Throne of Magical Arcana
chapter-104

The last week of the Month of Life, the third month of the year.

As the weather was getting warmer, Aalto, the city of Psalm, quickly recovered from the bitter winter and burst out great vigor, welcoming all the guests coming from different places all over the continent to join the Aalto Music Festival, which was held every three years.

Musicians, instrumentalists, bards and nobles from other countries flocked to the biggest city close to the Dark Mountain Range.

Even in the afternoon, there was still huge traffic in front of the city gate in Nolan District.

Lilith, a pink-haired girl, was pulling her elder brother’s arm to make him walk faster,

"Stop looking around like that, Sala!"

Saying that in a low voice, the girl seemed to be a bit pissed off with her elder brother, but clearly she did not want to draw attention from anyone.

This sixteen-year-old girl was very lively and beautiful. A slight feeling of melancholy even added more charm to her. Lilith was very popular in her hometown. A young noble almost gave up his title in order to pursue her.

Sala looked way more excited than his sister, "Look, Lilith! They are Moon Elves! Oh my… they’re so beautiful! Like the tales said, their ears are slightly waggling… how adorable!"

Out of curiosity, Lilith stood on tiptoe and looked at the elves. Indeed, the several elf maidens who were walking together were absolute beauties. Their skin was as fair as the full silver moon; their faces were well-defined; and their pointy ears were cute.

Falling back on her heels, Lilith murmured, "Just a bit better-looking than me…"

Then she pinched Sala’s arm and complained, "Mind your behavior, Sala! This is Aalto. God is watching you!"

When she mentioned "God", she lowered her voice even more.

"Relax, Lilith." Sala looked a bit similar to his sister, who his pink hair. "Being too nervous is even more suspicious."

Entering the city, the brother and sister changed their direction and came to a quiet corner where there was no one.

"But we’re… apprentices." Lilith looked around and finally said the word.

"So what? You know how many sorcerer apprentices are there in Aalto?" Sala shrugged. "After finding the scholar who can answer our questions, we shall leave."

"No music festival?" Lilith looked a bit disappointed.

"No." Sala looked serious, "Aalto Music Festival is held every three years, but we probably only have one chance to become a real sorcerer. You know which is more important."

Lilith nodded. She understood how horrible it would be if they got caught by the Church. The brother and sister had been living in fear for a long time, since they were kids.

...

Copper Coronet.

This was, for sure, not a decent place. Adventurers, mercenaries and hookers were drinking and laughing aloud.

Pushing through the people, Sala carefully protected his younger sister from the many nasty hands in the bar, and finally they jostled through the crowd to the counter.

"Drink?" As usual, Cohn, the dwarf, was drunk.

"Two ales," answered Lilith shortly.

Emitting a sound like a bubbling spring, Cohn let out a big hiccup, "Interesting girl! One free ale on me!"

Grabbing the mug on the bar, Sala took a sip of the ale and nodded, "Pretty good."

"For sure!" Cohn answered with pride, "I drink them all the time. I would not drink shitty ale!"

"As the owner of such a busy bar, you must know a lot of people in the city." Lilith asked with a bit hesitation, "Can you tell us who is the most profound scholar in Aalto? We got an ancient script by accident, but we can’t understand it."

"Common tongue?" After another hiccup, Cohn asked, "Or elven, dwarven, draconic…"

"Common tongue. It has been translated by someone." Sala directly cut Cohn off, in case he would keep listing all the languages existing on the continent.

"Well… if the script is about a big treasure," Cohn put on a mysterious smile, "you pupils will be in trouble. Sometimes, it can bring misfortune."

"We have no idea what it is about. We come from a small town." Lilith looked innocent.

"Anyway, the only reason I’m still alive is because I never ask too much." Cohn gulped his ale, "Historians should be helpful… Bake, Alfonso…"

"Which one would you recommend?" asked Lilith with caution.

"None of them," Cohn answered directly. "All those people who know about ancient history… they’re all nobles and pastors. You think you guys can just visit their places and ask them questions?"

Both Lilith and Sala looked a bit disappointed. They knew that they could not take the risk of seeing a noble, not to mention a pastor.

"Wait… I know a person who might help," said Cohn. "He was a pauper."

"Really? A pauper turning into a historian? Who is it!?" exclaimed Lilith.

"Lucien Evans," said Cohn with pride. "A genius musician, and also a historian!"

"The composer of For Silvia and Symphony of Fate?" Lilith looked very surprised, "How come he’s a historian? That’s impossible!"

Sala looked very skeptical.

"I knew you guys wouldn’t believe it." Cohn laughed and waved his big palms, "I know Lucien! I’ve watched him grow up… a very talented young guy. Genius! I heard that he got the access to the princess’ study since he’s her personal music consultant."

"That’s it?" Sala still could not believe, "A bunch of books make a historian?"

"Great talent! Great memory! That’s Lucien’s blessing!" Cohn seemed to be a bit unhappy with Sala’s comment, "Believe it or not!"

Lilith pulled her elder brother’s elbow a bit and said to Cohn politely, "Do you know where Mr. Evans lives? Can you tell us?"

"Everyone in Aalto knows that the princess has just awarded him a manor in the suburb. He might be living there to prepare for his upcoming concert," said Cohn proudly. "But you guys gotta wait until tomorrow, or the gate will be closed by the time you come back."

"You mentioned that you’ve watched Mr. Evans grow up… Is he… elegant and good-looking?" Lilith asked a bit shyly.

"For sure." Cohn laughed aloud.

Lilith grabbed Sala’s arm and said to him, "We are visiting Mr. Evans right now."

"What? But the dwarf just said we should go there tomorrow! What if the city gate is closed later?" asked Sala.

"Then we hope Mr. Evans is kind enough to let us stay in his manor for the night." Lilith looked very resolute.

"…"

...…

By the time they reached Lucien’s manor, whose name was Brons, the dark night had already fallen upon them.

Sitting in front of a forest, the manor looked a bit creepy.

After negotiating with the manor guards, Lilith and Sala got to see the steward of the manor, Mr. Lopez.

Lopez was in his fifties, and he was also the previous steward of the manor, so Lucien kept him. The brother and sister were invited to come into the hall and waited in the couch.

They waited patiently for several minutes. Then, Lilith and Sala saw a young man wearing a black suit and a white shirt walking downstairs. He looked rather mysterious and elegant.