Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

Hastur, who had been meditating, instantly opened his eyes and instinctively grabbed a boning knife prepared specifically for this.

The blade was slender and sharp, ideal for wielding, far more useful than a clumsy cane.

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Hastur tiptoed to behind the main door and crouched down, listening carefully for any sounds from outside.

Tonight's visitors clearly knew the layout of the house well. They didn't linger on the first floor and quickly went up to the second.

He vaguely heard the footsteps of three people arriving on the second floor. Then the footsteps split into two directions, one set going up the stairs to the third floor, the other two approaching the adjacent bedroom cautiously.

Luckily, only three people had come. That wasn't too many. If he could ambush one, take down another, he might even be able to subdue the one upstairs.

His only fear was that one of them might be a Beyonder, though that possibility was low.

Hastur suppressed his breathing as much as possible, keeping himself calm. He gripped the boning knife in his hand tightly, waiting for the moment they would push open the door and enter.

"He's not in this bedroom!" an annoyed voice came from the next room.

"Could he not be in the house tonight?"

"Impossible. Our people have been watching this place the whole time. He's definitely here tonight. Maybe he just switched rooms!"

"Search every room carefully, we must find him!"

At that moment, the two in the neighboring room walked out and headed toward the study.

From outside the house suddenly came the sound of neatly marching footsteps, followed by a series of stern shouts, roughly demanding that the burglars inside the house to surrender, hold their hands above their heads, and surrender.

Police officers from the Western District Police Station had arrived in squads.

They carried kerosene lamps and pistols and began entering the first floor through the broken windows.

"Damn it! How did those dumb pigs who only know how to sit in the police station and collect their paychecks get here so fast?"

"Forget how they got here. Let's just run!"

The two who were already at the study door whispered quickly, then turned back to the bedroom they had just left and smashed through the window to jump out.

"My window!"

Now that the tension had eased somewhat, Hastur ground his teeth in frustration. Installing a whole stained glass window cost a lot of money.

He didn't believe these intruders would be able to pay for it.

He absolutely could not let them get away like this!

He knew very well that, from the second floor's height and with the cushion of the lawn below, it would be hard for the intruders to die or even be seriously injured.

"Jumping from here will definitely break both legs!"

Hastur called upon his spiritual power to try to establish a temporary new rule for this area.

As for whether it would work, he wasn't very confident.

This was just a simple attempt.

…

Reed was a sergeant at the Western District Police Station and had held the position for ten years.

He usually handled local public security cases in the west district, mostly fights and petty thefts.

Though he looked busy every day, his work was actually quite relaxed.

Murder cases were rare, and he usually just waited in the station for the church bell to chime at five in the afternoon so he could go home.

Only when there was a major case would he be called to work a night shift.

Overall, it was a fairly easy job, one that earned both fear and respect from many.

The pay was decent, too, without extra shifts, he earned 2 pounds and 5 soli a week after tax, about 10 pounds a month, and roughly 120 pounds a year. While it didn't compare to bank managers or solicitors, it was far better than laboring in a factory.

Tonight, he had originally been resting at home, but the station said they needed him for a shift.

Since there wasn't anything urgent, he was happy to take the overtime, for the extra pay.

When he arrived, Inspector John repeatedly reminded him that he must protect a certain Baron Campbell tonight.

If the baron got hurt by any criminals, not only would Reed face punishment, but he'd also lose his entire annual bonus.

Upon hearing this, he immediately became serious. He even put out his cigarette and quickly gathered five veteran officers to head to the area around Baron Campbell's residence.

The night air wasn't too cold, but it was still brisk enough to make one shrink their neck and tighten their coat, it was only March, after all.

Around 11:30, the dim light in a second-floor bedroom of their target house went out, and the surrounding street grew even darker.

Normally, in a protection assignment like this, they would stay close to the target, but the baron had insisted they stay out of sight and observe from a distance.

The man was a noble, and Reed was just a sergeant, he had no choice but to obey.

Reed leaned against the alley wall at the corner, his right knee bent, foot resting against the wall.

He lowered his head slightly, expertly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a few puffs, closed his eyes, and blew out a ring of smoke, quietly waiting for time to pass.

It wasn't until around 2 a.m. that a police officer came to report: three people had secretly smashed a window and snuck into Baron Campbell's home.

Reed took two sharp puffs of his half-finished cigarette, coughed once, stepped forward, and signaled the four nearby officers to go in and make the arrests.

He and another elderly officer stayed outside the big house to prevent the three criminals from taking the opportunity to escape.

