No one could have imagined that Charlie would return to Haynes City in such a short time, of course, it was only a private meeting, and most of the family did not know about it, otherwise, it would cause a riot that would be difficult to quell.

The black hand who persecuted Charlie did not continue to act, because the possibility of exposure was too high at this juncture, and besides, they had to clean up the mess left by Griffin, and at the same time, knowing that Archmage Ron was involved in this war, they had to reevaluate the follow-up plan.

The meeting between Master Ron and Archduke Thomas took place in secret, and it is not known what they talked about, Charlie was not qualified to participate in it, and he was taken by the servants to the Archduke's study to wait.

The room is not large, and at first glance, it cannot match the noble status of the city lord of Haynes, but although the area is small, the space seems unusually open.

The room is six meters high, and there is a window filled with stained glass in a place that Charlie cannot reach, and the pattern is the coat of arms of the Pavel family, which is magnificent.

The walls were made of solid obsidian, hard and rough, uneven, and on the rough walls hung two heavy axes, the body of which was covered with dark red spots, and the blades were rolled up with large and small gaps, full of traces of time.

Charlie had some impressions of them, one called "Judgment", which represented the supreme power of judgment in the Pavel family, and the other called "Bright Light", which represented the qualification to give glory and glory to the members of the family, and they were the weapons of the two most outstanding heads of the Pavel family.

There is no ornate decoration in the whole room, everything is simple and pragmatic, and you may get a glimpse of the temperament of Archduke Thomas from here.

Charlie walked over to the desk, all kinds of invitations, reports and documents piled up, this small place is probably the decision-making center of Haynes City, countless messages and instructions are sent out of the room every day, affecting a city of millions of people, looking at the old scuff marks on the hardwood desk, you can know how much time and effort his father has spent in this room over the past few decades.

With a turn of his eyes, Charlie saw a familiar and unfamiliar portrait, and suddenly froze in place.

In the portrait, there is a girl in a gray skirt sitting on the swing, her beautiful face is a little pale, with a hint of melancholy and ethereal temperament, cold, giving people a sense of distance, but her eyes are full of sunshine, pure and clear, you can feel through the portrait, she has a pure heart.

Her appearance was both familiar and unfamiliar, and Charlie quickly remembered where that familiar feeling came from, and when he looked in the mirror every day, his facial features had some similar features to hers.

That's right, she was supposed to be her mother, Archduke Thomas's only companion, and this was the first time Charlie saw her in her youth.

From the perspective of an earthling, she is definitely a temperament beauty, there is no genetic repair technology in this world, she can have this face, it can be seen that God favors her, and it is no wonder that the iron-blooded Grand Duke has always been immersed in the pain of losing her, and more than ten years have passed, and she still can't extricate herself.

"How does it feel to see her?" a familiar voice interrupted Charlie's musings.

Charlie put down the portrait and was silent.

The two looked at each other speechlessly, and an awkward atmosphere was brewing in it.

Thomas looked at Charlie and said, "Just now Master Ron described the whole thing to me, saying that you have done some great things in the Botanical Garden, and even his teacher, the Magister Randolph, gave a comment of 'originality', and I said, when did you study herbs?

Charlie remained silent, not that he didn't want to speak, but that he didn't know how to face the Grand Duke, although he fused Charlie's memories, he was still unfamiliar with this man in his consciousness, which shows how cold the relationship between the two has been in the past ten years.

"Okay, let's not talk about that. Thomas looked pale, but there was nothing he could do, at least Charlie today was a little different from before, he didn't lose patience, and he didn't slam the door.

"I know you're dissatisfied, I have a lot of things to do every day, it's impossible to have time to distinguish between truth and falsehood in everything, a few people say you, I won't believe it, but everyone is talking about you, you should think about your own reasons. Thomas said earnestly.

"Hmm. Charlie nodded in response, and fell into the eyes of the Grand Duke, which was a sign of joy, at least he began to learn to listen.

"That night, I sent someone to secretly protect you and Brian, and he reported on your situation, saying that you single-handedly turned the tide and killed countless demon wolves, and I listened to it as a joke, so to speak...... Is this also true? Do you know magic?"

"Yes. "Charlie cherishes words like gold.

"Well, you have your secret, I don't ask. Thomas furrowed his brows and groaned: "Since the traces of someone persecuting you have been exposed, I will never stop, Griffin is a clue, I will dig deeper, I want to see, who ...... Dare to play with a conspiracy in front of me!"

"You should check, I'm afraid you won't, after we left the castle, they had enough time to clean up the mess. ”

"Do your best!" Thomas sighed and said, "I will clear the Griffin of the forces and leave a clean castle William empty to the new butler Brian, who will do his best to cooperate with your studies." ”

"That's good. ”

"There are indeed a lot of doubts about the princess, and when I want to investigate, someone has already dealt with the tail, so there is almost no possibility of turning the tables, this pot can only be carried by you, and the family and you have already paid the price for this.

I want to advise you, even if this is a conspiracy, you have a great responsibility, not to put yourself under the dangerous wall, this is the principle of doing things, if you don't show up in the cloud building that night, no one can arrest you!"

Charlie nodded silently.

