Chapter 12: Fury
In the garden of the Buss family estate, Alice was sitting together with Kalan, discussing matters of ceremony.
"Alice." Kalan's face was full of excited smiles. "I've already spoken with my father. Our engagement date is set for June 18th, and our wedding day will be January 1st next year—that is, next year's 'Yulan Festival.'"
A hint of a smile also appeared on Alice's face.
"Next year... next year will be Yulan Calendar year 10000, won't it? Holding our wedding on the 'Yulan Festival' of Yulan Calendar year 10000... it's just too, too wonderful." As Alice spoke, she too began to laugh with joy.
Seeing Alice's happy smile, Kalan felt a deep sense of satisfaction in his heart.
"Alice, please discuss it with your father as soon as possible and give me the guest list from your side, so I can make arrangements quickly." Kalan urged.
"Mm." Alice nodded softly.
Kalan stroked Alice's silky hair, feeling very content.
But thinking of the predicament his family was currently in, Kalan felt some anxiety. Not long after he and Alice got together, the De Buss family had suffered an unprecedented blow—the Dawson Chamber of Commerce had abandoned them!
The De Buss family's current glory was inseparable from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce.
However, in December of last year, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce directly announced the termination of its cooperation with the De Buss family and handed over all its various commercial interests in the Fenlai Kingdom to another family, letting that other family take the De Buss family's place.
Moreover...
It wasn't just that. The Dawson Chamber of Commerce even went so far as to suppress the De Buss family, causing losses in all their business ventures.
"This Dawson Chamber of Commerce, why are they oppressing my family like this? Our De Buss family hasn't offended them." Kalan was also troubled by this. As the future heir of the family, Kalan naturally paid close attention to such matters.
And because this happened right after he had told his family about his relationship with Alice, many within the family now believed that 'Alice' was a jinx.
Otherwise, why would the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, which had cooperated with them for so many years, abandon them?
But fortunately, over the years, the De Buss family had accumulated enormous wealth. Although their losses were great now, the De Buss family at least still had their foundation. However, they also understood that due to unknown reasons causing the Dawson Chamber of Commerce's suppression, their De Buss family had no hope left in 'commerce.'
No one was willing to offend a super-giant like the Dawson Chamber of Commerce for their sake.
So, the De Buss family had to find another way out.
Shaking his head to push these troubling thoughts aside, Kalan smiled at Alice. "Alice, I heard that the Prüx Gallery exhibited a very remarkable stone sculpture yesterday, said to be comparable to the works of masters. A lot of people are going to see it. Shall we go take a look?"
Alice also felt bored. "Sure."
******
Kalan and Alice then took a carriage to the Prüx Gallery.
"This stone sculpture is said to be truly extraordinary. I've been busy these past two days preparing various matters for our engagement and wedding, so I haven't had the chance to bring you to see it." Kalan jumped out of the carriage first, then very gentlemanly took Alice's hand to help her down.
Alice and Kalan walked side by side into the Prüx Gallery.
"Kalan, look, there are so many people!" Alice's eyes lit up as she pointed ahead.
In the deepest part of the Prüx Gallery, the 'Master's Exhibition Hall' was packed with people. However, the hall was very orderly, with visitors entering through one door and exiting through another. Each person was only allowed to stay for about three minutes.
Every three minutes, the viewers in the Master's Exhibition Hall had to leave. If they wanted to go in again...
Fine, they had to queue up again!
"What a long line." Kalan was also surprised. In all his years, he had never seen the Prüx Gallery so crowded.
Kalan and Alice followed the rules and joined the queue. They waited for about twenty minutes before their group was allowed into the Master's Exhibition Hall. The large group of people entered the hall and immediately surged forward.
Curious, Alice and Kalan naturally pushed forward as well.
But when Alice first saw the appearance of the stone sculpture, she froze as if struck still, staring blankly at the huge stone carving before her. The five exquisitely beautiful female stone sculptures each contained a unique flavor.
Others were immersed in the artistic conception contained in the 'Dream Awakening' sculpture.
But when Alice saw this sculpture, her mind involuntarily recalled the scenes of her past with Linley—
There was the first time, in her despair, when Linley descended like a god.
There was the time on the balcony, where the two of them hid beneath it and talked through the night.
...
Scenes kept surfacing, completely stunning Alice. She had never imagined that the 'stone sculpture' that had attracted so many people and reached master-level quality was actually based on her.
"Lin... Linley..." Alice's emotions became extremely complicated in an instant.
She looked at the introduction posted beside it—
"The author of this stone sculpture, 'Linley,' is seventeen years old this year. He graduated from the Ernst Institute of Magic. At just seventeen, Linley is already a seventh-rank dual-element magician. He is currently the absolute number one magical genius in the entire Yulan Continent. Even in the ten-thousand-year history of the Yulan Continent, Linley is the second-greatest magical prodigy."
"However, Linley's achievements are not limited to the field of magic. His accomplishments in stone sculpture are even greater. At seventeen years old, this 'Dream Awakening' sculpture..."
...
Every word completely stunned Alice.
"It's Linley, it's Linley." Alice stared blankly at the introduction. "A seventh-rank dual-element magician? He's already a seventh-rank dual-element magician? But... but last year, he was only a..."
