Black Hearted Mage

The old duke took the golden ginseng in his hand, looked at it over and over again, his heart full of doubts.

"It really is golden ginseng, but..."

The old duke still found it unbelievable, and after looking at it carefully again, he confirmed that it was indeed a real golden ginseng.

"Caesars, where did this golden ginseng come from?" The old duke looked at Caesars with burning eyes, his old face full of curiosity.

"Old Duke, we don't ask where a hero comes from, nor do we ask where things come from. As long as this golden ginseng isn't fake, you can have it. If you really want to know the answer, I can only answer: I found the golden ginseng right at the door of the Duke's Mansion!"

Caesars answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, his tone calm and firm.

"you……"

The old duke was choked by Caesar's words and was speechless for a moment, his face changing constantly. In all his years, no one had ever dared to speak to him like this, let alone this person who was just a young man.

But at this moment, he became very interested in the young man in front of him.

"Kaisas, can you pick up another golden ginseng within fifty years?"

The old duke's eyes flashed with anticipation and provocation, as if he wanted to see how capable this young man was.

"This question is very challenging, but I can give it a try." Caesars smiled slightly, with a hint of confidence in his eyes.

"Your Excellency the Duke, can you get me a noble robe like yours, with a black background and embroidery with gold thread? I am so envious of it!" He suddenly changed the subject and pointed at the gorgeous robe on the old duke.

"Hahahahaha!"

The old duke couldn't help laughing, and his laughter echoed in the living room. He looked at Caesar with interest, with a cunning gleam in his eyes.

The question about the golden ginseng kept lingering in the old duke's mind, but at the same time, he also became more curious and expectant about Caesars.

Caesar just wanted to take advantage of the Duke's Mansion. The materials and workmanship of a noble robe worn by the Duke cost thousands of gold coins, and the key is that it cannot be bought even with gold coins.

The old duke glanced at Caesars and without hesitation ordered, "Butler, go get him some robes he can wear, and also give him a family crest!"

"Old butler, you must pick out a brand new one!" Caesars quickly added as the old butler was about to leave.

Upon hearing this, the old butler glanced at Duke Solomon, seated in his chair. Their eyes met briefly. In a split second, the old butler understood his master's intention. He nodded slightly and quickly left the living room. This tacit understanding wasn't built overnight; it was the product of years of trust and understanding between master and servant.

After the old butler left, Caesars said somewhat dissatisfiedly: "Your Excellency the Duke, I am also a guest, although my status is lower than yours, but why don't I even have tea?" As he spoke, he looked at the maid not far away, waiting for her reaction.

However, Duke Solomon did not immediately respond to Caesar's words, but cast his gaze on the maid not far away. The maid received the Duke's instructions and immediately turned away. Apparently, she was going to prepare tea for Caesar.

At this time, Duke Solomon finally spoke: "Your status is a little different? Caesar, how dare you say that! I am the Grand Duke of the Empire, and you are just a magic apprentice. If it weren't for Joanna's relationship, I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to enter my mansion!"

After saying this, Duke Solomon's gaze returned to Caesar. Caesar's arrival was a joyous occasion for him, as he had brought the golden ginseng he had longed for. However, the gap between their identities was too great; they simply did not belong to the same world.

Caesars was naturally aware of the vast gap between himself and Duke Solomon, but he didn't care. Instead, he smiled and replied, "I have golden ginseng, which is more than enough for me to come and go freely in the Duke's Mansion, enjoy the food, and even take some things away. With golden ginseng of this age, the other two Grand Dukes will definitely beg me to visit them!"

Caesars' tone was filled with pride, as if he was confident in the golden ginseng in his hands. Joanna had told him something about the three Grand Dukes of the Empire. Although they stood at the pinnacle of power, they still had their own troubles, and the high-quality golden ginseng was one of them.

While the two were talking, the maid brought tea and snacks. Caesars took the snacks and ate them without hesitation, and even took a few pieces from the snack box he brought.