There was no need to open fire yet, when two figures jumped one after another from the second-floor window.

The first person was obviously more experienced. Just as he was about to land, he curled up and rolled forward, cushioning the fall, and quickly got up and started running in one direction.

The second person wasn't so lucky. Perhaps his landing posture was wrong, right as he hit the ground, he let out a miserable scream, both of his legs were broken!

The man had no choice but to lie on the lawn, clutching his knees, rolling back and forth in pain, howling continuously.

Reed told the other officer to go arrest him while he pulled out his pistol and chased after the first man who had jumped.

He had only run a dozen meters when the lucky one who had jumped and was running suddenly let out a scream too. His legs seemed to have been hit by something and gave out instantly, sending him sprawling forward awkwardly.

"Tut, what an unlucky guy."

Reed walked up with a smile, pressing the muzzle of his gun against the unlucky guy's head. With two fingers on his left hand holding a cigarette, he took a deep puff and exhaled a large smoke ring, saying slowly, "You're under arrest."

Not long after, the other four officers also captured the third criminal. The night's work was perfectly wrapped up.

Reed instructed the four officers to take the three criminals back to the station to await trial and sentencing.

As for himself, he knocked on the door of the house. Since he was already here, the necessary procedures had to be followed.

After waiting for about five minutes, the door was opened from inside by a blond, slightly curly-haired youth.

Was this the Baron Campbell?

So young, and already a baron, his luck was really something.

Suppressing the envy in his heart, Reed said, "Baron Campbell, I'm the police chief in charge of your protection tonight. You can just call me Reed."

"Chief Reed, thank you for your protection tonight. Without you, I might've been in real danger."

Reed smiled and said, "I should be the one thanking you. You handed us a big accomplishment on a silver platter."

Hastur also smiled, stepped aside, and invited Chief Reed in for a chat.

In the grand living room, two ornate chandeliers were already lit. The bright light was far superior to that of kerosene lamps.

Hastur brewed a cup of marquis-grade black tea for Reed. Reed took a sip, savoring the aroma lingering in his mouth, which even neutralized the taste of the cigarette he had just smoked.

Reed spoke first, "Sorry to take up your valuable rest time. I hope you can elaborate on this matter a bit more so I can write up the case report properly."

"It all started with a conman named Andrew Wilson…"

Hastur held nothing back. He explained everything from the beginning, including how he accidentally noticed someone watching him today and subsequently wrote letters to the police and to Glaint.

Reed kept nodding, carefully extracting the key information from his words.

After listening for about ten minutes, Reed understood the whole sequence of events and didn't linger further. He stood up and bid farewell.

As for Hastur, he could now go back to sleep peacefully without needing to go to the station to give a statement, because he was a noble.

After sending off Chief Reed, Hastur closed the door, turned off the lights, went upstairs to his original bedroom, and looked at the stained-glass window that had been shattered, sighing.

He had also asked Chief Reed earlier whether those three criminals could be made to compensate for his losses tonight.

Reed said it should be possible, but advised him not to get his hopes up too high. Greedy criminals usually don't have the money to compensate a noble's losses.

In other words, Hastur would have to consider himself unlucky.

Of course, if Andrew was successfully captured and had money, the police would prioritize compensation.

Hastur expressed his understanding, though he felt genuinely pained, as two stained-glass windows had been broken.

He didn't seize the chance to ask whether the two criminals who jumped out the window had both broken their legs, that would be too blunt and obvious.

He just needed to ask Glaint about the details at the station to see whether the temporary rule he set tonight had worked.

According to the promotion path of the Black Emperor, it should be at Sequence 7, Briber, that one gains the supernatural ability to establish and twist rules.

But with a Chain of Order hidden inside his spine, maybe he could use the rule-setting ability earlier.

Hastur thought for a moment longer, put away his wandering thoughts, and checked the time, it was already past 3 a.m.

He hadn't dared to sleep to stay alert. Now that things were wrapped up, fatigue was starting to set in.

He walked over, picked up the quilt from his bed, and went to the guest room on the right.

Once in the guest room, he opened the windows to let the stagnant air circulate. After about ten minutes, he replaced the guest room's bedding.

After everything was tidied up, he lay down under the quilt, fell asleep, and entered the Hall of Stars.

Tonight's affairs were mostly settled, but there was still one thing left to do.

He wielded the Chain of Order and gave the Son of Chaos a hard lash before finally leaving the Hall of Stars in satisfaction.