Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 334 The person you trust

As the fading light of dusk streamed into the Thorn Flower Merchants, Caesars found the small wooden box with his name on it on a shelf in the basement storage room. Unlocking it, he saw a nondescript storage ring, shimmering faintly blue in the dim light. He probed his spiritual power into the ring's space, revealing neatly stacked arcane and elemental crystals, and over twenty labeled bottles of alchemical potions—these were the resources he had accumulated for over a year of cultivation.

Arcane Crystals cost fifty yuan a month, that's what Old Ethan set for him. Arcane energy is relatively scarce on Roland Continent, and only the massive magic circles in the craters can harvest it. Elemental Crystals remain the same, only ten yuan a month, so they should be kept for emergencies; he can use the Magic Crystals for normal use.

Kaisas gathered his training resources and then went to the trading hall. He dipped his quill pen into the parchment and wrote a list, marking the required quantity of dispelling potion. The Thorn Flower Trading Company did not sell this potion to the public, so they did not have any in stock.

"Lord Orcus has gone to the Endless Forest and won't be back for two days. The merchant company has ample stock of the ingredients for the dispelling potion!"

Rodman's mother, the business manager who always kept her silver hair neatly tied up, took the list, and the amethyst necklace on her chest swayed gently with her movements. She opened the thick inventory book, her nails scratching across a certain line of record, and suddenly paused to tell Caesar the good news.

In the hazy night, Caesars returned to the castle's backyard and pushed open the oak door of the small stone house. The stone fireplace, the small round table covered with a linen tablecloth, even the position of the magic lamp at the bedside was exactly as he had left it. His fingers brushed the surface of the table, and not a speck of dust was picked up. He could almost see little Ludwig, his hands behind his back, instructing the maid in the castle corridor: "Caesars's residence must be kept ready for occupancy at all times."

When Caesars lit the magic lamp, the puppy howled and rushed towards the small castle in the south. It smelled the aroma of dinner coming from the front and also went to report that the owner of the stone house had returned.

Caesars lazily leaned against the soft sofa, his slender fingers pulling a bottle of aged fire maple wine from his interspatial ring. The amber liquid shone alluringly under the crystal lamp. He gently pulled out the cork, and the rich aroma of wine instantly filled the room. He then took out a piece of golden cheese and carefully cut it into small, palatable cubes with a silver knife, placing them neatly on a crystal plate.

He half-reclined comfortably, plunging a piece of cheese into his mouth, letting the rich, milky aroma melt on his tongue. In his other hand, he held a crystal glass, occasionally sipping a sip of Fire Maple Wine, feeling the warmth as it slid down his throat. As dusk deepened outside the window, his thoughts grew clearer—how could he safely get those one hundred or so important individuals out of the Saint Laurent Empire?

He couldn't help but frown, staring at the swaying wine in the glass and muttering to himself: "At least a medium-sized sea vessel with two decks is needed, and it has to be the kind with a sturdy hull. The Saint Laurent Empire has set up many checkpoints along the coastline. Once the news of the Saint's escape leaks out, the Saint Laurent Church will definitely intercept it. Perhaps we should set off from Black Reef Bay at midnight? No, the undercurrent there is too dangerous..." He rubbed his temples irritably, and suddenly laughed at himself: "This kind of professional problem should be left to the spy chief to worry about!"

Just as he was about to cut another piece of cheese, he heard a familiar humming sound from outside the door. The fat puppy came in with one ear drooping and Emily pulling the other ear.

The girl stomped her feet angrily: "Brother! Why didn't you take me with you when you went to the territory? And where is the cream puff you promised me?" She loosened her hand, and the puppy immediately scurried behind the sofa, revealing only its wet nose and a pair of alert eyes.

"I've prepared it for you!"

Caesars smiled and snapped his fingers. Dozens of linen bags, a dozen large cardboard boxes, and several animal hide bags appeared in front of the sofa: sweet-smelling golden soufflés, honey-scented pastries, even frozen deep-sea bluefin fish and shimmering crystal shrimp. Emily's eyes lit up, and she frantically stuffed the items into her storage ring, not even noticing the cheese crumbs on her hair.

