"An Extraordinary... cannot apologize to a slave..." the voice came in broken fragments. "It is... a principle..."

The surprise and astonishment in Jenny's eyes gradually faded. She looked her mentor up and down once more, and then the room sank once again into a long, deathly silence.

Several minutes passed before the Empire's Chief Rune Master let out a soft breath, as though setting down some heavy burden in her heart. She braced a hand against the floor and slowly rose to her feet.

The floor here was still as cold as she remembered.

She lowered her head and looked at William Boken. "I understand."

Then she turned around, as though preparing to leave just like that.

"You won't do it?" The hoarse, low voice came from behind her. "It would not be difficult for you—not today."

Jenny did not turn back. "You are already dying."

"But perhaps it would make you feel better."

Jenny drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That is my principle."

"...Oh. That sounds good."

"Farewell, Mentor. Thank you for those two sacks of wheat back then."

Jenny stepped out of the secret chamber, and the soldiers serving as her close guards immediately came forward. "Master?"

"Let's go. We report to Silverhold. Also, after William Boken's death, this mage tower is to be taken over by the state."

"Yes!"

The soldiers responded to the order swiftly. Jenny glanced at Mark, who stood nearby with a tense, bewildered look on his face, and at the several apprentices and assistants a short distance behind him, equally tense and equally lost.

After questioning the soldiers, they had finally grasped the full situation, and some of them now stood there almost as though awaiting judgment, waiting for Jenny to speak.

"Report to the Civil Administration afterward. The era of the classical mages is over. Whether you survive in the new age is up to your own abilities."

Leaving only those words behind, Jenny turned and departed the place together with the soldiers.

Inside the secret chamber housing the magical nexus, the swirling streams of arcane light gradually dimmed and settled into stillness.

Amid the slowly dissipating glow, the shriveled body soaking in the pool trembled faintly twice, then began to crack inch by inch, crumbling into fragments.

Only after all the fragments had fallen into the pool water did the hoarse, distorted voice rise again in the empty room: "I am... sorry..."

Within Silverhold, in Gao You's study, he met with Jenny, who had come from the Southern Frontier.

"I thought you would choose revenge," he said to Jenny with evident surprise, having heard the soldiers' report. "Or at least... vent some of it."

"I once considered it, but I found that it is truly not in my nature," Jenny said with a faint smile, shaking her head. "To Mr. Ravencrest, none of that means anything anymore. Only those thundering magic-driven machines and the formulas and numbers printed in the textbooks—those are the best memorial to the departed."

Gao Yang regarded Jenny seriously. On the face of this white-haired girl with the scar on her cheek, he saw only calm and composure. Clearly, some shadow had already departed from her.

"Since this is your choice, then so be it. William Boken was a lucky man—he died in the old era, far luckier than many of those stubborn noble holdouts who survived the siege," he shook his head. "Enough of that. Sit down. There is much to be done in Xuanyuan City, and I have a great deal to discuss with you."

Jenny settled into the high-backed chair beside the desk, a smile on her face. "I am ready. Before I came, Rebecca told me to bring back as many books on classical spell models as I could."

Gao Yang thought for a moment, recalling the magnificent sight he had seen upon entering the royal library and the archive rooms of the Mages' Association, and spread his hands with a smile. "Then you shall certainly get what you wish for. This place is a treasure vault."

...

Silverhold was indeed a treasure vault, in every sense. Centuries of accumulation by the Moen royal house had left Xuanque Castle piled with a legacy beyond ordinary imagination. Any single storeroom within it was enough to dazzle a certain half-elf from the Southern Frontier in an instant.

But Amber, by sheer force of will, resisted the lure of those jewel storerooms (Gao Song's intimidating presence helped her resist temptation, of course). Her entire attention was now immersed in the Moen royal house's mountainous, ponderous, and voluminous palace book collection.

In a room deep within Silverhold, Amber was rummaging among great heaps of books and scrolls, several Military Intelligence agents and several court scholars busy alongside her.

"This is the internal library of the Moen royal house, which includes the royal secret archives and the private collections of successive kings," a white-haired court scholar said, trailing at Amber's side and chattering on. "If what you seek cannot be found outside, then it is very likely here. But if it cannot be found here either... then it most likely does not exist at all..."

"That would only prove this wretched place's collection is incomplete," Amber glanced up at the old scholar and waved him off impatiently. "At your age you shouldn't be bustling about. Find somewhere to rest. If a great scholar like you keels over all of a sudden, someone will paste me to the wall..."

The scholar retreated to one side with a helpless look, and Amber went on rummaging among the bookshelves. But scarcely half a minute passed before she suddenly stopped, turned her head to stare at an empty spot between the shelves, and raised her leg as though to launch a kick.

Before she could kick out, a figure swiftly emerged from the air and hastily dodged to one side.

"If you had been any slower to dodge, I would have kicked you," Amber said, casting a glance at Dark Raven. "What are you here for?"

"I've come to report," Dark Raven said, halting at a safe distance and reporting to his new superior. "The roster of all the Royal Shadow Guards has been compiled, including each member's areas of expertise and years of service."

"Good. Just send it to my office. I'll study it carefully once I'm back. Military Intelligence and the Steel Rangers are both short-handed. With proper retraining, all of you can be put to use."

Dark Raven let out a faint breath and lowered his head. "I obey."

Then he glanced around at the busy scene and could not help asking, "You still haven't found what you're looking for?"

"Of course not, or why would I still be here?" Amber rolled her eyes. "With this much, heaven knows how long it'll take me to find it..."

Dark Raven thought for a moment. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"A surname with no records, a noble no one knows... probably a noble," Amber said offhandedly. "His name is Sarilendorff—an extraordinary being—yet no document anywhere mentions that surname."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she stopped short, rubbing her chin and staring at Dark Crow. "Don't tell me you've actually heard of it? Isn't that how it always goes in stories—dramatic twists and all..."

"I'm sorry, I've never heard that name or surname either..." Dark Crow shook his head, but before Amber could roll her eyes, he went on, "But if the person you're looking for is an 'Hidden Knight'... then perhaps there's a lead in the Royal Shadow Guard's secret archives."