Witch Monastery

So tonight, there is probably no big problem, it is purely for relaxation, there is no need to be too nervous, just enjoy the art.

Well, I hope there will be more art performances tonight that I can understand!

Thinking of this, he was able to relax and focus on the performance.

Beautiful maids came forward and placed fruit plates and fine wine beside their seats. Hawthorne and Bernard clinked their glasses, and also clinked glasses with the others beside them and drank together.

The grand performance soon began, with various orchestras, theater troupes, and dance troupes taking turns to perform. I don't know if it was because of his mentality, but now the people sitting next to him were not Blue Dragon, but a group of nobles represented by Bernard who were trying to please him, so Hawthorne was very relaxed, and it seemed that he could appreciate the beauty of these "arts" a lot.

One by one, the dance groups came forward and left quickly. In a blink of an eye, his girls, the beautiful white swans, also came on stage to dance. Only then did he realize that the girls' dancing was so infectious that he could not help but feel extremely happy.

This emotion filled his chest, and he couldn't wait to share it with others, so he turned his head and looked at the person next to him.

"Come on, Bernard." He smiled and asked while looking at the dancing girls, "Evaluate their supplies."

He was actually a little nervous because he didn't know much about dance and was afraid of hearing "your dancing is not good" or something similar.

However, what reassured him was that Bernard, who was very knowledgeable about the art of dance, did not give such a disappointing comment: "She danced very well. Tsk, these are the best ones picked out of a hundred. They are tall and well-proportioned, with smooth body lines. Their movements are gentle but powerful. Look at her current posture..."

He pointed at the girl dancing solo in the center of the stage. She turned her body sideways with her arms outstretched. She only touched the ground with the tip of one foot and then spun gently. “She is conveying the relaxed and comfortable mood of a swan dancing. But think about it carefully. To maintain such a posture for a long time, how strong must her balance and control over her body be!”

He sighed with emotion: "In terms of physical condition and skills, they are definitely the best among all the dance troupes in Liber Harbor."

Hawthorne's face suddenly became extremely satisfied. Even though the other party was praising the dancers and had nothing to do with him, he felt it was happier than praising himself directly: "Indeed, I think so too."

But then, he heard Bernard sigh, "To be honest, I've heard of this dance troupe for a long time, but I thought I'd never have the chance to see them again. I didn't expect them to come today. Tsk, the blue dragons are really generous."

Hawthorne smiled slightly: "Then you have to thank me properly, right?"

Bernard turned his head and looked at him, his face confused: "What do you mean?"

"Blue Dragon gave me this dance troupe." Hawthorne smiled, "I asked them to come tonight. Oh, if you like, I can arrange for them to perform more often in similar gatherings in the future."

Bernard's eyes lit up: "That's great!"

But then, his expression became slightly suspicious: "However, Mr. Hawthorne, you are willing to let your dancers participate in this kind of performance?"

Hawthorne was stunned: "What? What's wrong with this kind of performance?"

Bernard was also stunned: "Huh?"

He then had a very complicated expression, as if he didn't know what to say. Hawthorne saw him hesitating and immediately asked, "What's wrong, Bernard? If you have any questions, why not tell me directly?"

Bernard opened his mouth, as if trying to organize his words: "Well... Hawthorne, uh, excuse me, how did your dance troupe get to participate in tonight's performance?"

Hawthorne looked a little strange. "They posted an advertisement to recruit folk dance troupes to perform. Then the leader of my dance troupe saw it and asked people to sign up. In the end, I was selected."

"I didn't play any special role in this. What's wrong? Is there any inside story?"

Bernard opened his mouth, his eyes evasive: "Uh... Anyway, after the show is over, I'll go with you to find them and get them to leave quickly."

"There are activities after the show, so it's not appropriate for them to stay here." He said this, and suddenly added, "Of course, it's also possible

It's okay, they just left. After all, they are your subordinates, and the person in charge here should know that, so it's possible that I was just giving a false alarm."

Chapter 491 Casalant’s True Plan

Hawthorne looked faint: "What's going on?"

He had a bad feeling in his heart and couldn't help clenching his fists.

“Uh…” Bernard looked a little confused. “Well, according to the normal process, tonight, after the performance, the performing art troupes will stay and spend a wonderful night full of art with the nobles who like them.”

"I think you can understand what this means, but..." He carefully observed Hawthorne's expression and continued, "I didn't tell you the secret behind this before because I wanted to give you a surprise. And I didn't expect that you would let your art troupe participate in this performance..."

Yes, that was Bernard's plan. To establish a close friendship, one had to go to school together, go through hardships together, or go through life and death together, commonly known as having been in the same class, squatting in the same room, and carrying a gun together.

But it was obvious that Bernard could not spend any of these ways with Hawthorne, so he had to choose an unusual one, taking him to participate in the luxurious carnival parties of the upper class, so as to establish a friendship.

