Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Tia said, "It's two thousand, two thousand gold pounds."

"So many!" Vera exclaimed in surprise, then declared righteously, "I don't sell myself!"

Two thousand gold pounds!

She wasn't unfamiliar with this number; she'd even seen larger ones. But that was Anne's attempt to purchase a Sequence 6 Prophet's extraordinary ability in the Upside-Down Temple!

Extraordinary characteristics are inherently special, rare, and precious, something that can only be encountered by chance.

That's why Annie spent a lot of money to acquire him.

In reality, two thousand gold pounds would cost about the same for a Sequence 7 or Sequence 6 advancement ritual. For rituals using Earth Oak, the Holy Grail, and the Forged Hammer, two thousand gold pounds could even buy a Sequence 5 ritual in Anzu!

“Who told you that? I mean you need to do me a favor! I need you to quickly advance from Sequence 7 to Sequence 5. If you can reach Sequence 5 within three years, I'll give you two thousand gold pounds. If you can reach it within two years, I'll add another thousand gold pounds. If you can reach it within one year, I'll add another two thousand gold pounds.”

Vera thought about it and couldn't resist the temptation, but she still had some doubts.

"The difficulty of promotion from Sequence 7 to Sequence 5 is completely different from that of lower sequences, and the risk is much higher. The most important thing is that I lack the promotion ritual. If I had the right ritual, I could try in three years, but it would still be very difficult."

Tia said, "I can give you an advance of two thousand gold pounds. As for the ritual of the promotion ceremony, I'll take care of that for you. You don't need to worry about that. In short, the faster you reach Sequence 5, the more money you'll get."

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I'm too tired, I'll only update twice for now, I'll continue writing tomorrow.

Chapter 217 Frinina and Eleanor

Tia was a little anxious about this.

The Guardian Angel Ritual requires at least a Grail Sequence 5 transcendent to be used, but transcendents of other sequences can also use it if they are compatible with the Grail Way.

For example, Tia can use the "Red Grail Seal" of the Holy Grail sequence, but this ritual itself requires the extraction of one's own soul, so Tia cannot use it on herself.

Moreover, such situations are rare and unpredictable, especially after reaching higher sequences, where the extraordinary individuals are already deeply committed to their own path. Forcing them to conform to the philosophies of other paths is like proselytizing to fanatics—extremely difficult.

The remaining Anne is a forging hammer, Eleanor is an oak tree in the earth, and Scarlett is a queen—none of them are usable.

Vera is the only one I can rely on.

After Tia tempted Vera with gold pounds, she didn't explain why she needed Vera to be promoted quickly. Instead, a few days later she told Anne that she had to return to Newport to complete official business.

This is a lie.

Actually, Marne's banquet was approaching, and she needed to prepare to return to Iris.

But this couldn't be said, so I just made up some plausible reason.

She couldn't just leave without saying anything, as that would make Annie feel neglected. Annie was quite sensitive, and over time she would become insecure. So, Tia always informed Annie before going out, even if it was just to the nearby Royal Cathedral. Tia would always tell Annie before leaving and would bring back a bag of milk.

Some things were unnecessary, but doing them made things better, so much so that Anne didn't even realize Tia's little scheme.

People are all different, and Tia had a different approach to dealing with Vera and the customers who bought her health products. That's the art of social interaction.

After everything was arranged, Tia returned to her house in the North Port District of Newland, stocked up on food with a long shelf life, and then projected her soul onto the iris.

....................

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the other side.

Outside a mansion in the Fontaine Palace district of Fogmoon City.

Marne removed her top hat to greet the Montreal housekeeper before boarding the carriage.

The adjutant, Codd, had been waiting in the carriage for a long time. As soon as Marne got in, he immediately asked, "Mr. Marne, how did your negotiations with the Montreal family go?"

Marne patted his pockets, still wanting more, and asked, "Do you have any more pipes?"

"Uh, sorry, there don't seem to be any on the bus... When did you develop this habit?"

"Sigh, in the next few days."

“Never mind if you don’t have one.” Marn waved his hand and said to his adjutant, “Miss Brigitte of the Montreal family is a discerning and decisive person. This is a good thing, which is why she was able to come directly to us to discuss political donations before.”

"But that's also a bad thing. She's a bit too perceptive, and a bit too stubborn. Or rather, the Montreal family is a bit too stubborn."

