Standing in the mansion belonging to the duke, the young mage Cohen listened to the surrounding spellcasters discussing in low voices about the mysterious pioneering territory in the southern border.
Half the people here didn't take that offer seriously, and Cohen knew that.
Behind them are small families that are gradually declining. They are new nobles who are preparing to hit a higher status. They are wealthy businessmen who are trying to build a good relationship with the nobles. The real purpose of these people is not to go to the southern border to open up the territory As a builder, I hope to take this opportunity to establish a certain relationship with the Cecil family—it is true that the Cecil family has fallen, but the resurrected founding duke has brought a glimmer of hope to this declining family. From time to time, news came from the Southern Frontier Territory that the Cecil family had not been wiped out in that barren land, but was gradually gaining a foothold, which made some people with ulterior motives active.
Almost everyone agrees with the fact that even if the founding duke really went to the border to start a pioneer, it would be a matter of time before the Cecil family returned to the kingdom's political stage, whether it was for the orthodox symbol of the royal family itself or for the stability of the aristocratic system. The king must allow the Cecil family to become a pillar of the royal family again—the king can be afraid of Gawain Cecil himself, but he must face up to the surname "Cecil" that has regained the protection of his ancestors.
That being the case, the Cecil family, which is still far away at the border, naturally has investment value.
But in any case, the surname "Cecile" is still sensitive, and their investment value is still not clear enough, so many big families are still waiting and thinking carefully, so some small ones, as vassals of big families His small family was pushed out, and took advantage of this opportunity of the duke recruiting extraordinary people to come and establish a link so as to lay the foundation for future investment.
Besides these people with special purposes, the minds of other people at the scene were not pure. The only thing that was certain was that few people at the scene really came here to respond to the Duke's call.
If there is no family mission, there is no need for a professional who has acquired extraordinary power to go to the barren land on the border to do any development and construction. Even if the duke pays him a lot, what can he gain in that piece of land with nothing? Extraordinary people value the promotion prospects in the extraordinary field the most, followed by the development prospects in the upper class, and money is the third thing for them.
And as for whether you can take this opportunity to make friends with the Cecil family... A spellcaster without a family background would not count on this. This is a world that pays attention to bloodlines and family inheritance. What value could it be to the duke
Cohen knew that he was the same. Although he had some personal friendship with Santis, this time he decided to check the situation after receiving Santis's personal letter, but in fact he did not plan to really respond to the Duke's recruitment , His purpose of coming here is the same as that of other young and downcast spellcasters, he just took a fancy to the "connection" opportunities brought by this place - those who want to invest in the Cecil family, they themselves are just the end of the noble system, But for a low-level mage like Cohen who has a normal family and talent, it is still a rare contact. Now two-fifths of the people in the hall come here to make friends with these people.
There were only two kinds of people here: the first kind who wanted to flirt with the Cecils, and the second kind, like Cohn, who wanted to flirt with the first.
A young man with curly brown hair, a hooked nose, and fine silk clothes walked over. Cohen recognized that he was a collateral member of the Straun family, so he immediately stood up with a smile, and raised his glass Greeted him and tried to have a few words.
The two sides had little friendship, and the conversation did not last long, but Cohen believed that he had left a little impression on the other party. After the young master of the Straun family left, the young mage put away the stiff smile on his face and gently Exhaling, put down the wine glass and left the seat.
The attendants in red vests immediately stepped forward to ask him if he needed help—these attendants were all hired and dispatched by the royal family. After the resurrection of Duke Gawain Cecil, the royal family continued to pay for it as a show of favor when the Duke went to the southern border. Someone helped to take care of the property—Cohen waved his hand, indicating that he was just feeling tight in his chest and wanted to go out for a walk.
He left the brightly lit living room and came outside where the cold wind was blowing. The huge sun had gradually sunk, and the sky was dimming little by little.
Cohen sneezed, rubbed his nose, turned to drink another glass of his precious Carnaux, and headed home.
But at this moment, he saw the dark-skinned young woman named Jibri in a long skirt walking towards him.
Santis was very lucky to have such a beautiful young lady by his side.
Cohen thought a little enviously, then nodded slightly to the female mage apprentice in front of him: "Miss Jibri."
He wanted to pay tribute to the Duke's envoy, but he also had to maintain the reserve of being an official transcendent, after all, the other party was just a sorcerer's apprentice.
Jibri lightly tapped her forehead with her fingers, returned a standard mage salute, and asked with a smile, "Mr. Cohen Bonnet, is that right?"
"That's right, it's me, what's the matter?"
