The young mage Cohen stood in the Duke's mansion, listening to the spellcasters around him whispering about the mysterious frontier in the South, occasionally echoing a few words, but in fact he was absent-minded.

Half of the people here weren't serious about the recruitment, and Cohen knew that.

Behind them are the declining small families, the new nobles who are preparing to impact a higher status, and the rich businessmen who are trying to have a good relationship with the nobles, the real purpose of these people is not to go to the southern frontier to be a builder, but to take this opportunity to establish a certain connection with the Cecil family - the decline of the Cecil family is true, but the resurrection of the founding duke has brought a glimmer of hope to this declining family, and the news about the southern frontier has come from time to time in the past six months. The Cecil family did not perish in that barren land, but was gradually gaining a foothold, which made the minds of some people with ulterior motives come alive.

Almost everyone agrees on the fact that even if the founding duke really went to the border to open up, it was only a matter of time before the Cecil family returned to the political arena of the kingdom, whether it was for the orthodox symbol of the royal family itself or to stabilize the system of the aristocracy, the king had to make the Cecil family a pillar of the royal family again - the king could be afraid of Gawain? Cecil himself, but he must face up to the surname "Cecil", who has regained the protection of his ancestors.

In this case, the Cecil family, which is still far away from the border, naturally has investment value.

But in any case, the surname "Cecil" is still sensitive, and the value of their investment is still not clear enough, so many big families are still waiting and seeing, and are still thinking carefully, so some small small families that are vassals of the big family have been pushed out, and take the opportunity of this duke to recruit transcendents to come and establish a trace of contact, so as to lay the foundation for future investment.

Except for this part of the people with a special purpose, the minds of the other people at the scene were not pure, and only one thing was certain, that is, few people at the scene really came to answer the Duke's call.

If there is no family mission, there is no need for a professional who has gained extraordinary power to go to the barren land on the border to engage in any pioneering construction, even if the duke pays a lot of money, what can he gain in that land with nothing? The most important thing for transcendents is the prospect of advancement in the transcendent field, followed by the prospect of advancement in high society, and money is the third thing for them.

As for whether he can take this opportunity to make friends with the Cecil family...... A spellcaster without a family background would not count on this, this is a world that emphasizes bloodline and family inheritance, what value can a little mage from a commoner and no huge wealth have to the duke?

Cohen knew that he was the same, although he had some personal friendship with Santis, and this time he decided to come and see the situation after receiving Santis's personal letter, but in fact he didn't really plan to respond to the Duke's recruitment, he came here for the same purpose as other young and down-and-out spellcasters, just looking at the "connection" opportunities brought by this place - those who wanted to invest in the Cecil family were themselves just the end of the aristocratic system, But for a low-level mage like Cohen, who has the same family and average talent, it is still a rare connection, and now two-fifths of the people in the hall are here to make friends with these people.

There are only two types of people here who want to have a relationship with the Cecil family, and a second kind of people like Cohen who want to have a relationship with the first kind of people.

A young man with curly brown hair, a hooked nose, and a delicate silk garment approached, and Cohen recognized it as a member of the Stlawn family, so he immediately stood up with a smile and greeted him with a glass of wine, trying to strike up a few words.

There was little friendship between the two sides, and the conversation didn't last long, but Cohen believed that he had made a little impression on the other party, and after the young master of the Straun family left, the young mage put away the stiff smile on his face, exhaled softly, put down his wine glass and left his seat.

The attendants in the red vests immediately stepped forward to ask him if he needed help - these attendants were all hired and sent by the royal family, in Gawain? After Duke Cecil was resurrected, the royal family continued to pay for the property during the duke's trip to the south - Cohen waved his hand, indicating that he was just tightened in his chest and wanted to go out for a walk.

He left the brightly lit living room and went outside to blow the cold wind, the sun was already sinking, and the sky was getting darker and darker.

Cohen sneezed, rubbed his nose, turned around to drink another glass of precious Karna wine, and headed home.

But just then, he saw the young woman named Jipley, who was slightly darkened and dressed in a long dress, walking towards him.

Santis was a blessing to have such a beautiful young lady by his side.

Cohen thought a little enviously, and then nodded slightly to the female mage apprentice in front of him, "Miss Jipley." ”

He had to greet the Duke's emissary, but he also had to remain reserved as a formal transcendent, since he was only an apprentice mage.

Gypley tapped her forehead with her fingers, returned a standard mage salute, and smiled and asked, "Cohen?" Mr. Bonatt, is it? ”

"That's right, it's me, is there something wrong?"

