Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 157 A Rare Day of Leisure

"This is my newly acquired maid. I'll explain the details to you, Mother, later," Richard said with a smile, looking at his mother who looked puzzled.

"Your Excellency Baron Clavel and Baroness, I am your master's new maid, Stephanie Knight."

Stephanie had long realized that Richard's family held a high place in his heart, so she gave the old Baron and Baroness a ladylike bow and spoke with exceptional politeness.

In truth, as the daughter of a hereditary marquis, if the other party hadn't been her master Richard's parents, it would have been normal for a baron to bow to her.

The moment Stephena bent over, several family guards standing watch nearby couldn't help but swallow hard, their Adam's apples bobbing as they whispered among themselves.

"Young Master Richard has excellent taste! I wonder where he found such a beautiful woman to be his maid!"

"I thought that young master Richard's maid Serena was beautiful enough, but I didn't expect that he would find someone even more beautiful now."

"Yeah, I'm so envious! I can't take it anymore, I need to find Freida tonight to vent my frustration."

"."

However, when the old baron heard the name Knight, he frowned, seemingly puzzled. After a moment, he asked, "The Knight family of the kingdom and you?"

"German Knight is the maid's father." Stephania smiled slightly, surprised that Richard's father had such good judgment.

The old baron gaped in surprise, then immediately pulled Richard aside and asked:

"What's going on? How did you end up taking the daughter of a hereditary marquis as your maid?"

Richard gave a wry smile. He should have reminded Stephanie not to reveal her real name.

Now things are really messed up; I'm afraid I'll have to spend a lot of time explaining this to my family.

"Father, this is a long story. I will tell you in detail after dinner."

-

Surrounded by everyone, Richard and Stephanie arrived at the inner castle restaurant. Since the threat of the monsters had been resolved, the entire sumptuous dinner was spent in a happy and lively atmosphere.

As dinner was drawing to a close, Duane, a second-level wizard apprentice of the Ignis school, stood up.

He said to Richard and the others, "Now that Lord Richard has returned safely and the source of the demons has been eliminated, I will return to the school early tomorrow morning. I wish the Clavel family all the best."

Since Duane was supposed to return to the school two days ago, but was delayed until now due to Richard's request, everyone had already expected his departure.

"Thank you, Lord Duan, for protecting the Clavel family over the past six months. Let's raise a glass!" The old baron raised his glass.

Everyone raised their glasses in unison, as a farewell toast to Duan.

After the dinner, Richard privately met with Duane.

"Lord Duan, would it be convenient for us to take a walk together?"

Duan looked at Richard, who was a few years younger than him and only exuded the aura of a first-level wizard apprentice. At this moment, his heart was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.

Even though he had been away from the school for half a year, there must have been many exceptionally talented wizard apprentices emerging within the school, but the one in front of him should still be one of the best, or even the most outstanding one.

However, the other party has always kept a low profile, using some kind of witchcraft to conceal their aura, and has never revealed their true strength.

"Sir Richard, now that I've returned to the school, is there anything I can do for you?"

Richard looked at Duane before him, a second-level wizard apprentice who, according to his father, the Baron, and his brother, Levi, was a very reliable person in both conduct and character.

Li realized that he should give the other party some gifts, which could be considered a deliberate attempt to curry favor.

After all, the other party was entrusted by their mentor, Seras, to protect their family diligently over the past six months.

And just a few days ago, before he even arrived at his family, he didn't hesitate to help his family fight off a monster attack that far exceeded his own strength.

Richard gave a gentle smile and said, "Lord Duan, here are some potions I made that might be of some help to you."

Duan, who had initially intended to refuse, was stunned when he saw Richard pull out dozens of commonly used medicines, including basic mental energy recovery potions and hemostatic agents, neatly arranged in a row.

It wasn't surprising that Richard would make these potions.

He was surprised by the quantity of the medicine, which took him by surprise. It wasn't three or five doses, but thirty or fifty doses.

This would be a huge fortune worth over 500 magic stones, no matter where you put it.

This made Duan hesitate for a moment.

