Winter Snow, Sudden Thunder (Part 1)

The water outside the window had not frozen. The window was open, and yet the wind did not enter the room. A snowflake landed in the water and melted instantly. Viscountess Lex looked out the window at the snow blankly and softly asked, "Saleen, did your hometown have snow like this too?"

Hearing Viscountess Lex speak about his hometown, he knew that she must have sent someone to check on him. However, it had only been such a short while. How had someone from the residence gone to Ceylon City?

"Bigger than this. When I was young, my room didn’t have any windows and I had to use a grass curtain to cover it. Splashing water and freezing it, I made sure the wind couldn’t enter the room before sleeping. When I woke up in the morning, the doors and windows were frozen shut and I had to chisel my way out."

"I have sent people to Ceylon City. However, tell me what happened in Phoenix."

Saleen stood behind the viscountess, looking out of the window as well. The room and the scene outside the window seemed to be two different worlds. It was snowing heavily outside while the room remained pristine and warm. At the corner of the wall were flowers held in a vase.

Saleen did not answer her. He did not even move a finger. There were people all around the room waiting to ambush him. Anyone plotting against the viscountess would be killed by these hidden assassins. Saleen did not want to cause any misunderstandings even though he was nowhere near the skill level of Viscountess Lex.

"Saleen, do you know Aini O’ Clyde?"

"I do." Even though it was his first time hearing Aini’s full name, he knew the viscountess could not have meant anyone else. He was a little nervous. The viscountess’ residence had such strong influence, being able to directly pinpoint Aini. It went without saying that she must have known what he and Aini had done.

"Aini has done something stupid. He had set traps at Central City but Cook returned to the Qin Empire using another route instead. His comrades did not manage to stop him."

Saleen listened quietly. She certainly was not here just to tell him these things. Using this to scare him would have been pointless. For a low-grade mage, there was no way of resisting in a place such as this residence. If the viscountess had wanted to capture and acquit him, she would not have needed to say so much. 

The person who killed Loki must have been trying his best to cover his tracks.

"Don’t worry. Cook will not be able to return to Holy Rock City."

Saleen’s heart sank a little. He had assumed that on account of Loki’s magic nucleus, the viscountess would spare him and not have the empire’s people capture him. He had not imagined that she would kill him and end things cleanly.

That was atrocious. Usually when Saleen killed someone, it was because he had been forced to do so. Aside from the one time he had been rash, Saleen was not one to offend anyone. Compared to Viscountess Lex, Aini was a mere child. The viscountess would not be troubled about something like this, and so what if they were a baron? Once killed, he would be gone.

Saleen had no idea why the viscountess would do such a thing. All of this just for a small mage?

"Allow him to return and he would only spout lies to my father," Viscountess Lex said plainly. It seemed that when people of higher positions killed anyone, it was all done with brief thought. Saleen committed that to his memory. He would need to be careful if he met any important people in the future, for even if he did not offend them, he could find himself getting killed.

"Saleen, it would not be a problem if you stayed in the Qin Empire. However, back in your hometown, some things have happened."

Saleen started getting uneasy. He hesitated and said, "Viscountess…"

"My people haven’t seen your teacher. They’ve only heard that he went to Yaoyang City. After a large battle with a mage from Yaoyang City, he has been missing ever since."

Saleen felt his heart being strung like a bow, all his muscles tensed. Why had his teacher gone to Yaoyang city to find trouble with Earl Sufonso? A mage in Yaoyang City could be as high as a Grade 6 one with a magic tower. His teacher would not have been a match for them. He felt that something was amiss, yet did not dare believe it. He only hoped that whatever the viscountess was about to say was not what he imagined.

Viscountess Lex let out a sigh and turned around. Looking at Saleen, she said, "Earl Sufonso destroyed your family grave to vent out his anger when your teacher was not around. However..."

Upon hearing this, Saleen felt his blood boil and any self-control he had disappeared. He felt a ringing in his ear and a wave of dizziness rushed past him. His heart felt like it had been stabbed.

Sufonso, if I do not kill you, I am not a man!

Initially, Saleen had felt apprehensive about killing Sufonso’s son. He had been wrong in doing that and could not argue for it. However, he had no idea that Sufonso would be this vicious as to even involve the dead.

Saleen’s face was scarily pale and he felt his magic chords vibrating madly, almost as if they were disintegrating. In this moment, the black necklace on his neck emitted a soft coolness that entered his body. The invisible chill flushed through every part of his body, cooling and calming down the magic chords which were vibrating crazily. It was only then that Saleen regained a little clarity.

His family grave had been ruined a long time before and had never been touched up. Some of them had even been destroyed by gravediggers. However, Saleen’s parents were buried there and without this grave, that place would not be home.

Viscountess Lex was shocked as well. She felt something amiss with Saleen, but he calmed down quickly. He was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, a streak of blood at the corner of his lips.

