Lorin found it a bit hard to handle Breya’s overwhelming enthusiasm.
Merlin above, was this how passionately Europeans expressed their affection?
“By the way, what were you just talking about?”
“Did Croke, that irresponsible father of yours, make Butler Raynt talk to you on his behalf again?”
“Lorin, baby, how long are you planning to stay home this time?”
The barrage of questions left everyone a bit overwhelmed.
But there was no helping it; Breya was always like this on Lorin’s first day back.
Still, it was much better than the first time Lorin left, when she had spent days washing her face with tears at home…
“What do you mean, irresponsible father?
I was only…”
“Only what?”
Breya glared at Croke, nudged him aside with her hip, and pulled Lorin down to sit beside her.
“If I’d known, I would have bought more today.
But it’s fine—Mr.
Croke doesn’t like oysters anyway, so they’re all yours!”
“It’s fine, Mom.
Let’s just have a normal dinner.”
Every time Lorin called her “Mom,” an uncontrollable smile beamed across Breya’s face.
For nearly twenty years, Breya’s greatest joy had been hearing her child call her “Mom.”
“I’ll be back for about half a month this time.
I have to go to Hogwarts for an interview.”
“After the interview, I should be able to come home and stay for another month.”
Lorin answered the earlier questions, knowing Butler Raynt and his parents cared deeply about his plans.
“Hogwarts?
That magic school in Great Britain?”
Croke opened his mouth, no longer acting as the silent bystander.
“Oh, my lord!
The honorable Mr.
Croke can speak!
So my husband isn’t a mute after all!”
Breya’s theatrical exclamation made Croke open his mouth again, only to shut it in speechless exasperation.
“Haha, alright, Mom.
Father cares about me too.”
Lorin hugged Breya and took a cup of tea from Butler Raynt to hand to her.
“It’s hard to believe.
Who’s the Muggle here?
I always feel like you two know more about magic schools than I do!”
“Muggle?
What a dreadful word.”
Breya frowned as she sipped the black tea, clearly finding the bitterness hard to stomach.
But since her son had handed it to her, she quickly finished it anyway.
Besides, as her son said, drinking tea was good for one’s health…
“Back in the Middle Ages, our ancestors even burned wizards!”
“But since my baby boy is so incredible, what subject are you going to teach at Hogwarts?”
“Transfiguration?
Charms?
It absolutely cannot be Defense Against the Dark Arts!”
As Breya chattered on, Lorin felt she really didn’t seem like a Muggle.
Then again, if the British Prime Minister had met the Minister for Magic, it was only reasonable that his parents, as members of one of the oldest French noble families, would know about wizarding schools.
“It’s none of those, Mom.
I’m just an ordinary Beauxbatons graduate.”
Lorin shook his head.
“I’m going to apply for the position of Hogwarts caretaker.”
“What?!”
“Caretaker!”
“Isn’t that just a servant?
Absolutely not!”
Breya practically leaped up as if she had just grabbed a hedgehog.
“She’s right, son.
You are the most outstanding graduate in the history of Beauxbatons.”
“Just a few days ago, Madame Maxime wrote to me, asking if you’d be willing to stay and teach.
The position of Deputy Head of Beauxbatons is open to you at any time.”
Croke also spoke up, frowning.
Clearly, the proud Gallic roosters could not accept him going to Hogwarts to be a mere caretaker.
“Father, Mother.”
Lorin didn’t get angry.
He explained patiently, knowing his parents only had his best interests at heart:
“My body doesn’t have much time left.”
“Once I pass twenty-six, my bodily functions will begin to decline.”
“My magic won’t be able to sustain me, my body’s blood-producing capability will drop, and I will inevitably die.”
“Only Hogwarts, with its ancient origins, holds the key to curing this bizarre affliction of mine.”
The thought of her most precious son going to Hogwarts to work as an errand-running caretaker filled Breya with immense reluctance.
“But we have other ways!
We can keep providing you with blood.
You don’t need to go to Hogwarts to be a servant!”
“Don’t worry, Mom.
