Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 766: Section 521: The Choice of Man (Part 1)

Chapter 766: Section 521: The Choice of Man (Part 1)

"Madam Phyll, good afternoon."

The apprentices in the corridor greeted the old lady with respectful gazes fixed on the elderly woman before them, who smiled and nodded in response, "Good afternoon, children, did you find today’s food in the dining hall to your liking?"

"Of course, madam," the apprentices replied with a smile, clearly very satisfied with their midday meal.

This filled the old lady’s heart with joy; in her life, there was nothing more important than ensuring the children were well-fed.

"Off you go, rest a while, you have classes this afternoon, don’t you?" she instructed them.

So the children scampered off quickly after bowing their heads in respect.

The old woman known as Madam Phyll walked along the corridor, with the howling of the wind and snow coming from outside the windows.

"Madam Phyll, this year’s winter is especially cold, isn’t it?"

The young members of the Night’s Watch still called her by name, just as before, causing her to squint her eyes to confirm the identity of this child: "Have you a day off today, Halsan?"

"Yes, madam, I just returned from the south yesterday. I heard that the forces of Chaos have appeared in the southern region of Copenhagen?"

"Indeed, those scum of Chaos," the old woman couldn’t maintain her grace at that moment. She sighed and then listened to what the young man said, "There’s supposed to be a joint scouting mission between the churches tomorrow, madam, and I’ve already signed up."

"...May the gods protect you, child," the old woman said with pursed lips, walking up to him and laying her hand on his forehead with a stroke.

She had seen too many apprentices grow into adulthood and too many young people die on the battlefield. Chaos fighters, cultists of Chaos, out-of-control Machine Souls, rabid different kinds, each so deadly, and yet these young people... still marched to the battlefield, like their forefathers, like her own children.

"May the gods have mercy, may you find redemption," she bowed her head, blessing the child before her.

"It’s alright, madam, I will surely return." The young man bowed his head, gently lifting the old woman’s hand to kiss the ring on her middle finger.

Watching the young man leave, the old lady sighed—a lot of children had bidden her goodbye with a smile before heading off to a battlefield they would never return from.

Hasn’t humanity always suffered this kind of pain since its history began?

The old woman didn’t know, just as she couldn’t comprehend why her last apprentice would choose to marry a Southerner.

She was born in the Purple Chamber and should have procreated with a child of similar background to produce the strongest offspring, so why didn’t the King stop it, why didn’t her family stop it, what were the Nobles thinking, how could that child named Malin Gaiate... his stories, any one of them taken alone, seemed like the exaggeration felt only in a Legendary tale, how could he have accomplished each and every one.

It felt so unreal, she thought it was too unreal. In this world... how could there be another deity walking the earth in the flesh, apart from the Lord of Justice?

But what’s done is done, and she would end up marrying that Southern man... Phyll, my dear sister, could you have stopped all this from happening?

Standing under the shelter of an open-air corridor, the old woman noticed a Thanan man walking past with His Excellence the High Priest.

"Phyll, my sister, why are you here? It is too cold. Go back to your room," implored the High Priest upon seeing the old woman.

The old lady nodded, and as she passed by the Thanan man, she noticed the tattoos on his arms.

Was he a Thanan War Witch? It was said that they had a set of practices distinct from those of Wizards, capable of avoiding distortion and perversion by Chaos.

Why had they come here?

The old woman smiled and nodded: "Good afternoon, foreigner, may your travels be safe."

"Good afternoon, madam, and may your life be smooth sailing," the War Witch replied, performing a gesture of respect over his chest.

This improved her perception of him quite a bit; a young man who understood manners was always welcome.

"Mr. Ming, please come with me, Bishop His Excellence is waiting for you," the High Priest said, giving an apologetic look to the old lady.

So the young Thanan War Witch smiled at the old woman as he said farewell, and then he followed his guide toward the inner hall.

The old woman continued on her way, heading for a side hall where they were probably preparing the equipment for tomorrow’s joint scouting mission, she had to check each potion to ensure that any one of them would work properly.

After passing through a side door, before entering the side hall, she inexplicably looked towards the great hall and saw a small figure.

The Mentor!

Her eyes widened, and the Spell Formation Array implanted in her eyes was immediately activated, then she was disappointed because it wasn’t her mentor.

Yes... her mentor had long since been gone from this world.

"Lord Malin, the equipment needed for tomorrow’s operation has indeed been completely received, very recent gear; the young ones at the shooting range couldn’t stop praising it," said the not-so-young Assistant Priest beside him, all smiles.

Malin?

Malin Gaiate?

Is this the child from Carterburg?

The old lady silently pondered, recalling her mentor’s final days and finally thought of the half-blood Frost Giant.

Ah, yes, it was her... She really resembles her—this child bears an uncanny likeness to his mother.

Whether it’s the hair color, eyes, or that slightly upturned mouth... So it turns out he is the child her mentor had such high hopes for, the one who left her son in Thainan. That foolish and stubborn girl, how could she have known that Fate has shackles, that everyone is born with burdens and each has their own path to walk? She couldn’t change the child’s destiny, just as she couldn’t alter her mentor’s fate.