Chapter 10

After leaving the old tavern, Lumián stood on the rammed earth road, hesitating about where to go.

The morning sun shone, carrying a slight chill.

At that moment, Raymond Cleg came from the side:

"I was just about to look for you."

"Is there something wrong?" Lumián, having returned to normal, asked deliberately.

Raymond looked surprised:

"You forgot? We're supposed to visit the old man who is about the same age as my grandfather today to ask about the wizard's legend."

Lumián raised his hand to his head, looking pained:

"Is that so? How come I don't remember, or are you hallucinating?"

Raymond was both shocked and scared, about to recall the details to confirm if yesterday's events were just his imagination, when he suddenly saw a smile on Lumián's face.

"You bastard, you're pranking me again!" Raymond couldn't help but curse.

"The curse isn't strong enough," Lumián tsked, "Ava is better at cursing than you."

Ava Lachaise was a beautiful girl from Cordu village, now a "goose girl."

Her father, Guillaume Lachaise, was a cobbler skilled at making shoes from the leather provided by shepherds, and he was well-known in the surrounding villages.

"Ava..." Raymond's expression changed.

He then looked at Lumián:

"Ava is our friend, right?"

"Yes," Lumián nodded with a smile.

The three of them, along with Guillaume from the Berry family and Ava's cousin, Azéma Lachaise, were young people who often played together.

"Why don't we let Ava join us in investigating the truth of the legend?" Raymond suggested, "You know, her father always says, 'Why must women bring a dowry when they marry, causing so many good families to decline?' This makes her very uneasy. If we can find some treasure or reward during the investigation, she would feel much better."

"I've heard similar things from the heads of several families in the village, including the parish priest. They wish their brothers would stay at home forever, even after marriage, rather than go out to start their own families, which would require dividing the family's wealth," Lumián said with a smile, glancing at Raymond casually. "So many families tend to send one of their children to be a shepherd, so they won't get married and will have a steady income, enough to support themselves most of the time."

Raymond's face gradually darkened.

He hadn't really thought about this issue.

This was also why he liked hanging out with Lumián. Although most people in the village said this guy had a bad character, liked to deceive and prank people, his knowledge really surpassed that of everyone else his age. Unlike himself, who knew little and spent his days aimlessly, only following his family's arrangements.

Now you know... Lumián thought to himself, steering the conversation back on track:

"It's too late now. We need to hurry and ask people. We can find Ava tomorrow. Yes, we can also let little Guillaume and Azéma join. This could bring us some rewards and is also a fun activity that can help us develop our skills."

"Let little Guillaume and Azéma join too?" Raymond was a bit reluctant.

The more people sharing the rewards, the less he would get.

More importantly, that way, he wouldn't have the chance to impress Ava.

Lumián looked at him, his gaze filled with more kindness and pity:

Silly boy, do you think Ava would like you? She has high standards and only wants to marry into a good family. She clearly has some affection for me, this 'villain,' and can still control herself...

In the Dijon region, "high eyebrows" means having high standards and looking down on ordinary people.

"My sister said, 'Strength lies in numbers,'" Lumián explained simply. "Which elders do we need to visit?"

"You didn't investigate?" Raymond asked in surprise.

With the matter of the "Wand" card, I didn't have the energy to ask... Lumián smiled:

"Of course, I investigated. Now I want to test your ability to gather information."

Raymond didn't doubt it:

"There are nine elders in the village who are about the same age as my grandfather or even older. They are..."

Six women and three men. Women indeed live longer... Lumián listened quietly, then said:

"The last two don't need to be visited. They are from other villages and married here.

"Uh... Let's start with Nalorac. She is the oldest and was likely an adult when the wizard incident happened."

Nalorac's real name isn't this; it's a title of respect.

In the Leston province, married women from prominent families or who are the actual heads of households have the right to the title "Madame," which is added to their name by appending "a" to indicate femininity and prefixing "Na" to mean "Madame" or "Mistress."

Madame Poullais, for example, comes from a family that has long declined and must follow the orders of the administrative officer, Beost, so she cannot use the "Na" and "a" prefix and can only be called "Madame."

Nalorac's husband died early, and she took on the responsibility of the entire family. Even after her two sons grew up, married, and had children, and she herself grew old, she still held the economic power of the household.

