'The quintessence of mana left behind after an expulsion could lead to a perturbed state of the subject.'

I closed the book in my hand and put it aside.

Everything I had learned from this book was facts I already knew from experience. Still, all the complex words couldn't even come close to half of the excruciating pain I endured.

"Haaah..." I sighed and looked out the empty hallway.

I was sitting by the window sill on the second floor of the library where I had once overheard a group of maids gossiping. Since the place was detached from the main residence, it was quiet and devoid of people. So it became my personal hiding spot.

It has been two weeks since I woke up in the Frost Estate after the entrapment in Parthellam and a month since I returned. Not much has happened since then except for the explosive mornings when I find myself on the opposite end of the bed.

Other than that, my days were spent rather dull and uneventful.

During the mornings, I underwent treatment for the aftereffects of mana outbreak from the Eir priests. It usually lasted for an hour or two after which the Priests left the Estate.

To my disappointment, High Priest Thesser refrained from speaking about topics that were irrelevant to my treatment. While we did occasionally engage in conversations about the Saintess's seclusion, he withheld from divulging into the current affairs of the state or the happening of the outside world in general.

On the bright side, I have made considerable progress in recovery enough to be able to train without wearing myself out.

In fact, the only part of the day I looked forward to was after lunch when I got to strike at dummies with a wooden sword. Given that I had already made it a point to differentiate myself from the Angelica they knew, there was no need to hold back.

So I unleashed my wrath on one of the training grounds, which Nathaniel had emptied at my request.

I could still remember the shocked expression on the maid's faces when I severed the head of the dummies in a single strike causing the Knights to bring in new ones. But there was a reason behind it.

The armory in the Frost Estate was said to hold the biggest collection of weapons after the Imperial armory. There were supposed to be weapons and equipment of various kinds that could win an entire war.

However, it just so happened that, I was not allowed access to the said armory.

For the sake of my safety, I was only allowed to play with wooden swords, and thus began the ritualistic dummy beheading which I may or may not be thinking as a certain someone.

'It's a pity that I can't get my hands on any weapons' I scoffed, getting to my feet.

And finally, just like now, most of my evenings were spent inside the library.

I had gone through so many books and research articles that smoke started coming out of my ears. Even the librarian was surprised by my sheer dedication when I came back day after day showing no signs of defeat.

At this point, I'm confident that I was the most knowledgeable person on the study of mana within a hundred-mile radius.

"I'm going downstairs" I said leaning over the window sil.

Five seconds later, a Knight, who seemed unbothered by my calling him out, stepped forward and nodded in silence as a sign of acknowledgment. Although he tried his best to conceal his presence I could tell there was a Knight standing guard right by the curve to avoid my eyes.

I climbed down the stairs and waved at the librarian as I walked toward the back section of the library. I no longer required the librarian to guide me as I frequented these walls on a daily basis.

When I passed by a certain section of the library I remembered the times I was glued to the walls there. I wasted so much time by drowning my sorrow reading smut books that I ended up not noticing Edward being conscious the entire time.

'I was so young and naive back then' I shook my head as I trudged forward.

This time around I chose to avoid it so as to not repeat any of 'Angelica's' habits.

Once I reached the section related to mana studies, I searched for books related to the aftereffects of a mana outbreak.

My research had taken many turns over the days. During the earlier days, the information I had gathered was more or less what High Priest Thesser had summarized the first day.

However, I started to make progress once I had gotten over the initial threshold. Much like the knowledge of the universe, the study of mana was so vast that it could take an entire lifetime just to scratch the surface of it.

"Mana... mana... mana... there you are"

One thing I do know is that I keep coming back to the same concept of mana exhaustion. It was a theoretical conception of the soul its mana is stripped away to the end but managed to survive oblivion. It was as close as I could get to explaining my situation.

But before I could dwell deeper into that concept, there were a few more things I needed to understand first.

"Mana Stability and Poisoning"

I pulled the book I wanted from the shelf and went toward the exit for a change of scenery.

Just as I expected, the moment I stepped out through the doors, I was surrounded by Knights on all sides.

From day one, I was guarded round the clock and was always under watch except for the time I was in Edward's bedroom. My escorts were predominantly Knights who appeared to only take orders from Edward.

While they did heed my requests to some extent, they turned deaf ears when I asked anything about the outside world just like High Priest Thesser.

The platoon of Knights along with the maids by my side made it look like I was a dignitary in the middle of a parade. Even the Emporer would not have so many escorts in the Imperial palace.

They walked when I walked, they ran when I ran, and stopped when I did so too. At one point, I tried to do a somersault as a test to see if they repeated it but stopped when I realized how stupid that was.

For some reason, there were more Knights today than usual. Even the knight I had seen on the second floor was among the group.

One hour later, in the garden with the small fountain, I was twenty pages into detecting the symptoms of a mana relapse when Nathaniel came to me.

"Good Evening Madam"

"Good Evening to you too" I raised my eyes from the book and greeted back.

"The seasons are changing. It is about time we estimate the estate budget for the next year and restock the warehouses"

"Ah yes. It has been getting colder at night"

I shifted my focus back to the book.

"The estate hasn't been redecorated since the Archduchess left for the Duchy. The foundation festivals are right around the corner, now would be the time to start"

"Then you better get to it"

Ever since the position of Duchess had become vacant, Nathaniel had temporarily taken over the duties of the estate as the acting administrator.

