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17. Guide

"Get me an incense burner and this list of herbs," Lady Joan instructed, and handed Elias a list of several herbs.

Elias didn't waste any time and quickly went to search for the herbs himself. Meanwhile, Alana and Grandpa Roan went to close the windows and lit all the mana lamps in the room. Several mana lamps more were also brought in, as it required a huge amount of mana to unseal Ingrid's memory.

Mana lamps are made of pure mana extracted from mana ores. Long ago, a man who saw the brilliant light emitted by the pure mana had the idea of storing it in a sealed glass and used it to light his home. This innovative idea attracted a merchant, who began selling it to nobles as a high-end commodity who cleverly marketed it as an "eternal lamp."

Indeed, the mana lamp could possibly last for eternity, but only if it is used by normal people. However, when a person who practices magic uses a mana lamp, the mana in the lamp will be gradually absorbed into the person's body. Certain practitioners even procure mana lamps for the specific purpose of mana absorption and subsequent enhancement of their magical prowess.

"Also, we need the guide."

They looked at Lady Joan in confusion.

"What kind of guide do you mean, Lady Joan?" Alana asked.

"Ingrid's memories are like a turbulent storm. If she were to weather it alone, there is a high chance that she would get lost in her memories, unable to return to reality. Whatever occurred before she was plagued by her nightmarish memories must have had a huge impact on her, causing the leak in the seal to widen significantly. Without someone guiding her out of her dream, she would have drowned in them, possibly never returning."

Grand Duke Rasmus's eyes widened. He looked at Ingrid, his expression a mixture of disbelief and worry.

On the other hand, Ingrid's blood chilled. So she's telling her she could have been trapped inside her nightmares forever? Her heart throbbed at the thought of Prince Aleric, who constantly pulled her out of her nightmarish dreams. It seems that she owed him once more. She hasn't even thanked him for saving her in the forest just yet.

Ingrid felt her father's giant hand holding hers. Unlike Lady Joan's hand that keeps the heart at peace, the grand duke's calloused hand was like a sturdy anchor that kept her secure. The fear that gnawed at her heart slowly eased, driven by the security her father emitted.

"Can I be the guide?" Grand Duke Rasmus asked.

What Lady Joan said about how Ingrid only managed to wake up thanks to a guide lingered at the back of his mind. Grand Duke Rasmus wondered who it was that guided his daughter out of her terrible dreams. However, it doesn't seem to be the right time to ask a question. Ingrid's safety comes first.

But the grand duke would surely not be ungrateful towards his daughter's savior. He will make sure to give whoever he or she was a proper reward later.

"With your close bond, it is possible. Though I think it would be safer to have the person who has been guiding her out of her nightmare do it. Whoever he is, Ingrid will be more familiar with his touch inside of her memories."

Grand Duke Rasmus did not miss the slight panic in Ingrid's eyes.

He scowled. There was something amiss with his daughter's reaction.

"I...I'd like my father to be my guide. I have a close relationship with my father. I'm sure I'll be fine," Ingrid said in a single breath.

The people in the room who had watched Ingrid grow up were quick to notice her unusual reaction. Grandpa Roan frowned. Meanwhile, Alana's eyes glint in knowing amusement.

Grand Duke Rasmus's scowl deepened. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Ingrid bit the inner corner of her lips, anxious. She desperately prayed that her father wouldn't pursue the subject any further. Ingrid could already imagine how her father would react if he found out that a man had been sneaking into his daughter's bedroom. Regardless of the reason, he will surely kill the man. That is, if he can even kill that man.

However, the grand duke was unwilling to let go of the topic. "No."

Ingrid's heart instantly sank.

"Although I wish to be my daughter's guide, I cannot compromise her safety, knowing there is a safer option."

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"No, it's okay, Dad. You're my father; I'm confident I can recognize you inside my memories!"

But Ingrid's insistence only made Grand Duke Rasmus even more suspicious. Ingrid's neck shrank when her father's penetrating gaze landed on her.

"It's alright, Sunshine. May I know who the person is so that we can summon him?"

Ingrid didn't realize the word sunshine could be so scary until today.

"I actually don't know," she lied. Although it wasn't totally a lie. "It's just whenever I had a nightmare, I'd always feel a hand holding mine, and then the nightmare vanished. But whenever I woke up, there was no one there."

Grand Duke Rasmus fell silent, his eyes scrutinizing the truthfulness of his daughter's words. Ingrid nervously looked at her father like a prisoner waiting for the judge's verdict.

"Then it can't be helped," said Lady Joan, sounding a bit regretful.

Ingrid subtly breathes out, releasing the tension in her body. A surge of gratefulness surged in her heart as she looked at Lady Joan.