Richard saw the conflicting emotions of longing and hesitation in Duan's eyes, smiled gently, and said, "I hope you will accept this, Lord Duan. This is not only on my behalf, but also on behalf of my father and the Clavel family. Please don't be shy."

Hearing Richard's sincere tone, Duan thought for a moment and then said, "Then I'll accept it without hesitation. Thank you for the gift from the Clavel family."

-

After saying goodbye to Duane, Richard went to the Baron's father's study.

My father, mother, and eldest brother were already waiting in the study.

"Father, I'm sorry to have worried you."

Richard briefly recounted to his family his encounter with the Kingdom's Survey Team in the Silverpine Forest rift, omitting some of the more private details that had occurred between him and Daenerys.

It is said that the kingdom's investigation team, led by a powerful ice wizard, killed a spider woman from the underground race, the source of the monsters.

"Richard, what's the story with that Marquis Knight's legitimate daughter?"

"Hiss! What? Father, you're saying that the maid next to Richard is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Knight, a hereditary marquis family in the kingdom?" Brother Levi blurted out, his eyes filled with unconcealed surprise.

The mother's mouth dropped open as she stared at Richard in astonishment.

Richard touched his nose, also wondering how to tell his family about it.

"Um, this was an accident, about six months ago."

After Richard recounted the story, his family realized that Richard's path to becoming a wizard had not been smooth sailing.

In fact, the danger involved was far greater than if Richard had stayed with the family and become a knight.

As Richard recounted the various intrigues and underhanded tactics he had encountered, the Baroness listened with growing trepidation, glancing at Richard with concern every now and then.

After Richard finished speaking, there was a long silence in the study.

"Alas, Richard, your path as a wizard is not easy. As a family, there is very little we can do to help you. However, we will do everything we can to help you." The old baron sighed, patted Richard on the shoulder, and spoke first.

After thinking for a moment, the old baron turned around and took out a heavy black bag from a hidden cabinet behind his desk, handing it to Richard.

"Here is a thousand gold dinars. I hope this is helpful."

Richard shuddered. A thousand gold dinars was no longer a concern for him; it was less than a hundred magic stones in comparison.

But this is already several years' worth of income for the Clavel family.

It represents the heartfelt wishes of the father and the family.

"Father."

Richard, of course, refused to accept the money. Instead, he gave his father several hundred magic stones and instructed him to carefully store them in the family's secret chamber.

If the family encounters difficulties and cannot contact you for a while, you can use this magic stone to hire a wizard apprentice like Duan to solve the problem.

-

After a long while, Richard returned to his room on the second floor of his inner fortress.

As soon as I sat down, I heard a knocking sound on the door.

Upon opening the door, they found the maid Serena, her pretty face streaked with tears.

"Young Master, I heard the guards saying that you've taken in a new maid, who's much prettier than me. Young Master, are you not going to want me anymore?!"

Serena's large tears slid down her cheeks!

He looked heartbroken.

Richard was both annoyed and amused, thinking to himself, "Why are these family guards so talkative? They're just spreading rumors."

However, for the maid Serena, she was just an ordinary person, and to be honest, Richard didn't want to have too much of a connection with her.

With the help of the Inspiration Panel, he himself will soon be promoted to a full-fledged wizard.

A first-level wizard has a lifespan of two to three hundred years, which is much longer than the lifespan of an ordinary person, which is only a few decades.

He didn't want to experience too much separation and death.

But lifespan is not the most crucial factor.

The most crucial point is that he will continue to strive towards the path of a wizard, constantly exploring dangerous secret realms, ruins, and even places no one has ever been before, in pursuit of the pinnacle of wizardry!

Those places are fraught with danger, and I can't possibly take an ordinary person with me.

Therefore, it would be too cruel to make such a lovely little girl wait for him alone in his own castle for years, or even more than ten years, just for his own one night of pleasure!

"This is baseless, it's a rumor," Richard said, shaking his head.

However, just as Richard finished speaking, a sweet, coquettish voice came from the doorway: "Master, no wonder you stayed in the family for a while, so this is the reason."

