V2C8

The story unfolds on a vast medieval Western magic continent. In this age of expansion and aggression, money rules everything and conspiracies loom over the entire continent like dark clouds. Magic th

After the rain, the forest path is muddy, the head is still dropping drops of water hanging on the trees, the branches and leaves of the plants stretching out on both sides of the road are also covered with rain, gently brushed by the side, the body will immediately be stained with water. Although the horse ran flat and steady, but the mud and water on the ground still splashed upwards, so not much farther, Edwards again covered with some rain and mud. Edward slowed down and let the horse leisurely skate in the reddish sunset at dusk.

When they arrived at the place where the trees had fallen and blocked the road, there were several workers pushing a long cart carrying wood and clearing the road. The muddy road was still marked by wagons, and Edouard wondered if other guests invited by Baron Lonner had just passed through here.

After greeting the workers politely and thanking them for making their passage possible, Edwards drove his steed forward. The Baron's villa was deep in the woods, and on such a muddy road, an ordinary carriage would have had to walk for at least half an hour, but Edward's horse was really quite good, and in less than ten minutes, the red roof of the villa was visible.

Walking out of the woods, a clearing opened up neatly in the middle of the forest environment. The clearing was about twenty acres in size, and a clear stream bisected the clearing. This side of the stream was planted with some farmland. It was late autumn, and the fruits and vegetables in the field grew quite fruitful, a bountiful scene.

On the other side of the stream is a turquoise and flat lawn. Unlike the velvet lawn of Mr. Hyde's estate, the lawn here is more natural and harmonious, not like it was deliberately leveled and groomed, and there are several trees planted on the lawn, including willows, acacia trees, and two ginkgoes.

As the autumn wind blew, a few golden ginkgo leaves floated down from the ginkgo trees and fell into the water. The grass was dotted with stars everywhere. In the distance, a two-story villa reflected in the afterglow of the sunset, the red roof is not sure if it is the original color? Or is it an illusion given by the sunset.

The walls are made of ordinary green bricks, only an outline of white cement is used on the edges. The iron fence and wooden-framed windows are no different from those of ordinary homes, except that the window frames are set with a piece of glass, proving that the owners here are people of status and position.

At the far end of the circle to build this row of short houses, board nailed roof covered with mud tiles, simple door panels and wooden windows and doors, where the servants should be living. Stables must have been built behind these short houses, and perhaps cattle and sheep stalls and pig pens, Edwards guessed.

This villa is not different from the manor houses everywhere in the south of Frans, looking at such a normal family, it is hard to imagine that the one living inside is a baron. It seems that stripped of their golden and dazzling aristocratic status, they are still just some ordinary people.

Edouard let out a long sigh and spurred his horse forward.

The road outside the woods to the front of the cottage is paved with long slabs of green stone, while the path next to it is paved with some gravel. A delicate and chic bridge spans over the creek, and the vines stretching out from underneath the bridge indicate that the bridge has some history.

The owner of the villa had obviously seen him, and two servants came out of the house, followed by the baron's daughter behind them. Unlike the day of the ball, the young lady was dressed quite plainly today, only she was wearing a white low-necked short-sleeved dress, without any jewelry, just a blue silk scarf tied around her waist, which was tied in a bow on the right side of her waist.

"You are finally here, just now it suddenly rained heavily, and I heard that even the road was blocked by the trees broken by lightning, we were worried that you could not come. How did you come on horseback? Why didn't you take a carriage? It's more than a hundred miles from Lai to here, it's too unsafe to ride a horse, what if you fall?" The Baron's daughter said, while instructing the servants to bring the horses to the stables and settle down.

Edouard got off his horse, handed the reins to the two servants, and then took something from the left pocket of his mount and handed it to the baron's daughter.

"Sorry to be late, Miss Loner, let this be my sincere apology." Edouard said.

"Please don't call me Miss Lonner, just call me Fanny, or I'll call you Mr. Hyde in retaliation." The baronial daughter smiled and opened her gift.

Wrapped in golden wrapping paper is a bottle of red wine, not the usual crude clay jar, but the kind held in a valuable glass bottle, in the sunlight, the glass bottle transmits a brilliant rose-like red.

"Thank you, Edouard, now there are drinks for the banquet, we originally prepared wine too, but, it's not even close to this bottle." The baron's daughter said bluntly, without hiding it at all, as if she had already taken Edouard as one of her own.

