247 All Dignity Gone (1/2)
A servant brought the report behind the curtain. There was no reply for a long while. The reporters buried their heads and scribbled furiously about the amazing plot twist.
After a long silence, Mephistopheles’ lamenting voice sounded behind the curtain. ”I see now. It feels strange when one looks at it from the Revelations angle but this method feels familiar when one reads it closely.
”Ignoring the spirit and sense, using only basic patterns and rules, using the number theory to move forward. Your teacher must be an accomplished musician in the School of Abstinence, yes? It’s such a pity that I have never heard of his name or theory in all these years. What is the theory known as?”
”Just the translation method,” the youth replied politely with his head lowered. ”If one wishes to distinguish it from others, I call it ‘Abraham’s Translation Method.’ I hope more can know my teacher and this theory.”
”A very simple and straightforward name,” Father Mephistopheles mused softly. After a short suffocating pause, he declared, ”The translation method is valid.”
Everyone shuddered when the long wait finally ended. This was giant news! The Church had vouched for the translation method!
No matter how the gavel was pounded, the low rumbles would not stop. The discussions could not be restrained no matter how one yelled ”Silence!” The people discussed in shock and excitement. No matter what the result was, they had witnessed the birth of a new theory.
As wooden as he was, even Abraham’s eyes turned red and his hands shook. He had never thought that his life’s work could one day be recognized by all. If Charles was here, he would definitely be jumping up and yelling in happiness.
Perhaps the only one in despair was Ingmar.
”Impossible! This is impossible…” Ingmar yelled, losing his temper. ”Why is the Church disturbing the academic appraisal? The validity of the translation method should be decided by scholars. It has nothing to do with God!” He had completely forgotten that he had used the name of God to add salt to Ye Qingxuan’s wounds. In his anger, he had lost all of his original grace and calm. His features twisted and twitched as if he was possessed by a demon.
He roared, ”I’ll never acknowledge it! I’ll never acknowledge the theory from that fool! A plagiarizer dares to be on the same level as me? I’m the grandmaster of the Royal Academy of Music! He’s nothing compared to me!!!”
His roars caused the entire room to fall silent. Everyone watched his hysteria in shock. In the dead silence, one person chuckled and clapped with enthusiasm.
”Well said!” Ye Qingxuan smiled brightly but the smile made one feel chills. ”How can a plagiarizer be spoken of with a grandmaster of the Royal Academy of Music? How can the glory of interpreting the Voynich Manuscript be shared with lowly scums?”
”You…” Ingmar glared at Ye Qingxuan. Ripples of aether surged from his body but were forced down by the Union’s enchantment. Only his piercing voice burst forth. They grated one’s eardrums and made everyone wrinkle their brows.
”Mr. Ingmar is correct,” the youth said hoarsely. ”We are here today to decide the ownership of the Voynich Manuscript and who is the plagiarizer. Let us return to the main topic.” He looked to the grandmasters before him with cold and menacing eyes that one could not look at directly. ”Therefore, I request for the council to call forth our witness, a critical but overlooked player who had disappeared for dozens of days.”
Ingmar froze. Suddenly thinking of something, his face grew even paler and he yelled, ”Objection! I object! They didn’t request this beforehand. I refuse to acknowledge—”
The door was thrown open. The strong afternoon sun surged in like a thunderstorm, illuminating his white face.
The blonde youth entered the hall, pushing someone on a wheelchair. The chair passed through the stunned, dazed, and puzzled eyes before finally stopping before the podium. The youth on the chair looked at Ingmar and said quietly, ”Professor, long time no see.”
Ingmar gaped at him and fell into his chair as if he had truly seen a ghost. ”B-Bart…”
-
Bart Williams. As the second son of a small family from Birmingham, he had neither a great nor horrible background. He did not have any big future either—he could become a tax official and work until retirement.
When he had revealed signs of musical talent, his father—a lord—made the biggest gamble in his life. He sent Bart to Anglo to enroll in the Royal Academy of Music. Since then, Bart had done many immoral things so he could become successful and never return to his home in the countryside. He threw away his dignity to be associated with Edmund and Banner’s families.
After enduring so many years, he finally became Ingmar’s close student and the future of the School of Revelations. It was celebratory news. But no one expected that he would fall to this state after a short few days.
Sitting on the wheelchair, Bart was covered in blood and seemed to be on his last breath. Tubes were stuck all over his body; an IV bag hung above the chair, endlessly sending lifesaving medicine into him.
Hearing Ingmar’s voice, he forced his head up and looked at Ingmar through his blurry vision. A weird sound—half laughing, half crying—came from his throat.
”Bart, let me explain.” Shaken, Ingmar stumbled back.
”Professor, what did I do wrong?” There seemed to be a block of iron stuck in Bart’s throat. He looked at Ingmar and shed tears of blood. He lifted his ragged hand and tugged at his collar. ”Why must you do this to me?”
Three large staples were nailed to his throat. The staples dug into his messy and bloody flesh; it was cruelly disgusting. They held together a gaping opening that covered his entire throat. It was the fatal wound that should have taken his life.
As Bart spoke, the wound opened further like an infant crying for help. ”Why must you do this to me?! Professor…”
”It wasn’t me! Bart, it wasn’t me!” The stark wound was like a spear that pierced Ingmar’s forced calmness. ”I-I never…Bart, you must believe me. Believe me!” He was telling the truth. It really was not him and he never thought things would turn into this. But he had some good friends who wanted to help him. Such as…making a student who knew too much disappear.
Many things had happened within the past ten days.
When the Shaman’s eyes in the school told Ye Qingxuan that Bart had secretly packed his belongings and left school, Ye Qingxuan did not think much of it. To stay safe, he had secretly told them to follow and capture Bart on the road. It could have been his winning card. But he had never expected that what happened next would be more evil and cruel than he had ever imagined.