Section 98 Selection

Ashrufat did not return very late. However, this is something he has already stated - this is because the Orok Chamber of Commerce is entering the busiest season of the year, and as a major shareholder, it must carry out the work of supervising the audit. After all, it has just gained control of this chamber of commerce, so this audit will be more tedious and may last for several days.

And because he had to participate in the autumn hunt before, Ashrufat couldn't check the accounts in advance. Autumn hunting is a regular annual celebration in the city of Brasian. Unlike the spring horse race, however, the festival was attended by an all-squire aristocracy, as the commoners had neither the equipment nor the leisure to go on a five-day hunt.

In the evening, the twins discussed for a long time in bed.

The first thing they discussed was about the new slave girls. Ashrufat didn't mention this matter at all in advance (the two of them had also been staying at home to study, and it had nothing to do with Ashrufat's actions outside), so today's incident was very sudden, and they didn't know what to do for a while. But when they lay down and thought about it carefully, the more they talked, the more angry they became. What the man bought two female slaves and came back for, he didn't need to ask.

However, Ashrufat was not here, so although they were angry for a while, there was nothing they could do, and they didn't know why. Thinking that he might not come back for two or three days, they finally decided to tell their aunt about it tomorrow.

Having decided on this matter, they once again began to discuss today's new discoveries. It was their biggest discovery in a long time, and it could even be said to be a decisive one. If their discovery is correct, then they have found the source of the dark magic energy that distorts human sanity. Once this is in place, they can begin to research ways to combat this distortion.

Speaking of which, it's all thanks to the castle. If it were like the manor they lived in before, I am afraid it would be difficult to achieve this level. After constructing a magic circle under the castle (which was a reference to the dark arts knowledge provided by Eshurufat), they found that they could use the dark magic energy without entering the basement at all. This makes it easy for them to conduct magical experiments, instead of secretly going to the mountain villa every few months to do an experiment as before.

Of course, at the cost of the castle's owner's living quarters, strangers must not be allowed to enter at will. Because people's ability to feel magic is very different. People who practice magic can easily feel the energy of black magic, and some people who know nothing about magic can also feel the energy of black magic. It's a special talent. They may not be aware of their own abilities, but they do feel the presence of dark magic energy - they may not know what they feel, but with a little inquiry, they may realize that it is dark magic energy.

The excitement of the discussion caused them to fall asleep in the middle of the night. When they woke up in the morning, the sun was already in the middle of the sky.

Life in the castle is different from the manor. As mentioned earlier, since there were very few people in the castle, most of the things had to be done by themselves. They got up, got dressed, and were about to wash up when they noticed something strange in the hallway.

"Here...... How did you get so clean?" Xingqi came to the windowsill by the aisle and wiped it with his fingers. The fingers are clean and free of any dust. Because of the study of magic, and because he is not good at housework, the castle is not very clean. And everyone knows that in a place where there is no wind, if you don't clean it for three days, it will accumulate a thin layer of dust.

Their question was answered immediately, as they saw Fana coming from the front. Like all women who do cleaning, wrap your hair in a towel and hold a bucket in one hand and a cleaning tool in the other.

"Ah, two ladies. Fana immediately put down her tools and bucket and saluted.

"You...... Cleaning?" Hoshimi asked a stupid question.

"Well, since there was nothing else to do in the morning, I cleaned it up a little. Fana didn't hide it at all. "Actually, the castle was quite a hassle to clean, and it took me a morning to clean it up. ”

"One morning ......" Truth be told, the twins cleaned up themselves. It also took two days for two people to get their hands dirty. That's the difference in talent between different people.

"By the way, breakfast was prepared over there. Fana said. "It's not enough because you guys haven't gotten up for a long time, so I've prepared a lot of portions......"

......

In fact, Aunt Marie, or Countess Marianne, lived not very far from the castle. It took about half an hour to get in the carriage.

Locals know that this old woman has a very good background, and some well-informed people also know that she was actually "demoted" here because she caused a lot of trouble in the royal city. But then again, the old woman's home wasn't really a luxurious place. Aunt Mary's house was a large place on the outskirts of the city, consisting of six or seven houses. Big is big enough, but it looks a bit cheesy. These houses are of older types, so old that no one can remember how long ago they were last painted. The original white-walled house has now been turned into gray walls, and it is dotted with some nondescript wall-climbing plants. If it weren't for the modeling, otherwise ordinary people would probably think that these houses were warehouses or something like that.

