getting colonies?"

Audrey was halfway through saying these words when she suddenly felt the fingers on her shoulders tighten.

She endured the severe pain and insisted on speaking out her questions loudly.

If these can really be done... No, this is obviously impossible! Even if the entire southern continent is seized as a colony, civilians are still civilians, and the poor are still poor! They will not improve their lives just because they have obtained a colony, because, they were like this before... However, there will still be some people, or even a large number of people, who will get new job opportunities and a new life, right?
Saint Anthony showed the virtue of tolerance and patience. He listened to Letty Orr's questioning and then sighed with emotion:
"You are a good lady, doctor, and you possess virtues that would earn you a good reputation in any city."

I've heard that kind of stuff too much, Audrey thought silently.

She had too many good names: Backlund's most dazzling gem, the Count's treasure, a beauty as beautiful as gold, a pure girl, a character and soul as good as a diamond, the most considerate friend... These were the titles that Audrey no longer cared about, but could not abandon. These titles had been around her in various forms since she could remember, often emphasizing her beauty rather than herself.

Of course Audrey likes to be praised. Everyone likes to be praised.

But if words like these are repeated too often, it's as if "Audrey Hall" is more like a fine work of art to be admired and admired than a living person with her own hobbies.

Even those kind and beautiful qualities that were praised were often just a mask that Audrey used to deal with others - all of them were extremely illusory. When Audrey really needed money, these reputations that were enough to publish a book could not even buy a penny.

As she became more and more skilled in the art of being an "audience", Audrey felt that the praise was monotonous and empty. Sometimes she couldn't figure out what those people saw in her and what they were praising, so she took these repetitive words as feedback for digesting the magic potion.

Ah, right.

Now, her work of art also has to travel across the ocean to Intis to save its life.

If it weren't for her high enough sequence and her good luck in establishing friendships with members of the Creator's Church, she might have found a fiancé there. Regardless of age, wealth, or title, she would have married him and left a descendant for the Hall family.

Even Earl Hall, who was enlightened and doted on his daughter, would not allow her to rebel on such a major issue.

Works of art cannot resist, nor do they have the qualifications to resist.

In just a few seconds, this series of thoughts flashed through Audrey's mind. After becoming an audience, self-examination had almost become an indispensable behavior for her and Susie every once in a while.

Therefore, while Audrey was thinking on her own, Saint Anthony spoke again:

"If I say, Highland, that the resources of the Republic can save all of Loon, even if I say so, a smart person like you will not believe it."

...Is this the first time I've received recognition from an enemy? Audrey felt a little strange.

So, should we admit that this attack was a move in Rune's favor?

Do you want to admit that this is a legitimate act to save the country?
Must we admit that even such a massacre-like attack soaked in blood and tears is indeed an indispensable panacea to save the people?

"But, because you are smart, you should be able to see that... even if we can't save everyone, we can give tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people new jobs and new livelihoods. With some land and resources, they can survive."

"..." Audrey was silent for a moment, and asked in a strange tone, "Land?"

As for other things, Audrey might not understand them, but land?
Due to various reasons, the Kingdom of Loen was in the process of replacing its noble class members! The status of the land nobles was threatened, and the new type of asset nobles could obtain titles by donating and purchasing land... The Archbishop really chose the wrong topic to talk about this with Audrey!
"Farming, right? Yes, before industrialization, people cultivated the land and were self-sufficient. Then the Food Act was enacted, and a large number of people flocked to the cities, but..." She muttered to herself, and her beautiful eyebrows suddenly twisted together:
"Land, Loen has a lot of land! The church, merchants, and nobles own a lot of land! They use the land as hunting grounds, grazing sheep on it, building manors and golf courses, or doing nothing but using it to show off their status... These lands are lying waste on the outskirts of Backlund! They can still be cultivated there! Archbishop Anthony, since you want the people to have land and jobs, why don't you start with the resources of Loen? Why don't you seize the wasteland and idle land from the nobles! Why don't you use the church's land to build factories!"

