1
Although this is the South, much warmer than other parts of Francia, the autumn breeze has already begun to bring a chill to the people here. When Ivan gets up every morning to run as usual, he can always see many insects stiffly fallen to the ground along the way.
Autumn means the end of their lives.
It has been a whole week since Mr. Hyde told Ivan about the massive plan they had planned. Ivan himself didn't know why he agreed to help Mr. Hyde, as it was originally unrelated to him.
And, it cannot be denied, this plan is extremely dangerous.
Impersonating a Count's heir is equivalent to treason anywhere, and once discovered, there is absolutely no way out.
Moreover, that Count is also a regional lord.
Even Ivan knows that for Sether Castle, both the King and the ministers are closely watching this tempting piece of meat.
The recent series of tragedies in the old Meedin Count's family were undoubtedly premeditated. It seems that someone does want all members of this family to perish.
And the role Ivan is about to play is the last legal heir of this unfortunate family cursed by some malicious people.
Ivan is well aware that agreeing to play the role of that heir is undoubtedly making himself a target, a target aimed at by countless hidden daggers and crossbows.
Despite knowing all this, Ivan still agreed to it.
The reasons for this, even Ivan himself finds inexplicable.
Perhaps he was indeed touched by Mr. Hyde's words.
Perhaps, as a Southport native, he truly does not want his hometown to return to desolation due to the greed of some people.
Perhaps he hopes that Aunt Jenny, Uncle Carl, the shopkeeper, the young master, and the old master, who once cared for and loved him, can live happily.
All of these reasons may be reasonable.
But only Ivan himself knows that there is another reason that is equally important to him.
Ever since Mr. Hyde told Ivan about the thrilling experience that completely changed him in his youth and influenced him for a lifetime, Ivan has been filled with longing and admiration for adventure. He hopes that one day he can become an adventurer like Mr. Hyde. Ivan has always envied the sailors who venture on the sea, but compared to Mr. Hyde, those sailors are insignificant.
Mr. Hyde's experiences are undoubtedly a huge temptation for Ivan. Now, a certain adventure that will surely be unforgettable for him is right in front of him. He must bravely board this ship of unknown destination, not knowing what dangers and challenges he will encounter along the way, or choose to give up this opportunity. For such a choice, Ivan almost doesn't need to think much to come to an answer.
Apart from this reason, there is something that somewhat affects him. The portrait hanging in his bedroom is the portrait of the Count's daughter herself, the real Ivan, the mother of Bairdite. Ivan has never seen his mother, as she passed away when he was still a baby. Therefore, Ivan can only imagine his mother. In his imagination, his mother is the gentle, beautiful, and dignified lady in the portrait.
Ivan indeed regards Miss Lisa Meedin as his mother. The only difficulty is that he cannot accept the fact that Viscount Bairdite is his father. Ivan and his father have always been dependent on each other, although his father has been busy at sea for years and rarely had time to be with Ivan. However, Ivan's relationship with his father has always been close. In Ivan's memory, his father is a brave, firm, and gentle person. The feeling of his father's rough, powerful, yet always gentle hand gently stroking his head still makes Ivan feel incredibly warm.
Therefore, Ivan finds it difficult to accept the handsome and elegant Viscount Bairdite, who always wears a hint of aristocratic aloof smile. He absolutely cannot compare him to his father. Ivan cannot bring himself to have any concern for this "father".
Although this may be considered a small oversight, Mr. Hyde and Audrey believe that this minor flaw will not cause major problems for the plan. In fact, in those noble families, the relationship between fathers and sons is often quite distant, which is considered quite normal. Even cases of turning against each other are not uncommon.
In addition, Mr. Hyde and Audrey are pleased with Ivan's performance. In order to familiarize Ivan with his new identity, they have long prepared a large amount of information. Unlike the previous trial, Ivan absolutely needs thorough preparation this time, as any slight loophole could jeopardize the entire plan.
Over the next month, Ivan must remember everything about the real Ivan, Bairdite. However, this is far from enough. He also needs to know every noble in Sether Castle who may come into contact with him. He must understand their relationship with the Medin family, their temperament, personal preferences, and even important things they have done in the past, as these people will be his first opponents in the future.
All this information is provided by Feis. Ivan is curious about Feis. Feis is a hereditary noble, so why does he obey Mr. Hyde's orders? Moreover, it is clear that Feis's status here is lower than Audrey and Herbert. His duty is to gather intelligence and build relationships for Mr. Hyde.
