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After I woke up and Charity told me what happened, she locked me in the room until my parents came.

Eredin and Astra were very relieved that I had finally woken up and very grateful to Charity and Lilian for watching over me while I was unconscious.

That's why they decided to leave me locked up here in Lilian's care, who insists that I need to go through a rehabilitation process.

The thing is, now that I'm over the anger from the moment I found out about everything, I no longer have any intention of going out of town to try my luck with some random address.

I have to find Xelean, yes, but for that I need to make a plan and get information.

And to fulfill that task, being in this place comes in handy.

Lilian is very well informed about everything that is going on in the empire, and that's why it is certain that she will find out if there is any news about Xelean.

And if she finds out, I will too. After all, Miss Estella is very friendly and talkative.

It's easy to get information from her.

...

"Is it really necessary to have four guards at all hours outside the door of the room I'm in?" I ask, testing the waters, while Lilian and I perform some strange movements that, according to her, are meant to stretch our muscles and stimulate them to regain lost mobility.

In my case, I get it, but I don't know why Lilian has to do these stupid movements with me.

I mean, she didn't really receive any injuries from the traitors' attack.

Unlike me, who is alive by a miracle, as everyone who sees me reminds me every time they get the slightest chance.

I wasn't left with any scars from what happened, thanks to Lilian's magic, but every slight movement requires me to exert twice as much effort as before, and when flexing some muscles, I feel a straining pain that only eases after several minutes.

"You know that's not my doing. But I guess you must have earned it the hard way." says Lilian, her forehead pearly with sweat, while still concentrating on the movements she is performing.

"This is your house. Can't you just tell them to go away?" I say, frustrated at how much I'm struggling with some of the stretches when I could have done them before with no problem.

We are in the basement of the house, which is a large room with little furniture.

The walls are smooth stone, and the floor is worn-looking wood.

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"Yes, it's my house. I bought it with my money and.... It is true that I could kick those people out at any moment. But I won't, because...then Charity and Sebastian would be mad at me, and you'd probably run away from here. Don't think I don't know everything there is to know about your strange ability," she says, stopping talking for a moment each time she shifts position "Besides.... Sebastian is very upset about what happened… That's why he's happy to have an excuse for me having to accept having more people looking out for me.... He was the one who personally chose those people who apparently bother you so much. Those guards aren't here just for you."

"Ahh, how is he? I mean... with the arm thing and all." I say, remembering how the bodyguard lost his right arm and a good chunk of his side in the explosion that started the traitors' attack. After which, Lilian, doing something I thought impossible, made the boy's wound close up, regenerating the skin and creating a new arm in the process with her magic.

"It's fine, I think. His arm works perfectly, as far as I know. What's more, if it weren't for the fact that what happened had him on the verge of death, I'd say it was a good thing, because his arm wasn't the only thing my magic cured." says Lilian with a smile, blushing a little.

...

For a few minutes, Lilian continued to do a series of positions that tested the limits of her limbs' flexibility, and I mimicked her as best I could with the irritatingly limited state of my body.

Now we are resting, sitting on the floor against one of the walls, while drinking some water to make up for the fluid we lost from the exercise.

"About the other thing you said earlier. I'm not going to run away... I've changed my mind since my conversation with Charity," I say, trying to sound sincere, as I have to gain Lilian's trust if I'm ever going to get out of this place.

"Aha... Don't take me for a fool, my dear. Do you think I don't know what you're doing? You are pulling my leg to get information from the outside at the slightest opportunity. You think you're so clever, don't you?" says Lilian, looking at me with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." I say, averting my gaze, as the fear that I've ruined my plans by misjudging Lilian's personality starts to wring my stomach.

"Haa... For as long as I can remember, people have been trying to take advantage of me. Believe me, if I tell you things, it's because I just want to say them, not because you have some kind of talent for interrogating people." says Lilian without stopping to smile, placing a hand on mine, and squeezing gently.

"Does that mean..." I start to ask, as the hope of having an ally for my plans makes me lose all caution.

"Listen." says Lilian, lowering her voice tone and interrupting my words by putting a finger over my mouth. "I want to help you, but right now I need you to concentrate on getting well. Only then can you go find that knucklehead friend of yours."

"Do you know where he is?!" I exclaimed excitedly, with hope pumping in my chest.

"Shhh, keep your voice down. The guards are Sebastian's trusted people, but you can never be overconfident." she says, covering my mouth with her hand and looking at me with a frown. "You're too naive.... I'm almost hesitating now about whether I should help you. After your outburst just now, I'm afraid you're just going to get yourself killed, and that I'm contributing to it."

At this, I quickly shake my head and try to look as trustworthy as possible, waiting patiently for Lilian to speak again.

After a few seconds, the girl removes her hand from my mouth and continues, lowering the volume of her voice even further. "To put it simply, yes, I know where he is. I've known it since I woke up."

"What... How... Where is he?" I ask in a stunned whisper, as the excitement I feel makes me hesitate about what to say.

'I have to be careful and convince Lilian to tell me where the master is. I can't mess this up'

In response, Lilian points to the mithril ring on her right hand, saying, "This thing is not only good for sending messages; it's also good for knowing the address of its partner's location." she says, and, seeing my look, which must surely be reflecting my anxiety about snatching the piece of metal from her finger, she adds, "But before you think of anything stupid, let me tell you that you won't have any use for this thing."

"What, why?" I ask sharply, tensing my body, annoyed to find an impediment when I already thought I had found a way to know where the master is.

"Because this ring has a limited mana capacity and runs out of mana very quickly. Earlier, you were able to send a message to Xelean with the ring only because the ring was charged with my mana, but that won't help you find him. So, in order to use it, you need to learn how to charge it with mana," she says, looking at me with a frown and dropping her smile, "which is perhaps going to be harder than I initially thought, seeing how impulsive and unreflective you're proving to be."