"Wait, Rudolf Minos?"

  Professor Temple looked surprised, then let out a long sigh.

  "I haven't heard that name in ages!"

  "You knew him?" Luo Wei asked.

  "Of course. Everyone in the Western Continent knew him. Well, maybe not kids your age."

  Professor Temple's eyes went distant. "Back then I was just a small-time alchemist. Master Rudolf taught me, and that's how I became a mystical smith."

  "But that was years ago. Why are you asking about him?"

  Luo Wei was about to make up an excuse when Professor Temple spotted the ring on her hand. "Oh, because of that ring!"

  Ring?

  Luo Wei looked down at her still-trembling hand. On her left thumb sat a silver ring—the spatial magic tool the Church had prepared as a prize for the seminary team. It ended up going to Siria's squad instead.

  Only now did she remember its name. The Ring of Minos.

  Ring of Minos. Rudolf Minos. How had she not made the connection?

  Luo Wei took off the ring and looked closer. On the inside of the band, she found a design of flames and a forging hammer overlapping. Below it ran a line of tiny text—each letter smaller than a flea.

  "That's the Minos family crest," Professor Temple said. "The flame and hammer. It belongs only to them. The text says 'Minos Forging—Unmatched in All the World.'"

  "Minos Forging?" Luo Wei repeated.

  Zachary had mentioned that. He'd said he was the inheritor of Minos Forging.

  "The Minos family mastered the world's best forging techniques. Every weapon and magic tool they made bore that mark. No one else could copy it."

  Professor Temple looked regretful. "Actually, the Minos family specialized in spatial magic tools."

  "They weren't just master smiths. They were expert rune mages too. Only materials they processed could hold large spatial runes. And the rune structures they created were rock solid. They could last a thousand years without breaking down."

  "After Master Rudolf died, Minos Forging was lost."

  Died? What a lazy cover story.

  She'd seen Zachary yesterday afternoon. That old man survived months of starvation and was still bouncing around. Clearly tough as nails. And people believed he died of illness?

  Luo Wei put on a confused look. "Professor, what illness did Master Rudolf have? Couldn't healing potions cure it?"

  "There's no cure for a broken heart," Professor Temple said. "Fifty years ago, the Church purged demons and witches. Master Rudolf's daughter got mistaken for a witch. They tied her up and burned her alive."

  "After that, he fell apart. They say he went mad. Kept seeing his daughter in flames, calling to him. A few months later, he threw himself into a smelting furnace. His students tried to stop him but couldn't. They watched the fire burn him to nothing."

  So Zachary wasn't as simple as he looked. He'd pulled off a clever trick, faking his death right in front of his students.

  Those people had no idea he was blessed by the Fire God. Immune to flames. If they'd known, his fake death wouldn't have worked.

  Goes to show how important it is to keep an ace up your sleeve. Smart people don't show all their cards.

  Still, something bothered Luo Wei. If Zachary was that famous fifty years ago, how could his daughter have been burned as a witch? Was there a conspiracy?

  She asked, and Professor Temple sighed. "Master Rudolf's daughter had no magic. She'd married and had kids. When it happened, she was over sixty. A grandmother. Who could have imagined..."

  From Professor Temple, Luo Wei heard a sad story.

  The famous Master Rudolf had fallen for a red-haired girl and married her. But his wife was ordinary. She couldn't stand aging while her husband stayed young forever. She left him.

  Their daughter grew up watching her mother's pain. She never awakened magic, so she married an ordinary man. She kept in touch with her father through letters but lived her own life.

  Master Rudolf only visited sometimes. He'd watch from far away, check on her, then quietly leave.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Fifty years ago, the Church suddenly brought back the witch hunts. They'd been quiet for over a century. The Church called on believers to burn witches and kill demons. Within days, witch-hunting fever swept the Western Continent.

  Hunts broke out everywhere. Cities were better. But in small towns and villages, mobs went crazy. They tied up anyone they thought was a witch and burned them alive.

  By the time Master Rudolf got word and traveled a thousand miles to his daughter's town, he found seven charred bodies. His daughter's whole family. They hadn't even spared his three-year-old great-granddaughter.

  Professor Temple shook his head. "We didn't know Master Rudolf had a daughter until that happened. The Church sent an apology letter, but what good did that do?"

  "That's heartbreaking." Luo Wei sighed too. "Professor, didn't Master Rudolf have other family?"

  "Maybe some distant relatives. But he was the last of the main line."

  "You said Minos Forging was lost. Don't the branch families know it?"

  "Minos Forging needs crazy high talent. Only family members who mastered it could lead. The branches got cut off long ago."

  "What about making spatial magic tools? Only the family head knew that?"

  "Haha, no, child," Professor Temple laughed. "Spatial runes aren't lost. If you can attach them to magic materials, you can make spatial tools. But only Master Smiths or Master Runesmiths can do it. Even if others know how, they can't pull it off."

  Master Smiths and Master Runesmiths were Grand Mage level. The Western Continent hadn't seen a Master Smith in a thousand years. Or a Grand Mage in five hundred.

  Professor Temple looked wistful. "If Master Rudolf hadn't died, with his talent, he'd be a Master Smith by now, right?"