This phenomenon is quite rare in Cordu village. In most cases, men are the dominant figures, and in families without a father, children naturally take over the management of the household from their mothers once they come of age.

"Okay," Raymond had no objections.

After passing a few buildings, Lumián saw four old women sitting in front of a two-story house, basking in the sun and chatting casually.

At the same time, they were picking lice from each other, looking quite relaxed.

—In the Intis Republic's countryside, picking lice is a way to build relationships and show affection.

"Shall we ask now?" Raymond was a bit hesitant.

He was afraid that their quest to uncover the truth of the legend would spread.

"Let's wait a bit," Lumián nodded seriously.

As far as he knew, many rumors in the village spread through such gatherings.

After a while, the other three old women left one by one because they had work to do at home.

"Good morning, Nalorac," Lumián approached immediately.

Nalorac had white hair and slightly cloudy eyes. She wore a dark dress made of coarse cloth, and her hands looked like they were covered in chicken skin, with noticeable spots on her face.

"When will Aurore come to the gathering? Many people in the village miss her," Nalorac looked at Lumián and asked with a smile.

Many men, right? Lumián entered a state of talking past each other, looking curious:

"Nalorac, I heard you met a real wizard? The one whose coffin couldn't be moved by nine oxen."

Nalorac's expression changed slightly:

"Who told you that?"

"His grandfather came back at night and told him," Lumián started to make things up.

Nalorac was taken aback:

"Souls can really return home..."

"It was my father who told me. My grandfather used to talk about it," Raymond couldn't stand Lumián lying to the elderly.

Nalorac seemed a bit disappointed and, after a while, said:

"Before he died, none of us knew he was a wizard. He seemed very normal."

Just like you didn't know Aurore was a wizard... Lumián thought to himself.

"Until he suddenly died, and the owl flew in..." Nalorac fell into a reverie.

What she said afterward was basically consistent with the legend.

Lumián asked further:

"Where did the wizard live at the time?"

Nalorac looked at him:

"Where you and Aurore live now.

"After the wizard was buried, the parish priest at the time took some valuable items and burned the house. For two or three decades, no one dared to go near there. Later, this matter was gradually forgotten. Then Aurore came, bought the land, and rebuilt the house."

It's our house? Lumián was shocked.

This answer was completely unexpected!

In an instant, he thought of some issues he had overlooked:

With Aurore's ability to earn money and her hidden extraordinary powers, why did she choose to settle in a rural village like Cordu?

Whether it was the provincial capital, Bigorre, the textile center, Susiet, or the capital, Trier, they were all better choices. Even if she wanted a good environment and fresh air, there were certain areas in those big cities to choose from.

Aurore once said that the best hiding place is in a big city... Lumián's thoughts churned, unable to calm down.

Today, he learned that the land Aurore chose, the land where the house was built, once belonged to a wizard...

"Where was the wizard buried?" Raymond couldn't help but ask.

There was no hope for the valuables in the house, so he could only hope for something special about the wizard's remains.

Nalorac said with a laugh:

"Such a big event would definitely attract the attention of the parish priest.

"At the time, they used nine oxen to pull the coffin to the cemetery next to the church. The parish priest performed a purification ritual and burned the body to ashes, which were then buried in a hole."

"Is that so..." Raymond couldn't hide his disappointment.

"What do you want to know all this for?" Nalorac studied his expression for a while and asked.

Lumián laughed and said something that sounded more like a lie:

"To find the wizard's treasure."

"Young people shouldn't always fantasize," Nalorac warned.

"Okay," Lumián acted very obediently.

He and Raymond said goodbye to Nalorac and walked toward the village square.

"It's hopeless, Lumián, this is hopeless." After passing a building, Raymond said dejectedly.

"Indeed, everything that could be burned has been burned, and everything that could be taken was taken decades ago," Lumián nodded.

Because of the dream, he wasn't as disappointed.

Raymond agreed:

"Yes, the only thing left in the entire legend is the owl."

"The owl..." Lumián's eyes lit up, and he looked toward the forest outside the village.

Raymond shivered and quickly added:

"But after so many years, it must be dead by now."

He was very afraid of encountering the evil owl.

In southern Intis, owls, nightingales, and crows were considered ominous, evil creatures that served the devil, often taking human souls or bringing bad luck.