Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 195
“I don’t know what kind of luck you had to get such an opportunity,” said one of the accompanying musicians.
Becoming a resident musician at Brandenburg was never easy. Most of them were born into families with a strong tradition in music and etiquette, receiving excellent education and training from birth. Yet, even with these advantages, they still had to work harder than others—excelling in Lemena wasn’t enough. They had to be outstanding throughout the entire empire.
Although Arnie and Priscilla couldn’t fully appreciate the professional artistry of the musicians, these musicians were indeed the best in their field.
Years of practice combined with innate talent had earned them a place at Brandenburg. Meanwhile, Oscar, a wandering novelist whom Elaby had picked up by the roadside, had effortlessly gained entry to the castle just because Young Master Arnie liked him. This left the musicians feeling somewhat unbalanced, leading to some sour remarks.
“I don’t know what misfortune you had to be taken away by the nobles,” said Alai, the birdkeeper.
Brandenburg’s camp was preparing for the return journey. Alai’s temporary job was done, and Priscilla had given him and the magician a very satisfying reward. Since last night, they had been smiling uncontrollably. The only slight disappointment was that Oscar was specifically asked to join them. The three had hit it off immediately, and Alai and the magician genuinely felt sorry that Oscar was losing his freedom.
Charlie just smiled. He had come for the young Duke, so joining them was exactly what he wanted. However, standing in the cracks of history often left him feeling constrained, afraid that one wrong step could negatively impact the future.
So far, Charlie had been very cautious, disguising his true appearance more meticulously than he had while evading Elena. Besides that…
“This is only temporary,” Charlie told Alai and the magician. “Children always grow up, and their childhood enthusiasm usually doesn’t last long. Young Master Arnie is still very young.”
“That makes sense,” the magician said as he stuffed his props into a suitcase. A spring-loaded frog popped out, fell to the ground, and he quickly bent down to pick it up, carefully brushing off the dirt.
“Going to Brandenburg is a good job. They pay very generously. This job gets me closer to my goal of buying a circus tent. I wish they would take me too,” the magician added, snapping the suitcase shut. “But I can’t stay there for too long. Once I’ve earned enough money, I want to travel the continent and show my performances to more people.”
Charlie and Alai supported his grand ambition. Charlie gave his top hat to the magician, and Alai gave him two bird eggs, each slightly larger than a chicken egg, as a sponsorship for the future circus, although he didn’t know what kind of birds would hatch from them.
The three parted ways with reluctance. Charlie, carrying all his belongings in a suitcase, boarded a Dwight family carriage—not the one Arnie or Priscilla rode in, but one shared with two servants responsible for traveling furniture.
The carriage lacked any temperature-regulating magical items. The two men sharing the carriage weren’t talkative, and the bumpy journey was far from comfortable but still much better than walking. As they entered Lemena territory, the pace noticeably slowed. Charlie leaned against the window, looking outside. The orchards in the countryside were starting to bear fruit, and farmers were working under the hot sun. Everyone seemed to recognize Duke Dwight’s carriage, but only those close by would doff their hats in greeting, while those farther away continued their work without much fuss.
It seemed Arnie’s father, the current Duke, was a benevolent man—Charlie had seen people tied to city gates in similar weather, their bodies sunburned beyond recognition, for the crime of wearing tattered clothes that “offended the lord’s eyes”.
Comparatively, the environment in Lemena was much more relaxed. The Brandenburg Knights were as popular as ever, with children shouting and running after the convoy. Some brave ones even asked the knights to show them how to draw swords and fight on horseback.
Priscilla felt very tired after the trip and longed for a bath and a good night’s sleep back at the castle. Ever since she got heatstroke, everyone around her had been very nervous. Elaby had insisted on ending the trip early and returning to Brandenburg due to her poor health. Although Arnie hadn’t had his fill of fun, he didn’t object.
But with the Duke and Duchess absent, some matters required their presence.
“Uncle?” Priscilla tilted her head. “My father is an only child, and my mother has only two sisters.”
The messenger from the castle spoke cautiously in a low voice. “The steward verified that he is your mother’s sister’s husband’s cousin. He has no title and lives on family funds. They insist on seeing you and Young Master Arnie. The steward has temporarily placed them in a guest house, but they are dissatisfied.”
They even threatened to go to the capital to find the Duke and Duchess if they were blocked from seeing the children.
“What do they want?” Priscilla straightened slightly, and the maid immediately placed a soft cushion behind her.
“They didn’t specify, but the steward suspects they mean no good and sent me ahead to inform you.”
Priscilla thought for a moment, certain that her aunts’ letters over the years had never mentioned this relative.
She didn’t immediately tell her brother about this. The two returned home as planned.
