Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1291 - 77 Awakening

The octogenarian seemed to feel once again the emotions he had experienced over sixty years ago when, for the first time, he ventured out alone with his family’s allotted funds to independently run a business. Young and inevitably, he failed, ultimately returning home destitute and forlorn. The old man remembered arriving back in his hometown and feeling exactly as he did now, filled with a sense of grievance and yearning, wanting nothing more than to hurry back to his home, yet paradoxically, he lingered outside the town the entire afternoon, unable to take a single step inside. Now the Old Marquis found those feelings returning, urgently wanting to awaken his old friend, to embrace him tightly, to share his longing and remorse. Yet, an unexplainable dread filled the old man’s heart, leaving him torn.

Panic, the word that, following his inner conflict, could only be used to describe the Old Marquis’s current state. Eighty years of life experience had prepared him for his conflicted feelings, which were nearly unavoidable for anyone in this situation. However, the ensuing panic caught him off guard. Now, he found everything around him to be awkward. The rooms were not refined enough; Merlin was from an ancient noble family and had always been particularly choosy about his taste. If he were to see the current room decor, he would undoubtedly tease him for his lack of sophistication. No, it had to be changed immediately. His dress was far too casual and utterly intolerable. His old friend, whenever he appeared in public and wasn’t in his Mage attire, had to be properly dressed, without a single flaw in his outfit. If Merlin saw him in his current attire meant for hosting guests, he would scorn him just as he used to. It would be utterly ridiculous if, after forty years, their first encounter resulted in mockery. So, he had to change clothes now. And the wine, it wasn’t right. Such wine couldn’t possibly be used to celebrate Merlin’s return; it would be an insult to him. It was laughable to consider the expensive Mackinway Town wines sold on the market—merely baubles to deceive the vulgar. If it wasn’t the thirty-five-year-old fine vintage personally crafted by Old Levin from the Levin Family Winery, how could he let his old friend drink it? Quickly, bring over the only bottle from the wine cellar. And the glasses, the glasses! Do you really intend to serve Old Levin’s vintage in these crystal glasses with wave patterns? Ridiculous, get me the clear crystal glasses, now, immediately. And then, and then...

In the span of a minute, the old man summoned more than ten servants, directing this troop frantically as though he had gone mad, trying to set everything according to his vision. Perhaps his thoughts were nearing disarray, and he himself could hardly discern what he was aiming for. Sometimes, he would issue an order only to overturn it minutes later, leaving the servants confused about what they were supposed to do. These well-trained household servants were also surprised; in their memory, their old master was always well-planned and never seen to lose composure like today.

After toiling for an hour in several drawing rooms on the second floor, Marquis Snape had yet to find a satisfying arrangement. If Catherine hadn’t intervened, unable to bear the sight and firmly led the old man into a seat on the soft chair, the work would have likely continued onward, potentially lasting till the next morning, without any result. Fortunately, Catherine was there. The knight girl did everything she could to calm the muddled Old Marquis, saying with frustration, "Grandpa Snape, please spare these servants; they don’t know what to do anymore. It’s just a temporary meeting to chat with your old friend, no need to be so formal or work these servants to death. Even if you won’t consider them, think of the butler who has served you for over fifty years. He is not much younger than you and is still bustling around."

"Miss, it’s alright. The master hasn’t been this happy for many years," the old butler, who had been called over earlier and had been assisting Marquis Snape with directing the servants, finally had the opportunity to catch his breath and, wiping the sweat from his forehead, said, "Although I don’t know what happened, being able to make the master a bit happier is my honor."

"Let’s do this; I’ll take charge here for now," Catherine thought for a moment and, using her status, spoke as if she were truly the Snape Family’s young lady: "Grandpa Snape, that’s okay, right? Good, then Mr. Butler, you can arrange that; just tidy up this room a little, and there’s no need to change anything else. As for Grandpa Snape’s clothes, they’re fine as they are, no need to change. Oh, and the wine, Mr. Butler, we must bring the wine Grandpa Snape mentioned earlier, now, immediately. Cough, cough, it’s not that I want to taste it beforehand, I am just fulfilling Grandpa’s request."

Regardless of Catherine’s intentions, with a coherent commander, the room was soon tidied up under the butler’s direction. Although the Marquis was still dissatisfied, given that it was Catherine’s decision, the old man couldn’t say much except to sigh helplessly. Seeing the Old Marquis’s attitude, Catherine and Pannis exchanged a glance and surreptitiously winked at each other. Catherine took the Mithril Coins from the old man’s hand and said seriously, "Everything is ready now; there is just one crucial issue left to address."

"What’s the problem?" the Old Marquis asked in confusion, "Isn’t the only thing left to do awakening Merlin?"

"Yes, this is precisely the crucial issue," Catherine nodded solemnly, speaking gravely, "Who knows how to wake Grandfather up?"

Marquis Snape’s mouth twitched, and he stared at Catherine with a bizarre look for quite some time before turning his gaze to Pannis, and said through clenched teeth, "Mr. Kyle, what on earth have you taught little Catherine?"

"Huh?" Pannis said innocently, "What does this have to do with me?"

"She was never this mischievous before," the Old Marquis said with a mixture of laughter and lament, "Now... how come..."

Before the old man could finish his sentence, he was interrupted because he saw a puff of smoke rising from Catherine’s hand, which was fashioned into a smug, triumphant smile. The smoke quickly transformed into a vague humanoid figure by her side. The figure appeared to be a man in his forties, wearing a crisp and perfectly fitting Mage’s robe and a pointed Mage’s hat, with neatly groomed facial hair and an air of Elegance and nobility. With a face resembling Catherine’s, Snape didn’t need to look closely to recognize that this was exactly how Merlin looked over forty years ago when he last departed, unchanged in the slightest. As he touched his own wrinkled face and then looked at the youthful image of Merlin, the Old Marquis felt an especially complex mix of emotions and stared at the other with tears streaming down.