Chapter 24 – On the Matter of a Future Wife

It was a great pity that the profound, sincere, heartfelt, and deeply troubled sigh from the lodger went unheard by anyone.

Lin Wei, who disliked using psychic energy and preferred relying on his eyes and ears, thus having senses no different from an ordinary person, naturally didn’t hear it. Duan Yu, who should have been sensitive to such things, also didn’t spare any extra attention to notice the actions of a passing lodger.

In fact, the faint golden psychic energy that usually enveloped the entire inn was now unusually thin in other areas.

“Hmm…” Haitie, who had just stepped onto the stairs of the inn, noticed this unusual situation. When she instinctively strengthened her psychic energy, she realized that most of Duan Yu’s energy was concentrated in one place.

Before the beautiful mage could guess what was happening, she saw Daniel, who had gone up the stairs first, suddenly stop in his tracks: “They, they two…”

“What’s wrong?” Haitie lifted the hem of her long dress and quickened her pace up the stairs. Her delicate, fringed shoes tapped out a crisp sound on the wooden steps, which abruptly stopped at a certain moment.

Hearing the familiar sound, Lin Wei didn’t show the slightest hint of guilt. He slowly let go of Duan Yu, leisurely straightened his collar, and turned to look at the two people who had just spent the day wandering in the capital, deeply impressed by its prosperity and wealth, and were now dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed upon returning to the inn: “Quickly wipe that shocked look off your faces… Dirichlet and Asa’s sincere embrace—is there a problem?”

In the legends and myths of mages, every element has its corresponding elemental god. Dirichlet, the god of wind, and Asa, the god of water, were two of them—they were deeply close friends. “Dirichlet and Asa’s embrace” was an ancient story passed down through generations, one of the chapters praising the friendship of these two deities.

“The embrace between the god of wind and the god of water after resolving a misunderstanding… Of course, there’s no problem, but…”

But, Lin Wei, why did you close the door after saying that?

Haitie silently thought as she looked at the light brown door of the inn, carved with a pattern of intertwining branches and roses.

“Ahem…” Daniel coughed dryly, “I say, let’s just each go back to our own rooms.”

Haitie nodded in agreement and walked into the room next door.

After closing the door, Lin Wei’s thick skin seemed to thin ever so slightly. He subconsciously touched his nose, turned around, and said somewhat sheepishly to Duan Yu, “I was a bit rude just now.”

“There’s nothing rude about it,” Duan Yu paused, then added, “Since it was like Dirichlet and Asa.”

“The two outside the door seemed a bit surprised… oh well.” Lin Wei threw himself onto the soft bed, staring at the exquisitely decorated ceiling of the inn. “It’s a good thing you’re not a beautiful lady, or the misunderstanding would have been huge.”

Duan Yu sat down in the armchair by the bed, his tone somewhat helpless: “Compared to that, it seems I’m a bit taller… Why don’t you compare yourself to a beautiful lady?”

“Of course, I can’t be a beautiful lady. Back in the day…” Lin Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of a proud smile playing on his lips. “Back in the day, the number of beautiful ladies in the capital who wanted to marry me could form a circle around the Imperial Plaza! Even the Empire’s number one beauty, Lady Lavis, might have been among them!”

Before his eyes floated scenes of lively balls, with noble ladies in shimmering dresses and jewelry—the heir of the Tidis family, second only to the imperial family, with passable looks and manners, and perhaps even a bit of charm when dealing with beautiful ladies—there was no better marriage candidate than him.

But that was before he joined the Mage Corps…

If he hadn’t had magical talent, Lady Lavis might not have ended up marrying Prince Bolan—her family was also an excellent match for the Tidis family.

Lin Wei felt a bit sorry for his past self. Those ladies either gave up on the idea of marrying him after learning about his magical abilities, got engaged to someone else, or were rejected by him. In the end, out of so many beautiful and gentle ladies, he hadn’t managed to secure even one!

Though, it seemed Duan Yu didn’t have a wife either?

Lin Wei immediately felt relieved—this future leader of the magic world, stronger than him, even slightly better-looking—didn’t he also fail to find a wife?

“After I became a mage, they were so disappointed—though I didn’t really like them that much either,” Lin Wei said, then looked at Duan Yu. “Speaking of which, what kind of wife do you want?”

What kind of girl would this always cold and unreadable guy like?

“I haven’t thought about it,” Duan Yu seemed to be pondering something, and Lin Wei stared at him intently, eager to hear his answer.

After a long while, Duan Yu relaxed his slightly furrowed, handsome brows and spoke.

“—Do you have a sister?”

Caught off guard by this question, Lin Wei was momentarily stunned before answering honestly, “Well… I can only hope my mother gives birth to a third child.”

After saying this, as if afraid Duan Yu would be disappointed, he added, “But I do have a few cousins who haven’t been engaged yet. Though mages don’t marry ordinary people, right? Besides, even if I had a sister… I wouldn’t know what she’d be like. My brother and I are quite different in personality.”

“Sorry,” Duan Yu lowered his eyelashes, “My family members are all very similar, so I assumed yours would be the same.”

Looking at Duan Yu’s serious expression, Lin Wei suddenly felt a warmth in his chest.

But if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean Duan Yu’s family is full of such cold and stoic people?

“Also, in my family, marriage contracts can only be made with ordinary people.”

Having a family full of cold personalities is one thing, but isn’t it that people in the magic world usually don’t even glance at ordinary people?

Lin Wei didn’t hide his confusion: “With ordinary people—why?”

“Because of bloodline,” Duan Yu said calmly, “All five families of the Valley of Elements are like this. To maintain the purest bloodline, they cannot marry other mages.”

Hearing the term “Valley of Elements” again, Lin Wei immediately recalled what Duan Yu had mentioned back in the Magic Beast Forest.

“Pure bloodline, is it to make your powers stronger?”

“You could say that,” Duan Yu replied, “Only such a bloodline can suppress the power of the ‘Source.'”

Five Valleys of Elements, five magical Sources.

“So, you…” Lin Wei didn’t continue asking. This seemed to touch on the secrets of Duan Yu’s family.

But Duan Yu showed no intention of hiding anything and continued, “Our five families are the gatekeepers of the Valley of Elements… The Source must be suppressed. That’s the family’s mission, even if we don’t know the reason.”

A rich Source of magical elements should be a good thing for the magic world—why suppress it? And what about the family that was completely wiped out… What will happen to the Valley of Ice? And what about the elemental chaos within Duan Yu?

Duan Yu didn’t know, and Lin Wei couldn’t even begin to guess. He began to feel that his understanding of the magic world was still far from enough.

“So, a wife can only be an ordinary person,” Duan Yu shifted the topic, “What about you?”

My… wife?

“She should be beautiful and intelligent, like Lady Lavis—though her personality isn’t likable. I wouldn’t want my future wife to be full of inexplicable arrogance.” Lin Wei closed his eyes and began piecing together an image in his mind. “Of course, she can’t be too fragile either—that would cause a lot of trouble… Hmm, too enthusiastic isn’t good either. I wouldn’t want to talk to her.”

Lin Wei recalled the various beautiful ladies he had met, picking out the traits he liked and disliked from each, and finally managed to piece together an image of his ideal future wife.

“So…” He opened his eyes and looked at Duan Yu, his expression sincere and earnest.

“—Do you have a sister?”