Chapter 33: Hosting a Banquet (1)

With the scene of delivery in front of the club, everyone quickly learned that the Moonlight Wine was the work of this young mage. Thus, even before Donald’s carriage returned to his estate, various pieces of information about his personal identity and family background were swiftly delivered to those who were interested.

It turned out that the creator of the Moonlight Wine was not only a mage but also a hereditary noble—a summoning apprentice who had previously caused a sensation by defeating the Black Iron Mage. His life had been full of hardships. Decades ago, the Merlin family had been hereditary nobles with lands in the North County, but they later lost their estates and their wealth was scattered, leaving them as fallen nobles. Not long ago, he had even been assassinated by a powerful organization, causing chaos in Castle Stone.

Now, this talented apprentice had officially become a genuine and promising mage. If he were merely a fallen noble without lands—let alone the countless such nobles—there were already hundreds of court nobles in the kingdom with no lands! A noble without lands was indeed insignificant in the eyes of those in power, nothing more than a bug that could be crushed with a finger!

—but now, considering that Mr. Donald was not only a well-established mage but also one of the rare summoners! Such status was enough to keep people in the chaotic Castle Stone from taking excessive actions, despite their envy. Of course, this didn’t mean the “powerful figures” were afraid of Donald: aside from considering his background, the benefits involved weren’t yet significant enough to make them ignore everything else. As a result, these factions didn’t resort to the methods they used against commoners or minor nobles without influence and instead chose to lay low, waiting for other opportunities. This was different from those who saw Donald as an eyesore.

However, just because this genius mage couldn’t be easily moved didn’t mean these factions would give up. Since they couldn’t target him directly, they decided to work on the recipe for the wine instead. So, within just one day, the outside of Dark Night Manor was almost “surrounded” by spies sent by various factions.

What they didn’t know was that the entire area within a two-kilometer radius of the manor was already covered by the natural barrier of the Tree of Life. From the moment the first scout secretly entered this barrier, he was immediately detected by the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life then used telepathy to convey this information to Donald, who was wandering around the manor.

The appearance of the first scout didn’t draw Donald’s attention yet—but soon, more and more figures appeared around the perimeter of the manor. Some even dared to sneak inside, trying to peek around like flies attracted to blood, refusing to leave. Although nothing serious had happened so far, this constant intrusion already annoyed Donald.

On the positive side, the fact that his manor was receiving such attention meant that the forces trying to assassinate him would likely hold back for now. Otherwise, not only would he expose himself to almost all the major factions in the North County, but he might also attract powerful potential enemies.

The upper-class factions in the North County, who were too proud to resort to robbery, would probably be willing to help Donald root out these hidden forces in exchange for the secret recipe for wine.

So while preparing in advance, Donald also ordered the Tree of Life to enter combat readiness. He then used plant activation powers on the plants outside the farm, causing countless weed-like tendrils and vines to grow wildly. These vines trapped the intruding scouts and threw them out of the manor.

This incident made the scouts from various factions realize that their target wasn’t some ordinary minor noble! It was a mysterious and powerful mage!

Their stealth skills might fool ordinary people and low-level melee professionals, but it was difficult to escape the detection of mages with their numerous tactics. As a result, these weaker scouts grew anxious, dared not act rashly, and could only wait outside the manor, monitoring its activities before reporting back to their superiors.

For these spies, whose strength did not exceed that of the Black Iron rank, Donald could easily eliminate them all by summoning a few creatures through the Book of Truth. However, doing so would undoubtedly mean declaring war on all the forces behind these spies. Though unafraid, Donald did not want to incur so much trouble, so he merely sneered inwardly, “I’ll let you go for now. Once my plan is complete and I have enough strength, I’ll ensure the forces behind you dare not make any moves against me again!”
After intimidating those malicious spies, Donald instructed his butler to prepare for the banquet to be held the next day.
As a noble, proper social interactions were crucial. Remembering the previous invitation at Baron Redmaple’s manor, although interrupted by two annoying individuals, it had still brought him significant gains.
With his manor as a foundation, Donald planned to hold his first banquet.
He did not want to be just a mage—no matter how powerful, there would always be things beyond one’s control. Becoming a powerful noble lord was the best way to ensure stability.
As with the threats he faced now, if he were a noble lord with extensive connections and a prominent position in the northern regions like Baron Redmaple, even if those people gave up on attacking him in this peaceful era, they would still have various concerns.
Assassinating an official lord of the kingdom had a completely different impact compared to assassinating a lone mage. Not to mention what the upper echelons of the kingdom would feel if a lord were killed—just the power of public opinion would force the kingdom to explain what happened to that victim.
Even if the perpetrator was also a high-ranking noble, they would sacrifice their former ally to quell public outrage and distance themselves completely from the incident.
Yet, if he, as a noble, remained isolated from the aristocratic circles like those mages who devoted themselves solely to cultivation and research, appearing outside only once every half year, he would inevitably fall out of touch with the nobility, which would be very detrimental to his future plans.
Thus, a banquet was essential. That afternoon, invitations on behalf of the Merlinna family were delivered to the guests invited—Baron Redmaple and Sir Jesse.

Donald had his own reasons for choosing these two candidates. It was good to invite all the nobles in the vicinity, but the manor wasn’t fully built yet and couldn’t accommodate too many guests. Moreover, he had little connection with those nobles, so it would be rash to extend invitations casually. Baron Redmaple was the only local noble near his manor; their relationship was complex—neither friendly nor hostile. Therefore, it was necessary to show such courtesy on the surface to reassure Baron Redmaple as a neighbor. It was also a way to repay him for his previous banquet. As for Sir Jesse, Donald thought he could become a useful contact. Although he was only a noble with a life peerage, he held considerable power and had a thorough understanding of the kingdom’s situation and relationships among various nobles. He was a capable administrator, so it made sense to cultivate such a relationship—there might be a need for his help in the future. At present, aside from these two, Donald’s relationships with other nobles were hardly friendly; most were enemies of the Merlin family. Thus, he didn’t have many other options. Besides, by getting to know these two well-connected nobles, he could also let them know about his situation, which would facilitate his interactions with other nobles in the future.