If his magic chords were to disintegrate, even if he did not die, he would become mentally retarded.

Viscountess Lex waved her hand and the invisible screen lining the window beside the water disappeared. The wind brought the snow with it as it blew in, hitting Saleen in his face and chest.

The temperature in the room immediately dropped as Saleen looked down, not saying a word.

Some anger could not be calmed with reason. No matter how cold it was, the fire in his chest could not be put out.

Viscountess Lex said slowly, "If what you want is revenge, you will have time. My men have checked. Sufonso has already trained to the level of swordsmaster. He will live long."

Only then did Saleen raise his head and gave a cold laugh, saying, "I was afraid he would die too early and would not wait for my return."

Viscountess Lex looked at Saleen’s face. It was a face that had been stripped of its innocence. He did not look like a youth at all. Saleen’s blue eyes were like two frozen ponds, freezing everything in his sight.

A loud boom resouned as sounds of thunder came from outside the window

Winter snow, sudden thunder.

"Viscountess, is there anything else?" Saleen could not control his anger and could only ask questions to distract himself from the sinking feeling in his heart. He knew that with his current abilities, he would not be a match for Earl Sufonso at all. However, this hatred needed to be dealt with by himself and he would never ask for the help of anyone else.

Even his teacher could not defeat Earl Sufonso. If he wanted to exact his revenge personally, he would need to be at least a sorcerer. However, with his feelings of frustration, how could he continue training? If this hatred was not quelled, it would be impossibly difficult to become a grand mage, much less a sorcerer.

"There’s even more bad news. Do you want to hear it?"

Saleen nodded. What could be worse than this?

"This isn’t something that simple. Saleen, your teacher is from the Qin Empire. It could be a small or big matter that he went to Yaoyang City to kill Sufonso. If it was something small, then he went after him to exact revenge for you. If It was something big, then it is the same as a mage from the Qin Empire assassinating a wealthy person from Sikeqinya. Sufonso had already convinced the emperor of Sikeqinya to send troops over to the Qin Empire.

"That is impossible." Even though Saleen was mad, he had regained some sense. Going to war with another country for an earl?

"It is impossible. That’s what makes it troublesome. Think, why would Sufonso do something that dumb?"

Under the guidance of Viscountess Lex, Saleen thought of the unimaginable.

"There is a someone inciting all of this?"

"Manipulating. This is nothing out of the ordinary." Viscountess Lex’s expression was somber as she said, "The one manipulating all of this definitely isn’t from Sikeqinya. Yaoyang City is a harbor city with prosperous trade. Sufonso has money and troops, and this makes him a good target to manipulate. Even though there is no concrete information, only one force would be able to do something like this."

The sacred Holy See!

The answer was right in their faces and Saleen needed to be dumb to not have thought of it. A third of the trade between Sikeqinya and Taggulasi was by sea routes. Yaoyang City had a large volume of trade with the Taggulasi Empire and it would not have been difficult for Earl Sufonso to gang up with the Holy See.

If the Holy See was involved, it would be harder for him to exact his revenge. Saleen thought back to the white deacon that he had met at the Chaotic Swamp. He seemed impossible to surpass. Every time he had thought back to Picasso, Saleen had not been able to stop himself from feeling frustrated. This time, an immense strength filled his heart instead.

Magic. Only magic can be depended upon. Saleen thought back to what the sorcerer had said: Give me enough time, and I can even split a gold swordsmaster in half.

Viscountess Lex was appalled to see the coldness leave Saleen’s eyes. It had completely disappeared, and had not been disguised. Even though Saleen was no longer as gentle as he had been in the past, he now possessed an air of determination.

"Saleen, do you intend to stay or leave?" Viscountess Lex asked cautiously. She did not want to use this opportunity to impose anything onto him. Even though Saleen was a gifted mage, Viscountess Lex had her own pride as well.

"If I stay, what do I need to do?" Saleen was well aware that the viscountess had never trusted him before this. Only now was she truly letting him join her team of mages. If he wanted to quickly improve his skills, he could not do it without any guidance. His teacher was missing and there were no one else he could turn to for guidance, aside from Faerun and the sorcerer.

"Actually, I don’t need you to do anything. For all these years, Bitter Water Prefecture has been open to all mages."

Saleen gave a forced laugh and said, "I cannot stay here for free, can I?"

"That magic nucleus is enough to feed you for a few years." Viscountess Lex’s voice was gentle and yet it disgusted Saleen. That must have been the style of the wealthy. No, Lex was not a member of the wealthy, she was a royal.

"Actually, I just have a small request, or perhaps you could call it a wish. If you do stay, if any trouble befalls Bitter Water Prefecture in the future, I hope you all stand on our side."

"You all?"

"Yes, us. All the mages in Bitter Water Prefecture swear an oath to protect this city."