After collecting all the delicacies, she squeezed in beside Caesars like a kitten, with half a pastry in her mouth, and said incoherently: "You must take me with you this time!"

Caesars ruffled her hair lovingly and said, "We'll leave once the alchemical potion you ordered is ready, which will be in about five or six days. I swear in the name of the stars that I will never abandon you this time." As he spoke, he quietly stuffed a small piece of golden cheese into her hand, causing the puppy behind the sofa to whimper in dissatisfaction.

After five leisurely days in Violet City, one misty morning, the magic communication crystal suddenly flickered to life. It was a message from the Thornflower Trading Company. Orcus still hadn't returned to Violet City, but the powerful alchemist had already completed the refining of the repellent potion in his laboratory in the crater and had sent the finished product to the trading company.

To Caesar's surprise, the delivery wasn't the promised two hundred bottles of potion, but two full boxes. As he opened the wooden box, carved with thorn patterns, a refreshing aroma mingled with the scent of moongrass filled his air. On the top shelf lay a yellowed piece of parchment, scrawled in Common Tongue: "Enclosed are eight hundred and seventy-one bottles of potion from stock, with a shelf life of nineteen years and eleven months remaining!"

Kaisas couldn't help but smile. For the long-lived elves, a mere twenty years of shelf life could only be considered "expiring merchandise." But by human standards, these potions could still be used for at least another generation.

After returning to the stone house, Caesars packed up the things he wanted to take away, and the sunlight shone into the stone house through the crystal window.

"Emily, go pack up all your treasures, and have the stables prepare the carriage with the shock-absorbing runes installed. We'll be leaving soon!"

Thinking that the three old men who had set out early might have caused some trouble in the territory, Caesars could not help but quicken his pace. In the eyes of the common people of the Roland Empire, the Saint Laurent Church was an enemy with a deep hatred, with a hatred value higher than that of the Saint Laurent royal family.

Inside a black and white magic tower nestled deep within a crater, dim light cast shadows across the ancient stone walls. Three white-haired elves sat around a round table inlaid with star patterns, the air thick with the scent of magical potions and parchment scrolls. Orcus leaned against an obsidian pillar, his scarlet robes faintly shimmering with magical patterns.

"You've all read the latest news from the demonic plane." Great Elder Krasus tapped the table with wrinkled fingers. An image of Caesar's scales surging appeared in the crystal ball. "It seems our previous suspicions were correct. Caesar indeed has the blood of the Abyss flowing through him. No wonder he developed demonic traits after that serious injury!"

Old Ethan played with an arcane crystal and smiled nonchalantly, "If you ask me, you're just worrying about nothing. What plane level drop? For an arcanist like me..." He deliberately dragged out the tone, and a dazzling blue-purple light burst out from his fingertips, "It has no effect at all!"

"You old bastard!" High Priest Destro's silver beard trembled with anger. He slammed the blackthorn staff in his hand to the ground, and the elemental energy at the tip of the staff violently fluctuated. "You know we are elemental mages and rely on the elements of the plane, and yet you still speak in such a sarcastic way!"

Krasus sighed and unrolled a magic scroll, which detailed the elemental losses caused by past demonic invasions. "The message explains clearly that the Roland plane can only hold out for another five hundred years. By then, the elemental concentration will fall below the critical value..." A trace of sadness flashed in the old man's cloudy eyes. "I'm afraid even the path to advancement to Grand Mage will be cut off!"

Old Ethan suddenly let out a deep laugh, arcane energy flowing around him. Arcane energy originated from the void and was not affected by the plane array. As long as the magic tower's arcane array was still operating, the arcane elves would not be affected.

Old Ethan stroked his beard triumphantly, deliberately letting arcane energy dance joyfully through his fingertips. Furious, Destro hurled an acorn at him, but it deflected off the suddenly manifested arcane barrier, puncturing a small dent in the stone wall. The three ancient elves engaged in a back-and-forth argument, the tower suddenly filled with flashes of energy. Orcus fled the tower in a panic, his strength far surpassing that of the three elven elders.

