The mountain path meandered upwards. It wasn't a public road built by the town hall but one that the owner of the wood paid for. That was why the path wasn't wide and was rather narrow. The ground was also paved with yellow mud that was flattened with stone rollers. It wasn't like the public roads, which were paved with gravel and sand.
Even though the yellow mountain path looked rather flat, it wasn't very durable.
Wind, rain, and time would quickly turn the surface full of potholes. Busy transport vehicles could also crush the surface of the road in a short period of time.
The path he was on was still passable. There weren't any obvious ruts on the surface. Claude guessed that it was newly built in the past two years.
Generally speaking, such paths were privately owned and prohibited from being used by others.
However, in Whitestag and the three southwestern prefectures, private roads could be used by pedestrians. Only horses or carriages would require the owner's permission to use them.
For someone like Claude, even if he was discovered by the owner, he would only be asked who he was and what he was doing there.
Claude planned to follow the path for a while and go over a small hill in front of him to reach his destination.
It was a small hill with dense forests. It was probably a good place for hunting. If he was lucky, he might even find some big game like wild boar or antelope.
Just as he went around a bend in the path, Claude heard a panicked cry. "The horse's scared! Chase after it, you bastard!
The madam is still in the carriage! How did you even manage to drive? "
Claude looked up.
He saw a big black horse pulling a small carriage galloping towards him on the mountain road twenty or thirty meters away. Two people were stumbling behind the carriage. One was an old man who looked like a butler, and the other was probably the unlucky coachman who had lost his carriage.
The path wasn't wide. It was only about three meters wide. Under normal circumstances, the carriage would barely be wide enough for two carriages to pass each other if it moved to the side.
But now, the horse that was pulling the carriage seemed to have received some kind of stimulation. It only cared about pulling the carriage behind it and dashing around in the middle of the road.
It wouldn't be a big deal if it could run along the path, but the horse didn't care about the turns in the path. If that happened, the horse and carriage would tumble down the mountain.
By the time Claude got a clear view of the situation, the startled horse was only ten meters away from him. In a few more seconds, it would crash into Claude, who was standing in the middle of the mountain path.
Clatter. He had no choice but to cast a Psychic Shock to stop the horse and prevent it from dragging him down the mountain.
The startled horse froze for a moment, but it behaved much better than the pack horse in the open-air market. It didn't trip and only trotted at a brisk pace. When it reached Claude, it actually stopped and shook its head, as if it couldn't remember what had happened. It lowered its head again to nibble on the grass by the roadside.
Claude grabbed the horse's reins and prepared to hand it over to the steward and coachman when they caught up.
When he used mental shock on the startled horse, he was worried that something unexpected would happen. For example, the horse might suddenly fall or stop in its tracks and be knocked over by the carriage behind it. He had already made preparations to dodge and was about to use mental shock on the startled horse again.
Fortunately, this frightened horse was well-trained and did not encounter any accidents.
At that moment, the curtain of the carriage was lifted and a well-dressed noblewoman in her thirties came out. Her hair was messy and hung down to cover half of her face.
It was obvious that she had suffered quite a bit from the horse's frantic movements.
"It's fine now, Madam."
Claude nodded politely. The lady had a voluptuous and voluptuous figure. She was tall and curvaceous. The skin on her exposed arms showed that she had taken good care of her skin, which was fair and lustrous.
The noblewoman lifted her hair and looked at Claude carefully, who hurriedly lowered his head in respect.
He didn't think that the lady would smile and say something that shocked Claude. "Thank you for saving my life, Lord Magus."
Lord Magus … The way she addressed him made Claude's mind go blank. I've been discovered … What should I do? Should I kill her or silence her?
"What did you call me?
I … I don't understand … "Claude struggled on his deathbed.
The lady smiled, but the words that came out of her red lips sent chills down his spine. "You didn't hear me clearly?
It can't be. My Lord Magus, thank you for using a spell to stop the startled horse and save my life.
I still haven't asked for your name, Lord Magus. "
There's only the lady, the steward and the coachman here. Don't worry, I'll just kill all three of them and make it look like a tragedy of the startled horse rolling down the mountain.
I don't think anyone will find out that I did it. The detection methods in this world aren't as advanced as the ones in my previous world. There are surveillance cameras everywhere. Now that there's no one around, it's the best time to make a move.
Claude didn't bother to think about how the lady would notice that he used a spell to stop the startled horse. There was only one thought in his mind: he couldn't let anyone find out that he had learned magic. He didn't want to be on the run for his life and drag his family down with him.
He could forget about his father and Arbeit, but he couldn't let his mother and siblings get hurt because of him.
"It's fine. It's only right for me to lend a helping hand, especially when I see a lady like you in danger. It's only natural for me to help if I can.
It's just a small matter, so there's no need to be so courteous. There's no need to thank me. As for my name, I won't ask for anything in return. "
Even though Claude said it politely, he had already made up his mind. As soon as the steward and coachman arrived, he would kill them to silence them.