"They want to choose someone with royal blood to be... uh, to be the king?"

Marne couldn't think of a suitable word.

The "chosen king" he referred to was the "monarch" that Marn wanted to elect as the leader of the royalist party. Of course, not a real monarch, because the Iris Party would certainly not recognize anything like a king.

However, Marne wanted this "monarch" to participate in the election, so Marne created the "elected king".

Marne's main reason for coming to the Montreal family this time was also to elect a king.

"The Montellima family's idea isn't without merit," Codd said worriedly. "But people of royal blood are just too hard to find. And if we let them choose, I'm afraid we'll just hand the initiative over to these hopeless royalists. After all, they surrendered in the civil war in a day, and this pathetic bunch looks like the chickens in my coop..."

"Cough cough."

Marn offered a brief reminder.

Before he could finish speaking, Codd realized he had misspoke and quickly said, "The royalists I was referring to do not include you, Mr. Marn!"

"I know I know."

Marn didn't seem too concerned and said, "But we can't compromise on this. If the choice of king is handed over to the Montelli family, then all our work will be in vain. Let's proceed according to the original plan."

"By the way, has Miss Corde Bonaparte replied?"

Yes, there are.

Kord quickly replied, "Last week, Miss Furnessa Bonaparte booked an opera at the Grand Theatre for next Thursday. But something's a bit strange..."

"Stop keeping me in suspense, Codd, just tell me already."

Marn looked out the window. The carriage had already passed the street where the Tower District and the Observatory District met, and the Sparrowtail Grand Theatre was not far away.

Codd immediately apologized and explained, "There was a problem with the address on the appointment letter. The letter came from the Grand Hotel on the Banks of the Broken Gold River. And the people who went there to stake out saw Miss Funina Bonaparte accompanying a very distinguished lady."

Marne actually knew a little about Furnessa Bonaparte's identity.

For example, she is actually a foreigner, and a citizen of Ansu.

She even had some connection with the Ansu Church, as she had specifically defended the sister of an Ansu Church pastor.

Knowing all this already, Marn didn't take it to heart and said nonchalantly, "Korde! I'm telling you, haven't you broadened your horizons after all this time in Fogmoon City? This is the heart of Fogmoon City, full of important people! Alright, Kode! Let's not talk about this now. We're almost there."

He turned to look out the window and said, "I'm going to Tower Street later. To be honest, my senior has finally agreed to see me. I need to go and check on him."

"Don't worry, I won't talk about your business."

Kord, at a loss for words, said, "Mr. Marn, but that young lady seems to be Princess Eleanor, the little princess of Ansu..."

"what?!"

Marn was completely stunned, her gaze still fixed on the view outside the window.

With a rumble of wheels, the carriage arrived outside the Sparrow's Tail Theatre, where colorful posters of characters on the wall explained the program for next Thursday.

—The most striking one is the portrait of Saint Charles Domrémi, who saved the country three hundred years ago in the war between the Iris and the Empire-Ansu Alliance.

She stood atop a pile of corpses, one hand holding a sword high and the other gripping a flag tightly.

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........................

At this very moment, at the dock in the port area.

On the Oleander, carrying Master White Oak and Holly back home, Officer Nopheus had just disembarked to buy some food when he saw customs soldiers mobilize urgently and quickly blockade the port.

Just as Nofice was completely bewildered, a customs officer boarded the ship and warned, "Major Nofice, stay on board and do not move! Emergency inspection!"

The young man from the Silver Mist Clan asked in confusion, "Why are they suddenly conducting inspections? Did something happen on the shore?"

The officer didn't dare to explain clearly, but cautiously said, "We've discovered a batch of highly important medicines, Major. It's not that I don't want to tell you, but this matter is far too serious for me to go into detail. In short, cooperating for now is the best course of action."

"Did someone poison us?"

Nopheus consulted his own experience.

The officer said sternly, "Poisoning?! No, Major, it's much more serious than that! Let me put it this way, this batch of drugs came from the Empire, and it contains remnants of the Transformation Hand technology!"

Chapter 218 Brigitte Montreal

In a bedroom of the Montreal mansion in the Palace of Fontainebleau district, Brigitte sits in front of a dressing mirror.

