Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 159 Hope
"Yes, and it has actually been made public to some people now. All the students in the advanced class know about it, and most of them have seen the banshees."

Zoe was shocked: "What!? You just made it public, but they are, they are..."

"They are also Castel's subjects." Hughes picked up the tea from the table and blew on it slowly. "Miss Zoe, you have been working as a maid in the Duke's Mansion since your parents passed away, right?"

"Yes, you were still young at that time."

"So you haven't seen the lower classes that often, right? Even your students, though they wear rags, are at least very enthusiastic about learning and studying, right?"

Zoe nodded. Her understanding of poverty was limited to having no money, no money to eat, no money to buy clothes, and then dying of illness or starvation. This was what was written in novels.

"Miss Zoe, maybe you should go and see what the people at the bottom of society are really like." Hughes looked into Zoe's eyes. He was wearing a simple coarse cloth suit, which was specially made for workers. There were many pockets on the clothes for storing various parts. He had just dismantled a steam engine on site, and this suit was wear-resistant and convenient.

"Those people at the bottom of society are indeed short of money - but who doesn't? I am short of money too, very much, but there is one thing I don't lack."

"hope."

"It's a very intangible thing, it can neither fill your stomach nor cure illness. You feel it is very precious, but you don't know why. You want to cherish it, but you don't know how to do it - it's simple, because you have it."

"Go and see the numb eyes of those poor people."

“When despair fills every void in life, people instinctively reject beauty and live like animals, clinging only to what is before them and using numbness to cope with suffering. They themselves cannot tell whether they are alive or dead.”

"You still remember Gaia, right? You cared about her a lot and must have given her a lot of help, right? Have you ever talked to her?"

"some."

"How does she evaluate her life now? Is she richer? Does she eat better? Does she make more money?"

Zoe's eyes gradually widened, and she murmured to herself, "Gaia said she's happier now. She enjoys attending classes, studying, and being rewarded for her hard work."

"It's strange, isn't it? She didn't mention how much Rio she earned or how much fried fish she ate, but instead talked about how happy she was, even though her family was so poor."

"Miss Zoe."

Hughes looked at the confused girl in front of him and said softly, "That's because you can only see her poverty, but can't understand her despair. Poverty is terrible, terrible, but having no hope is even worse."

"Isn't it strange? I'm so poor, and I'm going through hardships that would terrify you, yet I'm yearning for something so ethereal. Do you know why?"

Zoe shook her head subconsciously.

"Because they are human, and as humans they have emotions and they pursue beauty. They know they can live better and stay away from this quagmire by abandoning their human nature, but they just can't give it up."

“If you want to understand the grassroots, you can’t just watch from afar; you have to touch it and feel it for yourself.”

Steam rose from the tea as Zoe stood there in a daze.

She had tried to write many novels about poor people and showed them to her younger sisters. They all said they were good, but she herself felt that something was not right. There seemed to be something between the characters she wrote and the people she met.

She had never known what it was, but Hughes' words gave her a sense of enlightenment.

Did she really understand those who were struggling in hardship? How could she write about them if she didn't understand them herself?

Zoe clutched the hem of her skirt.

"With the factory in Castel now operational, everyone can earn a few riyals with their own hands. They can earn more by attending night school. Money can attract them, but I hope to keep them here."

"You still remember Gaia and her family, right? They came to work for me to earn money, but they were willing to become poor again just to go to school. I gave them subsidies to allow them to go to school, but even without the subsidies, they would have come anyway."

"Hope is such a precious thing. When you don't have it, you don't care about it at all. But once you have it, it's hard to let go. How many people have thrown away their lives for those illusory promises? What I offer you is a solid and bright future."

"Now, they're finding those hopes are slipping through their fingers."

Zoe's breathing became heavy and her eyes widened, as if she was the one who was about to lose hope.

"Forget the Banshee. Even if I told them I was working with the devil, they would still rush forward and sign their names."

Xius pulled out a booklet from his pocket. "This is the report Connor gave me. He sent people to investigate all the students who had contact with the Banshee. They all firmly supported Caster. Not a single one wavered."

"That seems a bit..." Zoe said hesitantly, with a conflicted expression on her face.

"It's a bit despicable, isn't it? I'm taking advantage of their pain and weakness."

"That's not what I meant."

"But I am."

Hughes met Zoe's surprised eyes and said firmly, "I used them in a despicable way. I won't make any excuses, and I am willing to bear your contempt for this - but I will continue to do it, no matter what means. As long as I can keep this hope alive, I am willing to do it and will keep doing it. As long as this hope is not realized, I will not stop, even if it is neither noble nor moral."

"And today, I'm asking you for help with the same thing. To allow you to manipulate the power of words to mislead my subjects is perhaps something that's estranged from your ideals."

"So Miss Zoe, are you willing to help me do something bad?"

Zoe was stunned. She stayed still for a moment before she spoke hesitantly, "Why are you telling me this, and why are you doing this?"

"Ms. Zoe, I've read your novel. You really want to reach out to the grassroots and the people. I think that's a great idea. But don't rush to refute me. Wait until you've actually achieved it before you come back to me."

"As for your other question, why should I continue this hope by any means necessary?"

"It's very simple, just because this hope is equally precious to me."

"Maybe it was just a casual promise at the beginning, just a simple and vague idea, but I have been on this road for too long, and too many people have walked with me. They have sacrificed and given without hesitation, and there is no way I can let them down."

(End of this chapter)