147 The Castle (1/2)

Chapter 147: The Castle

Translator: Kris_LiuEditor: Vermillion

Close to the lake, there was an old castle covered with thick vines standing beside a precipitous cliff, and the high towers of the grand castle were so tall that they almost looked like aged, big cedars in the darkness.

Staring at the castle from afar, Lucien took a deep breath and put both Ice Revenger and Mo, the ring that had once belonged to Natasha’s mother, on his left hand. He carefully turned the word, Mo, carved on the ring toward the inside of his hand.

Facing unknown dangers, the powerful and mysterious sorcerers and necromancers, Lucien needed to utilize everything he had to protect himself.

Trying to stay focused, Lucien was ready to cast spells at any time. So, he slowly walked out from behind a big rock where he was hiding and headed for the gloomy castle.

The cool night wind in June drove away the heat in the day, and the surroundings were quiet, except for the crickets’ chirping.

Lucien safely came in front of the thick wooden gate of the castle. Raising his arm calmly, Lucien knocked at the gate.

After a while, the great gate slowly opened. Lucien heard the coarse sound from the friction between the wood and the ground. Although the gate appeared to be too heavy for even two to three male adults to open, a senior man wearing a white shirt and black suit easily pulled out the door and said to Lucien in standard continental common tongue, ”Who’re you, sir? Why are you here?”

Seeing that the person opening the gate did not directly try to kill him, Lucien’s nervousness was half relieved. So, he lowered his head and said to the senior man politely, ”You must be the steward of the castle, sir. Nice to meet you. I’m a sorcerer traveling through Djibouti right now.”

Lucien paused a bit and quickly took a glance at the facial expression of the old steward, and then continued seriously, ”A bunch of robbers tried to rob me outside Dragon Tooth town, and I killed all of them. What surprised me was that I found a letter from one of the robbers, inviting all the sorcerers, necromancers and apprentices to gather to join the Feast of Death and to meet a sorcerer from the headquarter of the Congress of Magic.”

”...” The old steward’s eyebrow rose slightly but did not say anything to respond, as if he was still waiting for Lucien’s further explanation.

”I know it’s not proper of me to come to visit the castle directly, but I was very lucky because the apprentice who was unfortunately attacked by the robbers actually left the location of Carendia Castle on the invitation, or I would never be able to find my way here. Please forgive my impertinence,” Lucien continued politely.

”May I know what’s the symbol on the invitation?” The old steward remained polite, as if he was just talking to some random traveler instead of an evil sorcerer.

Although Lucien knew that the old steward might not be able to see his face under the hood, he maintained his smile, ”A black hexagram.”

The old steward nodded slightly, ”I shall report to my lord, guest.”

Holding a white candlestick, the old man turned around and disappeared gradually in the darkness.

Lucien kept politely waiting at where he was, without moving a single step. After a while, when the old steward came back, he nodded to Lucien, ”Very well. You’re very polite, guest. You know what is respect.”

Lucien laid his left hand on his chest and bowed slightly, ”Thank you for forgiving my precipitance, sir.”

”Viscount Carendia wants to meet you in the study. Follow me, please.” The steward reminded Lucien, ”Follow me close, guest. Do not get lost in the darkness. It’s dangerous.”

Then, he turned around again to show Lucien the way.

Following the old steward, Lucien was sweating from nervousness. His Host Star of Destiny, his own intuition and also Alert were warning him silently that there were lots of dangerous and mysterious ‘things’ hiding in the darkness, especially when Lucien just stepped in the castle and when the gate closed behind him.

Lucien felt that the darkness in the castle was somehow ‘alive’, which gave him goose bump. However, Lucien decided to remain silent and ask no question but just follow the old steward.

When Lucien started to get a bit irritated from walking in the darkness for a relatively long time, the old steward stopped and reached his head into the darkness. He pushed his hand forward and opened a door.

As soon as the door opened, bright yellow light came out and drove the darkness in this area away.

”Please, guest.” The old steward bowed slight and politely let Lucien get into the room first.

”Thank you very much, sir.” Lucien nodded, and then entered the room without any hesitation.

The dark yellow carpet in the study was thick and luxury. Even the hatstand was gilt. The table, the bookshelf and the armchairs were made from precious rosewood. Based on many details of the decoration of the room, Lucien could tell the pursuit of extravagance of the owner of this place.