As the current head of the renowned Montreal family, which is famous in the fields of trade, freight and finance, Brigitte is different from previous heads of the family who usually inherited the family business in their thirties. She is only seventeen years old, with an exquisitely beautiful face and fair and delicate skin that has been well-maintained.

After sitting at her vanity and putting on her jewelry, a divine, ritualistic glow shimmered beneath her skin. Her dark gray hair didn't make her look dull or ordinary; instead, it made her already captivating emerald eyes even more stunning.

After Brigitte removed her jewelry, she looked at the butler standing behind her in the dressing mirror and asked:

"Nogi, help me investigate Frinina Bonaparte. She's the one you sent the letter to before, you remember her, right?"

"some."

"I want to find out more about who this person is that Marn and the Imperials trust so much."

The newly appointed housekeeper, Miss Nogi, was already very experienced in this area. After noting down the matter, she reminded her, "Young Miss, it seems that the Department of Internal Affairs has already taken notice of the potion issue."

"Mmm. I know."

Brigitte casually remarked, "The shipping orders suddenly stopped last night. I knew the Internal Affairs Department must have discovered the potion issue. Don't worry about it, it has nothing to do with us."

She got up and left the bedroom, calling two maids in the hallway to prepare horse tack and protective gear.

Nogi followed closely behind, asking in confusion, "Miss, is this batch of medicine very important? Why is the Ministry of Internal Affairs so agitated... I don't remember being this nervous when we investigated the arms smuggling case before."

"Nogi, don't doubt your judgment."

Brigitte stretched out her arms, laughed for a while, and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this batch of potions is probably a surprise that the Hand of Transformation is preparing for the Alchemy Institute."

"That black-robed Rexar already had a grudge against the sage Jeremiah, and with the civil war that happened that day, I'm afraid the Hand of Transformation has long wanted revenge. Oh, by the way, any news about the new king in the north?"

"The new king of the north?"

Nogi didn't understand at first, and it took her a while to realize that he was the king installed by the royalists who had fled to the empire seeking political asylum.

The king even stayed in the empire as soon as he arrived, trying to live a carefree life there—any normal person could see that it was better to live a life of ease and comfort in the empire than to return to Iris and live in fear of the guillotine every day!

So he simply stayed in Solomon, eating and drinking for free, and he wouldn't do anything outside of Solomon, not even a meter away from the city gates.

Therefore, there has been almost no news about the new king during this period.

While Nogi was thinking, a maid brought horse tack and protective gear, taking them all to the stable.

The Montelli family owns a private horse farm, but not in the prime Fontainebleau district; it's located outside of Cité Mist.

Brigitte walked to the stables, saying as she went, "It seems there aren't any left. It wasn't just the new king who defected to the Empire; poor old Marquis Selassie also did. He was a loyal and hardworking man, but unfortunately, he ran into the 'Iris's' circumstances. After half a year of this, given his health, he's probably on his deathbed."

"Without Marquis Selassie, the Northern Royalists are practically left with only the Hand of Transformation. Black Robe Rexar is someone I can't control, and doing business with him would probably mean the destruction of the Montelli family in this turmoil. So now we can only look to Marne, who just returned from the Empire; he's a very good investment target."

"Your insight is brilliant, Miss."

Nogi trembled; how could she dare to comment?

I dared not speak loudly, lest I disturb the heavenly beings. I simply closed my eyes and said yes, and that was it.

"Nogi, don't try to fool me!"

Bridget was a little unhappy and said, "While Marn is a good investment, controlling him is actually not very useful. The key is still the new king. Now the Iris has completely changed, and even if a new king ascends the throne, he probably won't return to the path of the Unsheathed Blade. So this position of the Virtual King is very important to us."

"You absolutely must help me take a good look at that Fenina Bonaparte, do you hear me?!"

Nogi jumped, and quickly replied, "Yes! I heard you!"

Brigitte waved her hand to send her butler away, then had her maid prepare her horse and put on her riding tack.

She had originally intended to go to the meadows outside the city, but before she even left the house, a maid rushed over to say that a guest had arrived.

Upon closer inquiry...

Only then did I realize it was Kevin Durant, the governor of Brumaire.

In the corridor outside the stables, a maid respectfully asked, "Young Miss, shall we invite Lord Durant in now?"

"Tsk... Ignore him. I'll go out through the side door later."

"Ok."

It seems they're in a hurry.