Empress Borough, the place where the great smog of Backlund first began.
Hastur, who was sitting in his study rushing to write some made-up dark fairy tales for Sharon, looked at the unusual smog drifting past outside the window. He put down his pen, walked to the window, and began to observe.
The great smog incident of Backlund had still come. Even though Mr. A had not cooperated with the Demoness Sect, this day had arrived all the same.
Moreover, the color of the smog, pale green with faint streaks of blood, looked even more severe than the great smog described in the original work.
This meant that even more people would die in Backlund this time, especially those at the bottom who worked hard for a living.
They had labored in factories year after year, and most of them already suffered from some illnesses. On ordinary days, they only managed to hold on thanks to their young bodies full of vitality. After this wave of disease passed, even if they survived, they would basically spend the rest of their lives lying in bed.
As for the nobles living in the Empress Borough, although they were also affected by the smog, the clergy of the Church reacted quickly. All kinds of blessings soon eliminated the smog's effects throughout the district.
After watching for a while, Hastur closed the doors and windows, left the study, went next door, and picked up Ariella, who looked a little off.
It seemed to be frightened by what was happening outside. It curled up in Hastur's arms for a long time before starting to meow softly.
"Don't worry, it will pass very soon. Tonight I'll prepare your favorite dried little fish again."
After comforting Ariella a few times, Hastur carried it downstairs and called Butler Neil over, telling him not to show his face outside and risk his health.
Hastur sat on the sofa holding Ariella and casually asked, "Did something happen outside?"
"It seems something happened over at the royal estate. Many church clergy have rushed out from the churches."
"That Prince Edessak?"
"It seems to be him. I'm not very clear about it yet. I'll send someone to inquire."
Butler Neil thought that his baron might have some conflict with Prince Edessak and wanted to take this chance to watch some misfortune.
"No need. It's a bit chaotic outside today. Tell everyone in the household to not go out, in case something happens."
"Alright."
After giving a few instructions, Hastur let Butler Neil go back to his work.
…
At Earl Hall's villa, Audrey also saw the gradually changing smog in the sky from her family garden.
The pale green mist mixed with red threads was something she had never seen before, and she even watched it seriously together with Susie.
It wasn't until the the butler and maids hurriedly led her and Susie back into the villa, closed all the doors and windows, and invited a church clergyman to sprinkle holy water around the villa and chant blessings that Audrey realized something was abnormal today. Something big must have happened outside.
She wanted to go ask her father about it, but he wasn't home at the time, so she could only stay and keep company with her mother, who was also a little uneasy.
It wasn't until after nine in the evening that Earl Hall finally returned home, accompanied by a priest from Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Audrey couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore and asked, "Father, did something happen outside today?"
"Yes, quite a lot happened." Earl Hall took a sip of hot tea before beginning to explain.
"That Prince Edessak who once pursued you suddenly fell in love with a witch. What happened today was caused by those cultists of the Demoness Sect."
Audrey had a bad feeling. "Did something terrible happen?"
"A disease, or rather a plague, will spread through Backlund."
When he said this, Earl Hall's tone was heavy. He added, "During this period, you all must stay at home indoors. You are absolutely not allowed to sneak out."
Countess Hall asked worriedly, "Is it really that serious?"
"It might be even more serious than imagined."
After dinner, Audrey quietly returned to her room, called Susie over, closed the door, and then told Susie to go to Earl Hall's study again to gather more information.
After eleven, Audrey, who was about to fall asleep, was awakened by Susie's voice.
"Audrey, wake up quickly, something big has happened."
Audrey rubbed her sleepy eyes, gathered a bit of energy, and then looked toward Susie. "Susie, what's wrong?"
"Your father, Earl Hall, just went out overnight. I heard someone mention that Duke Negan was assassinated tonight, but the exact situation isn't clear yet."
After saying that, Susie shook her dog head. "Audrey, which one is Duke Negan?"
"…" Audrey was now completely awake. She hadn't expected that the daytime turmoil was only the beginning, and now someone had the guts to assassinate Duke Negan.
Wouldn't that mean Earl Hall might also be in danger?
Audrey got out of bed, put on a simple coat, opened the door, and went to Countess Hall's room. Sure enough, her mother was so worried that she couldn't sleep.