"Ah, my dear Edouard, you have arrived at last. The sudden rainstorm had made me think that it would delay your journey, and I was going to postpone the dinner, but then I would have been too slow for the other guests." As soon as I entered, I heard the owner of the room greeting me warmly.

"Is this the little diplomat you've been pushing? Can you introduce it to us?" A middle-aged man next to him said.

"How is it a child? He seems to be two or three years younger than your love." A fat man sitting in a corner of the living room yelled, but a clearly sullen wink from the baroness made the fat man shut his mouth.

"This must be a descendant of the Robeck family from Ilei, I just saw his mount, that is a good horse, such a pure blood thoroughbred, I have seen less than ten. The old Earl of Medin, our late lord had four purebred Porte horses in his possession, but because the Earl fell off his horse and died, his stubborn sister was determined to have them all put to death. Oh, there is nothing more deplorable than that. If it were possible, I would even kneel down and plead for the lives of these thoroughbreds to the old lady, who is known for her severity. Sitting against the window was a tall, thin, middle-aged man with gold-rimmed eyes and thick tawny hair with a slight tinge of brown, who was talking endlessly about horses.

"A thoroughbred? Oh, a thoroughbred horse, wait a minute, make sure I see it." The fat man just now said eagerly.

"Okay, well, we'll talk about horses later, so everyone can take their seats. Fanny, you arrange the seating, and when you are seated, I can also introduce you to each other." The owner of the villa said.

The beautiful and beautiful baroness reluctantly left Edward's side, she went into the kitchen and ordered the servants to set the table, and when everything was arranged, the lady rushed upstairs, obviously more guests are not in this small living room.

Edwards had the opportunity to take a good look around at this time. This villa and most ordinary manor is no different, the living room is surrounded by several sofas, sofas are covered with thick cashmere, this comfortable enjoyment does not cost too much money. Piton is rich in sheep, cashmere is very cheap.

In the center of the living room is placed a long dining table, which can obviously be folded up when not in use. If the place occupied by the dining table is empty, the living room is still quite empty. There were more than ten candlesticks hanging on the north and south walls of the living room, which had been filled with candles.

A fireplace was placed against the east wall, with split wood piled up by the side of the fireplace, and the fire was burning brightly, warming the house. After the rain, the villa in the forest was originally shrouded in a dampness, but fortunately the roaring fire dissipated all the dampness.

On top of the living room hung a large bronze lamp plate, which had obviously just been polished. The candles on the plate were not yet lit, but the servants had already gone to get the long hitching stick for lighting the candles. A small door opened in the east wall against the corner, behind which must be the kitchen. A mahogany staircase leads to the second floor, the staircase seems a bit low, upstairs must be a room.

Just when Edwards was looking around, suddenly, noisy footsteps came from the floor. Unlike Mr. Hyde's manor, the sound insulation here is not very good, unlike Mr. Hyde's manor, the floor is separated by a stone slab with steel bars, and the top is covered with thick wooden flooring, the noise from upstairs can not be transmitted to the bottom floor of the hall.

The guests came down from upstairs one by one, men and women, old and young, and now the living room became a little crowded. The beautiful baroness hastened to assign seats to these guests, the older ones sitting down first, and the higher status ones not being allowed to stand for too long either.

As for her little sisters, they were sitting on a sofa aside, not yet their turn, and two younger dolls, standing at the stairway and looking down curiously.

Busy for a while, most people sat down at the table, the main seat sat the baron and his wife, their daughter's place on the right, and then the right side of that empty seat is rightfully reserved for Edward. The fat man sat on the left side of the baron and his wife, it seems that he is a very close relative of the family, the fat man is surrounded by his wife and two daughters, the older one is the same age as the baron's daughter, and the younger one looks similar to Edward. On Edward's right side sat precisely the middle-aged man who had just seen Edward on horseback, apparently he was a loner, next to him was another family, just upstairs, Edward had not seen.

Next to the fat man sat another family, this gentleman knew quite a lot about childbirth, he brought four girls and one boy five children, the youngest boy looked only five or six years old, he was placed at his mother's side.

Next to this large family sat a young couple, the couple was less than thirty years old, but they were followed by a six or seven-year-old daughter; sitting at the far end of the table was an older couple, supposedly about the same age as Mr. Hyde, but obviously much better maintained than Mr. Hyde.

Sitting next to the old couple is probably their son and daughter-in-law.

