Assassin's Chronicle - Chapter 286

Chapter 286

"Shally!" Suzanna scolded . When picking a student, an archmage was always extremely careful . The decision was made without any distraction . One bad student would bring shame to the teacher and cause others to doubt the teacher’s ability . Of course, archmages taking students as a favor was not unheard of, but neither Suzanna nor Anfey was important enough to make an archmage bend to their will .

"You want to learn magic? That should not be a problem," Saul said with a smile .

"Really?" Shally asked incredulously . She wasn’t sure if she could trust such a quick answer . "Can I really study magic? With you? But I’m even worse than Anfey . " Shally was still a child and she didn’t realize Saul said only that she could learn magic, not that she could learn with him .

Saul’s other students looked at the young girl, then they all burst into laughter . Anfey sighed and shook his head . It was no secret that he was the weakest out of all of Saul’s students, but Shally didn’t have to say it out loud .

"Trust me, he was even worse than you when he first came to me," Saul said, smiling .

"So I’m better than him?" Shally asked hopefully .

"Yes," Saul said, nodding . "You are better than him . " He looked up and saw Suzanna’s anxious expression . He looked at Shally, then smiled . "It seems like you will have a new sister from now on," Saul said, turning to Christian . At first, Saul did not want to take a new student, but he changed his mind .

"She already is, Master," Christian said with a grin on his face .

"They are all very good to me, my lord," Shally said happily .

"Shally," Anfey said quietly, "it’s not my lord anymore . He is your teacher now . "

"Really?" Shally asked, her eyes wide .

"If you still want to," Saul said gently .

"Shally, quick, say thank you," Suzanna said, nudging Shally forward . She did not expect Saul to agree to take Shally as a student, but she was very grateful .

"Thank you, Master Saul," Shally chirped happily . She turned and grabbed Suzanna’s arm and said, "I can protect you now too, sister!"

Suzanna smiled, stroking Shally’s hair . She did not say anything . Becoming the student of a powerful mage was only the first step in a long journey to become a senior mage . She had already spent so many years practicing . She knew the hardship on the road to become powerful .

Ernest walked into the room . He glanced around the room as the students stood to greet him .

Ernest nodded at them and turned to Suzanna . "Suzanna, where have you been lately?"

"Me?" Suzanna asked, confused . "I was with Anfey," she said after a few seconds .

"You’re a swordsmaster . What are you doing at the magic academy?" Ernest asked, frowning . "Starting today, stay here and practice with me . "

"Yes, sir," Suzanna said .

"You have it all figured out, don’t you?" Saul asked, smiling .

"You could say that," Ernest said .

Ernest was not hard to understand . At first glance, he may have seemed arrogant and driven by his emotions, but that was the furthest possible thing from the truth . Ernest did not like speaking, and he always tried to say what he wanted using as few words as possible .

"Well, congratulations, then," Saul said .

"It’s a little early for that . "

"What will happen with her?"

"I don’t know," Ernest said, frowning . "That’s why I’m worried . "

"Suzanna," Saul said, turning to Suzanna . "Listen to Ernest . You should stop going to the academy . I know you may worry about Anfey, but you see, trust is very important . Don’t worry about that . "

"That’s not…" Suzanna explained quickly, blushing .

"Are you worried that he will get hurt? Don’t worry about that, either . As long as he is in Sacred City, I can assure his safety," Saul said, standing up . "Anfey, come with me . I have to talk to you . " Saul’s eyes fell onto the unicorn next to Anfey . "So this is the unicorn I’ve been hearing about . "

Ernest turned around as well . Unicorns were rare . Ernest had encountered a few in the past, but he knew that he wasn’t strong enough to defeat one, so he had left the animals alone . Unicorns were too fast, and if a unicorn wanted to run, Ernest could never catch up to it . If a unicorn was willing to fight, the consequences would be too great . The Forest of Death was a dangerous place, and even if Ernest could defeat the unicorn, he would be injured and could be easily killed by other enemies .

The unicorn watched Saul nervously, its body shaking . Magic beasts were not as smart as humans, but could sense things humans could not . For the unicorn, Saul was not an amiable man, but a being with terrible powers .

Anfey patted the unicorn . "It seems like it’s scared of you, Master," he said .

Saul wanted to further observe the unicorn, but he stopped and took a few steps back . "Another day, I suppose . I don’t want to scare it . " He looked around the room and his eyes fell on Hui Wei and Hagan . They were the only two strangers . "By the way, which one of you is Hagan?"

"Me, my lord," Hagan said, scrambling up .

"Ah, yes, Master," Riska hurried over and said . "Forgot to introduce you . This is Hagan, and this is Hui Wei . They’re both people we encountered along the way . "

"My lord," Hui Wei stood up and bowed .

"Sit, sit," Saul said, nodding . "Hagan, you are an alchemist, aren’t you?" Hagan nodded . "Do you have any interest in the manuscripts of Jacob?"

"Jacob? You mean, the Great Alchemist Jacob?" Hagan said, jumping out of his seat . "His last manuscripts?"

"Last?" Saul frowned and asked . "As far as I know, no one knew what happened to him . "

"But he hadn’t appeared in twenty years, my lord . "

"It seems like I have to give those manuscripts to you as soon as possible," Saul said . "He would be livid if he heard that, and would probably take those gifts back?"

"Gifts?" Hagan asked, blinking .

Saul smiled . "Anfey, come with me . " Anfey nodded and followed Saul out of the room, leaving Hagan and his joy . The two of them went to another room . Saul sat down on a chair and sighed .

"Anfey, how much do you know about Suzanna?" Saul asked .

"She never told me much . "

"Have you asked?"

"No . I am in love with her, but her past is her own," Anfey answered . He knew Saul’s intention wasn’t just to ask him about Suzanna, and he need to stand firm .

"Do you want to know about it?" Saul asked, picking up a stack of documents from the nearby table .

"Is it important?" Anfey asked .

Saul smiled and shook his head . "Do not blame His Majesty, Anfey . His Majesty is the king, after all, and he needs to be well-rounded . "

Anfey frowned . The unicorn whined and nudged his hand .

"It’s not what you think," Saul comforted him . "Suzanna and Shally are daughters of the ruler of Gruce Principality, Darius . Suzanna underwent brutal training from the time she was a child . Darius needed a loyal guard, and there was no better choice than his eldest daughter . Suzanna did not rebel against this . "

"Like I’ve said, Master, Suzanna’s past is her own," Anfey said with a shrug . "But why must we return Shally to Gruce?"

"We cannot fight two wars at once . If we really want to fight with Ellisen Empire, we have to gain the support of Gruce . Only then will we have a chance . "

"I see," Anfey said . "But isn’t the Church advocating for unity among the nations? Why are we considering war?"

"Not now, of course . If you ever become a ruler, you will learn to think three steps ahead . This war with Ellisen Empire will not happen for years, maybe even decades . Plus, Shally is still too young . I doubt she can take the responsibility of an entire kingdom at this age . " Saul paused and sighed . "Maybe they will both be used to peace after a decade, and they would not want to be a part of this . But it doesn’t matter what they want, because their wills are nothing compared to the movement of the world’s current . "

"It’s hard for Suzanna to forget people she hates," Anfey admitted . "Maybe they are even more eager than His Majesty . " Anfey could feel that Suzanna would return to Gruce Principality sooner or later, because no one could convince her to give up on her revenge . He was her lover, and he should support her .

"I hope you’re telling the truth . "

"I know her, Master . We’ve never talked about it, but I know it is the truth . "