Because of this, Feis has a wide social circle, and there are hardly any nobles in Francer that he does not know. However, Feis's identity is undoubtedly extremely confidential. Mr. Hyde has instructed that no matter what the situation, only Feis can contact him, and he must never approach Feis proactively. This prohibition is obviously not just for Ivan.
After running two laps around the estate, Ivan does not feel tired. Now he can easily run thirty to forty miles, which is nothing to him. All of this is thanks to the blue ointment given to him by Teacher Lavash. The ointment has long been used up. As Teacher Lavash said, after absorbing this ointment, his skin can quickly gather wind elements. The faster he runs, the more and denser the wind elements he gathers. The weight of his body is naturally shared by the gathered wind elements. Therefore, Ivan feels that the more he exerts himself to run, the lighter his body becomes. Moreover, when running fast, the oncoming wind no longer poses as much resistance as before. It feels like he is gliding in the wind, and this feeling is truly wonderful.
Of course, the most wonderful feeling is when he is riding on a horse. The speed at which the horse gallops is definitely unmatched by his own legs no matter what. When riding on the horse at full speed, Ivan often worries that he might float into the air. Because he can't feel any weight on his body at all, he seems to have turned into a fluffy cotton, gently piled on the horse's back. This feeling is truly peculiar. And the miracle that causes this is the jar of ointment that Teacher Lavash gave him. Now, the world of magic is incredibly attractive to Ivan.
Upon returning to Mr. Hyde's estate, Ivan immediately ran to his room on the second floor. Last night, the magical powder he carefully brewed would take eight hours to successfully refine. Calculating the current time, it was almost time for the eight hours to pass.
Just as Ivan was walking up the stairs, Audrey suddenly poked half of her body out of the study and greeted him, "Ivan, come over here, there are some things I need to discuss with you."
"Ah, Miss Audrey, I'm sorry, I'm currently refining a potion in my room. Could you allow me to take a look first? This is the first time I'm refining this, so I'm not sure if there will be any dangerous consequences if it takes too long." Ivan quickly explained.
"Well, alright, but don't take too long," Audrey nodded and said.
"Oh, I understand," Ivan promised and quickly ran into his room. The room had been rearranged, with a long table placed near the west window, made of thick mahogany, painted dark red, with intricate carvings on the legs, much more exquisite than the four oak tables in Teacher Lavash's laboratory. On this large table, there was a crucible, a furnace, a mortar, a stack of white paper, and various scattered tools, making it look very spacious.
Originally, Ivan just wanted to drag his desk here, but Mr. Hyde insisted that Audrey buy this experimental table, saying that every magician should have a decent experimental platform. When he worked with Teacher Lavash, he had seen how crowded Lavash's experimental table was, so maybe one table wouldn't be enough.
Ivan took out the parchment paper that Teacher Lavash had left for him from the drawer of his original desk. The parchment paper displayed clear handwriting automatically. Ivan firmly remembered all the points to pay attention to. He turned and walked to the large table, picked up a long pair of tongs, and lifted the lid of the crucible. As a purple smoke dispersed, Ivan clearly saw a layer of transparent purple-red crystals condensed at the bottom of the crucible. Ivan opened all the windows, drove out the purple smoke that filled the room, gently placed the crucible aside after removing it from the furnace, extinguished the fire, and did everything in an orderly manner. Ivan took out a sheet of paper from the stack, then took a long silver shovel and carefully scooped out the purple-red crystals that had condensed inside the crucible, placing them on the white paper.
Ivan didn't know the purpose of these crystals because there was still one line of text not visible on the parchment paper, but he knew his experiment had been successful. Ivan took out the parchment paper.
This time, a line of text that was originally not there appeared on the parchment paper.
"The purple-red crystals are called hallucinogenic powder, which is a medium and material needed for many mental magic spells. Grinding the crystals into fine powder, then dissolving them in castor oil, the resulting solution can be quickly absorbed by the skin of animals. Once the hallucinogenic powder is absorbed into the body, it will cause the recipient to experience hallucinations, and the brain will not function properly, leading to limb weakness. In severe cases, it may even cause the heart and lungs to fail, resulting in death. This is a dangerous potion. A small amount of hallucinogenic powder entering the body can put the brain into an extremely pleasant hallucinogenic state. However, the recipient will gradually become addicted to the hallucinogenic powder, making it difficult to break free from its control. Therefore, unless it is for the purpose of learning prophecy, it is best not to try this dangerous potion without authorization."
