Chapter 328: Dinner Party (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
It was a peaceful night at Rofo City.
Many carriages adorned with luxurious decorations were parked in front of a manor in the southern part of the city. Two servants in black suits were patiently waiting at both sides of the gate, bowing in greeting to every carriage that entered through it.
The noises made by the rolling wheels and galloping horses were loud. They slowly came to a halt along the grassy field within the manor.
Kids stuck their heads out of the carriage windows while looking around curiously.
The clear moonlight glowed on the green grassy field.
A black carriage slowly entered the manor and traveled down the white path. Then it went around a mermaid fountain and headed to a complete halt at the grassy field.
*KA*
The door was pushed open.
Angele was wearing a silver-hemmed black robe. Behind him was Lyn, also wearing a black robe with her long black hair draped over her shoulders. Angele could see her neck through the gaps in her hair.
‘This ought to be the right place.’ Angele looked around.
Carriages continued to arrive at the parking area.
A woman wearing a long dress and a brown headdress got off the carriage at the right side. She was also wearing a pair of pearl earrings and a pair of white evening gloves. In hindsight, she looked gentle and cute.
The woman noticed Angele’s gaze on her and winked at him in response. She then turned around and left with her butler.
"That is mistress Isabella, the first elder’s second granddaughter," Lyn casually explained.
"All right, let us go to the main hall." Angele dusted off his robe and headed to the end of the white path.
There were ten or so carriages parked at the grass field. Many people were asked to get off their carriages before they could enter through the gate. It seemed that they were treating the visitors according to their status in the organization and prohibited them from walking around the manor freely.
Two middle-aged butlers with mustache noticed Angele’s presence and approached him right away.
"Master Angele?" The one with red hair bowed to Angele.
"Yes, has master Shozo arrived yet?" Angele slightly nodded.
"Master Shozo will arrive in approximately 20 minutes, but he can only stay here for about 30 minutes. He still has an important meeting to attend to at the headquarters," the butler replied objectively. "Please follow me."
"Certainly." Angele, alongside Lyn, followed the butler from behind.
Several other guests they came across with were greeted by the butlers. It looked like all of them were influential personages.
Guests of lower ranks had to wait for the distinguished guests to enter the main hall first, as a show of respect.
The normal guests smiled and politely bowed when Angele walked past them. They did that to every distinguished guest walking along the white path.
Behind Angele, there were also people guessing his identity.
Suddenly, he heard people screaming when he stepped on the jade stone staircase.
"It’s Suman…Did master Shozo really invite him to the party?! How is that even possible!"
"Yes…it is Suman."
"That’s crazy! Master Shozo should…"
The guests tried to hush their voices, but Angele still heard every word they said.
"Suman…? Damn! What is master Shozo thinking?" Lyn immediately recognized the name and her expression turned sour.
Angele had no idea who Suman was, so he quickly turned around and looked toward the gate.
He saw a young man in a black outfit enter the gate alongside a tall girl in a long, green evening dress. The servants by the gate stepped aside and the surrounding guests moved away from them.
Angele stood on the staircase listening to Lyn’s explanation. His expression changed as soon as she finished. Raising his head, he looked at the young man and the young woman again.
"You must be master Angele." A clear male voice came from behind.
"Yes, I am Angele. You are?" Angele quickly turned around.
It was a man wearing red formal clothes completely fitting his size, a dark cloak, and a gentle smile. Two white-robed wizards were standing behind him.
"My name is Ivan, grandson of the second elder," the man introduced himself. "I’ve heard master Vivian finally reunited with her only son. I feel happy for her."
"Thank you." Angele smiled as well.
They chatted for a while before moving to the side so that other guests could pass.
"You know who Suman is, right? It is understandable for master to invite us to the party, but I have no idea why he invited Suman here." Ivan’s gaze moved toward Suman and toward the girl then squinted.