As soon as she finished speaking, Serena sprang out of Richard's arms like a startled rabbit. After wiping away her tears, she dared to turn around and look behind her.

Behind him, the woman calling out to her young master as "master" was extremely beautiful. More importantly, she had a curvaceous figure and was noticeably larger than him.

So when Serena looked down at herself and compared herself to others, she immediately felt the difference between the ugly duckling and the swan.

The newcomer was none other than Stephanie, who stared at the two with a mischievous grin.

"Wow!" Serena couldn't help but sob as she ran away.

But she bumped right into Stephena's magnificent breasts and was instantly bounced away, which made Serena blush even more and wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Seeing the little maid fleeing in disarray, Richard smiled wryly and said, "Stephena, what are you doing?"

"Master, if you like it, eat it soon. Why leave it? It won't be fresh and tender if you don't eat it soon," Stephania said with a mischievous grin.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Richard discovered that since Stephena's reincarnation, she seemed to have been influenced by the Spider Woman's physical instincts, becoming increasingly open.

They also increasingly enjoyed teasing and even flirting with him, their master, which left him with mixed feelings of joy and worry.

midnight

There was a rustling sound of clothes being undressed near Richard's bedside.

A moment later, a hot, delicate body slipped into Richard's bed.

"Serena, are you really sure about this?"

"You might not see me again for several years. That long wait will definitely be unpleasant."

Richard certainly knew who the visitor was!

Unexpectedly, Stephania's appearance actually made the little maid Serena more determined.

"Young Master, I've thought it through. I'm willing!"

Looking into the girl's clear eyes, Richard couldn't help but sigh.

I didn't sleep a wink all night.

The next morning, a refreshed Richard told Serena to get some rest and arranged for other maids to take care of her.

He then took Stephanie and strolled around the family castle. When they happened to pass by the training ground, they saw his father, brother and Knight Rollins sparring in the family training ground.

Richard nodded to himself, surprised that his father and brother had been consistently holding morning knight training sessions.

When the sharp-eyed older brother, Li Wei, saw Richard, his face lit up with joy, and he waved, saying, "Richard, how about a match!"

"You've been so busy with your sorcery training that you've had no time to practice swordsmanship. Come, let me test your swordsmanship skills."

Seeing his brother Li Wei's mischievous grin, Richard knew perfectly well what his brother was up to.

Richard smiled slightly and said, "Alright, brother, but the result may not be what you expect."

"Let's make this clear beforehand, no witchcraft allowed. If you do, I can't beat you." The older brother, Levi, seemed to be thinking about Richard's incredible power after using witchcraft, and emphasized this point.

"Of course, no problem!" Richard readily agreed.

Hearing their conversation, Stephanie couldn't help but laugh happily.

Richard never expected to have such an interesting older brother, and his master was quite wicked, actually agreeing to it.

Judging from his master's appearance, he probably doesn't even have the strength of a mid-level knight. For him to spar with his master would be nothing short of asking for a beating.

The old baron and Knight Rollins watched with great interest as the two brothers prepared to have a contest.

The guards nearby, seeing their eldest and second young masters about to have a match, curiously gathered around and whispered among themselves:

"Hey, who do you think would win if the eldest young master and the second young master had a competition?"

"It must be Young Master Richard! Didn't you see the battle before? Young Master Richard's strength was simply divine; he single-handedly killed so many powerful monsters!"

"That's true, but this time Young Master Li Wei said that Young Master Richard cannot use witchcraft, only swordsmanship."

"That's true, but I still believe young master Richard can win!"

"I think that if it's just a swordsmanship contest, then young master Li Wei is definitely more skilled. I've never heard of a wizard being skilled in swordsmanship, so I think young master Li Wei has a better chance of winning this contest."

"How about we make a bet?"

"Alright! Whoever loses buys us a couple of drinks at the tavern, how about it?"

"The tavern is opening so soon? Wasn't it badly damaged?"

"Old Hunter said we should be able to open for business in the next couple of days. What do you say, are you in or not?"

"bet!"

Richard greeted his father and Sir Rollins, then waved his hand, refusing the help of the guards who were offering to put on his armor.

(End of this chapter)