"I'm just casually speaking, my Lady, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen is certainly you." Mr. Laine was shocked, thinking that the Lake Fairy was peeping at him! Hence, as the Divine Chosen Champion of the Lake Fairy, he could only immediately back down: "I'm just casually speaking, casually speaking, I certainly can't describe the Lady's appearance to this Imperial Merchant, can I?"
"You'd better think clearly about your current identity before you speak." The voice of the Lake Fairy disappeared.
"What's wrong, Mr. Laine?" Oliver saw Laine's face turn red and then pale, so he curiously asked.
"Nothing, I think I've had too much to drink, it's time to go back." Laine couldn't say what happened, so he gestured that it was time to leave. The source of this content ɪs novᴇlfire.net
"Oh, leaving so early? There's still the performance by the dance troupe later!" Oliver felt very strange.
"No, leaving." After saying goodbye to Veronica and several nobles and the Church Archbishop, Laine left the banquet hall.
After walking out of the city hall, the warm atmosphere and bright lights disappeared in an instant, leaving behind the cold air of the winter night, the bright moonlight, the lonely rows of streetlights, and the sparse crowd. The splendor and bustle faded away, leaving only emptiness. This sudden contrast made the apprentice Catherine reluctant; she nostalgically looked back at the still bustling city hall.
"Catherine?" Veronica, who was walking ahead, noticed the apprentice's situation. The woman was initially displeased but quickly understood the apprentice's mindset, so she said coldly: "Hurry up, or you can continue to attend the banquet on your own."
"No, Mentor, I'm coming!" Catherine was so frightened that her face turned pale. The Jialan female witches were extremely strict and even harsh with apprentices; those who made mistakes would receive various punishments, including a small amount of corporal punishment. Some old and mentally twisted witches might even deliberately leave scars on the faces of beautiful female apprentices.
Though this is extremely rare.
Even more frightening is the jealousy and bullying among students. Mentors tend to listen to older apprentices who earn their trust; thus, some cunning students always deceive superiors while stealing others' work, claiming it as their own, even resorting to framing and using violence.
Jialan certainly supervised these behaviors, but a mentor's orders were absolute, making some phenomena difficult to avoid.
Veronica treated her apprentice relatively well, not too good nor too bad, and seeing Catherine jog to catch up, the Jialan Witch said nothing more. A luxuriously decorated carriage arrived, and Veronica extended her hands to Laine. Laine gently lifted the witch onto the carriage—such medieval formal gowns were particularly troublesome and easy to tear when going up and down stairs, suitable only for walking on carpeted paths.
Within the warm city hall, a tall, thin man dressed in a man's buttoned outfit and tight pants quietly approached Agneda. His face was unhealthy pale, almost bluish gray, and he whispered something into Agneda's ear. The president of the Aesthetic Society responded with a charming smile and said to Earl Huron in front of her: "Excuse me, Edmond, please allow me to be excused."
"Oh! No, no, dear Agneda, please don't pay me any mind, I'll be here waiting for you to return." In front of Agneda stood a young Great Noble of the Marinburg Upper House, Edmond Huron, barely in his twenties. After his father suddenly died in an accident, he inherited the title of Earl Huron. This young man's capabilities were poor, yet he had great accomplishments in painting and sculpture.
After a grand exhibition, he met Agneda, and thus began a mad infatuation and obsession with the beautiful president of the Aesthetic Society. He spared no expense to please her, even abusing his power to catch Agneda's attention.
"I think I might not return, Edmond. Would you like to attend tomorrow night's banquet?" Agneda's beautiful face was filled with regret.
"Oh! Of course! Of course!" Edmond nodded desperately: "I deeply miss the wonderful feeling of discussing art together."
"Then see you tomorrow." Agneda and her servant left, with Edmond watching Agneda's figure, unaware even when Schultz approached him: "Edmond?"
"Edmond? Edmond??" Only until the somewhat displeased voice called repeatedly did the young earl return to his senses: "Mr. Schultz? Bishop Odrich?"
"Edmond, we're asking you. Tomorrow our Upper House will convene to discuss tax matters; Winter Festival is less than a month away. In this war, the Emperor has achieved an overwhelming victory, and seized ample gains. We plan to moderately lower tax rates to attract the Emperor to hand over his spoils for Marinburg to process... Edmond, are you listening?" Archbishop Odrich said unhappily, noticing the young man was distracted.
"Oh, no, I won't be going. Tomorrow, I need to prepare well for attending Agneda's banquet." The young man said hurriedly.
"Edmond, this will be the third time you haven't attended the Upper House meetings. Your father never did this. Stop always mixing with Agneda; it's not beneficial for you." Schultz said with dissatisfaction, as the Duke of Marinburg already realized what the Aesthetic Society truly represented.