This couple and the baron and his wife are about the same age, similar status, the wife and the baroness is obviously a very deep friendship, but the husband seems to have an enemy with the baron, the two have not spoken a word, and even deliberately avoid each other's eyes. In the couple's side sat their daughter, although not as good as the baron's daughter, but also quite outstanding, the age is similar.

After everyone was seated, the servants served appetizers. A pot of clam chowder, thinly sliced cheese was served on a plate next to the chowder, adding as much as you like.

A vegetable platter containing freshly picked lettuce, cabbage, lettuce and cucumber, all sliced and stacked, served with shredded carrots and drizzled with some creamy fresh sauce, is a very usual appetizer.

"Most of today's guests know each other, only one you may not have met." Baron Ronald took the opportunity to introduce, pointing to Edouard: "This is Mr. Edouard Hyde, his grandfather is the famous Lord Kewelye Egret Hyde, the kingdom's outstanding politician and diplomat, that is an incomparably great person, the reason why the Bires Agreement was reached, the kingdom can enjoy so many years of peace and tranquility, Kewelye Egret Hyde Lord Gretel Hyde's great work is indelible."

During this period of time, Baron Lonna apparently spent some energy to investigate what kind of a character that Lord Keviere Egret Hyde was, and the results of the investigation were quite satisfactory to him. The baron pointed to the fat man beside him and said, "Edwards, this is my brother-in-law, Lord Buffon."

"You can call me Bayer if you like." The fat man was obviously a man without any pretensions: "I've met your uncle as well, your family is a famous rich merchant, and I work in the tax administration of Cherbourg, we used to have some dealings. But I never knew that he had a nephew like you. If I had known, I would have called ......"

The fat man obviously thought of nonsense in front of his sister and brother-in-law is not good, and quickly shut his mouth.

"My name is Joseph Brown, hereditary baron, of the Treasury of Cherbourg, and your uncle Mr. Hyde have also met." The one sitting next to Edwards introduced himself, "Although I had heard others talk about your family originally being quite famous in Islay, I definitely didn't expect to actually be a branch of the Robeck family, which has produced famous politicians and diplomats for generations, and it seems you inherited all these talents."

"Of course, of course, the Roebeck family is known to be good at breeding pure breeds." The one at the other end of the table, who obviously did not get along with the baron, said coldly. This prickly remark made the atmosphere at the table become cold all of a sudden.

"Just a joke, just a joke." Baron Ronald hastened to round up: "This is Viscount Telbo, the Viscount family is quite famous in Cherbourg, the Viscount himself was the private secretary of the late lord, the old Earl of Medin, and his wife was my wife's companion in her early childhood. The Viscountess came with her parents, Baron and Baroness Henreid, whom I have to respectfully refer to as uncle and aunt. When my father was alive, the two were extremely close and good friends with my father and my father-in-law, and they both treated Fanny with great affection, and Fanny treated them as her grandparents."

The old couple's friendship with Baron Lonner was obviously worlds away from their son-in-law, and the two old men looked at Edouard with smiles on their faces as they listened.

"This is Lord Scalzi, he used to be my colleague who worked together for many years, and when we were in the capital Frans, we were the only two people from the south inside the whole department." The baron pointed to the couple whom Edouard had not met and introduced them.

"I still work in the Treasury and have met with your uncle, Mr. Delardi." The lord who was introduced stuck out his face to greet Edouard.

"My name is Midget, a good friend of Lonah's, Fanny calls me uncle, like Lonah I don't need to worry about any official duties, this is my wife, and four children." The middle-aged man across the street introduced himself.

Edwards looked at his still relatively new but slightly smaller dress, as well as his wife and children's frugal dress, can fully imagine that the family's ten to nine times more embarrassed than the Baron of Lonner.

"Midnight, now a lord, but in the future is an earl oh, his uncle Count Fesnan in Thurth Castle famous, the old Earl of Medin's family the only heir has not yet appeared, Count Fesnan temporarily instead of carrying out the obligations of the lord, Midnight is the only heir of Count Fesnan." The baron introduced.

"Forget it, my uncle's health is fine, besides, our family has always been at odds with him since my father." The middle-aged man shook his head and said.

"But you're his only heir after all, and sooner or later the Count's name will have to be taught to you and your son." The fat man interjected from the side.

"These last two are Baron and Lady Ornel, Baron Ornel is my godson and his father is another good friend of mine." The Baron introduced.