…
In the small house where Fors and Xio lived, the two of them squeezed into one room tonight, sleeping on the same bed.
When the unusual smog appeared during the day, both of them sensed that something was wrong.
They hurriedly shut all the doors and windows, and even stuffed cotton into their nostrils to prevent inhaling the seeping mist.
Fortunately, they were well prepared and responded in time, so they didn't suffer much harm, only coughing lightly a few times.
A family of four living next door to them, both children had gone from coughing up blood to collapsing and convulsing to death in less than three hours because of today's unusual smog.
On the streets, those frail elderly people who had been taking walks collapsed directly onto the ground and died silently.
They had peered outside through the cracks in the windows and saw many people lying all over the streets. Some had already turned into cold corpses, some were still convulsing, and some were just weakly collapsed on the ground, crying out for help.
But no one could come to save them, and they could only slowly wait for death to arrive.
It wasn't until a gust of wind swept across the entire place and cleared away the ominous smog that Fors and Xio finally let out a sigh of relief.
After such a huge incident and witnessing so many people die with their own eyes, they were both too scared to sleep alone.
"Xio, I always feel that Backlund has been very dangerous lately. Should we find a chance to leave here for a while?" Fors suggested.
"No. I have things I must stay in Backlund to deal with. No matter how dangerous it is, as long as I haven't finished what I want to do, I won't leave Backlund."
"Alright." Fors didn't persuade her further. She was a writer, and living anywhere wasn't a big problem for her. But what had been happening in Backlund lately made her feel more and more that it was dangerous.
"Fors, if you want to leave Backlund, you can follow Mr. Hastur. I heard from Glaint that he might be going to Southville County."
"Forget it. I'll stay in Backlund to keep you company. I can't just let you take risks alone."
"Wuwu, Fors, I'm really so touched!"
"From now on, you'll prepare all the meals. I'll just be responsible for eating."
"…Damn it, give my emotion back to me!"
…
Inside Duke Negan's villa, Greg was busy setting up security lines to prevent assassins from finding another opportunity.
If he hadn't learned relevant information in advance from Hastur, Duke Negan would definitely have died in a very embarrassing way on a woman's bed this time.
At this moment, Earl Hall, who had just arrived here, heard a scream from the second floor, and his heart skipped a beat.
He hurriedly followed the servants upstairs. Before even seeing Duke Negan, he saw Greg with a face full of anger and grief.
An ominous premonition rose in his heart. "Where is Duke Negan?"
"He was assassinated by his trusted secretary, Lockhart Siakam," someone quietly mentioned what had just happened.
Originally, Duke Negan had successfully avoided an assassination attempt and only suffered serious injuries.
When he returned to his villa to recuperate, while Greg was outside arranging manpower and defenses, the secretary who had always been deeply trusted by Duke Negan suddenly took advantage of everyone's carelessness and assassinated Duke Negan, who was lying in bed resting.
And after assassinating Duke Negan, he even managed to escape successfully.
This was a change no one had expected.
The secretary who had always loyally offered plans and advice for Duke Negan had actually launched a sneak attack on him!
"…" Earl Hall sighed and fell silent.
Too many things had happened recently, as if some force were secretly targeting the Kingdom of Loen.
Not only had something happened in the capital Backlund, but some time ago a fleet of ironclad warships on a mission at sea suddenly encountered a group of pirates.
Not only did they fail to repel the pirates, they were instead defeated by them, and even one ironclad warship was seized by the pirates.
There was also the situation on the Southern Continent, none of it could put people at ease.
…
At the train station, Ince Zangwill, who had been sneaking around and hiding his tracks all the way, was about to board a train to leave Backlund.
But at this moment, he suddenly noticed a woman in a black dress sitting beside him. Her arrival made no sound at all, and no one on the train knew she had come.
Ince Zangwill asked nervously, "Who are you?"
"Panatiya is already dead. You need to stay in Backlund to clean up her loose ends. If you want to leave, wait until after the New Year."
"You are that mysterious Demoness of Black?"
Ince Zangwill forced a bitter smile. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave Backlund tonight and could only obediently follow the other party's arrangements.