This time, Sharon wasn't frightened away by Hastur's deliberately teasing words. Instead, she slightly raised her eyes, gazed at him, and calmly said, "And?"
Hastur was slightly stunned. Sharon, who was trying hard to maintain her little streak of stubbornness, was truly adorable. She seemed expectant, yet at the same time conflicted and timid.
Although she tried hard to appear calm, the sea within her azure eyes was already rippling with expanding circles.
"Sharon..."
Hastur softly called her name, and a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere filled the air. Sharon, who had originally intended to keep holding firm, took two small steps backward.
"I still haven't decided what New Year's gift I want."
After saying that, she pretended as though nothing had happened and left. As she was leaving, Ariella let out a cry and jumped down from the shadows among the rafters onto Sharon's shoulder.
Hastur didn't chase after her. Instead, he sat back down, looked up at the starry sky, and contemplated what kind of turmoil his secret operation tonight would cause.
The process of assassinating Jevington II had not been complicated. For a Sequence 2 of a single Beyonder pathway, it might have been somewhat difficult. But for him, who wielded several Beyonder pathways and possessed their corresponding authorities, it basically wasn't difficult as long as the three gods didn't interfere.
Hastur had carried out this assassination from an extremely long distance by killing through a dream, combining his own Beyonder abilities with one of the Sealed Artifacts he had obtained from the mind dragon back then.
Apart from William I, the ancestor of the Augustus family, causing him a little trouble, everything else had been a straightforward sweep.
Presumably, at the moment Jevington II's head was severed, he was probably still thinking that this was merely a dream, and that what happened in dreams was usually the opposite of what happened in reality.
After successfully entering Jevington II's dream and assassinating him, Hastur also read part of Jevington II's memories.
For example, the person who had told Jevington II those three prophecies was Zaratul, who had been hiding in the shadows. He had recently gone mad again, and quite severely at that. He had probably seen something he shouldn't have, though it was also possible that he was merely pretending.
Besides that, Hastur also saw a little of the secrets surrounding George III's death. Unfortunately, Jevington II only knew that there was something wrong with it, but didn't know exactly where the problem lay.
The only thing Hastur particularly cared about tonight was the three gods' indulgent attitude toward him.
The three gods had not descended, but They vaguely knew what was happening in Backlund. Even so, They had simply stood by and allowed him to assassinate Jevington II.
Apart from not wanting to antagonize the Stars, it was probably also because Jevington II's frequent actions recently had angered Them.
For the Evernight Goddess, conquering the Feysac Empire was the most important matter. For the Lord of Storms, Jevington II's attack on the old nobility was tantamount to slapping Him in the face. The God of Steam and Machinery, on the other hand, didn't particularly care, though His presence had always been the weakest.
The Augustus family's territory still remained. Jevington II's death wouldn't cause too much panic, and it could also effectively warn the members of the Augustus family that they needed to maintain their reverence toward the gods at all times.
Under such circumstances, it was quite normal for the three gods to make such a choice.
Hastur considered all the various possibilities, making sure he hadn't missed any important hints.
...
On the outskirts of Puning Harbor, the investigators from the Churches of the three gods were the first to receive news from Backlund.
"Jevington II has fallen!"
"It happened tonight, just before the clock struck twelve!"
"The cause of death is unknown, and they don't even know who the murderer is!"
This explosive piece of news cast a shadow over the investigators who had been celebrating the New Year. After all, they had only just received a New Year's allowance personally approved by Jevington II.
"The Church wants us to return to Backlund to handle other matters."
"It's the same for us."
"It seems the Churches should know some of the inside story behind this matter."
The three leaders representing the Churches of the three gods discussed it among themselves and decided to return to Backlund in two days. Before going back, however, they still needed to follow their Churches' arrangements and meet with Earl Hastur Campbell. Only then would their trip to Southville County come to an end.
January 1st, the day when all things began anew in the new year.
Backlund was shrouded in a heavy haze that made it difficult for everyone to breathe.
In the end, Jevington II's death could not be concealed. In just one night, news of Jevington II's death occupied an entire large section of every major newspaper.
As the newspapers spread the news and fueled the discussion, the streets and alleys of Backlund were filled with people talking about it that day.
Especially since the previous king of the Loen Kingdom had also been assassinated, and even now, the assassin had yet to be caught.
Now Jevington II had followed in his father's footsteps and met his death.
This made many citizens feel unsafe. Even kings could be assassinated one after another, with neither assassin being caught. Were the assassins simply too powerful, or were the guards far too incompetent?
Could such a Loen royal family truly lead the Loen Kingdom toward prosperity?
Before long, members of the Loen royal family stepped forward and characterized the assassination as a joint conspiracy between the Feysac Empire and the Aurora Order.
While expressing their profound grief, they also stirred up the public's hatred toward the Feysac Empire in preparation for completely conquering the Feysac Empire when spring arrived.