"My father has been bedridden for nearly ten years, I inherited this title and my father's public office early, and I am now serving as the deputy head of the Armed Forces Department." That Baron Ornel introduced himself. It was clear that he was the most powerful of all the guests, dressed most luxuriously, the only regrettable thing was that his wife was plain-looking, but vaguely a sense of arrogance. Edwards guessed that the baron was able to reach the current position, perhaps because of this wife.

"Mr. Hyde, it was mentioned earlier that you have a famous horse of purebred blood from the Roebeck family, is that correct?" Baron Ornelle asked.

"Yes, it's a four-year-old horse. When our family came to Frans from Ile, we brought out four thoroughbred horses, and the one I'm riding here now is their youngest grandson."

"I know that for any family these thoroughbred bloodstock horses would never be sold, but could you ask your grandfather to lend me a few months, soon I am going to Frans with my father and we have a beautiful carriage, but there is no horse in the south worthy of this carriage." said the Baroness d'Ornelle.

It is clear that the baroness did not think that Edward had the possibility of refusing, Lord Kewelley Egret Hyde is at best a commoner nobleman, and a commoner nobleman who is rich in business, his own uncle is powerful in the south of Frans, except the Medin family, who does not let his family three points. Borrowing is to speak well, after borrowing also not to return, that will be said then.

Baroness Ornel's remarks, even her husband felt inappropriate to say on this occasion. He smiled and really wanted to come forward to make a roundabout, but his wife gave a cold glare, forcing her husband's words back.

All the people at the table were silent without a word, and Edwards thought to himself, Mr. Hyde let himself ride here, had not already foreseen this scene, was this another problem, a problem to test himself?

Edouard had no way of guessing this. At this time, the Viscount Terrebonne, who was not on good terms with Baron Lonner, spoke up: "Since we know that any family is extremely fond of purebred bloodstock horses and is absolutely unwilling to sell them, we should likewise know that these purebred horses will not be leased, so why force the issue?"

Hearing someone stirring up trouble on the sidelines, Baroness Ornel was obviously a bit displeased, and she said coldly, "Mr. Telbo, if these thoroughbreds were yours, you certainly wouldn't have leased them, but Lord Keviere Egret Hyde may not. I'm sure he would have been generous with his gift."

"No, I think, that is not possible." Edwards bluntly refused to say, anyway, out of the matter, offended what the big man absolutely can not have any harm to him personally, promised to lend out the horse, in turn, there is no way to explain with Mr. Hyde. Now, Edwards only worry is Mr. Hyde, other than that, even the king's majesty he does not care.

Edouard's answer obviously made Baroness Ornel extremely angry, and she never expected the teenager to be so bold.

Obviously most of the people present thought that Edouard's reply was too direct, too impulsive, and even if he had to refuse, he would have to use a more polite way, it was hard to imagine how such an impulsive talking teenager could be seen by the Baron as a teenage diplomat with great diplomatic talent.

But Edouard's pleasant, unconcerned look gave everyone at the table a sense of profoundness. Everyone was puzzled, is this teenager really confident? Or just because of youthfulness, do not know the sky is high?

Edouard saw the crowd staring at him, leisurely and eloquently said: "You do not know, because, those few thoroughbred horses, many people have asked my grandfather to buy or lease, the highest status is the vice chairman of the Council of Elders, Duke Foucault. The Duke of Foucauld's position in the Franks must have been no less important, but Grandpa was adamant that he would not sell, so of course the Duke was not happy. But, in the end, he still didn't get any of the horses, there are some things you can't ask for."

Edward's words were somewhat inexplicable, but those present at least understood one thing: that Lord Cadwell Eli Egret Hyde was so powerful that even the Duke of Foucault could not do anything about him, let alone a small nobleman in the south.

"The Duke of Foucault had his eye on a few thoroughbreds, but in the end he couldn't get his hands on them. For many years, the Duke still talked about this matter all day long, he talked to me about how beautiful and outstanding those thoroughbreds were, without thinking that it was your grandfather, Lord Keviere Egret Hyde, who made him suffer." The Baron Brown, who was sitting next to Edwards, said.

"The Duke of Foucault is a real horse lover, who doesn't know that in Frans?" The fat man interjected.