“The custom-made dim sum is still delicious!”

Caesars was commenting while eating. Duke Solomon beside him was a little helpless, and the maid beside him had a look of surprise on her face.

"Kaisas, you're right. The three of us are old and dying, so we want to obtain the powerful potion made from golden ginseng to prolong our decaying lives!"

"Old Duke, I only have one golden ginseng, so you don't need to worry about anything else!"

Duke Solomon smiled slightly. "Caesars, you'd better keep the matter of the golden ginseng a secret, otherwise you will be in trouble. The other two dukes, the royal family, and countless others are eager to obtain it!"

"Of course I understand this!"

Not long after, the Duke's old butler entered with two maids carrying trays. On one tray lay six or seven neatly folded black garments, their gold buttons and embroidery gleaming brilliantly. The garments on the other tray were even more remarkable, for they held a golden emblem.

Caesar carefully stowed these precious items and followed the butler to the wine cellar to take care of business. The Duke's wine cellar was awe-inspiring, housing thousands of barrels of fine wine. Caesar had to use five storage rings to carry all his barrels away.

It was lunchtime when Caesars returned to the Cavill family. Despite a long walk through the inner city, he didn't find the men who had followed him the day before. This result left him somewhat disappointed.

After lunch, Caesars drew the emblem from the photo on a piece of paper. He planned to ask the Duke's Palace for information about it tomorrow. While he could have gone out and inquired on his own, considering the potential trouble, he chose a more cautious approach.

As Kaisas absorbed the energy from the magic crystal, he pondered his situation. He realized that his current strength was too weak. Without the aid of the elven mask, he would have difficulty escaping the enemy's pursuit. Only by possessing sufficient strength, like the three elven elders, could he avoid hiding and even directly eliminate those greedy people.

At that moment, at the gate of Saint Laurent Church, a ragged, filthy figure suddenly collapsed to the ground. He looked extremely weak, as if he could die at any moment. If it weren't for the Saint Laurent Mercenary Corps emblem, he would have been thrown out like a dirty beggar.

"Urgent news... The Saint Laurent Mercenary Group was ambushed in the Endless Forest and completely wiped out. I was the only one who managed to escape..."

The man uttered these words with his last breath before collapsing into unconsciousness. The knights guarding the church were thrown into panic, unsure how to handle the situation. With no other options, they quickly reported the emergency to the church's higher-ups.

The weakened mercenary was eventually treated promptly by the pharmacist, but as soon as he regained consciousness, he was forcibly carried into the church's central hall by several paladins. Under the gaze of the Pope and the high priest, the mercenary slowly recounted his encounter at the edge of the Endless Forest.

Inside the spacious and bright hall, the atmosphere was suffocatingly solemn. Everyone's face was shrouded in a gloomy shadow, as if the entire world had lost its color.

The reason was simple: the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group was ambushed outside the Endless Forest. This news was like a bombshell, plunging the Pope and those old priests into endless anger and helplessness.

However, they were helpless in the face of this dilemma. The elves had already closely monitored the Blackrock Mountains, making it difficult for non-stealth travelers to escape their surveillance.

"Is there any news about Depero?" the old Pope asked unwillingly, a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"So far, only high-grade herbs have been delivered. As for rare herbs like golden ginseng, the Thorn Flower Trading Company only sells them to the three major magical forces, and there are extremely strict restrictions!" Floyd, the high priest of the Judgment Hall, replied in a heavy tone.

Hearing this answer, the Pope's face became even gloomier, and anger flashed in his eyes.

"Since we can't buy rare herbs, let's let that old guy Depero come back!" The Pope said with gritted teeth, feeling unwilling.

Floyd shook his head slightly, his face showing difficulty. "Your Holiness, Depero cannot come back for the time being. The high-quality herbs sold by the Thorn Flower Trading Company are of extremely high quality, far superior to the herbs we purchase. Once he returns, we will lose our supply of these high-quality herbs."