But he really didn't expect that Hawthorne actually had an art troupe under his command, and he naively regarded this party as a real art appreciation conference, so he brought them here as well!

Bernard felt very guilty for a moment, fearing that this would ruin Hawthorne's impression of him.

When Hawthorne realized what he had done, his face suddenly became extremely ugly, and his good mood just now disappeared without a trace: "The advertisements we saw before, as well as what the person in charge of this performance and my dance troupe leader said, all said that there are no additional conditions, and you can leave on your own after the performance. Other folk art groups are the same, so I let them come."

Bernard said quickly, "That's possible. By then, folk dance troupes like them who have been selected will just leave. There's really no need for them to stay with us."

"However, we should go over and take a look. It would be safer."

Hawthorne nodded with a gloomy face. He had a bad feeling in his heart. This time, not only his dance troupe, but also all the folk art troupes that came here to perform were actually deceived by the Casalant family. They were forced to stay and serve the nobles at night, and become the victims of the Casalant family to please the young people of other families!

These hateful guys are really disgusting!

He made up his mind that he would not wait until the end of the performance. When the girls finished their performance and went downstairs to change their clothes, he would go backstage with Bernard to find them and make sure they left safely!

As he was thinking this, Bernard beside him suddenly sighed: "Alas, only the Casalante family could do such a thing. If the Sulfaro family were still around... Never mind, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore."

Hawthorne's expression changed: "The Sulfaro family?"

He remembered that this was Malena's last name, but he pretended that he heard it for the first time and had no idea about it, in order to ask Bernard to explain it to him.

"Oh, they were a noble family that was mainly engaged in the art industry in the Muse District." Bernard said, "Even this theater was not originally owned by the Casalantes, but by the Sulfaro family."

"When their family was developing the art industry in the Muse District, folk art groups were still very active. I have to say that this family has excellent aesthetic taste, especially in clothing."

"It's a pity that for some reason, this family gave up the opportunity to earn good money and coveted the powerful magical power, and desecrated the relics left by the gods. As a result... forget it, it's all old news, I won't talk about it anymore."

Bernard said with a sigh: "Later, the Casalante family took over many of the Sulfaro family's businesses in the Muse District. They have a strong desire for control and cannot tolerate small groups with higher performance levels than their own groups. They either recruit them or suppress them, and the situation has become what it is now."

Hawthorne's eyes were dim.

No, after I go back, I have to find Malena and ask her what’s going on with her family.

……

At this time, in a separate room backstage of the theater.

The girls from the White Swan Dance Company just came down from the stage and came back here to rest. The performance was quite stressful, both physically and mentally, so their faces were flushed and their foreheads were covered with sweat, and they were obviously very tired.

However, at this moment, rather than tiredness, the girls felt more joy at the successful performance.

But when they thought that this was the Casarant family's territory, the girls' joy quickly dissipated, and was replaced by tension:

"When can we leave?"

"I don't know, but since there are no more performances for us later, why don't we ask if we can leave now?"

"I also think it's a good idea to leave early. It's not safe to leave too late."

……

The girls made up their minds and prepared to leave. At this moment, there was a knock on the door. The girl near the door opened the door and saw a woman in a neat suit and oval glasses standing at the door, followed by several maids.

"Everyone, are these all the members of the White Swan Dance Company?" the woman said with a smile, revealing two rows of neat white teeth. "I'm the manager of the theater, and I have some gifts for you.

Everyone. "

As she spoke, several maids came in behind her, carrying trays with rows of small brass ornaments on them. They were engraved with mysterious and complex patterns and painted with bright red paint.

When seeing these pendants, the girls all felt an impulse in their hearts and wanted to wear them.

Their eyes could not help but become obsessed, and they walked over involuntarily. When they came to their senses, each of them was wearing one.

Seeing this, the female manager smiled even more: "Please wait for a moment. There will be more abundant award activities and extra prizes waiting for you in a while."

The girls suddenly realized.

This is a common occurrence. After a theater hosts a large-scale performance, it will give points to the participating troupes and leave some extra gifts or something.

This way, we can screen out truly outstanding groups, and secondly, it will also bring us closer to folk art troupes, making it easier for us to cooperate in the future.

The dancers all understood these little tricks, but they were still a little flattered that the Casalante family, who had always been overbearing and tyrannical, was so kind today.

Could it be that these guys have finally realized that the good works they want cannot be produced under the threat of violence and power, so they plan to change their style?

Well...if it's true, then this is really a good thing. At least in the future, the survival pressure of folk art groups in Port Liber will be much lower than before.

The girls were all thinking optimistically, but they would never have imagined how ugly the Casalante family's plan tonight was...

"Please be patient, I will be back later."

After saying this, the woman who claimed to be the manager turned around and left with the maids. In the room, the girls in the dance troupe became excited for no reason, eager to try, looking forward to what kind of surprises would be waiting for them in a while.