"Who says it's not? The Duke has six horse farms, nearly a thousand good horses, one day if you can't find him in the House of Elders, then it must be there in the horse farms, people joke that if you want the Duke's help, just send him a good horse, everything can be solved, and when you talk business with the Duke, it is best to be on horseback, at that time, the Duke is in the best mood." Baron Brown interjected again.

The two men spoke in unison, meaning nothing more than a warning to Baroness Ornelle that even if Lord Cadwellet Egret Hyde had no way out, if he sent a thoroughbred horse to the Duke of Faucus, Baroness Ornelle's backers would have to eat their words. Baroness Ornelle is not a fool, her face became ugly and she sat there in silence without squeaking.

"Just now, in the lounge upstairs, we tasted Baron Lonar's tea, it was really good, I heard that these teas were a gift from Mr. Hyde, does His Lordship run a tea business?" The elderly Baron Henreid digressed the topic.

"No, tea trading is only occasional, unless there is an extremely outstanding tea, grandpa will buy some, but most of them are half-sold and half-given away to supply some special patrons. In fact, my grandfather can not be considered a pure merchant, my family does not make money through the sale of goods." Edouard explained.

"How can you be so rich if you're not a businessman?" Fatty asked.

"Brother, it doesn't seem polite for you to ask a question like that." The Baroness lectured.

This Lord Buffon was obviously scared of his sister and immediately shut up and stopped talking.

Edwards does not care about this, in fact, that is exactly what he is good at talking about, Draddy once talked about a strange business method, Mr. Hyde from this operation to make a lot of money, but, because the risk is too big, and then never carried out. This kind of business from one aspect seems to be a fraudulent means as well, but from another aspect is completely legitimate, when Edwards once spent two whole days in order to figure out this peculiar way of doing business. These things must be unheard of by the nobles here.

Running a merchandise trade depends on timing, and wool after the rain and charcoal in the summer are obviously difficult goods to get out of the market," Edwards said. A century-long family in the south of Frans and just put down their feet here, both in terms of credibility and popularity are incomparable, so grandfather just in the early days, some commodity trading, that is not exactly to accumulate wealth, more importantly, the main people in this channel to feel familiar with, wait until after the network is familiar with, is the real opportunity to make money. Do you know how much the difference in price between the glass care Ray and in Frans?"

"It's about a full five times worse." Lord Scalzi said.

"Yes, when the glass is shipped on board, it is already twice as bad, that is the tax that must be paid to the Italian Lei, as well as the fees charged by the Italian Lei commercial guild, and by the time it reaches Frans, once the dock, it is doubled again, and all this money goes into the treasury, so the merchant's hard work is only to the capital to the profit of the sale, which also removes the loss and the accidental losses, so often a ship sinking, will be able to make several rich merchants bankrupt." Edwards said.

"No tax evasion?" Fatty interjected.

"Yes, almost every merchant in Southport more or less evade a little tax, but it is impossible to get rich, Southport has the Federation of Chambers of Commerce control, they do not want to see too much arrogant tax evasion, that is unfair to most merchants, but also will cause trouble. Therefore, the merchants at best will be the loss and accidental losses passed on to the tax inside, the Chamber of Commerce turned a blind eye to this, but the merchants still less than 50% of the profits, but also have to pay wages and the cost of renting a ship. Grandpa didn't take the idea from this route, he spent a lot of energy and great cost to unblock a few doors in Yireh, Sibai and Frans. Grandpa bought two glass factories and the officials of the United Chamber of Commerce in Yirei, who specialize in the export of glass. Grandpa made orders for the glass he needed to produce and had the glass factories produce it in advance, which he bought, and then he took the orders to the merchants in Southport and asked them to bid and sell it to the highest bidder. In this way, Grandpa made a deal, and then paid the taxes properly, and the money was in hand. The merchant then went to Yirei to ship the goods back, and any losses in between were his own business, but he didn't have to pay any taxes either, because the taxes had already been paid. Later, grandfather became more and more famous, the reputation is getting better and better, he also do not need to place orders to the glass factory in advance, both the glass factory and the merchant are willing to advance the money, grandfather is how to get rich." Edwards explained.

That Lord Scalzi pondered for half a day, suddenly shouted: "No, so that your grandfather actually did not earn any money, he is equal to that merchant for nothing, that merchant, the money, bought the glass, shipped back, plus the payment of taxes, if the glass does not rise in price, the glass factory in Yirei does not fall in price, the merchant refused to lose, your grandfather from which it is impossible to earn A copper, even to earn a small difference in price, it is not possible to make your grandfather so rich."

