Chapter 129: The Same

Since crossing into this world, Victor was seeing his nominal wife, Sophia, for the first time. Confronted with the breathtaking beauty before him, he had to admit that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen—more alluring even than Sylvia by a good three points. Her skin was smooth and fair, her figure slender and graceful, her features exquisite and radiant. Most striking of all was her enchanting purple hair, which stirred the heart. When his gaze fell upon those clear, captivating eyes like amethysts, Victor could not help but lose himself for a moment.

And yet, in Victor’s eyes, Sophia’s astonishing beauty was no more than that. If anything, he felt a little disappointed. When he had sorted through the young baron’s memories, Sophia’s image had seemed far more beautiful than she was in reality. The discrepancy finally made him understand: in the young baron’s memories, Sophia came with her own beautifying filter.

It was hardly surprising. Victor had read the young baron’s memories. When the boy was eight, he awakened the bloodline of the Moon Elves. From that moment onward, he lost his father’s affection. Though he never lacked food or clothing, he never again ate at the same table as his father. Then, at the age of twelve, the young baron moved into the marquis’s residence, where he met Sophia and shared a meal with her. From then on, Sophia left an indelible mark on his heart.

Victor had once scoffed at the idea that the young baron could be won over by a single meal. Now that he had met Sophia, the memory resurfaced in his mind, and he suddenly understood that, deep down, he too had yearned to share a meal with his parents at the same table. At that thought, Victor could not help wiping at the corners of his dry eyes. No matter what kind of person one was, there was always a tender place hidden within.

Sophia rested her delicate chin in both hands and stared intently at Victor. In her heart, the maid Helen had been the person who treated her best, while she herself had been the person who treated Victor best. In the little Victor, Sophia had seen her former self: both born into minor noble families, both neglected by their clans. The difference was that Sophia had been fortunate enough to embark upon the path of knighthood, whereas little Victor, after awakening the bloodline of the Moon Elves, had lost all chance to control his own destiny. Thus, Sophia had treated him as a substitute through whom she could make up for the regrets of her own childhood, giving him all the care she had to offer.

Originally, for the ambitious Sophia, Victor had been the most suitable partner—fragile, handsome, and dependent upon her. Unfortunately, Sophia herself had not possessed enough strength. When disaster came, she had been left with no choice but to send Victor to the Centaur Hills.

When they met again, Victor seemed to have become an entirely different person. His fair, handsome features had become bright and dashing; his slender, delicate frame had grown taller and stronger; and his dark eyes now held a resolve and confidence they had never possessed before. He had become more mature, more charismatic—and more unfamiliar. That unfamiliarity did not come merely from the change in his appearance and bearing. The intimacy they had once shared was gone, replaced by distance and wariness that left Sophia deeply disappointed.

What comforted Sophia was that Victor had finally raised a hand to wipe the corner of his eye. She had wanted to make up for the deficiencies of her own childhood through Victor, yet in him she also saw the struggles, striving, and helplessness she had once endured herself. Her nose tingled, and a moist gleam rose in her beautiful eyes.

The two of them were equally sorrowful, yet neither was grieving for the other.

Sophia looked as though she were about to cry, leaving Victor at a loss. Had Sylvia not told him that Sophia had arrived, he might almost have forgotten her entirely. It was only upon hearing her name again that he suddenly remembered there was an enemy watching him from the shadows. To uncover that enemy, he would probably have to rely on Sophia.

After a long silence, Victor finally asked stiffly, “Are you well?”

Sophia gazed at him until his discomfort became obvious, then suddenly laughed. “This is rather unfamiliar.”

“What is?”

“If this had been before, wouldn’t I always have been the one to greet you first?”

As she spoke, Sophia rose gracefully and walked toward Victor. When she saw him unconsciously take a step back, her beautiful face dimmed. “Do you blame me for abandoning you?”

Victor was already considering how to question Sophia about the person who had tried to kill him. In response, he chose silence.

“It wasn’t as you imagined.” Sophia shook her head and began to recount the entire matter in her melodious voice.

“That was how things came to be. Catherine treated the trade guild as a tool that could be sacrificed, and that was something I could not accept. If I had not sent you to the Centaur Hills, we would never have been able to escape the Queen’s control.” She paused, then added with a trace of mockery, “Victor, Sylvia values you greatly now. I doubt she would tell you any of this.”

Her tone was unmistakably sour, like that of a resentful wife whose husband had been stolen from her. Victor felt awkward. He knew Sophia was actually speaking for Sylvia’s benefit. Sylvia was in the room next door, and her presence was as conspicuous as a beacon. Sophia was reminding him to keep the secret of the Ant-people.

Victor steadied himself and asked, “So Queen Catherine engineered the tide of refugees in order to eliminate me?”

“From what I know of Catherine, she wanted to control you, then eliminate me. Otherwise, the trade guild would fall into Soren’s hands, which would amount to placing it in the hands of Grand Duke Williams.” Sophia gave a soft laugh.

“Soren?”

