"Do you know everything about your city, Lord Gleriath?" Ember Killian turned to Istana Gleriath.
"Haa… If I did, there wouldn't be problems in my city, Marquis Killian," Istana Gleriath sighed and suppressed her rage.
Even though Istana Gleriath wanted to raze the whole dark organization to the ground, she didn't know where to start looking.
"My territory is barren and offers little profit. Besides mining minerals and collecting taxes, I don't have any other major sources of income. Where would I get the money to buy those city management-type magic tools, let alone maintain them?"
"I wouldn't know who enters and leaves the city unless they are a demon," Istana Gleriath stated.
"In that case, we will have to manually search the city and surrounding areas for the Assembly of Silent Night's hideout," Astoria Braveheart suggested with a determined look before adding, "I don't believe that they don't have one hidden somewhere within the Blackmoon Region."
"That is an option, but I don't believe we need to go through that much trouble. We just need to find someone who had secret dealings with them," Ember Killian mentioned before suggesting, "We should look into the wealthy households in the city."
"Good idea, Marquis Killian. Let us go with that."
"Right."
…
…
…
Redpine City, Helia's Castle
While important events took place in Blackmoon City, unbeknown to the Assembly of Silent Night, a whole night went by in the blink of an eye.
Overnight, Vaan went through all of the medical information provided on Cyrena Ashenborn and pondered on her condition.
Although Vaan failed to draw a conclusion from the medical records, he came up with several possibilities regarding the root cause of Cyrena Ashenborn's inability to use magic.
Nevertheless, the medical insights of other people could only provide him so much knowledge, given they were authentic information.
Vaan had to meet the patient before he could draw a definite conclusion.
…
Shortly after Vaan left the room, he was greeted by Hester Thornton, who had stood guard outside his room overnight.
Due to her presence outside his room, Vaan couldn't do anything besides study Cyrena Ashenborn's condition and prepare for his lesson with Cyrena Ashenborn.
After a light morning greeting, Hester Thornton guided Vaan to see Helia Ashenborn in Great Hall, where the person was having breakfast with her children.
All seven daughters were present, including Cyrena Ashenborn.
Almost immediately, their attention was directed at Vaan, some with curiosity, some with doubt, and even some with disdain.
At the same time, Vaan also determined which of the seven beautiful young ladies sitting at the long table with Helia Ashenborn was Cyrena Ashenborn.
Cyrena Ashenborn's snowy-white hair distinguished her from the rest; it also alienated her from her elder siblings and mother.
Although Helia Ashenborn's daughters all appeared young and beautiful, almost like younger versions of herself, Vaan didn't doubt that some of them were at least triple his age.
Helia Ashenborn herself was someone who had lived through the Holy War between witches and demons three hundred ago.
"I trust you had a good rest, Vahn Cadieux," Helia Ashenborn smiled and said, "If you don't mind, you can join us for breakfast. There's a spare seat for you besides—"
Creak…!
Cyrena Ashenborn's chair scraped the ground as she suddenly stood up to leave after sensing her elder siblings' ridicule and snide thoughts.
'A male teacher is just perfect for someone like you. You should thank Mother for her thoughtfulness. Don't you see how much Mother cares for you? Why aren't you quickly thank her?'
Even without mind-reading abilities, Cyrena Ashenborn was sure that her elder siblings were thinking something along those lines. After all, their ridicule and contempt toward her wasn't something new.
"I'm done eating. You can find me in the library," Cyrena Ashenborn said apathetically.
Without waiting for anyone to reply, Cyrena Ashenborn left the Great Hall. But before she left, she briefly glanced at Vaan's calm expression, and her eyes flickered with disappointment.
…
"I apologize for my daughter's rudeness, Vahn Cadieux. But as you can see, that is how she is. And as things stand, it might be more difficult for you to teach her like this."
"Not at all, Lord Ashenborn. It didn't bother me," Vaan calmly smiled before saying, "Nevertheless, I will have to politely decline your kind gesture. Since there are only seven days, I would like to begin teaching Lady Cyrena as soon as possible."
Vaan had quickly read the atmosphere and noticed the majority of Helia Ashenborn's daughters didn't view him favorably in terms of his teaching capability and looked down on him.
He would rather avoid the troubles that may arise from sitting at the same table as them.
"I understand your eagerness and look forward to the results after a week, Vahn Cadieux. Very well, you can ask Hester to guide you to the library," Helia Ashenborn said with a nod before turning to Hester Thornton. "Please watch over them and ensure nothing goes wrong, Hester."
"Yes, my Lady," Hester Thornton complied, completely understanding Helia Ashenborn's intentions.
Nevertheless, Vaan wasn't stupid. He quickly picked up the meaning behind Helia Ashenborn's words. They were meant for both Cyrena Ashenborn and him.
It was clear that Helia Ashenborn had seemingly placed greater importance on Vaan but didn't completely trust him, which was also understandable.
Trust was to be earned, not given.
…
Sometime later, Hester Thornton and Vaan reached the castle's library, containing Helia Ashenborn's private collection of knowledge.
Vaan was quickly barred from entry by two combat witches guarding the entrance.
"Please remove all your weapons and tools before entering the premise, Sir Vahn," one of the combat witches requested.
Vaan complied without a complaint. He unstrapped his utility belt, which held the two fang daggers and several small powder pouches.
Hester Thornton and the two combat witches were curious about the usage of the small powder pouches, but they decided not to pry.
After entering the library full of large wooden bookshelves, all filled with rows of books, Hester Thornton led Vaan to Cyrena Ashenborn, who sat at a round study table, reading a book on exotic plants.
"Are you ready for our first lesson, Lady Cyrena?" Vaan politely asked with a calm smile.
However, Cyrena Ashenborn immediately snorted upon hearing Vaan address her by her first name and on their first meeting, no less.
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