"Hehe, you sure are interesting. You speak so maturely at such a young age. Tell me your name. I want to see which clan in Whitestag has such an outstanding scion like you," said the noblewoman with a smile. But when she saw Claude sneaking glances at the surroundings and noticing the butler and coachman rushing over, she suddenly realized what was going on.
"Are you trying to silence me?" The noblewoman stopped smiling and glared at Claude.
"What did you say?"
Claude wanted to bluff his way out of it, but the killing intent in his eyes couldn't be hidden from the lady.
"Hehe," the lady chuckled again. "Don't be nervous, young man. Relax.
You haven't killed anyone before, have you? I can tell from your expression and eyes that you want to silence me.
Why don't you think about how I know you used a spell?
The reason is simple. We're the same kind, young man. "
"Wha … what did you say?
We're the same kind? "Claude was truly shocked. Did the lady mean that she knew magic too?
"Let's have a seat in front of me. I'll show you my spells."
The lady's invitation put Claude in a dilemma. He couldn't be sure whether she was lying to him or not. Perhaps she was just trying to get him to give up on the idea of silencing him and finding an excuse to get herself out of danger.
But when he calmed down and thought about it, what the lady said made sense. How did she know he used a spell?
Normal people wouldn't be able to tell if he used a spell in town unless she really knew magic.
I'll just follow her and take a look. She said she would show me her spells. If she was lying, it wouldn't be too late to start a massacre. He had Mental Shock and Magic Missile at hand anyway, so he was confident in his ability to protect himself.
He had been training alone for almost a year. Even though he was already a one-ring rune magus, he still wanted to share his experiences in learning and training with someone.
This was a good opportunity. Perhaps this noble lady could tell him more about magic.
"Alright, Madam, I'm willing to accept your invitation and go to your residence to see what your spells are like." Claude finally made up his mind and suppressed the thought of silencing her.
"Huff, huff …" The butler and coachman finally caught up to the carriage, panting heavily. "M-Madam, are you alright?"
The butler greeted the lady while panting heavily. The coachman took the reins from Claude's hands and started checking on the big black horse that was still chewing on the grass by the roadside.
"I'm fine, Ludian.
Fortunately, this young man stopped the startled horse and stopped the carriage. Otherwise, you'd have to go to the foot of the mountain to look for me. "
The butler and coachman were behind the carriage and didn't see how the startled horse was stopped.
Hearing that, he thanked Claude profusely and expressed his approval of the lady inviting him to her residence.
However, due to the incident with the startled horse, Ludian didn't dare let the lady ride the carriage again no matter what.
He had the coachman drive the carriage back first before sending another one to take them back.
The coachman drove the carriage away, leaving the lady, the butler, and Claude to stroll along the mountain path.
"You're a strange young man. You're a magus, yet you carry a musket on your back.
Don't you know that muskets are taboo to magi?
They see muskets as demonic weapons and it's because of them that magi were chased out of Freia six hundred years ago. "
The lady didn't turn her back to the old butler when she spoke. Instead, it was the butler who looked at Claude carefully when he heard that he was a magus.
"I don't know about these taboos," Claude said, shaking his head, "Nobody told me about them.
As long as it's useful, I don't care if it's magic or musket. "
"Oh …" The lady seemed like she wanted to ask something else, but she held it in.
After a while, she asked, "Then why did you come to my wood with a musket?"
Claude pointed in front of him. "I was just passing by your wood and wanted to take a look at the col over there.
I heard someone saw a wild boar there not too long ago, so I thought it would be a good hunting target. "
The lady covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "That's also my wood. But you're quite bold. Are you sure you can take on a wild boar with just a musket?"
"Of course I can," Claude replied without a change in expression.
She turned to the butler behind her and asked, "Ludian, are there really wild boars there?"
The butler nodded. "Madam, Siori did indeed see a herd of wild boars looking for food in our wood. I don't know where they came from.
Siori said that the three acres of cassava he planted on the hillside were almost all destroyed. He wanted to ask some hunters to help him clean up the wild boars, but since Madame is staying here for the time being, I turned him down. I don't want those rude hunters to disturb Madame's peace. "
"I see …" The noblewoman nodded slightly. "Then tell Siori that he doesn't need to find a hunter. I'm going to let this young man hunt those wild boars.
I believe you won't disappoint me, will you?
Young man … "
Claude smiled. "Of course, Madam. You'll see the boars soon enough. I promise they won't be alive."
The carriage arrived. It was a long-distance carriage with a silver rose emblem engraved on its purplish-black walls.
It seemed to be the emblem of some noble family, right?
Claude didn't expect to see such an exquisite manor in the wood. There was a small fountain in the yard and a flat grassy field in front of it. There was even a clear stream on the other side of the field. It was a picturesque scene.
"Come in." The lady brought Claude into the hall and closed the door.