"Dear Wenxiu Lord,
I received the owl you sent over, and I hope you can come and take it away as soon as possible. This bird-brained creature with a brain smaller than a pine nut almost knocked over my potion cabinet today..."
Wenxiu Lord's gaze drifted downward, where a long paragraph detailed the owl's various offenses, leaving him somewhat amused and exasperated.
He had originally instructed Sebastian to send a fast letter-delivering owl. He hadn't expected it to be fast, just rather disobedient.
Reading further, the letter contained little else. Aside from the owl's rap sheet and the little Half-Blood Prince's pages steeped in venom, the remainder was entirely composed of various potion questions.
Wenxiu Lord had originally intended to master Apparition in the manor over the next couple of days before going to find Severus. Now, however, that poor owl would just have to rely on its own survival skills; he hoped Severus wouldn't kill and silence the bird simply because it could still deliver mail.
Though he felt a twinge of sympathy for Severus, his written tone was filled with a certain schadenfreude, assuring him that he would definitely come visit in a couple of days.
Watching Sebastian take the reply letter away, Wenxiu Lord couldn't help offering a parting instruction: "When you go deliver the letter, properly whip that owl into shape."
"Yes, sir," Sebastian replied with a smile, bowing respectfully as he left the study.
Wenxiu Lord stretched lazily and walked out onto the balcony, where the wind carried flower petals swirling around him. Looking down, he saw a rolling sea of champagne-white blossoms.
The climate in the manor had been magically altered to be a pleasant spring year-round. Feeling thoroughly refreshed, Wenxiu Lord thought it would be an absolute shame not to bring Severus here to enjoy such fine scenery sooner.
With a single thought of the flowerbed in his mind, only a few wind-blown petals remained on the balcony.
Wenxiu Lord stumbled as he steadied himself in the center of the sea of flowers, patting his left side, feeling his right, running his hands all over himself, until he finally discovered a bald patch on the crown of his head accompanied by a faint stinging sensation in his scalp.
"Hiss—" Wenxiu Lord reached up and touched it, his hand coming away smeared with bright red. He hurriedly retrieved a bottle of concentrated Dittany Essence from his system inventory and, gritting his teeth against the pain, poured it over the wound.
While the wound healed, the hair was truly gone. Wenxiu Lord rubbed his smooth crown and let out a long sigh.
"Sebastian."
Sebastian's figure appeared before Wenxiu Lord. "Head of the family, what are your orders?"
"Go help me buy a few bottles of hair growth potion."
"Understood, Head of the family."
"Wait," Wenxiu Lord called out to Sebastian, who was about to leave. "You know how to use Apparition, right?"
Sebastian froze at the question, not expecting the Head to suddenly ask such a thing. However, his professional training and absolute loyalty prompted a prompt reply.
"Yes, Head of the family. To complete the tasks you assigned more efficiently, the system has granted me the ability to use Apparition within the manor, second only to you."
Wenxiu Lord didn't care about the details; as long as he knew Sebastian could Apparate, that was enough. "Go buy the hair growth potion first, and when you get back, teach me Apparition."
"Yes."
Wenxiu Lord rubbed the back of his head, the touch only making his heart ache more. He just hoped the newly regrown scalp wouldn't ruin his hair density.
Over the next few days, the two of them kept up a steady correspondence, exchanging at least two letters a day, which finally wore that stubborn owl down into docility.
Wenxiu Lord, who had been full of confidence and assumed he could master Apparition in two or three days, was met with a series of closed doors. Although his mind possessed an abundance of experience, this particular magic required a deep familiarity with the environment.
With Sebastian's guidance, it still took Wenxiu Lord nearly a week to thoroughly master the magic.
Compounding matters, during his very first attempt at Apparition, the splintering effect had targeted his scalp. Although the Potter family's hair growth potion worked wonderfully, Wenxiu Lord always felt that the patch of missing hair didn't grow back quite right.
Half a month slipped by in this fashion. Although the two continued to exchange letters during this period, both of them grew increasingly busy, often leaving no time to write back.
Severus was managing relatively well; as his proficiency in brewing improved, a potion shop began actively offering him regular orders. Though busy, he was still able to cope.
Wenxiu Lord, on the other hand, felt so busy he scarcely had time to eat or sleep.
Earlier, as his character background progress bar neared completion, Eileen Snape—the woman who had severed ties with the Prince Family and lived in Muggle society for over a decade—had already discovered his true identity.
Now that he had returned to the manor, those families and enterprises funded by or partnered with the Lorde Family were like stray dogs catching the scent of meat, dispatching letters one after another to test the young Head.
Poor Wenxiu Lord spent his days outside of necessary activities and practicing Apparition sitting in the study, drafting replies to letters composed of piles of empty, flowery fluff.
Finally, Wenxiu Lord chose to completely check out. He tossed his quill onto the desk, leaned back in his chair, and stared up at the ceiling.
"Ah, these people... To think I was anxious for days, only for it all to be utter nonsense. Tsk."
Wenxiu Lord turned his head to look at Sebastian, who was buried beneath a pile of letters beside him. "Sebastian, I leave these letters to you. Handle the replies however you see fit. I trust you."
He stood up, placed both hands on Sebastian's shoulders, and looked at his reliable butler with a steadfast gaze.
"Since these people all want to test my bottom line, I'll give them the opportunity. Go set a date and make preparations; I'm going to host a banquet in the manor.
Also, have Severus's reply from the past two days delivered to the sitting room of my bedroom."
With that, he grabbed some paper and pen and hurried out of the study. He truly couldn't bear to stay there another second.
He hadn't read Severus's reply in two days, and since it was the weekend, he had no idea if Severus and Lily had made any new progress.
Being unable to witness his own pairing's developments firsthand made him feel thoroughly restless.
After waiting expectantly on the sofa for a long time without Sebastian bringing the letter, he grew puzzled and was just about to call out for Sebastian when a knock rapped sharply against his door.
"Come in." Seeing Sebastian's empty hands, Wenxiu Lord frowned slightly. "Where's the letter?"
Sebastian shook his head. "Apologies, Head of the family. I sorted through all the correspondence, but I found no reply from young Mr. Snape."
Hearing this, Wenxiu Lord's brow furrowed even deeper, a flicker of unease stirring in his heart. "Today is the weekend; how could there be no reply?"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A rapid flurry of impacts against the glass interrupted Wenxiu Lord's thoughts. The two of them turned toward the sound to find a massive golden eagle anxiously and frantically pecking at the windowpane with its beak.
"Head of the family, it's young Mr. Snape's golden eagle."