Throne of Magical Arcana
chapter-148

"Yes… of course. I can feel the energy of youth in your body, Mr. Professor." The corner of the viscount’s lips curled up, "The power of life… I never get it wrong. Since Mr. Douglas defined Arcana, the Congress of Magic was revitalized like a young person, full of hope and vitality. Lots of outstanding young sorcerers and arcanists are giving new life to the congress… It’s beautiful."

Lucien wondered why the viscount was speaking in the tone of a senior and elder person, after all, Carendia was still very good-looking and energetic, but by the fact that the viscount could sense the young power of life made Lucien guess that the noble might be a powerful vampire, since the sensitivity toward life power was especially known as an unique advantage of this bloodthirsty race.

"I wish. Although I never heard the name of Mr. Felipe, I’m looking forward to meeting him." Lucien did not show his suspicion toward the viscount’s identity, but remained rather conservative and careful, "Unfortunately, I have some of my own business to deal with on the day before the gathering, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to meet Mr. Felipe in advance." Lucien was not sure about Felipe’s attitude toward him as Professor, so he would rather get some more practical information from the gathering such as getting to know who was the liaison of the Congress of Magic in Sturk.

"Well, that’s too bad, but I’m sure that you will definitely enjoy the gathering." The viscount handed him the invitation, "Here’s yours, Mr. Professor."

Lucien took a quick glance at the invitation and noticed that his own symbol on it was a black top hat.

"I appreciate it." Lucien stood up and bowed slightly, "I think it’s time for me to leave now. It’s pretty late. Forgive me for coming over at such a late hour."

"No worries. My day has actually just started." The viscount waved his hand casually.

After Lucien left, the old steward, Nied, asked his lord with a confused look, "My lord, why you allowed him to join the gathering? Forgive me… I mean… can we really be certain that he’s the Professor just based on that one single strange spell?"

"The spell was just part of it." Viscount Carendia stood beside the window and stared at the shining lake under the moonlight, "What made me certain about his identity was the ring he was wearing."

"The ring?" asked Nied.

"The plain-looking one… on his left hand." The viscount had a faint smile on his face, "Although the ring already lost its power and no one could tell its original look, I know the material of the ring. It was made by the alloy consisting of the seven elements. Only Holm Royal Magic Academy and the Will of Elements can produce that alloy. So, this Mr. Professor should be on their side, according to my guess."

"Then it’s even more confusing to me that you, my lord, allowed him to attend the gathering." The old steward looked surprised, "The Will of Elements and the Hand of Paleness are…"

"Just for fun. And somehow he smelled a bit familiar to me." The viscount frowned his brows a bit and then turned to another direction.

"What do you feel about the spell Professor just showed, Amores?"

A low and hollow voice with echo responded from nowhere in particular, "Something like sound waves… not sure. He kept adjusting the frequency of vibration, and the vibration was quite unique… It made me feel a bit itchy."

...

Using the methods evading possible pursuers taught by Natasha, Lucien spent thirty minutes more to get back to the castle and sneaked into it successfully using the first circle spell, Light of Darkness.

It was a spell which could create a special zone of darkness. People inside the dark zone could see the outside very well, while people outside could not tell what was in the darkness.

In the guest room, Lucien took off the ring given by Natasha and hid it safely. Then, he burned down Hunt’s invitation before going to bed.

...

In the morning of the following day, they left the castle, heading for Korsor.

Sitting beside the window of the coach, Lucien was introducing some of the methods of formal knight training, which mostly came from John’s sharing and Natasha’s teaching.

Unlike what Betty imaged with knight training, the procedures were actually quite boring and painstaking, and even Joanna and Simon who were also listening to Lucien’s instruction felt hard to handle it. However, out of their admiration for Mr. Evan’s great power, they knew that they should stick to the training.

In the early evening, they were already very close to Wolftown.

"When we report to the Church… " Simon said to Lucien a bit emotionally, "the legend of Baron Habearo will fall."

"I know it must be very disappointing for those people who view the baron as an idol, but those young lives who died because of him deserve justice," said Lucien.

...

Three hours later.

In the confessionary of the local church, after checking all of Lucien’s documents, Arnold, a level three bishop from Korsor, smiled to Lucien, "It’s hard to imagine that the talented musician, Lucien Evans, is also a powerful knight… very surprising…"

Before that, he even asked Lucien to play Pathetique to prove himself. Now, the bishop had no suspicion toward Lucien at all.

"My Blessing came from the potion that the princess rewarded me, but I don’t have any noble title." Lucien slightly shook his head, "And I don’t think I could even have survived this time against the baron and the necromancer if I did not have the sword and the powerful items given by the princess, not to mention killing them."

