Chapter 375: Forty-three free poets
One of the two ancient families of the Taichu, always revered for their connection to Holy Sound.
The family crest they wore on their chests, surrounded by seven golden notes, was a symbol of their transcendental status. In their long family history, golden notes from the first to the Seventh Note had once been in their possession. If not for the relentless scythe of time that no one could resist, the Taichu Two Families could have relied on their family members to play the Divine Song of the Seven Notes themselves.
Hevnia had not expected to encounter someone from the Taichu family at this time, especially since she had returned to the academy early and hadn’t informed anyone in advance.
So, was this fellow waiting for her because he had received the news in advance, or was there some other reason?
Hevnia’s vigilance was at its peak.
Because what concerned her even more was why Bai Wei had refused her the use of “Gaze”?
This had never happened before.
In just a few seconds, numerous questions flooded Hevnia’s mind, but she didn’t show it, and instead feigned “a little surprise expected upon encountering someone from the Taichu family” and responded politely, “Hello, Mr. Daniel.”
Daniel smiled and said, “I hope I didn’t scare you?”
“Indeed, you did a little.” Hevnia couldn’t get a handle on Daniel’s character and could not adopt a specific stance, so she just smiled broadly and answered, “I did not expect to encounter you here.”
“It’s not necessary to use honorifics, Miss Hevnia. Although I’m a bit older than you are, we can still consider ourselves peers. And it wasn’t my intention to scare you on purpose. I had thought you wouldn’t return to the academy for a few more days, so I was quite excited and couldn’t wait to come over and say hello when I saw you unexpectedly. Please don’t mind.”
Hevnia raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised, “Did you come to the Three Colleges specifically to find me?”
“Of course, I don’t know of anything else here at the academy that’s of value, aside from you.”
…Such an arrogant answer.
But coming from his lips, there was not a hint of unnaturalness, as if what he said was a simple fact.
“May we talk for a while, Miss Hevnia?”
Daniel made a gesture of invitation, seemingly wanting to take a walk alone with her.
But Hevnia wasn’t particularly willing because she instinctively felt danger emanating from Daniel, especially since Bai Wei had suddenly stopped responding after Daniel appeared, which concerned her even more.
So she politely refused, “If it’s regarding the festival, then Mr. Daniel, there’s no need for you to waste too much time.”
“Oh?” Daniel slowly retracted his hand, “Is it because you’ve accepted the invitation from the Lawrence Family?”
“If I didn’t even know that much, it would be quite an underestimation of the Taichu Two Families,” Daniel said with a smile, “Besides, such news does not require deliberate probing. What the Lawrence Family intends to do, no one knows better than us. To outshine us at the festival, the Lawrence Family can’t afford to miss the only Golden Rank Seventh Note.”
Hevnia caught the key information and immediately asked, “Am I the only one?”
Initially, she wasn’t sure, only aware that the Golden Rank Seventh Note was extremely rare, but she didn’t know whether the other two academies, especially the talent-rich First Academy, might have a hidden Seventh Note.
“Indeed, Miss Hevnia, I can assure you with full responsibility, that at this festival, you are the only Golden Rank Seventh Note,” Daniel said, “That’s why Phinis came to find you so quickly and… must have offered you very generous terms. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have thoughtlessly refused me. But what can I say? Miss Hevnia, although what we can offer in sincerity surely cannot compare to Phinis, the depth of our foundation determines that if we increase our stake just a little, it won’t be a match for the Lawrence Family. So, why not listen to what we have to say?”
After a moment of hesitation, Hevnia said, “Mr. Daniel, I have already promised Mr. Phinis, so it’s really not appropriate to contact you without informing him.”
Saying so, Hevnia paused, then raised her head to look at the setting sun gradually descending.
“However, it is getting late, and I think I should be getting back to rest. If a gentleman could escort me back and accompany me for a chat, I believe I should be unable to refuse.”
Daniel instantly understood Hevnia’s meaning, smiled, and bowed respectfully, “Of course. While I may not be much of a gentleman, I would gladly escort such a beautiful lady home.”
Thus, the two set off on the road back to the dormitory.
On the surface, it appeared as if Hevnia was needlessly whining and being capricious, but in reality, it was because the path back to the dormitory was far safer than the lakefront. There were hardly any people around the lake, especially near the Forbidden Forest, and if something were to happen, no one would notice.
But the path back to the dormitory was different. They hadn’t walked two steps before they could see students and maintenance staff coming and going.
Hevnia’s heart immediately relaxed.
No matter what Daniel’s intentions were, he could not possibly make a move in plain sight.
In this way, Hevnia could feel secure while also probing the background of this scion of the Taichu family.
Hevnia originally thought that Daniel would, like Phinis, lay his cards on the table directly, but what she didn’t expect was that the first thing Daniel talked about was…