Hours passed, and with each minute, María's strength crumbled a little more.

Hugo and Aria remained immersed in their studies, while María continued going up and down the ladder, retrieving book after book as Hugo requested them.

Aria devoured the information on aura, miracles, and mana-powered artifacts; every page she read added to the growing stack of books beside the table.

María, however, felt her body begging for a break as hunger, thirst, and exhaustion piled up to the point where she thought she might pass out at any moment.

She had tried several times to ask for permission to eat, but Hugo always refused, claiming that all of this was important and she could eat later.

Meanwhile, Hugo and Aria had eaten, with María going down to the kitchen more than once to bring them more food.

Although María found this incredibly unfair, she didn’t dare protest beyond giving Hugo pleading looks, which he completely ignored.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Hugo declared it was time to rest.

The relief was immediate; María let out such a deep sigh that it almost hurt her chest.

Aria, on the other hand, looked at him puzzled.

"Why?" Aria asked, not understanding why Hugo, who had been so focused, suddenly wanted to stop.

Hugo laughed at the question.

"I'm really impressed by your spirit, kid," Hugo responded with a mocking smile. "But even the brightest minds need a break to process and find solutions. You'll understand one day."

Aria frowned, not entirely convinced, but María was too relieved to care.

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Finally, she could eat something in peace!

However, her relief quickly faded when Hugo looked at her and said,

"Wait, María. Before you go, tidy all this up."

María looked at the pile of books scattered next to the table.

'What…?'

They were all the texts Aria had read and tossed aside over the last few hours.

'You’ve got to be kidding me!' María screamed in her mind.

If he really expected her to do that now, she was going to die!

The brief smile María had worn disappeared, and a new wave of exhaustion hit her.

'Maybe I really should quit,' María thought, seriously questioning whether she should keep this job.

At first, it had been easy, despite Aria’s occasional whims, but ever since the vampires arrived, everything had escalated, and at this point...

They were exploiting her!

Seeing María's expression, Hugo burst out laughing and said,

"It was a joke, girl."

'A joke…?'

María puffed her cheeks in anger, furious and annoyed for having fallen for Hugo’s prank.

'What a crappy joke!' María thought angrily, as she began cursing Hugo in a thousand different ways in her mind. Thanks to that, she managed to hold back the urge to yell at him.

'Well… at least I don’t have to clean this up now…,' María thought after calming down a bit.

"Go get some rest," Hugo added in a somewhat kinder tone. "I’ll come find you both tomorrow."

Aria stood up from her seat with her usual grace, but as soon as she took a step, her legs gave out, and she almost collapsed to the floor.

María instinctively lunged toward her, but Hugo was faster, lifting her with his magic so she floated gently in the air.

"That’s what I was talking about," Hugo said, looking at Aria with a certain satisfaction.

Aria, surprised by her own weakness, let herself be carried by the magic without much protest, while María sighed in relief, dreading the thought of how Elizabeth might react if Aria were injured because of her.

Floating a few inches off the ground, with a curious expression as she experienced the sensation of the magic holding her, Aria took a moment to steady herself while Hugo’s magic kept her upright. Slowly, she drifted back down until her feet touched the floor.

The magic’s hold disappeared, and Aria stood on her own, still shaky but maintaining the same cold attitude she always had.

María watched as Aria recomposed herself with calculated, calm movements, showing no sign of the exhaustion she must have felt after hours of intense reading and study.

Aria walked over to María, lifting her gaze to meet hers with serene eyes.

"Let’s go," Aria said in her usual neutral, calm tone, which somehow always sounded like a command.

'This girl is getting worse…,' María thought as she nodded and let out a sigh.