Chapter 013
Chapter 13: The Master and the Apprentice (7)
“No matter how much of his memories he’s lost, a person’s fundamental nature doesn’t change.”
“He didn’t even recognize your face, did he?”
“Yes.”
“And yet he knew how the funds were embezzled? Can his memory return so randomly like that?”
Helena’s observation was extremely sharp. It was only then that Arnold felt a chill in his head.
“Either his memory hasn’t returned at all, or he knows everything. There’s no other option.”
“If his memory has truly returned, his not visiting his favorite mistress is highly suspicious.”
“Yes, sister.”
Helena reached what she believed to be the most logical conclusion.
The current Craig was not the same Craig she had known for decades. He couldn’t have changed this much.
Unless someone was controlling him from behind, there would be no explanation for it.
Cordelia Vasquez. That cunning woman was definitely manipulating things from the shadows.
“She wants to frame me with fabricated charges and put Craig forward to control the Abrams family.”
“Oh, so that’s why she’s been sticking to Craig since he woke up. What a vile woman.”
“It’s been a year since her marriage, and she hasn’t even produced a single child. We only took her because she’s useless.”
Helena whispered and cursed Cordelia for a while.
She suddenly stopped talking. An astonishing idea struck her. Arnold asked when her silence lasted too long.
“What’s wrong?”
“Isn’t she a useless woman anyway?”
“Yes, we only brought her because of her lineage. Otherwise, we would’ve chosen a woman with better qualities.”
“Then we should get rid of her.”
“What?”
“Why keep something useless and unnecessary?”
From the beginning, the woman was unsatisfactory. The only reason they brought a Vasquez daughter was the late former count’s insistence on protecting her lineage.
Once they got rid of that troublesome woman, Helena would finally be able to bring in a woman to her liking.
Helena smiled happily. It was the kind of smile that carried the scent of blood. Arnold immediately understood her intention.
“What’s the appropriate method?”
“Look into it. We’ll find an excuse easily.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, that woman is never cautious. If she eats something that causes poisoning, no one would know, would they?”
“Oh.”
Arnold let out a soft gasp.
Sometimes the castle’s cook makes a mistake and puts something inappropriate in the food.
“I’ll prepare for it.”
“Good.”
***
“Hello.”
Cordelia was walking down the corridor, whispering magical incantations, when she heard a strange voice. She looked up and was surprised to see the person in front of her.
“Oh, Baron Lancaster.”
“Hello, Countess. How are you?”
The man with black hair bowed with a gentle smile.
From his appearance, he seemed like just a handsome noble, but Baron Lancaster owned the largest trading company in the region. His influence was so great that even Helena couldn’t treat him lightly.
“I heard you were at a mine in the south. When did you return?”
“Not long ago.”
When she looked at his face, she remembered that he always smiled mysteriously, earning him the nickname “the young raccoon.”
Normally, Lord Lancaster paid no attention to Cordelia, but for some reason, he was now speaking to her warmly.
“I heard you’ve been spending a lot of time with the count lately.”
“That’s because Craig hasn’t fully recovered yet, yes.”
“It seems the count relies on you a lot. He no longer receives strangers in the castle as he used to.”
She knew the word “strangers” referred to Craig’s mistresses, but she showed no reaction and simply smiled.
‘What’s this? Why is the raccoon talking to me today? If I’m late, Master will scold me.’
“The count has changed a lot. Usually, people drift away from those they were close to and get closer to others.”
“Really? I don’t know. But Craig is quite moody.”
“Really?”
Cordelia couldn’t ask what he meant because the baron’s servant whispered something in his ear, and his expression changed for a moment before returning to his mysterious smile.
“Excuse me, I must leave.”
“You’re really busy.”
Cordelia didn’t pay much attention to the conversation because she was only thinking about not being late for her appointment with Leonard.
People were strangely friendly to her that day. When she dropped some papers, a nearby knight, not a servant, picked them up and said with a smile:
“Here are your papers, Countess. You look beautiful today.”
