Lucien had gone so quiet from embarrassment that he didn't even know what to say anymore. Nicolas just laughed warmly and waved it off.
"Albus is the same as ever… full of ideas."
"Why don't you take a look around Beauxbatons when you get the chance? There's plenty of interesting things there. Show them what you can do…"
His teacher's easygoing attitude immediately helped Lucien relax. Old wizards really did have incredible mindsets.
As Nicolas studied his student, something seemed to occur to him.
"Speaking of which, right after you left last time, Beauxbatons' headmistress, Madame Maxime, came by with a young girl. Her name was pretty unusual—Fleur…"
Lucien recalled that brief moment during the summer. The towering woman had to be Maxime, and the other girl—who looked like she was literally glowing—must've been Fleur.
It was the first time he'd ever seen someone who emitted actual light. But considering Fleur carried some Veela blood, maybe that glow was just part of her heritage. He wondered whether that bloodline granted any additional magical abilities.
There were plenty of witches and wizards with unusual bloodlines in the magical world. Even the legendary Merlin—whose name constantly came up in conversation—was rumored to possess half-Nightmare blood, granting him magic few could ever hope to learn.
Lucien was deeply curious. Salazar's legacy at Hogwarts focused heavily on the body and soul—researching a wizard's internal magic circuits to gain insight into magical talent.
If that research were expanded, perhaps it might even be possible to develop Animagus forms based on magical creatures… or let wizards gain the innate gifts of those creatures.
"Lucien, do you think I should hold a funeral for myself?"
"Huh—wait, what?"
Lucien froze mid-thought. For a moment he was sure he'd misheard. A funeral… for himself?
And didn't they just finish talking about Beauxbatons? That was one serious topic jump.
Seeing the confusion on Lucien's face, Nicolas realized just how outrageous his own suggestion had sounded and hurried to explain:
"Didn't I ask Albus to help spread the news that the Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed? That was to put certain… ambitious individuals at ease so they'd stop bothering me. If we're putting on the show anyway, a funeral would make it even more convincing. Invite plenty of witnesses and reporters… the more public, the better."
It took Lucien a while to pull himself out of the sheer thoroughness of his teacher's plan.
"But, professor," he said carefully, "you're basically always on the airship. It's not like anyone can really get close enough to bother you…"
What Lucien didn't add was that the airship's defenses were definitely terrifying. Anyone trying to approach would probably be blasted into dust long before reaching it.
Nicolas took a long sip of his cola.
"But come on—a funeral for myself? That'd be a brand-new experience. Never tried that before. Oh! After everyone leaves, I could take a picture with my own tombstone… Or maybe I should craft a completely lifelike corpse while I'm at it. That'd really sell it…"
Lucien felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He finally understood—his teacher simply wanted to try hosting his own funeral. And the way he sounded almost excited about crafting a fake body for himself… Well, for a legendary alchemist, that probably wasn't even difficult.