To demonstrate the finger bone’s power, Butler Sheldon deliberately cast the spell on Charles first.
Using the magic was simple: all he had to do was tap the finger bone against the spot between the eyebrows. It had to be precise to work.
The instant the finger bone touched him, George’s mouth fell open. Charles had vanished from his sight!
“Mr. Sheldon, Mr. Charles has disappeared!” George cried in a panic.
Even the normally patient old butler could not tolerate the lowly male servant’s stupidity. He glared at him fiercely. “Shut up. Don’t speak, and don’t say our names!”
George clapped a hand over his mouth.
“This is the magic I was talking about. We’ll be invisible, and no one will be able to discover us.” Sheldon tapped George and then himself with the finger bone. “Hurry up. Let’s steal the silverware first.”
The three invisible men could still see one another. Together, they headed toward the manor house.
On the way, Sheldon who was still uneasy snapped a branch from a shrub and made George hold it between his teeth to keep him from making a sound.
The theft went remarkably smoothly. They knew the manor, and George knew where the silverware was kept. Half an hour later, they decided not to push their luck. Carrying the silverware in a bundle of cloth, they left the house and hurried across the courtyard.
As they approached the outer wall, they saw the manor’s main gate and a figure standing in front of it.
It was someone they knew: Simon, once a lowly male servant and now a first-rank male servant.
Simon stood in the moonlight, holding a gold pocket watch. He seemed to be studying its hands, while the chain hanging beneath it swayed gently.
George stopped and turned toward Sheldon, with the branch still clenched between his teeth.
Sheldon whispered, “He can’t see us. Keep moving!”
The three men stepped lightly past Simon, heading toward the open gate behind him.
None of them noticed that the gold chain in Simon’s hand had been moving in a strange fashion the entire time, continually pointing in three directions… the very directions in which they were moving.
Simon snapped his pocket watch shut and turned around. “Mr. Sheldon, what are you doing?”
What?
Sheldon and his two companions turned in astonishment.
“You can see us?”
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”
“Get him! Subdue him, quickly!”
Sheldon made an immediate decision and called on his companions to attack.
There were three of them, and only one of him! They were certain to win!
The three men who were certain to win were knocked to the ground by Simon alone.
Sheldon took a side kick and collapsed, clutching his kidney; Charles was tripped by a sweeping kick and cracked his head open; George fell over on his own, and the branch in his mouth struck the ground, leaving his mouth full of blood.
“Stop! We surrender!” Sheldon hurriedly raised his hands.
However, Simon ignored them and continued kicking and striking their bodies. He regretted it too. He could determine the three men’s positions through the [Finding Ritual] and their voices, but he could not see their movements clearly. To prevent them from fighting back, he had no choice but to keep attacking.
More than ten minutes passed before the finger bone’s effect wore off and the three men’s bodies became visible. Simon finally stopped kicking.
He picked up the cloth they had used to wrap the silverware, twisted it into ropes, and tied them up.
“Why could you see us?” Sheldon could not understand. The finger bone’s effect should not have expired yet.
“Why wouldn’t I be able to see you?” Simon asked.
He really had not seen the three of them, but he could not admit that. It was normal for a male servant to know a little hand-to-hand combat; knowing Mysticism was another matter entirely.
“We used magic, with that finger bone of Mr. Sheldon’s,” George blurted out.
Simon gave him a thumbs-up, then searched Sheldon’s coat and took out the finger bone. “You actually believe in this stuff?”
He laughed mockingly and raised his hand, making as though to throw it away.
“No!” Sheldon stared intently in that direction.
He gritted his teeth and said to Simon, “There’s still time. You can choose to let us go. We can leave the manor together and split the silverware equally! The gold pounds we get from selling it will be enough for us to become small landowners in the countryside!”
Simon stuffed the remaining cloth into their mouths.
Several lamps lit up inside the house. A few servants had heard the commotion and got up to investigate.
***
Another peaceful and wonderful day.
In the morning, Miss Elisa sat up and stretched vigorously.
[The Young Lady’s Late-Night Lessons] had not activated at all during the night, which meant that the male servant really had spent the entire night playing with Mysticism rituals.
He’s a grown man, yet he’s still so immature.
Miss Elisa sighed helplessly and opened [Simon’s Log] to see what little baby Simon had been playing with.
By default, the log displayed whatever Simon was currently doing first.
[Simon is studying invisibility magic.]
“..…?”
A question mark appeared in Elisa’s mind.
When did I ever teach you an invisibility spell?
[Simon walked past Nora, the kitchen maid, and brushed her hair. Nora looked around in confusion but did not discover Simon.]
[Simon has confirmed that he possesses the ability to become invisible.]
“???”
How did you actually manage to turn invisible?!
Even I need the corresponding talisman to use an invisibility spell!
What on earth happened last night?! Did I sleep myself stupid?!
Elisa rapidly scrolled through [Simon’s Log], checking the history.
[…In the middle of the night, three thieves broke into the manor.]
Elisa clutched her head.
What, thieves?!
Why are there thieves again?!
There was no time to think about invisibility. The thieves who had appeared were a much more urgent matter. After all, most of my wealth is in the manor!
Damn it. To avoid exposing my identity as a transcendent, I only set up a warning spell in my bedroom. Although most of my gold pounds and jewelry are kept there, a small portion is still outside.
Including the 1,000 pounds I gave the head maid for the manor’s operating expenses, as well as those valuable silverware and works of art!
My money!
Elisa quickly scanned the floating screen, searching for the final amount of her losses.
[…Simon discovered the thieves and subdued them.]
Oh, so he subdued them.
Elisa breathed a sigh of relief. Her gold pounds were safe!
Well done! As expected of my number one male servant!
Elisa went back and reviewed what had happened. The thieves had used an invisibility ability, and the male servant had only managed to determine their positions by using the [Finding Ritual].
The [Finding Ritual] can be used like that? So that’s where the invisibility magic came from.
Now a new question arose: how had that damned male servant discovered the thieves?
Even if a normal person couldn’t sleep at night, they wouldn’t think to use the [Finding Ritual] to search for thieves, would they? The thieves had stolen silverware, and they hadn’t even passed through the servants’ quarters.
As Elisa flipped through [Simon’s Log], she speculated. Could it be that the male servant had wanted to make off with the silverware himself, only to run into some fellow thieves?
Many people who had only just mastered [Mysticism] quickly strayed down the wrong path.
Having finished reading the earlier records, Elisa turned to the later entries.
[When the thieves’ invisibility magic wore off and their true appearances were revealed, Simon sighed. As expected, they were Sheldon, Charles, and George.]
The former butler and former male servant? And that ordinary male servant who dropped the silver pot yesterday.
[Sheldon invited Simon to join them and split the silverware. The upright, incorruptible, benevolent, and handsome Mr. Simon refused them without hesitation.]
Thinking of her earlier suspicion, Elisa immediately blushed.
Although the description “incorruptible” was open to debate, a male servant who could resist such a temptation couldn’t be a bad person. That silverware could sell for at least a hundred pounds!
After apologizing to the male servant in her heart, Elisa reviewed the entire incident and noticed a particular word.
The record said, “Simon sighed. As expected, they were Sheldon…” What did “as expected” mean?
The male servant had known it was them all along?
How come I didn’t know that you knew all along? Were you hiding information in the [Log]? How devious!
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