When the sisters arrived, Aunt Mary was in the room continuing her painting. The twins came in without any hindrance. This is because the servants all know about the relationship between the twins and the Countess Marianne. But at the door of Aunt Mary's room, the two sisters stopped. The door was open, and they could see that their aunt was engrossed in the painting, and they did not dare to alarm for a moment.

"I hear you, come in. After a long time, Aunt Mary put down her paintbrush, wiped her forehead with a handkerchief, and called out the door. The twin sisters then pushed the door in.

"Did you come to me, did something happen? Let me guess, you ...... Isn't she pregnant?" she asked, slightly playfully.

The two sisters immediately blushed. Still, Xingke told what had happened.

"Well, he got two more women?" After listening to them, the old woman picked up her brush again and began to add a few strokes to the canvas. "So, you're feeling uneasy, is that what you mean?"

"However, he is very ......" Hoshimi noticed that his aunt had no mood swings at all. "Don't you think so?"

"No, no, no, dear niece, you are a little mistaken...... Well, there are a few things you should understand. This is something that must be understood as a woman, as a wife, or as a fiancée, or so it is. Aunt Mary smiled slightly, and the brush in her hand paused. "First, don't indulge men. Spoiling is always wrong, even for mothers and children, let alone wives for husbands. She gestured to stop her two nieces, who were desperate to speak. "Second, sometimes, you need to understand people. Especially someone like your husband who is very important to you. ”

"Auntie...... What do you mean by that?"

I say these words from a philosophical perspective. You may not necessarily understand. So let me translate it into words that you can understand. As a wife, of course, she has to do everything she can to prevent her husband from going to other women. This is not only instinct, but also the best result of rational thinking. But," she said in a very soft tone, she uttered the last two words. "If that woman can fill in your gaps and do what you can't...... Especially if it can be confirmed that these things are exactly why your husband came to her, then it must be accepted. ”

She put down her paintbrush and looked at her two nieces. "For example, in case you can't have children, and the husband really wants a child, so he finds another woman...... At this time, it is necessary to accept the existence of a third party. ”

"What if you can't accept it?" asked Xingke immediately.

"There's no such thing as 'unacceptable'. If there is, it is that man is not important enough to you. Auntie replied. "It's like two people tug-of-war, and they have to decide a winner and loser in the end. Either he makes a sacrifice and breaks that desire, or you make a sacrifice and accept something you weren't willing to accept. Ideally, each would take a step back, or trade it for other benefits – something that is common in political marriages. The worst situation is that everyone loses more than they gain...... If you ask me for your personal opinion, my opinion is that you would better accept Ashrufat's arrangement. Because in my personal opinion, the two of you are not enough to match him. Actually, I think you're two stupid kids who don't have a lot of brains and can't see a lot of things...... However, it must be remembered that those two slave girls must not be allowed to obtain the status of the side room, and at most they can only be concubines. Because the future of your children is at stake. ”

"Auntie...... Is there something going on?" the twins are very close to this aunt, and in fact the relationship between them is not so much that of an aunt and a niece, but of mother and daughter. So Xingke realized that there was something in his aunt's words. "By the way, Auntie, I remember that you said that you were going to try to find out the origin of this Ashrufat......"

Xingke remembered that his aunt had indeed said such things. But it seems that since then, the matter has not been brought up again. This is not Aunt Mary's style. Because she has always been a person who does what she says, and her memory is surprisingly good.

"That's right, I've actually looked into it. Part of the reason why I went out this time was to further corroborate. Aunt Mary said with a smile. "Do you know who this Ashrufat is? Or what kind of things did he do, and why did he carry such an astonishing amount of wealth?"

"Auntie, what did you say, he carried a huge amount of property?"

"Oh, you haven't noticed that the Chamber of Commerce deposit receipts he was carrying are all genuine, right?" Aunt Mary frowned. "Combined, these four certificates of deposit are more than the fiscal revenue of our entire country in a year. ”

"What!" the two sisters looked at each other dumbfounded. They had long known about the four deposit slips that Ashrufat had carried—because they had searched Ashrufat's belongings with their aunt at that time. "Auntie, you say...... Are those certificates of deposit real?"