"All right, tell me what you want." Angele became curious upon witnessing the girl's reaction. While he was a noble before he became a wizard apprentice, the girls in the castle back then wouldn't simply blush just from seeing his face. Now, however, Angele had become a god in the eyes of mortals and he reveled in this feeling.
Things, on one hand, might have been much easier had he changed his appearance.
On the other, the girl's reaction was refreshing to him. As a wizard, Angele hadn't had many opportunities to enjoy his life amid such a dangerous world.
Angele's mood was lifted for that reason.
"Just say it. If it's not too much trouble for me, I'll solve the problem," Angele encouraged.
Pursing her lips, Sari finally spoke out.
"Master… I have a younger brother who enjoys reading, a lot. And he loves taking care of books. I hear there are many books in your study, so I want to recommend him to you. I'm sure he can take good care of your books."
"Taking care of books, huh?" Angele's brow raised up. "How old is your brother?"
"Thirteen. He worked in the lord's mansion for several years. His main job was maintaining the lord's books," Sari hurriedly replied.
"Sure, ask him to come here. I will hire him, if he can get the job done." Angele nodded.
"Thank you, thank you, master… thank you." Sari bowed several times before she was dragged out of the room by Raylene, who knew Angele dislikes noisy places. Sari's voice was a bit too loud, after all. Both of them hurriedly bowed to Angele and left since Raylene did not want to anger her master.
Angele smiled, not in the least bit concerned. It was better if the person taking care of his books was a bibliophile. At least, there would be no mold in his books.
Even though the information recorded on the books had already been stored in his biochip, he still found it a pleasure reading the physical copy of books whenever he had time.
Three days later, in the morning.
Inside the study, Angele was gingerly taking a sip from his cup of hot milk and looking at the two teenagers who were quietly standing before him.
The one on the left was Sari, who was in a black-and-white maid uniform. The one on the right was a red-haired boy.
The boy, wearing an old, gray linen clothing, looked thin and weakly. But even though his face looked pale, his eyes seemed bright. He was staring at Angele hopefully.
"Master, my name is Saya. Please trust me, I shall take good care of your books!"
He leaned over to bow. Sari did the same, too.
The brother and sister duo stood there unmoving.
Angele gazed at them curiously.
"Saya, right? Straighten your back. I have several questions for you."
"Yes! Master!" Both Saya and Sari answered loudly and straightened their backs.
"Too loud. Lower your voice whenever you're answering my question." Angele waved his hand.
"As you wish, master," Saya softly replied, nodding.
"First question. Where are your parents?"
Saya and Sari instantly became downcast upon hearing the question.
"I don't know, master. They sold us in exchange for money…" Sari softly spoke, "If I hadn't been bought to become a maid, I would have had to work at the town's tavern…"
The town's tavern was equivalent to a brothel.
Saya tightly grasped Sari's left hand.
"Very well. Second question." Angele was unbothered, for he had heard far too many stories similar to theirs.
"Saya, how did you fall in love with books?"
Saya was caught off-guard. Such a question was something he had never thought of being asked. The boy thought for a while before he suddenly raised his head.
"Master, in my eyes, books are priceless gems. I can learn a lot of things I will likely never experience just by reading. Books are treasures to me!"
Angele nodded satisfactorily. Saya was young, but the words he spoke didn't sound like they came from the mouth of a 13-year-old boy. His childhood must have been tough.
"All right. Last question, do you know how to take care of this book?" Angele picked up a book he had been reading recently.
The book entitled looked like a large, black brick.
"Come here and take a look. You can read, can't you?"
"Yes!" Saya affirmed excitedly, exultation written all over his face. He carefully took the book away from Angele's hand.
"It's an old book. This texture… it's made from the high-quality bark of a White Angle Tree. The book needs to embrace the sunlight for at least one hour every three months and must be kept in a dry, dust-free environment. The branches of the white pine will steer insects away, and if you put on gloves when reading the book, the material will last for hundreds of years…" Saya gazed at the book in his hand and continuously muttered these things. He seemed to love the book so much that he forgot where he was.
Angele nodded as he listened to the boy's murmurs. He himself knew how to take care of books made out of different materials, but he didn't have time to do so.
Saya had just explained the best method of preserving the books made from special materials. Angele was satisfied with this result.