Alice didn't know that before they broke up, Linley was already a sixth-rank dual-element magician. He just never had the chance to tell her.
"Dream Awakening, this sculpture is called 'Dream Awakening.'" Alice looked at the five humanoid sculptures, especially the last one, which contained a sense of ruthless detachment. She suddenly understood the true meaning behind Linley naming this sculpture 'Dream Awakening.'
"Dream... awakened?" Alice felt her mind was in chaos.
For the first man she had truly loved, Linley always held a place in Alice's heart. But when she realized that Linley had named this sculpture 'Dream Awakening,' she suddenly felt as if she had lost something in her heart.
—
That feeling was very painful.
Alice suddenly noticed Kalan beside her. Kalan's expression was extremely grim. His fists were clenched tightly, veins bulging, his face dark and terrifying. A strange light flickered in his eyes as he stared fixedly at that sculpture.
"Kalan." Alice called out worriedly.
Kalan didn't pay any attention to Alice at all.
"Linley, you... you've gone too far." Kalan's heart was filled with boundless fury. In the past, although Kalan had treated Linley quite well, deep down, he had always looked down on him a little. In Kalan's view, no matter how hard Linley worked alone, he could hardly compare to an entire family.
After all, his family was riding on the giant ship of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce.
But how long had it been? Only five months?
His De Buss family had been abandoned by the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. And Linley? He had burst onto the scene, stepping into the realm of a seventh-rank dual-element magician at the age of seventeen, hailed as the number one magical genius of the entire Yulan Continent.
Even in the recorded history of the Yulan Continent, only one person was slightly better than Linley.
"Seventeen years old, a seventh-rank dual-element magician, and a figure comparable to a master stone sculptor." Kalan felt a sense of powerlessness.
The other party was too outstanding.
But then, Kalan was filled with boundless rage.
Because the model for this sculpture was his fiancée!
"Hey, look, the woman in the 'Dream Awakening' sculpture looks a lot like this lady!" A voice suddenly rang out in the Master's Exhibition Hall. Dozens of gazes immediately turned toward Alice, and a buzz of discussion arose.
Linley's stone carving skill was too powerful; he had fully brought out that divine essence.
The moment those viewers saw Alice, they had a feeling... that this girl in front of them was too similar to the woman in the 'Dream Awakening' sculpture. It was almost as if they were the same person—that unique look in her eyes, that slightly pointed nose.
"Miss, may I ask what relationship you have with Master Linley?" An elderly man, whose hair was already graying and who was over a hundred years old, politely inquired of Alice.
In the art of stone carving, mastery was determined by skill.
Linley's skill had already earned the utmost admiration from these collectors who had studied stone carving for decades or even centuries. Calling him 'Master' came from the heart. With the eye of this old man who had studied stone carving for over a century, he could naturally guess that the woman in the sculpture probably had a tangled romantic history with Master Linley.
Alice felt a bit awkward and instinctively looked at Kalan beside her.
"Oh, Kalan, you're here too." The old man looked at Kalan. Old and shrewd, he could naturally tell that Kalan and Alice had a close relationship. "Kalan, who is this young lady?"
Although Kalan was very displeased inside, he still bowed humbly and said, "Lord Duke Berna, this is Miss Alice, my fiancée."
"Fiancée?" Duke Berna glanced thoughtfully at Kalan and Alice, smiled, and said nothing more.
******
Kalan pulled Alice along, quickly fleeing back to the De Buss family estate as if escaping.
The patriarch of the De Buss family, Kalan's father 'Leonard,' looked at his son in disbelief. "What did you say? The model for that piece exhibited at the Prüx Gallery is Alice?"
Leonard was quite fond of his son.
When his son said he wanted to marry Alice, Leonard didn't object. But just a few days after his son's relationship with Alice was confirmed, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce had inexplicably abandoned the De Buss family. Leonard had been constantly seeking an audience with the upper echelons of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, trying to arrange a meeting.
For the past few months, Leonard had been busy with this matter. Even yesterday, when that piece was exhibited at the Prüx Gallery, he hadn't bothered to go.
"Alice, the model is Alice?" Leonard's expression turned grim.
Kalan nodded. "Yes, Father. We haven't gotten engaged yet, but once we do, Alice will be recognized by many nobles in the Holy Capital. That stone sculpture 'Dream Awakening' by Linley will definitely become the biggest joke for our family."
Leonard pondered for a moment, then frowned at Kalan and asked, "Is it that serious? Is there something shameful about this sculpture?"
"Father, Linley and Alice had a... past," Kalan said vaguely. "And that sculpture is about his relationship with Alice."
Leonard said nothing more, his brows deeply furrowed.
After a moment, Leonard looked at Kalan. "Kalan, if I asked you to give up Alice, would you be willing?" Kalan shook his head firmly. After all, he was only eighteen this year.
Leonard nodded slightly. "Alice, don't worry. I'll handle this matter. Don't concern yourself with it."
Kalan nodded. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and looked at his father, saying, "Father, since I'm with Alice, that Linley must hold a grudge against me. And now Linley's potential is too great. I think... can we find a way to kill Linley?"