I actually really did run to Audrey's room in the middle of the night and knock on her window...
And I knocked for quite a while, alarming both Audrey and Susie...
Early in the morning, not long after waking up, Hastur recalled the absurd events of the previous night and couldn't help lowering his head and covering his face.
Fortunately, when Audrey opened the window, he regained his senses and quickly slipped away, without letting Audrey see who exactly had nothing better to do in the middle of the night and had run to her house to knock on her window.
If Audrey had really seen his face clearly, he would have died of embarrassment on the spot.
"Forget it. I won't visit Audrey today. What if Susie recognizes me?"
Susie...
Hastur thought of the crucial point and hurriedly got out of bed, heading to the washroom for a bath. He even added a large amount of scented essence.
Susie's nose was so sharp that he had to take advantage of his clear mind now to wash away the scent from his body from last night.
After soaking for more than half an hour, Hastur washed himself again before finally leaving the washroom.
The maids waiting outside had curious expressions on their faces, but Hastur ignored them completely as he passed by.
He did not immediately go downstairs for breakfast. Instead, he first went to the study, took out paper and pen, and listed several things he needed to pay attention to.
After what happened last night, Hastur now had a general understanding of his current condition.
Because he had just consumed the potion, he would enter a state of disorder and confusion for a short period of time, making it easy for him to engage in a series of strange behaviors that differed from his usual self.
When he fell into a state of confusion, his rationality would be suppressed, yet he himself would not feel that anything was wrong. Only after regaining consciousness would he be filled with regret over having done something so embarrassing.
Take his window-knocking incident from last night, for example. It was only at the instant he regained his senses that Hastur realized he had appeared outside Audrey's window, after which he gradually recalled what had happened beforehand.
It was somewhat like realizing things only after the fact.
If he wanted to overcome this situation, he could use the power of the Hall of Stars to forcibly suppress the confusion when it was about to invade his mind.
But he could also choose to let it run its course. After all, this was only a short-term negative effect. In roughly ten days to half a month, he should be able to completely return to normal.
It was like a spring: the harder it was compressed, the more astonishingly it would rebound, so it needed to be relaxed from time to time.
Taking advantage of the fact that his rationality was still intact, Hastur quickly thought everything through.
To prevent himself from doing something irreversible while in a state of confusion during this period, Hastur implanted the things he was forbidden from doing deep within his mind through psychological suggestion.
However, he was not a Beyonder of the Spectator pathway. Simple psychological suggestion might not be enough to serve as a reminder.
"Should I ask Audrey for help?"
Hastur fell into thought. Given Audrey's intelligence, she would certainly figure out that he was the culprit who had knocked on her window last night.
How about trying Susie?
"Seems a little unreliable."
Hastur stayed in the study for half an hour before going downstairs to enjoy breakfast.
He glanced at the time. It was already past eight.
To avoid doing anything too strange, Hastur went upstairs and locked himself inside the study.
He planned to spend the entire morning in the study.
As time passed, the feeling of confusion did not descend, which made Hastur feel somewhat uneasy. He could only pray that no one would come to visit him in the morning.
Around half past nine, Butler Neil knocked on the door of the study.
"My Lord, Miss Audrey has come to visit. She is currently in the living room downstairs."
"I'll be down shortly. Have someone prepare some tea and snacks and bring them to the study later."
After Butler Neil left, Hastur opened the door and came out. He took several deep breaths before gathering his spirits and pretending that nothing had happened as he went downstairs.
Audrey spoke with a bright smile, "Mr. Hastur, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"You are always welcome to visit, Miss Audrey."
As Hastur spoke, he glanced at Susie, who was following beside Audrey, and greeted her as well.
Susie replied with a bark.
After chatting briefly, Hastur invited Audrey to the study on the second floor.
Susie followed them upstairs as well. While climbing the stairs, Susie suddenly moved close to Hastur's trouser leg. Her nostrils twitched as she carefully sniffed several times.
Hastur remained calm on the surface, but he was somewhat panicked inside.
Could Susie's nose really be sharp enough to tell that he was the person who had knocked on the window last night?
Fortunately, Susie did not discover anything and returned to Audrey's side.
Once they arrived at the study, the door was closed.
Sitting on the sofa, Audrey said mysteriously, "Mr. Hastur, I think I encountered a Bat-Man last night!"
She then gave a detailed description of everything she had seen and heard the previous night, adding her own imagination to it.
A Bat-Man? Miss Audrey, you're really good at making associations. You've even managed to connect it to a fictional creature like the Bat-Man, something that only exists in horror novels.
Hastur maintained a proper smile on his face.
"I haven't encountered a Bat-Man before. Perhaps there are traces of them living around the Southern Continent."
Audrey let out a soft exclamation, her eyes widening slightly.
"Mr. Hastur, does a creature like the Bat-Man really exist?"
Hastur chuckled lightly.