Victor already knew something about Baron Soren. He was Grand Duke Williams’s most capable subordinate, commander of the capital’s royal guards, and a Silver-ranked Grand Knight. Yet he possessed only the title of a court noble, one that could not even be inherited. Given Soren’s strength and Williams’s influence, he could easily have obtained an inheritable barony. Clearly, the man still coveted the title of marquis.

Compared with the Queen, Soren was the person who most wanted Victor dead. The question was, although Soren possessed some strength, could he afford to keep a wizard?

The profound look in Victor’s eyes left Sophia momentarily dazed. This was the first time she had seen him appear so deep and solemn. At that moment, she remembered what Sylvia had said while discussing Victor with her—the famous saying of the Silver Tower: “It is not only knights.”

“Soren resents you for inheriting the marquis’s legacy. He is also the person most eager to eliminate you. But you need not worry. That despicable man does not have the courage to come to the Centaur Hills and attempt to ambush you. Naturally, he lacks the ability as well.” Sophia spoke with disdain. Soren had been forced to yield even before the Queen, let alone Sylvia.

At the thought of Sylvia, Sophia grew indignant again. Her eyes shifted, and she gave a coquettish laugh. “I heard you have awakened the Moon Elf talent. Shall I test it?”

She did not wait for Victor’s consent. Her slender, snow-white hand reached straight for his collar.

Victor instinctively retreated, gliding three yards backward, but Sophia followed him like a shadow. Both psychologically and emotionally, Victor was unwilling to come too close to her. Besides, she clearly looked intent on throwing him to the ground. Left with no choice, Victor activated Windwalk.

A breeze coiled around his body. Like a ghost, Victor swept through the luxurious room. The air parted softly on either side of him, forming a wondrous passage that carried him forward with lightning speed and absolute silence.

Sophia clearly had no intention of giving up. She pursued his figure at high speed. Her thin spider-silk dress clung tightly to her body, outlining a sensual and alluring curve, while her long purple hair streamed behind her in the wind. She resembled a streak of violet lightning dancing back and forth through the room.

Sophia was fast, but still not as fast as Victor. Nor could she change direction with his effortless precision. Several times, her hand seemed close enough to grasp him, only for Victor to evade her by the narrowest margin. After missing repeatedly, Sophia understood that she could not catch him.

She brought her hands together.

Victor’s body suddenly sank. The breeze around him vanished at once. He was on the verge of falling to the floor when X-3 automatically adjusted his posture. Bracing one hand against the arm of the sofa, he landed steadily on the ground.

By then, Sophia was already pressed tightly against him.

Her vivid red lips were so close that he could see their crystalline sheen, lips that seemed to invite one to taste them. Yet Victor felt no romantic stirrings whatsoever. He was stunned that his Windwalk had actually been interrupted.

Sophia studied his face. When she saw the rejection in his expression, the clarity in her violet eyes dimmed. She took a step back. “When did we become such strangers?”

Victor took a moment to calm his shock, then said indifferently, “Isn’t this better? You can pursue whatever you wish, and I have my own path to follow.”

Sophia stared at him for a moment before her face brightened into a smile. “You’re right. I cannot abandon the trade guild, and you have found pursuits of your own.”

“What happened just now? How did you suddenly interrupt my talent?” Victor sat down on the sofa and looked deeply at her.

“My dear, how much do you know about the Moon Elves’ Windwalk talent?” Sophia sat down elegantly beside him and asked softly.

Victor shook his head. This was the first time he had heard anyone call his ability Windwalk.

“Windwalk is a talent of the Moon Elf race. Among those who manifest the Moon Elf bloodline, only an exceptionally small number awaken this gift. You already know what it can do, but in the end it still relies on the power of the wind elements in the void. I merely disrupted the wind elements around you, and Windwalk was naturally interrupted.” Sophia leaned toward Victor’s ear and spoke in a gentle murmur.

“In other words, my talent is completely useless before a Silver Knight?” Ignoring her intimate gesture, Victor asked with an unpleasant expression.

“That isn’t the case. We were simply too close together. Besides, you have not yet mastered true Windwalk. Otherwise, even a Gold Knight could not interrupt it.” Sophia shook her head with a laugh, then grew serious. “I was warning you just now. Do not assume that possessing Windwalk means you can fight a Silver Knight head-on. At least until you have truly mastered this power, you must not entertain such thoughts.”

Victor’s expression shifted. “You mean my ability can become even stronger?”

Sophia nodded. “Yes. That is precisely what I wanted to tell you. Do you know what an Ancient Bloodline Bearer is?”

Victor shook his head in confusion. Sophia felt somewhat ashamed. In order to mislead Catherine, she had never taught Victor anything.

She cast him an apologetic glance and continued, “From the Age of Wizards until the present, some families have vanished while others have risen. Only a handful have survived without interruption. These families, which endured the upheavals of the Age of Wizards, are known as Ancient Bloodline Bearers. During the Age of Wizards, the Elves and humanity were allies, and some families inherited Elven blood. The Wimbledons were one of them.