"The princess’s generosity makes all people feel jealous," Arnold said in a meaningful way. Two magic items, one divine item, two extraordinary-quality weapons… Those things could almost compete with the collection of Viscount Stanley. The bishop was almost certain that the rumor was true: Lucien Evans, the young talented musician, was the secret lover of the princess of the Duchy of Orvarit.

As soon as the pastors in Wolftown heard Lucien and his guards’ report on what happened in Baron Habearo’s castle, they were completely shocked and immediately sent their message birds to inform the cathedral in Korsor. Then, by using some kind of divine portal, the level three bishop, Arnold, together with his two pastors and four night watchers came to Wolftown to meet, or, in other words, to inquire about the baron’s case.

The inquiry went separately, and Arnold was the one responsible for questioning Lucien. Lucien’s words, after his careful design, were not suspicious to the bishop, and what Lucien said was also verified by his safeguards.

Now, the last part of the bishop’s work was to write a report on how Lucien killed the baron and the necromancer to the cardinal of the Duchy of Djibouti.

"Mr. Evans, can I take a look at your magic and divine items that helped you kill the baron and the necromancer?" asked Arnold.

"Sure," answered Lucien. He reached out his left hand and introduced to the bishop, "This is the ring that can shoot frost blades. And this is the bracelet… it is where the fire balls and the fire shield came from."

Before that, Lucien dyed his bracelet and the ring with some kind of special plant, just in case that the Church would recognize them.

Seeing that Lucien was not going to take off the ring and the bracelet, the bishop also did not bother asking. Arnold just checked the two items from a distance with his waves of faith, which was basically the same thing as spiritual power, to see if the power inside was according to Lucien’s words.

Then Lucien took out the amulet hiding beneath his shirt.

"Umm… Early stage of the War of Dawn… should be the style from that period of time." Arnold’s eyes lit up a bit instantly when he saw the amulet, "I guess only families with long history like the Violet family are able to possess them."

Lucien’s eyes squinted a bit from his confusion about the relationship between Maskelyne and the Church, but he knew that this was definitely not a proper time for investigating it. He put on a casual smile and put Alert and Asthenia Dagger on the table, "Alert, rewarded by the princess. And the dagger was from a level two dark knight killed by the princess."

"I see the coat of arms on the sword, yes." Arnold nodded. He checked them again and then said to Lucien, "Well… I think we’re all set here. I sense that the night watchers are back, and after our verification, you’ll be good to go, Mr. Evans."

Lucien waited patiently in the room for the bishop.

Ten minutes later, the bishop came back with smile, "No problem. Everything’s clear now, Mr. Evans, although it’s quite a pity that the necromancer’s lab had been burned down by your fire balls during the fight, or we could find more information."

Lucien nodded to be polite, but did not say anything.

"And this is a reward from the Church. If it had not been for your brave fight, Mr. Evans, more innocent lives in Fogtown would suffer. You’re a great contributor to the purity of the Church. And you’re good to go now, Mr. Evans." The bishop handed Lucien a cross-shaped brooch, which was not a real divine item, but just a common gift for acknowledging Lucien’s merit.

Lucien was almost amused: the Church was giving a reward to a sorcerer, a sorcerer who was on their Cleansing List… How ironic was that?

...

In the basement of the abbey in Aalto, there was no light and no sound.

Camil opened the door of the basement slowly without making any noise and entered the room. When she saw the princess, who was dressing pure black, kneeling on the floor and praying silently, Camil almost burst out tears.

The princess looked emaciated. Her practice here was to immerse herself in extreme darkness and silence in order to strengthen her will.

"What can I do for you, Your Grace?" Camil took a deep breath and walked to Natasha.

Slowly raising her head, Natasha smiled, "Did you bring paper and quill, auntie Camil?"

"Yes, as you wish." Camil handed the materials to the princess.

Writing something on the paper with effort, it took Natasha quite a bit of time to finish the letter. Then, she carefully folded the paper and gave it back to Camil, "Please, bring it to Mr. Othello."

...

In the afternoon, seven days later, in Korsor.

"We need to head for the Musicians’ Association now." Wise and Mars said to Lucien and his guards, "You’re welcome to visit us any time you want, Mr. Evans."

"Can I go with you?" Lucien smiled, "I have some personal things to deal with in the association as well. It would be lovely if you two could show me the way."

"Not a problem." Wise and Mars grinned.

Lucien was planning on sending letters to John and Natasha from there.