The grand duke wanted to ask more but was interrupted by Elias' arrival. Behind him were several maids carrying everything that Lady Joan instructed him to bring.

Lady Joan called Alana and told her to boil the herbs in the pot in the sequence that she listed. Alana instantly went to work.

Meanwhile Lady Joan turned her attention to Ingrid, her eyes like that of a deep chasm that holds every wisdom in the world, looking at her intently.

"This time, your memories will no longer be disguised as nightmares. You will relive them as though you have come to that very moment. I cannot control which memory you will see. It will be extremely dangerous. But know that whatever it is you see, it has long passed. It cannot hurt you anymore."

Ingrid exhaled with a shaky breath and nodded her head nervously.

"Grand Duke, your job as the guide is to anchor Ingrid to reality. You are to keep calling her so that she will not lose her way in her memories."

Grand Duke Rasmus' face was grim and rigid. It was as though he was headed to a bloody battlefield, ready to slaughter every enemy on his way. He's still against Ingrid doing something so risky, but as it was what she wanted, he could only reluctantly support her and ensure her safety.

After Alana finished brewing the herbs, Lady Joan instructed Ingrid to drink it. The bowl of concoction emitted a foul medicinal smell that instantly made Ingrid gag.

Ingrid looked at the bowl like it was her sworn enemy. She really didn't want to drink it. But seeing Lady Joan patiently waiting, she exhaled and poured the content in her mouth, with her eyes closed. As the liquid travelled through her throat, Ingrid was assaulted by a rather peculiar blend of flavors. It was mostly bitter, with a hint of a muddy, sweet, and sour taste. For short it was disgusting.

Ingrid sniffed, her eyes glistening with tears. It took all of her willpower not to retch the liquid back to the bowl.

But soon, Ingrid began to feel a spell of drowsiness coming over her. Her eyes turned heavy, and before she knew it, she was pulled into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile...

In the snowy border of the north, a man was standing on top of a tower's roof, with his hand behind his back. He was staring at the blurry shadow of a mountain range with a catatonic expression.

Snow has been falling heavily along the northern border since the morning. Coupled with strong winds, the temperature has been dropping without cease.

Braziers have been lit along the patrol roads where soldiers huddled for warmth in between patrol shifts. Yet despite the depressing cold, a cacophony of merry laughter could be heard amidst the cold, wintry winds.

The man on the other hand, did not seem to mind the cold despite wearing thin pieces of garments widely worn by common people in the capital. But this is not because the man was resistant to the cold. After all, he came from the empire that only knew the sun and rain.

If one were to take a closer look at the man, they would notice several strings of darkness moving around him in an endless spiral. Neither wind nor snow was able to penetrate the spiral of darkness, keeping the man from freezing.

Moments later, another man in a fur coat arrived with a rolled-up paper in hand. However, when the new arrival's eyes landed on the darkness surrounding the man, worry and fear flickered across his face.

"Aleric, that's enough," said Vernon. But the prince did not listen.

Vernon sighed with a tinge of helplessness. "We can't have your illness acting up again, your highness. Or do you wish to jeopardize everything?"

Prince Aleric turned and glared at Vernon.

Vernon ignored him and continued with his purpose for coming. Worry and care don't work against Prince Aleric. Instead it makes him even more set on doing whatever it is that you don't want him to do. But as long as he is convinced that it will ruin his plans, he'll surely heed the advice, albeit begrudgingly.

"Iris sent a letter this morning." Vernon handed Prince Aleric the rolled-up paper he was holding.

A tendril of darkness broke from the spiral and grabbed the letter from Vernon's hand. The darkness unrolled the paper for its master. When Prince Aleric read the content of the letter, a deep frown instantly appeared on his forehead.

"An old female druid said to have visited the Lennox's residence yesterday morning. It was an old woman named Joan, hailed as one of the wisest elders in the druid tribe. One of our men found the grand duke's right hand procuring certain herbs on the market. We got a hold of the list of herbs and found that when brewed in a certain sequence, they can help stabilize a person's emotion."

Prince Aleric's eyes were glued on the paper, and the more he read, the deeper his frown became. It seems that the elder was called by the grand duke to examine Ingrid after her recurring nightmares. According to Iris' letter, there seemed to be a connection between Ingrid's nightmare and certain memories she has forgotten in the past. However, that was the limit of what Iris knows, as the servants were banned from entering Ingrid's abode.

But when Prince Aleric's eyes read the last paragraph of the letter, his eyes dimmed. It says Ingrid hasn't woken up since yesterday, turning the entire Lennox residence into chaos.

Prince Aleric crumpled the paper in his hand. Before Vernon could ask the prince what they were to do, Prince Aleric vanished from his sight. Vernon shivered as a cold wind blew, his eyes filled with disbelief staring at the place where the prince was once standing.