Chapter 017
Chapter 17: The Master and the Apprentice (11)
“Can I learn another magic now?”
“Yes.”
He nodded indifferently. Cordelia’s eyes sparkled like stars with excitement.
“I… I! There’s a magic I’ve wanted to learn for a while. That magic you threw at me before, the fireball and wind manipulation. Oh! And I want to learn that—”
“Enough of that. You need to start with identification magic first.”
“What? What’s identification magic?”
He brought a plate filled with various chopped ingredients and placed it in front of her.
“Let’s start by identifying the carrots first.”
“Hmm? Why carrots all of a sudden?”
The identification magic Leonard insisted on was extremely complex and precise, so much so that even average sorcerers found it very difficult. For Cordelia, a mere beginner sorcerer, it was utterly exhausting.
After several days of failed attempts to distinguish between carrots and onions mixed on the plate, Cordelia put down her fork and sighed.
“Can’t I learn something else?”
“No. What will you do if you eat something wrong again and die? You need to know what’s on your plate.”
“But it’s unreasonable to identify the ingredients in a soup.”
“What will you do if there are peanuts in the soup?”
“Who would put peanuts in soup? And even if there were a small amount, it wouldn’t hurt me… I want to learn another magic…”
“Stop with the nonsense and focus. What’s the third ingredient?”
Leonard said coldly. Cordelia’s weak attempts at resistance were futile. In truth, she couldn’t ignore the concern Leonard was showing.
“An egg?”
“Again.”
The ingredient identification training continued even during mealtimes, making her spend more time identifying ingredients than actually eating.
“Pepper!”
“Even with one eye, you’d know there’s pepper. Next.”
“This…”
“Are you kidding? You thought that was a carrot?”
“Do it again.”
“How many times have I told you it’s not a potato?”
“Tch.”
The servants began to look at them suspiciously as they shared meals, with two spoons in one dish, but they didn’t notice what they were doing.
As days and weeks passed, Cordelia’s skills improved noticeably. At first, it was hard for her to identify three or four ingredients, but later she could identify over ten.
“Salt, sugar, radish, carrot, onion, beef, tomato, basil… oh, and rosemary!”
“What else?”
“Is there something else? Hmm, what is it?”
“Oats.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“Ugh… I’m starting to get bored of repeating this.”
“Honestly, my intelligence is average. Comparing me to you, an extraordinary person, isn’t fair, is it?”
“Average? Who told you your intelligence is average? Do you have proof?”
“You’re so harsh…”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. When permission was given to enter, a maid came in more cautiously than usual and said:
“My lord, my lady. You have a visitor.”
Their reactions were different. Leonard’s expression relaxed, while Cordelia tensed. She stood upright and asked:
“A visitor? Who?”
“Lord Gerard Abrams has arrived at the northern gate.”
***
“Welcome, Lord Abrams.”
As Cordelia greeted him, Gerard Abrams stepped out of the carriage and looked around.
“Haha, you can just call me Gerard. Lady Abrams, this is our second meeting since your wedding. But where are the others? Why don’t they come to greet guests?”
“Oh.”
Cordelia smiled awkwardly. She was alone with a few servants in the open courtyard to welcome him.
“Lady Helena went to the temple to pray early this morning and hasn’t returned yet, and Craig hasn’t fully recovered.”
“Oh, really? It’s a shame my dear cousin hasn’t recovered yet. I’ll go see him myself.”
“Now? You just arrived; you should rest first.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said? Lead the way.”
He gestured forward arrogantly. His behavior toward the lady of the house was extremely rude, but Cordelia was so used to such treatment that she didn’t notice anything unusual.
Gerard entered the castle with Cordelia, and an incomprehensible tension filled the air. The servants whispered while watching them, wondering who the next head of the family would be.
Cordelia stood in front of Craig’s door and knocked lightly.
“Craig, Lord Gerard Abrams is here.”
“What a terrible way! He’s probably awake anyway; why do we need his permission?”
Before Cordelia could hear Leonard’s response, Gerard pushed the door open and entered.
Leonard, who was sitting on the sofa in the guest room, met Gerard’s gaze.
“Oh, Craig. It’s been a while. Do you recognize me?”
“I’m not sure. You don’t seem like someone important. What was your name again? Jade?”
