Chapter 172: Audrey’s Troubles

Chapter 172: Audrey's Troubles

In the Earl of Hall's villa, the dimming sunlight was sneaking away through the gaps in the windows.

At the desk, Audrey was pouting slightly, her right elbow propped on the surface, her palm cradling her delicate cheek, while her left index finger absentmindedly drew circles on the desk.

She was a bit annoyed, very annoyed, extremely annoyed.

Tonight, she was to attend a party at the Grint family's house.

It had been decided many days ago, and it was the first gathering since the Ince Zangwill incident, which she had been looking forward to.

However, her father, the Earl of Hall, somehow got wind of this and even had a talk with her about it.

She had thought the Earl would prevent her from going to the Grints' party, but instead, he didn't stop her and even asked her to pass a message to Mr. Hastur.

To be precise, he wanted her to invite Mr. Hastur to visit their home.

It was a perfectly normal social invitation, but coming from the Earl, it felt oddly strange.

If he really wanted to invite Mr. Hastur over, couldn't he just send an invitation card? Why make it so complicated and have her convey the message?

Her elder brother, Herbert, also had a good relationship with Mr. Hastur. Wouldn't it be better for him to extend the invitation rather than herself?

What truly troubled her was that she had no idea why the Earl wanted to invite Mr. Hastur over.

Pondering without success, Audrey turned her gaze to the corner where a golden retriever was flipping through the pages of a book with its paws. She watched for a while and then said, "Susie, can you solve my dilemma?"

"Susie, the books say that one should solve their own troubles, as that is the only way to completely eradicate them."

"Susie, haven't you read so many books that mention helping a friend in need?"

"But the books also say that not all friends' troubles are ours to assist with."

Pausing, Susie, puzzled, asked, "By the way, Audrey, are there different levels of friendship?"

Audrey's eyes lit up, her mood brightened considerably, it was rare for Susie to seek her help actively.

Ever since Susie devoted herself to studying, Audrey found it increasingly difficult to feel superior around her.

She thought for a moment and said seriously, "Of course, friendships can be categorized by depth: acquaintances, ordinary friends, close friends, friends worthy of deep bonds, friends you can entrust with your life, and friends beyond life and death."

"How do you measure the depth of a friendship? Are there specific symbols or perhaps a quantifiable value? Does exceeding a certain threshold indicate that the friendship can progress further?"

Audrey listened silently at first, then her mouth slowly opened wide, and finally closed again, her expression complex as she glanced at Susie and said earnestly, "Susie, you're just a dog."

"I know, Audrey, you don't need to remind me specially, I know better than anyone how to be a good dog."

"…What I mean is, you don't need to understand too much about human affairs."

"The books say we learn because the world is full of unknowns. Audrey, is that statement incorrect?"

"…"

Audrey held her forehead in her hand, feeling another worry was about to be added to her list.

Perhaps from the beginning, she shouldn't have taught Susie knowledge, nor should she have let it learn whatever it wanted.

…

At night, in the Grint family's home.

In the second-floor study, Mr. Hastur, Grint, Hugh, Fors, and Miss Audrey, who didn't look too well.

Hugh curiously asked, "Miss Audrey, you don't seem to look very well?"

"I've just been in a bit of a bad mood lately."

Audrey responded with a smile, she couldn't possibly tell others that she felt inferior to a dog and was almost driven to breakdown by one.

Grint looked around and said with a tone of regret, "Audrey, why didn't you bring Susie tonight?"

"She's been eating too much lately, has severe indigestion, and is now lying at home." Audrey could assure that what she said was the truth.

Susie indeed had consumed too much—too much miscellaneous knowledge, leading to indigestion.

"Is it serious? I can help treat her; I'm quite good at treating pets now."

"Grint, thank you for your kindness, but I've already hired the best doctor for Susie."

Audrey declined with a smile, the 'doctor' she referred to was herself, and she was naturally excellent.

To avoid further questions about Susie, Audrey slowly said, "During the last Zillings incident, we perfectly thwarted his plot to assassinate Duke Nigen. In this regard, we can all be considered heroes who protected Beckland."