"You're eligible, Mr. Santis asked me to leave this to you."

The young female mage apprentice handed Cohen a folded letter and an ordinary-looking brooch, but after receiving the letter, he couldn't help frowning slightly, and said hesitantly, "But...... I wasn't ready to ......"

"It's not a registration letter to go to the South, it's just an invitation to the next party," Gippley said with a smile, "and don't miss this opportunity – wearing a brooch is proof of your attendance." ”

Cohen wanted to ask something, but Gibrie just smiled mysteriously and shook her head, turned and walked away, Cohen had no choice but to lower his head and open the folded letter, looking curiously.

It only says that it is still here after the first bell rings tonight.

But after this sentence there is a small symbol, a symbol with a lightning bolt and an eye pattern.

"Wizard's Secret Meeting? What is Santis doing...... Are you going to take the opportunity of this errand for the Duke to have your own private party? He also plans to return to the royal capital mage circle? ”

Cohen frowned and muttered curiously, but put the letter away in earnest.

No matter what Santis wants to do, it is still necessary to participate in a similar secret meeting of magicians, and the communication between the spellcasters is a good opportunity to improve their strength and gain knowledge, but it is not cheap to organize a decent party, since someone has come forward to organize this time, and can continue to taste good food and wine in the Duke's mansion, Cohen believes that most people will not miss this opportunity.

He glanced at the sky outside and saw that the sun had almost completely sunk below the horizon, and the first bell was not far away.

When he returned to the living room, he saw that many people had already gotten up and left, but some were sitting where they were, and Cohen glanced around and saw that someone in the corner had a brooch pinned to his clothes.

Sure enough, it's not just me......

Cohen relieved himself and pinned the brooch to his body.

After another ten minutes, a senior attendant appeared, indicating that the party was over, that all the guests had been registered, and that the visitors were invited to leave at will.

A few more people got up and left, but Cohen saw that there were still people sitting still—all of them with brooches.

A waiter in a red waistcoat and a maid in a black and white maid's dress entered the hall and began to clean up the plates and glasses left by the guests, Cohen sat back in his seat with a little trepidation, and a waiter walked past him, whose gaze visibly lingered on the brooch of his jacket, and then the waiter nodded in salute, and instead of letting him go, he brought a glass of sobering sour grass water.

Cohen was completely relieved.

After a while, Cohen saw some new visitors enter the drawing-room—those who still had the cold outside, and the first thing they did when they entered the room was to rub their hands together and walk towards the fireplace, apparently having just arrived.

They were "recruits" who had come earlier in the day? Coming back for the evening?

Santis's party this time is not small...... He is really worthy of being a person who can spend aristocratic money.

Cohen's thoughts drifted, and slowly he noticed something unusual

Many of the people who came to the party were familiar faces, which was not surprising in itself, after all, the circle of mages was limited, but there were no members from noble families or some mage faction among them!

You must know that even the down-and-out Santis should know one or two members of a family or faction...... At least you should have a friendship with you studying in a mage tower, right?

Deliberately no invitation? Or is it ...... This gathering is really special and all the members of the family and faction are excluded?

Cohen's heart moved, and he couldn't help but improve his attention.

He instinctively felt that tonight's so-called "second meeting" might not be easy......

And in the process of thinking about it, the first bell rang in the royal capital.

As the bells jingled and the churches called the faithful to pray and praise the Lord, Cohen noticed that the attendants had left the hall one by one, while the soldiers in Cecil's armor guarded the entrances and exits in their place, and the sound of the latches closing could be heard from the direction of the gates.

The people at the scene were slightly uneasy, but soon, the side door of the hall opened, and Santis, dressed in black mage robes, walked into the hall, accompanied by Gippley and Pierce.

Santis quietly glanced around the hall, and he realized that he was calmer than he had expected at this time.

Then, he spoke

"Ladies and gentlemen, is anyone interested in the magic skills of Ancient Gondor and the knowledge of the Lost Realm?"

In the south, in the castle of Count Hossmann, Karloff, dressed in the Earl's golden red dress and with piercing eyes? Count Hossmann stood in the banquet hall with a golden cup full of Karna wine in his hand, and looked around at the guests with a smile on his face.

Amid the melodious music of lyres and tambourines, the count exclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, is anyone interested in the 'magic web' technology from Cecil's domain?"

"I'm going to give you the good news - thanks to the efforts of several intelligent magical advisors and scholars of the Horsman family, I've cracked its secrets!"

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