Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Cordu Village, Ol' Tavern

"Oak, I'll bet you anything Aurore's some rich man's mistress who got caught by his shrew of a wife and had to flee to the countryside! Why else would a beauty like her buy property in our little Cordu and mix with us country bumpkins?" slurred Larca Guillaume to his drinking companion, clearly deep in his cups.

Oak instinctively glanced around the room before clapping Larca on the shoulder.

"I need to get back to the fields. You'd better hope Lumian doesn't hear you talking like that. You know how he gets—turns into a rabid dog when he's angry, and Aurore knows how to fight. She always has his back."

With that, Oak stood and left Ol' Tavern.

Just as Larca Guillaume was about to drain the last of his drink, he spotted a sultry woman entering through the doorway. Her fitted red dress plunged dramatically at the chest, revealing an expanse of pale skin.

Gulp... Larca couldn't help but swallow hard, his body growing flushed with heat.

Once the woman had settled at the bar, he picked up his glass and sauntered over with a fawning smile.

"Hello there, beautiful lady. May I buy you a drink?"

He was trying to imitate the refined characters from bard tales. In his usual style, he would have been far more crude—something like "Hey there, chick" or "Want a drink, pussy?"

The woman, whose features weren't particularly striking but who carried herself with an undeniable sensuality, glanced at Larca and smiled.

"The kind of drink I want is expensive—at least one verl d'or."

Larca immediately understood her meaning and recognized her profession. After a moment's hesitation, he downed the rest of his drink and rubbed his hands together.

"Alright then. Shall we... go upstairs?"

Ol' Tavern had several guest rooms on the second floor.

The alluring woman's eyes sparkled as she leaned in with a coy smile.

"Would you like to try something more exciting? I was thinking we could..."

She whispered the rest into Larca's ear.

Larca froze, his breathing suddenly heavy, his eyes taking on a reddish gleam.

"Yes! Yes!" he replied eagerly.

This way would be more thrilling, and it would save him the cost of a room to boot.

Soon he was leading the seductive woman toward a crude storage building filled with hay bales.

The woman slipped from his grasp and shot him a flirtatious look.

"Wait outside for a moment. I need to prepare."

"Prepare for what?" asked Larca, who couldn't bear to wait another second.

"If we're going for excitement, we might as well add some extra flourishes..." The temptress leaned close to his ear again, whispering a few more words before concluding, "When you hear me call out, you can come in. But remember—take off all your clothes first."

Huff... huff... Larca's blood rushed to his head like a bull seeing red or a steam engine building pressure.

"Don't worry, you haven't paid me yet. I'm not going anywhere," the woman said, her right hand slowly trailing across Larca's cheek before she stepped lightly into the building and closed the wooden door behind her.

After what felt like an eternity—though it was only a minute or two—Larca heard her voice calling from inside: "Come in."

Larca rushed forward, pushing open the door while frantically shedding his clothes.

Soon, completely naked, he adjusted to the dim light inside the building. But instead of the alluring woman, he found only a gray-and-white ewe standing by the hay pile, turning its head to look at him.

"…"

Before Larca could process what was happening, an angry roar erupted behind him: "My sheep! My sheep! Larca, what are you planning to do to my sheep!"

A crowd of people who had been searching for the missing animal burst into the building.

Mixed in among them, Lumian signaled to someone hidden in a corner behind a hay pile while simultaneously stepping sideways to block the others' line of sight.

…

By the gently flowing river outside Cordu Village.

Lumian pulled out five verl d'or and handed them to the seductive woman in the red dress, grinning as he said, "My little cabbage, you have real talent for acting."

"It's all for making a living. Praise the Sun!" The woman accepted her payment, counted it quickly, and offered a perfunctory prayer of thanks.

She glanced at Lumian's handsome face and smiled sweetly.

"There's still plenty of time left. I'm planning to head back to that tavern to see if I can drum up more business. But before that, are you interested? For you, I could make it just ten licks."

Lumian chortled. "I should warn you of two things first. One, the mail coach is about to leave. Two, that 'little cutie' from earlier has a close relationship with our village padre. If he finds you... well, I shudder to think what might happen."

The woman froze for a moment, then forced a smile. "I really should get going."

She then muttered, "How was that guy a 'little cutie' anyway? He's not exactly young anymore..."

As she spoke, her experience suddenly kicked in and she burst into laughter, understanding the joke.

Only after the sultry woman had left Cordu Village did Lumian leisurely make his way back to the semi-subterranean two-story building at the village's edge.

When he pushed open the door, his pupils dilated in alarm.

Aurore stood there wearing light-colored fighting attire, her thick golden hair pulled back in a high ponytail. She held a wooden stick in her right hand, gently tapping it against her left palm.

