Chapter 238 Audrey's Little Growth
Count Hall's house.
A week had passed since the Backlund smog incident, and Audrey finally got permission to go out.
During this period, she also attended a Tarot meeting, where Mr. Fool said that this was a disaster caused by a witch.
Mr. Hanged Man said that many people died in the Backlund smog incident this time, and the death of Duke Negan had a great impact on the Kingdom of Loen.
Even Miss Magician said that ordinary people living in Backlund were miserable, especially the dock area, which was already poor and backward, and this time it was even more desperate. Only the nobles living in Queens and the West District escaped this disaster safely.
And she, Audrey Hall, knew very little about this matter, because she could not leave the house, could not know what the outside world looked like, and did not know how many people died in this smog incident.
Count Hall attached great importance to her protection and did not allow her to leave the house at all. Even when taking a walk in the back garden, she had to set a time to avoid being affected by the toxic smog that might remain in the air.
Today, Count Hall allowed her to leave the house and go out to relax.
She brought Susie with her, followed by two personal maids, and a few servants from Earl Hall's family a little further away.
She was surprised to find that the shops on both sides of the street were still crowded with noble ladies and young ladies who came to choose goods. They had bright smiles on their faces and were not affected by the smog incident at all.
As she continued to walk along King's Avenue, everything around her was no different from usual, and the so-called smog incident seemed to have never existed.
After walking for a while, she was sure that everything here was the same as usual, and there was no difference.
There was no scene of corpses lying on the street as described by Miss Magician, and people picking up branches and coal during the day and burning corpses at night in the falling snow.
There was no panic, tension and danger as described by Mr. Hanged Man.
Audrey always had a strong sense of separation, with the words of Miss Magician and Mr. Hanged Man on one side and the still prosperous and lively streets in front of her on the other.
The smiles on people's faces cannot be faked. The people seen on the street, their faces are really happy.
There were still many people along the street gathering in groups of three or five drinking tea and chatting, with brisk laughter and sweet smiles, everything was beautiful.
Is the impact of the smog incident really over?
Or is it not as serious as Miss Magician and Mr. Hanged Man said?
She really wanted to find someone to chat with and find out the real changes in Backlund during this period.
But Susie, her personal maid, and the servants who were responsible for protecting her were obviously not suitable people to chat with.
She thought of Mr. Hasta. She had not met Mr. Hasta since the last time they parted. It was said that he was very busy now and was preparing to leave Backlund.
Is it really okay to disturb them now?
Audrey sighed slightly, and in the end she did not choose to disturb them. Instead, she chose a shop that looked relatively deserted and quiet, and ordered a cup of hot tea and some small desserts. She looked through the window and looked at the street outside.
Carriages passed through the road, and the horseshoes and the ground intertwined a patchwork of music.
Do you want to go to the dock area mentioned by Miss Magician to take a look?
Audrey suddenly had such an idea in her mind. She had not really been to the dock area except when she went out to play by boat. She had the impression that there were many busy workers there, but she didn't know what it was like. But she obviously couldn't go there alone. She needed someone to accompany her, such as her elder brother Hibbert, or Earl Hall, Mr. Hasta.
"It's a bit annoying."
Audrey pouted slightly, and before the personal maid spoke, she restored her elegant and dignified side.
After more than ten minutes, a familiar figure suddenly appeared outside the street, Mr. Hasta was walking with a little black cat in his arms.
"Susie, go and call Mr. Hasta for me."
Audrey gave the task of chatting up Susie, who was lying on the ground in a daze.
"Woof?"
"Go, I believe you can do it."
"..."
Susie got up, shook her golden hair, and then ran towards the door.
At this time, a maid said, "Susie is getting smarter now."
"Yes, because she is the unique Susie."
Audrey was a little proud. This is an extraordinary golden retriever that she has cultivated. It will become a psychologist in the future.
Soon, Susie brought Mr. Hasta, who was holding a little black cat, to Audrey. Audrey stroked Susie's head to show encouragement.
"Ms. Audrey, good afternoon."
"Mr. Hasta, good afternoon."
Audrey asked the maid to arrange a seat for Mr. Hasta opposite her.
"How come Miss Audrey has time to hang out today?"