"Right." Fatty also dawned on him.

Edward had already guessed that these people are so reaction, because at first he also thought so. Edwards explained with a smile: "There are many ways to make money, the difference is not counted, joint venture is the simplest way, grandfather used half of the goods as capital and that businessman to do business together, so that the profits are shared equally, but also to reduce the risk, most businessmen are willing to do so. This is a piece of profit, different seasons, the price of goods is floating, in this article, is the real reason for grandpa to get rich. For example, these tea, Ilei does not produce, also shipped in from foreign countries, the season of tea arrived in large quantities from March to May, the letter wind season, then, the tea is cheaper, grandfather bought a batch of hidden, but for the Frans, all year round is quite expensive, so no matter what the partnership can make money. In addition, another reason for making money is that, as the business gets bigger and bigger, my grandfather a lot of funds are others on credit or advances, so there are two benefits, one, invisible grandfather's capital is equal to an increase of ten times, twenty times, or even a hundred times, to know a capital a profit, the extra capital is equal to increased profits, although these capital is imaginary, but the profits are real. The second benefit is the real source of my family's wealth, with this way of business grandfather, the first business just done, the goods are not yet loaded in the port of Yirei, here already able to start the second transaction, therefore, even if our family's profit from each operation is much smaller than the ordinary businessmen, but the speed of our money back than other businessmen thousands of times faster, other businessmen ship a cargo before and after It takes about three months for other merchants to transport a shipment, but it takes at most one hour for Grandpa to negotiate a deal."

"Not bad, not bad! Awesome, awesome!" Fatty nodded repeatedly and said, "Your grandfather is really a genius to be able to think of such a brilliant way of doing business, but this way of doing business seems to be extremely dangerous, once it encounters twists and turns in the middle, it is likely to fall into a situation where the capital cannot function."

"Yes, so, uncle is going to gradually spread out the business to reduce the risk or invest in a few more reputable businesses, he is really too busy to do it alone and our family has accumulated a considerable amount of wealth."

"Well, well, it's strange and boring for you to talk so energetically while we don't understand at all." Baroness Ronald stopped the topic that was boring the ladies.

"Yeah, people better think about the ladies at the table and talk about lighter topics." The fat man said as he chewed on lettuce tossed with cream.

Seeing that Edouard did not do anything, the beautiful young lady handpicked a few pieces of fresh and tasty cucumber, mixed with cream in a clean plate. She pushed them in front of Edward. According to the strict recipe that Draddy had developed for himself, there were some foods that he simply could not eat, so Edwards merely dabbed his lips symbolically.

"Brother-in-law, what's the matter with this villa of yours? Lightning struck like this, and if Midnight hadn't gone to town to recruit workers, that big tree would have only blocked all of us outside your villa." Fatty said.

"The matter is indeed quite strange, since the renovation of this cottage seven years ago, there has always been such a rainstorm every few months. This cottage was built since our ancestors settled in Piton, and there was never any mention of this strange phenomenon, but seven years ago we decided to move here as a couple, and since then, there have been frequent and inexplicable rainstorms, and the trees have been broken a lot, but fortunately no injuries have occurred, and lightning has never struck near the cottage, so we don't care too much about it. " Baron Ronald said.

"Could there be any magical beasts hiding inside the woods?" Lord Scalzi asked, "I once heard Elder Foley prepare said that some magical beasts grow to a certain stage and will cause abnormal changes in the weather."

"A magical beast? Aren't we in danger then?" Fatty's wife yelled.

Edwards heard everyone talking about something he was interested in, and he thought about how he could take advantage of the opportunity to get Baron Lonner to provide some clues. The only way to make everyone think he was an expert in this area was to think left and right, and Draddy had taught himself the "tiger-eat-pig" ploy, and he had also said that this extremely simple ploy was often the one with the highest success rate, not to mention that he was not really good at nothing, at least The actual wizard teacher, this is not the slightest bit adulterated.

Thinking of this, Edouard pretended to ponder to the baron's daughter sitting next to him and asked: "Miss Fanny, have you excavated stone statues, stone slabs or anything, perhaps, in the reconstruction of this villa, you came across something that is not clear purpose."

The pretty lady blinked her eyes and tried to remember, but, after all, that was seven years ago, when she was only eleven years old and didn't understand things.

