Chapter 348 The Night Banquet <TOC> Chapter 350 Magda Loses Consciousness
Translator: SumTLMan
Upon Angel’s entrance to the hall, Leonrique greeted him, introducing himself and inviting Angel to sit down.
Angel glanced at the guests; Cynthia accepted his gaze with a smile, while Magda blushed and lowered her head when Angel’s eyes swept over her.
Pointing to the middle-aged noblewoman seated on his right, Leonrique introduced her: “This is my wife, Cynthia.”
Then he pointed to Magda and sighed softly, “Magda, why are you looking down? Come and apologize to the gentleman.”
Upon hearing this, Magda immediately stood up and, with shyness and timidity, bowed to Angel: “Lord, last time I…”
Before Magda could finish, Angel averted his gaze and looked at Leonrique, “Save your breath, no need to apologize. The one who deserved punishment has been punished, and I won’t pursue it.”
Magda stood there, dumbfounded.
Though he said it didn’t matter, Angel ignored her throughout the entire exchange. This left Magda’s carefully prepared, emotional apology and explanation to result in a face flushed with embarrassment.
Angel graciously took the seat at the left head of the table, which was the most honorable guest seat in traditional noble etiquette besides the host’s seat.
“What should I call you, Lord?” Leonrique asked cautiously after sitting down.
Angel initially wanted to reveal his real name but decided to continue using the alias he had used with the Magician: “Mask.”
Not revealing his name and instead using a seemingly nonsensical alias was quite impolite. However, Leonrique merely stiffened his expression before continuing the conversation, “So it’s Lord Mask. Magda was very rude some days ago. Although you said you won’t hold it against her, as a father, I still feel terrible. I would like to formally apologize to you on behalf of my daughter.”
With that, Leonrique poured wine and drank as self-punishment.
This time Angel didn’t interrupt his apology, which caused a sense of grievance to rise in Magda’s heart as she sat nearby.
After Leonrique finished his act, Angel said with a half-smile, “I accept your apology.”
Angel’s words left everyone present stunned. Hadn’t he just said that there was no need for an apology? Why was he now accepting it?
It took Leonrique quite some time to realize that Angel was indirectly pointing out his failure to teach his daughter properly. Regarding Magda’s impoliteness, Angel could dismiss it with a magnanimous attitude, but for the main cause of Magda’s rudeness—lax parenting—Angel was actually blameless.
Thus, he merely chose not to pursue Magda’s apology; however, he expressed forgiveness for Leonrique’s apology.
Everyone present was no fool, and they understood the implications of Angel’s words. Magda’s eyes reddened as she was about to say something, but her mother Cynthia, sitting next to her, held her thigh. Cynthia shot Magda a warning glance before turning her head with a full smile on her face.
“Alas, it’s my fault for being unable to discipline my daughter properly. Magda is my only child and has been spoiled over the years. Starting from today, I will hire the strictest etiquette instructor to teach her. For the next six months, I will strictly supervise Magda until she can transform from the inside out before she can go out.”
Leonrique’s words sounded like a house arrest order, which made Magda, who longed for a free life, eager to argue immediately. However, Cynthia firmly held her under the table, so Magda eventually could only nod reluctantly.
“Let’s end this topic here. You invited me here; it can’t be just for this matter alone, right?” Angel didn’t have time to waste on family drama.
As he spoke, Angel picked up the exquisite cup on the table. Leonrique immediately gestured with his eyes for the wine waiter nearby to pour wine, but Angel stopped the waiter. A surge of magical power flowed out from within him.
With a gentle shake, the cup was filled with water.
“Alcohol interferes with emotions and disrupts thinking. Instead of alcohol, I prefer to drink plain water.” In fact, what Angel wanted to say was, “I love tea the most,” but he was afraid that if he said it, Leonrique would indeed serve tea. However, he meant milk tea, not the peculiar fermented tea that ordinary nobles liked to drink.
Angel’s miraculous act of conjuring something out of nothing amazed everyone present.
It took a while for Leonrique to recover his senses and tried to maintain his composure, “I invited you mainly to apologize and to ask for your advice on a few minor matters.”
Angel looked up without saying anything, only gesturing for Leonrique to continue.
Instead of speaking immediately, Leonrique gestured for Cynthia to take Magda away. Then he sent away everyone else in the hall, leaving only the butler to attend to their needs.
“I just want to know, is Lord Mask actually… a wizard?”
Angel paused. He initially wanted to find an opportunity to ask Leonrique if he knew any information about wizards. However, Leonrique asked the question before Angel had a chance to.
“Of course, you don’t have to answer. It’s just my curiosity.” Seeing Angel hesitate, Leonrique immediately added, fearing that he might upset Angel.
