Above the mage!

Chapter 454 The Wang Mian Family
The bright moonlight shone on the balcony of the mansion, as if draping it in a hazy veil.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling and Mrs. Emily sat facing each other, with scented candles already lit on the gilded, intricately carved table.

The swaying amber glow creates a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

"Madam, you are so heartless to use your own son to test the skill level of this high-ranking French Bulldog."

As Lieutenant Colonel Grayling spoke, he picked up the gold bone china kettle and poured Emily a steaming cup of black tea. "You drank quite a bit tonight, have some black tea to soothe your palate."

Lady Emily picked up her porcelain cup, took a sip of hot black tea, and said with elegance, "You personally recommended such a commoner mage; how can I be at ease without testing his skills?"

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling also poured himself a cup of black tea, but he took two sugar cubes from the sugar jar next to him and added them to the tea, stirring it gently with a silver teaspoon.

"Besides, Theodore has indeed become increasingly arrogant in recent years. Giving him a blow would be good, so he won't be complacent about his current small achievements," Mrs. Emily continued.

"Kids are young, it's normal for them to be a bit impetuous. They'll settle down as they get older."

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling seemed quite relaxed, a stark contrast to his stern demeanor just moments before.

"Young. Isn't this Warrant Officer Gao De even younger and more outstanding than Theodore? How come he doesn't have a trace of Theodore's arrogance?"

"A mage's talent is a matter of fate and cannot be forced, but one's character is something that depends on oneself and needs to be cultivated," Emily said slowly, putting down her porcelain cup.

“If a mage who started out as a beggar has this kind of mentality, then Theodore, as a member of the Laurent family, should at least not be too far behind, if not surpass him.”

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling smiled helplessly and said indulgently, "Madam is right, we'll listen to you, we'll listen to you."

“Although he is indeed exceptionally talented as you say, your actions were still too impulsive. First, talent may not necessarily translate into strength. Second, he is, after all, a foreigner. What if he becomes the second Jaden in the future?” Emily’s eyes flickered as she thought for a moment before speaking softly.

"I've considered these things, but I did say it in front of so many people that if he gets promoted to the second ring before he turns twenty, I'll promote him to warrant officer. If I go back on my word, I'll be too ashamed to face anyone." He said helplessly in response to his wife's criticism.

"Besides, consider it an investment. What you said makes sense, but it's all about looking at the worst-case scenario."

"If we look on the bright side, and Gao De achieves something in the future, or even joins the Sentinels of Light, then wouldn't my recommendation and promotion today be considered a wise move?"

"You're dreaming," Emily retorted lightly.

"No matter how beautiful your thoughts are, they can't compare to your beauty, Madam," Lieutenant Colonel Grayling flattered.

As he spoke, he stood up, stood behind Emily, and gently massaged her shoulders to help her relax.

"At your age, you're still so glib," Lieutenant Colonel Grayling said with practiced ease. Mrs. Emily squinted comfortably and continued, "I'm going back to Luggage County at the end of the year."

"Why are you suddenly going back?" Lieutenant Colonel Grayling asked curiously.

“Miss Liu Ying is eighteen years old this year,” Mrs. Emily reminded her softly.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling paused for a moment, then sighed, "I forgot about that. So many years have passed without me realizing it. The last time I saw Miss Liuying was ten years ago. She was just a little girl then, and now she's almost an adult."

An eighteenth birthday is an extremely important day for all noble ladies, a significant turning point in their lives.

Because after their eighteenth birthday, they will complete the transition of their social roles.

Before the age of eighteen, noble ladies mostly learn magic, etiquette and other knowledge and skills in their families. Their lives are relatively closed and they do not have much autonomy.

But after they turn eighteen, they will reach the legal age of adulthood.

From this point on, they will have the right to independently sign contracts, manage property, and have their own economic independence. If their father passes away, they can directly inherit his estate.

In addition, you can participate in various social activities and start to meet potential marriage partners.

Therefore, aristocratic families would hold grand estate parties for their daughters' eighteenth birthdays, inviting other nobles and celebrities to attend.

"This is the most noble and wealthy young lady in the entire Plantagenet Dynasty. It's hard to imagine how lively her eighteenth birthday banquet will be," Lieutenant Colonel Graylin couldn't help but remark.

How prestigious is it?

He wasn't even qualified to attend the meeting.

Only his wife, because she came from the Laurent family and had some contact and interaction with Miss Liuying, was qualified to attend the banquet.