  Knowing the truth, Luo Wei wanted to tell him: Actually, no. Your "Master Rudolf" is still just a high-level smith. Fifty years later and zero progress.

  That old bastard Zachary had been busy running slaves in the North. When would he have time to forge?

  But she couldn't shatter Professor Temple's image of "Master Rudolf." Luo Wei swallowed the truth.

  Knowing explosive gossip but not being able to share it—so frustrating!

  After confirming Zachary hadn't lied, Luo Wei left the academy and took Yves's carriage back to Star Luo Residence.

  The courtyard was loud today. She could hear it from outside the gate.

  What was going on?

  Luo Wei lifted her skirt and hurried inside. She stopped in the middle of the front yard when she heard hoarse crying.

  The sound rose and fell, stopping and starting. It filled the courtyard with tension.

  Chris usually came out to greet her by now. But today there wasn't a single maid in the front yard. And crying came from the main building.

  Luo Wei circled the garden fast and looked toward the hall. What she saw made her heart drop.

  The raven lay belly-up in front of the parlor door. Wings spread. Legs stiff. Eyes closed. Sobbing. Human-like cries came from its beak.

  Chris and Belial tried everything to comfort it. They'd surrounded it with its favorite meat strips. It didn't even look. Just kept whimpering.

  Five meters away under the colonnade, the pegasus Joshua hung its head, crying silently. Bella and other maids clustered around it with carrots and candy. The pegasus wouldn't eat. They were sweating.

  Luo Wei walked closer, face serious. The maids jumped when they saw her and bowed. "Mistress!"

  The raven opened its teary eyes. Seeing her, it opened its beak and shrieked: "CAW CAW CAW—"

  "Get up. What do you look like lying there!" Luo Wei glared at the raven. "Stand up and tell me why you're crying. Did something happen to Roman and Rosie?"

  "Caw caw... caw caw..."

  Luo Wei closed her eyes. She couldn't hold back. "You're crying like this because you got bullied? I thought someone died!"

  The raven opened its beak and wailed: "CAW CAW CAW—"

  Luo Wei's ears rang. "Stop. Get up and explain. If you really got bullied, I'll handle it."

  The pegasus's ears twitched. It raised its head and walked toward Luo Wei, eyes wet. "Neigh neigh..."

  Joshua told Luo Wei that on the way back, Luke asked why it was so big and strong. It said it often carried heavy things for exercise.

  Luke wanted to train by carrying things too. Asked for help. Joshua warned that Luke's wings were too small for heavy loads. Suggested starting with small stones.

  But small stones rolled off. Not like people who could hold on. So they caught a rabbit. Joshua put it on Luke's back. Luke couldn't carry it and fell.

  Luo Wei's mouth twitched. She asked the raven, "Joshua says you tried carrying a rabbit for training but couldn't handle it and fell. Right?"

  The raven sniffled. "Caw caw..."

  Luo Wei wanted to say "serves you right." Birds catch rabbits with talons, not by carrying them. Haven't you heard rabbits bite when cornered?

  But seeing the raven's pitiful state, she held back. She asked Joshua, "Luke says the rabbit bit it and it called for help, but you flew ahead and laughed?"

  Joshua cried out, hurt. "Neigh neigh..."

  Luo Wei translated for the raven. "You two don't even speak the same language. How were you talking?"

  The two were talking past each other. All gestures. No wonder there was a mix-up.

  "All right, get up. Isn't your throat dry? Get up and drink water."

  "Caw caw..."

  The raven lay there. Tears in its beady eyes.

  It lost so many back feathers. Must look ugly. Didn't want to get up.

  Luo Wei sighed. "Chris, get a shawl from my room. For Luke."

  "Yes, Mistress."

  Three minutes later, wrapped in a new shawl, the raven finally got up.

  Luo Wei accidentally saw its patchy bald back. The tail feathers the rabbit broke. She looked away.

  The maids bit their teeth hard. Struggling not to laugh.

  The raven used its beak to wrap the shawl tight. Only its head showed. It looked at Luo Wei sheepishly. "Caw!"

  "Don't mention it." Luo Wei kept her face straight. "Did Troy send a reply this time?"

  The raven: "Caw."

  If it had a letter, it would've flown straight back. Wouldn't have caught rabbits.

  As a messenger, it knew priorities.

  "No reply again."

  Luo Wei frowned. Had the Sebanli Principality not withdrawn? Had her plan failed?

  "What about Roman and Rosie? You got them in the castle?"

  "Caw caw caw..."

  After hearing this, Luo Wei felt something was off. When she got it, she almost laughed.

  The raven called Roman "pretty boy" and thought Roman was vicious while Rosie was gentle?

  Did this bird have no concept of gender?

  That didn't fit its intelligence. Luo Wei shook her head and had Chris take the raven to eat. She turned to the pegasus.

  "Joshua, a day's passed. Have you decided? Staying or going?"

  The pegasus swished its tail nervously. Thought for a moment. Then called out: "Neigh neigh..."

  "If he agrees, sure. But if he doesn't, what will you do?"

  The pegasus: "Neigh..."

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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