The moment they arrived, Brandenburg, which had been quiet for several days, bustled with activity. Laundresses hurried back and forth, washing all the accumulated linens, and the stewards meticulously checked off lists, ensuring all the small pieces of furniture and decorations temporarily removed from the castle were put back in place or stored in the warehouse.
Charlie was assigned to the southwest tower. The ground floor had a high-ceilinged hall, with a dome covered in silver-blue felt printed with the Dwight family crest. In the center was a fireplace, and the stone floor was covered with a huge carpet. Besides a row of knight armors along the walls, there was nothing else.
Up the stairs, the lower floors were communal dormitories, while the third floor had many single rooms, each uniformly furnished with a canopy bed, a writing desk, a small wardrobe, and two high-backed armchairs.
This floor was for non-laboring residents, reserved for the castle’s “technical staff”, such as the musicians on the trip, the embroiderers who designed the masters’ clothing—and Charlie.
Charlie spread a sheet of paper on the desk by the stone window, unscrewed an ink bottle, and began to write and draw on the paper.
He didn’t belong to this time and space. At this moment, the Charlie from thirteen years ago was still in school, possibly just finishing his third class, discussing the lunch menu with friends.
The pen tip wrote today’s date on the paper. He thought for a moment. At this time, young Charlie was far away on the Doran continent, and according to his memories, he had safely spent several years of his student life there. To avoid any complications, he hadn’t left the continent, let alone the city where his school was located. Even during holidays, he mostly stayed in the school library.
As long as he didn’t recklessly travel to Doran, the probability of him encountering his younger self was nearly zero. This was crucial. Charlie now leaned towards the theory that Khalif’s magic gate exploited a loophole in the laws of nature, as natural laws would never change for the insignificant will of a human being.
If this loophole were detected by the laws, it would likely be fixed—or rather, the error would be eliminated. Charlie was this error.
The possibilities of being discovered included: 1. Meeting oneself in the same time and space 2. Using memories to drastically change an important piece of history.
Both of these scenarios could be actively avoided.
Charlie started a new line.
Ways to return:
- Expose myself through the above two methods and bet that the laws will correct the error by sending me back to my original time—but the risk is too great, and it’s much more convenient and quicker to just kill me.
- Reconstruct a time magic similar to Khalif’s approach, using the same principle to reverse time. This method is theoretically feasible, but Khalif spared no expense in his magical research, even using live subjects for experiments, which Charlie certainly couldn’t do. This means many cautious and minimally effective preliminary experiments and adjustments, which could take three to five years if he’s lucky.
Three to five years… Charlie’s gaze wandered, thinking it was too long.
He and Dwight had just started to open up to each other, only to be overwhelmed by a series of issues. He was sent back to the past by Khalif’s magic, and their few kisses were stolen in the midst of busyness. It was romantic, but it also left him somewhat unsatisfied.
Starting a long-distance relationship right after feelings had begun to develop was detrimental to future progress. What if Dwight thought he was dead? Would he return to Pennigra in sorrow? There were plenty of people in the Empire eager to comfort the despondent Duke of Brandenburg. A slew of attractive young people would be lining up.
That wouldn’t do.
Perhaps he should seek help from the big shots of this era? He remembered his teacher had a friend researching time magic, but due to the sensitive nature of the subject, he couldn’t get financial support. He then turned to developing an automatic heating water pipe system, becoming famous and making a fortune, which he used to continue his time magic research. For a while, several major newspapers took turns condemning him, leaving a deep impression even on those uninterested in the field.
Charlie wrote the remembered name on the paper and circled it. He was trying to recall where he last heard the master was residing when there was a knock on his door.
It was a boy wearing knee-high socks who stood at the door, no older than thirteen—an apprentice to the senior servants of the castle, often running errands.
“Mr. Oscar, Lord Elaby asked me to inform you that the scheduled arrangement for afternoon tea has been canceled. Miss Priscilla and Young Master Arnie have other important matters. You don’t need to go,” he said formally.
Charlie blinked and smiled at him. “Thank you for informing me. What’s your name?”
“Tom, sir.”
“Tom, do you know why the afternoon tea was canceled?”
Many in the castle knew, and it wasn’t a secret worth hiding.
Tom said, “Some relatives have come from afar, and they’re a bit—” He initially wanted to say noisy but realized that even if Miss Priscilla and Young Master Arnie didn’t like these unexpected guests, they weren’t people he could casually ridicule. He quickly corrected himself, “A bit enthusiastic.”
That was the most tactful term Tom could think of, knowing that the guests had been eagerly waiting for Miss Priscilla and Young Master Arnie to return. However, neither sibling had given them any attention. As soon as they got back to Brandenburg, they went to rest. Hearing this, the “guests” had brought their entire family into the castle, making a fuss and subtly accusing the siblings of being rude, ignoring their relatives, and so on.
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