498 Have Mercy, Ma'sam!

She was a stunner — a beauty of unparalleled proportions. Only the girls around Baiyi could rival her beauty. Her face was soft, with features similar to that of a porcelain doll. Her lustrous, raven-black hair rivaled Mia's. Her lean shoulders and arms were covered by a white, form-fitting, silk robe; it accentuated the tenderness of her slim physique. The robe gracefully covered her ravishing long legs, but when she opened the door, the wispy robe fluttered mildly, allowing Baiyi a glimpse of her feminine curves.

Her countenance stood out more than her beauty did, though. There was an uncanny similarity between this girl and Mia. She emanated the gentleness of a woman and the sweet disposition of a girl. This made Baiyi feel an urge to hug her and sniff the sweet scent of her skin.

Other than the color of her hair, this girl did not resemble Mia; however, Baiyi, in his mind, could not stop viewing the two as long-lost sisters or, surprisingly, the same person.

It was not the girl's beauty or countenance that made Baiyi stay his hand; he stopped because something about her had hit him with an intense sense of déjà vu. Baiyi could not shake the feeling that he had seen this woman before, but he could not ascertain the source of this feeling.

"Who are you…?"

Traces of fear and interest flashed in the girl's eyes when she spotted the abnormal armor set that was Baiyi. She did take a few steps back, though. Although she did it gently, Baiyi suddenly felt the need to protect her from the cruelty of this world.

"He's a friend of mine. He was injured badly in an accident and got a lot of terrible scars, and since then, he has worn a set of armor to avoid scaring off people," said the young man in a dull tone. It was obvious that Baiyi had made the man come up with an excuse in his stead.

"Um, Big Brother Nick? You sound a little funny." The girl glanced at the young man, with worry in her eyes.

"Cough! I, uh, had a bad night. My throat is — cough! — a little dry," the young man replied, feigning a coughing fit.

Fortunately, the beautiful girl seemed to buy the excuse, unable to tell that a magic spell as deceitful as Hypnosis even existed.

She had believed him almost too easily and eased up. The girl turned her attention back to Baiyi and flashed him a warm smile. "Hello, new friend! My name's Lulu."

This name was one of the most uncreative and unimpressive names any parent could come up with; to Baiyi, only a woman who often got lost on her way home would bear a name like that. However, when she said her name, Baiyi jolted as something coursed through his body. The name had resonated with something deep within his memories.

Lulu was, more or less, the wife of his good old teacher, the Archmage.

When the First Walker shared his memories with Baiyi, he had held nothing back. However, at certain points in his memories, the Archmage had been uncharacteristically furtive. This was especially so with his memories of women.

According to historians and the geezer, whose claims were most likely exaggerated, Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth had a large harem that contained beautiful empresses and royal consorts. However, when Baiyi sifted through the Archmage's memories, these women were nothing more than blurry smudges with no backstory. Back then, Baiyi had even considered them decor for the background.

Only one woman was different: an imperial consort named Lulu. Her appearance was vivid in the Archmage's memories, kept alive by the intense attraction he harbored for her alone. However, this romance was short-lived, fleeting, and disjointed. Eventually, she vanished from his life altogether.

Baiyi had no idea what had transpired, as the Archmage did not share that part of his memory with his protégé. Baiyi knew one thing, though: when Lulu disappeared, the women in the Archmage's life faded into the background, and none of them could leave an impression on him.

Lulu had meant a lot to the Archmage. Whether or not there was anything going on between them did not matter — the geezer had already reserved a special place in his heart for her.

Baiyi wondered if this was why his master had taken a liking to Mia the moment he first laid eyes on her. 'He saw Lulu in Mia.'

As Lulu was the only love the Archmage had ever had, which Baiyi had seen in the old man's memories, the Fifth Walker decided not to knock her out with Hypnosis. Furthermore, Baiyi had decided to avoid this woman at all costs.

This was not just out of respect for his master, but also because he feared the butterfly effect. Even his decision not to hypnotize Lulu was due to this fear. The Hypnosis spell could cause significant cognitive impairment and personality changes to those it was cast on. If he had used it on Lulu, it may have caused her personality to change, which, in turn, would cause significant changes to events that were to occur, altering the future greatly.

However, Lulu was just about to show Baiyi how difficult it would be for him to follow his new plan. She did not leave the house immediately; instead, she remained in the room and sized him up with interest. In a feat of boldness, she held out the basket in her arms.

"Come, my new friend, and take a bite out of my pies! Everyone in this neighborhood has only good things to say about them… A lot of good things!" She proclaimed.

'Great. She just had to be the overly friendly type. What a drag…' Baiyi grumbled internally. Still, he took a pie from the basket, shifted is face mask a bit to the side, and tossed the pie right into the void that lay behind the mask.

"Mm. Yes. Tasty. Thank you," Baiyi mumbled.

Lulu did not reply because her attention had shifted to the unconscious Mia, who was on the bed behind Baiyi.

"Oh, my! What a beautiful maiden! But, what happened to her…?" She cooed.

"Tired from our journey. Requires a quiet rest," Baiyi replied, emphasizing the 'quiet' part.

