Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 291

“Slanbrea left a seed of light within you,” Saul said quietly.
“What does that mean?” Anfey asked. He knew that it could not be very serious, and Saul must have already spoke with Bruzuryano about it, or else he would not be so calm.
Saul paused for a second and said, “It can help you harness the power of light quicker. But if you ever start practicing real light magic, you will find yourself uncontrollably drawn to it.”
“Does that mean I will start practicing light magic?”
“Some may even spend their entire lives studying it.”
“But I don’t want to,” Anfey complained. “What should I do? Should I avoid every missionary and every book about light magic?”
“It’s not as serious as you think,” Bruzuryano said with a frown. “The Heart of Nature should effectively repress the power of the seed.”
“Can’t you make it disappear?” Anfey asked. He thought that the Heart of Nature was not a permanent solution, and the only way that he wouldn’t be affected was to remove the seed.
“You can talk to the pope.”
“Never mind then,” Anfey said, shaking his head.
“Think about this,” Bruzuryano said. “Don’t you remember what happened in the temple? You can’t use magic, but you can control the druids’ magic because of the Heart of Nature. With that, you can be very powerful.”
Anfey hesitated. He didn’t want to study nature magic, but if he rejected Bruzuryano, it would make their relationship tense. He still had to ask Bruzuryano for favors and he didn’t want to alienate the man. But he could not agree to the offer either because of his relationship to Saul. If he studied with Bruzuryano, he would make both Saul and Yolanthe distrust him. He would get nothing if he made a king his enemy.
“Bruzuryano,” Saul interrupted. “Didn’t Anfey just say that he wanted to study with me? We can talk about other things in the future. Nothing good ever comes from forcing someone into a decision.”
Bruzuryano sighed but did not say anything more.
“The unicorn,” Anfey suddenly said. “Its mother was an evolved unicorn. Will it reach maturity faster?”
Bruzuryano shrugged. “Unlikely,” he said, “but the Heart of Nature may quicken it by a few years.”
Anfey sighed, “As long as I don’t have to wait thirty years.”
“This unicorn is behind in its development, you know,” Bruzuryano said.
“What? Really?” Anfey asked, frowning. The unicorn certainly did not look it.
“Human infants need their mothers,” Bruzuryano said. “Unicorn do too. What did you feed it?”
“Wild berries, mostly. We couldn’t find anything else in the forest.”
“Well, that’s why.”
“Is there a way to fix it?”
“No.”
Anfey frowned and searched his mind for everything related to the unicorn. “What about unicorn blood?”
“Unicorn blood?” Bruzuryano asked with a frown. “You’re not saying that you want to bleed this unicorn, are you?”
“No, of course not,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “It’s the older unicorn’s.”
“How cruel,” Bruzuryano said, shocked. “The unicorn already gave you the Tear of Stars, and you dared take its blood!” If it was any other magic beast, Bruzuryano would not have reacted so sharply. However, for a druid, unicorns were holy and pets of the Goddess of Nature. Bleeding a unicorn was unthinkable.
“There’s a reason to it, my lord,” Anfey said earnestly.
“Spill it, then.”
“We had to protect it. If we hadn’t become stronger, we wouldn’t have been able to even protect ourselves, let alone the unicorn. We were all mages, and the blood was a great boost to our power. We shouldn’t let it just rot away!”
“That does not justify your actions,” Bruzuryano said coldly. “Unicorn blood is of no use to unicorns. If you really cared about it, your own blood would have sufficed.”
“Maybe that is a way,” Anfey murmured.
Bruzuryano frowned and shook his head. He didn’t expect Anfey to agree to his statement. “You don’t have to do that,” Bruzuryano said. “You could bleed yourself dry and increase the unicorn’s maturity rate by a day.”
“But it will help?”
“No, not really,” Bruzuryano said, “unless you want to die.” He knew that if Anfey really did try to bleed himself and feed the unicorn, Saul would blame him, even though Anfey would be doing it on his own volition.
“Don’t worry,” Anfey said with a smile. “I won’t bleed myself dry. I don’t have a death wish.” Unlike people in this world, Anfey had common knowledge from another world and knew that loss of a small amount of blood would not affect him. People who donated blood regularly were often even healthier than people did not. Anfey didn’t mind feeding the unicorn his blood once a month.
Bruzuryano shook his head. He paced around the room, sighing and muttering to himself. He was much more experienced than Anfey and could read people better than Anfey had anticipated. “There may be a way to quicken its growth,” he said finally.
“What is it?”
“You have to find a person before that,” Bruzuryano said. He did not want to tell Anfey, but he felt obligated to. Anfey was too stubborn and hot-headed. What if he let out too much blood by accident? For followers of the Goddess of Nature, people chosen by the Heart of Nature were seen as messengers sent by the Goddess herself. They were responsible for educating the followers in the right way and bringing hope. Bruzuryano could not let Anfey die no matter how much he disliked the idea that Anfey held the Heart of Nature.
“Who?”
“Jacob.”
“Jacob? Why?” Saul asked.
“Have you already forgotten what Jacob’s life goal is?”
“You mean… the sacred spirit potion?”
“Of course. We have unicorn blood, which is the hardest ingredient to find.”
“Where are we supposed to find Spring of Life? All those ingredients are way too hard to find. And way too expensive.”
“Have you forgotten? I am an arch druid. If I were to ask the elf queen, she would let me have some of those things. Spring of Life shouldn’t be a problem.”
“They have a new queen?” Saul asked, shocked.
Bruzuryano grunted out of frustration. He was trying to propose a solution and got too distracted. Normally he would never make such a great mistake. “You know, I’m starting to think you’re purposely trying to pry.”
“No, of course not,” Saul said, shaking his head. “I’ll pretend I never heard anything about the elves. You should know how expensive the other ingredients are. Spring of Life isn’t the only problem.”
“I have some of it,” Bruzuryano said, “I’ll try to take care of the rest. I need you two to swear that you will tell no one about the elves.” Saul said he would pretend he hadn’t heard anything, but Bruzuryano couldn’t let it go so easily. The new queen was still young, but in another century or so, the first elven supreme power would be born.
“Of course,” Saul said, nodding. “Although it should be three people.”
“Two,” Bruzuryano said firmly. He knew that Saul counted Yolanthe as well. “The queen is still young and poses no threat to your precious little kingdom. Everyone alive now will be long dead by the time she achieves her full strength. More likely than not, Maho Empire itself will be gone by then. What are you worried about?” Bruzuryano needed to calm Saul, and the only thing he lied about was how long it would take for the new queen to come into her own.
“Fine,” Saul said. “Alright. I swear to the gods that if I tell anyone about your secret, my soul will toil in hell for all eternity.”
“Anfey.”
“I swear to the gods that if I tell anyone about your secret, my soul will toil in hell for all eternity,” Anfey repeated Saul’s oath.

