Chapter 11: The Meeting
The Champs Elysees was packed with people coming and going, yet Yale, George, and Reynolds clearly spotted the figure of a young woman not far away. Linley had been with Alice for quite some time, and Yale, George, and Reynolds had formally met Alice before, so they naturally recognized her.
“It’s Alice,” George said in a low voice.
At that moment, Alice was walking hand in hand with a young man, a faint smile on her face. If Linley were there, he would surely recognize the young man as Kalan.
“Bastard,” Yale said, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
Reynolds was also furious: “Linley went to her house again and again these past two months, waiting for her like an idiot, using that memory crystal ball to record scenes. He even told us he was going to marry this Alice in the future. Damn it!”
“What’s wrong with our third brother? He’s more than good enough for her,” George said, feeling indignant as well.
Yale snorted softly: “We can’t meddle in this. Let’s head to Azure Water Paradise first and wait for the third brother to come back. The most important thing now is to give him some preparation. If he’s not prepared, he probably won’t be able to handle this truth all at once.”
George and Reynolds nodded.
******
Inside a private room at Azure Water Paradise, Yale, George, and Reynolds all furrowed their brows. They hadn’t called for any women to serve them, and the drinks in front of them were just juice. They were worried about getting drunk and messing up when they had to deal with Linley later.
“I know our third brother well,” George said worriedly. “He doesn’t talk much usually, and he trains very hard. At our academy, girls chase after him all the time, but he’s never accepted any of them. Someone like him, once he falls deeply into something, gets in way deeper than people like you, boss, or you, fourth brother.”
Yale and Reynolds both nodded.
For Yale and Reynolds, if a woman was gone, they’d just find another. It was nothing. But over the past year, when they joked with Linley in the dorm at night, they could tell from his reactions just how deep his feelings for Alice were.
“This is really annoying,” Yale said, downing his juice in one gulp.
Reynolds snorted and said, “Boss Yale, stop worrying so much. It’s just a woman. The third brother might be in pain now, but after going through this, he’ll be better off in the future.”
Yale nodded.
Yale, Reynolds, and even George were all from big families, and they’d grown up learning about women. Reynolds and George were okay, with strict family discipline, but Yale had been raised in a den of women.
Time ticked by, and the three of them waited quietly.
Around one in the morning, the door creaked open. Linley, reeking of alcohol, walked straight in: “Hey, why are you all here?”
Yale laughed heartily: “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Third brother, did you not wait for that Alice again?” George asked, trying to sound casual.
Linley nodded silently, then plopped down onto a seat: “Why aren’t you guys drinking today?” He bent down, grabbed a few bottles of strong liquor from a box beside him, pulled out the corks, and started pouring.
“Third brother, I need to tell you something,” Yale said with a grin.
“Go ahead,” Linley said, in a bad mood.
Yale spoke softly: “Today on the road, we saw a girl who looked a lot like your Alice. Really. She was pretty far away, so we couldn’t tell for sure, but that girl was with a boy.”
“You’re lying,” Linley said firmly.
Yale was taken aback.
Reynolds slapped Linley on the shoulder and laughed: “Third brother, we’re all men. When does a man let a woman walk all over him? That Alice of yours has stood you up several times now. If it were me, I’d have dumped her long ago, even if she came crawling back on her knees, I wouldn’t give a damn.”
“Fourth brother, you’re just a kid, what do you know?” Linley said with a dismissive smile, his breath thick with alcohol. “Come on, no more nonsense. I’m in a bad mood, drink with me.”
Yale, Reynolds, and George exchanged glances, then had no choice but to sit down and start drinking with Linley.
The next morning, Yale, Reynolds, and George were all asleep, slumped over the table, while Linley was the first to wake up.
Looking at his three good brothers beside him, Linley had a bitter smile on his face and thought to himself: “Boss Yale, second brother, fourth brother, you spent time drinking with me and trying to persuade me. I get what you mean. After Alice didn’t show up two or three times, I had a bad feeling too. It’s just… I don’t want to believe it. I can’t accept it.”
Linley walked to the window and looked down.
At five or six in the morning, the city of Fenlai was just waking up, with only a few people walking the streets, rushing to work. Most people hadn’t come out yet.
“Linley.” Doehring Cowart flew out from the Coiling Dragon Ring.
Doehring was always in his moon-white robe, with that long white beard.
“Grandpa Doehring,” Linley said, feeling like a lone boat had finally found a harbor when he saw Doehring.
Doehring glanced at the sleeping Yale and the others, then said with a smile: “Linley, you have three good brothers. As for romantic feelings, I can tell you, in my nearly thirteen hundred years of life, only about one in ten first loves end up successful and perfect.”
“Grandpa Doehring, I understand,” Linley said with a slight nod. “But I trust her.”
Doehring nodded and didn’t say more.
……
In mid-November, Linley carried a pack with two memory crystal balls inside. Once again, he came to Fenlai City and arrived at that two-story building.
“Uncle Hard, has Alice come back?” Linley asked politely of the gatekeeper, Hard.
Hard shook his head: “No, Miss Alice hasn’t been back even once in the past month or so.”
“Not even once?” Linley frowned deeply. “Uncle Hard, I’ll be going then.” He said goodbye politely.