Angel smiled faintly, “I can answer, but before I do, I’d like to know where the count learned about wizards.”
Leonrique had no qualms about this question, “My family has a history of nearly nine hundred years and has recorded many secrets. Among them, there were mentions of wizards, but I always considered them legends.”
Angel: “Could you show me the information you mentioned?”
Leonrique hesitated, his expression filled with uncertainty. The family secrets involved many things, some of which were too dirty, and some even touched upon the secrets of the royal court. It was hard for him to decide whether to show them to an outsider.
Seeing this, Angel calmly said, “I am indeed a wizard.”
Angel did not explain the distinction between official wizards and apprentices, as they were all the same to ordinary people.
Upon hearing Angel’s response, Leonrique’s eyes held a mix of understanding and a hint of fear. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “I never thought that wizards really exist in this world, and the rumors turned out to be true.”
“The world of wizards does not intersect with that of ordinary people. Generally speaking, wizards do not disturb the lives of ordinary people.” Angel did not clarify that the reason wizards did not interfere with ordinary people’s lives was simply due to the vast difference in power. Have you ever seen someone inexplicably antagonizing ants? The scales were different, so even the most evil wizards would not bother meddling in the lives of mortals.
Leonrique was silent for a moment, “Lord Mask, the Griffin family’s secrets are usually guarded by the family head, and according to the family rules, outsiders are not allowed to view them.”
“If you insist on seeing it, I can bring it out.” As Leonrique said this, he cautiously uttered the next sentence that made him extremely anxious, “However, may I ask a favor of you, Lord?”
Using a family secret to request a favor from a wizard, Leonrique felt that this was extremely unreasonable, like someone admiring the dung beetle’s dung ball and wanting to take it away. Would they ask the dung beetle for permission?
Leonrique’s heart was in turmoil, filled with anxiety.
Angel did not respond for a long time, and Leonrique wanted to give up, directly taking out the parchment containing the secrets and asking Angel for forgiveness.
But at that moment, Angel spoke, “I can give you an opportunity to express your request.”
Angel neither agreed nor disagreed. Leonrique’s cautious plea reminded him of his own past when he and Red Lotus were in such an unequal position.
He understood this uneasy feeling, but it was not enough to constitute the answer “agree.”
At most, Angel empathized with Leonrique and gave him a chance to express himself. As for whether he would agree, that would be a matter for later.
Although Angel did not agree, Leonrique was still overjoyed, and hurriedly spoke his request.
“The favor I ask of you, Lord, is not for myself.” Leonrique sighed, “Although Watthelmgrass is a prosperous city, as its actual administrator, I know that there are still many places in this city that I cannot reach. What I am asking for is help with these matters that my hands cannot touch, and for which I don’t even have a solution.”
“Are you talking about the gray forces? Bal?” Angel raised his eyebrow.
“No, no city is completely clean. Where there is white, there is also black, so Bal’s existence is not my main concern.”
“Then you are talking about… wizards?”
Leonrique shook his head, “I dare not and am not qualified to ask you to confront the wizards for us. What I’m talking about is actually a strange matter that ordinary people cannot solve, but perhaps you, Lord, can.”
“Unexplainable incidents that ordinary people can’t solve?” Angel felt a hint of curiosity in his heart.
“This matter dates back to a year ago…”
A year ago, a mysterious illness suddenly struck someone in Watthelmgrass. After being admitted to the Golden Cross Medical College, the patient initially showed no symptoms. However, as time went on, their body began to weaken. At first, they were unable to move, and later on, they gradually lost the ability to speak and their gaze became vacant. In the end, they were like a living dead person. Despite having vital signs and basic physiological responses, their overall condition resembled that of a dead person.
Since the emergence of this strange illness a year ago, there have been over a hundred cases.
“All the professors at the Golden Cross Medical College have been mobilized, and some family members even volunteered to donate a ‘living dead’ person for a live dissection. But the results of the dissection still showed no problems.”
“So, I would like to ask you to take a look, if possible?”
This request took Angel by surprise. After a lengthy explanation, Leonrique’s request was not for himself but for the people. If there was no hidden agenda, it seemed that Leonrique, the count, was indeed a refreshing force among the nobility.
Angel had little concept of treating diseases. Although he had some knowledge of both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, his learning was mostly theoretical, and his clinical judgment was purely based on guesswork. However, he was not intimidated since he was not necessarily obliged to agree to this condition.
“What exactly is the basis for determining the strange illness you mentioned?”
Leonrique: “I didn’t expect you to catch the key point so quickly. The reason it’s considered a strange illness is due to the initial symptoms…”
“These hundred patients all have one thing in common.”
—They all lost their shadows.
Chapter 348 The Night Banquet <TOC> Chapter 350 Magda Loses Consciousness