Chapter 63 – If It Brings You Freedom

In this brief moment, Lin Wei couldn’t quite articulate what he was feeling.

The Imperial Capital was a meticulously crafted garden, where sunlight filtered through lush trees, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow. The fragrance of flowers intertwined gently with the sound of fountains. Some people relaxed and basked in the sun outside their doors, while others strolled on the emerald-green lawns, their feet feeling the pulse and heartbeat of the dark, muddy swamp beneath.

They were accustomed to the covert dealings and schemes behind the scenes, where lives were merely pawns on a chessboard of black and white, moved at will in the pursuit of power and wealth. What they feared was not the purity or nobility of bloodlines, but the depth of one’s influence—if killing a prince was as easy as it was beneficial, they would not hesitate to plunge a jewel-encrusted sword into his heart.

The letter had exposed something about him—something he would have preferred to keep hidden, like a young woman walking with her lover in the wilderness, her carefully prepared clothing torn by thorns, revealing an ugly scar on her body.

In the short time he had, there was no opportunity to carefully gauge the other’s thoughts, leaving only a vague unease and disorientation rising from the depths of his heart.

Lin Wei remained motionless for a moment until the mage, whose expression remained indifferent, picked up the letter from the honey-colored floor and handed it back to him. The mage then turned and continued toward the door, his posture still tall, slender, and graceful, showing no trace of emotional turmoil.

After placing the letter back on the table, Lin Wei followed Duan Yu’s steps, unsure of what to say.

Reflecting on his earlier emotions, he realized that what he feared was not the exposure of his thoughts or the other’s doubts, but the possibility of being rejected—the mage had every right and reason to reject him, as the gravest crime in the Magic World was the killing of one’s own kin.

After descending the stairs, Haitie had already set the table—the first dinner to welcome their companions back was, of course, a lavish one, though for mages, “lavish” meant adding a few more varieties of magical fruits, with most of the effort going into their arrangement and slicing—their bland taste remained unchanged.

Normally, such a dinner would end quickly, as there was little to savor—but this time was an exception.

Daniel chewed slowly on the fruit in his mouth, his ice-green eyes darting between Lin Wei and Gregory. Haitie absentmindedly stirred the white fruit pieces on her plate, while Talin and Nigel ate with proper manners. The captain couldn’t help but glance at Lin Wei from time to time, and Sars Angel kept his head down, his expression unclear.

An isolated island in the midst of a storm, a two-story house—mages and ordinary people sitting at the same table, a prince, nobles, and commoners sharing a meal—such a scene was almost unbelievable.

The focus of the dinner was Gregory and Lin Wei. The atmosphere in the room had turned strange and heavy the moment Lin Wei descended the stairs and locked eyes with Gregory, even though the two of them continued to chat aimlessly, occasionally exchanging smiles.

After the excruciating dinner, the others seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they got up and left, each retreating to their rooms and dreading the next meal.

Lin Wei returned to his desk to gather his thoughts—Gregory was exactly as he remembered from his past life, inscrutable and elusive, showing no signs of panic even in a precarious situation… His Highness must have thought the same, knowing that Tidis still feared the Imperial Family and would not act rashly.

Besides this confidence, Gregory might also have a trump card—one or more mages in the academy might secretly remain loyal to the Imperial Family, and the few days he had spent in the Magic Academy were enough for him to understand the mages’ personalities. He had disguised himself perfectly, and the shrewd Daniel harbored no hostility toward him. Haitie’s attitude was also quite friendly, and this pure-hearted girl could easily become a pawn…

The man on the throne, with his deep red straight hair and thin lips, his casual and confident smile, always brought with it a heavy, suffocating pressure whenever Lin Wei recalled him.

Lin Wei had to muster all his focus to deal with His Highness, but tonight he had come close to losing his train of thought several times—he couldn’t help but steal glances at the mage across from him, wondering what the man was thinking.

The time between dinner and the usual bedtime was not long, as most mages chose to spend the latter half of the night in meditation. Thanks to this unwritten rule, Lin Wei’s sleep time was always longer than it had been in the Imperial Capital.

As if to make up for the shallow sleep of his past life, he enjoyed sleeping deeply—spending a night undisturbed by thoughts and waking up feeling relaxed and comfortable.

Lin Wei stood by Duan Yu’s bed, holding his pillow, his eyes slightly lowered. The scene was similar to the previous night, except that he was now fully awake—he wanted a suitable environment for this conversation, not sitting face-to-face, as that would feel too confrontational.

“There are some things I must tell you,” he said. “Can I say them here?”

As expected, he was not refused, which gave Lin Wei some peace of mind.

