Antiques (Part One)

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The morning passed quickly. Swordsman Pero focused all his attention on those with elemental affinity, while he left people like Merlin and Anson, who had no elemental affinity, to their own devices.

With a clap from Swordsman Pero, the morning's sword practice came to an end. Many people stood up and prepared to leave.

Mei Xue looked excited. It seemed she had gained quite a lot from Swordsman Pero's guidance today. She came before Merlin and glanced at Anson, who awkwardly greeted her, "Miss Mei Xue!"

"Hmph."

Mei Xue turned away angrily and ignored Anson, clearly holding a grudge against him.

"Come on, let's hurry back."

Mei Xue took Merlin by the hand and quickly left the church. Moss had already been waiting outside in the carriage.

"See you this afternoon, Merlin!"

Anson, following behind them, waggled his eyebrows at Merlin as he spoke. Then he climbed into his own carriage and left the church.

Once they were in the carriage, Mei Xue shot Merlin a fierce glare and said angrily, "Merlin, didn't I tell you not to hang around Anson? When you're with him, all you know how to do is fool around everywhere..."

It seemed Mei Xue truly disliked Anson, treating him as one of Merlin's bad influences. Yet despite how terribly she had treated him just now, Anson did not seem angry. Instead, he even appeared somewhat afraid of her.

So Merlin asked, "Why does Anson seem a little afraid of you?"

"That brat Anson didn't tell you?"

Mei Xue looked at Merlin suspiciously, but she quickly seemed to think of something. Nodding, she said, "That makes sense. How could Anson tell anyone else about something so embarrassing?"

After a pause, Mei Xue raised her fist and said viciously, "Last time, Anson took you to fool around with some women, and I caught him. I secretly gave him a good beating. But it looks like the lesson last time wasn't painful enough. I'll have to make sure he remembers it better."

Seeing Mei Xue's smug expression, Merlin was at a loss for words. It seemed his sister had a bit of a violent streak. Then again, remembering her terrifying strength earlier, it was no wonder Anson feared her.

The carriage continued to jolt along, and the atmosphere inside was rather stifling. After a long while, Merlin hesitantly asked Mei Xue, "Mei Xue, how do you sense the elements?"

Mei Xue raised her head and looked at Merlin in surprise. Still, she thought seriously for a moment before saying quietly, "It's very simple. You just close your eyes, and you can sense them. But I can only sense fire elements. I can't see or touch them, but I can sense them. I can even sense them gradually entering my body. One day, when they have accumulated to a certain extent, they'll erupt with tremendous power!"

Merlin nodded slightly. He quietly closed his eyes and tried sensing them the way Mei Xue had described, but there was no effect at all. Elemental affinity really was something one was born with. It could not be changed. Without elemental affinity, one simply could not sense the elements.

Merlin's wish to become an Elemental Swordsman would likely come to nothing.

Before long, the carriage returned to Wilson Castle. The butler had already prepared a lavish lunch, including a small lamb roasted to a golden brown and giving off a rich aroma of meat.

However, Merlin had no appetite and only ate a little.

Mei Xue ate with great relish. After nearly finishing the entire lamb by herself, she patted her stomach in satisfaction, reclined sideways in her chair, and looked at Merlin with some concern. "Merlin, I'm going to the church this afternoon to practice swordsmanship a little longer, so I won't be attending etiquette class. Go to class in Moss's carriage later. But you must come back before dark. Don't go fooling around with that bad boy Anson again, or else, hmph hmph, you know the consequences! Before Father left, he told me to keep a close eye on you!"

Seeing Mei Xue's threatening expression, Merlin nodded gently. The old Merlin had really been quite a handful.

Mei Xue then left the castle. Merlin felt the weather growing colder, so he went upstairs and put on a thick coat before coming back down and getting into Moss's carriage.

Inside the carriage, Merlin rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. He had no memory at all of needing to attend etiquette class that afternoon. This showed that his memory loss was rather serious.

Fortunately, Moss was an exceptionally honest man. He drove the carriage without saying a word and dutifully delivered Merlin to the place where his class was held.

Merlin got out of the carriage. Before him stood a three-story building, surrounded by a rusty iron fence. An old gatekeeper was curled up in a corner, half-closing his eyes as he dozed. But whenever someone arrived, he would open the iron gate.

"Young Master Merlin, you're quite early today."

The old gatekeeper was wrapped in a tattered coat, his face reddened by the wind. When he saw Merlin, he greeted him familiarly.

Merlin's memory loss was severe, and he did not know the old man's name. He could only smile and nod before walking inside.

The interior was empty. Merlin headed toward the little building. As he stepped on the wooden stairs, they occasionally creaked and groaned, as though they could no longer bear the strain.

The walls beside the stairs were painted with colorful murals depicting people, landscapes, and more. Their quality varied greatly. Even someone like him, who knew nothing about painting, could tell that some of them were no different from doodles.

When he reached the second floor, Merlin wandered around casually and saw several spacious rooms. Though empty, they contained instruments such as hand drums and reed organs. This was probably where music was taught.

"Hey, Merlin, what are you doing there? There's no music class today. We have history today."

Merlin heard a familiar voice. When he turned around, he saw none other than the red-haired Anson.

Anson grabbed Merlin and led him toward the third floor. As they walked, he mysteriously waggled his eyebrows and said, "Hurry up and grab a good seat. I heard we've got a new history teacher today, and she's beautiful. Definitely something to look forward to!"

Merlin had been worrying over where to go, so he let Anson pull him all the way to a spacious room on the third floor.

There were already more than ten young men and women in the room, all dressed in luxurious clothing. They stood around in small groups, chatting. When Merlin and Anson arrived, a chubby boy seated in the front row hurriedly waved at them.

"Gute, not bad, not bad. You grabbed such a great spot. Whenever you hear there's a beautiful teacher, you're always this enthusiastic."

Anson greeted the chubby boy with a grin.