January 1, 1350.
It wasn't until two in the afternoon that Hastur climbed out of bed.
"Meow!"
Ariella leaped up from the floor, landed on his blanket, and let out a very dissatisfied meow.
Last night, there had been small silver fish in front of her right paw, tender fish slices in front of her left, and she had been chewing on fried meatballs. Life had been wonderfully comfortable.
But in the middle of the night, her owner, having drunk a little alcohol and riding on the buzz, had actually… dragged her out of the snack house.
Originally, lying in her owner's arms while eating small silver fish had been nice, but not long after, he gently set her down and turned to drink again, completely ignoring her.
It was a pretty young lady who later fed her a few small snacks.
Her sleep had been disturbed, and the fireworks outside bombarded her in waves, making it impossible to fall asleep.
Yet her owner had slept soundly, all the way until the afternoon. How could this be tolerated?
She was ready to smack him a few times with her little paws to teach him a lesson.
"Ariella, which new outfit are you planning to wear today?"
A voice like a devil's whisper sounded. Ariella's fur instantly bristled. She very consciously jumped off the blanket and slipped away through the slightly open window.
"Ran off pretty fast."
Hastur got up, changed clothes, then went to the washroom to freshen up and take a bath, washing away the smell of alcohol from last night.
On New Year's Eve, it had been around six in the morning when Hastur finally had Butler Neil send a carriage to take Sharron back. As for Maric, he had already drunk himself unconscious and was probably still not awake.
When Hastur came out of the washroom, Maric appeared stretching lazily. Like Hastur, he had deliberately not suppressed the effects of alcohol, relying purely on drinking capacity to decide the winner.
"Looks like you lost."
"The physique of a barbarian is indeed formidable. Even the drinking capacity increases."
Hastur smiled and let Maric go freshen up first while he went downstairs to eat something.
The considerate Butler Neil had already prepared suitable food, along with two soups to quench thirst and relieve hangovers.
After Maric came downstairs and ate a little, Hastur invited him out for a stroll, but he refused, saying that a zombie was not suitable for daytime shopping and that he would go back to catch up on sleep.
Hastur could only take Ariella out for a walk.
The Empress Borough, where the nobility resided, was especially lively for the New Year. Seeking good fortune and festivity, most nobles spared no expense and invited many performance troupes from other countries. Even troupes from the Southern Continent brought animal-taming acts to add excitement.
For the citizens of Backlund, watching these performances was free of charge. No tickets were required. The only requirement was to dress neatly and have no unpleasant odors.
Hastur also took out some money, about 500 gold pounds, and booked an entire song and dance troupe from the Intis Republic.
If one wanted to experience something closer to authentic New Year flavor, it had to be the Intis Republic. To this day, they still preserved many operas and musical dramas invented during Roselle's era.
Just as he was holding Ariella and about to enter the theater, he saw Klein leading Benson and Melissa toward this direction.
It was clear that Klein had the same idea, to see what kind of cultural legacy Roselle, their fellow transmigrator, had left behind.
Hastur and Klein had only interacted once during the nursing home incident. When they met now, they merely nodded slightly before finding seats separately.
"So many people! Is Backlund's New Year always this lively?" Melissa exclaimed as she looked at the sea of people.
Benson observed for a moment and said, "It's even more prosperous and lively than I imagined. We'll be living in Backlund long-term from now on too."
Klein searched for suitable seats. Since no tickets were required, there was no assigned seating. He couldn't find three seats together.
There were only scattered single empty seats, mostly in the corners.
At that moment, a theater attendant approached with a smile. "Three guests, please take seats in the front row. This is Baron Campbell's arrangement."
'Him?'
Klein did not explicitly refuse. He truly couldn't find suitable seats.
"Today's performance is fully sponsored by Baron Campbell."
Hearing that, Klein did not refuse and let the attendant lead the way.
The three of them smoothly arrived at the first row, gaining an excellent viewing position.
At the very front of the first row, there was a separate seat.
A young nobleman holding a small black cat sat there.
That head of golden hair was dazzling, attracting many gazes from behind.
Klein felt that what was truly dazzling was Baron Hastur Campbell's ability to spend gold pounds.
