Antique (Part 1)

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The morning passed quickly. Swordsman Pero's attention was focused on those with elemental affinity, while he simply let people like Merlin and Anson, who had no elemental affinity, do as they pleased.

With a clap from Swordsman Pero, the morning sword practice came to an end. Many people rose to leave.

Mei Xue looked excited. It seemed she had gained a great deal from Swordsman Pero's instruction today. She came over to Merlin, glanced at Anson, and Anson greeted her somewhat awkwardly. "Miss Mei Xue!"

"Hmph."

Mei Xue turned her head away indignantly and ignored Anson, as though she had quite a bone to pick with him.

"Come on, let's hurry back."

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

"See you this afternoon, Merlin!"

Following behind them, Anson 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 with Anson? When you're with him, all you know is how to go gallivanting around..."

It seemed Mei Xue truly disliked Anson, treating him as one of Merlin's bad companions. Yet despite her terrible attitude toward him just now, Anson did not seem angry at all. 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 soon seemed to think of something and nodded. "That's true. 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 out to fool around with some women, and I caught him. I gave him a savage beating behind the scenes. But judging by things now, that lesson clearly wasn't painful enough. He needs to remember it a little 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. Still, thinking of her terrifying strength earlier, it was no wonder Anson was afraid.

The carriage jolted onward, and the atmosphere inside was somewhat 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, but she still thought seriously for a moment before saying softly, "It's very simple. You can sense them just by closing your eyes. But I can only sense fire elements. You can't see or touch them, but you can still sense them. I can even sense them gradually entering my body. One day, once they have accumulated to a certain extent, they will burst forth with immense power!"

Merlin nodded slightly. He quietly closed his eyes and tried sensing them as Mei Xue had described, but there was no result at all. Elemental affinity truly was innate and could not be changed. Without elemental affinity, one simply could not sense the elements.

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

Soon, the carriage returned to Wilson Castle. The butler had already prepared a sumptuous lunch, including a lamb roasted to a golden brown, its rich meaty aroma filling the air.

But Merlin had no appetite and only ate a little.

Mei Xue ate with great relish. After nearly finishing the entire lamb by herself, she finally patted her stomach contentedly, reclined sideways in her chair, and looked at Merlin with concern. "Merlin, I'm going to the church this afternoon to practice swordsmanship a while longer, so I won't be attending etiquette class. Later, take Moss's carriage to class. But you must come back before dark. You are not allowed to 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 lightly. The former Merlin really had given people no peace of mind.

Mei Xue then left the castle. Merlin felt the weather growing colder and 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 having etiquette class in the afternoon. This showed that his memory loss was quite serious.

Fortunately, Moss was an extremely honest man. He said nothing extra as he drove, dutifully delivering Merlin to the place where he attended class.

Merlin got out of the carriage. Before him stood a small three-story building, surrounded by a rusted iron fence. An old gatekeeper was curled up in a corner, half-closing his eyes as he dozed. Yet 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 overcoat, his face blown red by the wind. When he saw Merlin, he greeted him familiarly.

Merlin's memories were badly fragmented, 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, and the wooden stairs beneath his feet occasionally let out creaking sounds, as though they could no longer bear their burden.

The wall beside the stairs was covered in colorful murals—people, landscapes, and more. Their quality varied greatly. Even as someone ignorant of painting, Merlin could tell that some of them were no different from graffiti.

When he reached the second floor, Merlin wandered about casually and saw several spacious rooms. They were empty, but instruments such as hand drums and reed organs had been placed inside. This was probably where music was taught.

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

Merlin heard a familiar voice and turned around. It was none other than red-haired Anson.

Anson grabbed Merlin and led him toward the third floor. As they walked, he spoke mysteriously, waggling his eyebrows. "Hurry up, let's get a good seat. I heard a new history teacher arrived today, and she's very beautiful. This is really something to look forward to!"

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

More than a dozen young men and women were already in the room, all dressed in luxurious clothing. They stood in small groups of three or five, chatting away. When they saw Merlin and Anson arrive, a chubby boy sitting in the front row hurriedly waved at them.

"Gute, not bad, not bad. You grabbed such a good seat. You're always this eager whenever you hear there's a beautiful female teacher."

Anson greeted the chubby boy with a grin.