"Ah, I see! In that case, I should excuse myself before I accidentally wake her up," Lulu replied. Baiyi was happy that he would be left alone soon.

Just as he was about to exhale in relief, the retreating Lulu stopped, turned around, and clapped so loudly, Baiyi began to sweat. "Oh, I think I have some homemade incense that makes a person sleep better than usual! I'll bring it over while you wait here!" She announced.

After that, Lulu skipped out of the house, looking as happy as a lark that had just been let out of its cage.

"What. The. Hell?" Baiyi almost howled. How did such a beauty end up being so talkative? To him, Lulu was way too friendly for someone that beautiful. "How did my good old mentor fall in love with her in the first place?" Baiyi groaned.

Just as she had promised, Lulu returned a few minutes later with a black can, which filled with a potpourri of dried herbs. It was a popular type of incense used by ancient Rohlerslians, and its contents were quite different from the incenses manufactured in the present.

Baiyi was worried that Lulu might notice the unsettling changes in her friend, the young man — who was still being uncharacteristically dull — so he had ordered the young man to go the backyard before Lulu returned. Thus, only Lulu, Mia, and Baiyi were in the room.

"Hey, where did Big Brother Nick go?" Lulu drawled as she waved something in her hand. "I brought him some throat relief for his bad cough."

"Gone off to chop some wood in the backyard," Baiyi lied.

"Hmm, how hardworking of him! Well, you'll just have to give him this to him later, on my behalf, okay? Anyway, this is it." Lulu beamed as she raised the can in her hand. "All you need do is light it up, and you'll find yourself immersed in one of the sweetest dreams you will ever have!"

Watching Lulu's face light up like that of a jubilant child made Baiyi's stoic resolve melt at an alarming pace. This left him unable to refuse her offer. Lulu, who faced no objection, dropped the can on the bed frame and dipped her hands into her pockets.

"Oopsie, guess I forgot to bring any matches," she said, apologizing in a sing-song manner, with her tongue stuck out. "Please wait here while I grab it from home—"

"That won't be necessary." Baiyi waved a finger, and a small ball of flame soared into the can. He had seen these specially-made incense in the Archmage's memories, so he could discern the right amount of heat required for the release of its heart-throbbing aroma.

That instinctive use of magic was Baiyi's first grave mistake. Lulu's eyes widened, and her star-like pupils twinkled in awe and admiration. She could not help but gasp. "You…! Sir, you're… You're a sorcerer?!"

As one of the earliest human civilizations, the Ancient Rohlserlian society was one of proto-feudalism, and each of its citizens classified into four castes. Towering above all, as the indisputable ruling class, was the sorcerers. Harnessing the power of the arcane, it was the sorcerers that founded the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire and subjugated its neighbors and city-states. Thus, sorcerers enjoyed a level of veneration and prestige that no noble in modern Isythre could ever hope to enjoy. On the other hand, as Ancient Rohlserlian magic was notoriously complicated and difficult to master, this ruling caste had the least number of people.

One level under the sorcerers were the warriors. They were fighters that had contributed greatly to the empire's conquest. They were said to be the origin of modern-day gentry. However, in the Ancient Rohlserlian society, a warrior could not pass their status to their kins, neither were they given lands to govern. As they did not enjoy any special privileges, warriors were seen more as first-class citizens rather than nobles.

The third caste had the highest number of citizens in the empire: the common folk.

Nothing much stood out about this tier, except for how much they worshipped all sorcerers. They dreamed about becoming sorcerers themselves.

The fourth and lowest caste was occupied by the outlanders, who suffered contempt from the three castes that came before it. Outlanders were usually war prisoners-turned-slaves, but sometimes, some refugees from neighboring countries and tribes, who came into the empire looking for a better way to live, became outlanders. The natives commonly called them "Serfs".

There was no distinction between serfs. Even if they were princes or common folks in their own tribes, serfs were considered by those in the empire to be lowly and disgusting.

It was not hard to see how bloated the ego of the Rohlserlians was, as its people were so convinced of their superiority and did not see a need to be humble. According to a historical account, there was a time that the chief of a foreign tribe ventured into the empire, hoping to negotiate a truce between his people and theirs. As he headed to the capital, he was overcome by thirst, so he and his entourage stopped at a village nearby and asked for water.

The farmers in the village refused the chief a drink and accused his group of "dirtying their crops". This was because their bodies had brushed past some crops on their way to the village. In a fit of fury, the chief's guards killed the farmers and their families.

Three days later, the chief's tribe — which had evaded the empire's attention thus far — was wiped out with a Forbidden Spell.

The empire's might in sorcery and the bountiful resources in its land, were the sources of the Rohlserlians' malformed ego. The sorcerers, who owned both, were continuously revered by their people.

This was the reason why Lulu became starry-eyed when Baiyi accidentally let slip that he was a sorcerer. As a common folk, she had not met a sorcerer before, until today!

It was at that moment that Baiyi knew he had f***ed up.

As he watched Lily stare at him with excitement and reverence, Baiyi had to remind himself that this was the woman that would one day become his master's beloved. Hence, he could only whimper weakly in his heart, 'Please have mercy, Mrs. Mentor!'