Succubus Magician Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hearing Adeline’s question, Allen somewhat understood why Spurt wasn’t joining them for lunch.

Perhaps Spurt felt that Allen would be more relaxed if he avoided them, and that Allen would be more receptive if the question came from a lady.

Thinking this, Allen felt a warmth in his heart.

Allen met Adeline’s worried gaze and said with a smile, “I’m not unhappy, it’s just that there are so many people in the manor, and our class material is very complex, which makes me a bit unaccustomed to it.”

Adeline breathed a sigh of relief, “Praise the Goddess, it’s best that you’re not unhappy.”

Allen, “Thank you for your concern, you and Spurt.”

Adeline shook her head and looked at him, “You are always so polite, little Allen. Politeness creates distance.”

Allen, “Isn’t distance a good thing? At least people won’t keep inviting me to social balls.”

Adeline, “Goddess above, now that you mention it, I also wish I had some distance. Do you know? For the next three nights, I have to attend three balls consecutively, and in the past ten days, I’ve attended at least seven balls!”

Allen, “Hmm, that sounds terrible.”

Adeline, “Exactly. My mother won’t even let me practice my sword anymore, worried that practicing too much will make my waist thicker, which would look bad in a formal dress and make it hard to attract gentlemen at the balls.”

Allen let out a light chuckle.

Adeline looked at Allen, who was resting his chin on his hand, and was momentarily stunned by his smile, “It would be great if you attended the balls. At least looking at your face would make the balls less boring.”

Before Allen could respond, Adeline quickly retracted her statement, “No, you shouldn’t attend. Too many people definitely wouldn’t be able to resist your charm, and you’d be constantly bothered.”

Allen couldn’t help but lower his head and laugh again.

Adeline placed a hand over her chest, “Praise the Goddess, Allen, your smile is more dazzling than any jewel.”

The summer social season was still ongoing.

The nobles of Barcankod were taking turns hosting balls and inviting other nobles.

The Motley family, with the assistance of Lancelot’s aunt, Lady Arnold, also hosted two balls, keeping up with the social rhythm among the nobility.

Just from what Allen heard, about five or six couples got engaged during the balls.

The affections between the ladies and gentlemen seemed to rise along with the summer temperature; a romantic atmosphere permeated the entire city.

Of course, Allen was not part of it.

He was merely a magic apprentice living under someone else’s roof.

Although commoners might already refer to a magic apprentice as a “master,” in the eyes of the nobility, a magic apprentice without family accumulation was considered less important than a steward in a regular noble family.

Allen always avoided the balls and the lively gatherings of the nobles.

In the beginning, Lady Arnold would still invite him, and Miss Pass and Mr. Roy were also friendly towards him.

Later, realizing his lack of interest in socializing, everyone stopped calling him.

Sometimes Allen would open his room window, stand by it, and listen alone to the music and singing from the manor grounds.

That day, Allen returned and habitually walked into his potion laboratory.

He had been busy the day before. After finishing the potion, he had only quickly rinsed the cauldron and hadn’t cleaned the workbench or the floor.

Due to the complexity and danger of potion making, servants never entered the potion laboratory.

The state in which he left the potion laboratory the day before was usually the state in which he found it the next day.

When Allen entered today, the potion laboratory windows were clean, and the herbs on the instruments and shelves were neatly arranged.

The evening breeze blew in from outside the window, carrying a fresh scent, very comfortable.

What improved Allen’s mood even more was the tall young man standing by the herb shelf.

Allen stopped at the doorway and called out, “Brother.”

Lancelot turned to look at him.

Allen’s smile deepened, “Did you come over to help me clean the potion lab as soon as you got back?”

Lancelot nodded, “I’ve organized the herbs and instruments I could identify. The ones I couldn’t identify are still in place.”

“It’s fine, I’ll handle the rest myself.” Allen walked over, kissed Lancelot, “Thank you, Brother, it’s so good to have you.”

Lancelot accepted the kiss and remained standing there, making no further move.

Allen hummed a tune while arranging the herbs and instruments Lancelot hadn’t placed correctly, then quickly cleaned up, took out the balance scale, and began weighing the potion he needed to make today.

They had learned new potions these past few days, and besides making them in class, he hadn’t had a chance to practice.

Today was a good opportunity to catch up on practice, otherwise, before he mastered the old potions, they would be learning new ones, and he would easily fall behind.

Lancelot sat on a table nearby, his long legs resting on the floor, watching Allen’s movements the entire time.

Allen took out a crystal vial to seal the finished potion. After washing his hands, he went over to Lancelot, pulled up a chair, sat in front of him, and gently tapped his thigh, “Hey, Brother, what’s wrong? Have you been particularly tired these past two days?”

Lancelot, “No.”

Allen looked up at him and said, “You’ve been a bit too silent these past two days.”

Lancelot looked down at Allen, remaining silent.