Angele trusted the maid Hana, but mold still appeared in his books. Saya would seem to do a much better job than her.
"Good. I'll hire you to take care of my books. Monthly payment shall be 10 gold coins. What do you think?"
Ten gold coins could easily sustain a mortal's needs for a month, but they must know how to cook considering how the cost of bought cooked food in restaurants was much more expensive compared to the cost of the raw ingredients in the market.
Besides, Saya was young, so he might not need much money. Angele didn't want to offer him too much, for he knew just how greed could easily destroy a person. Ten gold coins should be more than enough money for a teenager, and he would be safe working in a wizard's mansion.
Angele was now becoming partial to Saya. In the future, he was planning on increasing his wage.
"Thank you, master! Thank you!" Saya was so jubilant that his voice was trembling too much. Nonetheless, a bright smile was on his face.
Angele smiled without saying any more.
Saya did not disappoint Angele over the next 10 days. He categorized the books in the room and carefully maintained and cleaned them.
And even though Angele never told Saya not to read the books, the boy still tried his best not to, even one, open any of them. To a bibliophile, Angele's study was akin to a treasure trove.
Angele was not only the owner of the books, he was also the owner of his sister. Saya himself knew he must not bring any trouble to his sister. Sari had already taken a risk when she introduced him to Angele, so Saya needed to be careful when he worked in the mansion.
Angele grew fond of the boy's behavior. While he never told him directly, he mentioned to Saya that it would be fine if he read the books in the study while cleaning.
The boy was shaken up and thrilled upon being given permission to read books in the study. He then spent more time cleaning the study, just so he would have the time to read books.
Time went by.
Angele didn't blame Saya for staying in his study for too long. On the contrary, he respected people who enjoyed studying, especially the young ones.
But what staggered him was the change in Sari's behavior. The girl would often steal glances from a corner when cleaning the mansion and would look away if Angele exchanged glances with her. She seemed to have become starstruck with Angele.
Sometimes, Angele watched Saya clean the books while having mixed feelings about it.
A person like Saya would shine if given the chance. Knowledge was power; studying could change one's life. If Saya could survive in this chaotic world, he would likely become an influential personage in the society.
Saya was similar to a sponge that knew no limit, wanting to absorb as much knowledge as possible so that he could have a better life in the future.
And Angele had noticed that Saya had been training in a certain set of physical skills since he was young. The boy reminded him of Freia's brother whom Angele had not heard from for a while already.
Freia's brother was different from Saya, but both of them had their own dreams and both would try to fulfill their dreams.
Ten days soon passed. Saya and Sari had settled down in the mansion over the course of this time. Things were going well for them.
Angele could easily overturn someone's life if he so wished, but he never intended to help them out. It was merely a whimsical decision he made.
The time to attend the count's dinner party had come.
Prior to his usage of the ring, Angele informed the wizards who had contacted him before. Approximately 20 more wizards joined his team, with the total number reaching 40. Half of the elites in the Tarry River region had joined his team.
They received Angele's message and decided to meet him at the Blue Gold Cave of the Red Stone Mountains by the outskirts of the Tarry River region.
The meeting location was suggested by Angele.
Barely any people were around Blue Gold Cave. There had been several wizards inhabiting this place back then, but they had moved to other areas a long time ago. Mortals would never explore an area they thought to be related to wizards as they perceived these places to be hazardous.
Apart from that, Angele would have to pass by the Blue Gold Cave along his way to the dinner party.
Angele arranged the work in the mansion after messaging his newly-gathered followers. Lyn wanted to accompany him, but the good thing was, Angele found an excuse that discouraged her from going with him. Once Lyn knew Angele had something private to take care of, she no longer insisted. Things involving the Elemental Hand were also becoming better recently.
The Elemental Hand and the alliance desired to put an end to the war, for it had lasted for too long already and both forces were growing weary. The areas around the battlefield all suffered greatly, and the smaller organizations demanded peace, so they began negotiations.
No one would foolishly attack the son of the third elder during these times of negotiation. Things would become much more raveled if Angele was indeed attacked.
Not only that, people also knew how Angele defeated two rank 4 wizards and walked away without dying. Without any plausible reason, no one would want to mess with him.