"Don't think about returning to Haynes City temporarily, there are many problems in the family, stay away from the family, you will be safer, I ask Master Ron to take care of you, as long as you can maintain your current state, when you come out, these problems will be almost rectified, and when the time comes...... It's up to you to perform. As he spoke, Thomas had a rare smile on his face, he had always wanted to communicate with his son as he did now, but Charlie at that time was superficial and impetuous, did not have the patience to listen to him, and could not understand the connotation of some choices he made, which was disappointing, and now the situation has finally changed.

Charlie said calmly: "I didn't think about coming back, at least I didn't want to rely on you to come back." ”

Thomas furrowed his brow and asked, "What do you mean?"

"No matter how beautiful the family is, it is your father's appearance, it has nothing to do with me, I want to rely on myself to get back my own appearance!"

Hearing the word father, Thomas was emotionally complicated, and the stasis in his chest suddenly disappeared, and he pretended to be serious: "Your ambition is not small! I hope you are not hot-headed!"

At this point, the room fell into awkward silence again.

"You've changed a lot over the past week, and I'm a little bit unrecognizable to you, and I hope what I'm seeing is the truth, not a show, not having to perform because I'm in a desperate situation," Thomas mused. ”

Charlie laughed and said, "Don't always use your eyes to measure others, how much do you know about me?When will I grow herbs?When will I master magic? You don't know, and even if you would rather believe in other people than believe me, what else is there to say." ”

"Well, it's my fault!" the Iron Duke made a rare gesture of admitting his mistake, and after a pause, he said, "Charlie, you have grown up, and you should understand my difficulties.

Okay, I don't want to explain too much about this, you are on Master Ron's side, study hard, and the family side will support you throughout the learning process, as long as your request is not excessive, I will pay for you. ”

"Thank you. ”

Seeing Charlie get up and leave, Thomas was in an extremely complicated mood, and his emotions turned into a low murmur: "Stinky boy!"

Coming out of Archduke Thomas's study, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, he finally got rid of the burning feeling of burning his brow for a while.

The forces that persecuted him will be chased by the Grand Duke, and they will die down for the time being;

The evil servant Griffin of Fort William was uprooted and replaced by Brian, the old butler who was close to Charlie, his life in Fort William would be more comfortable, as long as Brian arranged the castle's defenses with the help of his father, Fort William would be safe;

The status of Master Ron's apprentice would be a good shelter, and the most crucial issue was that he could begin to learn magic, master his own powers, and catch the tail of fate.

Sitting in the carriage back to the castle, Master Ron fell into deep thought, frowning, sighing, muttering to himself.

Ron pondered for a long time and said, "Charlie, your father sold you to me for the next ten years, and I am hesitant now, I don't know what choice to make, so I will simply leave the choice to you." ”

Ron looked Charlie in the eye and said solemnly: "Now there are two paths in front of you, the first way, you continue to be my magic apprentice and assistant, I will recommend you to go to Haynes Academy to learn systematic magic knowledge, and I will teach you magic knowledge in high-end fields, which can ensure that you become a qualified magician." ”

Speaking of this, Ron paused deliberately, vaguely in his expectation, Charlie was not in a hurry to make a statement.

"Good fellow, that's so calm!" Ron nodded at him with a smile and continued, "Another way, I don't know if you're interested in going to the Arcane Ring!"

Arcane Ring?!

Hearing this name, Yolanda couldn't help but exclaim, and realized that something was wrong, and immediately covered her mouth and glanced at Ron in embarrassment.

Charlie didn't notice her vision, he seemed to have heard the term somewhere, and he had the impression that it was very famous, but Charlie had never paid attention to the news before, so that he had no impression of it now.

"Yes, the Arcane Ring!" Ron emphasized the term, explaining, "It is located in an elemental vortex called the Nexus, the site of an ancient magic battlefield, and the highest magic temple on the continent, where 90% of the registered Magus are from the Arcane Ring, and is also the seat of the Magister Guild.

It is independent of all regimes on the Wagland continent and is a neutral magical principality and a spiritual temple for mages. ”

As funny as it sounds, Charlie's eyes are glowing.

Perhaps sensing Charlie's emotions, Ron added, "I have an old friend who is an alchemist in the Arcane Ring, and he needs a magic apprentice who has been entrusting me to help find him, and I feel that you should meet his request and be willing to recommend you."

I can briefly analyze the difference between the two options, if you choose the former, then it is a relatively safe path, you will become a qualified mage, but, due to your age, I am afraid that this life is limited.

If you choose the latter, maybe you can find your own opportunities in the Arcane Ring and achieve extraordinary achievements, of course, you go to the identity of a magic apprentice, and if you say it well, you are a self-funded wild card student, and if you don't say it, you are a servant, whether you can learn or not, it's all up to you, even if I recommend it, it doesn't have much value. ”

Charlie fell silent.

"Don't rush to give me an answer. Ron patted Charlie on the shoulder and said, "I support you no matter what choice you make, but before that, you still have to help me solve the problem of the bloody konjac, and you can also use this time to think about what choice to make."

Another thing I want to tell you, although it is selfish for you to solve this problem, it is not a blessing for you, take advantage of this opportunity. ”