Silent Crown

Chapter 240 Boss Isn’t Home Today

For the next few days, the history department did not accept any guests.

Because of their home, and that they must prepare for the appraisal in ten days, the principal specifically gave them a building near the library for their temporary residence. They rejected all who wanted to see them and closed the door tightly. They used the Requiem Enchantment’s strength to isolate both the inside and outside of the building. Not a peep could be heard, let alone the ability to record videos.

The white-haired youth moved between the library and their residency every day.

Inside the school, everyone started paying attention to this event after news of the Musician’s Union’s appraisal spread. For a time, it created a storm. People argued over both the reasons and the results. The many fights gave the executive office giant headaches.

On the other hand, it was not just the school that was in a flurry.

It could be said that the entire ancient world of academia was shaken by the Musician’s Union’s notification. Most scholars had not heard of the news that the Voynich Manuscript had been successfully interpreted and were shocked when they received the message. Then, they realized that this giant breakthrough had such a hidden flaw.

Many scholars obsessed with interpretation had begun traveling to Anglo from all over. The one who traveled the farthest was a monk who hailed from India. There were still many days before the appraisal but many had already arrived. They stayed at inns near the Musician’s Union and chatted in their free time, exchanging ideas of academia.

If not for the fact that everyone had come for the appraisal, this would have become an academic event. Abraham’s notes had been attained by people with connections to the Union and spread secretly.

An argument over whether this was a crooked solution or a clever path instantly exploded. The appraisal had not begun yet, but there were already signs of the debate.

On the ninth day, the three grandmasters, Barthélémy, Sergey, and Heisenberg arrived. After conversing shortly with the local scholar, Miss Lola Caput, they rejected other welcoming procedures and went to rest in their arranged inns.

On the tenth day, the long-closed door to the history department was finally opened. The principal was also called to the palace by the emperor. He had been watching the show for so long; now it was time for his unfortunate event.

-

In the quiet hall, Maxwell stood at the bottom of the steps without a word, head lowered politely. On the other side of the curtain, a graceful female’s voice traveled from the throne. Her voice was steady and majestic.

"Is my mind playing tricks on me? Maxwell, why do strange things always happen in your academy?"

Maxwell could not help but chuckle bitterly. Lowering his head, he answered, "Perhaps…because I’m unlucky?"

The queen was not angry. Instead, she calmly advised, "The academy belongs to the royal family. If anything happens, it damages the royal reputation. Now is a stormy time and you must leave some space for the royal family. You should understand what else I must say, correct?"

"Yes." The bitterness in Maxwell’s face grew stronger. "To be honest, I’ve already tried my hardest not to add more grief to the royal family, but this involves the ringing of the Philosopher’s Bell. I must be careful. You’ve called me this time because of the Musician’s Union’s appraisal, right?"

Behind the curtain, the vague silhouette nodded. "The Union will think that this event happened in Anglo, so the royal family should send a representative to partake in the appraisal."

Maxwell thought for a moment. "Your Majesty, are you thinking of sending me?"

"You work with national matters and work hard. These small matters don’t concern you." The queen’s voice was tinged with anger. She was clearly not praising the blood, sweat and tears he had put in for Anglo.

Maxwell froze. "Then…"

"Let the crown prince go."

The queen’s words stunned Maxwell. "The crown prince?"

Your Majesty, are you joking?!

Though it is the royal family’s scandal, everyone in Anglo knew that the crown prince, the first heir of the throne, was a retard. His brain had not developed since he was four-years-old, and he still thought he was a sheep…If he represented the royal family and said something weird, the royal family would have no more dignity!

Thankfully, the empress’s next words gave him some relief. "His health is not good these days. I’ll have someone go with him."

"Who?" As Maxwell asked, he suddenly heard a tidal sound from the throne.

It was the sea tide.

It was the sound of countless flames flowing together and burning everything to ashes. The broke sounds formed a roaring tidal wave. This was the terrifying power brewing in the royal family’s blood—the Dragon Bloodline!

