He gazed at the beautiful Witch before him, his heart devoid of ripples.
This time, the incident was entirely in their favor from beginning to end.
Yet, rules clearly could not restrain a behemoth like the Hidosh Family.
Thus, previously, even though they had done nothing wrong, they were still taken to the Black Castle and nearly became the guilty party.
But now, with a stronger force backing him to judge fairness, he who had the right side reclaimed the upper hand.
The beautiful Witch smiled subtly, with a touch of apt doubt in her response,
"Are you referring to Field the Steward? He had no knowledge of Yasi's plan. Yasi had gone to see your mentor before he went to check the Witch Array. He was just a bit unfortunate to blunder into providing Yasi with a cover.
Furthermore, those Inspectors from the Black Castle, according to the investigation, were misled by one among them, who had previously received Yasi's favor. Out of his own volition and a desire to avenge Yasi, he acted in such a manner."
The Witch's tone was sincere, and her words seemed logical and substantiated, as if the truth was indeed as she described.
Colin's expression remained composed. He straightened slightly, moving away from the soft back of the chair, propping his elbows onto the desk.
Silence fell in the study, the atmosphere gradually becoming solemn.
The Witch, seemingly unaware of the tension, simply smiled at him, graceful and intelligent.
The just-right whiteness of her exposed neck and collarbones was alluring.
Colin, without averting his gaze, watched the Witch for a good while before saying, devoid of emotion,
"Is this the attitude of the Hidosh Family?"
It seemed as if there was a prearranged plan prior to her coming.
Seeing his demeanor, the Witch let out a slight sigh internally, and gradually her smile faded as she answered seriously,
"I understand, Sir."
"You will see the sincerity of the Hidosh Family."
With a wave of her hand, the Wizard behind her to the right immediately took out a sheet of white paper and began to declare,
"Field Hidosh, in cooperation with Yasi Hidosh, attempted to murder a member of the same School, with a heinous nature. He will be executed by the Black Castle today.
Mo'er the Inspector, Rice the Inspection Captain, Ralph the Inspection Captain...Char the Inspector, these Inspectors, too, will receive corresponding punishment according to the rules of the Black Castle for their respective crimes, with the least severe being the revocation of their Inspector status."
The beautiful Witch received the white paper from the Wizard behind her and handed it to Colin, then quietly awaited Colin's response.
Her face still maintained a smile, albeit slightly less curved.
This was the baseline set by the Family upon leaving; if Colin continued to be unyielding, seeking further investigation into who was behind Inspector Rice making false evidence—
—then this moment of retreat would turn into backlash.
Colin, supporting himself with his hands, set the white paper aside, pausing for a few seconds before speaking slowly,
"I have received the stance of the Hidosh Family."
Despite loathing these noble Wizards and clearly remembering the injustice of being taken to the Black Castle despite being a victim,
At this moment, he still did not possess the strength to upset the table.
The beautiful Witch smiled, signaling to the accompanying Wizard standing beside her to step forward.
Understanding her gesture, the Wizard reached out again and took out a wooden box, passing it to the Witch.
"Almost forgot, the Family also instructed me to congratulate you on receiving the Golden Feather Token," said the Witch as she received the wooden box and handed it to Colin.
Colin raised an eyebrow internally, thinking that if it weren't for the temporary consensus, perhaps this congratulatory gift would not have been so readily given.
But, thoughts aside, he still smiled and reached out to accept the wooden box.
One cannot refuse gifts, especially when not affluent, particularly after spending a considerable amount of Magic Stones on the Limit Breaking Deep Red Marking Technique the previous night.
"If I'm not mistaken, Sir Colin, you must be planning to Advance to the Second Rank now," the beautiful Witch continued, starting another topic. "I wonder if you have exchanged for the knowledge related to Advancing to Second Rank?"
This was the Hidosh Family's second strategy.
"Not yet," Colin simply replied.
After a brief interaction, the beautiful Witch determined that Colin was not the type of Wizard to beat around the bush, so she cut to the chase and asked,
"Then, I wonder if you have considered changing factions. The Hidosh Family is always welcoming the addition of a Golden Feather.
Should you choose to join the Hidosh Family, obtaining the method to Advance to the Second Rank will be a breeze, without the need to expend energy on completing a great number of School tasks."
"Oh, the Hidosh Family can directly teach me the method to Advance to the Second Rank?" Colin's interest was piqued as he inquired.
During this time, he had gained a deeper understanding of the Tin Saint School and knew that aside from a few solitary Wizards, most of its upper echelons were members of powerful factions and Pureblood Families.
And it was mainly the members of the Pureblood Families who held the majority.
To ensure the continuity of such dominance, Pureblood Families obviously needed to continuously incorporate exceptionally talented Wizards from the outside world through means such as marriage and recruitment.
They believed that all Wizards with exceptional talent were scattered Purebloods.
And marrying or recruiting these Wizards, or allowing them to join the Family directly, would not taint the noble Pureblood lineage, but merely bring them back to their roots.
To them, all Pureblood Wizards shared the same origin.
Therefore, he had already anticipated that the Hidosh Family would extend an invitation to him, especially since they had sent a smart and beautiful Witch this time.
What truly puzzled him was how the Hidosh Family could provide him with the method for the Second Rank Advancement.
In the Tin Saint School, essential knowledge like the Meditation Method for a Wizard's Advancement was only imparted by the family that truly controlled the School's core, the Tin Saint—in other words, only they had the authority to teach it.
The Hidosh Family... did not have this authority.
Understanding his confusion, the beautiful Witch said with meaningful depth,
"Contribution points may not be transferable, but sometimes, completing tasks for the School doesn't necessarily require one's own efforts.
As far as the School is concerned, all they need is for the tasks to be completed, regardless of how they are done."
"I see." Colin had a moment of realization and then shook his head politely,
"But I've just Advanced to a First Rank Advanced Wizard, what I need now is to consolidate my own strength, and I'm not in a hurry to seek the method for the Second Rank Advancement.
So I am not considering changing factions for the time being."
The beautiful Witch nodded, not pressing the issue further, knowing that once someone like Colin had made a decision, it would be hard to change his mind.
It was better to leave a good impression now and make plans for the future.
However, based on her observations of the maid and combining it with previous intelligence, it seemed that Colin had a particular fondness for younger girls.
Next time, it appeared that the Family would need to send someone else to contact him.
Golden Feathers within the School were always prime candidates for matrimonial alliances in the eyes of their Pureblood Families!
The beautiful Witch smoothed her hair and said with a smile as she took her leave,
"Then, I won't disturb you any further."
After the Hidosh Family's visitor had gone, Colin glanced at the sky. Not in a rush to open the gift sent to him, he stored it in his Storage Ring and hurried towards the center of Neustadt City.
Walking through familiar corridors, he entered Nois's laboratory once again.
Just like the last time, Nois stood with his back to him, incessantly writing and sketching at a silver-white high table.
The only difference was the neat stacks of tall manuscript paper beside him.
"City Lord Nois," Colin greeted respectfully as he entered the laboratory.
"Wait a moment for me, you're free to look around, but don't touch anything," Nois instructed without raising his head, his gaze fixated on the manuscript in his hands.
As if he remembered something, he paused in his writing and added, "Um... aside from the manuscripts next to me, you can take a look at the other manuscripts if you're bored—assuming you can understand them.
Also, don't share the contents with anyone else, and remember to put them back in order neatly after you've finished, remember, neatly!"
"Of course, City Lord Nois."
"Just call me Lord Nois."
"Of course." Colin nodded and stepped forward.