Hugh and Fors felt a bit embarrassed; they hadn't uncovered much useful information and only learned about Zillings' infiltration of Beckland to assassinate Duke Nigen through the newspapers.

Audrey's gaze turned to Hugh and Fors, and she said with a smile, "Your information is precious, it helped me make the right decisions, and I'm willing to pay each of you 500 pounds for it."

How much? 500 pounds?! Hugh and Fors's eyes widened, their pupils contracted—that was a bounty of 500 pounds! The rewards for their past tasks combined didn't amount to that sum.

Miss Audrey was truly the epitome of generosity!

No, she was glowing, an angel saving the impoverished!

"Thank you for your generosity."

Hugh and Fors paused for a while before they reacted.

"This is the reward you deserve."

Audrey's face was full of smiles; the Zillings incident had brought her at least 20,000 pounds in profits.

Paying out this 1,000 pounds was no problem for her.

Then, Audrey's gaze turned to Grint, indicating that he also had a reward of 200 pounds.

Originally, Audrey had planned to pay 500 pounds as a reward for the risks Grint had taken.

But it wasn't something that could be openly discussed, so Grint, who hadn't helped with anything overtly, could only receive less than Hugh and Fors.

As for Mr. Hastur…

Audrey's gaze fell on Hastur, but she didn't offer any related reward.

They had already agreed that what Mr. Hastur wanted was a promotion to nobility.

As for the reward, she knew that Mr. Hastur's financial situation was very good recently, so she didn't think of observing his reaction by throwing money at him.

She also felt it was a pity; as Mr. Hastur became wealthier, it became harder for her to experience the simple pleasure.

After resolving this matter, Audrey returned the stage to Grint, who had been eager to perform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've recently raised a magical dog, one that can do backflips."

Grint said, gesturing with his hand and calling, "Lait, come here."

A small golden retriever squatting outside the door scampered in, fawning over Grint affectionately.

"Lait, shake hands."

The little golden retriever raised its right front paw, then looked at Grint, waiting for him to extend his hand, and then placed its paw in the palm of his hand.

"Lait, you did well."

Grint was very satisfied with the little golden retriever's performance, petting its head twice, then commanded, "Lait, do a few backflips."

"Woof."

The little golden retriever barked once and began to do backflips on the spot, continuously.

This caught the attention of Hugh and Fors, and even Audrey looked on curiously.

"Lait, now do a front flip."

Grint directed the little golden retriever to perform other slightly difficult maneuvers.

After a busy session, Grint happily took out a strip of meat to reward the little golden retriever that had earned applause for him.

Fors asked curiously, "Is this the extraordinary ability of a beast tamer?"

"Yes, I can now easily see through the thoughts of any animal; they are also very willing to get close to me and follow my commands. Training them is not difficult for me, as if it's natural," Grint was pleased to answer.

Hugh sighed, "Such is the charm of the extraordinary world."

"It's a pity that in Beckland, we don't sell those more majestic pets, like giant lizards, two-headed dragons, and other creatures."

Grint felt regretful; he was no longer satisfied with just training cats and dogs, as such simple tasks couldn't bring him a sense of achievement.

Fors said uncertainly, "Aren't such creatures generally only found in the primeval forests of the Southern Continent?"

"My second brother is currently in the Southern Continent, and he told me that there indeed exist many nearly extinct magical creatures there, such as giant snakes that can swallow elephants whole and giant apes seven or eight meters tall," Audrey briefly educated them.

"I really want to take a trip to the Southern Continent."

Grint stroked the little golden retriever's head, his tone full of regret.

Hastur reminded with a smile, "The Southern Continent is not peaceful at the moment; you might want to give up that idea."

"I'm just thinking about it. Beckland is nice except for the air; I don't want to go to the Southern Continent to suffer."

Grint waved his hand to indicate he wasn't foolish.

Then Hugh began to share his experiences and observations from recent times, with the most significant being about the followers of the Stars. Grint listened with curiosity, Fors's expression changed slightly with a somewhat forced smile, while Hastur listened calmly without showing any emotion.

Audrey, observing everyone's expressions, lingered her gaze on Fors for a moment longer.

(End of Chapter)