Professor Dumbledore is a benevolent headmaster, and the caretaker isn’t a servant.”
Lorin smiled and pulled a wizarding photograph from his inner pocket.
This was a photo taken last winter when Lorin had invited Fleur to the Alps to see the snow.
Looking at the beautiful girl waving in the photo, even Breya, who was accustomed to the beauties of noble families, couldn’t help but daze.
“Lorin, baby, who is this?”
“The future lady of the Montmorency family, currently a fourth-year student at Beauxbatons: Fleur Delacour.”
Lorin smiled, a trace of unusual tenderness appearing on his face.
“Mom, surely you don’t want me to marry this beautiful girl looking pale and sickly like a vampire in the future.”
“And to rely on other people’s blood just to sustain my weak vital signs, without even the strength to leave behind an heir…”
“Stop!
Say no more!”
Breya gasped for breath and clutched her chest.
Lorin quickly supported his mother and gently patted her back.
Well, he had spoken a bit too harshly and frightened his mother.
“I agree!
Go to Hogwarts!”
Breya spoke somewhat weakly, clearly persuaded by Lorin.
“Yes, go.”
Croke had no objections either, but he frowned slightly as he looked at the photo Lorin had produced.
“A Veela?
Son, you need to be careful.”
“Don’t worry, Father.”
“Good.
Once you’re at Hogwarts, if you face any injustice, let us know.”
Croke set the photo down, patted Lorin’s shoulder, and headed back to his study.
“Listen to your father.
Our Montmorency family can still mobilize tens of thousands of troops.
We still hold quite a bit of influence in Europe…”
Breya pinched Lorin’s cheek and said softly, “Mom will cook for you personally.
Look forward to a delicious feast from your mother!”
“Yes, Mom~”
Lorin smiled.
It wasn’t a polite, ceremonial smile.
This was family.
No matter what happened, they would always go to great lengths to look out for him.
“I’m going to the study to read for a bit.
Call me when dinner is ready, Butler Raynt.”
“Understood, Young Master Lorin.”
Butler Raynt bowed forty-five degrees and instinctively gestured toward the study.
Returning to his study, Lorin abandoned all pretense of elegance.
After closing the door, he collapsed onto the bed, his head spinning.
“Merlin’s beard, it’s getting worse.
In this state, I probably won’t even last two years…”
Lorin muttered to himself, then touched the ring on his left hand and pulled out a dark red book.
This ring was a token given to him by Fleur.
Later, during Lorin’s sixth year, he had expanded both his and Fleur’s rings using the Undetectable Extension Charm.
Although this was unregistered and technically illegal in the wizarding world…
as everyone knew, in the wizarding world, if you weren’t caught, it wasn’t a crime!
Inside Lorin’s ring, his belongings were neatly organized into four sections.
One section was for Lorin’s clothes, containing both Muggle attire and various wizarding robes, though the styles were generally quite lavish.
Another was for Fleur’s clothes; Lorin had prepared several outfits for her, from undergarments to outerwear.
The third was Lorin’s library—some two thousand books in total, all collected over the past seven years.
The final section held a single, solitary dark red book.
This was the very book that had been sucking Lorin’s blood for over seven years, and it was still doing so!
“I want to see what on earth you’re doing with all that blood!”
A flash of gloom crossed Lorin’s handsome, pale face as he flipped open the heavy, dark red tome.
Compared to the blank pages of seven years ago, the book was now densely covered in Ancient Runes.
“Trying to play mysterious?
Good thing I did well in my Ancient Runes class.”
Lorin sneered and began to study it patiently.
“Knight’s Breathing Technique…”
“Sun, moonlight, starlight…”
“Temper the physique, strengthen qi and blood, externalize aura…”
“Swordplay…”
“Oh, come on.
You drank all my blood just to write this nonsense?
Who are you trying to fool, a kid?!”
Looking at the fully revealed knight’s breathing technique, “The Heavenly Scripture”, and a swordplay cultivation method that had only just begun to show its introduction, Lorin laughed out of pure exasperation.
“The Heavenly Scripture?
And I’m the Jade Emperor!”