Bruzuryano sighed after he heard the oath, then smiled. “I will leave here tomorrow,” he said, turning to Saul. “Your place is more dangerous than a dragon’s nest.” Then Bruzuryano turned and slowly walked towards the door.
“Lord Bruzuryano seems to know how to get himself out of trouble,” Anfey said with a smile, staring at Bruzuryano’s back. “We can’t let him spill the secret. This is good, though, I think. Hopefully he feels better now.”
Saul frowned. “Anfey, we have a problem now.”
“What problem?”
“Jacob learned how to make the Sacred Spirit potion from his teacher, but he never told me what the potion could do. But if the unicorn can grow faster with the potion, the Elf Queen can as well.” Saul sighed, “That would be troublesome.”
“Master, are you saying that we should take the potion for ourselves and break our agreement?” Anfey asked. He knew that Saul was willing to speak of this in front of him because Saul trusted him. He was glad for Saul’s trust, and at the same time he was trying very hard to find a good resolution.
“We aren’t cheating anyone,” Saul said, patting Anfey on the shoulder. “But this is a very difficult situation.” Saul was troubled. He suspected that Bruzuryano’s true intention was not to help the unicorn grow, but was instead to help the Elf Queen. If there was a five hundred year buffer period, he could accept it, which was why he swore the oath. Ernest was becoming stronger, and Saul had a new discovery. Anfey’s fiancee had the blessing of an angel, and the old man who had taught Anfey must be a Supreme power. If Anfey was there, the old man might be willing to come forth and reveal himself. After four or five hundred years, humans should be able to find the secret to unlock Supreme Inheritance Discontinuity. The Elf Queen would not change that. However, if the Elf Queen had Sacred Spirit potion, she would become an unpredictable factor. Both Saul and Yolanthe were confident in their ability to groom supreme powers. After the Age of Chaos, unlocking the secret of supreme inheritance became the top priority of every nation. Countless resources were spent on this topic. This was why Anfey’s presence caught so many important people’s attention. He was the key to finding a supreme power. After thousands of years, every nation had information about the secret, and Maho Empire was perhaps the most knowledgeable out of all the nations. Saul was able to defeat Newyoheim not because he was stronger, but because of this new discovery.
“Master, what is the relationship like between Bruzuryano and Jacob?”
“They are friendly, why?”
“If we really want to cheat, we should ask someone other than Jacob to make the potion.”
“Who should we go to, then?”
“I don’t know anything about alchemy, but is Hagan qualified to make this potion?”
Saul frowned.
“If we needed a magic tool, Hagan might not be able to make it. But if it is just a potion, maybe Hagan can do it.”
“From what little I know about alchemy, as long as we have the recipe, we can have Hagan try.”
“That should temporarily solve our dilemma. Let Hagan look through Jacob’s manuscripts first and see if there is anything useful. If we can’t find the recipe, we can always go find Jacob and get it from him. After we make the potion, we can always lie and say we failed. Bruzuryano can’t do anything.”
Saul did not say anything. Truthfully, Saul did not agree with Anfey’s plan. Bruzuryano was a good friend of Saul’s, and even though they were working for different sides, they still managed to maintain their friendship. Anfey’s status was too low and his view was too restricted. He only thought about Bruzuryano. Anfey knew that Bruzuryano was concerned about Yolanthe and wanted to maintain a good relationship with the king, but he did not know that Yolanthe was worried the followers of Goddess of Nature and the followers of the Church of Light might be united.
The two religions might not be able to assemble an army the way a nation could, but both religions had their own defense teams. The Church of Light had Knights of the Light, Fanatical Crusaders, and Arbitrators’ Guild; among the followers of Goddess of Nature were Jungle Guard, Green Expeditionary, and small squads made up of druids. These were forces to be reckoned with.
Slanbrea was easy to kill because he was only a minstrel who practiced magic before joining the Church. He was used to being alone even after he rose to positions of power. If he had even a few of his guards with him, even Saul and Ernest could not kill him.
“Master…” Anfey said quietly.
“We will talk about it later,” Saul said, shaking his head. Saul was a brilliant man, but he did not have the determination to go through with the plan. He did not need that determination, either, because usually Yolanthe was the one to make the final decision. Now, he could not talk to Yolanthe because of his oath, and he found it hard to make a decision. He knew that the oath had been the only way to go so that they did not anger Bruzuryano, but he still regretted it. If he angered Bruzuryano and the man left, it would be troublesome for Yolanthe.
Anfey shrugged but did not say anything. He did not know Saul’s stance and did not know that his status had changed. Saul’s oath meant he was the only one Saul could talk to about Bruzuryano.
Suddenly, the unicorn, which was still trapped in the magic array, whined loudly. The fear and confusion in the unicorn’s eyes were already gone. Magic beasts’ intelligence was limited and the beasts were much more direct when it came to expressing their emotions. The unicorn arched its back and, with a sudden movement of its head, released an arc of lightning. Then it threw its body against the wall of light.
The magic array was too powerful, and the unicorn was thrown back. However, it already knew that and landed on the ground on its four legs. Anfey could tell from its eyes that it was really angry.
“Master!” Anfey called, worried about the unicorn.
Saul waved his hands and the light around the unicorn disappeared. A ball of water appeared in front of the unicorn. The unicorn jumped into the water and turned the ball into thousands of droplets. The unicorn landed and looked around angrily, searching for its enemy.
The anger in the unicorn’s eyes disappeared when it saw Anfey, and it was replaced by sadness. It whinnied quietly and dashed towards Anfey. It ran into him, wanting to rub itself against him. However, the unicorn did not know how heavy it was. Its body slammed into Anfey, who stumbled backwards under the weight. He grunted as he steadied himself.
The unicorn turned and saw Saul, its body becoming tense. It cocked its head and looked at the old man, then an arc of lightning shot out of its horn towards Saul. For a child, a parent was the strongest ally. Maybe the unicorn thought as long as Anfey was there, it could do whatever it wanted.
Saul did not move and let the lightning strike him. An attack like this could not do any harm to him. He looked at the unicorn and marvelled. “It can already release a lightning arc?” he asked, shocked.
“It can’t really do any harm, though,” Anfey said, his voice raspy. His body still hurt where the unicorn rammed into him.
“It is still young. It shouldn’t be able to do that.”
The unicorn’s body was still tense, and it was glaring at Saul. Anfey patted its head and whispered, “It’s alright. Relax. Master, it seems like it is scared of you. What should we do now? I don’t want it to get scared when it’s in your care.”
“I don’t have time to care for it,” Saul said, shaking his head. “Bruzuryano gave me these Silkvanilla. You can give it to Suzanna so the unicorn could stay with her.”
“Silkvanilla? I think I have some of it as well.”
“Where did you find it?” Saul asked.
“In its cave.”
“Do you know how hard it was for me to convince Bruzuryano to give me some of this?” Saul asked, smiling. “Just take it. Let’s go find Suzanna.”

“Anfey, don’t you think it’s getting a bit late?” Suzanna asked.
Anfey jumped off the bed and walked over to the window. He opened the shutters and peered out. “You’re right,” he said, nodding. “It is late.” Then he walked back and sat down next to Suzanna again.
Suzanna sighed and shook her head. She didn’t just want to ask Anfey to look at the time. She was implying that he should leave her room now because it was getting late.
Suzanna rolled her eyes and pushed him away from her. “Quit being annoying,” she said.
“Annoying?” Anfey asked, sitting up straighter. “Are you annoyed by me already?”
“You know what I mean.”
Anfey smiled. He lied down on the bed. There was no indication that he would leave her alone. He turned to stare at Suzanna and suddenly spotted suspicious movements behind her. “Stay where you are!” he bellowed as he sat up.
The unicorn jumped. Then it whimpered and ducked behind the bed.
“What are you doing?” Suzanna scolded. “Don’t scare it.”
Anfey did not say anything to Suzanna. Instead, he pointed at the unicorn and said, “Don’t come any nearer.” Whenever he was with Suzanna, he would completely let his guard down. It was in those moments that he was the most playful.
“So what?” Suzanna asked, frowning. “Come here. Don’t be afraid.”
The unicorn looked at Suzanna then back to Anfey, its eyes filled with fear and doubt.
“I don’t care if that thing’s closer to you, but I won’t let anyone touch you,” Anfey said seriously.
Suzanna blushed. “You idiot,” she blurted out, punching Anfey on the shoulder. Normally, she would just roll her eyes when Anfey made a joke. This showed how truly embarrassed she was.
“It’s not me, it’s Bruzuryano,” Anfey muttered. Suzanna’s clothes were washed with silkvanilla infused water. The scent of the plant had made the unicorn mad, and so it was constantly trying to cuddle with Suzanna. This made Anfey jealous, even though he knew that he had no reason to be and that the emotion was irrational and stupid.
Of course, Anfey wouldn’t let jealousy cloud his judgement. He was afraid that the unicorn would be lured away by a stranger using silkvanilla and so had done some experiments. He discovered that unicorn would only follow a few people even if they had the plant. It would not follow men. It would follow women, but only women it knew. He had a maid wear a dress washed with silkvanilla water, but it would not go with her. It would not let Doris hold it either, even though it had known Doris for a while. In the end, the only people the unicorn would approach were Niya, Shally, and Suzanna.
Suzanna kept her eyes on the floor and did not want to look at Anfey. She was a very traditional person, and she did not like Anfey making lewd jokes about her. She did not like initiating any intimate gestures, either.
The unicorn didn’t know what Anfey and Suzanna were arguing about, but it could tell who was winning. It saw Suzanna rolling her eyes and turning away, and knew that Anfey had won the argument.
Anfey felt bad and needed to distract Suzanna. He sighed and waved his hand at the unicorn. “Come here,” he said.
The unicorn sprang up and bounced over to Suzanna, then plopped itself down between Suzanna and Anfey. It turned and kicked Anfey a few times on the leg, as if it was angry that Anfey had scolded it earlier. Yesterday the unicorn had rammed into him and left him with a large bruise. Anfey knew that the unicorn’s strength would only grow over time. If he kept allowing the unicorn to kick him, who knew what would happen. Anfey decided that he would start training the unicorn so it would know how to deal with other people.
Suddenly, the two heard a soft tapping.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Christian said.
“Christian?” Anfey asked, frowning. He got up and opened the window. “I see you’re ready to be a thief,” he joked.
“I know,” Christian said as he came into the room. “I need both your help.”
Anfey nodded. He turned to Suzanna and said, “Can you take the unicorn to Shally’s room?”
Suzanna nodded. She could tell Christian had ran into trouble and he could not solve it by himself.
After Suzanna took the unicorn to Shally’s room, she met Anfey and Christian in the garden. Christian glanced around nervously to make sure they were alone, then released a soundproof magic spell that covered the three of them.
“What happened?” Anfey asked. “Why are you so nervous?”
“I have a mission,” Christian said with a sigh. “I need to complete it today.”
“What mission?”
“I need to kill someone,” Christian said briskly.
“Who?”
“Rodhart. The fake one, at least.”
“So that’s the mission His Majesty gave you?” Anfey asked, shocked.
Christian nodded, his eyes downcast.
Anfey could not understand what Yolanthe was thinking. He did not know whether the fake Rodhart had to die, but he knew that if Yolanthe wanted him dead, he did not need to ask Christian to do it.
“Father told me that he had done too much for me already,” Christian said, shaking his head. “He told me that I should be responsible for planning my future from now on. The first thing I have to do is to kill the fake Rodhart.” Christian paused for a second, as if waiting for his words to sink in. “I understand Father’s intentions. If I become a murderer, I have to accept the consequences.”
“His Majesty is mad,” Suzanna said incredulously. “He told you to kill, yet he wants you to take responsibility for it?”
“He has to kill the fake Rodhart, but he doesn’t have to be a murderer,” Anfey said quietly with a frown.
“He’s right,” Christian said. “Father told me that I can hire people to do it. He wouldn’t care if I bring the entirety of Sacred City with me, as long as it gets done. The point is, I cannot be accused of the murders.”
“He’s testing your abilities, then?”
“Yes.”
“Wait,” Anfey said. “Hold up. You know how Hui Wei found out you’re the prince? We overheard a conversation between two students at the academy. If they know, the rest of the city will soon know, as well. It’s not hard to put two and two together, you know. The fake Rodhart had to go. I think His Majesty orchestrated this entire thing.”
Christian frowned. “You may be right,” he said. “He spread the rumor so I would have to kill the fake Rodhart.”
Anfey frowned and began formulating a plan. Due to the difference in status, he knew far less than Christian did. It was hard to create a big picture with the limited resources he had. After a few minutes, he realized he was not getting anywhere and gave up.
“How long does it take to get to Swordbury from here?” Anfey asked.
“The fake Rodhart is in a palace near the city. He is coming here tomorrow.”
“His Majesty summoned him?”
“Yes.”
“So our only target is Rodhart, right?”
“The palace is guarded by the palace guards, but they will not try to stop us. Everyone else must be killed,” Christian said. “It’s mostly his servants and personal guards. There is a priest of light with him as well.”
Anfey frowned. If the palace guards were cooperating with Christian, they didn’t need to hide.
“What do you think?” Christian asked.
“You’re saying this is a plan laid out by His Majesty?”
“Not exactly,” Christian said. “I took a guess. It’s hard talking with my father, you know. Everything he says sounds like it’s implying something else.”
“Pity,” Suzanna said. “The life of a prince sounds no better than that of a peasant.”
“A prince with a mission forced upon him is even more pitiful,” Anfey said. “Christian, tell me everything about the conversation you had with His Majesty.”
“It’s too long for that,” Christian said, shaking his head. “It involves some secrets about the court that I cannot tell you. But the last thing he said to me was perhaps the reason he gave me this mission.”
“What did he say?”
“He said there is not a single ruler with a clean history. Every monarch must bloody their hands. If I wanted peace of mind, I might as well give up my claim.”