Chapter 492 Magic Badge

On the other side, Hawthorne and Bernard came to the backstage entrance, ready to go in to find the members of the White Swan Dance Company. However, the two guards here stopped them and said, "Sorry, sir, the backstage is behind you, you two can't go in."

Both of them were wearing red robes, but there were obvious traces of chain mail underneath. I dare not say how strong their fighting power was, but it would definitely not be a problem for them to stop the powerless nobles in this building.

Bernard raised his eyebrows, wondering when the Casarant family's management had become so strict. He then turned his face and said to the guard, "I'm Bernard Woolley, and this is Nigel Hawthorne. You should have heard of our names."

"We have something important to do backstage now, please don't worry."

Hawthorne then said, "The White Swan Dance Troupe that just got off the stage is an art troupe under my command. I just observed that they have some problems, so I want to go over to check on them. Please let me pass."

He had said so much, but even so, the two guards still gritted their teeth and said to Bernard, "I'm sorry, you two, even so, I can't let you in."

As he said this, one of them began to look for some high-sounding reasons: "In the past, some distinguished guests had entered the dancers' lounge with various reasons and privileges, and made some inappropriate requests, which resulted in many very bad effects."

"From then on, in order to protect these artists, Mr. Amlik set a rule that no guests were allowed to enter the backstage lounge without his personal guidance to prevent the dancers from being harassed."

He said righteously: "So, please go back first."

Hearing this, Bernard's eyes widened in anger, and he almost laughed out of anger: "He still has the nerve to say that?"

Ridiculous, aren't it the Casalante family who do the most harm to these artists and use them as tools to please others?

Why is it that at this point, these guys are trying to put on an appearance of protecting them?

Bernard was a little angry at these guys' shamelessness. The two guards were obviously a little guilty. They knew their master's character very well, but at this juncture, they had to do this: "Sorry, it's our duty. We can't let you go."

At this moment, Hawthorne suddenly spoke and chanted a short spell: "sleep!"

Gentle magical energy emerged, and the two guards suddenly tilted their bodies, but fell into a deep sleep on the ground.

Hawthorne stepped forward and said, "Come on, Bernard, let's go find someone."

Bernard looked at him in astonishment: "What did you just do...magic?"

Hawthorne nodded: "Yes... uh, it's just a very simple first-level spell, 'Sleep'. Don't worry, they will both wake up in a minute. It won't be a big deal."

"Let's go and find those girls before they wake up!"

Bernard nodded, and looked at the two guards lying on the ground with lingering fear, secretly sighing that magic was truly amazing, then retracted his gaze and followed him inside.

The girls' positions were not difficult to find, and no one stopped them along the way, except for some other performers who were taking a break.

He kept looking over at them.

In short, they easily found the room where the White Swan Dance Troupe rested. After Hawthorne knocked on the door, it was opened within a few seconds. The dancer standing at the door opened the door and saw that it was him. Her eyes lit up immediately: "Mr. Hawthorne, why are you here?"

Hawthorne's eyes quickly scanned her body and immediately locked onto the small brass badge on her shoulder, which was engraved with a blood-red demonic pattern.

He was sure that no one had ever worn something like this before!

The moment he saw the pattern, he suddenly felt a strong desire to wear it. But then, the effect of the magic will appeared, and he resisted the impulse and stood there with a frown.

Next to him, Bernard obviously didn't have this ability. His eyes became fiery, and he stretched out his hand, looking like he wanted it very much: "Where did you get this? Can you give me one too?"

Hawthorne immediately held his wrist: "Calm down, don't go crazy!"

"There's magic on this thing, and it's interfering with your mind! Bernard, believe me, pinch yourself!"

Bernard was stunned, his expression hesitant. Finally, he gritted his teeth and pinched his face hard.

Intense pain struck, and the weak magic effect quickly faded. His eyes became clear, and when he looked at the badges again, he immediately noticed something strange: "Such ugly badges, how could I just..."

This statement immediately caused dissatisfaction among the dancers: "Is this ugly? Is it not ugly?"

“I think it’s pretty nice.”

"Is this your aesthetic taste?"

……

They were talking about it, not caring that the man was Hawthorne's guest. Hawthorne waved his hand, interrupted them, and then asked: "Let's not talk about whether this thing is beautiful or not, where did you get it from?"

The girls looked at each other, and then one of them took the initiative to speak: "Just now a woman who claimed to be the manager came in and said that this was a small gift for all the performers, and then we all put it on."

The other girl nodded repeatedly: "Yes, and then she also said that there will be an award ceremony later, so we should not leave yet, there are more gifts waiting for us."

Hawthorne took a deep breath, now he was no longer worried about the girls, but the safety of everyone present.

What exactly does the Casarant family want to do?

With so many magic items, even if they are cheap products with weak effects, their prices are definitely not cheap. One item costs dozens or even hundreds of gold coins, which is definitely a huge investment!

You know, the average fee for his dance troupe tonight's performance is only two gold coins per dancer. After deducting the many expenses and losses of the dance troupe, each girl will get even less.