Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

It was a Level 0 sealed artifact that could save her life at a critical moment. Even in the face of the descent of one of the Seven Gods, it still offered some chance of survival.

"The starry sky is always so terrifying,"

A sigh drifted over the vast ocean.

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Early in the morning, two invitations lay on the table, one to the left and one to the right.

One was black overall with a touch of luxury, while the other, a light yellow invitation, had over a dozen red roses embroidered on its surface and was carefully sprayed with rose essence, giving off a captivating fragrance.

The black invitation came from Glaint, inviting him to a small gathering at his villa tonight, saying he wanted to introduce him to a Beyonder.

The rose invitation, on the other hand, came from Madame Germani, also inviting him to a banquet in the evening. Her handwriting revealed a strong sense of longing and a hint of sorrow.

It made him seem like a heartless man.

Choosing which banquet to attend wasn't a difficult decision, the hard part was that he didn't really want to write back to Madame Germani.

But not replying would be extremely rude for a noble.

Yet once he replied, Hastur was certain he would continue receiving invitations from Madame Germani at regular intervals.

Possibly not just invitations to private banquets, but also some bold and ambiguous words.

"Being too good-looking is also a kind of trouble."

Hastur sighed, finished the last sip of milk, tidied the table a bit, and took the two invitations upstairs.

In the study, he picked up a pen and wrote a reply to Madame Germani.

First, he thanked her for her sincere invitation, then explained that he couldn't attend due to a scheduling conflict.

Simple and direct, without any ambiguity, giving Madame Germani no chance for misinterpretation.

As for Glaint's invitation, he didn't plan on replying. He would simply go to the villa at the scheduled time in the evening.

With that matter resolved, he changed into a decent set of clothes and went out carrying a bag of laundry.

If he weren't worried about his poor hand-washing skills, he would've liked to save some money.

But cleaning white shirts and ties was something he found difficult to handle, so it was better to leave it to professionals.

Would this make him seem too down-and-out?

Hastur didn't care in the slightest, everyone knew that Voltaire Campbell had squandered his family fortune to the point where he could no longer maintain noble dignity.

He spent another six penny to get to Backlund University, where Professor Wayne's lectures were, as always, highly praised.

He rarely lectured on specific legal codes in class. Instead, he focused on explaining to Hastur how to appeal and rule in special cases, as well as some tips on how to persuade judges and juries.

As for the specific legal texts, he asked Hastur to go to the library to read them himself.

After class, Hastur, as usual, went to the university cafeteria for a meal. The food was good and cheap, and he could relive his student days, nothing could be more better.

Once he had filled his stomach, Hastur went to the Backlund University library, planning to spend the entire afternoon there.

This was mainly to avoid running into Madame Germani at court again today.

Some of the legal codes in Loen were outdated and barbaric, heavily marked by features of a bygone era, but others were quite interesting.

For example, as he had already seen yesterday theft was considered an extremely serious crime. No matter the reason, even if you were starving, you couldn't steal. Anyone caught committing theft would be sentenced to hanging.

A severe lack of empathy, with no concept of a moral baseline.

Killing, on the other hand, was divided into many different categories.

If someone without status killed, it was usually a life for a life.

If someone with some status killed, there could be consideration for atonement or compensation with money.

If a noble or powerful person killed, the situation would be further divided, but generally, the laws favored their acquittal.

There were also special cases, like self-defense in dangerous situations or dealing with home intruders. These often resulted in complete exoneration, without even jail time.

When it came to matters involving the Church of the Seven, Loen's laws were clearly deferential, with a strong air of divine right.

Of course, officially, it was just framed as respecting freedom of belief.

While flipping through books, Hastur gained a rough understanding of the Kingdom of Loen.

In his view, Loen's laws were undoubtedly crude and barbaric, but compared to the laws of other kingdoms, Loen was actually a leader of its time, at the forefront of legal development.

For instance, Feysac, where the Church of the God of Combat was located, had a legal system that was at least a hundred years behind Loen's in terms of civilization.

...

As night fell, the luxurious villa of Glaint lit up with lamp after lamp. Around a dozen guests had arrived and were mingling among the food and wine.

Hastur arrived on time and, seeing that Glaint was busy talking with other nobles, didn't disturb him. He simply helped himself to a plate and began selecting from the wide array of foods.

After all, he hadn't had dinner yet.

After eating some staple foods, he headed straight to the dessert area.

