Chapter 3056: Newcomer
Midnight.
Patrick Black woke with a start.
He had not had a nightmare, nor had he heard anything. Rather, he had sensed a strange summons in his sleep, which was why he woke up. For a wizard—especially one born into an ancient family—any sudden awakening from sleep needed to be treated with caution. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, rolled out of bed, and scanned the room.
This was a private dormitory in Alpha Castle. There were no roommates besides him.
The doors and windows of the private balcony were tightly shut. The bronze mirror hanging beneath the ceiling and the bells on the curtains of the four-poster bed were perfectly still, showing no reaction to external magical intrusion.
On the wall, the Picture Frame containing the portrait of the Black Family's ancestor stood empty. The old fellow had obviously gone off to chat with acquaintances in other Picture Frames around the school again. Patrick felt slightly annoyed, since he had intended to ask whether the old man had noticed anything unusual.
Against the wall stood a dressing table.
Arranged neatly atop it were the things he had prepared before bed for tomorrow's use and wear—from an ivory-handled razor to a Little Dragon Hide belt, a shepherdess's sachet, his Emerald Cufflinks, Gilt Pocket Watch, and Paris-bound spellbook. Everything sat quietly and in perfect order.
Patrick frowned, closed his eyes, and Calm and Focused himself. Soon, he caught that faint, elusive summons again.
He opened his eyes and looked toward the desk in the other corner of the room.
He opened the desk drawer. A Ruby Ring lay atop a piece of velvet, faintly glowing.
This was the identity ring of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Patrick recognized its origin at once. Matthew, an upperclassman from the