"Theodore hasn't been back in a long time, so let's take him back to see his grandmother."

“Okay,” Lieutenant Colonel Grayling replied, his movements becoming even gentler.

Mrs. Emily stopped talking, squinted her eyes, and began to enjoy her husband's touch.

Da da da.

The horses' hooves thudded across the wide streets of the Van Traren district.

The carved bronze lamps swayed gently on both sides of the carriage.

On the carriage.

Godd and Captain Merrick sat facing each other.

He was going back to the Sea Sentinel Quarter, while Captain Merrick was going back to his own home, which happened to be in the same area as the Vandrolen district, so it was on the way.

The interior of the carriage was exquisitely and comfortably decorated.

Such private carriages are considered part of the aristocracy's prestige, so they naturally need to be made to look magnificent. The horses pulling the carriages also need to be of high quality, as they must possess the bloodline of earth-based creatures.

As soon as they got into the car, they both fell silent.

After several minutes of silence, Captain Merrick finally spoke first: "Warrant Lieutenant God, there's another very important reason why Lieutenant Colonel Grayling was willing to recommend you and promote you to warrant officer while you're still in your probationary period."

He paused, then continued, "He, like you, was also a commoner mage."

"Lieutenant Colonel Grayling is a civilian?" Gao De's eyes widened upon hearing this, which was quite unexpected.

"No wonder Theodore takes Mrs. Emily's last name." Upon hearing this, he immediately thought of the issue of Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's son's last name.

“Yes and no,” Captain Merrick naturally understood the underlying meaning in God’s words and explained, “The surname Laurent is still very prestigious. Even Lieutenant Colonel Grayling is of noble birth. Theodore may not have the surname Laurent, but he will most likely have another child who will take the surname of Mrs. Emily.”

"What is the background of the Laurent family?" Gao De asked again.

He had been in the Plantagenet Dynasty for some time now and had been actively learning about the situation in Byron County. He was no longer the novice he once was and had some knowledge of the upper-middle-class nobles in Byron County, but he had never heard of the Laurent family before.

"You've only been in our Plantagenet dynasty for less than a year, so it's normal that you don't know the Laurent family," Captain Merrick straightened his collar and patiently explained to God.
"Because the Laurent family is not a noble family from our Bairo County, but from Liuge County." "In Liuge County, the Laurent family is a true noble family because they serve the Wangmian family. Their ancestors were once retainers of the Wangmian family, and were later granted noble titles for their merits, thus breaking free from their retainer relationship."

"But even after being granted a title, the first head of the Laurent family still regarded the Wang Mian family as his patriarch and remained loyal to them."

Over the years since, successive heads of the Laurent family have maintained this relationship with the Wang Mian family.

The Wang Mian family was the most prominent noble family in the Plantagenet Dynasty outside of the royal family. Under the protection of the Wang Mian family, the Laurent family also became increasingly prominent. "Captain Merrick said to Godcop.

Upon hearing this, Gaode suddenly understood.

He may not have heard of the Laurent family, but he couldn't possibly have been unaware of the Wang Mian family.

This is a prestigious family that surpasses all the nobles of the Plantagenet Dynasty.

The first patriarch of the Wang Mian family and the first monarch of the Golden Flower Dynasty were as close as brothers.

The Plantagenet dynasty was founded by the two of them. The latter became the monarch, while the other was granted the title of Grand Duke of the Crown, which was the only Grand Duke title in the entire Plantagenet dynasty and was hereditary.

The Liuge County, which possesses mithril mines and silver dragon birds, was granted by the royal family as a fiefdom to the Wangmian family.

Over the years, the Wang Mian family has maintained a close relationship with the Plantagenet royal family, and its status has become increasingly prestigious and stable.

The fact that the Laurent family, who were loyal to them, could become great nobles shows just how high the status of the Wang Mian family was in the Plantagenet dynasty.

"How did Lieutenant Colonel Grayling and Mrs. Emily meet?" After learning about Mrs. Emily's background, Gao De became quite curious.

One was a sea sentinel mage from Byro County, and the other was a member of the Laurent family from Lugo County.

Neither geographical distance nor social status made it any reason for them to meet, let alone become husband and wife.

"In a way, we should also take credit for the French fighting tournament," Captain Merrick said with a slight smile.

"When Lieutenant Colonel Grayling was young, his magical combat ability was also very strong. That year, he was selected as one of the two participating mages in our Sea Sentinel Second Ring Mage Group in the Military Mage Magical Combat Competition."

