The luxurious carriage headed southern part of the city and soon passed through the city's main road.
While the carriage was moving, Abium casually lifted the curtain and looked outside. The whole city appeared to be busy because of the New Year. People decorated the streets, shops, and houses with flowers and ornamental plant leaves and instilled magical lamps everywhere.
After some time, he closed the curtain and patiently waited for the carriage to reach its destination.
Exactly twenty minutes later, the coachman's voice came from the front and woke him from his thoughts.
"Sir Mage!"
Straightening his back, Abium moved his hand towards the doorknob and opened the door from inside. Then, he stepped down from the carriage and turned his gaze towards the driver's seat.
"How much is it?" He asked while furrowing.
"30 silvers, My Lord." The coachman responded with a stiff smile on his face.
'Why not rob me instead? It should only cost around seven silvers!' The corner of his lips twitched as he realized that the coachman was scamming him. But he decided not to argue.
If it was a few days ago, he would've made a fuss and might even have beaten him for scamming him. From now on, his every action would affect his reputation.
'I still haven't gained the noble title yet.' With a deep sigh, he took a gold coin from his space ring and threw it toward the driver.
"Take this." He paused for a moment and was about to wait for the driver to return the change, but Azolla's words made his heart ache more.
'Tell him to keep the change, lad. No mage would care about a single gold coin. Act like one.'
Without any other choice, he let out another deep sigh and nodded.
"Keep the change." He spoke coldly and moved towards the mansion's compound gate.
At that moment, two guards on watch noticed his arrival and opened the gate in a hurry while bowing their heads.
Waving his hand, Abium quietly walked inside, stepped on the concrete path, and soon arrived in front of the three-storied building.
Then, he greeted the butler at the mansion's entrance door and entered.
Within a few minutes, he also met with Helena, Kuran, and others in the main hall and exchanged a few words.
At that moment, he heard footsteps coming from the dining hall and turned around in that direction.
Meanwhile, a black-haired man in his late 60s walked out of the dining hall and nodded at him. He wore a plain grey gown and held a scroll in his hand.
He was none other than Baron Auguinare!
"Congratulations, lad. It seems you have become an official mage already." He suddenly sensed something was off as he looked at his face and soon widened his eyes.
"You look more like an elf now!" Baron exclaimed in surprise.
Meanwhile, Abium bowed respectfully and spoke.
"Yes, Lord Baron. I also don't know how it happened. But when I became an official mage, a mysterious mutation happened inside my body and strengthened my bloodline."
"Oh? Mysterious indeed. I had never heard of a half-elf transforming into an elf in my life. It must have something to do with magic." At that moment, he looked at the scroll in his hand and asked.
"Are you also coming to the Royal Banquet tomorrow?"
"You knew?" A flash of surprise appeared on Abium's face.
"His Majesty has summoned all the nobles to come to the Royal Castle tomorrow morning, lad. I asked one of my men in the palace and learned that the Royal Family would confer a Noble title on someone. After seeing your arrival in a black robe, I easily guessed what the Royal Family is planning." He said with a chuckle.
"Will the nobles create any commotion?" Abium also knew a bit about the kingdom's politics and asked. There was a trace of concern on his face.
"It's too difficult to guess. Mages rarely show any interest in politics. But your action to become a baron already rattled most of the Nobles. Some like Duke Adhemer are always against mages and might look for trouble in the future." Baron Auguinare warned him.
'Nobles, huh? They are always a troublesome bunch.' Abium quietly nodded his head and asked more about the things that happened during the past few days.
After discussing with Baron for a few minutes, he somewhat understood what was happening inside the kingdom.
Margrave Eliot and Duke Pawelinus first announced that they had allied with the Holy See and even sent out a declaration of war against the Royal Family, placing the Light church members in a bitter position.
Although no riot or fight broke out between the Royal Family and the major nobles, it wouldn't be too long before the start of the civil war.
Everyone in the kingdom was restless in their hearts as a result of their betrayal. Abium also felt something was amiss when he heard King Sewallus's condition was improving.
'What did I miss? Is the King's death related to the Royal Banquet?' A vague suspicion arose in his heart.
After some thought, he shook his head and decided to return to his room to take some rest.
…
Great Hall, 56C Shadow House, Misty Alley, Slum District.