Angele pursed his lips and nodded. "Suman is the heir of the first lord of Thousand Waterfall City and our enemy. Master Shozo is master Vivian’s student, so he definitely knows the situation. This is like inviting an enemy to our own home. However, I hear Suman is just a mortal. The first lord did everything he could, but Suman could not sense the energy particles in the environment no matter what…
"The reason is simple. Did you see that woman in the green dress?" Ivan pursed his lips and looked at the girl. "Her name is Sella, master Shozo’s beloved cousin. It looks like Sella fell in love with that weak boy, Suman. The rumors might be wrong, but they are developing a relationship. I think master Shozo wants to test Suman during the party."
"Interesting." Angele felt a tad surprised. Lyn had not told him about this rumor.
"Let us enter the main hall. I saw Bella walking by. It almost feels like this dinner party is being held solely for the heirs of the elders, ha." Ivan turned around and walked to the main hall.
Angele, however, did not go with Ivan but only stood there and looked at Suman once more.
The young man had a somber expression on his pale face. He looked like a patient that should be in his sickbed. Angele even believed Suman would need Sella’s help just to stand up if he ever somehow fell.
"Is this kid truly the reason why the council decided to wage war against Thousand Waterfall City? And he is the heir of the first lord? Seriously? I can see the dedication in his eyes, but he is not talented at all." Angele then stopped looking and turned away. "Let’s go, Lyn."
"Understood."
They stepped on the jade stone staircase and headed to the hall.
Two maids in white dresses bowed as they stepped into the door.
Angele noticed he was being scanned by someone’s mentality wave after entering the door. It looked like the owner of the mentality wave then sent information regarding him to some of the guests inside the main hall.
"Angele Fenrir, welcome to the party." A gentle female voice slowly echoed in the hall. Some of the guests were curiously looking at him but none tried to approach. They only stayed put with the people they knew.
The walls were painted in gold. The wizards wearing luxurious clothes chatted among each other, but the one who attracted the most attention was the man called Ivan.
This grandson of the second elder was courteously talking with several women.
Meanwhile, Isabella, the granddaughter of the first elder, was talking with a blonde-haired, handsome young man. A few people made attempts to intrude into their conversation but were stopped considerately by the servants.
Three black robes and two red robes were sitting on a sofa located at the right corner of the hall, discussion the modification of a certain magic circle. It nearly sounded like they were debating.
Maids walked to and fro in the hall with food and drinks. Guests could take drinks and appetizers from the plates on their hands if they wished so. On one side, many guests of lower standing were conversing with the servants, seemingly knowing each other.
Angele frowned. He loathed places like this since it was too noisy, and he barely knew anyone here. He came to this place only because the invitation was personally sent by the rank 4 wizard, master Shozo.
Glancing around, he soon found an empty table surrounded by several white chairs near the sofa area.
Angele walked to the table with Lyn quickly and sat down in a chair.
The table was right beside the windows. The pure moonlight pierced through the glass pane and shined on Angele’s lower body. In contrast to that, his upper body was covered by the shadows, so people could barely see his face.
Lyn silently remained standing behind Angele.
"I think master Shozo held this party just for Sella and Suman," Angele spoke in a low voice. "Suman sure is fortunate. Without Sella, he would never be invited to a party like this. The first lord did not even send guards to protect Suman. Don’t tell me, master Shozo is related to the first lord."
"I do not want to comment on master Shozo’s decision, but I think he has his own reasons," Lyn replied.
"Perhaps." Angele had nothing else to say.
At that moment, Suman and Sella slowly entered the main hall drawing everyone’s attention.
Suman remained his composure and took a quick glance at the guests. Angele noticed another person following him besides Sella.
It was a tall man that had a pair of red, glowing eyes which might have resulted from a Talent Spell or an advanced meditation technique.
Angele’s expression abruptly changed after seeing the man’s face.
‘Mincola?’ The tall man was also a member of Dark Wizard Tower. Mincola had left a deep impression on Angele because of the short encounter they had at the Dream Inn. He had helped Angele several times when they were in the aerial port city, but they had not get in touch with each other for a long time now.