"Edouard, do you have any insights?" The baron asked, "Your grandfather traveled around the world, his insights must be far broader than ours, and your uncle Draddy is likewise a learned man, as many here know, so I'm sure you have some brilliant insights on this."

Everyone at the table stared back at Edouard, everyone wanted to see what this young man, who was described by the baron as extremely brilliant, actually had some skills, although the unheard of strange way of doing business just now, has made many people in the audience listen to the jaw drop. Although there is no one who fully understands, only a few people who work in the Treasury Department or the Tax Administration Department, others, especially those ladies simply confused, simply baffled.

However, all of them feel unbelievable for this Hyde family to be so shrewd, no wonder such a family can be so prosperous.

However, this is more of an admiration for Lord Cadwell Eli Egret Hyde, the brilliant diplomat and businessman who is undoubtedly a genius, and everything that Edwards has shown is just proof that that old man is also a talented educator. In the eyes of the crowd, the teenager in front of us is undoubtedly the heir carefully cultivated by that old man, although the results of cultivation are quite outstanding, but this should be more attributed to that wise old man. Therefore, everyone is looking forward to seeing what amazing performance this teenager has.

Edwards frowned and thought for a moment, said: "I just feel that the gathering of the lightning element on this piece of land is really some anomaly, the problem is in the land itself, rather than any plants or animals growing on this piece of land. According to what you just said, this piece of land originally all the magic elements are tending to balance, the reason for the change, that is, from seven years ago to refurbish this villa. Did your ancestors leave any records as to why the villa was built here? This place is slightly far away from Piton, and it must not have been very safe to live here alone in your ancestor's time."

Hearing Edouard asked, Baron Lonner frowned, thought for half a day and then said: "This villa was built even longer than my family's ancestral home, originally bought by my ancestor from a prominent person, if you want to know the details, later I have to go to the study to check the information left by my ancestor. By the way just one look at the deed will tell you who the original owner was, but I doubt that it will be of much use."

"Oh, dear brother-in-law, labor to run to the study, anyway, the main dish has not yet come up, do you want us people to wait here full of curiosity, so that we can lose our appetite because our strong curiosity can not be satisfied?" Fatty asked. The others at the table were also egging on.

"Yes, Lord Father, perhaps this matter is very important, although those thunderbolts have not hurt anyone so far, but it is difficult to guarantee that the future is still so lucky, since, Edouard found some clues, you still run it." That beautiful daughter also pouted on the side.

Baron Ronald, seeing the unanimity of opinion, had to get up from the table and head upstairs to his study. After a while, he hurried down the stairs, looking flustered, apparently made a major discovery. In his hand held a roll of parchment, parchment has long been yellowed, the edge of the foot even raised a black spot.

"It's amazing, I can't believe I never noticed it, it's amazing, you can never imagine what kind of people are the guarantors and witnesses on this property delivery letter, it's amazing, it's amazing!" Baron Ronald said with a gasp.

"Come on, tell us what you found." Midnight said, for the baron of Lonar he really know too well, the baron is not the kind of person who likes to be surprised, there must be something unexpected discovery.

"Oh, yeah, who pays attention to a guarantor and a certifier in a property certificate? Unless he was a judge, but this property delivery certificate is completely different, and both parties to the transaction, apparently, are nameless. My ancestors left no trace in history, but then, who has ever heard of the man Potani Ledoux? Anyway, I had never heard of it, but the guarantor and the witness were completely different, and the guarantor of our family, my God, was Paul Lupis, my God!"

"Paul Lupis? Who is he?" Midnight asked. The fat man also had a confused look on his face.

Most of the others had apparently never heard of the name either, and only Viscount Terbo, who was sitting at the other end, thought for a moment and said, "The pope in the time of Frans V was none other than Paul Lupis, also known as Lupis III."

"Good, you are right, it is this same noble Pope, and the guarantor on the side of the seller turns out to be the great and noble His Holiness Francois V. Oh, my goodness! This supreme being is very uncomfortable with signatures, is recorded in the history books, and no more than ten signatures of His Holiness Frans V can be found so far. My God, there is one here." Baron Ronald muttered.

"So who are the witnesses? Come on," the fat man yelled.

"Oh yes, the witness, this witness is not as dignified as those two guarantors, but he is equally famous, Francis Parod."

"The founder of the Holy Order, the sword teacher of Frans V, the 'Paladin'!" Viscount Telbo quickly stated everything he knew about the name.