The Pope was silent for a moment, and finally nodded helplessly: "Okay, we can only let him stay outside for now."

Floyd responded respectfully: "Yes, Your Holiness!"

After saying this, Floyd turned and left, leaving the Pope sitting alone in the center of the hall, his face gloomy and full of worries.

Freud did not want Depero to return to the church because his seniority was too great and would seriously hinder his rise to power. However, the herbs that Depero sent back were of surprisingly good quality.

Depero also wrote a letter to Freud, expressing his wish not to return to the church. In the letter, he revealed some secrets of the church, which Freud did not know.

Depero just wanted to retire peacefully and didn't want to be involved in church affairs. Freud naturally supported his idea and generously gave him tens of thousands of gold coins.

Roland Empire, Fire Maple City.

The next morning, Caesars was still delivering snacks to the nobles of the imperial capital and arrived at Duke Solomon's Mansion before nine o'clock.

"Old butler, is the Duke in the castle?" Caesar asked the butler of the Duke's Mansion.

"Mr. Caesars, the Duke went to the palace early in the morning!"

"Don't nobles sleep until noon every day? How come the old duke doesn't even sleep in?"

Caesars was a little confused. From what he had heard about the nobles before, getting up at nine o'clock was considered early.

"Mr. Caesars, only nobles without real power can sleep in every day. The Duke has a lot of things to deal with every day!"

Hearing what the butler said, Caesars nodded slightly in agreement. Duke Solomon was a powerful nobleman. It was said that he also controlled an imperial legion, a major trading company, two large mines, and a duchy with tens of thousands of acres of farmland.

"Old Butler, who in the Duke's Mansion is more familiar with the people in the Imperial Capital? I mean the mercenary group affiliated with the nobles."

"Guards, go and call Commander Delong to the living room. Mr. Caesars, we'll go wait for him in the living room. Delong has a very detailed understanding of all the forces in the imperial capital, both overt and covert!"

The steward of the Duke's palace led Caesar to the castle. He also wanted to know what this bold young man wanted to find out.

A figure in his forties, dressed in a long robe, entered the living room and sat down next to the old butler without any hesitation. He was short and looked rather sturdy, with eyes like those of a hawk.

"Old Roy, what do you want from me?"

"Delong, I'm not the one looking for you. It's Mr. Caesars who wants to ask you something!"

Caesars did not hesitate. He took out the paper with the pattern drawn on it and handed it to the middle-aged man who had just come in. The other party took a look at it and handed the paper to the old butler.

"Old Roy, you know this emblem, and you called me here on purpose!" Deron was a little dissatisfied. In his opinion, this was a trivial matter.

"Delong, I only recognize this emblem. I don't know the person behind it very well!"

Delon rolled his eyes at the old butler. The other party knew everything very well. He basically knew all the information reported to the Duke. This old guy was just pretending.

"The emblem of the Golden Viper Mercenary Group. This mercenary group has a very complicated background. Officially, it's owned by an Imperial Earl. While there are only a hundred members registered with the Mercenary Guild, their actual membership exceeds five hundred!"

Delon then began to describe in detail how, because the Roland Empire had very strict restrictions on the number of private armies of nobles, some nobles had come up with other solutions—forming mercenary groups to circumvent the Empire's restrictions on private armies.

The Golden Viper Mercenary Group was also a complex organization, consisting of nearly twenty magicians and eight or nine priests. The so-called leader was an assassin of unknown age, but his strength was likely that of a great warrior.

"Commander Delon, according to you, the Viper Mercenary Group has a background in the Magic Guild and the Church!"

"Yes, my abilities are limited, and I can only find out this much. If you want to know the person behind the Golden Viper Mercenary Group, you can only ask the Duke for help. Carlos, the master of the Empire's Eagle Eye and the head of the Empire's secret service, must know the person hiding behind the scenes!"