“Are you willing to give up this position?” Anfey asked suddenly.
Christian did not say anything. It could be hard talking to Anfey sometimes, but Christian understood what he meant. “Both of my brothers are more able than I,” Christian said slowly. “I just want to be left alone in Swordbury.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course,” Christian said. “You are my friend. I wouldn’t lie to my friends. Not now, not ever. I appreciate your friendship.” Christian paused and then said, “Why did you ask? Is it important to you?”
“Very much so. Don’t forget. We are friends,” Anfey said. “Your answer can decide the course of my life. If you want to fight for it, both Wester and Grandon are my enemies. If not, then there is no need for me to challenge anyone. We can just sit by and watch them fight.”
Christian sighed but did not say anything.
“If you do not want to fight for the throne, why don’t you tell His Majesty that you will not do this? Otherwise your actions could be mistaken as a sign of aggression. You could very well become a target.”
“No,” Christian said, shaking his head. “Father has done too much for me. I want to take care of this myself.”
Anfey nodded. “Good,” he said with a smile. “But, if you ask me, this is too great a matter to hide. Maybe we are just overthinking. Maybe your father’s intention is simple. Maybe he just wants you to know what it’s like to kill.”
“Are you serious? You mean…”
“We should stop talking and head to the palace now.”
“Wait. I have the map here. We should study their defenses first,” Christian said. He had been part of the plan to assassinate the Shansa princess and knew the procedure.
“He gave that to you?” Anfey asked, surprised. “And he showed you their defenses?” Anfey was confused. He did not know what Yolanthe wanted, though he knew that he would not put his son in harm’s way. Plus, Christian did not want the throne, anyway. If they kill the fake duke, Yolanthe would be responsible for taking care of the aftermath. If Christian did not want the throne, why would Yolanthe task Christian with this mission? Since this mission had no apparent direct consequence, Anfey decided that they could not disappoint Yolanthe, either. If Christian wanted to fight for the throne, Anfey would never make such a rushed decision.
—
The moon was peeking through the clouds when Christian, Anfey, and Suzanna arrived at the small palace of the fake duke. There were three small palaces around Sacred City, and each palace had a different view. Yolanthe did not want to leave Sacred City, but everyone needed a change of scenery once in awhile, even kings. The three palaces were his solution. Three sides of this palace were surrounded by ponds, and the fourth was next to the Sacred River.
“Now that I’m here, I feel bad for the guy,” Christian said, shaking his head. “He lived his entire life as a lie.”
Suzanna nodded in agreement. She was afraid. If anyone told her that the person she was protecting wasn’t who they said they were, and she was not a senior swordsmaster, she would not be able to handle the news.
“Maybe that is not how he sees it,” Anfey said. “If he did not become your double, who knows where he would be now? Maybe he’s an orphan or a slave, or a servant to another. Exchanging a life of hardship for twenty years of luxury sounds like a pretty good deal to me.”
“We are still cutting his life short.”
“Who knows? Who knows what he was before he became you? Perhaps he was an orphan, and there are plenty of ways for orphans to go,” Anfey said. “Without this, maybe he already would be dead. Haven’t we seen enough?” In this war-torn world, orphans were not an oddity. Not only in countries like Country of Mercenaries, but also in more advanced ones like Maho Empire. Especially in occupied cities like Violet City. Half of the children there were orphans. Even Yolanthe, who was hailed as a people’s king, could not fix this problem, let alone the other kings. Rodhart, the double, may not even be a good man. At least he had twenty years of luxury. A lot of children did not.
Christian fell quiet. He tried to distance himself from the wars and the suffering, but he was still a very compassionate person. Everything he had gone through made him even more so. In the past, he was confined to Sacred City and never realized how bad the poverty and injustice were in the rest of the country.
“Alright,” Anfey said, walking out of the shadow. “Let’s get moving.”
“Wait!” Christian called. “We still need to make a plan!”
“Plan?” Anfey asked, frowning. “Alright. We will plan.” Christian was very brilliant, but his way of action was too constrained. Yolanthe had already given him the details of the palace’s defense and told him that the palace guards would not intervene to stop him. There was no need for planning. Anfey was certain that even if they did make a mistake, the palace guards would help them.
“Am I being too careful?” Christian asked, scratching his head. “I just want to make sure this goes smoothly.”
Anfey blinked. He suddenly realized that the only person he was considering was Yolanthe and had been ignoring Christian and himself. Christian was right. If he was going to do something, he should make it as perfect as possible. He could not risk failure, or else Yolanthe would be disappointed in Christian. This was a testament to his own abilities as well. If he failed, he and Christian would become laughingstocks. “Christian,” he said, “show me that document.”
Anfey smiled as he flipped through the document. The fake Rodhart was a strange man. He was not practiced with swords, neither did he know how to use magic. However, he already had six children, all of them his biological children. All the children were living in the palace as well. Yolanthe only needed to say that he wanted to meet his grandchildren to meet with the fake Rodhart.
“This fake duke is certainly…”
“Father hired two teachers for him when he was young, though the two teachers never taught him anything useful. I think that might have been Father’s intention in the first place.”
“Are we killing the children as well?”
“Father told me that everyone in there should die.”
Anfey sighed. He looked through the document again and glanced at the map. “We don’t need planning. This is way too easy. I don’t think His Majesty is testing your abilities.”
“What is he testing then?” Christian asked.
“Suzanna can take care of swordsmen. I will take care of the priest and the servants. The rest is up to you.”
“Alright,” Christian said with a nod. He was not stupid. He already knew what Anfey meant when he said Yolanthe wasn’t testing his ability and had asked about the kids.
“If there are no more questions, let’s go. We’re going in from the right.”
Christian slowly crept out of the shadow of the woods and used a levitation spell. He flew towards the right side of the palace, afraid that his courage would disappear when he was not moving fast enough.
“Christian…” Suzanna called quietly. She sensed that there was something different about the young man.
Anfey shook his head. He could not give Christian any tips. He had never met Yolanthe and did not know anything about the man. Yolanthe was an intriguing man who made it his mission to conceal his emotions. Which was more important to Yolanthe, callousness or compassion? The only person who could dictate Christian’s decision was Christian. Anfey hoped he picked right.
Even though Yolanthe already gave the map to Christian and Anfey said there was no need for planning, there were still chances for things to go wrong. A team of palace guards walked out of the side door of the palace as the trio jumped over the wall. The moon was exceptionally bright, and the three had nowhere to hide.
The guards’s formation was jumbled but the soldiers soon fell into place. The leader of the team barked an order, and the palace guards passed where Christian, Suzanna, and Anfey were standing, as if they were invisible.
“It seems like everyone’s cooperating with us,” Anfey said with a smile. “Let’s get to work. Don’t want to let their cooperation go to waste, eh?”

