After finishing breakfast, the butler led them to the entrance of the study. The study was on the second floor of the villa, connected to the first floor by a spiral staircase made of redwood. On either side of the study entrance hung two large paintings depicting the story of the battle between the Angel of Dawn and the Night Demon. The painting on the left showed the Night Demon defeating the Angel of Dawn, driving her to the west in a chariot of the moon. The painting on the right depicted the Angel of Dawn launching a counterattack at dawn, with the Archangel of Light driving a chariot of the sun, tearing apart and crushing the Night Demon army.
While working in the shop, the young man's favorite items were the artworks from the East. The exquisite paintings had fascinated him countless times. Now, facing these two paintings, the young man felt the same sense of wonder.
As he was lost in the paintings, the door of the study opened.
The young man followed the old man into the study.
The study was extremely spacious, and what surprised the young man was that three walls of the study were filled with various books, with a ladder placed in the corner.
The bookshelves were so tall that they reached the ceiling, and without the ladder, there was no way to reach the top shelf.
Apart from the towering bookshelves, the most eye-catching feature of the study was the one side that had no shelves.
To allow more light in, that side had been completely opened up and fitted with a large piece of glass.
The young man had never seen such a large piece of glass before. Francourt did not produce glass, and although there were one or two glass workshops, they could never produce something like this.
Such a huge piece of glass could only have been custom-made from Itire.
However, glass was quite fragile, and transporting such a large piece of glass was even more difficult. The young man couldn't imagine how much it would cost to transport such a piece of glass, but undoubtedly, it would be much more expensive than the porcelain plate he had broken.
The young man became more and more certain that the new employer was a distinguished noble.
"This is one of the fifty large pieces of glass that the Chief Magistrate of Itire sent to Paro Cathedral for decorating the tall windows. To prevent damage during transportation, they made more than fifty pieces of this large glass. Fortunately, after the construction of the cathedral, there were still over twenty pieces left, and I happened to want to build this wall, so I bought them," the old man explained.
As the young man marveled at the window, a frail voice came from behind and above to the right.
Turning around, they saw a white-haired, thin-faced old man slowly descending another ladder, with two thick books tucked under his arm.
The young man carefully observed the old man, guessing that he was his new employer.
The old man's face was lined with wrinkles from the passage of time, his hair was white with only a few strands of black remaining, and his eyes were hidden behind large gold-rimmed glasses. The old man's hands were thin and calloused, and based on his face and hands, the young man would not have thought the old man was wealthy.
In his impression, wealthy people like his former employer, even if thin, would not be as dry and thin as this. Wealthy individuals usually took care of themselves, and even with age and wrinkles, they would not look as weathered and aged.
However, the quality of the old man's clothing indicated his wealth. It matched the room's decor perfectly, with fine craftsmanship, simple yet tasteful decoration, all imported from Itire. Just the crocodile skin belt alone was valuable.
"Is this the child you brought?" the old man asked the butler.
"Yes, yes, I hope he meets your expectations," the butler replied with a bow and a smile.
"Whether he meets the requirements or not, ask Audrey," the old man said.
"Isn't that Baz? How have you been recently? While you were away on your trip for the past three months, I and the butler discussed it. The butler mentioned that you are now capable of handling things on your own, and he also said he's getting old, so gradually, you will have to take on more responsibilities. You must work hard," the old man said to Baz. He then turned to the butler and instructed, "Bring Audrey here."
The butler acknowledged and left to fetch Audrey.
The old man sat on a leather recliner, engrossed in reading.
Meanwhile, Pam and the others stood quietly on the side.
The study was silent, and the young man dared not even breathe, afraid of making a bad impression on the old man.
As for Baz, he felt much more at ease. Hearing the boss confirm what the old man had told him yesterday, Baz felt reassured. He wanted to shout three times in celebration.