At that moment, two humanoid figures knelt before a black throne and waited for orders. Both of them covered their heads with black hoods and looked like assassins. Their body shapes indicated that both of them were females and quite young as well.
Meanwhile, the guy sitting on the black metallic throne appeared to be around 40-years old, had dark-lined olive skin and wavy brown hair, and half of his face was covered in black corrosion. Not only that, but his left side-eye was nowhere to be seen!
He was the leader of this Misty Alley, a major street in the Slum Borough.
He calmly tapped his finger on the metallic throne and spoke hoarsely.
"Sara, Lily, get up. Master Grold has finally sent us a message."
While saying this, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
A moment later, an illusionary reddish butterfly with weird letters on its back suddenly appeared from his wrist region and started flapping its wings.
"Take a look." The leader said coldly and waved his hand.
Meanwhile, the butterfly flapped its wings, flew toward the two hooded figures, and enveloped itself in a chaotic reddish flame.
A second later, mysterious letters emerged from the burning red flame and formed into a projection.
Within two seconds, a virtual image of a blonde-haired young elf appeared in the hall, leaving the two figures clueless.
"Who is he?" One of the two hooded figures asked in a feminine voice.
"No idea. But master Grold told me to be wary of him." The leader paused for a moment and added in a deep tone.
"And, if an opportunity arises, test his strength."
"Okay." Both hooded figures nodded.
"Now, you can go back and wait for 'him' to return from the academy. He will tell you what to do during your next mission." The leader gave them a stern look and gestured them to leave.
But the hooded person on the right stood motionless and asked.
"Will you leave us alone after this mission?" Her voice contained a trace of anger and frustration.
"That will depend on how you complete your mission, Lily." The leader said calmly.
Meanwhile, the young girl named Lily glared at the corrosion-faced guy and spoke while gritting her teeth.
"Don't think you can escape from this, Iskax. My dad will never forgive you when he returns from the mission."
Upon hearing the brave voice, the leader named Iskax made a mocking grin and spoke.
"I will deal with your father when the time comes. Go and complete your work now."
As he ended his words, a strange snake-symbol tattoo appeared on the young girl's forehead and started glowing in reddish light!
A second later, a painful scream echoed in the grand hall.
"Arrghhhh!"
At that moment, the other girl bit her lips and dragged her sister away from the room. She knew that the more they tried to revolt, the more harm they would suffer due to the slave curse, and silently moved away!
…
Serpent Inn's Terrace, Graveman Street, Nobles' Borough, Dewsummit City.
It was around 9 P.M.
At that moment, two hooded figures stood on the open terrace and seemed to be waiting for someone. Those were the same people Iskax punished a while back.
A magic rune circle was inscribed on the concrete floor and lit in a yellowish light.
After staring at the magic circle, the girl on the right removed her black hood and spoke in annoyance.
"Why is he taking so much time?"
The moonlight reflected on her black hair at that moment and glittered a bit. She had wavy black hair, black eyes, tan skin, a celestial nose, a pear-shaped face, and extra-long eyebrows. She appeared to be around 20 years old and looked leaner.
Noticing her action, the other young girl named Lily looked around warily and spoke.
"Cover your head, Sara. What if somebody sees us?"
Just as Sara was about to nod, she suddenly noticed that the magic rune circle started to glow intensely.
Suddenly, a human figure materialized at the center of the circle and started walking in their direction. That guy wore a black robe like Abium but had an extra red badge on his chest.
"Hmm? Iskax sent you guys for tomorrow's mission, huh?" He looked up and down and continued with a nod.
"Anyway, I already did my work on the other side. All you have to do is go there and finish your job." He then took out a blackish-red rob from his space ring and tossed it towards Lily.
"Once you finish your job, break this orb. It will activate and bring you here. Got it?"
As both of them nodded, the black-robed mage glanced at Sara, then at Lily, and asked.
"Who is going to do this job?"
Sara stepped forward before her elder sister did and said in a hurry.
"I'll do it."
Meanwhile, the black-robed mage nodded his head and spoke.
"All right then. Meet me here tomorrow at 6 P.M."
Saying so, he walked back to the mysterious rune circle, recited a strange chant, and disappeared from there, leaving two young sisters alone on the open terrace.