Earl's Light in Audrey's Eyes

"First, we must understand one thing." Hobart explained to Audrey, "Whether we use gas, electric lights, or even candles, we must choose one method of lighting.

"In a metropolis like Backlund, candles have long been discarded by the influential middle class and nobility. That leaves only gas and electric lights.

"The brightness and convenience of electric lights have basically already determined that they will win this battle. Safety, pollution, and such things actually have little to do with it."

This was also why Hobart was not in any hurry to strike back. Once electricity appeared, it would quickly become a tide of the times, something no individual or industry could stop.

"What if," Audrey said, "I mean, what if the parliamentarians unanimously decide that electric lights cause greater pollution?"

She knew the faces of those politicians well. In their eyes, there was only profit.

Hobart smiled. "Then they can't blame me for being impolite."

To be precise, he currently had no intention of responding aggressively.

Hobart actually hoped this matter would grow bigger and bigger, until the people in Parliament came begging him to clean up the mess.

It would be even better if the Gas Association used some underhanded tricks, giving Hobart a point from which to launch his counterattack.

The two took a carriage to Hobart's manor in the suburbs. Naturally, they did not discuss such unpleasant topics over lunch.

After lunch, they took a walk around the manor and followed the road up the hill behind the villa.

The hill was in an excellent position. They could see very far from there, even the buildings at the edge of Backlund.

Unfortunately, the gradually spreading thick fog blocked their view, making it impossible to see farther.

Audrey sighed. "What a pity. Perhaps, just as Mr. Butler said, only