"Because you don't want to?"

She was shocked by her own words and her own thoughts:

"Or is it because of something else? ... Isn't the behavior of you and Rune just like sitting on a pile of gold and saying that you have no money to provide disaster relief?"

At this moment, right after she finished saying this, Audrey suddenly got the answer.

The balance in her heart - the balance that originally had "Lune" on the left and "Highlands" on the right, the balance that had long been shaky and tilted from side to side, suddenly collapsed at this moment and disappeared without a trace.

There is no need to worry about gains and losses, and there is no need to think about who should be helped.

Audrey understood.

In a flash, she got the answer.

She got the answer she had been looking for, and she finally saw through the entanglements and difficulties she had been in.

She understood everything.

At this moment, she suddenly felt extreme pain, extreme sadness and sorrow - she wished that she had been sent away by Tawfik a few minutes ago, so that she would not see, hear or understand all this.

In this way, Anthony Stevenson remained in her mind a respectable and amiable archbishop, and in this way, the church, the gods, and the nobility remained in her mind the same as before, although they had their shortcomings, they were still an indispensable part of society.

——She had not flinched in the face of divine punishment, but now she truly felt regretful.

"Ah ah ah ah..."

Letty Orr made sobbing sounds but could not cry.

"…I am so sad, I am so sad…"

"We are so rich, we can support ourselves, we don't need to hurt or rob others!!"

Perhaps because she had been with the indulgent members for a long time, Audrey instinctively chose roaring as a way to vent and deter them when her mind and ideas were about to collapse.

"You don't even have to give up all your property! If you don't want to lose anything, you can just rent out those unused and abandoned lands!"

"But what are you doing...you chose war...you chose massacre!!"

"what is this?!"

"Tell me! Why is this happening?"

After the roar of questioning ended, the entire darkness was silent.

Tawfik did not answer. His heart was soaked in hatred and blood, and he had long taken war for granted. Even though he had once been a perfect victim, he had now become a perpetrator and could not come up with any answer.

Anthony just stood there quietly, looking at the doctor who questioned him with a look of pity and regret, without saying a word. Audrey was a little dazed, and her spiritual power burned with her restless mood, burning her eyes into a dazzling gold.

Then, she covered her face, slowly bent down, and cried with a dragon's roar:
"I am in so much pain, I am in so much pain, Dad, Mom, I am in so much pain..."

"...I want to go home..."

Tawfik's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

At the moment when she showed her fragile and collapsed side, Anthony's eyes suddenly became deep. His figure merged into the darkness, wandering around like night fog. A sense of crisis came from all directions.
There was almost no time to react before Taufik felt a chill on the back of his neck.

A giant wolf claw several meters long appeared silently from the darkness, pressing his entire neck and head to the ground. Another sharp claw with a cold gleam pierced into his body, pinning him to the ground and crushing his internal organs and flesh.

Tawfik spat out a mouthful of flesh and blood, his eyes instantly filled with blood, his body turned into a puppet, and the crushed flesh and bones turned into sawdust and fell from the window. Tawfik was pierced and struggled hard on the claws of the magic wolf for a few times, revealing the dried blood under his robe and the body that was injured in the previous brief confrontation.

His body was bent like a puppet, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he had completely forgotten the pain. The aura of hatred and anger affected everyone present, but the difference in sequence only caused Saint Anthony's claws to shake a few times, and he did not fall into chaos.

The Requiem once again sounded in the dark space, as if this Sequence 3 Saint was mocking them with his ease.

At the same moment, Audrey suddenly raised her head and let out a sharp "dragon roar" from her throat!
The "Dragon Roar" spread out like a sound wave, temporarily interrupting Requiem, and scales continued to appear on her body, and her legs and arms were transformed. Just when Tawfik barely broke free from the wolf's claws, she rushed forward and blocked the attack from another direction with the body of this puppet.