Two days later, as the setting sun cast its last rays across the vast plains of the Roland Empire's southern border, a black carriage inlaid with a dark family crest slowly entered Caesar's territory. Its wheels rolled through a leaf-lined avenue before finally stopping in front of a towering castle. As the heavy oak doors slowly swung open, Emily, skirt lifted, emerged from the carriage, her amber eyes suddenly widening. Before them stretched a rose garden the size of a small square. Marble sculptures dotted the maze-like shrubbery, and in the distance, the water droplets from a fountain shone a rainbow of light in the twilight.

"Brother!" The girl clutched Caesar's cuffs embroidered with silver thread, her voice trembling slightly with amazement, "The garden here is even better than the garden in the Duke's Palace in the royal capital..." Before she finished speaking, a south wind carrying the fragrance of rosemary blew past, blowing her long light golden hair into a flowing waterfall.

Caesars raised his hand to tuck his sister's flying hair. The star-shaped runes on his jet-black robe flickered in the wind. "Emily, the gardens of Fire Maple City were magically ripened by the court wizard." He pointed to the hills in the distance, their outlines shimmering in the twilight. "And what's most abundant here is land and time."

As the butler, Sean, led the way with a glass lantern, Emily suddenly grabbed the hem of her brother's clothes. The girl's upturned face was warmed by the corridor wall lamp, but the confusion in her eyes could not be concealed.

"Emily, you can stay in my room first. The other rooms are not cleaned and smell of dust. Since I need to meditate for a long time, I usually stay in the castle's attic!"

Emily insisted on going with him to see what was going on, so Caesars had no choice but to take her up the stairs. She looked at the narrow attic door at the end of the spiral staircase.

"I live in a place that's worse than a maid's room..."

"This place is closest to the starry sky!"

As the hem of Caesar's robe swept past the spiral staircase, shadows coiled around it like living things. He paused before the attic door, where a bronze astrological chart hung. The black light gathered at his fingertips resonated with the magic circle on the door lock. "Do you know why wizard towers are built so tall that they reach the sky?" With the click of the lock, the scent of parchment and magical ink filled his face. "The lingering dark elements are like morning mist, always thinning from the bottom up."

The scene inside the attic startled Emily. The furnishings were simple: a small oak table, a sofa, and a small bed covered in animal skins. On the table lay a piece of animal skin covered in writing, bearing ancient and mysterious patterns. The girl quickly took it in her hands and examined it carefully.

"This isn't any of the meditation methods described in the General Theory of Elements!"

"This is a tampered meditation method that I left here on purpose. I don't completely trust some of the people in the castle!"

"Is this bait?"

"That's right! Besides the fat dog, only the butler and the head maid can come up to the attic. Only someone who can break my magic trap and is quite strong can get it..."

"What will happen to people who learn this meditation technique?" Emily put down the old animal skin and asked curiously.

"At first, he'll discover that this is a very powerful meditation technique, but in the end, he'll be completely crippled. The demonic sea in his body will rip, and his demonic veins will break inch by inch!"

"Is there a way to crack it?"

"Yes, you must have a body as strong as a fat dog and be able to eat poisonous mushrooms as a meal!"

As soon as Caesars finished speaking, the puppy felt that he was praised again and hummed in response.

"Who can I trust in the castle?"

Emily stood by the small attic window, her fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the linen curtains, watching the last rays of the setting sun in the sky.

"The head maid can be trusted!" His voice was low and affirmative, "Cecilia has been serving the Cavill family, and I have known her since I was a child. As for the others..." Caesars stood up, his black boots stepping lightly on the wooden floor.

Caesars continued, "Those three old guys living in the backyard are absolutely not to be trusted. They used to be members of the Saint Laurent Church, but now they're nothing but stray dogs!"

Emily spun around abruptly, her skirt rustling as it brushed the floor. Her slender fingers gripped the windowsill. She had studied the history of Roland Continent, knowing about the stakes of the Inquisition and the sacrifices...

"Brother, aren't you worried..." Emily asked worriedly.

"Emily, don't worry. Although those three are quite powerful, I can still kill them easily... If the others don't behave, I have plenty of ways to teach them a lesson. I almost forgot, we now have a gold mine, not far from the castle. I'll take you to see it tomorrow!"

"A gold mine!"

Emily's face was full of surprise, and she couldn't wait to go on an inspection.