Seeing the text appearing on the parchment paper, Ivan thought to himself that the things created by magicians were indeed extremely dangerous. The first simple experimental course that Teacher Lavash used to enlighten him was to create such a terrifying potion. It seemed that this potion needed to be carefully stored, or it could cause great trouble. Thinking of this, Ivan tightly wrapped the purple-red crystals in the white paper and locked them together in the drawer of the desk. After doing all this, Ivan finally felt relieved.
Now, it was time to go to the study. He didn't know what Audrey wanted to discuss with him. Ivan walked out of his room and arrived at the study door. Pushing the door open, Ivan was surprised to see almost everyone sitting in the study. Mr. Hyde was sitting in the rocking chair by the window, with Audrey, Fis, and Mr. Palm sitting on the sofa next to him. Herbert always had the same old look, and Ivan had never seen him sitting down before. Herbert stood in the darkest corner of the study. When Ivan walked into the study, Mr. Hyde asked, "How did your magic experiment go?" "Thank you for your concern, it was successful," Ivan replied. Fis was clearly interested in anything strange and asked, "What did you create? Can you tell us and broaden our horizons?" After thinking for a while, Ivan felt that it might not matter to reveal it, so he said, "I just made some hallucinogenic powder, which is a magical potion used by prophets to see the future." Fis didn't quite understand what Ivan said, but Mr. Hyde frowned, indicating that he had a deeper understanding of this potion. Indeed, Mr. Hyde said, "Ivan, did your teacher teach you to make hallucinogenic powder without telling you its other uses?" "Other uses?" Ivan was extremely surprised. Had Mr. Hyde heard of this potion before? Thinking back, he had worked with his teacher for a while in the past, so perhaps Mr. Hyde knew more about the uses of hallucinogenic powder than he did.
Ivan said, "The notes left by my teacher only told me how to make this thing, as well as a few of its properties, without much description of its uses. I only know that hallucinogenic powder is a medium for casting mental magic and can also be used for prophecy." Although this was not entirely a lie, it was not the whole truth either.
Mr. Hyde thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Ivan, do you know that hallucinogenic powder is an extremely dangerous potion?"
"I do, my teacher mentioned that this substance can cause hallucinations in the brain, and absorbing too much can be fatal. Also, hallucinogenic powder can be absorbed through the skin, which makes it hard to guard against. However, hallucinogenic powder needs to be dissolved in castor oil, and this substance has a unique smell. With the skills Herbert taught me, this poison would not have any effect on me," Ivan said.
"No, the danger I'm referring to is not its toxicity. Just as you said, hallucinogenic powder is not a very effective poison. However, it has a special ability to instantly paralyze people, which is effective against any fierce beast," Mr. Hyde explained.
"Are you saying that hallucinogenic powder is a self-defense weapon, right? Then I'll make some more later. There are enough materials in the teacher's laboratory," Ivan said enthusiastically.
Mr. Hyde looked at Ivan's excited expression and nodded again, saying, "It seems you really didn't deceive us. Lavash really didn't tell you about the terrifying aspects of hallucinogenic powder. It can indeed subdue most wild beasts. At that time, Lavash prepared a small bag of hallucinogenic powder for each of us just in case. However, the truly terrifying aspect of this potion is that it can bring immense joy to people. Just one milligram can make you feel like you're in heaven. It's a pleasure that you can hardly imagine..."
At this point, Mr. Hyde seemed to be reminiscing and unconsciously stopped talking.
"Have you ever tasted this pleasure?" Fis asked cautiously.
Upon hearing Fis's question, Mr. Hyde came back to his senses and nodded again, saying, "Yes, I did something extremely foolish. Although it was initially just an unintentional act."
"Was the result terrifying?" Fis asked.
"It could be said to be terrifying, or it could be the opposite," Mr. Hyde explained. "Hallucinogenic powder can be addictive. Once addicted, it's like a playboy can't leave women, or a gambler can't leave the gambling table. You will deeply fall in love with this potion. But when you run out of hallucinogenic powder, you will feel like you're living in hell. This taste is also unforgettable for a lifetime. Those hellish days, I'm a bit scared just thinking about them now. And you should be quite clear that there are not many things in this world that can make me feel afraid."
"Did you survive through it?" Ivan asked.
"Yes, I was very lucky, I survived. But others were not so lucky. They all died," Mr. Hyde's tone was extremely heavy.