Chapter 326
Chapter 326: No Need for the Ceremony
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Hearing the short elder man’s words, Lucien thought to himself that his future teacher was quite cheap with giving compliments.
However, Lucien still responded very politely, “Yes, sir, I still have a lot to learn and to improve.” Lucien decided to show his respect to this legendary archmage who was qualified to sit beside Hathaway.
Gaston smiled and introduced, “Evans, this is Her Excellency, Hathaway, a grand arcanist.”
“Arcana’s above, Your Excellency’s glory has lit up the whole world of elements.” Lucien put his left hand on his chest and his right hand on his forehead, using the most formal manner to greet Hathaway, the Lord of Elements, the member of the royal family of Holm who was a relative to Natasha although she was probably several hundred years elder than Natasha. There was a unique, short greeting piece for each legendary archmage according to the Congress’s tradition.
When Lucien greeted Hathaway, he felt a bit nervous, not because she was an archmage, but because she was a senior member of Natasha’s family.
Hathaway did not have much expression on her face. She lightly nodded, “On the path of arcana to the truth, one can never stop making progress.”
Then Gaston turned to the short elder man wearing the bright-red robe, and there was a bit of fear on his face that Gaston himself did not even notice. He was worrying that he might say something wrong and thus piss the legendary archmage off.
“Evans, this is… His Excellency Fernando Brastar, a grand arcanist.” After weighing his words, Gaston decided to use the simplest way to make the introduction.
The Lord of Storm? This little old man was the Lord of Storm? Lucien was very surprised. According to the rumors that he had heard about the Lord of Storm, Lucien thought this grand arcanist should be a serious and fusty scholar with a very bad temper. However, the little old man sitting in front of him looked quite pleasant and easygoing, and one could still tell the good-looking features on his face when he was young. When Lucien first talked to him, this little old man’s humor even left Lucien with a deep impression.
Anyway, Lucien still carefully greeted the Lord of Storm with great respect, “Arcana’s above, Your Excellency, you’re storm, lightning, and the master of the sky.”
Lucien was very cautious to make sure that every single word that he said was correct.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me. I only argue with people when it comes to arcana or magic. Say, when Oliver was saying something about paintings and dramas, I never said a word.” Fernando provided an explanation for himself to make Lucien feel more relaxed.
However, other people did not think so. Florencia mouthed the words to Lucien, “That is because he knows nothing about paintings and dramas.”
Before Gaston made further introductions, Fernando said to him directly, “Lucien, when Thompson read your first paper, he recommended your paper to me, and I was thus inspired. I was interested in you so I went to the library to meet you there in person. It turned out that you were a pretty interesting young man, and I like people who are not boring. Your following two papers were also not bad, which was quite impressive considering your age. You know, some papers from the Highest Council members even have made some ridiculous mistakes!”
Although Fernando was giving him a pretty good comment, the tone and the way that Fernando talked to him made Lucien feel a bit strange. Also, it seemed that Fernando totally did not care about the fact that there was a member of the Highest Council present.
“How you handled things in the castle and how you carried out the task bringing the letter to the Dark Mountain Range have revealed some of your qualities that the Congress appreciates. I hope that you can stick to them.” Fernando continued, seriously, “Lucien, I think your talent goes beyond the school of Element and Astrology, and you should enter a way broader domain. So, I’d like to have you as my student and I’ll teach you arcana and magic. What do you think?”
According to what Lucien knew, although the Lord of Storm was a grand arcanist mainly specialized in the school of Thermodynamics, he was also good at the school of Element, Electromagnetism, Force Field, Illusion, and Light-darkness. Among all the grand arcanists, Fernando was definitely one of the most energetic ones. He had won the highest award in four different fields: Ice & Snow Medal, Silver Moon Medal, Holm Crown Prize, and Sorcerer Laurel.
Therefore, a second later, Lucien nodded firmly, “It would be my great pleasure to be your student.”
“Good. You’re my student now,” answered Fernando seriously.
“What?” Lucien, Gaston, Morris, and Florencia were all very surprised. Only Hathaway and Thompson still looked the same calm.
Fernando grinned, “Yes?”