The palace was quiet. Anfey and the others walked to the second floor without any trouble. For the king’s exclusive hotel, the palace’s decorations were not very elegant. It looked clean and tidy. There was no dust at all. Four corridors acted like mirrors and reflected light from ever-lasting lamps throughout the second floor.
Anfey looked around and quickly added his surroundings to the map in his mind. He walked briskly to a room. He put his ear to the door, listened to what was going on, then knocked on it. Anfey’s memory was awesome. He had not paid too much attention to Christian’s map, but still remembered that a Priest of Light stayed in this room. Rodhart’s subordinates stayed in the rooms on the same side in five different rooms—one, two, three, four, and seven. Going south along the corridor, there were a few rooms where Rodhart’s personal guards stayed. The most powerful one among them was an intermediate swordsman. There were four junior swordsmen and a group of swordsmen in the guards. Anfey did not have to worry about them since Suzanna herself could definitely handle them.
“Who is it?” A voice rose from the room.
Anfey gave Suzanna a look. Suzanna immediately understood and said in a deep voice, “It’s me.”
The Priest of Light did not expect any danger in the palace, for he had never done anything shady. He walked up to the door without any suspicion. Anfey could tell from his hurried steps that he was rushed. Anfey quietly moved to the side of the door.
The door opened a crack. A handsome middle-aged man in priestly dress put his head out of the door and waved at Suzanna. He immediately appeared startled.
Anfey had quietly thrust his sword at him. The sword passed through his neck with lightning speed. Blood splashed out and splattered the clean corridor.
Anfey moved sideways to avoid the body falling on him. He immediately grabbed the collar of the priest to let his body quietly fall to the floor. It happened smoother than Anfey had expected. He thought it would take more time to kill a Priest of Light. He expected to wake others up. It seemed to be as easy as crushing an ant.
In fact, Church of Light had existed for so long that its administration and management had its own complete system. Attacking priests were mostly members of the Arbitrators’ Guild. The priests sent to other places served as priests or the pope.
They were usually highly provocative or had reasonable logical thinking. Church of Light had great respect for its members’ talents. The pope of Church of Light would not have such poor management. The priests of Light with Rodhart belonged to the class who could become pope. This one would have been really smart. His job was to convert Rodhart to the Church of Light. Unfortunately, being smart did not help. He did not even get a chance to showcase his talent.
“Suzanna, can you go and take care of that intermediate swordsman? He was just across the corridor from the magic Ever-Lasting lamp.” Anfey pointed in that direction and said quietly, “Christian, you go to the third floor and kill your double.”
Christian took a look at the body on the ground without saying anything. He quietly turned around and walked to the stairs.
Anfey did not worry about Christian’s safety. Yolanthe stayed on the third floor, where the fake Rodhart, his maids, a few nannies and his children stayed. All together, their fighting ability would be negligible.
Suzanna had walked next to the magic Ever-Lasting lamp. She turned around to look at Anfey in the distance. Anfey could kill a priest without making any noise, but she could not. Once she started it, the intense combat power surges would wake all the people in the building. Anfey bowed to make a “please” gesture, like a gentleman. He slowly moved back. There were two people staying in the rooms to both sides. The people who had single rooms in this place would not have menial positions. They were actually the teachers of Rodhart. Anfey did not care about the two worthless stupid asses who only knew how to entertain themselves. He could save them for last.
By the time Suzanna pulled her sword out, Anfey had already moved toward a person-sized statue with a bronze sword. Anfey broke the bronze sword in half with his fingers. He walked in front of a room and stuck the blades into the knockers. He pushed the blades deep into the door frame with his thumb.
Suzanna was covered under white light radiance. She knocked the door open and ran into the intermediate swordsman’s room. Either the combat power surges or the sound of breaking the door was loud enough to wake people up. Anfey had already heard people screaming and yelling in the rooms. He walked back to the statue without any hurry. He looked up and down the statue. He reached his hand out and broke the sword sheath in half.
Anfey walked in front of another room and repeated the same action. He put the sword sheath into the knocker and pushed the broken sword sheath into the door frame with his thumb. It was easy to push a blade into the door frame with his thumb, since the broken sword had blades. A sword sheath was much more blunt. However, there was not much difference for Anfey. He pushed the sword sheath forward. With an ear-piercing sound, the sword sheath stuck deep into the door frame.
At the same time, the farthest room was pulled opened. A person rushed out in his nightclothes. He held a sword which was still inside a sword sheath. Perhaps he wanted to see what was happening before he pulled his sword out. Unfortunately, his opponent was Anfey, who did not even give him a chance to pull his sword out.
Anfey ran forward about eight yards in the blink of an eye. He raised his left knee and bashed it into the man’s chest. The man flew backwards without having time to scream. Another person had just put one foot out the door and was hit by his companion. As the man was still feeling dizzy from the hit, Anfey pierced him under his ribs and into the other person’s chest.
The next moment, Anfey ran into the room as fast as a ghost. There were five people standing still like five statues. They looked at Anfey, shocked. Anfey raised his left hand and shook more than thirty wind blades into the air. The sharp whooshing sounds went after the five people. According to the information Anfey had, Rodhart’s subordinates were all incapable idlers. It seemed there was something wrong with the information. He was able to shoot four of them with wind blades, and they lay bloodied on the ground. The last person was no doubt a senior swordsman. He countered the wind blade attack with combat powers. He did not attack Anfey but tried to throw himself out of the wind as fast as possible. A senior swordsman was nothing to Anfey. That senior swordsman had good judgement. He was able to make a decision to run away after quickly recognizing the difference in fighting ability between him and Anfey.
This time Anfey gathered water elements. As the senior swordsman was about to run to the window, a strong gush of water appeared under him. The senior swordsman had nowhere to dodge in the air. He was rushed by the spring. The combat power protected his body but could not counter the power of a strong spring. The senior swordsman was pushed diagonally into the air and bashed against the window frame.
Before the senior swordsman could fall down, Anfey had rushed close to him and thrusted the sword at him at a weird angle. As the sword blade met the combat power, it gave an almost imperceptible pause and pierced through that senior swordsman’s body.
Anfey kicked on the windowsill with his foot and flipped backwards through the window as he pulled his sword from the senior swordsman. The senior swordsman fell hard to the floor with no breath left in him.
Anfey looked around. In different levels of battle, magic was indeed good. If he used his sword, it would be hard to kill four people at the same time. It made sense that archmages received more respect than master swordsmen. At one point in Pan Continent history, an archmage had slaughtered a whole city. If a master swordsman wanted to kill all the people in a city, it would be very challenging. Others probably would be able to run in different directions as he was killing some.
As Anfey stepped out the door, Anfey saw an old man looking surprised as he walked out of his room. That was Rodhart’s teacher. Anfey shoot a wind blade at him without even thinking about it.
Anfey could instantly shoot out a wind blade, or even fifty. Everyone had his own way of doing things. Anfey liked to kill his opponents with the right amount of energy, without wasting anything. He had shot out over thirty wind blades earlier because he did not have the accuracy to control multiple wind blades with his telepathy. Therefore, he did a blanket attack. This time, he only had one target, so he only shot one wind blade.
There was another mistake in the information they had been given. With a cloud of radiant red light, the wind blade disappeared in front of the old man’s chest. The old man actually had surrounded himself with a magic shield as he walked out of the room. When he saw Anfey’s attack, he counterattacked. He responded to Anfey’s attack with a fireball.
Anfey was only shocked for a second before he rushed forward with the speed of lightning. He reached his hand out at the little fireball in the air and shot it back at the old man’s face with a faster speed. The old man’s jaw dropped, and he stared with his eyes as wide as saucers when he saw the little fire ball returning to attack him. “Controlling magic…” Before he could finish chanting, the little fire ball had exploded in his face.
Anfey stepped up and thrust his sword out. The sword went through the man’s mouth and through the back of his head. Seeing the old man sloppily fall to the ground, Anfey frowned. He felt uneasy because this reminded him of something he had experienced before.
With loud crashing sounds, the people in the two rooms behind him were trying hard to pulled the doors open. However, they were locked tight with the two broken swords. They would not be able to open the doors any time soon. Anfey slowly walked up and grabbed the sword sheath. He pulled hard on it as he kicked on the door. People inside the room were still trying to pull the door open. With Anfey’s kick, the door hit them right in the face. They flew backwards, screaming.