“How unfortunate. It seems your mind is truly damaged if you don’t know my name.”
Despite his words, Gerard’s face bore a smile. In fact, he was the one most eager for Craig’s mind to be impaired.
“Your face looks completely ruined. Did you get crushed under a carriage wheel on your way here?”
“Hah. It’s the same annoying tone as always. Since you don’t remember me, let me formally introduce myself. I’m Gerard Abrams, the one who will take charge of this family in your place.”
“Hahaha.”
Leonard laughed loudly as soon as Gerard finished speaking. Gerard’s eyebrows twitched with anger.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s amazing how consistent this family is. Stupidity and foolishness seem to run in your blood.”
“What?”
“It seems your ears got damaged too when your face was run over by the wheel. How unfortunate. I don’t understand why you’d risk your life for this rural family.”
Cordelia, standing in the back, secretly admired him. Although the conversation lasted only five minutes, Gerard’s face had turned red.
“You’re really talented at provoking people.”
“We’ll see how long you can keep that rude mouth of yours!”
Unable to find anything else to say, Gerard left the room angrily. Cordelia made sure the door was fully closed before approaching Leonard.
“Why did you bring him here if you were just going to anger him?”
“What do you mean? I needed to know who he is. He could be one of Maximilian’s followers.”
“One of his followers?”
“Honestly, with that mind of his, he doesn’t seem qualified.”
The sarcasm in Leonard’s voice was so clear that Cordelia felt embarrassed.
“So, are you going to leave him alone?”
“Do I need to bother with that guy?”
“Lady Helena… well, that’s true.”
His arrogant tone made Cordelia feel uneasy. A month ago, she was worried about how to deal with Gerard Abrams, but now it seemed insignificant.
“So, can I meet him and deal with him?”
“Meet him? Why? You should be spending your time studying instead of seeing that fool.”
“Gerard is a guest of the castle, and I’m obligated to host him. Starting with tonight’s dinner…”
“Oh, right. We have another guest coming.”
“Another guest?”
“Forget that guest and prepare for the other one.”
“What? Who’s coming? Who is it?”
Leonard didn’t answer, only saying she’d find out tomorrow. The next day, at exactly noon, a servant ran toward her, panting.
***
“Engrion? Engrion, really?”
“Yes, my lady. All the knights have gathered at the gate.”
The young servant’s face was flushed with excitement, looking like he wanted to run there immediately.
Although the word “Why?” was on the tip of her tongue, Cordelia gently waved her hand.
“I understand, I’ll go right away.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Abrams wasn’t such a remote or isolated region that they hadn’t heard of Engrion.
They were one of the renowned noble families in Erschie, unlike the Vasquez, who only had an empty reputation as the “greatest sword.”
‘Is he the guest the master mentioned yesterday?’
Cordelia ordered the maids to prepare food and bathwater, then slowly headed to the gate.
It was easy to spot him from afar. The man riding a giant black horse was surrounded by Abrams’ knights.
Even Helena and Lily, who hadn’t appeared recently, were there.
“Welcome, dear sir. How could someone like you visit this humble place?”
“I have someone I’d like to see.”
Engrion replied simply. Lily quickly approached and asked:
“Are you looking for someone?”
“And who are you?”
“Oh, I was late in introducing myself. I’m Lily Dahlia. In my youth, I was part of the Abrams family.”
“She’s my daughter.”
His gaze shifted from Lily to Cordelia, who was standing further away. Engrion nodded toward her.
“And who is that over there?”
“Oh.”
Helena turned to see who he was pointing at and smiled awkwardly.
“Don’t mind her… she’s my son’s wife.”
“Cordelia Abrams.”
Cordelia stepped forward and bowed slightly. Engrion’s expression changed when he heard her name.
He approached her with steady steps, and the crowd parted instinctively. All eyes were on them.
The man was taller and larger than Cordelia had expected, making her feel intimidated. She stepped back without realizing it.
He looked her up and down with an impolite scrutiny.
There was no sexual intent in his gaze. His eyes were merely assessing, as if evaluating something.
“You.”
“Me?”
“The person I was looking for.”
He suddenly smiled gently, and a smile finally appeared on his stern face.
“Me?”
Cordelia was stunned, blinking in astonishment at the strange situation.