Ever since arriving in the World of Mysteries, in order to save money, he always quickened his pace when passing dessert shops.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.

On the white tablecloth were various desserts: cream cake, ice cream, muffins, pudding…

Hastur showed a smile, selected a few desserts that looked rather tempting, and walked to a nearby spot to enjoy them while observing the guests attending tonight's banquet.

After finishing one round, he poured himself a glass of wine to taste, then continued selecting another plate of desserts.

Compared to dealing with unfamiliar nobles, quietly enjoying good food suited his preferences much better.

There was another person who shared the same sentiment, a lady who was also very fond of desserts. Hastur counted and found that within less than twenty minutes, she had gone for dessert four times.

The lady looked to be around twenty-three years old, about 1.65 meters tall, wearing an orange high-collared long dress with ruffles. Her slightly wavy brown hair was left loose, her delicate facial features were petite, and her light blue eyes scanned the other guests with a hint of playfulness.

When she noticed Hastur's gaze, she returned it briefly, smiled politely, and then moved to the other side, avoiding his eyes.

"Could that lady be Fors, the salted fish?"

A thought flashed through Hastur's mind, but he didn't approach her; he continued to observe the banquet quietly.

Half an hour later, after socializing with other guests, Glaint approached Hastur with a smile. After a few pleasantries, he said in a low voice, "Tonight I invited a true Beyonder. I'll introduce you shortly."

"Is it a lady?"

"Huh, you already know?"

"I just had a feeling. After all, I'm also pursuing the path of Beyonders, so I have some sense of people like her."

"When you become a Beyonder, don't forget to give me a hand."

"Of course."

After a brief exchange, Glaint led Hastur to the lady.

Glaint introduced her, "This is Miss Fors, an outstanding writer. Every one of her works showcases wisdom and ingenuity far beyond the ordinary."

So she really is that salted fish Fors.

Hastur felt a flicker of emotion but didn't show anything unusual. He simply smiled and said, "It's an honor to meet a writer who embodies both beauty and intelligence."

"This is Baron Hastur Campbell, current heir of the Campbell family. He is very learned and has studied many languages. Currently, he's diligently studying law."

Glaint took the opportunity to introduce Hastur as well.

Fors only nodded with a faint smile and didn't say much. She gave off an air of aloofness and pride.

Hastur knew this was only on the surface. She simply couldn't be bothered to waste unnecessary words.

"You two can chat for now. After I see off a few guests, we'll continue our conversation in the study."

Glaint left, giving Hastur and Fors a moment alone.

"The desserts here are quite good—especially that cream cake. The cream is sweet but not cloying, melts in your mouth, truly a rare delicacy."

Hastur didn't expect Fors to initiate conversation, so he brought up desserts to avoid awkward silence.

Fors' eyes lit up slightly and she smiled, "The cream cake is indeed good, but I prefer tonight's ice cream, the mouth was filled with a sweet, fragrant taste."

'No, the ice cream tonight was clearly way too sweet, to the point of being sickly. If rated out of ten, it would only get a three, definitely a fail.'

Hastur silently disagreed but replied aloud, "That's true. Viscount Glaint has always been generous, especially when it comes to food."

With desserts as the entry point, the two quickly became less like strangers. After chatting for a while, they each got another plate of desserts and continued talking while eating.

In their idle talk, Fors was surprised to find that this Baron Campbell actually knew more about occult knowledge than she did.

No matter what topic in the occult she brought up, he could follow her train of thought and even offer insightful and interesting perspectives.

This Baron Campbell is really something. No wonder Viscount Glaint said he once tried performing a resurrection ritual.

That's a forbidden field even she dared not touch.

They talked for a long time, and somehow the topic shifted to Emperor Roselle.

With a smile in his eyes, Hastur said, "I'm an admirer of Emperor Roselle. If Miss Fors has any of his original manuscripts, I'd be willing to buy them at 50 pound per page."

50 pound per page?

Fors' eyes lit up. That was quite a profitable deal—after all, those manuscripts looked like gibberish to her; she couldn't understand a single word.

Rather than keeping them around like scrap paper, she might as well sell them for a little extra money.

She agreed to the deal right away, and the next time she visited Glaint, they would complete the transaction.

Hastur raised his glass, his gaze carrying subtle meaning, and said, "Pleasure doing business."

"Pleasure doing business," Fors replied, the corners of her lips curling up slightly, clearly pleased with the deal.