Marcus's curiosity was piqued. He didn't think that there would be other mages who would be invited. He wanted to ask after seeing Sol's troubled expression, but he did not make any further inquiry.
'Sol must have a strong impression of this person. Anyway, I will just meet them when they arrive.'
While Marcus was lost in his thoughts, a servant came up to Sol and whispered something in his ear.
Sol turned his gaze towards Marcus and announced the message he had just received, "Count Elfied is waiting for you in the guest room. Please follow me."
He showed Marcus the way without wasting a second.
'His professionalism is commendable,' Marcus thought in his heart after seeing Sol's skill in attending to people.
Entering the guest room, which he could only describe as a luxury lounge, with expensive antique furniture decorating the four walls and a circle of lavish sofas centered around an oakwood table, gave it an air of elegance and nobility.
The count, who was patiently awaiting his audience, got up from the sofa to receive his honored guests. Before Marcus could greet or say anything to him, he was already made the passive party just after the count started to talk.
The count held Marcus's hand and passionately conveyed his feelings to him.
"Thank you very much for accepting my invitation and request. I am forever grateful to a compassionate man like you.
You surely can emphasize with the pain a father has to go through with his daughter suffering unjustly.
Please, save my daughter. I am begging you. During your stay here, anything you require will be given to you on a silver platter."
Tears flowed down the count's eyes as he recalled the situation his daughter was in, but he looked at Marcus with hopeful eyes.
"I—" Marcus was cut off before he could even say anything.
Letting go of his hand, the count ordered Sol, "Sol, we should not make our guest stand any longer. Arrange a room for him to rest."
After receiving his master's command, Sol skillfully guided Marcus to the top floor of the mansion.
Marcus's entire face was filled with question marks. 'What's happening? When did he say that he was going to help? I didn't even get the time to state my reason for coming here.'
Marcus felt like he was being scammed by the count. Cedric, who was following Marcus silently for now, could not help but have a troubled expression.
"Which direction scenery would you prefer?" Sol asked courteously.
"Just give me a room from where the gates can be seen."
Sol didn't question Marcus's preference; he brought them to a room that met his requirements.
After Sol left, Marcus looked through the window with a gloomy face, calculating the distance between here and the gate. He contemplated the most effective way to escape.
"I didn't think you would actually agree to the count's request," Cedric interrupted Marcus's thoughts.
"What count? That guy is a fraudster," Marcus spoke with an annoyed tone.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know, maybe escape. But I want to meet the mage who is supposed to come.
However, it is also a possibility that no one was going to adhere to this scammer clown's request."
"I don't think escape will be a wise decision; they might go after old man Caleb in order to blackmail us."
"...." Marcus frowned after hearing this possibility.
'Only time will tell what the correct chain of actions will be.'
*******
A few hours later, as the sky started to darken, Marcus saw a carriage appearing and stopping at the main door of the count's mansion.
All the servants who were waiting in attendance quickly approached the carriage.
Opening the carriage doors, two figures exited the carriage. One was a hooded figure wearing a black robe; the other was a red-haired young man.
The man helped the hooded figure to get off the carriage, displaying their servant-master relationship.
Marcus's curiosity was piqued, even though he couldn't see the figures with clarity from the window.
He decided to go to the guest hall where the count received his guests to get a clear look at the newcomers.
Entering the familiar lounge, he looked at the count sitting on the sofa with a tense expression.
The count was surprised to see Marcus here, but he composed himself quickly. Apart from him, there were a few guards present in the room at this moment.
This was strange; when he was here last time, he didn't see any guards. They must have entered the place later.
He took his seat on one of the sofas and awaited the guest with the count. The guards who were present seemed to ignore his existence.
At the same time, a sweat trickled down the count's forehead, showing the nervousness on his face. But then he looked at Marcus and gave him a reassuring smile.
Marcus didn't understand what the count was trying to convey. Putting it in the back of his mind, he saw the door open.
The hooded figure and their attendant walked into the room. The hood was unveiled, revealing the person's identity.
Smooth shoulder-length black hair flowed down, revealing a beauty in her twenties. Her face was delicate, and her eyes had a lavender hue. With a small smile on her face, she carefully studied everyone present in the room.
Her eyes expanded as they fell on Marcus, clearly showing that she was not expecting to meet someone like him here.
Apart from her and Marcus upon seeing each other, the others' condition was not so good.
The room was filled with tension as everyone else, including Cedric, eyed the girl with a cautious gaze. But it didn't seem to bother her or Marcus.
Marcus felt like he was meeting a kindred spirit. This was pretty strange, considering the fact that he had never met her before.
The count soon got up and went to greet his guest. However, he kept a good distance while talking to her. Compared to Marcus, she received a very lackluster greeting.
Marcus could see the head maid standing by the door. After the count formally thanked the lady for accepting his invite, rather than the melodrama he had pulled with Marcus, she left with the head maid for her room.
Seeing that the formalities had ended and the count too was making his leave, Marcus stood up to do the same.