The man was struggling to get up from the floor when Anfey rushed into the room. Anfey kicked the man in the face and the man fell back, his head smashing against the floor. Blood splattered across the floor. Anfey waved his hand, summoning wind blades and sending them after the two servants who were crouching on the floor. The third servant dashed towards Anfey, who waved his sword and slit the man’s throat. The servant shook and fell to the ground.
The door on the other side of the room was pushed open. Three men appeared, and as soon as they did, the wind blades attacked them. The third man ducked behind his companions, whose bodies were mangled and bloodied. With a flash of silver, the third man fell down as well, dead.
Anfey turned to the last door. Rodhart had two teachers. One was dead and the other was supposedly in his room, resting. How did this chaos not wake him?
Anfey walked over and pushed open the door, but did not enter immediately. He waited for a few seconds then slipped in silently. The room was silent and empty, the window wide open. A long rope made from curtains draped down from the open window. It was shaking.
Anfey walked over and looked down. The old man was clearly not familiar with this way of escape. He spent too much time making the rope and left too little time for himself to get away.
Anfey reached down, grabbed the old man, and dragged him back into the room. He dragged his sword across the man’s neck and dropped the body onto the ground.
Anfey did not make a lot of noise, so he could hear clearly all the sounds Suzanna was making. As Anfey was leaving the room, the house returned to silence. Suzanna must have finished her mission as well.
Suzanna jumped through a large hole in the wall and greeted Anfey.
“We aren’t the demolition crew, you know,” Anfey said with a smile.
Suzanna turned and saw the destruction she had done. The hall was filled with rubble, the magic lamps on the walls were gone. The wall to their left had already fallen, and the hole in the wall was wide enough for three cows to walk through. Suzanna shrugged. This was simply the way of swordsmen.
“Hopefully His Majesty won’t make us pay for this destruction,” Anfey said, shaking his head.
“How’s Christian doing?” Suzanna asked. “Is he alright?”
“Don’t worry about him,” Anfey said, sitting down on the stairs. “He will be alright. All we have to do is wait.”
“I can go…”
“No,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “This is none of our business.”
Suzanna sighed and sat down next to Anfey.
Time ticked by slowly, but Christian still did not appear. The palace guards appeared several times and disappeared quickly when they saw Suzanna and Anfey. The leader of the guards frowned when he saw the two. He thought they would leave as soon as they finished the job instead sitting there and talking.
The stench in the air grew stronger. Anfey glanced at the bodies and saw large patches on the skin. They must have been there at least two hours.
Just then, the two heard soft footsteps and saw Christian walking down the stairs.
“Is everything taken care of?” Anfey asked, standing up.
“I…” Christian opened his mouth but was interrupted by the faint sound of crying from upstairs.
Anfey frowned. He knew that Christian not only spared the children, but also some of the grownups. Otherwise the kids would not stop crying so quickly.
“I killed Rodhart,” Christian said slowly. “But I can’t kill the kids. They did nothing wrong.”
“Neither did Rodhart,” Anfey said.
“Are you saying that I am weak?” Christian asked, staring at Anfey.
“That isn’t what I said.”
“I should have stayed here,” Christian said, shaking his head. He had killed before, like when they attacked the orcs. However, the orcs had attacked them first, and Christian could somewhat justify their actions. He could not bring himself to murder defenseless women and children. Christian had been determined on his way upstairs, but he began doubting himself as soon as he saw those people. He would rather face Rodhart’s servants or the swordsmen.
“You can’t hide behind others forever,” Anfey said.
“I’m not you,” Christian said, shaking his head. They had been working together for a long time now, and they knew each other very well. He knew that Anfey would not care if his target was a defenseless young child.
“You are not,” Anfey agreed. “If it was me, I would not keep them alive.”
The sound of faint crying started again. Christian frowned, tempted to go upstairs and finish the job. Of course, the urge disappeared quickly.
“Your decision is not wrong,” Anfey said. “It is your attitude that is wrong. You should not regret what you did. It doesn’t matter if you wanted to fight for the throne or just wanted a peaceful life. Indecisiveness will hinder you. If you choose not to harm the innocent, that is your decision and I respect it. Our business here is finished. We should not linger here any longer. You can’t change anything by staying here.”
“Will you think I’m weak?”
“That’s not important,” Anfey said. “I will not use my standards to measure you. You are you. I am me.”
Christian smiled and nodded, feeling relieved by Anfey’s words. “Alright,” he said with a soft sigh. “I see. Let’s go home now.”
—
A shocking story began spreading through the streets of Sacred City. After the third prince Rodhart was born, a few Ellisen spies in the Maho court made a despicable plan. They secretly brought the bastard of Ellisen Empire’s king to Maho Empire and replaced the prince with the bastard. They wanted to put the bastard on the throne, therefore taking the most powerful position in the empire for themselves. The men tried to smuggle the real prince out of the city when they ran into the former head of the palace guards, Baery. The men aroused Baery’s suspicion and were killed. Baery did not know what to do with a strange child, but he did not have the time to take care of children, so he took the kid to Saul. Saul named the child Christian.
After the Dark Moon Magic Legion was defeated by Saul, Maho Empire discovered a large amount of information not available to them before. The plan was among the information exposed after the war. Yolanthe ordered the situation to be thoroughly investigated. The investigators found the midwife, who recalled a snake-like birthmark on the back of the prince’s neck. This proved Christian’s true identity.
Yolanthe ordered the arrest of all involved personnel. The fake Rodhart knew that he was exposed. In a moment of desperation he fought against the palace guards and was slain.
The story had its plot holes and mistakes, like how sneaking a child into the palace was possible, why it was necessary to take the real prince out of the city, why those men did not kill the prince, how it was possible that the midwife was the only one who knew about the birthmark. Of course, people did not care about those inconsistencies. They only wanted a thrilling story.
Anfey, on the other hand, was more touched by the story. He knew how cruel the reality of the royal court was. Speaking objectively, even though the fake Rodhart was an incompetent man, it was not his fault. He had been created by Yolanthe. He had done nothing wrong, but the king was still set on wiping away his existence.

After he left the academy, Anfey immediately headed towards a jewelry store. It was Christian’s birthday, and Anfey had ordered a ring from that store. Even though the decoration on the ring was a small ruby, Anfey had designed the ring himself. He made the ring very simple yet elegant, and the design was something not commonly seen in jewelry shops in Sacred City. The owner of the shop hinted that Anfey could submit more designs, because he knew that if he could get the young man to give him more designs, his shop would grow in popularity.
However, Anfey’s mind was not on designing jewelry. He did not want to spend too much time at the shop, and left in a hurry.
As soon as he walked into the dining room, he realized something must have gone wrong. The servants were hurrying about, preparing for the feast. There were a few people sitting in the dining room, but they were all chatting quietly and no one looked like they were about to host a birthday feast.
“Where’s Christian?” Anfey asked.
“Upstairs,” Blavi said.
“Where’s Niya?” Anfey asked again. Niya loved large gatherings and feasts and would always be involved in the preparation. It was strange to not see her there.
Blavi sighed and turned his head away, as if he did not want to talk about her.
“What happened?” Anfey asked, frowning. “Tell me immediately.”
Riska sighed and said, “She’s not here. She’s with Prince Grandon.” Riska paused then continued, “I heard he’s having a feast too. Invited a lot of people.”
“What about Master Saul?”
“He’s with Niya.”
“I can’t believe this,” Blavi said spitefully. It seemed like he had been holding back and could no longer contain his anger. “It’s Christian’s birthday today! Why would he go to someone else’s feast?”
“Blavi!” Riska scolded. He glanced at the busy servants and lowered his voice, “Master has full right to do what he did. If you didn’t know, Grandon proposed to Niya. Again. She is Master’s only child and has no interest in magic. We all know that if they marry, Grandon would inherit Master’s belongings one day. Don’t say anything like that again.”
“So that justifies leaving Christian alone on his birthday?” Blavi asked angrily and slapped a table. “Frankly, I can say whatever I want and you can’t tell me not to. I know, you are all smart. Grandon is the most likely heir, so you want to be in his good graces, huh? Too bad you are nothing to him, or else you would be at that feast too!”
“You!” Riska widened his eyes in shock at Blavi’s words. He told Blavi to watch what he said, because he was afraid that Blavi would get himself into trouble. He didn’t expect Blavi to take it the wrong way.
“I’m dumb, I know, and I know you think I’m stupid,” Blavi said coldly. He shook his head and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Anfey said, taking a few steps forward and grabbing Blavi. “Wait.”
Even though Anfey had been busy lately, he was still a leader and his friends’ memories of their time following him were still fresh. Blavi sat back down reluctantly.
Anfey turned to the largest chair in the room. There were a dozen strings of flowers hanging on the chair, and Anfey knew Niya had prepared the flowers by herself. Niya even told him that morning that she had a surprise for Christian. Clearly, she never intended to miss his birthday feast. Which meant Grandon’s feast was a last-minute thing.
Anfey had met Grandon once, but even he knew that deducing a man’s personality from such a brief meeting was impossible. Plus, since Grandon was a prince, he had to be good at hiding his true emotions. Anfey coughed softly and said, “We should lighten up. What would Christian think if he saw us arguing? On his birthday, nonetheless?”
“He’s right,” Feller said quietly. “We should stop arguing. We didn’t even argue when we were suffering out there. Why are we arguing now that we are supposed to be safe and happy?”
“I prefer this, actually,” Zubin said softly. “I don’t like big crowds.”
“I agree,” Sante said.
“This isn’t helping,” Blavi said angrily. “Why would Niya…”
“I understand why she chose to go to Grandon’s feast,” Anfey said. “I’ve talked to her before. I can tell that she loves him and is willing to marry him. What do you want her to do? Turn down her fiancé’s invitation? Embarrass him in front of his own court?”
“Anfey’s right,” Zubin said. “We have to understand her.”
“I can’t,” Blavi snapped. After everything they had been through, their bonds were more important to Blavi than a simple fiancé, even if that fiancé was a prince and presumed heir.
“Blavi, if your fiancé is asking you to go to a feast with her, you would probably do the same thing,” Sante said. He could sense how tense the atmosphere was and tried very hard to lighten the mood.
“No way,” Blavi said, shaking his head. “You’re my brothers. I would never leave you alone for a woman.”
Sound from the stairs startled him. He turned and saw Suzanna walking down the stairs, grinning at him.
“Anfey, if Suzanna asks you go somewhere else tonight, will you stay?” Zubin suddenly asked, smirking.
Anfey rolled his eyes. He hated questions like this, since he considered those useless questions.
“No way,” Suzanna said, smiling. “I would not miss Christian’s feast for the world.”
“Suzanna, if Anfey…” Zubin did not finish his question. He yelped as a peanut hit his forehead. He had seen Anfey holding the peanut, but he didn’t know he would actually toss it at him.
“You had it coming,” Blavi said. He was laughing, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten about what he considered a betrayal. It was because this made him feel like the old times, when they didn’t have to worry about who would be the heir to the throne.
Christian walked down the stairs slowly. He smiled when he saw Anfey and said, “You’re back.”
“Why aren’t you dressed?” Anfey asked, looking at Christian. He had not changed his clothes and looked normal.
“Why?” Christian asked, frowning. “I don’t care much about my appearance. I’m not a girl, you know.”
“But you’re good looking enough that you would look like one if you dress up,” Anfey said, nodding. Christian was handsome enough to make most men jealous, but he was a very gentle and quiet person. If he was to look for a wife, hundreds of girls would line up for him to choose. However, he was not interested in looking for a wife. The only thing he was interested in was becoming an archmage.
Everyone laughed. Ever since Christian’s real identity had been revealed, his relationship with the other students had become tense. Christian was grateful that he still knew someone he could joke with.
“Oh, to hell with you,” Christian said, laughing.
“I’m serious,” Anfey said. “Just try, won’t you? Not going to lie, I think you’re going to be prettier than Suzanna.”
“I’m jealous!” Suzanna said and glared at Anfey. However, her grin betrayed her.
Everyone was laughing, but there was uncertainty in their laughter. Saul had sent out dozens of invitations to governmental officials, but with Saul gone, would those people actually show up? How should they explain to Christian that Saul was gone?
“Christian,” Anfey said after he recovered from his laughter. “I have to tell you something. Master and Niya…”
“I know,” Christian said with a smile. He walked over and sat down next to Blavi. “Both of my brothers are having feasts tonight. Master and Niya are at Grandon’s.”
“Wester is having a feast too?” Riska asked, shocked. Feasts were a common occurrence, and there was a single rule to it. After one feast date was established, others would set up feasts around that date to avoid conflicts. Unless the two hosts were enemies.
“Yes,” Christian nodded. “They can have ten feasts for all I care.” Everyone knew he cared deeply.
“Today’s spotlight is on Christian,” Anfey said, sitting down with Suzanna. “We have to listen to him; although there is one thing I have to talk to you all about.” He turned to the servants and said, “Leave us. Close the door behind you.”

