n

n

nThe Empress and I stayed there for quite a while, reminiscing stories from the past. She told me that she had always wanted to have a daughter, but because of the Herman bloodline that allowed the women of the family to only bear a male child, she could only hope for it. That is why my mother brings me to the palace so that the empress could wipe away her longing.

nFrom her words alone, I could feel that the Empress and my mother had a very good relationship. Our talk had only made me miss her more…

nEzekiel then came and interrupted our pleasant conversation, joining us. Unfortunately, the Empress had to go because of an appointment with the royal physician.

n

"I will wait for the next time that you'll visit,

" Auntie said and then set off with her maids-in-waiting.

nNow, only Ezekiel, Eon, Nathan, and I are left in the garden.

n

"Do you want me to tour you around?

" Ezekiel asked.

nI smiled at him,

"Can we? It seems that I have been a frequent visitor here before, but I can't remember,

" I uttered and surveyed my eyes around the place.

nThat feeling of slight nostalgia was still there. I have not felt this when I was in the main hall, then that means, the garden is where we only used to stay and nowhere else.

nI felt Nathan's eyes on me,

"You still had not recovered your memory? I thought you did, and that's the reason for your current changes...

" he remarked.

nMy head turned to look at him in an abrupt fashion that almost gave me whiplash.

n

"I had amne-- I mean, you knew?

" I blurted out of surprise from his words.

nIt was only my excuse for my maids to hide the fact that I am not their real master. How did Nathan know of my crappy reason?

n'Did the novel Nadia had amnesia before too? But that was never discussed in the story! I really am sure that nothing like that was mentioned.'

nNathan frowned upon seeing my expression.

n

"When you woke up from the accident, you were screaming and asking who we are. You don't remember most of the things either, even your own name,

" was his answer.

n

"Really?

" I muttered and looked down to the ground.

n'So… she lost her memories?'

n'Huh? That's kind of… weird, isn't it? Wait, actually no. It is possible. She had an accident, after all! Is that also part of the reason why she is… ugh! I don't know! This is confusing me!'

n

"You still have not?

" Nathan asked again when he noticed that I got silent.

n

"Come on guys! Let us not talk about depressing things shall we?

" Eon suddenly jumped in to cut off our conversation--

"Nads, do you want me to take you around?

" he offered.

nNathaniel's cold glare focused on him,

"Go back to the castle grounds.

"

n

"But I want to tag along!

" Eon whined and pouted at him.

n

"It's an order,

" Nathan added in a firm voice.

n

"The heck… abuse of power…

" Eon grumbled under his breath as he gave Nathan glares, which isn't discreet in my eyes anyway.

n

"Now, let us not go into arguments. Come and I will show you around,

" Ezekiel butted in.

nI was still thinking about what Nathan had just told me but...

n'Oh, what the hell. I can think about all of this later when I am alone... '

n

"Okay,

" I mumbled and stood up from my chair.

nNathan and Eon stopped their bickering as well and went with us. The four of us walked around at first before Eon was sent away by Nathan after we had reached the castle grounds where some knights were having some kind of a mini-battle. I saw Conrad and Luther there as well who waved at us for a moment before they went back to whatever they were doing.

n

"Captain, is that your sister?

" one knight suddenly asked and ran towards our direction.

nHe was young, probably around my age. It's probably impossible that he would be in the ranks of the knights so a newbie, perhaps? A trainee?

n

"Who? Oh! The King of The Hunt!

" another one exclaimed and stopped doing his training routines to follow the first guy.

n

"I was far away from the podium so I had not seen her up-close. Let me see her too!

"

n

"King of The Hunt!

"

nSoon, a small group of them approached us to get a 'proper' look at me, as they said. It seems that I have apparently become a celebrity. I'm kind of used to this kind of thing because it is the same for me in the academy.

n

"Go back to your training,

" Nathan ordered and stared them down one by one, pinning them with his infamous glares.

nHe had looked so scary just from the dark aura he was imposing so all of them heeded his commands.

n

"They are nosy,

" he then clicks his tongue after they are all gone.

nEon nudged me in the shoulders,

"Nadia, those days when you were in a coma, Nathan had been traumatizing the newbies. He had sparred with them tirelessly that some even quit!

" he whispered to my ear.

nIt was heard by Nathaniel though.

n

"You too. Get lost,

" he declared.

n

"Tch,

" Eon grumbled again and reluctantly left our side to join the others.

n'Brother, you are being too harsh on Eon…' I wanted to tell him that but chose not.

nWe then moved on to the outer palace and Ezekiel pointed to where the Empress was staying and said that we can't go in there without her majesty's permission, so we did not explore that one. Instead, we came to the southernmost part of the castle where a tall tower was erected.

n

"That is the Tower of Magic or The Archives,

" Ezekiel divulged.

"Do you want to come in? Though we can only enter the lower floors because the tower owner prohibited the access of the upper ones,

" he added.

n'The Magic Tower!'

nI stared at the looming tower from a distance. It was absolutely breathtaking and very impressive to look at. But to me, at that moment, I saw it as something so sinister-looking.

n'Why did I forget that visiting the palace means seeing this tall building as well?'

nA grimace appeared on my lips,

"Err, maybe some other time…

" I mumbled--

"I actually kind of feel a little dizzy…

" I added and coupled it with a fake act of massaging my temples.

n'And I meant dizzy from fright, yes.'

nNathan suddenly acted and looked at me, grabbing both of my shoulders.

n

"Are you okay?

" he asked, appearing so worried all of a sudden.

n'Oh boy… This is a bad idea when you have someone who is overprotective.'

n

"Yes I am, maybe it's because of the sun,

" I tried to reassure him but ended up blanching inside.

n'Lies. It is almost winter, the weather is not that hot either! That was so lame of me.'

nBut they accepted it though...

n

"Then let us go back so you can rest,

" Ezekiel uttered.

nI glanced at the tall tower one last time before we finally left the place.

nAt the topmost floor of the tower, a man in robes stood in front of the window, gazing outside. His golden irises were particularly focused on one figure being accompanied by two people, lingering even after they all disappeared out of sight. His eyes flashed for a moment before a cryptic smile appeared on his lips.

n

"Hmm…

"

n