"This document, if it is authentic, is indeed an amazing thing, these three signatures, each one is worth at least 20,000 gold Francs, if you are willing to offer, I can introduce you to the Duke of Donem, or the Duke of Auburn, they both will certainly have a strong interest in these signatures, especially the signature of His Majesty the Fifth, that is too rare! It is." Baron Brown, who was beside Edouard, said.

"Oh, thank you for your kindness, but you must know that this is a family heirloom, a true heirloom, and I will not sell it." Baron Ronald hastily retorted, "I even hope you will never mention to those two gentlemen that I have such three signatures, otherwise, I am afraid they will also come to rent this document from me, and then I will have a headache." Baron Ronald said with a smile.

Everyone at the table smiled at the side-splitting remark.

Baron Ronald, who was obviously in a very good mood, ordered in a loud voice, "Serve the main course, it's time to serve the main course. Quickly, bring up the good wine!"

When the servant heard the order, he quickly ran inside the kitchen and soon, a freshly cooked dish was brought up.

The butler asked the guests one by one along the table to see if they wanted wine or other drinks, followed by a maid behind him who arranged the glasses neatly as the guests requested.

The wine was brought, and the most conspicuous was definitely the bottle that Edouard had sent. The bottle was opened first and a little was poured for each person who wanted a drink, and some remained after a round.

The fact is that not many people originally drank, the ladies of course is not a drop of wine, the old baron seems to be controlled by his wife, can only drink some ale, the little boy, of course, gave him milk, Edouard himself is also not drinking.

"Good wine, really good wine!" The fat man yelled repeatedly.

"Of course it's good wine, the 'Fonden wine' brewed by the Robeck family is usually only offered to the Pope for tasting, except for their own family to drink." Viscount Telbo said.

"How do you know all this?" The viscountess asked.

"The old Earl of Medin is a man who likes to drink, he collects a lot of wine, I am his personal secretary, over time, also understand these things, plus that glass bottle containing wine has the mark of the Robeck family, and the taste of Fonden wine is very unique, there is no way to imitate it." The viscount said.

"By the way, just now you mentioned that the lightning element is not quite normal here, how do you know that? Are you a magician?" Viscount Telbo asked.

"I am not considered a wizard, but there is a good chance that I will become one, and after I have fulfilled my grandfather's wish, I intend to learn magic from my teacher, Mr. Masek." Edouard said.

With these words, Edouard made the people around him stare at him closely again.

"I really didn't expect that, oh Edouard, you and your uncle never told me that you would become a wizard, which is so great, but why did you never mention it before?" Baron Ronald asked.

"This was originally my personal idea, but, it has not yet been approved by grandfather and uncle, uncle is very busy, and he wants me to inherit the family business, and grandfather is now this way, but, I do like magic, and, my teacher, magician Mashik, promised to take me as a disciple, and he gave me this ring." Said Edouard took off the sapphire ring and handed it to Baron Lonar.

"What a precious stone." Baron Ronald said after turning over and looking at it for half a day.

The fat man sitting beside him pulled his brother-in-law's sleeve, signaling for him to see it too. The ring passed into the hands of the fat man, Midnight of course equally would not miss such an opportunity.

The ring was passed from one person to another, and although each person could not see the mysterious power hidden in the ring, the large, incomparable, pure sapphire, captivated everyone. When the ring was passed to that Baroness Ornelle, her eyes glowed with love and she was obviously playing with the idea of renting it again for the time being.

Fortunately, her husband knows that a magician's things are absolutely untouchable. For these special people, power is simply ineffective, not to mention, they have mysterious powers, and if it causes them to retaliate, then there is no way the law can protect you from that doom.

The ring eventually passed into the hands of Baron Brown. This man was obviously well-traveled and well-informed, as he skillfully fiddled with the ring, and nodded his head while distinguishing the spell engraved on the ring, "This is indeed a rare magic ring, and it certainly contains a powerful power that I do not understand. More refined. And, you see, the metal used to forge this ring is mantic silver, a divine metal so scarce that our Supreme King did not have such a ring in his hands, and all the mantic silver he had could only forge a flat disc half a centimeter in diameter. Our King's Majesty has embedded that piece of lost silver inside the ring and wears it on his right ring finger, together with the famous 'Angel Heart' ruby ring."

The Baron's words undoubtedly proved the value of the ring, as well as Edouard's identity - an apprentice magician.