“Lord Anfey, we still have a lot…” the old butler said hurriedly.
“Don’t worry about it,” Anfey said, smiling. “This is more than enough. Today is Christian’s birthday. Give the rest to the servants. It is a feast, after all.”
“Thank you, my lord,” the butler said, bowing.
A servant hurried in with a stack of invitations. He walked over to the old butler and whispered something into the old man’s ear. The feast had begun mid-morning, and the servants realized the students’ all looked grim in the afternoon. The reason was not hard to find. The servants had been trying to avoid the students ever since.
“My lord, these are invitations from Prince Grandon,” the old butler said slowly. “Should I…”
Anfey took the stack of invitations and flipped through it. Not only Christian, even Hui Wei, who had been keeping a low profile, was invited. He looked around and saw that most of the invited were missing. “Blavi,” he called, “do you know where everyone is? Especially Hagan and Hui Wei.”
“Hagan is in his lab,” Blavi said. “Hui Wei might be in his room.”
“Go fetch them. Is Doris here?” Anfey looked around and saw Riska nodding. “Don’t worry. We can find her later.”
“Alright,” Blavi said as he stood up.
After everyone was gathered in the room, Anfey dropped the invitations on the table. “Prince Grandon is inviting us to a feast. Everyone’s invited. Come claim your invitation if you want to go.”
“I don’t know him,” Hui Wei said with a shrug.
“Prince Grandon?” Hagan asked, frowning. “I’m busy. I haven’t slept in two days. This is as much time as I can spare.”
“What about about the rest of you?”
Everyone glanced at each other, but no one raised a hand to grab the invitation. They knew it was Christian’s birthday and had all prepared gifts for him. During their time on the run, a lot of people’s birthdays had came and gone without any form of celebration. During that time, birthdays had been unnecessary distractions. Now that they were safe, birthdays became welcomed. Christian was a prince, and it seemed appropriate that they would throw a party for him. On the other hand, no one wanted to go to the party thrown by Prince Grandon. They did not know the prince and no one wanted to be seen as a traitor by going to a rival’s party. Mages were proud. They would rather spend their time practicing than trying to befriend every powerful man and woman in the world.
“It seems like none of us are willing to go,” Anfey said. He handed the invitations to the butler and said, “Leave us. We have some business to discuss.”
“Yes, my lord,” the old butler said. He bowed, turned, and left, bringing all the servants with him.
Anfey glanced at Riska, who nodded. He stood up and released a soundproof spell.
“What are we doing?” Hagan asked, curious.
“Shhh,” Hui Wei said, kicking Hagan under the table. Hui Wei was very sensitive to changes in mood, and he knew that whatever Anfey wanted to talk about would be important.
“I think we all know that His Majesty, willingly or not, has begun the process of selecting an heir,” Anfey said. “This is very, very important.”
“It is true,” Riska agreed, nodding. Everyone’s expression changed. The situation in Sacred City had been very tense lately. Wester and Grandon’s relationship had already came to a breaking point. Rumors travel fast, and everyone more or less knew about it.
“The decisions we make now can directly impact our future. As much as I hate to admit it, we are not in a good position right now. Sooner or later we will all be in danger.”
“Danger? Are you certain?” Riska asked. “Surely Master would not let any harm come our way?”
“I agree with Anfey,” Zubin said, rubbing his temple. “Don’t forget who Christian is. He has a right to the throne as well. He is a threat to both Wester and Grandon. It doesn’t matter if he wants the throne or not.”
Christian frowned. His smile stiffened and he pursed his lips. He already felt sad that his birthday feast had been interrupted, now that Zubin had stated exactly the thing he was trying to avoid, he felt even worse. He did not care for power and he truly did not want the throne. Fighting against his own blood was his worst nightmare, so he chose to run and tried to have a peaceful life. Moreover, Christian knew his own abilities very well. Wester was in charge of politics in Sacred City and had befriended many court members. Grandon was an army man and had the loyalty of the military. He, on the other hand, had only Saul’s students. He was too weak compared to his brothers. This was another reason why he chose to give up his claim.
“Master should have stayed,” Feller said timidly.
“I’m sure Master is torn as well,” Riska replied gently. “We are his students, but we all know that he treats us less like students and more like children. He would never want us to get hurt. I’m sure Grandon’s motive was to show Christian what he was capable of. We are still in the early stage of the selection. Let’s not overthink this.”
“Tell us what you’re thinking,” Anfey said.
“I don’t have a lot to say,” Riska said with a shrug. “We can’t always talk about how to avenge Christian, can we? What is in the past is in the past. Let’s take a step back and pretend nothing happened. We have our own lives still.”
“Why?” Blavi asked suddenly, his eyes intense. “Christian is the third prince. His claim is as valid as the other two. Why should we take a step back?” Unlike Christian, Blavi was very ambitious. He did not want to be a hermit-like mage. He wanted power. If Christian became the king, there would be a place in the court for Blavi. Why choose a dull life when he could be one of the most powerful men in the entire nation?
“I’ve already talked with Christian,” Anfey said. “He relinquishes his claim to the throne.”
“Why?” Blavi asked, turning to Christian. He sighed when he saw Christian nodding. He was disappointed, but he knew that no one but Christian could make this decision for him.
“We believe him, but others may not,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “Some of those people will never be convinced.”
“What should we do, then?” Sante asked.
“It’s easy. We have to start considering our future,” Anfey said. “If Christian is determined to give up his claim, then the future king must be either Wester or Grandon. We should we do then? If the king sees us as enemies, we will not survive here in Sacred City.”
“Are you saying we should go back to Violet City?” Riska asked.
“We can’t give up that city, but it’s too small.”
“Swordbury?”
“Yes,” Anfey said, nodding. “Christian, the fake Rodhart is dead. You can return to Swordbury now, right?”
“Swordbury belongs to Rodhart,” Christian said. “No one can stop me from returning.” He never wanted to be near the center of the struggle and wanted to get as far away as possible. Swordbury was an obvious choice.
“Good,” Anfey said. “We will go with you. Now we have to go through what we have.” Everyone turned to Anfey, confused.
“As you are know, I lived with the archmage Yagor. After he died in an accident, and he left me a considerable amount of treasure. I don’t know exactly what he had, but I do know he had one thing—a Vacuum Confinement Scroll.”
“Really?” Blavi asked, shocked.
“Yes. After I left the island, His Majesty took everything to Sacred City. I thought His Majesty would be interested in the Vacuum Confinement Scroll, but he returned it to me.”
“Let me see,” Blavi said anxiously.
“Don’t worry,” Anfey said. “I will show it to you soon. We need to go through some other things.”
“What is more important than that?”
“Don’t you remember what we found at Hui Wei’s house?” Anfey asked, smiling.
Everyone turned to Hui Wei, who sighed and shook his head. “How many times do I have to tell you?” Hui Wei asked. “It’s not my house.”
“Did anyone ever tell anyone else about that place?” Anfey asked. He, Christian, Niya, Riska, Blavi, Sanchez, Sante, and Suzanna were the only ones who had entered the cave when they first discovered it. The others knew there were treasures, but not exactly what was in it.
“No,” Christian said, shaking his head. “You told us to keep it a secret.”
“Did you tell Master?”
“No,” Blavi said. He looked at Anfey, shocked. “We thought you would tell him. Did you not?”
“I thought you guys would,” Anfey said, shaking his head.
Christian smiled. Even though they were all very different, none of them were the type to sell out their friends for power and glory. Anfey had played the role of the leader, and it should have been Anfey who would tell Saul about the treasure. The map was Suzanna’s, and they all thought that it should be Suzanna’s. Even Saul could not dictate what to do with the treasure.
“We took most of the weapons, but there is still a lot of gold left. It should be enough to last us awhile,” Anfey said. He purposely glossed over the existence of the Chant of the Blood Moon, which he knew Suzanna had wanted. He didn’t know what it was at first, but after some research he had a basic understanding what it was.
Everyone who had gone into the cave nodded, while the rest were left in the dark. They did not think it was wrong to keep the cave a secret. The less they knew the better. Even in a small group, a power pyramid was still inevitable. Christian, Blavi, and Riska were obviously the center of this group’s pyramid.
“Don’t tell Master about it, either,” Anfey reminded them. Everyone in the room nodded, their expression grave.
If they had been older or more experienced, maybe they would tell Saul or one of the princes in exchange for power or a better position. They were still young and pure, however, and did not think of doing such thing. They all felt uncomfortable about not telling Saul, but they did remember that Suzanna was the owner of the map. She should be the one to decide what to do with those treasures.
“Have you ever heard the story about the man who became a god?” Anfey asked. Seeing that no one had heard it before, he smiled and continued on, “It’s very simple, actually. There was a man who wanted to be a god. One day, he succeeded. He became a god. When he became a god, he brought something else with him.”
“But it’s impossible,” Hagan said. “No man has ever become a god.”
“Don’t take it literally,” Hui Wei scolded him. “It doesn’t matter if it’s real or not.” Out of everyone, he was the closest to Hagan. Sometimes he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Hagan’s naivete.
“He brought his family with him. His family and his pets. There were a lot of people living just outside his door, but none of them were as important as his pets, so they could not go with him to the realm of the gods.”
Now, everyone clearly understood what Anfey was implying. Christian looked very uncomfortable and shifted in his seat.
“Christian chose to give up his claim, and some of us may be disappointed. But don’t forget that we still have Swordbury. We are totally capable of transforming Swordbury into our own paradise.” Of course, Anfey was exaggerating. They weren’t capable yet, but they would be in the future. He was setting a goal for them.
“Let’s stop now,” Anfey said, noticing Christian’s anxiety. “It’s Christian’s birthday. We should be celebrating with him.”
Christian smiled and closed a window. Blavi walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Christian, there’s no need to wait. If they haven’t shown up, they aren’t coming.”
Christian sighed but nodded. Suddenly, the door was pushed open. A man in a silver robe stepped into the room, laughing. “Who said we won’t show up!” Baery bellowed. Entos and a middle-aged swordsmaster followed Baery into the room. Baery always wore his military uniforms and was almost unrecognizable in street clothes. Christian widened his eyes in surprised. “Uncle,” he called, hurrying over, “why are you here?”
“What, do you not want me here?” Baery asked, smiling. “Were you not the one who sent me the invitation?”
“No, no,” Christian said, excited. “I’m glad you’re here, uncle.”
Everyone hurried over to greet Baery, but Anfey sat still, shocked. Christian referred to Baery as uncle, which was unexpected. Baery coming to Christian’s birthday feast showed that he was closest with Christian. If he was Christian’s uncle, then who was he to Wester and Grandon? Or was Christian their brother from another mother?
“Let me introduce our esteemed guest,” Entos announced. “This is the leader of Brother mercenary, senior swordsmaster Marino.”

