What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Half a month later, at night, Helenburg. Marquis Veronia’s private estate was brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Carriages passed through the open ornate iron gates one after another, entering the courtyard that resembled a plaza. The courtyard had spacious roads wide enough for carriages to pass through freely.

On both sides of the road were shrubs trimmed into various shapes, decorated with all kinds of flowers, while a fresh and faint fragrance filled the air.

There was also a stream in the garden that seemed to have been drawn from somewhere unknown. Clear spring water flowed from the mouth of a lion carved from marble on the outer wall, following the waterways through the garden. The road crossed over the stream, with a delicate little bridge built above it.

The guests’ carriages entered the deepest part of the courtyard along the road, stopping one after another before the steps leading to the entrance of the estate’s banquet hall.

The coachmen handed the invitations to the servants responsible for reception. After learning the identities of the guests through the invitations, the servants approached the carriages and greeted the guests.

Then, the elegantly dressed nobles, supported by servants, stepped down from their carriages and walked up the steps along the laid-out red carpet.

“Thank you for honoring us with your presence at the banquet, Viscount Arend, and Viscountess.” The servant bowed beside the carriage and greeted them.

Leon, dressed in formal attire, accompanied Adele as they stepped down from the carriage and walked up the steps along the red carpet.

“We came after all...” Adele held onto Leon’s arm and sighed inwardly.

Leon had only spent one day considering it before firmly deciding to attend the banquet. Adele had no way to stop him.

The last time she had attended a banquet in her memory was when she was only twelve years old. At that time, after putting on a dress and arranging her hair, she had looked like a delicate doll. Everyone who saw her would reveal a knowing smile and praise her grandfather for having such a beautiful and adorable granddaughter.

But this time attending a banquet, she could not even pick out a decent dress. After becoming an adult, she had almost never bought a new dress. Her other formal clothes were not suitable for this kind of banquet. In the end, Leon had directly given her money and had her urgently commission one.

The beige long dress decorated with flowers matched her fair skin perfectly. Her pale golden hair was braided and arranged behind her head. Relying on her outstanding beauty, she still had the ability to become the focus of a banquet.

But Adele had long passed the stage where she would feel excited over such things. She knew that with her family’s reputation already spread outside, no matter how beautifully she dressed herself now, it had little meaning.

When the servant was greeting them, as the title of Viscount Arend was announced, Adele keenly noticed that the middle-aged guest who had already walked ahead onto the steps looked back at them. The husband and wife began whispering to each other. Guests who had gotten off their carriages at around the same time on the other side also looked at them a few more times.

Fortunately, Adele was already accustomed to this kind of situation.

She glanced sideways at Leon. Leon, however, showed no sign of caring at all, or perhaps he simply had not noticed the reactions of others.

There was nothing she could do anymore.

The education she had received from her grandfather since childhood made Adele understand that showing hesitation in such a situation would only make others look down on her more. She could only straighten her chest, draw in her abdomen, and elegantly hold onto Leon’s arm, ignoring those gazes and discussions as she entered the estate’s banquet hall.

The magnificent banquet hall had already gathered a considerable number of guests. Most people had already found acquaintances, either standing together in groups or sitting around the several arranged round tables, chatting and laughing in groups of three or five.

Before setting out, Adele had suggested that Leon should not arrive too early, because that would greatly extend the socializing time before the banquet began.

The Viscount Arend family currently had no status in social circles and no noble friends they regularly interacted with. Arriving early would probably only mean the two of them sitting there awkwardly, extending the time they were treated like rare animals being observed.

However, Leon did not particularly care about this. In the end, he chose a time that was neither too early nor too late.

“There are quite a lot of people.” Leon commented.

According to Johnny, the nobles invited this time all had one thing in common: among their main family members, someone held an official rank within the Church.

Even with such a condition added, the number of people still somewhat exceeded Leon’s expectations.

But thinking about it carefully, it was not strange. People with official positions within the Church and those from noble families originally had a high degree of overlap. The Church’s middle and upper-level forces were mainly composed of nobles.

When he had taken the rank examination, the candidates around him were basically all from noble families. Someone like him, a commoner who had risen through achievements, was considered a rare creature.

If he had not suddenly inherited the title of Viscount Arend, he actually would not have met the invitation requirements for this banquet.

Although she had prepared herself mentally long ago, after entering the venue and facing so many gazes, Adele’s eyes shifted slightly.

Judging only by appearance, Leon was not particularly eye-catching, but her own face made it difficult for people not to look twice. Many people immediately recognized her and began discussing among themselves.

“Isn’t that Miss Adele? The Viscount Arend family can also receive an invitation?” Someone was surprised by her appearance.

“The person beside her is not her father, is he? Eh, the ring on that man’s hand...” Someone else noticed the family crest ring Leon wore, indicating that he was the head of the family, meaning the holder of the title.

“You actually don’t know? Someone inherited the Arend title half a month ago.” Someone began showing off his well-informedness.

“The son-in-law inherited it?”

“No, it was bought.”

“The debt was probably close to thirty million, right? Someone was willing to buy that broken island?”

“Was he captivated by that face? In this way, Viscount Arend can also be considered to have sold his daughter for a good price.”

“He’s very young. He must be the son of some wealthy family. If he has enough money to buy a title, he should at least have chosen something good.”