In this regard, the Churches of the three gods stood together with the Loen royal family, dumping all the blame onto the Feysac Empire and the Aurora Order. After all, they already had so many crimes attributed to them that adding one more hardly mattered.
At William I's secluded residence, quite a few members of the Loen royal family had arrived today, led by Grove Augustus.
"I know why you've come, but this isn't something you're qualified to know."
William I directly blocked the questions they had wanted to ask, then continued, "Have Jevington II's eldest son succeed the throne. Assist him from the side. From now on, devote yourselves wholeheartedly to conquering the Feysac Empire and meddle less in other matters."
Grove froze upon hearing this, his face filled with a bitter smile.
"Ancestor, does our Augustus family really have to swallow this humiliation?"
"The Augustus family..." William I repeated the words twice before saying coldly, "Have you ever seen any family remain prosperous forever?"
"This..." Grove's heart trembled violently.
Did this mean that their Augustus family was now in decline?
"Go back. Quickly deal with the matters that need to be handled, and meddle less in things you shouldn't touch."
After saying this, William I closed His eyes and had someone see the guests out.
Only after all the visitors had left did He let out a sigh.
The reason the Augustus family had originally managed to distinguish itself throughout history and become the rulers of the Loen Kingdom was because the gods had chosen them.
Now, the gods' gazes had already moved away from them and fallen upon others.
No matter how unwilling He was, He understood that as long as no one from the Augustus family became a god, the Augustus family would forever remain a dispensable chess piece in the hands of the gods.
Such things were hardly uncommon throughout history.
The only slight difference was that as long as He remained alive, the Augustus family's bloodline wouldn't be completely exterminated.
But if they wanted to maintain their former glory, that would probably be very difficult.
On the afternoon of January 1st, Klein convened the first Tarot Gathering of the New Year.
After Miss Justice gave the first New Year's greeting and Mr. Fool finished reading Roselle's diary, oh, no one had submitted any pages from Roselle's diary this week, they entered the free exchange segment.
The Hanged Man Alger was the first to speak, his tone grave.
"Another major incident happened in Backlund recently. Jevington II was assassinated last night, just before the clock struck twelve."
"Yes. The news has already spread throughout Backlund. Some say Jevington II offended the gods, so he incurred divine punishment," Emlyn added in support of Alger's statement.
Audrey and Fors were greatly shocked. Just this morning, the two of them had invited Xio to go out with them and enjoy Southville's New Year scenery.
They hadn't expected such a huge incident to quietly erupt in Backlund.
For a king to be assassinated while crossing into the New Year was, for Jevington II, an undeniable irony.
After taking the throne, he had constantly devoted himself to sweeping away the influence of the old nobility. Unexpectedly, in the end, he himself had become the trash that was swept away.
Klein was equally surprised, even though his way of celebrating the New Year had merely been drinking alone in a coastal tavern.
Fors asked, "Have they found out who assassinated Jevington II?"
"According to the Loen royal family's own statement, it was done by the Feysac Empire and the Aurora Order. Moreover, members of the Aurora Order have already stepped forward to claim responsibility for the incident."
Alger shared the inside information he had learned from within the Church of Storms.
Fors sighed. "The Aurora Order again. They actually even dare to assassinate a king."
"Perhaps it wasn't them. They might simply want the notoriety generated by this incident. The worse their reputation becomes, the more beneficial it is for them when recruiting new members."
As Alger spoke, his gaze turned toward Miss Justice. He wanted to know whether the upper ranks of Loen's aristocracy knew any different inside information.
Audrey pondered for a moment before meeting Alger's expectant gaze and saying, "If the king of the Loen Kingdom were that easy to assassinate, Backlund wouldn't have become a forbidden zone for Beyonders."
A look of "just as I thought" appeared in Alger's eyes.
In reality, Audrey simply didn't believe that members of the Aurora Order would assassinate Jevington II. In her heart, she believed this should have been divine punishment and was connected to the previous incident when heavenly fire descended.
Jevington II had angered the gods, which was why he had been assassinated in Backlund.
Otherwise, under the watchful gazes of the gods, even an angel would find it difficult to assassinate the king of a nation.
"Maybe it was the Stars again," Emlyn quietly added.
Fors really wanted to refute him. Stop dragging the Stars into everything! What about Jevington II was even worthy of the Stars' attention?
But she didn't say anything. Instead, she thought about asking Mr. Hastur after she returned.
Was this the work of the Stars?
Klein also pondered for a while. He, too, leaned toward the possibility that this had been done by a believer of the Stars. There was no particular reason. It was simply an intuition.
"Something major has also happened at sea recently."
The one who spoke to change the subject was The World.
Alger looked at him curiously. What could have happened at sea recently that was even bigger than the assassination of the king of the Loen Kingdom?
Facing everyone's gazes, The World said expressionlessly, "Another mysterious treasure legend has appeared at sea. It's said that someone landed on an undiscovered island, and there, that person saw a massive black mausoleum."