"So," Aurore said with a slight smile as she looked at her younger brother, "what mischief have you been up to now?"

Lumian subtly took a step backward. "You know?"

That's awfully fast! Doesn't Aurore rarely leave the house?

"So you really were up to mischief?" Aurore feigned surprise. "Do you cause trouble every single day? How did I guess right on the first try?"

That pose of yours doesn't exactly look like you're just guessing... Lumian's mind raced as he honestly confessed how he had played his prank on Larca.

Aurore sighed. "This is because Larca was spreading rumors that I'm some rich man's mistress? Let them say whatever they want—I don't care about such things..."

Lumian pressed his lips together and replied quietly, "I care."

"Uh..." Aurore was momentarily speechless.

After a pause, she sighed. "The main issue is that there's no need to provoke the padre and his gang. While I'm not afraid of him, if he keeps making trouble for us, we won't be able to stay in Cordu Village."

Lumian immediately nodded and said with unusual sincerity, "I'm sorry. My bad."

"Pretty quick to admit fault, aren't you?" Aurore snorted with amusement.

Lumian hung his head in response. "I won't dare do it again."

Aurore raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"I think I heard that exact phrase just the day before yesterday. So you behaved yourself for exactly one whole day, is that it?"

Before Lumian could respond, she set down the wooden stick and smacked her lips.

"It's not that you can't get revenge, but you need to do it in moderation—keep it within the realm of 'harmless pranks.' In any case, just stay out of trouble until you get into university and we can leave Cordu Village."

"By the way, where did you get the money to hire an 'actress' from Dariège?"

Although Aurore gave her underage brother a few verl d'or of allowance each month, the boy was constantly frequenting Ol' Tavern and couldn't possibly save any money—and it wasn't even the beginning of the month yet.

Though that small allowance can't buy Lumian more than a few days of drinks, somehow he manages to go drinking every few days, and he always has quite a bit to drink... That's quite a skill... It's like even if I didn't give him any allowance, he'd still manage just fine and have drinks every day... As Aurore grumbled internally, she saw Lumian break into a grin.

"Just some gifts from some generous souls," he replied.

"Fine, fine. Look at you, all grown up and capable," Aurore said, glancing at her brother. "You have 45 minutes until class. I've prepared a pleasant surprise for you."

A huge pile of problems to solve! A lengthy text to copy!

"A pleasant surprise?" Lumian took another step back. "You mean the kind where I'm surprised and it's pleasant for you?"

He spun around and ran off, calling back over his shoulder, "I still have something to take care of! I'll be back in 45 minutes!"

Lumian ran all the way to the village square, where he found Reimund Greg waiting for him as promised.

"Finished with your prank?" Reimund asked with anticipation. "Can I help you copy your homework now?"

To earn the privilege of helping Lumian copy texts and do homework—thereby receiving tutoring in vocabulary and other subjects from his friend—he had given away most of the hard-earned wages he'd made helping shepherds make cheese up in the mountains.

Lumian chuckled. "I need you to do one more thing."

"What?" Reimund suddenly grew nervous.

Lumian glanced toward the cathedral on one side of the square. "Find a chance to tell people in the village that the administrator's butler, Louis Lund, gave Larca a nickname because of today's incident."

"What nickname?" Reimund asked curiously.

Lumian chuckled. "The Sheep's Man."

"Got it," Reimund agreed immediately, then asked with burning eyes, "So when can I help you copy texts and do homework?"

Lumian answered with mock seriousness, "Tomorrow."

As he spoke, he chuckled inwardly. Actually, I'd have taught you for nothing, my little cabbage. It's just that the exercise books and old pens aren't free...

…

In the subterranean two-story abode—

Aurore watched Lumian's retreating figure, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

She actually understood some of Lumian's sources of income and knew he was "exploiting" friends like Reimund and Ava financially under the guise of teaching them vocabulary and academic knowledge. But this was exactly what she wanted.

She had noticed early on that whenever Reimund and the others visited their home, they always envied Lumian for having such a wonderful sister to teach him. At the time, she had considered starting a free "literacy class" to help all the children in Cordu Village. But on second thought, this was something the church and government should be doing. If she took on this responsibility privately, it would inevitably draw attention and even investigation from the padre and administrator.

And as a Warlock, she could not withstand such scrutiny.

So when she discovered Lumian's inclination to help his friends, she deliberately let her brother know that she barely checked his copied assignments and frequently bought him new exercise books and pens—indirectly achieving her goal.

As a transmigrator, she couldn't bear to see children without access to education!

There was another important reason as well...

Aurore withdrew her gaze and stretched in bliss, a picture of contentment.

Country life could be quite boring after a while, and this battle of wits with her brother was one of her few sources of entertainment!

(The End)