“Heh, what kind of vision can you expect from a nouveau riche? Speaking of which, wasn’t Old Lovelace the same? He donated money to the city hall while he was wealthy and obtained the title. They are actually quite well matched.”

……

Everyone discussed quietly from a distance. Adele could not hear the specific content from where she stood, but she was all too familiar with those teasing gazes. With just a little imagination, she could understand what these people were discussing.

“You look a little nervous?” Leon noticed that Adele’s expression had darkened slightly.

“No, it is just... exactly as expected. I doubt you can imagine how those people are discussing us right now.” Adele quietly sighed.

“Are those people really that important to you?” Leon replied.

“If you truly did not care about other people’s opinions, you should not have come here.” Adele replied in a lowered voice. Noble social interactions were all aimed at maintaining and raising one’s status within the circle.

“I came here to see which people here have value to me. I am not interested in those without value. Besides, if what you say is true, Viscount Arend is already a joke. Whether we come or not, our reputation will not change.

No matter how much we make a fuss, we will not suffer any loss. What is there to worry about? On the contrary, if we can find opportunities in a place like this and connect with valuable people... don’t you think it is worth trying?” A smile appeared on Leon’s lips.

He had climbed from being an enforcer at the bottom of the Church to his current position. Abandoning useless dignity in order to seize benefits was something he was extremely familiar with.

Adele looked at Leon in surprise. This way of thinking was something she, who had been taught the importance of dignity since childhood, did not possess.

But after thinking carefully, from a merchant’s perspective, what Leon said actually made sense.

Their reputation was already like this. No matter how much they embarrassed themselves or became the subject of ridicule, it would remain the same.

But if they could seize some opportunity and establish a connection with someone, even if it was only becoming familiar faces, as long as that person was valuable to them, they would have gained something.

This kind of “business” seemed truly guaranteed to bring profit without loss.

After finishing speaking, Leon noticed several people at a nearby table secretly looking at them and laughing. Without any hesitation, he looked directly at them with a smile in his eyes.

The people there became awkward when they met his gaze. Leon nodded toward them politely, and they could only nod back with awkward smiles before avoiding his gaze.

Adele stared absentmindedly at Leon’s profile. This husband of hers in name had not been shaken at all by her family’s reputation. He walked calmly and naturally through such a social setting, and for some reason... made people feel rather reliable.

People began gradually noticing this new Viscount Arend, and finally someone realized something.

“Eh, isn’t this person... Inquisitor Set?”

“I remember he was the Director of the Inquisition in Hamel Town.”

“What is going on? Viscount Arend? Are they the same person?”

Among those present, many people held positions within the local Church and had also attended the gathering held at the Archdiocese Church during the Holy Spirit Festival. Naturally, some of them still had impressions of Leon Set.

One had to know that on that day, Set had spoken with two Archbishops and Weiss Rogers, the Saintess of the Church of the Creator who later became the center of the incident. He had also been introduced to Earl Foyle, who had come as a guest, and had received personal encouragement from him.

Of course, they also remembered that Leon Set, who had attracted attention at that gathering, was a rare Church official who came from a commoner background. It was precisely the contrast of his origins that made him memorable.

This time, Leon was wearing formal clothing, his appearance was somewhat different, and he carried the title of Viscount Arend, so the others had not recognized him immediately.

Adele also began noticing that everyone’s gazes were gradually concentrating on Leon, and the expressions in their discussions had clearly changed.

At this moment, an old man who had been happily chatting with others heard the discussions nearby and immediately became interested.

He turned around and looked around. Then he passed through the other guests and walked toward Leon’s direction. The moment he saw Leon, a surprised expression appeared on his face.

Soon, Leon also saw him and their eyes met.

Archbishop Miller.

“Ah...” Leon inwardly called out that something was wrong, feeling like a student who had failed to do homework and was caught by the teacher.

He remembered that Father Auden had said Archbishop Miller came from a prestigious family and also held the title of Archbishop. Being invited by the marquis was almost inevitable.

Archbishop Miller immediately walked quickly toward Leon. Leon immediately took the initiative to bow. “Archbishop Miller, long time no see.”

Archbishop? And Miller... Adele remembered that it seemed to be the surname of an earl family.

After hearing the identity of this elegantly dressed old gentleman, Adele was genuinely shocked inwardly.

“Inquisitor Set, you were also invited by the marquis?” Archbishop Miller asked in confusion. This banquet should only have invited people born into noble families.

“Yes. Just after I inherited the title from my father-in-law, I received the invitation.” Leon smiled in response. “I am now Viscount Arend.”

“You are married? Then this beautiful lady...” Archbishop Miller looked toward Adele.

“This is my wife, Adele. Her father was kind enough to entrust both her and the title to me temporarily.” Leon replied with a smile.

“It is my honor to meet you, Archbishop.” Adele also bowed.

“The honor is mine, Viscountess.” Archbishop Miller responded kindly. His mind was focused entirely on academics. He neither knew Viscount Arend nor understood those rumors. “Ah, you and your father have chosen a talented, humble, and studious young man. You truly have good judgment. I sincerely congratulate you.”

“Thank you.” Adele responded with an appropriate smile and also smiled while looking at Leon beside her, but countless questions arose in her heart.

Talented, humble, and studious? This archbishop was talking about... this person!?