“King, it is about time,” a voice spoke out.

“Haven’t those annoying people gone yet?” Yolanthe closed the file on his desk as he massaged his eyebrows. He looked a little tired.

“You have not made a decision yet. How could they dare to leave?” A grey shadow showed behind Yolanthe. He gently put a fox fur cape on Yolanthe. “King, winter is coming. Please take care of your body.”

“It is indeed a “winter” for me. I have to admit I am getting old.” Yolanthe got up from his throne and smiled.

“King, if you do not want to be bothered, you do not have to care about those people.” The grey shadow had previously sounded humble, but suddenly sounded cold. The temperature dropped as winter had approached. “As long as I have a breath left, no one can force our king to do anything.”

“I remember when I first heard you say it. I was still young. How many years ago was that? Is it about thirty years ago?” Yolanthe squinted, looking like he was trying to recall his old days. “You have been with me for the past thirty years, like a loyal shadow. You even forget who you are to me. To be honest, my old friend, I owed you so much.”

Bells rang in the distance. The grey shadow moved his body sideways to listen. “King, it’s time now. Have you made your decision yet?” The shadow did not look comfortable showing his emotions. He changed the topic to cover his uneasiness.

“They will wait for me,” Yolanthe said with a smile. “Patience and ambition are equally important. If they did not have this much patience, they would not have the right to sit there.” Yolanthe tapped the floor with his scepter a few times. He looked playful, sentimental and thoughtful, but lacking respect. Scepter and throne represented the highest power, which did not allow anyone to blaspheme. If the government officials were here, they would have been startled and thought there was something wrong with Yolanthe’s head.

“King, you…” the shadow said.

“Don’t worry. I just vented a little bit.” Yolanthe raised his scepter and smiled. He carefully looked at the scepter to make sure it was still all right. He looked like an angry kid who was worried he had broken his toys after throwing a fit. “My old friend, do you know back then I had to be the king only because I wanted to achieve my dream?”

“King, I think no one knows you better than me,” the grey shadow said quietly.

“Young men are always too optimistic. I did not understand that dream has always been dreams to this day,” Yolanthe said with a bitter smile on his face.

“King, I remember you had a philosophical saying,” the grey shadow said.

“Oh, what is it? I have said many philosophical things. I do not remember which one you are talking about,” Yolanthe said, smiling. “Sometimes even when I coughed, or laid my eyes on someone, it would make people wonder. If they could not figure it out in the palace, they would not be able to fall asleep when they went back home.”

The grey shadow did not know whether he should cry or laugh. The time for regret over getting old was gone. “King, you have said as long as you tried, you would not have regrets. You also said we need learn to enjoy it as we worked towards the dream. Since you took over the throne, you have been trying to make our empire stronger and to reform it to get rid of rotten traditions. You…”

“Those are lies,” Yolanthe interrupted the grey shadow with a smile. “Losers always think about ways to make excuses for themselves. So did I. Enjoying the work? Haha. A farmer worked hard in the sun and cold because he wanted the harvest. A blacksmith sweated so much in front of the iron smelter because he wanted to produce something. For me, I wanted a brand new and powerful Maho empire. If you had told them early on that what they had tried would not have gotten them anywhere, do you think they would have tried?”

“Well…” The grey shadow did not know how to answer Yolanthe.

“Don’t believe those bards. No matter how deep philosophies are, they are not as practical as having a handful of grain in your hands. Sometimes, do not even believe my words, I know better how to lie to others than those bards.” Yolanthe tidied his gown and fell into thought.

The grey shadow heaved a sigh. He closed his mouth. He had been waiting for a long time, but Yolanthe did not move at all. There was another sound of bells from outside. The grey shadow could not wait any longer. He tried to ask again, “King, have you made a decision yet? How about we go to Christian’s place today? Today is his birthday.”

“No. He has made his decision. We are not going to trouble him. We need to respect his decision,” Yolanthe said.

“Do you mean to go to Granden’s place?” the grey shadow asked.

“He’s smart, brave, and strong-willed. Of my children, he looks like me the most,” Yolanthe said.

“I am confused. Are you giving compliments to Granden or yourself?” The grey shadow smiled.

“I am just recalling that time.” Yolanthe sighed. “I like him a lot, but I worry about him the most as well, because he has never experienced any bad failures. I picture him as a bird singing in a spring breeze. He only knew the warmth of the spring, but never experienced the annoying summer, depressing fall, or brutal winter. It is my fault. I never let him experience any difficulty.”

“Granden loves you so much. When the news that you died arrived on the battlefield, didn’t Saul said Granden passed out when he heard you passed away? He even passed out a few times from crying. Compared with Granden, Wester did not seem to care too much. He was busy socializing with other government officials,” the grey shadow said.

“As a supervisor for the North Line unit, did he try to attack his opponents with his tears?” Yolanthe said, shaking his head.

“It’s still better than Wester,” that grey shadow said. In fact, he should not have given his opinions on these kinds of issues, but he really disliked Wester. Wester had brought that water series senior magister who had tried to assassinate Yolanthe. Luckily, he noticed there was something odd about that Brufit. What would have happened if he had not noticed? He did a thorough investigation and proved Wester was not part of the assassination plot. However, he still held a grudge towards him. He did not want to see Wester have any advantage in this game.

