Much to Claude's surprise, it was almost nine by the time he reached home. There were still a few carriages parked in front of the red-bricked house. It seemed that a few guests hadn't left yet.
"It can't be. Why haven't they left yet?"
There were no guests in the dining room. His mother was mopping the floor with a mop. He could smell the stench of vomit and alcohol in the air.
In an era without air fresheners, all she could do was open the windows and doors and hope that the night breeze would bring fresh air.
Seeing her second son enter, she straightened her back and asked, "Why are you back so late?
Have you eaten? "
"Yes, I have.
I ate at Eyke's. He said that Father had a banquet tonight, so I didn't come back. "
He put down his bag and took the mop. "Mother, let me do it. Are there any guests here?"
"Yes." She pointed upstairs. "They're in the study. Your father seems to be talking to them about some investment. They were having a heated argument just now.
There's no need to drag it. I've already done it. "
"By the way, where are Annah and Booke?"
"Booke was napping just now. I had Annah send him to the third floor to sleep.
There are a lot of guests today and he's really excited. He's finally quietened down after making a ruckus the whole night. "
His mother sat on the chair. It seemed that she was exhausted.
"By the way, Claude, do you want something to eat?
Pied is the chef tonight. He made a lot of delicious food.
I left some for you in the kitchen. I'll bring it over if you want. "
"No need, Mother. I'm full tonight.
When will Father and the others finish? "
"What's wrong?
Are you looking for your father? "
"No, I want to go to the study to get that ancient Hertz dictionary. I need it for class tomorrow."
"Then wait a little longer. I think they're almost done with their discussion.
Why don't you go upstairs first and get it after your father sends the guests away? "
"Alright. I'll go upstairs now that the mop is done."
He returned to his attic and suppressed his excitement. He lit the lamp and closed the door before pouncing on his bag.
The silver hair clip for his sister and the pirate figurine for his brother could be given to them tomorrow, so he could put them aside for now.
With trembling hands, he pulled out the magic cookbook from his bag and flipped it open. Using the light from the oil lamp, he focused all his attention on the yellowish-brown pages. Soon, the pages changed again. Lines of dark blue ancient Hertz words appeared on the ivory pages.
At that moment, Claude wanted nothing more than to chase away all the guests in the study with a knife and bring up the ancient Hertz dictionary.
As long as he had the dictionary, deciphering the dark blue ancient Hertz text would be a piece of cake.
Even if there were grammatical mistakes, he could roughly understand the meaning of the translation word by word.
However, he had to suppress his impatience and wait patiently for the guests to leave.
He had already endured for half a day and did not mind waiting a little longer. Even if there were countless ants crawling in his heart, he had to endure it.
However, he might be able to do something else while he waited.
Claude suddenly wondered if this was the only page in the cookbook with the dark blue ancient Hez text, or were the other pages the same?
Why don't I give it a try?
The cookbook had a total of seventeen pages and every page recorded the recipe for a dish.
The first, second, third, fifth, eighth, and tenth page. The dark blue text would appear on every page.
Claude grew more and more excited. It was obvious that the cookbook was a disguise. The hidden dark blue text was the main point.
If the cookbook only had one page with these blue ancient Hez words, then it might just be a clue. Just like in those legendary novels, a treasure map was hidden in a book.
However, the cookbook only had seventeen pages and he was already at the tenth. Every page would change and the dark blue text would appear. That meant that the cookbook itself was a magic cookbook and the cookbook was just a disguise.
In the eyes of Eyke, Boa and the others, as well as the new owner of Monk's shop, Wakri, it was just a cookbook. The only thing worth mentioning was that the cookbook was made of animal hide. It was rather old and could be considered an antique that was worth a bit of money.
If it wasn't for the poor lighting, he wouldn't have paid so much attention to it. Perhaps he wouldn't have discovered the secret of the cookbook either.
Perhaps he would have just flipped through it a few times before putting it back on the shelf and missing the chance to obtain the magic cookbook.
Claude flipped to the eleventh page with a sigh and cleared his mind of those random thoughts. He continued to stare at the page and wanted to see if the next seven pages had the same dark blue text.
What he didn't expect was that when the pages started to change, the yellowish-brown color receded to reveal an ivory white page with lines of dark blue text in the middle. Claude's vision suddenly darkened and he felt as if he had sunk into complete darkness. It was so dark that he couldn't even see his fingers if he stretched them out in front of him.
Shocked, he tried to stand up, only to find that his limbs were powerless and he couldn't move at all. It was as if he couldn't control his own body at all.
He couldn't hear a thing and his surroundings were filled with dead silence.