"I have been staying at home for this period of time and can only go out today. I didn't expect to meet Mr. Hasta. I am really lucky."
"This is also my good luck."
After the two exchanged a few more pleasantries, Audrey asked about the smog incident in Backlund this time.
"Living in Queens and living in the dock area are two completely different lives. The impact of the smog incident on them is naturally different."
"Here, many aristocratic ladies and ladies can still happily go shopping and buy things every day. Occasionally they get together to have tea parties and talk about jewelry and dress styles."
“To them, the Great Smog incident is more like a line of words in a newspaper, or a term mentioned by others in gossip exchanges. It is light and has no weight or anything worth thinking about deeply.”
Audrey was silent for a while, raised her bright eyes, and said softly: "In Mr. Hastur's opinion, am I also one of these noble ladies?"
"This is an attribute you possess when you are born. It does not change based on someone else's thoughts. There is no need for you to deny it, because this is your daily life."
"Then can I see a different life?"
"Of course you can. What we mean by broadening your horizons and observing more different lives is also a way to broaden your horizons."
"Mr. Hastur knows a lot of things that I don't know. He seems to have experienced a lot of things?"
"I'm just talking on paper. It's fine for chatting. After all, I haven't been to the dock area since the smog incident."
Hastur thought for a moment and then said: "But I can imagine what is happening there, or what has happened in the past."
"Is this the benefit of reading more?"
"No, this is because I knew what kind of place it was from the beginning, so I could guess what would happen to them when they encountered a major smog event based on the actual conditions there."
"Mr. Hastur, I want to go to the dock area. Can you accompany me?"
"If Earl Hall agrees to your going, I will be happy to be your guide."
"..."
Audrey frowned slightly. It was not an easy task to persuade Earl Hall to agree to go to the dock area.
"Mr. Hastur, are you worried about something?"
"I'm just looking at this from the perspective of a father, Earl Hall."
Audrey couldn't understand this sentence, and Hasta didn't explain it.
Audrey is now well protected, and she has no right to destroy the safety barrier that Earl Hall has built for her over the years.
The current dock area is not a good place to be. Although there are church personnel there to help solve the problem, the actual situation is still very serious.
The impact of the smog incident is not only the death of people, but also for those who are still alive but can no longer live well, the real disaster has just begun.
"Mr. Hastur, can't you take me to see him secretly?"
"cannot."
Hastur ruthlessly rejected Audrey's small request, ignoring her annoyed look.
"Don't even think about taking Susie secretly. Count Hall will definitely send someone to watch you."
Hasta said another word, breaking Audrey's little thoughts at the moment.
"Mr. Hastur!"
Audrey slightly clenched her little fists hidden in her sleeves, waved them twice, and finally let out a little anger.
"The tea here is not bad. I want to continue taking Azshara shopping, so I'll excuse you now."
Hastur was wise enough to leave at such a time.
Audrey watched Hastur leave and snorted: "Susie, you can't learn from Mr. Hastur to talk like this in the future, otherwise you will be beaten up by me."
"Woof?"
Susie looked confused and subconsciously moved to a position farther away from Audrey so as not to become a punching bag for Audrey's unhappiness.
Even though it knew Audrey wasn't really angry, why should it take the risk?
Stay away, wait until Audrey feels better, and then go home together.
…
At night, after Earl Hall came back, Audrey, who had been thinking about it for a long time, took advantage of Earl Hall's good mood to propose that she wanted to take a look at the dock area.
"No, let's wait until after the new year."
Earl Hall also refused ruthlessly and did not give her the slightest hope.
"The Chinese New Year is coming soon. You have to learn the etiquette and procedures of the coming-of-age ceremony. You can also practice dancing. I will hire some more teachers for you in other aspects."
Earl Hall said something again that made Audrey's scalp tingle.
She really didn't want to waste her limited time on these things.
But it was obviously impossible for her to directly resist Earl Hall's arrangements. She could only tell him that she was very busy now and didn't have much time to learn new things.
In the end, the reasonable Earl Hall reduced the original six or seven teachers to two.
"..."
Audrey had no choice but to accept this arrangement, and an idea arose in her mind.
Could it be that Mr. Hastur had anticipated this result?
So he asked himself to ask Earl Hall's opinion?