“I know that kids are fickle, but I don’t know. Gerald isn’t really that fickle if I recall, is he?”

“I still think Lulu is cute. It’s clear how she expresses her emotions. There must have been something that happened that only the children know. Gerald doesn’t seem to know. He’s easy to read. Maybe I’ll never know until Louella tells me.”

Royce sighed deeply and grabbed his hair.

“Why does he take after my dad?” He said, “Why does he look like him? In terms of personality?”

“Is the Duke cold?”

“He’s a man of few words . . . There was a time that I didn’t know that I didn’t talk to him for a week.” Royce complained, “Does that even make sense?”

“When I talk, he would just look at me. And sometimes nod. Then sometimes, he would smile. That’s it.”

“Aha . . . But isn’t Gerald okay compared to him?”

“Of course. It’s because he’s still young right now.”

At Royce’s words, Merce burst into laughter. “My mother told me that when my husband was young, he was the same as well. But he’s better now. Come to think of it, I think Louella must be having a hard time with their personality difference.”

“Well . . .”

Merce was lost in her own thoughts for a moment. And she suddenly remembered her daughter.

Louella was not a child that was obedient to anyone. She wanted to win most of the time against anyone, even her older brother, Alexid.

Louella was the one who made Gerald speak like a normal human being. That was the effect she had on him.

“Louella will be fine, Royce.”

“Before that, the two children have to make peace . . .”

“I don’t know what made her so angry. I tried to appease her with food, but she never told me.”

“Oh, my . . .”

“But if they study together, then their relationship might get better. It would be nice if Gerald could make it up with her until he goes to the academy.”

“I agree with you.”

“Oh, you’re going to have dinner after class today, right?”

“If that’s all right with you?”

A secret agreement was being signed between Merce and Royce without Louella knowing.

* * *

“First of all, I’ve prepared a book for now.”

Billiers laid down the books one by one in front of me and Gerald.

It was a thick blue book.

The Empire and the Green Tree

Billiers put the book down and explained slowly for us to understand, “This is a book about the founding of the empire. It’s actually a hard book to read at your age. But I think the two of you will understand this.”

“I’ll try,” Gerald answered.

This book is nothing for me. I nodded my head anyway.

“Actually, we have two hours of class now. Why don’t we talk about this book for an hour and talk about the Nisephor medicine for another hour?”

“I would definitely like that!”

“I’m fine, too.”

It was because of this that I allowed myself to study with Billiers and Gerald. Even if I didn’t want to spend time with Gerald, freely discussing Nisephor was my ultimate goal anyway.

“Today, we’d better talk about Nisephor first. I thought I went too deep.”

“What does that mean?” asked Gerald.

Billiers laid some square paper on our desk.

“This one.”

What’s that?

Two characters were written on the paper in neat letters.

“Hearthstone . . .?”

“Yes, it has two characters. Hearthstone.” Billiers nodded. “A hearthstone. It’s typically mana stone, it is what one need to make the Nisephor drug.”

“Who sent this to you?”

“I don’t know. The letter Louella sent me had been burned down and this was left.”

Does that mean Billiers doesn’t know?

In fact, in the past, Billiers had not yet developed a cure before I returned.

So I only thought about shortening the long process and helping Billiers so he could move forward quickly and make it.

Because, if my predictions were correct, Billiers was supposed to be the one who had to make the medicine, the cure.

But there is someone else who could help Billiers beside me . . .

Who else could do that?

Maybe, this person was an angel sent from heaven?

I stared at the mana stone in front of me.

Mana stone.

Did that mean that the medicine to cure Nisephor was the mana stone? Or something else?

“I’ve never heard of using mana stone as a medicine.”

“The same goes for me. Now the question is how to fuse mana stone and other ingredients for the cure. That’s the problem.” Billiers tapped the paper and sighed. “This is where I’m stuck.”

“I don’t know who gave us the mana stone, but will this person help us until the end?”

There was no one who would dare to fool around with my letter. I was the only daughter of the Leander family no matter what. No one would dare do that.

Then, what of the people who have access to my letter?

Housekeeper, maid, mom, dad, brother. And the errand boy who delivers the letters. Someone from the Academy who would have received the letter. Lastly, Billiers.

This was a list of people who would have access to my letter before my letter is delivered to Billiers.

This didn’t seem to be such a coincidence anyway.

Did any of them know the future, perhaps? That means there might be someone who went back in time besides me.

My heart was pounding with that thought.

Besides, I didn’t know who they were, but it was clear that he knew more than I knew.

“I don’t know,” I answered.

“Louella really doesn’t know then. Gerald, by any chance, do you have any idea about this?”