"And that year's French Bulldog tournament was held in Ruga County."

"When Lieutenant Colonel Grayling went to Lugo County to compete, he met Mrs. Emily by chance. What happened afterward was just like the gossip stories that little girls love to read, and it's not something that outsiders can tell. Speaking of which, Mrs. Emily marrying Lieutenant Colonel Grayling was definitely a marriage of convenience."

"Captain Merrick certainly dares to speak his mind. Isn't he afraid that Lieutenant Colonel Grayling will make things difficult for you if he finds out?" Gao De said with a smirk.

“No need to worry, Lieutenant Colonel Grayling and Mrs. Emily have a very good relationship, so he doesn’t mind it at all, and is even proud of it,” Captain Merrick laughed heartily.

Gao De laughed along, silently increasing his positive impression of Lieutenant Colonel Grayling.

Generally speaking, people who can calmly face the difference in status between themselves and their wives and have a good relationship with their wives are usually not bad people.

“Oh, right,” Captain Merrick clapped his hands, remembering something, and added, “The next military mage competition happens to be held in Lugo County. You should work hard and try to become one of our Sea Sentinels’ participating mages.”

He patted Gao De on the shoulder, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and teased, "Even if you don't get a high ranking, if all else fails, like Lieutenant Colonel Grayling, you could hook up with a noble lady from the Laurent family. That would make the trip worthwhile."

"Back then, Lieutenant Colonel Grayling ranked tenth in his group."

In competitions, my worst result is second place, and that's only because my handwriting was so messy that the grader misread it.
Gao De pursed his lips, but replied with a smile, "No way, then I'd better hook up with a noble lady from the Wang Mian family to make this trip worthwhile."

"Don't even think about it."

Although he knew that Gao De was joking, Captain Merrick still couldn't help but say, "Like the royal family, the Wang Mian family believes in loyalty and fidelity to one's partner, so they are often a single line of heirs."

This generation of the Wang family is somewhat better off than the royal family; at least they have a crown prince and a daughter, unlike the royal family, which only has one prince.

“The Wang family has always had a close relationship with the royal family, and the young ladies of the Wang family also call the prince ‘brother’.”

"In addition, there is only one prince in this generation of the royal family, so the young ladies of the Wang Mian family can be said to be extremely favored. They are more like princesses than princesses. They are the pearls of the Golden Flower Dynasty. They are not people that ordinary people can seduce."

"I see." It was just a joke, said casually. He didn't take the noble and virtuous lady of the Wang Mian family too seriously. Instead, he was more concerned about Captain Merrick's statement that she "believed in being loyal and devoted to her partner."

It sounds familiar.

"I'm home." At that moment, the carriage stopped, and Captain Merrick lifted the carriage curtain to say goodbye to God, thus interrupting God's reverie.

Gao De nodded and said goodbye to Captain Merrick.

After he got off the carriage, it continued to move, carrying Gao De to the sea sentry barracks.

Gaode's thoughts naturally shifted to the more pressing issue of the "adaptive" progress.

[Body injury recovery ability increased by 84.8%].

On this day, he conducted all his social activities while concealing his gruesome injuries with a disguise technique.

To be honest, even he himself felt that he was being a bit too rigid.

Of course, it's hard to say about other aspects, but as for [adaptive technology], as long as you are willing to put in the effort, you will reap the rewards.

The greatest achievement is the progress in adaptation that has taken another big step closer to 100% evolution.

His injuries have recovered by about 30-40%.

With the help of [Comfortable Sleep+], he can get another good night's sleep. When he wakes up tomorrow, his injury should be about 70-80% healed, and it won't affect his second fencing match tomorrow night at all.

Even if it has an impact, it doesn't matter.

According to Gaode, in order to push the adaptation progress to 100% as quickly as possible, one cannot allow oneself to be "completely undamaged".

New injuries should be inflicted before old ones have fully healed, so that the body can be continuously given sufficient stimulation.

Moreover, he now has ample reason to "roll up":

A year and a half later, an extremely important French fighting tournament awaits him.

He is an extremely competitive person, and whenever he participates in a competition, he always aims for first place.

The Golden Flower Dynasty is so vast, with countless genius mages. Gao De doesn't believe that having Wind Spirit Moon Shadow makes him invincible among his peers; he still needs to develop comprehensively.

(End of this chapter)