Cordelia was embarrassed as she took the papers from him.
When she reached Leonard’s room, a maid asked her kindly:
“Would you like me to prepare some tea for you?”
“No, thank you.”
“If you need anything, let me know.”
The maid was unusually kind.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone being so nice?”
Cordelia felt something was off. She didn’t trust people’s sudden kindness.
When Leonard saw her, he frowned and said:
“What took you so long to get here?”
“Master, the people… never mind.”
Cordelia tried to hide her thoughts and started studying.
“Be honest, why were you late?”
“It’s because…”
But Leonard was angry, and Cordelia fell silent.
“Why are you so stupid? Did you fall from a tree when you were a child?”
“That’s not true! I was a smart child.”
“Did they praise you just for breathing?”
“…”
‘I don’t want to talk.’
Cordelia felt every day that this man was not easy.
Although she studied until she was exhausted and memorized what she learned the previous day, she received no praise; everything he said was treated as normal.
When she didn’t understand something from his explanation and asked him to repeat it, Leonard looked at her as if she were a creature from another world.
His gaze said, “How do you not understand this?”
The baron laughed awkwardly and defended Cordelia.
“But she’s already learned how to channel magical energy. That’s a great achievement in itself.”
“What’s the use if she can’t do what’s necessary to move to the next stage?”
“That’s something that will resolve with time.”
Cordelia felt so grateful to the baron that she wanted to bow to him and thank him.
Despite her teacher mocking her and calling her stupid, Cordelia didn’t give up; instead, her determination grew.
‘We’ll see. I’ll make him boast about me as his student one day.’
While Cordelia was thinking this, a maid arrived with a letter on a silver tray. When Cordelia read the name on the envelope, her face froze quickly.
Leonard asked nonchalantly:
“What? Who sent it?”
“Nothing… it’s really nothing important.”
She smiled awkwardly and tucked the letter into her pocket.
Leonard noticed that the seal on the envelope was from the Vasquez family, but he didn’t ask further because he knew that family was a sensitive topic for Cordelia.
The lesson ended after a long time.
Cordelia had to write notes on incantations for over five hours, memorize more than a hundred magical terms, and study two research papers.
Cordelia said with exhausted eyes:
“When will I get to sleep?”
“Sleep will come after your death.”
“…”
Cordelia lacked the energy to respond and left Leonard’s room exhausted.
After she completely closed the door, the baron said:
“I was surprised.”
“By what?”
“By Cordelia. Did you know this when you accepted her as your apprentice?”
“I didn’t know. I wanted to make sure her mind was sound before performing the ceremony.”
Leonard replied in an indifferent tone, but it was clear the baron was excited.
“My lord, Cordelia learned to channel magical energy in just ten days. Even the best sorcerers need months or years.”
“It took me two days.”
“You can’t be compared to ordinary people, my lord. Perhaps Cordelia will actually manage a star by twenty-five.”
“She still has a long way to go; she’s still lost in basic calculations.”
“The calculations will become easy with time. If she had mastered them in ten days, I’d suspect she wasn’t human.”
The baron trembled slightly.
At first, the baron thought Leonard had accepted Cordelia randomly, but after seeing her astonishing talent, he became excited.
“Perhaps we’ll witness the rise of a new great sorcerer.”
“Don’t rush to judgment. What about the council of nobles?”
“As expected, they’re strongly opposed. They say they can’t acknowledge a funeral without a body.”
“My goodness, I’m grateful to the point of tears.”
Despite Leonard’s sarcastic tone, his words were sincere.
The council of nobles consists of more than twenty nobles. It was enough for just half of them to agree to the succession of the title.
So far, the nobles of Elfenbaum haven’t recognized Maximilian’s succession, but the position of Lord Atily can’t remain vacant for long.
“It won’t last more than three months.”
“Yes.”
The baron nodded seriously.
This meant that within three months, Leonard had to reclaim his original body and bring down Maximilian.
Leonard clenched his fist tightly. Time was running out.