Walking alone on Ganmo Road, Linley passed by the tavern but didn’t go in. Bebe transmitted mentally: “Boss, there’s no need to worry that much, right? Alice not showing up might be because of something important, like going out for training or something. All sorts of things could happen. Don’t overthink it.”
“Right, she might be tied up with something,” Linley said, his eyes suddenly brightening.
Seeing Linley like this, Bebe wrinkled his little nose: “Boss, you’re so simple when you’re in love. Anyone can cheer you up with a little coaxing.”
“You little rascal, no drinking for you today,” Linley said, half-laughing, half-crying.
But he had to admit, Bebe’s antics had lifted his spirits a bit.
******
On November 29th, heavy snow fell, turning everything white as far as the eye could see. Linley, Reynolds, Yale, and George sat in a carriage. The driver was from Yale’s family’s trading company, and several knights escorted the stone sculptures in the back.
“Third brother, the year-end assessment is coming up soon. I wonder if that former academy prodigy has become a sixth-rank magician yet,” Yale said cheerfully.
George and Reynolds were also proud.
Just a week earlier, Linley had reached the level of a sixth-rank magician.
In fact, Linley was a fourth-rank magician at thirteen, a fifth-rank at fourteen and a half, and now it was the end of the year, almost his seventeenth birthday. Nearly two and a half years had passed, finally allowing Linley to step from fifth-rank to sixth-rank.
Two and a half years!
And that former academy prodigy, Dixie?
Dixie became a fifth-rank magician at twelve, and now he was also almost seventeen, with nearly five years gone. Dixie’s progress was still fast, but compared to Linley, who practiced the ‘Flat Blade Flow Carving’ technique, it was much slower.
If Linley reached sixth-rank at the year-end assessment and Dixie didn’t, Linley would become the undisputed academy prodigy.
“Third brother, can’t you smile a little? You became a sixth-rank magician, and you’re not even happy,” Reynolds said with a pout.
Linley forced a grin.
“That’s supposed to be a smile?” Reynolds teased him deliberately.
Linley finally laughed a little: “Alright, fourth brother, let me have some peace.” Linley had decided that this time, no matter what, he would see Alice. If he couldn’t find her in Fenlai City, he would go straight to the Welling Magic Academy to look for her.
No matter what, he had to talk to Alice face to face.
He pulled back the carriage curtain, and a blast of cold air rushed in. Linley squinted his eyes. The world outside was a vast expanse of white, with snowflakes like goose feathers filling the sky. He enjoyed the snowy scenery, and soon they arrived in Fenlai City.
After delivering the three stone sculptures to the Prutx Guild Hall, the four brothers had a meal together and then parted ways for now.
Linley’s income was very high now, almost twenty thousand gold coins a month, so he didn’t value money as much anymore. Carrying the pack with the two memory crystal balls, he headed straight for Alice’s house.
“Boss, if I remember right, this is the fourth time you’ve carried those two memory crystal balls to Fenlai City, right?” Bebe teased. “Why not give them to that Delia? I kind of like Delia.”
From mid-October until now, this was Linley’s fourth time carrying the two memory crystal balls to Fenlai City.
“Bebe, stop it,” Linley said with a frown.
Walking on the street, snow was everywhere. His feet crunched on the accumulated snow, and soon he arrived at the familiar two-story building.
After a brief chat with the gatekeeper Hard, Linley could only turn away again.
“Still not back,” Linley muttered, his brow deeply furrowed. “Welling Magic Academy!” He immediately decided to go to the Welling Magic Academy.
……
On the Champs Elysees in Fenlai City.
Alice and Kalan were walking hand in hand down the street. Kalan said softly, “Alice, aren’t you going to make things clear with Linley?”
“Wait a little longer,” Alice said, shaking her head.
Kalan nodded slightly and didn’t say more.
Looking at Alice, whose hand he was holding, a smile crept onto Kalan’s lips. They had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and deep down, he had always loved her. But he never expected Alice and Linley to get together so quickly.
When he first found out Alice was with Linley, Kalan was furious.
From childhood, Kalan had always believed Alice was his. Even if Linley had done him some favors, when it came to love, he wouldn’t back down. So… he had just used a few subtle tricks on the side.
“Love at first sight? A hero saving a beauty?” Kalan thought disdainfully. “In the face of reality, all that is as fragile as paper.”
Holding Alice’s hand, Kalan felt smug.
“Alice, when are you going to make things clear with Linley?” Kalan asked again. He really didn’t want Alice to keep dragging things out with Linley.
Alice shook her head: “I don’t know. But I think, if I just don’t see Brother Linley for a long time, the feelings will naturally fade. Then when I break up with him, his reaction won’t be too intense.”
“You’re right. After all, Linley once saved us,” Kalan said with a nod.
As they walked, when they reached the intersection of the Champs Elysees and Ganmo Road, Kalan noticed Alice suddenly stop. He looked at her in confusion, and saw her staring blankly toward Ganmo Road, her face pale. Kalan turned to look as well—
A young man in a moon-white robe stood motionless ahead, staring at them, his face drained of all color, as white as paper.
“Linley!” Kalan’s brow instantly furrowed.