"You qualify, Mr. Santis asked me to deliver this to you."
The young female mage apprentice handed a folded letter and an ordinary-looking brooch to Cohen, who couldn't help frowning slightly after receiving the letter, and said hesitantly, "But... I didn't do it. Well prepared to…”
"This is not a registration letter for going to the south, but just an invitation to the next party," Jibri said with a smile, "Please don't miss this opportunity—wearing the brooch is proof of your participation in the party."
Cohen wanted to ask something else, but Jibri just shook her head with a mysterious smile, turned and walked away. Cohen had no choice but to lower his head and open the folded letter, looking curiously.
There is only one sentence written on it: After the first bell rings tonight, I am still here.
But behind this sentence, there is another small symbol, a symbol with lightning and eyes.
"Magician secret meeting? What is Santis doing... Is he planning to use this opportunity to work for the Duke to hold his own private party? He also plans to return to the circle of mages in the capital?"
Cohen frowned and muttered curiously, but still put the letter away seriously.
No matter what Santis wants to do, it is still necessary to attend a similar secret meeting of magicians. The communication between spellcasters is a good opportunity to improve their strength and gain knowledge, but it is not cheap to organize a decent gathering. Since this This is the first time someone has come forward to organize, and they can continue to taste delicious food and wine in the Duke's mansion. Cohen believes that most people will not miss this opportunity.
He glanced at the sky outside and saw that the sun had almost completely sunk below the horizon: the first bell was not far away.
When he returned to the living room, he saw that many people had got up and left, but there were still some people sitting where they were. Cohen glanced around and saw that someone in the corner had a brooch pinned to his clothes.
Sure enough, it's not just me...
Reassured, Cohen put the brooch on, too.
After another ten minutes, a high-ranking attendant appeared, saying that the party was over and all the guests had been registered, and the visitors were invited to leave at will.
So a few more people got up and left here, but Cohen saw that there were still people sitting still—they all had brooches on their bodies.
A waiter in a red vest and a maid in a black and white maid skirt entered the hall and began to clear up the plates and wine glasses left by the guests. Cohen sat back on his seat a little nervously, and a waiter walked past him. His eyes obviously stayed on the brooch of his jacket, and then the waiter nodded in salute, and instead of letting him leave, he brought a glass of sour herbal water to soothe his mind.
Cohen was completely relieved.
After a while, Cohen saw some new visitors walking into the living room—these visitors were still carrying the cold outside, and the first thing they entered the room was rubbing their hands and walking towards the fireplace, obviously they had just arrived.
Are they "recruiters" who came earlier in the day? Came here again to attend the party in the evening
The party that Santis is going to hold this time is not small... He really deserves to be someone who can spend noble money.
Cohen's thoughts diverged, and slowly he noticed an unusual thing:
Many of the people who came to the party were familiar faces, which is not surprising in itself, after all, the circle of mages is limited, but none of these people came from aristocratic families or members of a certain mage faction!
You know, even Santis, who is down and out, should know one or two members of aristocratic families or factions... At least he should have a friendship with him who studied in the same mage tower, right
Deliberately not invited? Or... was this gathering really special, with all the Household and Faction members excluded
Cohen's heart moved, and he couldn't help but increase his concentration.
He instinctively felt that the so-called "second meeting" tonight might not be simple...
And in the process of thinking about it, the first bell in the capital rang.
The tinkling bells rang, and among the bells calling for believers to pray and praise the Lord in various churches, Cohen noticed that the attendants left the hall one by one, while the soldiers in Cecil armor stood guard instead of the attendants. At various entrances and exits, the sound of latches closing also came from the direction of the gate.
The people at the scene were a little uneasy, but soon, the side door of the hall opened, and Santis, who was wearing a black mage robe, entered the hall accompanied by Jibri and Pierce.
Santis scanned the people in the hall silently, and he found that at this time, he was calmer than expected.
Then he spoke:
"Everyone, is anyone interested in the magical skills of ancient Gondor and the knowledge of the lost realm?"
In the southern border, in Earl Hossman's castle, Karlov? Earl Hossman, who is wearing the earl's golden red costume and has sharp eyes, stands at the banquet hall, holding a golden cup full of Karna wine in his hand, smiling He looked around at the guests present.
Amidst the melodious sound of lyre and tambourine, the earl said loudly: "Everyone, is anyone interested in the 'Magic Web' technology from Cecil
"I want to tell everyone a piece of good news—with the efforts of several wise magic consultants and scholars of the Horsman family, I have cracked its secret!"