He did not underestimate Ian because of Ian's youthful appearance; instead, he felt that it was proof of power. Rejuvenation is a legendary feat in many stories.
Seeing the Duke's gaze with an inexplicable feeling, Ian sensed the other's emotions, narrowed his eyes slightly, and had a spontaneous guess in his heart.
"Duke, I wonder if the wizards you speak of might be from an organization called Soul Hall?" After saying this, the little wizard clearly felt a fluctuation in the Duke's emotions.
"..."
It really was so.
"Oh, my, you let a filthy muck name me?" Morgan also noticed her father's change and immediately thought of the shadow Ian had captured.
Describing it as muck.
It's quite an apt metaphor.
"Uh..."
The Duke actually didn't want to bring this matter to light, but now seeing Ian and his daughter's reaction, he finally confirmed his previous suspicion.
As expected, the powerful wizards of Soul Hall met their match before his daughter's teacher; judging by Morgan's attitude... that mysterious wizard seemed to be lacking in both display and combat ability?
Before the Duke could make a concrete judgment, he saw Morgan stand up and walk to Ian's side, exchange glances with him, and then pull out a bottle from Ian's robe.
It was the bottle containing the soul of the Big Bad Wolf. Having witnessed Ian's Animagus form, the Big Bad Wolf huddled in the corner of the bottle, behaving like a tame pet.
Even if others couldn't see its form through the shadow, they could sense it from its shadowy shape—this was the Duke's first time seeing such a silent Soul Hall wizard.
"..."
He hadn't expected a Soul Hall wizard to be captured inside a transparent bottle.
"I quite like my name, but does this thing really have the power of blessing?" Morgan shook the bottle in her hand, questioning the strength of the Big Bad Wolf inside.
The Big Bad Wolf remained silent, offering neither response nor rebuttal. The Duke and Duchess felt somewhat awkward, unsure how to respond.
"We merely have some dealings with Soul Hall, not much acquaintance." The Duke thought more about it, glanced at the little wizard, and immediately began to distance himself from Soul Hall.
That indeed was the truth.
"It's alright, I am quite familiar with Soul Hall... not really an adversarial relationship." Ian spoke honestly, though his act of imprisoning a Soul Hall wizard clearly undermined this statement's credibility.
The Duke pretended to believe him.
But seeing Ian seemingly unconcerned about it, the Duke also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Morgan, who still seemed somewhat dissatisfied, and glanced at the bottle in Morgan's hand.
"No, child, the one who blessed you certainly wasn't this Soul Hall wizard." His words made Morgan raise an eyebrow, unable to resist the urge to inquire further.
"What kind of wizard is it then?"
Obviously.
Morgan cared a lot about this question.
The Duke pondered for a moment.
"Well, like I said, we don't know much about Soul Hall, so I can only tell you, child..."
The Duke carefully chose his words, raised his hand, and gently rotated it back and forth, "It's another... um, in your words, another shadow like a heap of muck."
Seeing his daughter's speechless expression again.
The Duke immediately showed a father's affection.
"Believe me, dear, the wizard who named you is an even bigger heap of muck, which I believe definitely means she's much, much stronger."
The Duke's voice was firm.
However.
The expression of emotion was clearly somewhat uncertain.
"?????"
Morgan opened her mouth.
Ultimately, she did not retort against her old father on the spot.
And at that moment.
"Duke, do you truly not know the name of the Soul Hall wizard who named Miss Morgan?" Ian did not care about the size of the shadow; he was only interested in the emotional fluctuations he detected.
Sure enough.
Seeing Ian speak up and even look up at himself, the Duke opened his mouth like his daughter but, after weighing things for a moment, chose to speak.
"Regarding that, I have an uncertain answer; it was a name I heard from another Soul Hall wizard when I saw two of them at the same time."
The Duke looked at his daughter, as if caught up in some memory, recalling the night when he first encountered a Soul Hall wizard after Morgan was born.
"What was it?"
Ian opted not to use Legilimency, politely asking again. And the Duke, after setting down the dinner plate he was holding, once again gazed at the glass bottle in Morgan's hand.
"If I remember correctly, it should be a leader-level wizard within the Soul Hall organization, known by other Soul Hall wizards as..." The Duke paused momentarily here.
"Cinderella."
He lowered his voice.
Slowly and softly uttered a name.
"Indeed."
Ian appeared slightly shocked but unfazed; if the Big Bad Wolf existed, having Cinderella emerge wasn't difficult to understand.
This so-called Soul Hall.
It seems to embody characters from fairy tales one after another. Just as the Big Bad Wolf mentioned during its introduction. They were all part of a fairy tale, a continuation of the story.
As the little wizard sketched the information about Soul Hall in his mind.
The Duke spoke again.
"I still remember, at the time, that Soul Hall wizard came to my house with her companion, though I haven't seen her companion since."
"But I still remember the details about that wizard." Whatever the reason for the Duke's enthusiasm, he voluntarily divulged information about Soul Hall to Ian.
"You also heard that wizard's name?"
Ian speculated.
The Duke nodded again.
"To be precise, it was my wife who interacted with that wizard… She was unwell after giving birth to Little Morgan, and that wizard had concocted a magic potion for her."
He looked at his wife, Lady Igraine.
Clearly.
Lady Igraine was reluctant to "betray" the wizard who had once aided her, yet seeing her husband's resolute gaze, she could only sigh helplessly.
"Indeed, yes, I conversed with that wizard for quite a while; like other Soul Hall wizards, she was obscured by shadows, though she willingly told me her name." Lady Igraine spoke as she glanced at her husband, seemingly not understanding his shifting stance.
Perhaps.
Her husband knew some more hidden information about their daughter's teacher? Thinking thus, the conflicted Lady Igraine had no choice but to make a decision internally.
"Let me guess, Belle? Dorothy? Esmeralda? Pocahontas? Or Maya or Alice?" Ian rattled off several female characters from fairy tales.
He noticed the Duke and Duchess using female pronouns for the Soul Hall wizard.
"No… it's not."
Lady Igraine glanced at Ian with a slightly odd expression.
She spoke softly.
"She told me her name was Lily Evans, a Magic Potion Scholar." As the saying goes, words can be shocking; Lady Igraine perhaps felt this name was hard to trace.
But Ian and Riddle were stunned upon hearing it.
"Snap~"
Riddle dropped his dinner knife onto the plate; given his post-revival research into history, he was well aware of his original self's past encounters.
"Did you say, Lily? Lily Evans?" Ian couldn't believe his ears, even with mental preparation; he hadn't expected to hear this name.
The mother of Harry Potter, his old uncle's cherished dream… how could she be in Soul Hall! Hiss! Was it because Hogwarts was also a fairy tale!?
But that's ridiculous!
Lily in Soul Hall.
Old Potter in the Misty Illusion Realm alone?