To book such a troupe during the New Year required at least several hundred gold pounds, along with sufficient noble status.
Wealthy merchants might afford the price, but this was the Empress Borough, a noble-exclusive venue. Money had to stand behind power. That had been an unchanging truth since ancient times.
Extravagant.
Klein sighed and felt that he was rather miserable as a transmigrator.
Roselle had been born with noble status and later even established the Intis Republic, standing at the pinnacle of power.
As for himself, he was still a member of the Nighthawks under the Church of the Evernight Goddess, earning about a thousand gold pounds a year, merely a slightly higher-level worker.
After thinking for a while, Klein concluded that transmigrating must have used up all his luck, which was why his financial fortune was so poor.
About ten minutes later, the performance finally began.
The first program was a musical.
When the classic music played, when the brilliant plot unfolded, when the slightly terrifying atmosphere began to envelop the stage…
Hastur and Klein's lips twitched at the same time. Inwardly, they cursed Roselle for having no shame at all, he had even plagiarized The Phantom of the Opera.
When the second program, the ballet Romeo and Juliet, appeared, Hastur and Klein were already too lazy to complain about Roselle, the great plagiarist.
At the same time, they both regretted coming here today to suffer through this.
The musical was pleasant, the ballet was beautiful, but once Roselle was added into the mix, everything felt slightly off.
What they had wanted to see were performances rich in characteristics, not plays of tragic romance.
Only after three hours did Hastur stand up and leave first.
What he found somewhat unbearable was that after each performance, the troupe would go to great lengths to praise Roselle.
The audience below also began praising Roselle as a historical figure embodying both art and literature.
Klein shared the same inner feelings as Hastur. He even had it worse, worrying that Melissa might be influenced by these performances.
Fortunately, his worries were unnecessary. For Melissa at present, studies and earning money were still the most important things.
Benson, who understood only half of it, thought for a moment and commented, "A person like Emperor Roselle probably has a brain worth ten thousand curly-haired baboons, right?"
After leaving the theater, Klein wanted to thank Baron Hastur Campbell, but he was already nowhere in sight.
Benson asked curiously, "Klein, are you very close with that noble?"
"We only had one interaction. He's closer to a friend of mine."
"He looks very young and quite handsome."
That affirmation came from Melissa. Klein immediately abandoned the idea of introducing Benson and Melissa to him.
Klein suggested, "Let's find somewhere to try some food first."
In winter, Backlund became completely dark after five o'clock. The sky was already pitch black.
Fortunately, this was the Empress Borough. The bright street lamps were densely arranged, and combined with the lights from shops and performance troupes, everything was clearly visible.
Melissa hesitated. "Eating here must be very expensive. Let's go back and eat. There was still plenty of food left from last night."
Benson agreed after thinking for a moment. "Yes, I trust your cooking more, Klein."
"It's good to try Backlund's specialty foods once in a while."
Klein did not give them a chance to refuse. He planned to take them to stroll elsewhere after dinner.
If they returned to the South Borough now, the carriage fare for coming out today would be wasted.
…
After strolling around, Hastur did not choose to dine outside, because every restaurant was packed.
Moreover, he had already eaten through most of the food in the Empress Borough and no longer found anything novel.
After returning home, Hastur urged Ariella to change into her New Year outfit. Last night he had been too busy drinking with Maric and had forgotten about it.
"Meow!" Ariella waved her paws, expressing her displeasure.
"Ten small silver fish!"
"Meow." Ariella obediently followed the maid away.
After dinner, Hastur played with Ariella, now dressed as a little lion, for a while before letting her enjoy the delicious small silver fish.
Seeing that Hastur was free, Butler Neil approached and handed over an invitation, saying it was from the king.
Hastur opened it and glanced over it. The king wanted to see him on January 5th.
And three to five days after meeting the king, he would depart for Southville County.
This timing was acceptable. Hastur had already arranged his affairs in Backlund before the New Year. This time, he did not plan to bring Butler Neil, instead leaving him in Backlund to handle matters.
As for a new butler, he would find someone familiar with the local situation after arriving in Southville County.
This was also the common solution adopted by most nobles when leaving Backlund for official business.