This power and mysterious curse was passed down the generations of the royal blood. After centuries, it had grown stronger rather than weakening.

In that instant, Maxwell almost thought that the empress had risen from her seat, but he quickly realized that it was not the empress because it was controllable. A manageable power was not the Dragon Bloodline because the Dragon Bloodline was uncontrollable.

If the empress had truly risen, the entire palace would be reduced to ashes. Someone who could control this power…had someone in the royal family awoken their bloodline?

"Is it Queen Mary?"

It suddenly dawned on him. Mary had awoken her bloodline three years ago and had already reached this level…Was there another empress in this generation after Empress Elizabeth?

Behind the curtain and beside the throne sat a youth in a white dress. She did not speak, but the practically inhuman gaze made one feel danger lurking.

After her eighteenth birthday a few days ago, Arthur’s bloodline had further awoken, causing her coldness to become even more inhuman. Now, there were signs of Hermes’ arrogance in her.

When King Arthur had used the holy operation to cleanse his blood, he had transformed into a demigod, unique to the world. A demigod was neither a god nor a man. To the heirs of this bloodline, the human world was probably as boring as a desert.

It seemed that the queen was determined to foster Mary and let her take over the throne. Next, she would be given all kinds of orders to develop her popularity and ruling experience…ten years later, there would be another queen similar to the one currently on the throne.

Understanding this, Maxwell lowered his head and answered, "I understand."

The queen on the throne seemed to nod. "This matter involves too many parties. During this, I hope that you will not play any inglorious roles, understand?"

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Half-kneeling on the ground, Maxwell lowered your eyes. "All will go as you wish."

Behind the throne was a long and narrow window. The sun had risen to its peak in that window. The blazing light shone down, elongating the throne’s shadow like a long sword.

In the air, a faraway bell rang out, echoing in all directions.

-

As the midday bell rang, the bustling city seemed to suddenly become muted; it was peaceful and quiet.

Under the afternoon sun, a white-haired youth sat lazily on a bench in a square of midtown. It looked as if he was sunbathing.

After sitting in the dark room for nine days, he had finally finished everything. Charles, Bai Xi, and he had all been close to going crazy. So for the last day, they decided to take a break and enjoy the last moment of relaxation. They could gather their spirits and be prepared for tomorrow’s battle.

Then Ye Qingxuan realized that he did not have anywhere else to go.

The Shaman’s? He did not want to interact with the Shaman when unnecessary.

Lola? Lola was one of the judges and it was improper to interact with her privately now.

The clock shop? No, the boss was looking at him more and more strangely these days, like a cat playing with a mouse. Ye Qingxuan did not know what he was planning.

The library? No, he had almost gone crazy from nine days of deciphering without sleep, and he should give himself a break.

So on this last day…Ye Qingxuan found that he had nowhere to go.

And so he wandered aimlessly down the streets. He bought some vegetables and meat to refill their supply; he could make something to treat themselves tonight. He also bought a bunch of snacks for Bai Xi, as well as alcohol and new Sacred City machinery magazine for Charles.

After doing all that, Ye Qingxuan discovered that there was nothing else he could do. He usually could not get any break, but now, he could not stand it. He could only sunbathe.

Sunbathing could supplement vitamins…Ye Qingxuan did not know what ‘vitamins’ from Charles’ dream talk meant but it sounded like a good thing. Under the gentle midday sun, he drowsily closed his eyes, close to falling asleep.

After a long time, he felt the sunlight weaken and a shadow envelope him.

"…" Someone seemed to say something but it was not in the lingua franca. Instead, it sounded foreign.

Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes in confusion and looked at the figure with his back to the sun. His contours were strange; his hair was tied and his head covered.

"Brother, may I ask for directions?" the man repeated. This time, Ye Qingxuan heard clearly that it was an Eastern dialect.

