Hearing Lucian's words, Lilith didn't find anything amiss. Beaming with excitement and a touch of shyness, she said, "We plan to attend Mr. Evans's concert, enjoy the music festival here in Altor, and then leave — there's still plenty of time, after all..." She suddenly realized she was letting slip something she shouldn't have and hastily clamped her mouth shut.
Sarah, standing beside her, also sensed the problem and looked at Lucian with a slightly strained expression. "Mr. Evans, everyone who comes to Altor during this period is here for the music festival — and so are we. Why would you find it strange that we're still in Altor?"
The question had escaped his lips instinctively. Only after finishing did he wish he could bite off his own tongue — if Lucian had truly discerned something from the manuscripts, wasn't this retort practically a confession?
"Heh heh, I saw how you two rushed to the Brunss estate to have me decipher the manuscripts despite the city gates closing, and I assumed you had some urgent matter." Lucian's thoughts raced, and he found a reasonably plausible explanation. He really had been too careless just now, blurting out his suspicions on impulse. But if he didn't know the manuscripts concerned a soon-to-open ruin, why would he have been surprised that the Sarah siblings hadn't left?
"Sometimes knowing too much makes it easy to say the wrong thing!" Lucian admonished himself inwardly.
Lilith clearly accepted the explanation — her brother and she had indeed appeared quite desperate at the time — and answered with a half-joking, half-genuine smile: "Because we like you very much, Mr. Evans, and we were eager to see you. Oh, Mr. Evans, the melody you played just now was so beautiful — like a dreamlike natural landscape..."
After chatting casually by the roadside for a while, Sarah still felt somewhat uneasy facing Lucian, who had deciphered the manuscripts. He was terrified of letting something slip and revealing their secret, so he firmly dragged his reluctant sister away.
Watching their figures disappear into the crowd, Lucian nodded slightly. "The timing for entering that arcane ruin matches my estimates quite well."
"But was today's encounter with them accidental, or did they deliberately show up?"
In Altor, under the Church's control, Lucian had no choice but to exercise extreme caution, growing suspicious of anything that involved Arcane Magic.
…………
Having already suppressed his own greed, Lucian quickly pushed the matter of the arcane ruin to the back of his mind and continued wandering around with Evan. At one moment they enjoyed a symphony at a concert hall, at the next they listened to an opera at a theatre, and at yet another they joined in some small musical games — living quite comfortably and freely.
As evening arrived, Joel and Elisa returned in satisfaction, bringing Lucian's "babysitting" duties to an end. After dinner, the group headed together toward the City Hall Plaza.
The plaza, usually spacious and quiet, was now packed with people. Even the surrounding streets were congested, as though every living creature in all of Altor had gathered here.
At eight o'clock that evening, the Church would use a Divine Arts array at the center of the City Hall Plaza to form a massive transparent "Crystal Wall." Through this wall floating in midair, the citizens would be able to see and hear the goings-on at the Sacred Hymn Hall's stage.
"So many people!" Evan exclaimed in the exaggerated tone unique to children.
Ahead of them was practically an ocean of human bodies. Though they wore clothes of various colors, to Evan it looked like nothing but a vast, dark mass.
Joel shook his head with a helpless smile. "We'll just wait right here. That 'Crystal of the Gods' can be seen from anywhere in the Administrative District anyway."
"No way — of course you need to be as close as possible to properly enjoy the Sacred Hymn Hall concert!" Elisa rejected the idea of staying put and was about to use her weight to bulldoze a path through.
Lucian smiled and stopped her. "Aunt Elisa, I'll take you to a spot where you can enjoy the Sacred Hymn Hall concert to the fullest."
"Oh? Where's that?" Evan asked curiously.
Lucian put on a mysterious air and didn't answer. Instead, he led Joel's family not forward but backward, into quieter streets, and then circled around to the other side of the City Hall Plaza.
Soon, a classical, imposing five-story building came into view.
"The City Hall?" Joel said, as though understanding something, his smile laden with meaning — he had always been very concerned about Lucian's marriage prospects.
Lucian laughed and shook his head. "Phyllis's father, Mr. Urbain, is the City Hall's chief clerk. He's invited us to enjoy the Sacred Hymn Hall concert from the top floor of the City Hall."
With status came connections, and with connections, many things became simple.
At the back entrance of the City Hall, Phyllis, dressed in a crimson gown, was already waiting.
Seating at the Sacred Hymn Hall was limited, and there were many distinguished guests from other nations, so even nobles like Urbain and Phyllis had not received invitations. Within the
Lucian, as the future Grand Duchess's music advisor, had actually received an invitation, but he had declined on the pretext of accompanying his uncle's family and avoided going to the Sacred Hymn Hall. After all, tonight's concert would center on masses and hymns, and who knew how many priests, bishops, and cardinals would be in attendance. Lucian, who had his own secrets, naturally preferred to steer well clear.
…………