Allen placed his hand on Lancelot’s leg and rested his head on his lap, looking up at him, “If you don’t mind, you can tell me about it. I mean, things that are bothering you but don’t involve secrets.”

Lancelot gently stroked Allen’s cheek, “I don’t feel tired. I just feel like you’ve been a bit—”

Lancelot struggled to find the right word, and after a moment, said, “You seem to be distancing yourself from me again.”

Allen lifted his head and met Lancelot’s gaze.

Lancelot’s face was cast in many shadows in the dim twilight, like those murky, unclear emotions submerged at the bottom.

Among all the emotions, sadness was undoubtedly the most dominant.

Allen stood up, straddled Lancelot, and pressed his forehead against his, “Brother.”

Lancelot wrapped his arms around Allen, “Mm.”

Allen hugged him for a while, then asked, “Then, Brother, what should I do?”

Lancelot was silent, not answering immediately, seemingly stumped.

Allen hugged him for a while longer, cupped his face with his hands, looked into his eyes, “Brother, you are too busy. If you need me to, I can be a more clingy lover.”

Lancelot remained silent, holding Allen close.

Allen said nothing, just held him quietly.

Both of them sensed that what Lancelot wanted was more than just the position of a lover; he wanted more.

Neither of them voiced it.

Family duty, social circles, his own future… Allen sighed softly. What was the use of thinking everything through clearly?

“Hey, Allen.” Adeline snapped her fingers in front of Allen’s eyes, “You’re looking so melancholic that you’re breaking many hearts. What happened?”

Allen smiled slightly, “Did you need me for something?”

Adeline, “Professor Theodore from the potion class asked you to come to his office.”

Allen, “Professor Theodore wants to see me?”

Adeline shrugged, “Who knows? You’re his most admired student. Maybe he just wants to praise you?”

Spurt leaned over, “I heard Professor Theodore is taking the third-year students out to collect potions during the summer break, and it seems they are short one person. Maybe he’ll invite you to go.”

Allen packed his books, “I’m only in my first year.”

Spurt, “Maybe. If they admire you, perhaps they’ll invite you. You’ll know once you ask. We’ll wait for you in the library for lunch.”

Allen, “You guys go ahead. I don’t know how long Professor Theodore will keep me, and if it’s too late, I won’t come to the library.”

Adeline, “It’s fine, we’ll wait a bit. If we can’t wait for you, we’ll see you in the afternoon class.”

Allen quickly went to visit Professor Theodore in his office.

Professor Theodore was very pleased to see Allen and waved him over, “Allen, you’re here. Well, I suppose you can guess what this is about. During this summer break, are you going to join the team organized by our academy to collect herbs in the magic forest?”

Allen hadn’t expected him to actually invite him out for collection.

This wasn’t a small skirmish like Hodgson inviting him to the Gortho River Marsh to find Spring Cecil Grass; this meant truly entering the magic forest and encountering numerous magical creatures.

Allen felt a bit uneasy, “Thank you, Professor. May I ask how many days it will take?”

Professor Theodore, “Twelve to fifteen days. If things go smoothly, we’ll be back in twelve days. Even if it’s not so smooth, we must return within fifteen days; that’s what we reported to the academy.”

Allen, “Can I go back and discuss it with my Brother?”

“Of course,” Professor Theodore replied with a smile, “It would be even better if Lord Motley would come with us. Our team is still short one high-level swordsman.”

Allen, “Brother is a bit busy, so maybe not. I’ll ask him first.”

Professor Theodore, “Certainly. But even if Lord Motley doesn’t come, our team is very safe and has extensive experience traveling outside. Please consider it carefully.”

Allen, “Alright, I will consider it carefully and give you my answer tomorrow.”

In the evening, after returning to the manor, Allen told Lancelot about the matter and showed him the invitation, indicating it was truly an invitation from Professor Theodore and not an attempt to distance himself.

Lancelot looked at Allen and remained silent for a long time.

Just as Allen thought he wouldn’t agree, Lancelot said, “Go.”

Allen kissed Lancelot’s cheek, “Thank you, Brother.”

Lancelot silently stroked his head.

The next day, Lancelot returned with a large pile of items.

This included protection scrolls, protection potions, and the family crest.

There was even a magic ring inside—a ring that could store a certain amount of items.

Allen stared at these items in shock.

Goddess above! Any single one of these items was enough to cover a common family’s expenses for a year!

The magic ring alone was enough to cover the expenses of a Count’s family for a year!

Lancelot took Allen’s hand and slid the magic ring onto his middle finger, telling him, “Remember to write to me.”

Allen finally snapped back to reality, grabbed Lancelot’s hand in return, “Brother!”

Lancelot held his hand, preventing him from taking the ring off, “Mm.”

Allen stared at the ring, sighed inwardly after a moment, reached out, hugged Lancelot, and said, “Brother, I will.”