“Those noble descendants who awakened Elven blood could never awaken a knight’s bloodline. As a result, they were generally neglected. The Wimbledon family was discriminated against as well, and few knightly families were willing to marry into it. For a time, the family bloodline came close to extinction.

“Three thousand years ago, His Highness Draven Wimbledon, the Sword Saint, rose to prominence and pushed the Wimbledon family to its zenith once more. At first, Draven was an awakened bearer of the Moon Elf talent, just like you, and there was nothing especially remarkable about him. Then his bloodline mutated again, changing his black hair and black eyes into golden hair and golden eyes. From that moment onward, no one in the human world could stand against Draven. Even Legendary Paladins had to bow their heads before him. Because his battle prowess surpassed the legendary realm, people called him the Sword Saint. Draven also became the only Sanctuary powerhouse in human history.”

Victor asked, “Wait. Wasn’t Draven a knight?”

“Of course not.” Sophia shook her head. “Draven’s power stood above that of every knight. At the time, the human world was threatened by the ogre king Vulgan the City-Breaker. That mighty ogre had united dozens of ogre tribes. After defeating the centaur tribes, he enslaved countless monsters and invaded the human kingdoms outright. One powerful human empire collapsed as a result, and the Radiant Knights suffered a crushing defeat.

“Before the Pope could summon the Radiant Angel, Draven and four Legendary Paladins ventured deep into the northern wilderness. The paladins lured away the ogre guards, while Draven successfully slew the ogre king. That battle established Draven’s position as the strongest human alive.”

“Draven was not a knight, yet he was far stronger than knights. What he relied upon was the Elven bloodline talent.”

Victor listened, utterly enthralled. His eyes shone as he asked, “Are you saying Draven possessed an inherited legacy of Moon Elf power?”

“I do not know whether he inherited such a legacy. However…” Sophia smiled behind her lips. “I happen to have a combat-technique scroll handwritten by Draven.”

Victor’s gaze sharpened. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “What are you trying to say?”

Sophia sighed. “Draven was, after all, the greatest genius in the Wimbledon bloodline. He left his innate combat techniques for the descendants of his family.”

“Originally, this scroll was part of the Soren family’s collection. On the old marquis’s birthday, Soren presented it to him as a gift. After the old marquis died, it came into my hands.” As she spoke, Sophia took a yellowed scroll from a nearby drawer and handed it to Victor.

Victor ran his fingers over the scroll, which seemed to be made from the hide of some unknown beast. In a solemn voice, he asked, “Why would you give me something this precious?”

“Draven’s combat technique is valuable only to an awakened bearer of the Moon Elf talent like you. To everyone else, it is merely a collectible. And awakened bearers of such a talent are exceedingly rare.”

Sophia added, “You are my husband. Naturally, I should give it to you.”

“Why give it to me?” Victor stared directly into her beautiful eyes and pressed the question.

“If you had awakened your bloodline talent in the capital, I would have given it to you as well. The fact that you are alive and safe is the greatest help you can give me.” Sophia spoke gently, then smiled. “There is a rumor that when a bearer of the Moon Elf talent trains in the combat records passed down by Draven, their bloodline may mutate into golden hair and golden eyes like his. Draven’s wife was a Flame Gold Knight, and together they had three children. Every one of them became a Gold Knight, and two even entered the legendary realm.”

Victor nodded, accepting her explanation, then asked in confusion, “What does that have to do with me?”

“It has nothing to do with you. But for certain people, it represents hope. Even if that hope is exceedingly faint, it is still worth trying.” Sophia’s voice was neither loud nor soft. Her eyes gleamed with sly amusement, even with a hint of vengefulness.

The presence in the room next door suddenly became disordered for a moment, and Victor understood at once. To military nobles, a Gold Knight represented a force of enormous strategic importance. Such power was rooted in bloodline, and judging this world by the romantic values of Earth would be absurd. In truth, lordly families maintained the cohesion of their knightly forces through master-and-student relationships. Only outliers like Sophia and Victor paid little attention to such conventions.

Victor coughed dryly to conceal his awkwardness and said, “What do you intend to do next? Since the Queen wants the trade guild’s wealth and power, she probably won’t simply let the matter go.”

“I had originally intended to withdraw,” Sophia replied. “But things are different now. The kingdom has suffered an Ant plague, which will lead to food shortages. For a very long time to come, the royal family and the lords will need my trade guild. That period will be very, very long… until the Ant-people can no longer threaten the Kingdom of Gambis. By then, perhaps I will have earned the right to act as I please.”

Victor’s heart tightened. Only a Gold Knight could speak of possessing a will that could not be swayed by outside forces.

“Victor, in truth, we are very much alike. Neither of us has a family or a background, and neither of us will abandon our chosen path. I am honored to be your wife.” Sophia spoke earnestly. The sincerity in her eyes moved Victor deeply. At that moment, her beauty was breathtaking.

“The honor is mine as well.”

It was better to forget one another amid the rivers and lakes than to cling to each other in hardship. The rivers and seas were too vast for a fish, yet even a dragon could one day meet another beneath their boundless skies.