A light rain fell over the town today, likely the last rain of summer. The crops planted by the townsfolk looked nearly ripe, and even the vegetables in the backyard garden had been mostly harvested by Calibo.
Autumn was approaching. Many things, especially food, needed to be prepared in advance. In a few months, the ice cellar at home would start stocking up provisions for winter consumption... I remembered last winter when the snow collapsed, I had given away all my food. Although Count Hamilton later sent some over, it barely lasted through the entire season.
So every autumn, I had to keep buying supplies from outside...
Now that Taylor Mian Town had a trade market with Koga City, at least one or two convoys delivered goods almost daily, making it much easier to buy things than before.
Life at home went on as usual, but Sean remained lost in thought about the Vygil family.
Ever since returning from the cemetery that day, he had scoured the entire house for any special clues. He examined every word in the previous Baron Vygil's notes and searched every corner of the rooms.
Unfortunately, he found nothing!
The previous Baron Vygil didn't seem to have a habit of keeping a diary. The only notes he left were records of his longing for the woman he loved—Sean's mother—detailing the stories of his pursuit of her. After that, there was nothing more!
Sean could understand that.
Perhaps back then, the woman would tidy up the Baron's room, so he used this clumsy way to convey his feelings. Once his goal was achieved, there was no need to keep writing...
"Sean, Sean..."
His train of thought was interrupted by a voice from behind.
He turned around.
It was Igunia, carrying a tray of pastries.
"Would you like something to eat? I... I just tried making some pastries in the kitchen." She hesitated at the doorway before finally bringing the tray over.
Igunia was indeed a young witch, but that didn't mean all witches could cook.
"Did you make these?" Sean looked at the oddly shaped pastries on the plate.
They didn't look great, but the flavor was still there!
"Mm!" Igunia nodded shyly.
"I just asked the old steward for some ingredients and tried making them. They said you like sweet baked cakes, but I thought you might prefer this flavor..." She handed over the tray.
In truth, compared to greasy cheese-filled pastries, Sean's innate taste buds favored meat-scallion oil cakes. Probably because Igunia had noticed his preference in Koga City, she made this batch. He picked one up and took a bite.
The oil was just right, flavorful and fragrant.
"Pretty good!"
Igunia's face lit up with a smile.
"Really?"
"Mm... I like this taste." He said, picking up another piece.
"Then eat more!" She set the whole tray on the table.
Suddenly, Igunia noticed the notes and books on the table...
"Are you still thinking about the previous Baron Vygil's murder?" From the moment they saw that coffin, everyone knew something was off. But upon closer inquiry, nothing unusual seemed to have happened in the months before his death. He had been bedridden for months due to illness, so the whole town had long anticipated his passing.
"Yeah, I need to get to the bottom of it."
"Maybe when I go back, I can look for some magic that could cause that kind of damage," Igunia quickly offered.
"It might not be magic. And the world is vast... you can't just search for something based on soil corruption alone. It's too hard to pinpoint." It was like trying to identify what polluted water—dozens of possibilities came to mind instantly. Soil alone couldn't narrow it down.
Plus, transportation in this world was inconvenient. He couldn't travel to every suspicious location to investigate...
Sean's reason for searching the house for clues was to gather more evidence, so he could identify the target. Who would want to harm the Vygil family? The only lead was the Sun Crown Wizard organization connected to his 'mother.' But after scouring the entire house, he found no other clues.
"What now?" Igunia asked urgently.
What now...
Sean had no breakthrough for now. Since he hadn't died in the assassination, the culprit might strike again. But nearly a year had passed, and they hadn't 'returned.' The fact that they left without confirming his death might mean he wasn't on their list.
That was strange!
"Let's keep doing what we do. If they come again, we'll know."
"Mm!" Igunia nodded without hesitation.
Her eyes fell on the grimoire beside the table, and she suddenly remembered something.
"Sean, I've been meaning to ask—who taught you magic? How do you have a grimoire?" As a witch, Igunia knew that a grimoire was a wizard's lifelong work, containing all their spells and magical item recipes, usually passed down to themselves or direct disciples.
"A wizard who came to town once. I made a deal with her in exchange for learning magic."
"Just a deal to learn magic?!" Even Igunia found it hard to believe.
Actually, after leaving Taylor Mian, Sean also found it puzzling why Lucille agreed to teach him magic. In the end, he never found any leads on the Cain Tablets. As for her saying she'd contact him if he found anything later—that was nonsense. He didn't even know where she was to reach her...
So in hindsight, that deal seemed like a complete win for him. She got nothing out of it.
"It's hard to explain, but in the end, she taught me magic..."
"I see..." Igunia wanted to ask more but stopped there.
Outside the window came the sound of Luke and Esmeralda arguing.
Those two love-hate couple quarreled every few days, mostly over town planning issues. It was amusing—they missed each other when apart, but as soon as they met, they started bickering.
As for Claude, he was more boring. After staying in town for over ten days, he got tired and wanted to return to the city to mind his shop. Sean didn't insist on keeping him, just told him to join the next caravan back.
Life went on...
Sean still found no clues about his 'mother' or any traces left by the assassin who killed Baron Vygil. Last year's snow and the collapse had buried many tracks, and most people only remembered the accident.
When autumn arrived, life grew busier.
One day, Luke and Esmeralda suddenly came to his office.
"My lord, the empire's subsidy will arrive in a few days. Should we use some of it to prune the orchards for winter protection?"
But Esmeralda countered, "My lord, I think this first year doesn't need much protection. We should cull the weaker trees, or we'll spend too much on this every year."
"Then we'll suffer a big loss this year."
"Compared to future losses, this is bearable..."
They started arguing again.
"Um, Luke. Did you say the empire's subsidy is coming this year?!"
"Yes, my lord. It arrives every year around this season."