"The so-called Bat-Man might simply be a giant bat with a rather exaggerated appearance. Under the dim lighting at night, it's easy for people to see things incorrectly and then let their imaginations run wild."
Audrey seriously pondered this for a while before frowning.
"I also think that figure didn't look like a Bat-Man. Instead, it looked more like a person."
Hastur's heart skipped a beat. He slightly shifted his gaze away from Audrey's eyes, only to meet Susie's faint gaze, which seemed capable of seeing through everything.
"If it really were a Bat-Man, then when it was startled, it should have spread its wings and flown into the sky. How could it have fallen to the ground like a person and then darted into the darkness?"
Audrey analyzed the matter very seriously before lowering her voice and asking, "Could someone have secretly come to my house in the middle of the night to spy on me?"
"Would someone really be that bored?" Hastur remained calm.
Audrey thought about it carefully for a moment and also felt that there probably wouldn't be anyone that bored. Perhaps the figure she had seen last night was simply some strange creature living deep in the forest that happened to wander near her house.
Putting the matter aside, Audrey began asking Hastur about his experiences living in Southville County.
Hastur breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and began seriously sharing what he had seen and heard in Southville County with Audrey.
He deliberately explained everything in greater detail. Once they finished discussing this topic, Miss Audrey should be ready to leave.
"Is my second brother doing well?"
"Lord Alfred really enjoys living in Southville County. He even said that the climate there is far more pleasant than that of the Southern Continent."
Hastur then continued telling Audrey about some of Alfred's affairs and work.
Audrey listened attentively, a sweet smile appearing on her face. She was simply worried that her second brother had refused to return to Backlund because he was angry with their eldest brother.
If he could find a path suitable for himself in Southville County, she would be relieved.
After finishing these matters, Audrey once again steered the conversation toward the Roselle diaries. Although she had recently been acquiring Roselle's diaries, the speed at which she obtained them was becoming slower and slower.
Hastur was just about to answer when confusion suddenly appeared in his mind, beginning to erode his clear consciousness.
He remained dazed for several seconds. Under Audrey's soft call, he subconsciously answered,
"Roselle was a person with an especially chaotic private life. The more you learn about him, the closer your beautiful impression of him gets to completely shattering."
Audrey asked curiously, "Is this a new discovery Mr. Hastur has made through his latest research?"
"Heh heh. Before Roselle rose to prominence, he spent many years mingling in noble banquets. His private life was extremely debauched. Noble young ladies, mature married women, he refused none of them. Oh, right, he was also admired and favored by several male nobles."
Audrey's cheeks reddened slightly, and she gave Hastur a reproachful glance.
How could he say these things in front of her?
But it sounded rather interesting. For some inexplicable reason, she wanted to hear more.
Well, just a little more.
Susie, lying at Audrey's feet, also perked up her ears and listened attentively.
"Besides having plenty of things worth criticizing about his private life, he wasn't much better in other areas either. Standing on the shoulders of giants, he plagiarized many works that originally did not belong to him."
"Ah?" Audrey exclaimed when she heard this, and even Susie barked in response.
What exactly had Mr. Hastur discovered in Southville County? This was clearly a case of turning from a fan of Emperor Roselle into a hater.
Audrey asked quietly, "Mr. Hastur, are you all right?"
Hastur smiled at Audrey.
"I'm fine."
As he spoke, he walked out from behind the desk and sat beside Audrey on the sofa. He lowered his head and reached out to stroke Susie's head.
"Susie, next time I'll give you a few of Hermes's works. He is a great mysticism scholar in the field of the mind, and he once studied the Mind Dragon. His works can help you better understand and learn psychology."
"Woof!" Susie immediately became energetic. She was extremely interested in psychology.
Audrey, sitting beside Hastur, hesitated to speak. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
She also wanted to read the works left behind by that mysticism scholar, Hermes.
After all, he was the great figure who created Ancient Hermes. It could be said that he was the guiding light of humanity in the field of mysticism.
But she was too embarrassed to admit that she was already on the same level as Susie.
"If you get the chance in the future, just have Hermes give you private lessons."
Hastur casually dropped another bombshell.
"Woof!" Susie looked delighted, her tail wagging continuously.
Audrey froze for a moment and asked in confusion, "Mr. Hastur, is Master Hermes still alive?"
"As a master of mysticism, he is naturally also a powerful Beyonder. How could he die so easily? He simply changed to a new identity and continued living."
Audrey thought about it and realized that this made sense. A strong sense of anticipation surged within her.
If such a legendary figure really came to give Susie private lessons, she would have to sit in and listen no matter what.
How could there be any reason to bypass the owner and teach the dog?
It should be more appropriate for Susie to sit in on her own private lessons.
Wait... wasn't Mr. Hastur a little different from usual today?
Audrey blinked, then narrowed her eyes and began carefully observing Mr. Hastur.