Mage's Profound Truths

Chapter 7: Jiya

“History carries knowledge and civilization. Therefore, for a noble, history is indispensable. And antiques bear the mark of history—so to learn history well, one must first learn about antiques.”

“A noble should be knowledgeable, elegant, and wise. A true noble must surely be fond of and skilled in antiques. Now, the ring in my hand—can anyone tell me about its background?”

Jiya held up the ring in her hand. Under the sunlight, it didn’t shine brilliantly—it was obvious it wasn’t made from gemstones, and the material seemed rather special.

Merlin knew nothing about antiques, but Anson beside him was quite fond of them and often collected some interesting ones. Hearing Jiya’s question, Anson immediately stood up.

“Teacher Jiya, may I take a closer look at this ring?”

Jiya nodded and handed the ring to Anson personally. Anson gently stroked it, examining the patterns closely. Finally, he said confidently, “The material of this ring is special—likely jade. Historically, jade rings were popular only during the Morta Empire, 3,600 years ago. The pattern also matches that era, so this is certainly a ring from the Morta Empire.”

Hearing Anson calmly analyze the ring’s background, a hint of surprise flashed in Jiya’s eyes. Then she nodded and said, “Not bad, you spoke well. What’s your name?”

Anson was delighted and quickly replied, “My name is Anson.”

Jiya nodded and continued, “Very good. Anson’s analysis just now was quite accurate. It shows that he’s knowledgeable and has already grasped the basic elements of noble etiquette. Every noble should be highly learned. Even if you don’t understand antiques yet, that’s fine. I will spend plenty of time teaching you the fundamentals of identifying antiques. For now, take a look at this ring—feel the material, then observe the patterns. Try to sense the passage of 3,600 years.”

The ring was first passed to Merlin and others in the front row. Merlin wasn’t interested in antiques, but he was intrigued by the mention of the Morta Empire.

Merlin had some impression of the Morta Empire in his memory—3,600 years ago, it was undoubtedly a great and mysterious empire.

It was called great because the Morta Empire unified the entire continent 3,600 years ago, unlike now, where there are dozens of kingdoms.

It was called mysterious because its collapse was utterly baffling—almost overnight, with no warning. The empire lasted less than a century. To this day, no one knows for sure why it fell so suddenly.

Why did such a vast empire collapse overnight? Merlin found it hard to believe and preferred to think that time had obscured the truth, replacing it with distorted rumors.

The ring was passed toward the back, and Jiya followed as well.

At that moment, Merlin noticed that Anson, who had just been excited, now looked somewhat troubled.

“Anson, what’s wrong?”

Merlin asked softly.

Anson glanced at Jiya, who had walked to the back, with a complicated expression. He then sighed deeply and said slowly, “Trying to get close to Jiya is probably impossible now. I originally thought she was just like the other women, only here to flirt with noble heirs. But after seeing that ring, I no longer believe that. Do you know how much that ring is worth?”

“Dozens of silver coins?”

Gute didn’t know much about antiques either. In his eyes, gemstones were the most valuable. A ring carved from jade like this one, at most, was worth a few dozen silver coins.

But Anson shook his head and said, “You can’t even buy it for dozens of gold coins. You might not know this, but antiques from the Morta Empire era are insanely expensive on the market nowadays. Not to mention, this ring is exquisitely carved—definitely a noble’s ornament from that time. Do you think someone who casually brings out an antique worth dozens of gold coins is here for money?”

Merlin also fell into thought. In this world, there were three types of currency: gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins. One gold coin was nearly equivalent to a thousand units of currency from his previous life. Dozens of gold coins would be tens of thousands. Someone who could casually bring out something worth tens of thousands definitely wasn’t here just to flirt with noble heirs.

“Hmm, that does make sense. Looks like this woman has quite the background. But that’s okay. When I want to find out about someone, there’s no one I can’t dig up. Give me a few days, and I can dig up Jiya’s family history going back three generations.”

Gute’s face was full of confidence.

Jiya’s first class ended quickly. These noble students only had one class a day, so people began leaving one after another.

Merlin, along with Anson and the others, went outside the small building. Moss was already waiting there. Just as Merlin was about to get into the carriage, Anson quickly tugged on his coat and whispered, “Merlin, why are you heading back so early? Why not come with us somewhere?”

Merlin remembered Meixue’s earlier warning and shook his head helplessly. “Forget it, I’d better head back early. I won’t go today. Besides, Meixue warned me earlier to be home before dark.”

Anson quickly said, “Merlin, what do you think we’re going to do? Heh, this time we’re taking you to see something eye-opening. A friend of mine recently brought in some new antiques. Gute and I both want to check them out.”

“Just looking at antiques?” Merlin hesitated.

“Of course it’s just antiques. Come on.”

In the end, Merlin nodded and said to Anson and Gute, “Alright, get in. Let Moss take us.”

But Anson gave a scornful look. “That shabby carriage of yours? It’s torture inside. We’ll take Gute’s carriage instead.”

Merlin looked up and saw a luxurious carriage wrapped in beast hide and drawn by four horses appear in front of them. Comparing it to his own, he gave a bitter smile and nodded. He then instructed Moss, “Moss, go pick up Meixue at the church. It’s cold today—taking the carriage will be more comfortable.”

“And what about you, Young Master Merlin?”

Moss looked at Anson and Gute, a worried expression on his face.

Gute waved his hand. “I’ll take Young Master Merlin back.”

Moss nodded, said no more, and drove the carriage toward the church. Meanwhile, Merlin and the others got into Gute’s ultra-luxurious carriage and slowly left.