He couldn't even breathe on his own. No matter how much he tried to open his mouth, he still felt suffocated and panicked.
What's going on?
Countless thoughts flashed through Claude's mind in that short instant. Is it some kind of evil magic?
Or could it be that the magic book disguised by the recipe itself was cursed?
Did I fall for it?
Am I going to die?
Am I blind or deaf?
Can I still make a sound?
Calm down, I have to calm down, but the panic in my heart was spreading.
After an indeterminate amount of time, which felt like an eternity to him, he finally heard a continuous thump. Thump, thump, thump …
It was the sound of his own heartbeat. He could almost feel his heart beating vigorously and he could almost see the blood vessels around his heart pumping endlessly into it.
His ears gradually returned to normal and he could hear the conversation between his father and the guest in the study on the second floor.
A blurry ball of light appeared before his eyes. It was the oil lamp on the table. Even though he couldn't see the outline of it clearly, he could feel the heat and light coming from the flame.
He could feel his limbs again and he could move again.
He shut his eyes and opened them again, then closed them again, then opened them again.
Finally, he could see clearly again. He stood up and stretched his limbs. Apart from feeling a little dizzy and his temples throbbing, he could confirm that there was nothing wrong with his body. He then realized that only a few minutes had passed, which he could tell from the hourglass on the table.
But what was with the darkness and the loss of control?
Was it really because of the cookbook on the table?
Claude walked to the table and looked at the cookbook again.
But this time, before the pages even started to change, he felt his vision go black again.
This time, however, he didn't feel as dark as before. He could still feel the light from the oil lamp and he could still move his body. The only difference was that his temples throbbed even more.
I understand now … Claude fell headfirst onto his bed. He had been scaring himself for so long because he had used up all his mental power.
Just now, he had focused all his attention on the magic recipe, and it had taken him more than half an hour. Just like the characters in the computer games in his previous life, there was a limit to their mental strength. Of course, he would feel strange if he used up all of it.
He looked up and blew out the oil lamp. He decided to lie down and rest for a while.
It seemed that he would have to be careful when he looked at the cookbook in case he made the same mistake again.
He looked at the silvery moonlight that shone through the open window and onto the table and the bed. His upper body was covered in a layer of silver light.
The moonlight was like water … No, Claude was surprised. Why does it feel refreshing and moist?
As the moonlight shone on his head, there seemed to be a trace of coolness moisturizing his skin, just like the spring rain sprinkling on the dry land. Even the dizziness in his head and the throbbing pain in his temples felt a little relieved …
It was definitely not an illusion!
Could the moonlight also have the effect of healing mental wounds?
Or could it speed up the recovery of mental power?
Raising his head to look at the silver moon hanging high in the sky, he remembered that this was a world with magic. As a transmigrator, he should remain calm and not make a fuss about these illogical things.
Whether or not it was as he thought, wouldn't he know once he tried?
Claude got out of bed and took off his sackcloth socks. He climbed onto the table with his bare feet and crawled out of the attic window to stand on the roof.
That way, he wouldn't be blocked by the window or the shadow of the attic. Unless the moon was covered by clouds, the moonlight would still shine on him.
He lay down in the middle of the two attics. It was the roof and it was made of wooden tiles. The slope wasn't too steep and it felt good to lie down like that.
As long as he was careful and didn't fall asleep after lying down, he would be fine.
He was certain that the moonlight was really helpful in soothing his depleted mental power. After lying on the roof for half an hour, he felt his head clearing up and his temples no longer throbbing in pain. He no longer felt as if his temples were expanding and contracting.
Bathed in the silvery moonlight, he gradually calmed down and felt a comfortable atmosphere around him. It made him feel so lazy that he didn't want to climb back up to the attic anymore.
His hearing was also recovering. Even though he was far away, he could still vaguely hear the conversation in the study on the second floor. It wasn't too clear, but it sounded like his father was sending some guests off.
Why did he hear his elder brother's voice mixed with a woman's voice? Father invited a female guest to the banquet tonight?
No way, that's not possible, not to mention inviting someone to the study so late at night.
Wait, the voice came from here.
Claude got up with a grunt and looked at the attic on his left.
He remembered that the attic was rented out to a young woman around 26 or 27 years old. His mother had once gossiped about her with his father during dinner. She was called Miss Christina and said that she didn't behave like a proper woman.
However, his father said that Miss Christina was a financial officer for some merchant in town. He couldn't remember which merchant it was, but his father confirmed that it was the manager of the merchant who recommended her.
She had a proper job and even told his mother not to talk about others behind their backs.