Chapter 20 – The Vault Theft

Lin Wei had already recalled this period from his previous life. Back then, he was part of the Empire’s Mage Corps and, alongside the Tidis family, had aligned himself early with the Gregory faction. This had led to frequent interactions with that Highness. Although he rarely moved around the Imperial Capital due to his magic studies, he had never missed any major news from the city.

During this time, in his memory, it was indeed uneventful—nothing particularly noteworthy. The old Emperor had constructed a grand and majestic canal, which would soon facilitate smoother exchanges between the resource-rich southern regions and the Imperial Capital. The Lavis family and their long-time rivals, the Berlinar family, were fiercely competing for the operating rights of this canal route. Meanwhile, Count Ferdinand’s eldest son had fallen in love with a commoner’s daughter living in the northern district of the Imperial Capital and wanted to break off his prearranged engagement…

The covert struggles between families, which the Imperial Family was pleased to see, and the amusing anecdotes about the noble lords that commoners loved to gossip about, were happening every moment. Such things were utterly ordinary in the Imperial Capital.

So, what was the reason behind the sudden tightening of inspections and defenses at the city gates, and the situation that his father mentioned, which seemed inextricably linked to “mages”?

Lin Wei had originally intended to leave a way out for himself and the Tidis family. If his father refused to accept his suggestion and insisted on supporting Gregory, he could distance himself from the family and still be of some help. Unexpectedly, his accidental move had actually pleased his father greatly?

“You just arrived in the Imperial Capital yesterday, so of course, you wouldn’t know about this,” the Duke said. “Four days ago, the Imperial Treasure Vault was robbed.”

The Imperial Treasure Vault?

That heavily guarded treasure trove buried deep beneath the Imperial Palace?

Under the lamplight, the Duke noticed his eldest son’s brows furrowing visibly.

“What is it?”

“What was stolen?” Lin Wei asked.

He didn’t know exactly what was stored in the Treasure Vault, but there was one thing he knew very clearly.

The Imperial Family had three Forbidden-level magic scrolls in their possession: “Molten Gold,” “Sunfall,” and “The Holy Kingdom.” While “The Holy Kingdom,” directly held by successive Emperors, was a top-tier defensive scroll, the other two were offensive scrolls.

What kind of existence were Forbidden-level offensive scrolls? The fall of the Floating Sky Capital had only required the Empire to sacrifice the life of a single high mage to fully activate the “Sunfall” scroll.

In his previous life, Lin Wei had been deeply puzzled by why the Empire possessed such precious Forbidden scrolls and why, throughout the long war, the Magic World had never used even one of these scrolls.

It wasn’t until he spent those years at the Magic Academy that he learned that, in the hearts of mages, Forbidden scrolls were not seen as weapons of attack but rather as something akin to commemorative artifacts.

A Forbidden scroll contained terrifyingly pure and concentrated magical power and could summon all the Magic Elements in the surrounding area. The cost of creating such a scroll was the life of at least one Archmage.

Yes, the entirety of a white-robed Archmage’s power—this was a special ritual in the Magic World. When an Archmage’s long life was nearing its end, they often chose to condense their lifelong power and understanding of the elemental laws into a magic scroll made of special materials. Sometimes, two Archmages with exceptionally compatible attributes and deep friendship would collaborate on a single scroll. “The Holy Kingdom” was the result of such a collaboration.

Thus, the Magic World viewed these scrolls as the crystallized essence of the Archmages’ lives, no different from their creations, insights, or chronicles in the path of magic. They held them in the highest reverence and would never claim a scroll for themselves, let alone use it.

The Empire, taking advantage of this, had secretly obtained these three precious scrolls during the early days when they still had frequent interactions with the Magic World. Later, they used one of them to destroy the capital of the Magic World—something the mages could never have anticipated.

“The Holy Kingdom” was in the Emperor’s hands, and Lin Wei didn’t know the whereabouts of “Sunfall.”

But—Lin Wei remembered clearly that shortly after the war began, when he became the Duke and officially took command of the Empire’s army and Mage Corps, Gregory had secretly bestowed upon him the Forbidden scroll “Molten Gold,” which had been taken from the Imperial Treasure Vault!

Lin Wei looked at his father, anxiously awaiting his answer.

“I don’t know what was stolen,” the Duke replied. “But judging from the Imperial Family’s attitude, this matter is related to mages.”

The Duke knew that on the night of the theft, the Empire’s Mage Corps had almost entirely mobilized to search the Imperial Capital.

Of course, the search yielded no results.

