Adriel's words still made a clear impression on Meyara's mind. She spent her days alone in her room, reflecting on herself. The more she thought about it, the more the young man’s words made sense. She had been acting so childish, she couldn't even say that she was proud of her behavior so far.

However, it was very difficult for her to accept all this reality. From birth, everything she knew revolved around magic. Not a second did she go without casting a spell to either manipulate reality or concoct a potion. But then she couldn't do all that, Meyara didn't know what she was living for anymore.

That's why it took her a long time to wake up. Even Brenna was worried that her daughter might never come out of the room again. Meyara still vividly remembered how relieved her mother seemed when she had decided to leave the house to visit the Chief's office a few days ago.

“I guess I was too scared to give up completely,” she muttered to herself as she buried her head into the book she was holding. "It's okay. I still have an amazing brain. I can learn from scratch and start over. It's no big deal.”

Her slender fingers traced every sentence in the old book with extreme care, as if the paper under her touch would break at the slightest pressure. The letters look a bit odd, with exaggerated indentations at each end of the letters. Meyara had to copy back some of the letters she didn't understand onto other papers so she could read them more easily.

Her palms were stained with the ink she used, but she didn't mind. The most important thing for her was to know all the ins and outs about magic, whatever price she had to pay was not a problem. She had even prepared plenty of spare ink and quills so her studies could continue uninterrupted.

There were times when she was dissatisfied with what she was reading, she went berserk and destroyed things around her. The Chief once scolded her for this. Therefore, this time she tried hard to control her emotions. She quelled her anger by biting her own arm until it bled. Pain slightly distracted her from the frustration that was nearly driving her mad.

"Those who are determined and have noble intentions will succeed in getting honey from the hives that are infested by deadly bees," she reads one excerpt in the book out loud. "The sun only gives its light to whoever proves its existence."

Meyara's brow wrinkled briefly. "What does it mean?" she scoffed. The hand that didn't touch the book continued to massage her forehead. “Oh, crap! That long sleep must have made my brain work slower. I should be able to devour a thin book like this in no time.”

She sighed and leaned her body against the foot of the Chief's office desk, her tired eyes looked out the window. The sun was starting to set, indicating she should be home soon. Warren did let her come into his office whenever she wanted to read the old books left by Deterville ancestors, but that didn't mean she could stay as long as she wanted.

Meyara closed the tenth book she read today. She was about to put it back on the shelf when suddenly a note caught her attention. The text is printed in bright yellow on the back of the brown book cover. The girl cursed herself for not realizing the writing earlier.

"No wonder this book looks neater and more luxurious than the other books." She palmed her face. “I should have known to whom this comprehensive summary is dedicated. Of course, this book was also given to one of its main sources of information.”

In a hurry, she tidied up her things as best she could and then ran out while holding the brown book. Her brain was working faster than her feet, trying to remember where the Chief was at the moment. But before she could set foot outside, her body collided with a firm but soft surface. Meyara, who was still recovering, couldn't keep her balance and almost fell backwards, but a pair of hands immediately grabbed her waist carefully.

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She opened her eyes which for some reason had suddenly closed. Not used to being touched by other people made her thrashed around, so that anyone who held her yelped in surprise.

"Whoa, watch out! You might get hurt.”

"Then don't touch me without my permission!"

“I can't help it. I was born a gentleman, you know.”

Meyara rolled her eyes, fed up with Adriel's antiques. But deep down, she was relieved. The young man spoke casually as if there had never been a violent argument between them. It was almost like they had never been apart.

Maybe she could pretend Adriel was still a child following her everywhere, so everything would fall into place eventually.

However, Adriel couldn't think the same as his expression changed from mischief to somber. Meyara was almost asked who died because he looked like someone who was grieving.

"I'm sorry," Adriel said so softly. Just like when they first met, he often talked to Meyara very carefully. “I should have tried harder to understand you. You’ve been through so much, yet I couldn't control my anger and lashed out at you.”

"It's … fine." Meyara bit her own lower lip to stop herself from saying what she wanted to say. Deep in her heart, she knew that the young man was not the one to blame. “I'm fine and I'm really glad you want to talk to me again, but right now I have somewhere to go.”

Adriel narrowed his eyes at the book Meyara was holding, then he nodded. "You want to see the Chief so he can explain more about the contents of the book.”

Meyara didn’t even know whether the young man was just asking her a question or stating a fact, but she answered anyway. “Yes. It’s important.”

“Then I can explain it to you, since …,” Adriel seemed hesitant for a second, “since Warren has so many things to do and I've asked the same question to him a couple years ago.”

“What?”

“When … you know, while you were unconscious, I had read every book to find any medicine that could help you and found the same book you hold so dearly right now,” he said. His voice sounded firmer this time. His dark eyes stared straight into Meyara's soul, the girl almost felt transparent under his gaze. "I know what you're thinking right now, but don't do it! I will answer all your questions if you promise me you'll never go that far to just feed your hungry brain."

"You did what? No! I mean … you knew?” Wide-eyed, mouth opening and closing repeatedly, Meyara almost looked like a fish thrown onto the driest land ever. But she forced herself to calm down. She couldn't let Adriel know everything she was feeling all the time.

Because Meyara feels very strange to have someone who knows her inside and out. Even her mother never accurately commented on what she felt or wanted. But Adriel was just confessing about how he had spent his precious time looking for medicine when Meyara couldn't even open her eyes. He was always ready to lend a helping hand, offering every knowledge he knew to Meyara so easily as if it was only natural for him to take care of her. He knew that the girl really needed him.

Even though Meyara had broken his heart many times and tarnished his pride, Adriel would still make sure he was right beside this cold-hearted girl.

"I can literally see you working your brain really hard in that little head." The young man chuckled as he poked Meyara's forehead jokingly. "Don't think too much, you might overheat."

Meyara just shook her head. "You just confirmed my thoughts, so I don't need to meet with the Chief, at least not now." She turned the book in her hands so Adriel could see the back cover. Meyara's index finger tapped on a certain word. "I need to see Queen Hera, the mother of Midehelm."

Then it was time for Adriel to widen his eyes. "What? You can't do that!

"I have to. The royal family has the longest lifespan in history, thanks to Queen Hera's healing magic ability. It shouldn't be a problem for her to recover my magic spirit."

It was obvious how Adriel was against this idea, but he didn't get a chance to voice his protest because Meyara swept past him so quickly, he could barely see her shadow.

***