“Never mind. We should not talk about it anymore,” Yolanthe said with a smile. “We’d better go to Wester’s place. Philip is going as well. He recently has been very close to Wester. You know he was not very happy with me. Today should be a good time to talk it over.”

“That old man is getting weirder.” The grey shadow did not sound too nice when talking about Philip. “He likes to blame others when things happen. Why didn’t he realize the reason Zeda became a spoiled wealthy kid was because he spoiled him too much. Zeda was smart and cute when he was little.”

“There is nothing wrong with spoiling his own kid. Saul spoils Niya as well, just not as blindly as Philip.” Yolanthe sighed. “I still remember the time when Niya ran to the palace at night, yelling for help.”

“I remember that time too,” the grey shadow recalled with a smile.

“No matter what, Philip has contributed so much to the empire. I prefer to focus more on what he has done for the empire. Philip is getting old. I had a good start with Philip. As long as he is doing so much, I will protect him and give him a good ending,” Yolanthe said slowly.

“King, you should not let him know what you are thinking on this issue,” the grey shadow said, looking serious. “No one knows what Philip could do.”

“He does not dare,” Yolanthe said casually. Yolanthe had always been a self-critic. He was honest with himself as well. For example, he knew he was neither as good as Baery on the battlefield, nor as knowledgeable as his two prime ministers. However, he was good at appointing people to the right positions. It was not bragging. From the day he succeed to the throne, Yolanthe rarely appointed the wrong people. He thought he had total control of Philip as well. However, Yolanthe was wrong this time. A person who knew he was going to die soon could hold hatred that he could not let go of. His behavior could become very crazy. Because of Yolanthe’s history with Philip, he tried to give him a good ending. However, the nice gestures he gave to Philip to try to rebuild their relationship were interpreted as support for what he was doing.

That grey shadow was silent. He was a top power, but quite different than Saul and Philip. Yolanthe had saved his life, held the funeral for his parents, and killed his enemies. The grey shadow had thought himself to be Yolanthe’s most loyal servant since that day. He trained himself extremely hard for the sole purpose of better protecting his master. He was not afraid to hurt others for Yolanthe, including Yolanthe’s sons.

He had organized a group of terrifying spies for Yolanthe for the past few decades. He learned not to show his feelings, even doing what he believed was the right thing to do behind Yolanthe’s back. He had recently contacted Philip’s favorite student Shawn and reached an agreement. In fact, if Yolanthe could meet Shawn, they could agree on more than what the grey shadow and Shawn had agreed upon. Shawn could have shown his loyalty to Yolanthe. However, he did not dare to tell Yolanthe, because Yolanthe had attachment to people and would not allow him to set Philip up.

Yolanthe slowly walked to the palace gate, but he suddenly stopped. He turned around and smiled. “Guess what I just thought of.”

“King, you are giving me a hard time. Very few people could guess what you are thinking,” the grey shadow said.

“To you guys, I am picking a person to succeed my throne. To me, it seems like I am looking for someone who is better than the young version of me,” Yolanthe said.

“King, you are…” The grey shadow looked like he did not know whether he should laugh or cry.

“In fact, everybody is a loser from the perspective of time.” Yolanthe pushed the door open as he shook his head. Outside was a group of very quiet government officials.

“The hour grows late, yet you are still awake, Anfey,” Saul said in a hushed voice.
“Master, you’re back,” Anfey said, turning to face Saul. He needed the silence of the garden to aid him in his thought process, and by the time he noticed Saul, it was too late to hide. Today was not a good day to talk to Saul, who was smart enough to know how much his decision to attend Grandon’s party had impacted Christian. Anfey knew that talking too much could mean that he might accidentally show how angry he was about Saul’s decision.
“I’ve been back,” Saul said. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I’m watching the stars,” Anfey said. “I think it’s exceptionally beautiful today.”
“Stars?” Saul asked, lifting an eyebrow. He glanced at the sky and said slowly, “I haven’t stargazed in a while. Do you know what the stars are made of?”
“Um, fire elements?” Anfey didn’t know if Saul knew what stars were really made of, so made up an answer.
“Fire elements?” Saul asked, amused.
“Am I wrong?” Anfey asked carefully.
“Well, according to the book of Genesis, God felt tired after creating the world and needed a rest, but he was worried about the world. So he cut his finger and his blood turned into stars. Of course, another theory was that God saw the violence and lies that permeated the society he had created and wept, his tears turning into stars.”
“I don’t believe in gods,” Anfey said with a shrug. “I don’t believe in those theories.”
“I see. Did your teacher teach you that?”
Anfey nodded.
“I see,” Saul said with a smile. “I felt a strange magic surge from the stars a few years ago. Of course, it was faint and insignificant.”
“It’s faint because the stars are very far away,” Anfey said. “The stars are very far from us. So far that the stars we see are only images of stars from thousands of years ago.” Anfey was not afraid to tell Saul these things. He knew that it would not bring him any harm. The attitude towards strange scientific theories in this world was very accepting. In order to discover the secrets to reviving its ancient glory, the mages in this world would not oppress anyone with peculiar ideas. Magic labs were made to study things that did not have explanations. Religious people wanted the entire world to believe in their god and live in peace. Mages, on the other hand, needed to discover new things. If ancient records were to be believed, their path to rediscovering ancient magic had just begun.
Saul smiled and waved his hand. He formed two chairs out of earth elements, then draped two rugs over them. “Come,” he said, “let’s talk more.” If he did not know Anfey’s history, Saul might have dismissed his theory. However, Anfey must be talking about his teacher’s theory, and that should be taken more seriously.
“You first, Master,” Anfey said politely.
Saul said down and gestured for Anfey to do the same. Anfey sat down across from him, keeping his back straight. “Tell me, Anfey,” Saul said, “why do you say the stars we see now are images from thousands of years ago?”
“Light travels at a certain speed. We can see stars because light from the stars can reach us,” Anfey said. He picked up a pebble and tossed it into a nearby bush. “Like this pebble, light has speed, as well.”
“Light has speed?” Saul asked, curious.
“Yes. But light is very fast and we can hardly perceive it.”
“So you’re saying that we can see the stars because the light of the stars has traveled to us?”
Anfey nodded.
“So you’re saying that light travels very fast? But you also said that it takes thousands of years to reach us. Isn’t that contradictory?”
“No,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “If the universe is an ocean, then our world is merely a single pebble on the beach.”
“Interesting,” Saul said, scratching his chin. He found it hard to believe that his world was as insignificant as a pebble on a beach. “So we live on such an insignificant place, huh?”
“Yes. And stars are not as silly as we think they are, either. Some stars are hot, hot enough to melt secret silver.”
Saul looked at the stars and frowned. Of course, it was almost unbelievable that the stars could melt something so strong. “I see your teacher taught you well. Let’s leave this topic for another day. Did he ever tell you what makes up the world?”
“This world?” Anfey repeated, hesitant. He knew the answer, but he did not know where to start.
Saul, seeing that Anfey did not say anything, decided to give him a hint. “This world is made up of elements.”
“Elements?”
“Yes, elements! The earth, ocean, forests, animals, people, even, are all made out of elements. If the elements disappear, even the gods cannot survive.”
Anfey smiled. He found Saul’s mind very impressive. Back in his old world, thousands of scientists researched the topic for years to prove the existence of atoms. It was very impressive that Saul would be able to come to a similar conclusion by himself.
Saul was very happy to see Anfey smile, because he knew he had stumbled onto something good. Anfey’s teacher must have talked to him about this. He leaned over and grabbed Anfey’s hand and asked, “Can you understand me?” It was easy to understand when he said that the earth and oceans were made of elements, but he had listed people and gods as well. This theory was almost blasphemous, and most people would never believe him.
That gods had created mankind was an indisputable truth. Anyone who questioned it would be isolated and looked down upon.
“This isn’t a matter of understanding,” Anfey said. “It’s the truth.”
“Did your teacher tell you this?”
“Yes.”
“Then I am on the right path,” Saul said with a long sigh. He leaned back and closed his eyes. It was good to have confirmation of something he had believed in for a long time. He was too old to suffer another mistake.
Anfey was distracted as well. He suddenly remembered a term: non-mainstream quantum physics. It was the name for a group of theorists that develop their strange theories based on existing theories. Physicists believe that the existence of atoms was because of waves. These non-mainstream physicists developed their theories based on this. Some even believed that a person’s mind was a wave and could affect a person’s surroundings if it was strong enough. Anfey had watched a movie about it but did not understand anything. However he found that this theory was very suitable in this world.
Saul opened his eyes and smiled at Anfey. “If you keep working hard, you are going to be something spectacular.” Of course, Saul couldn’t know that Anfey was holding things back. If he knew everything Anfey did, his mind would have a hard time grasping it.
“I’m not even an intermediate mage yet, Master,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “I’m far from great.”
“You have time. You will be great.”
“Oh, I just remembered, Master. I have some questions. When you use a meteor spell, does the rock appear out of thin air? And when Entos uses the teleportation spell, how is he teleporting?”
“It seems like you have a lot of questions,” Saul said with a smile. “Don’t worry. Let’s take our time and go over one, shall we?”