At this time, Lin Wei, also a mage and one not under the Empire’s jurisdiction, had returned to the Imperial Capital. This was bound to stir the Imperial Family’s sensitive nerves. If Lin Wei were to show the same closeness to his family as before, the Tidis family’s situation would become extremely precarious.

Lin Wei’s heart sank.

The Imperial Family’s Treasure Vault… a theft that required the Mage Corps to mobilize—other than that scroll, he couldn’t think of any other item that was both related to magic and of such immense importance to the Empire.

Lin Wei’s hand, hanging by his side, involuntarily clenched into a fist. He then realized, with a start, that his fingers had gone ice-cold at some point.

This was different.

This was entirely different from the trajectory of his previous life—it was the complete opposite.

Lin Wei had thought that by reliving his life and making changes, the Forbidden scroll, safely stored in the Treasure Vault, would never have a chance to be used. But now, it might have already vanished into thin air.

Had his choices, different from his previous life, altered fate? Or was this life inherently different from the last?

This sudden change made everything that had gradually become clear suddenly turn murky and unpredictable again.

The Duke, keenly noticing the shift in Lin Wei’s expression, immediately asked, “Do you know something?”

—This boy had spent the past year in the Magic World. Could this matter truly be connected to those mages outside the Empire?

“No,” Lin Wei forced himself to calm down and covered up, “I was just thinking that since the Empire believes this matter is related to magic, I wonder what attitude they’ll take towards the Magic World in the future.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking too, especially since you’re now considered part of the Magic World,” the Duke believed Lin Wei’s explanation and said, “The Imperial Family has probably already received news of your return. It won’t be long before they come to you, seeking information about the Magic Academy.”

“I’ll handle it properly,” Lin Wei replied.

The Duke nodded in satisfaction. The important matters had been discussed, and although his son had outmaneuvered him, the boy’s thinking was indeed sound—the Duke was both pleased with his eldest son and felt a renewed sense of hope for the family’s future. In high spirits, he waved his hand and said, “Boy, I’ll let go of what happened a year ago. Now that you’ve seen your mother and brother, scram back quietly!”

Lin Wei, watching his father shoo him away, smiled helplessly. After saying goodbye, he turned and walked toward the door. Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to remember something he had overlooked and turned back to the Duke, saying, “Father, perhaps you should spend more time with Eddy… It’s not good for him to always be with Mother.”

The Duke frowned slightly. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Eddy, his second son, who was of average talent and even a bit dull and timid. But he realized that over the years, he hadn’t exactly fulfilled his responsibilities as a father.

“I’ll consider it,” the Duke, unusually calm, accepted his eldest son’s suggestion. “You can go now.”

Lin Wei said no more and quietly left the Tidis family’s estate under the cover of night, returning to the East District where his group was temporarily staying.

If the stolen item was indeed that Forbidden scroll, Lin Wei knew that with what he currently knew, even racking his brains wouldn’t yield any clues. He could only hope that when the Imperial Family came to him, he might glean some useful information from them.

In the slightly chilly night breeze of the Imperial Capital, Lin Wei let out a long sigh.

No matter why the Imperial Treasure Vault was robbed or what trouble the culprit might cause, at least he had succeeded in what he wanted to do—persuading his father to support Bolan.

As long as he could keep the Empire from setting its sights on the Magic World, everything else could be managed.

Turning a corner, he arrived at the front of the inn building.

One of the windows in their rooms still glowed with light, indicating that even though it was late at night—when everyone should have been asleep—someone was still waiting for his return.

This brought great comfort to Lin Wei, who had been unceremoniously thrown out of his home twice in one day by his father.

He couldn’t help but recall the scene before he left that morning.

At that time, Lin Wei was about to face the Duke, who had likely been angry with him for the past year, and he wasn’t entirely confident he could persuade him. Feeling anxious, he had curled up in his chair and, mimicking Daniel’s affected tone, lamented, “Going there today, I might not know how I’ll return…”

Qiu Na, concerned, asked, “Then how might you return?”

“If my father’s anger has subsided, he’ll throw me out, or beat me up and then throw me out…”

“Huh?”

“And that’s not all,” Lin Wei said weakly. “If he’s still furious no matter what, not only will I be thrown out, but I’ll also be expelled from the family and have to hand over the family crest—then I’ll be a complete pauper!”

Hearing this dire news, Qiu Na quickly said, “Then you must apologize properly to the Grand Duke!”

“That depends on my father,” Lin Wei turned to Duan Yu beside him. “If I end up penniless, you’ll have to support me—Duan Yu, I hear your family is a magic lineage. You wouldn’t mind a summoner’s modest expenses, would you…”