The demon wolf has eight limbs.

Even if Saint Anthony used his two wolf claws to suppress Tawfik, his limbs could still move normally!

Almost at the moment when Audrey saw the sharp claws as cold as blades poking out dangerously from the darkness, she took the initiative to rush forward.

The chest cavity and everything inside her doll's body were suddenly destroyed, and then a claw emerged from the darkness before her eyes. The curved claw was like a sickle, easily cutting off Letty Orr's neck.

Audrey didn't have time to react. When she realized what was happening, her head had already fallen to the ground. She saw her headless body hanging on the fingertips of the giant wolf, gradually shrinking and turning back into a rag doll.

it hurts.

She thought, but it didn’t seem to hurt that much…

The reverse summoning ritual that Richard left in her doll body was activated due to the severe damage to the body. Audrey's vision quickly became blurred and her mind began to withdraw from this body - Letty Orr was dead. She was leaving.

Audrey "lay" on the ground. She rolled her eyes and looked at Tawfik. Her lips trembled twice with effort:

"……sorry……"

I'm sorry it took me until today to finally see all this.

I'm sorry for showing up here as a doctor without permission, deceiving your trust, and now I'm leaving you and so many patients without permission...

It's too late. It's too late...

She thought vaguely, and seemed to hear roars and wails. But Audrey's consciousness had become hazy, as if she was really dead, and she could no longer react to anything in the outside world.

At the moment when her consciousness completely went dark, her dilated pupils caught the light.

Is it daybreak? Is the seal lifted? Has he escaped?
Mr. Tawfik? She thought she had spoken, but in fact her head had fallen there, and her eyes had already closed.

Therefore, she did not see the black figure falling in front of Saint Anthony, his body already in tatters. But he had a relaxed smile on his face, his brows that seemed to never open were relaxed, as if he was immersed in a beautiful dream.

He will never be angry again.

……

Backlund, Queens, Earl Hall's home.

Audrey, who was wearing a white gauze nightgown, suddenly opened her eyes. She scratched the air with her hands a few times and her eyes widened.

Seeing Audrey's body react, Susie, who was anxiously pacing around, immediately rushed over, put her front paws on the bed, and wagged her tail in concern:

"Audrey!"

"Audrey! You're finally back!"

"Why did you take so long this time? Did you encounter any danger? Hurry up, dinner is ready, and your mother will be here soon to invite you to have dinner together! ... Audrey? Are you listening?"

Audrey stared at her ceiling, then turned around and looked at Susie. Her eyes made Susie feel uncontrollably frightened and uneasy, and her tail drooped.

"Audrey?"

It whispered, "What's wrong with you? Did you encounter a troublesome patient..."

"..."

"I'm fine." After a moment's silence, Audrey sat up from the soft big bed.

She looked at her bed, her clothes, her room, and Susie inch by inch. She had only been away for a few hours, but she felt like she had already lived a whole life. She had never felt so unfamiliar with her room.

Oh, it's time for dinner. Will mother be here soon?
She immediately got out of bed and walked to the full-length mirror in the room. With the help of the crimson moonlight shining through the curtains, she carefully examined herself:
Those emerald green eyes, like gemstones, seemed to glow by themselves, so bright and clear that one could see every detail clearly.

But deep in those eyes surged anger, despair and sorrow, and the emotions of countless people seemed to still resonate with her, making her unable to forget those hellish scenes.

Audrey closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, all the abnormalities had disappeared.

Then, the corners of her mouth lifted up a little bit, her cheeks showed a slight depression, her eyebrows curved slightly, and her eyes turned slightly to reveal Audrey Hall's standard smile:

"really not bad!"

"I'm back. I came back safely... alive."

She had completely digested the Dream Walker potion.

TBC
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Those lives, those happy processes, easy exchanges and desperate endings - all ended like a dream.

(End of this chapter)