The Witch Mother and the Ring

At that time, Professor Alder's appearance had already changed greatly.

He had once looked refined and gentle, but now Professor Alder resembled an exceptionally stubborn and harsh old man. His face had darkened, and he seemed to carry the heavy stench of the dead.

Locke quickly left the place.

Over the past six months, the number of students who died while working for Professor Alder had continued to rise, so quite a few students in the Academy had learned that there was something wrong with him.

The problem was that no matter what happened, no matter how many people died, and no matter how many letters these scions of powerful families wrote to their households because of it, Professor Alder was never punished by the Academy. His actions were not even prohibited.

This had frightened many scions of powerful families, forcing them to take their history classes seriously. They no longer dared to fail courses as casually as before.

Alder, who had been chatting with the students, looked up at Locke. A complicated emotion flashed through his eyes.

"A Level Three wizard talent. That kid is truly lucky."

"Being young is wonderful."

Alder turned and studied these scions of powerful families from the Norman Kingdom. He smiled like a dying old man looking at the hope of his life, or like a water ghost at the bottom of a river staring at passersby. His gaze fixed upon the pale-faced students. "I heard your families have refused to continue paying your tuition."

"If you work for me..."

Inside a three-story Victorian-style house in the manor district beside Aurelian Academy, Locke met the members of the Augustine Family.

First was the original owner's father, Count Augustine.

He wore soft-soled leather shoes and a red wool sweater. He looked travel-worn, with no color in his face. A little white gauze showed beneath the hem of his clothes, suggesting that his injuries were far from minor.

Beside him stood Locke's nominal elder brother, Goria Augustine, who had previously been the heir to Augustine County.

According to his memories, the original owner and Goria were brothers born of the same father and mother. However, the original owner's mother had died of plague malaria ten years ago.

Count Augustine had then married the daughter of a minor noble family, the original owner's stepmother, Sienna Brown.

However, Sienna Brown had only given birth to one daughter, Locke's younger half-sister.

At that moment, she was holding the little girl's hand and smiling at him, though there was a trace of unfamiliarity and fear in her smile.

Before the original owner left the family, his relationship with her had not been particularly good. Sienna Brown had even caused quite a few disputes because Count Augustine spent a large sum every year to send the original owner to Aurelian Academy.

But things were different now. Sienna Brown knew that the Augustine Family could remain here only because of Locke, so she no longer had much confidence.

Sienna Brown urged her daughter, "Your second brother is here. Hurry and call him Brother, hurry..."

Locke nodded slightly at his seven-year-old sister.

At the same time, he looked toward his father and elder brother.

Goria examined Locke and said, "Locke, you've grown taller. You've grown up too."

"I still remember what you looked like when you left the family. This is wonderful. We're finally reunited."

Locke could sense the closeness this elder brother of the same father and mother felt toward him—or rather, toward the original owner. Upon seeing him, Goria's heartfelt sigh came simply from seeing that he—or rather, the original owner—was doing well.

Count Augustine coughed and said, "Locke, this time, it was all thanks to you. I never expected you to obtain an Outstanding Graduate slot."

"This is an unexpected delight."

"As expected of my son."

"Greetings, Father. Brother." Locke raised his brows and tried his best to fit in. Since wizards existed in this world, he had no intention of exposing his identity as a transmigrator.

He did not want to become experimental material for high-level wizards.

Locke looked at Count Augustine and asked, "Father, you know about the Outstanding Graduate slot as well?"

Count Augustine glanced around, then had Sienna Brown take her daughter out of the room, leaving only Goria and Locke behind.

Though Sienna Brown was somewhat unwilling, she did not dare defy her husband's orders. She could only take her daughter and silently leave the room.

Count Augustine said, "There are no outsiders in this room now. It is only you two brothers and me."

Count Augustine looked at Locke. "I had vaguely heard before that Aurelian Academy's Outstanding Graduates held a special status, one that even kings and popes would show respect for."

"After I arrived at your Academy, your headmaster also indirectly told me some things. After all, in two years, you will leave Corfu Island and head for a larger world."

Count Augustine nodded at Locke. "Locke, you have done very well."

"If our family is to rise again, our hope rests on you."

"Because of you, your brother and I can now receive the Academy's protection. In the future, we may even have a chance to reclaim our territory."

"It is only that we cannot help you much with your journey to the Wizarding World..."

Locke looked at Count Augustine in surprise. Even if Headmaster Tungus had told his father some things, he should not have directly revealed wizards and magic to him.

Locke said, "Father, it is not two years. I will set out in a year and a half."

"If everything goes smoothly."

As long as he became a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice before then. However, his progress in learning Vine Hand was not slow, so this was not much of a problem.

Locke said, "But Father, how do you know about... wizards...?"

Count Augustine lowered his head. "There are always rumors in noble circles."

"Besides, your mother was a witch. I heard her mention some things about the Wizarding World."

Goria looked at Count Augustine in shock. "Father, what are you saying? You never told me any of this."

Count Augustine shook his head. "I originally intended to tell no one."

"But now, Locke is going to that world. So I want you to know the truth."

"Your mother was not from the Corfu Continent. She was a witch from beyond our world. At the time, she was badly injured and drifted to our Corfu Continent."

"I saved her."

"She told me that she was being pursued by her enemy, Black Sun Tower, so she fled to our world for refuge."

"Your mother did not die of plague ten years ago. Ten years ago, she decided to leave the Corfu Continent and return to her own world."

"The Wizarding World."

Count Augustine said, "Actually, the two of you have another younger sister, but your mother took her away."

"At the time, she said neither of you had wizard aptitude, but your sister possessed exceptionally high wizard aptitude. And sons belonged to their fathers while daughters belonged to their mothers, so she took your sister with her."

"She left you in the mortal world to inherit the title and territory."

Count Augustine gave a bitter smile and looked at Locke. "Now that you are going to that world as well, I know I cannot keep this from you."

"A child has the right to seek out his mother. Locke, this is the token she left behind."

Count Augustine placed a black iron ring in Locke's palm. "If you wish to find your mother, take it with you. Perhaps it can help you find her."

"Locke, this is your right. The choice is yours."

"Your brother Goria and I do not have that aptitude. We cannot enter that world. Our world is here on the Corfu Continent, but since you now have this opportunity, seize it well."

Locke saw that the ring's face bore a seal depicting a lush green oak leaf. On the inside of the ring was an inscription—[Mother taught me to gaze upon dewdrops; Father guided me through storms!]

After recovering from the shock of this revelation, Locke suddenly thought that the Wood Element affinity should have belonged to the original owner, while his own primary elemental particles were Dark Element.

It now seemed that his high Wood Element affinity had been inherited from his mother.

Locke asked Count Augustine, "Then, Father, was the name Mother used on the Corfu Continent her real name?"

Count Augustine shook his head regretfully. "I never doubted your mother's love for me."

"But she was hiding from her enemies at the time, so she did not dare use her real name. She was also afraid that if I knew her true name, it would bring trouble upon me. So she only left behind this token."

Count Augustine said, "Before she left, she held the two of you for a very, very long time. She could not bear to part with you."

"But she told me that the Wizarding World was far crueler than our world. Letting children without talent enter that world would be cruel. She would rather you live ordinary lives in the mortal world."