Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 181 The Hidden Book in the Secret Box
hiss~
Could this be it?

Mithril!?
These two enormous words lingered in Zhang Yuan's mind, refusing to leave.

After taking out his alchemy equipment to examine it, Zhang Yuan finally confirmed that it was indeed mithril, a small mithril box about six inches square and two inches thick.

An unexpected discovery!

It wasn't that Zhang hadn't seen mithril before; it wasn't a rare find in the spell labs and alchemy workshops of Highhold. But it had nothing to do with him, a novice in alchemy and item creation.

Even a high-ranking mage wouldn't be so extravagant as to give mithril to a low-ranking mage to practice with.

What delighted Zhang Yuan even more was not the mithril box itself, but the fact that it was preserved in such a precious object and placed in a hidden compartment of a magic box, which made it clear that it was no ordinary item.

Perhaps because the outer layer of protection was already sophisticated enough, or perhaps to avoid detection by magic, the mithril box itself did not have any additional mechanisms. With a gentle pry, accompanied by a clear and melodious sound, the contents of the box were revealed.

It was another booklet. Zhang Yuan reached out, picked it up, and began to carefully read through it.

This time it wasn't some worthless diary entry, but a diary belonging to a man named Liszt Manuel.

After browsing two pages, Zhang Yuan realized that this Lister was clearly a nobleman from Neverwinter. He turned to look at Nancy.

"Nancy, how much do you know about the Manuel family?"

Nancy, who was still curiously fiddling with the cracked magic box, paused, her brows furrowing as she pondered, and said:
“The Manuel family is among the top noble families in Neverwinter. They have always kept a low profile, but I’ve heard that they’ve been getting closer to the Deszel family in recent years, with their children marrying into each other’s families.”

Nancy's disgust was quite evident as she spoke.

“The Deszel family?” Zhang Yuan felt the name sounded familiar. After a moment’s thought, he realized it was the name of a villainous NPC from Neverwinter Nights.

"Yes, that's them. They are also one of the great noble families of Neverwinter. They have always been at odds with the Mandaen family, from which the lady comes. The lady's family suffered a great blow back then. Not long after, not only the Deszel family, but also the Manuel family came to kick them while they were down."

Oh? Mandaen?
Upon hearing this name, the person looked at Nancy with a hint of amusement.

Tsk tsk, this guy isn't exactly a decent person either. There's a guy in Neverwinter Nights named Mandane who's a conman and a pro at imprisonment play.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. They're nobles, upper class, so it's only natural for them to be a little filthy and dirty.

While someone was busy criticizing others, they completely forgot about the nest of sirens they were raising. Their high intelligence of 19 points seemed to be of little use in this kind of selective amnesia.

However, he certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to say these things to Nancy, and besides, the truth was still unknown.

After dealing with the other person's curious questions, Zhang Yuan continued flipping through the notebook in his hand. How should I put it?

Aside from some mundane daily life issues and teenage anxieties at the beginning, it can basically be summarized as a tragic story of Romeo and Juliet with a cheating twist, and Liszt is unfortunately the male protagonist of this story.

Having no interest in such trivial matters, Zhang Yuan finished reading the first half of the diary but found nothing of value. It was practically a self-narration of the emotional entanglements of a young nobleman. From the initial attraction at first sight—no, love at first sight—to boldly pursuing her, falling deeply in love, and then being dumped by his girlfriend and abandoned by his family, it was the kind of treatment a protagonist in a tragic novel would receive.

What's even more outrageous is that his girlfriend's new love interest turned out to be his brother.

Stripped of all the melodramatic details, one word caught Zhang Yuan's attention: Leicester Harbour.

Leicester Harbor itself is just a small port town near Neverwinter, nothing special, except that this place appears a little too frequently in Lister's diary.

Especially when he was with the young lady from the Deszel family, Zhang Yuan examined this process from an outsider's perspective. Beneath the young man's excitement and pride, his words were full of hints and inducements.

In less than a year, Miss Serena had Lister accompany her to Leicester Port nine times under various pretexts, and on several occasions she stayed there for several days in a row under the pretext of sightseeing or visiting friends.

As for what that lady did?
Unfortunately, there's no record of it; they were probably too blinded by love to think about anything else.

Interestingly, even before their relationship was officially established, Serena, accompanied by Lister, visited several local merchant alliance and mercenary guild leaders as his fiancée.

Blinded by vanity and a sense of satisfaction, the young man didn't give much thought to his female companion's motives and intentions, and generously displayed his family's power and connections.

Then Serena hooked up with his elder brother, Gregory, the eldest son of the Manuel family and the first in line to the throne.

Subsequent blows came one after another: Serena and Gregory got engaged, but Lister was stripped of his inheritance rights, his resource allocation was cancelled, and he was expelled from the family for a series of crimes, including abusing family resources.

Fortunately, Liszt was not a complete fool. As his burning love cooled and turned to ashes, amidst his self-pity, resentment, and anger, he also saw things he had overlooked when he was blinded by his emotions.

Although Leicester Port is affiliated with Neverwinter, it is not the fiefdom of any one family. Due to its geographical location and port advantages, it has a place in the trade and circulation of the entire Sword Coast.

Luskan's covetous gaze never left the town.

This port, which holds such an important position and role, has always been controlled and managed by a mercenary guild supported by several noble families and a number of large merchant guilds. According to Lister's own estimate, if the Manuel family and the Deszel family join forces, more than a third of the armed forces in Leicester Port will be affected.

The diary also listed the main leaders of the Manuel family in Leicester, and even their relationships and backgrounds, as well as their connections and entanglements, all of which were noted in detail in the notebook.

As Zhang Yuan read this, his expression became increasingly solemn. His eyelids drooped slightly, and his pupils contracted a little. This information was far too detailed, completely different from his previous ordinary diary entries. Instead, it read like an introductory document written for someone else.

In other words, by the end, it was no longer a diary, but an intelligence document.

The last date in this diary is 22nd of the Snowmelt Month, DR1356, which is eight years ago. The records after that are all blank, so it is likely that Liszt's fate was not very optimistic.

Thank you w天下有山 for the monthly pass!

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(End of this chapter)