The youth straightened on the bench and stared. The middle-aged black-haired man stood beside him. He was clad in a blue-green Eastern robe and his hands were clasped in greeting; he exuded grace. Was this really an Easterner?

Ye Qingxuan asked, "Are you from the East?"

"Yes, yes." The man nodded with an emotional expression. "My surname is Hu and I am just a traveler. Being in a foreign country, I was worried because my lingua franca is not very fluent, but I can’t believe I met my brethren. It’s such great news." With that, he handed over a wrinkled strip of paper. "Would you know how to travel to this destination?"

His pronunciation was strange, like some Eastern dialect, and he spoke quickly. Ye Qingxuan had not heard Eastern languages in many years and had a hard time understanding.

Taking the paper, he froze when he saw the address. He quickly processed it and pointed in a direction. "This place is easy. Just turn right up front, walk to the end, and then walk toward the busiest direction. The place you’re looking for is in the center of the right. If you can’t read the names, it’s the one with least business."

Hearing his directions, Mr. Hu let out a sigh of relief and grasped his hands, spouting words of gratitude.

"No problem." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Seeing that it was late, he picked up his belongings and got up to leave.

The middle-aged scholar remained frozen in confusion, watching the youth leave. After a long while, he muttered, "A Dragon Bloodline wandering around in the barbaric west? Whatever, let’s just see it as good luck. Those nine families do the weirdest things."

-

Following the youth’s directions, the scholar quickly found the place. In the end, he stood before the quiet clock shop. Studying the deserted shop and the other bustling stores, his expressions grew rich.

"It really is the quietest store…does this man know how to do business? He doesn’t even have a hawker."

He sighed quietly and stepped forward but he froze when he moved to knock. He had only raised a hand but the hair on the back of his hand stood up as if electrocuted. Sweat seeped out of his fingertips and his palm was moist but it instantly dried as if it was baking in an oven.

After a long time, he put his hand down and sighed. He wanted to leave but was not willing. He stood before the door for one full hour. He raised his hand three times and set it down three times.

Everything fell silent before the silence was covered by the bustling noise again.

"Boss isn’t here." After a long while, an unfriendly voice sounded behind him. The burly man eyed him. "What are you standing there for? Blocking the way?"

The scholar froze but quickly laughed at himself. "Then I shall return another day." He put his hands together and turned to leave.

"Crazy." Holding a bucket of beer, Seton eyed the man as he left and looked away. But when he entered the shop, he felt there was something wrong with what he was standing on. Looking down, he realized that the mat had been ripped to shreds of cotton. The tatters of cotton and yarn had been forced into the cement as if they had grown there and seemed abnormally strange.

Seton squatted and grabbed a handful. He ended up pulling up two blocks of cement.

"You *sshole, when did you piss off Easterners again?" Seton pushed the door open and glared at the counter. Behind it, Hermes sat amongst a pile of beer bottles. He was drunk with dazed eyes, but Seton’s expression suddenly went slack.

"What’s wrong?" Hermes looked up at him. "You look like you saw a ghost. I’m still alive, alright. Be happier."

Seton’s expression was still shocked. After hesitating for a long time, he asked quietly, "You…got taller?"

It had been more than a decade since Seton had been discharged and Hermes gave him his first illegal job. Hermes had always looked like a youth since then.

Seton was sure that Hermes had been like this for who-knew-how-long since before he knew Hermes—and he would continue living like a devil.

But now he suddenly realized that this guy seemed to have gotten taller. It was as if the frozen time had finally started flowing. The childhood years that had lasted forever had finally ended and adolescent years had come.

After measuring, Seton discovered that Hermes had grown around three centimeters and his frame seemed to have grown too. His clothing was slightly unsuitable now.

"You’ve really grown." Seton asked in confusion, "What’s wrong with you?"

"I’m happy." Hermes stared at him and then, unexpectedly, did not make any snarky comments. Instead, he just laughed weirdly and drank alcohol as he muttered to himself with a serious tone, "After such a long time, my childhood is finally over. What good news, good news…"