He was good at pushing his luck—so he naturally wrapped himself in Duan Yu’s blanket again.

“That letter… what you saw,” he struggled to organize his words, speaking haltingly, “I really did think that way, but I changed my mind later. I can’t do that now.”

The mage looked at him now—he could almost be described as docile and obedient.

“Why?” Duan Yu’s response was a simple question, his tone calm.

“We are enemies. I hope to one day send Gregory to his grave with my own hands. If not this time, then next time,” Lin Wei met Duan Yu’s eyes. “His younger brother will be crowned Emperor, my family will have glory and a future, or if I were a person filled with kindness and justice—the continent would be spared a tragedy.”

“When that time comes, I’ll be willing to write his epitaph,” Lin Wei gave a short laugh, his voice gradually lowering until it was almost inaudible. “My… Majesty, sitting on a throne forged from bones and fire.”

“Those who kill their kin will be hunted by the Law Enforcers until their life is forfeit, their soul never to rest in peace.”

This was the first article of the Iron Law, spoken by the mage in his cool, clear voice.

“Yes… so,” Lin Wei’s eyes held something soft, but more of it was a shade akin to despondence. His voice was low as he continued, “Will you judge me?”

“I have no right to judge.”

The mage’s next words made Lin Wei’s eyes widen slightly.

“I don’t know the rules of the continent,” the mage said slowly, “but if doing this can bring you freedom and release, I hope you succeed.”

Lin Wei was momentarily stunned, his gaze locked with Duan Yu’s dark golden eyes. The light from the magic crystal was gentle, not too bright, lending a softness to those usually expressionless eyes.

“Freedom and release,” Lin Wei lowered his lashes slightly, masking the intensity of his emotions. “Why do you say that?”

“You enjoy life in the Magic World, but sometimes you seem preoccupied, especially after he appeared.”

Lin Wei took a deep breath. Suddenly, he felt a heat in his eyes, as if something within him was about to burst forth, bringing both pain and relief, like a sharp blade cutting away rotting flesh, or scorching sunlight piercing a damp, moss-covered corner, revealing a festering wound beneath an old scar.

This was his original, deepest desire—one he had either intentionally or unintentionally forgotten.

He wanted to kill Gregory, urgently wanted to end him, using the quickest and most direct means, for his family’s future, to prevent war.

But it wasn’t like that… He harbored an obsessive hatred for Gregory, a hatred not born of pity for those who died in the war, nor even for his parents who died in the Imperial Capital, but from the shackles and the lifeless fate that had weighed on him day and night.

He was a mage hidden in secrecy, a shadow lurking in the splendor of the Imperial Capital, weary and lost, with nowhere to go but the Mage Corps, nothing to do but serve Gregory—and the ambitious, distrustful Emperor would never give him the trust he deserved.

Without realizing it, this weariness, this confusion, this unwillingness to struggle had twisted together into a vague resentment, which became intense and specific when faced with Gregory.

Duan Yu’s softly spoken words suddenly parted the thick fog, allowing Lin Wei to see the depths of his own heart, which even he had not faced.

This thought had first surfaced when he met Bolan over twenty days ago, and in this moment, it became crystal clear.

What he wanted was nothing more than freedom and release—his family, the continent, were merely a semblance of purpose, a byproduct of the ultimate goal.

“I thought you were always indifferent, that you didn’t care about these things,” Lin Wei said after a long silence. “Today I realized you understand me… more deeply than I imagined, even more deeply than I understand myself.”

“We’ve been living together,” the mage thought for a moment, then said to him, “and you haven’t hidden these things.”

“I thought you wouldn’t notice,” Lin Wei’s voice carried a low laugh. “It seems I underestimated your perceptiveness.”

He suddenly felt lighter, the weight of Gregory’s presence no longer as oppressive. His true desire was now clear before him, close and tantalizingly sweet.

—As tempting as the promise he had heard in the halls of the Death Swamp, his consciousness blurred.

Lin Wei looked at Duan Yu, unwilling to look away—this was a face that would be remembered for a long time, a person who had unexpectedly crossed paths with him again, who was cold as ice most of the time—but to someone who had walked alone in the dark, cold night for years, even the touch of snowflakes felt as gentle as a lover’s kiss.

Behind this person was the free, clean, and vast Magic World, and he had once promised to stay by Lin Wei’s side for a long time. Either of these things was something Lin Wei yearned for—a yearning that was all too real.

Lin Wei felt it again—his heartbeat, clear and steady, the blood flowing through his body slightly warm, as if a fire had been lit, growing fiercer by the moment.

He didn’t want to return to his own bed.

—Tomorrow, he’d put the egg on it, right in the center. It was big enough—that bed would no longer be fit for sleeping.