That was it? Lucien felt it so unreal that all of a sudden he had become the student of a legendary archmage. Gaston, Morris, and Florencia were also very surprised because, according to the tradition of the ancient magic empire and the Congress, taking a student was a very important and solemn thing, and a complicated and very formal ceremony was always required.
They knew that Fernando was always in a rush and he hated complex procedures a lot, but they did not expect that he would just skip the entire ceremony!
Seeing that Lucien looked confused, Fernando slightly frowned, “This is between you and me. Since we have both agreed on it, why do we need those troublesome procedures?”
“No, we don’t.” Lucien also disliked the tedious ceremonies, so he answered directly. He believed that the teacher and student relationship did not have to rely on all the external forms.
Gaston now felt that Fernando had really found the right student.
Fernando grinned, “Very good. Today my students will gather together to exchange their findings in arcana and magic. You should join them later as well. It is good for you to know more about the latest research focuses so you can find your own research interest. I still have to talk to Hathaway. You and Thompson can wait for me outside.”
When Lucien left the room with Thompson, the latter smiled to the former and said, “Mr. Fernando rarely speaks highly of someone. The comment Mr. Fernando just made on you was already very good.”
Lucien put on an uneasy smile. He still had to take some time to get used to the fact that he had become a student of a legendary archmage.
Noticing the awkward smile on Lucien’s face, Florencia smiled, “Mr. Fernando is strict with his students, but we all know that he takes good care of them. If it was someone else who wanted to be your teacher, Her Excellency Hathaway might not show her approval. In fact, at the very beginning, Hathaway preferred Mr. Raventi to be your teacher.”
“Mr. Raventi?” ” That would not be a bad choice either” , Lucien thought to himself.
Gaston still had the same strange expression on his face, “I heard that Mr. Raventi found the Lord of Storm and talked to him. And they had a big argument. When Mr. Raventi left the office, his face was completely pale. Now every time when someone mentions this, Mr. Raventi would still be quite pissed.”
…
Aalto, in the Inquisition.
Waldorf, the Executor, grabbed the report in his hand and growled in great anger, “Lucien Evans… Lucien Evans is a bloody sorcerer! He fooled the Church and the whole city playing a fake death! And we were acting like a bunch of idiots! We must catch him and put him onto the gallows!”
“Has it been verified?” Vila Amelton, the red-robed cardinal, asked calmly with her eyes half closed.
The Censor’s deep voice contained great fury, “John reported this to us. And we have questioned the people involved using divine power. We’ve confirmed that Lucien Evans is still alive. What happened in the villa was a trap set up by Lucien Evans and Professor. Together they managed to send away the sorcerers to the Congress of Magic, killed the traitor, and also framed Clown up, because Clown had found Lucien Evans suspicious.”
“Is Natasha involved in this? Was she deceived? Or did she help Lucien Evans?” Amelton opened her eyes. And the light in her eyes was terrifyingly cold.
The Censor shook his head, “According to the depositions, Her Highness did not know the truth at that time. Also, when Waldorf arrived, she stopped chasing after Clown, but instead, she agreed to let the night watchers chase him down. If she was part of this, the princess would try her very best to kill Clown directly, leaving no chance for us. After all, it was possible that the night watchers would find Clown and send him back to the Church to cure him. Therefore, most possibly, Lucien Evans lied to the princess. But later, according to what Lucien Evans told John’s family, he tried to seek for her forgiveness. So the princess might have already known the truth.”
“Good,” said Amelton briefly. “Compared to Professor, Lucien Evans was still too young. He wanted to bring the whole family to Holm, and the family turned him in.”
The Executor said in resentment, “We shall tell the people the truth! We shall break his undeserved glory into pieces and tear down his sinful, fake tomb. Everyone in Aalto should hate and despise him!”
“Then what?” responded Amelton coldly. “Telling everyone that the Church is completely idiot? We told the public that Ode to Joy was the glorious hymn to the Lord, but are we going to tell them that it’s actually a piece of work from the demon? What a joke… We can never let this happen.”
“So…” asked the Arbiter thoughtfully.
“The great musician is dead. The vicious sorcerer disguised himself as the great musician and deceived everyone. They are two different people,” said Amelton.
Then she added, “Tell the parish in Holm what Lucien did. Let them keep a close eye on him. Also, send a few night watchers there. The night watchers shall be glad to have the chance to see their ‘old friend’ again.”