Chapter 24: A Wearying Yet Exciting Dinner

“In these years, your father was always away for military affairs, and the place where I lived was too far away… You really suffered a lot, child…”

The ceiling had a splendidly painted ornate panel enclosing a cluster of bright lamps in the center—they were set among flashing prisms and gilded stucco scrollwork on crystal pedestals. A blazing fireplace, pale yellow bright lights, a spotlessly clean floor polished with wax that gave off a faint reddish glow, dark mahogany tables and chairs decorated with gilt carvings and velvet… All of this made the entire dining hall look incredibly neat and elegant.

The snow-white napkins, exquisite silverware, gleaming knives and forks, everything looked so perfect… so perfect it almost felt unreal. A simple dinner that was late by more than an Hourglass Hour.

At the long dining table, spacious enough to seat dozens, only five people were sitting now: a somewhat absent-minded Duke, a relaxed, dignified, and smilingly graceful Lady Ximei, a Constantine slumped from hunger and fatigue, and two young people—a boy and a girl—who maintained elegant noble dining manners but kept glancing across the table at each other from time to time.

Discussion topic: reflections on the family finally living together harmoniously in one space, and some familiar questions among them. However, it was clear that Constantine, who had only napped in the bathtub for less than an Hourglass Hour, was not interested in this warm atmosphere. He just wanted to quickly end this dinner that made him even more tired, and throw himself back onto that bed cushioned with soft cashmere blankets to discuss some lighter topics with the Sandman.

The main course was roast veal cooked to perfection, paired with a genuine aged red wine from the Chianti region. Although the food was unremarkable on a noble menu, rows of heavy silverware studded with gemstones more than made up for it. Any one of these exquisitely crafted utensils would have taken the Constantine of his previous life a dozen or twenty years of hard labor to afford, but here they were merely props to display the family’s deep heritage.

The cuisine in this world was close to European style, but had some unique characteristics of its own, such as meat from lower-level magical beasts that was more tender and flavorful, and some rare plants, among other things. But Constantine was infinitely annoyed right now.

These formal dining etiquettes were really not his strong suit… He had to constantly mind his actions, elbows must never appear on the table, no matter what dish, he could only take small bites using specific postures… The nobles’ attention to detail even reached a paranoid level of tedious accumulation. Similar etiquettes almost drove the starving young man mad with irritation. In fact, he wished he could just plunge his head into the plate in front of him, shove that juicy steak directly into his mouth, use the bread to fill any gaps, and finally take a hearty gulp of red wine!

But this was destined to remain just a thought. In reality, Constantine couldn’t slacken his posture even a little… because the Duke sitting wordlessly at the far end of the long table was emanating a kind of invisible pressure from his whole being.

The Duchess was undoubtedly the only one responsible for breaking the ice in these boring conversations, but obviously, the usable topics were pitifully few—some scenery and life in the Western Frontier capital, Meadheim, some not-so-interesting anecdotes about the two younger siblings, the Duke’s busy schedule leading to more partings than reunions… Even though the meal caused some delay, by the time the delicious mushroom bisque was served, all topics had been completely exhausted… Actually, some had already been used before.

Perhaps feeling this task had no future, she began extending an olive branch to her husband: “Dear, Constantine is now a Spellcaster. Do we need to make some special preparations for him?”

“This time you went to the Mage Tower, did Archmage Nikolai have any instructions?” The feelings between husband and wife could not be ignored. The Duke, who had spoken very little, finally used something new to relieve Lady Angelina’s embarrassment.

“Archmage Nikolai gave me a Spellbook and granted me certain permissions to enter and leave the Mage Tower…” Trying to swallow a piece of beef that was cut a bit too large without changing his expression, Constantine responded dryly. After a pause, the youth added, “The Archmage hopes I can visit the Mage Tower more often. Listening in on his magic lectures might offer some enlightenment for my spellcasting talent.”

Of course, Constantine played a little trick in this statement—Archmage Nikolai did mean for him to visit the Mage Tower, but didn’t say frequently. As for the one who gave him permission to go often, it was indeed an Archmage, but not Nikolai.

Constantine naturally had his own little calculations in mind. He really needed permission to leave the Duke’s Mansion anytime now—many of his ideas couldn’t be realized due to the secluded life. Now that he had found an opportunity, he naturally wanted to strive for a certain degree of freedom. Moreover, there was also the Black Robe mage Vernal at the Mage Tower. Though fierce, he was clearly a lucrative contact. Today was just the first negotiation, and he already got a nice piece of magical equipment. Such good fortune naturally couldn’t be easily passed up… Of course, he also needed to ask him more questions about that being who called itself a Deity.

Also, regarding the Sorcerer profession, Constantine, who had been a staunch materialist in his previous life, still had considerable interest. Although he had no intention of climbing to the peak on this path… he suddenly realized he should increase his assets. Besides… the suddenly increased and cluttered population at home would obviously cause a lot of trouble. Compared to that, the Mage Tower was much quieter. Even if he had friction with those magic apprentices, with backing, Constantine wouldn’t have to be as cautious as when dealing with his stepmother and stepbrother.

This lie was clearly enough to add some weight. Constantine could clearly read the flicker of surprise and jealousy in the eyes of his stepmother and stepbrother, though the former was fleeting.

If there was any type of person in this world who could still make nobles jealous, it would definitely be Spellcasters. The supernatural power they possessed couldn’t be easily obtained even by the oldest families with the longest histories. The statuses of various churches remained above nations to this day, and the Elves still maintained their carefree existence in the forests without being reduced to Human slaves. Apart from rugged terrain, legendary high-ranking Druids also played a significant role.

And among these, the ones that attracted the most attention from nobles were undoubtedly the Mages.

Although in a sense, clergy who served deities, nature-attuned Druids, and even martial monks who followed solitary disciplines all possessed power comparable to Mages, these existences were undoubtedly more restricted than Mages—rules and doctrines separated them too far from the secular world. Followers who relied on certain deities and exchanged their faith for divine power, though more numerous, were often bound by strict norms. Pious faith in deities was even less likely to be used by nobles.

Mages who possessed mysterious power were, in essence, just extremely special scholars. Although the special knowledge they mastered was something ordinary people simply couldn’t learn or use, there was still the possibility of them being employed. This also gave them a special status.

Though those lofty figures were often beyond the control of the secular world… still, these Spellcasters with special powers were so important to a country.

“Beside any monarch, there is always a highly skilled Spellcaster who is the most trustworthy and reliable. They are not only the monarch’s most powerful guards, but also guide their rulers in the right direction with their superior wisdom. In this regard, the role they can play is unattainable by ordinary people…” This was an evaluation of the role of Mages from the memoir of a famous powerful minister.

In fact, apart from monarchs urgently wanting to find a loyal, reliable, and highly skilled Spellcaster, those influential ministers who dominated the court also racked their brains searching for mysterious figures who could serve them.

If an army didn’t have a few highly skilled Mages overseeing it, thousands of soldiers were merely objects for the enemy to trample and slaughter. In these aspects, anyone would spare no expense, because having a highly skilled Spellcaster by one’s side almost already represented an unshakable status for that person.