Starting a week ago, he subtly brought up the topic from time to time when we spoke as if to persuade me to take over the duties.

"They are the responsibilities of the mistress of the house, Madam"

"Is it? Too bad she died three years ago. My belated condolences"

"..."

Nathaniel fell silent at my words.

Of course. I flatly refused. What else could he have expected? I was busy enough as it was.

I neither had the will nor was it any longer my obligation to take over the duties as the mistress of the estate. That position belonged to someone else. Moreover,

'What is he going on about having a sick person to work? Isn't me being sick the entire point of being stuck here'

Nevertheless, seeing how Nathaniel remained instead of leaving like he usually did, I guessed he had more to say.

"What's up?" I asked casually, turning over a page of the book.

"His Grace is calling for the Madam to have a private conversation. He is waiting for your arrival in the western greenhouse"

"Why?" I raised my eyebrows in question.

"My apologies, Madam. I am not aware of the details. I shall guide you to the greenhouse so you can ask His Grace directly"

No matter where he disappeared to during the day, Edward made it a point to have dinner together. Except for that one day when he was summoned to the palace and returned late, he was home by the time dinner was laid out. But...

'It's too early for that'

I closed the book and looked up at the orange sky. The sun was about to set. A gentle breeze swept by rustling the flowers in the garden. It was cold.

Nathaniel was right. The seasons are changing.

When we reached the greenhouse, Nathaniel excused himself and asked the rest of my escorts to stay behind while I entered alone.

The dome-shaped greenhouse had veins with small red flowers growing along the walls and plants on either side of the pathway. While there were flowers among them, the greenhouse appeared to house more herbs and medicinal trees.

I looked around as I walked through the pathway when Edward's back came into view. As I got closer, I admired his back profile which was just as majestic as the rest of him.

Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I quietly tiptoed behind Edward, careful to conceal my presence till I was at arms reach of him.

'Hmmm...'

I weighed the book in my hand. I had planned on returning to the library after we spoke, so I brought the book with me to the greenhouse.

The hard golden-covered book over a thousand pages made justice to its weight. Given the right momentum, it would land a deadly blow to the head, enough to crack a skull.

'He was already in a coma once, going down on another one won't make a difference' I clutched the book tight and raised it over my head.

'Besides, he's the male lead. He won't die from a little bop to the head'

With a goal set in mind, I swung the book toward the back of his head as hard as I could.









Edward turned his head to find Angelica standing behind him book in hand deeply immersed in reading.

When their eyes locked, he was greeted with a beautiful smile as radiant as the distant moons. It was a smile that showed no signs of malice or ill intentions veiled behind them.

"Oh! Mr. Frost didn't see you there. Such a lovely day isn't it?"

"It is"

"..."

"..."

The duo stared at each other in silence. One could say that a million words were spoken in that small moment of stillness.

After what seemed like minutes, Angelica laughed awkwardly and she walked over to the other side.

"I heard you wanted to speak with me, Mr. Frost" Angelica beamed, all the while internally grumbling over the missed opportunity.

'Dammit I was so close'

It was the perfect plan. They were alone in a closed space without a single soul in sight. She could have knocked him out with a single blow and once he fell unconscious, called for help, blamed it on the curse, and disappeared in the chaos that ensured.

However, right as she was about to strike the back of his head, Edward turned in the nick of time making her change course at the last second.

"Is it me or does your sense of respect disappear once the sun goes down?" Edward asked, amused by the event that just transpired.

He better than anyone knew the cost of having his back turned to Angelica.

"My body is my temple, Mr. Frost. And you keep trying to get into my pants"

"If my memory serves right. This morning I'm quite sure it was the other way around"

Angelica dropped the book on the table with a thud.

"By gones be by gones"

She took the empty seat opposite Edward, her expression so serene it was impossible to even consider that she had tried to commit murder mere moments ago.

"So... I happened to see your wife's portrait the other day, Mr.Frost. God bless her departed soul. There is such an uncanny resemblance between us. I agree and see why you got us confused. But... you cannot expect me to be the person you perceive me to be just because we happen to look the same"

"Are we doing this again?"

Angelica dodged Edward's question exactly like the Frost Knights evaded her queries about the outside world.

"My mother used to say there are seven people who look alike the same in the world, Mr.Frost. Your late wife was one. And then you found me. That's two" She counted on her fingers to emphasize her point.

"Now there are five more people left in the wilderness. Why don't you check them all out before reaching a conclusive decision?"

"I'm content with my current choice" Edward asserted much to her frustration.

"You see... I know exactly what's happening here, Mr.Frost. You're in grief. And grief makes you wanna do funny stuff. It makes you desperate. Trust me I know. But that doesn't give you the liberty to kidnap people!"

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"What? Mr.Frost? Isn't that your name? How else would I address you? Archduke Frost? My Lord the Mighty Frost?"

"No. Call me like you used to"

"Like I used to..."

Angelica's words trailed off as she took a trip down memory lane.

'Eddie, Eddie boy, Ed, Edster, Frosty, Frostbite...'

The names resonated in her mind. She had called him by different names on different occasions, some of which were better left forgotten.

Angelica glared at Edward for the umpteenth time.

It was times like this that made her look at him in wonder. He was acting differently from how he was described in the book.

While she may have thought he was exactly as he was described in the novel at first. As time went on, she couldn't help but notice how different of a person he was from his character setting. Her opinion of him was changing day by day, even if by a little.

It was like they were two different people. The book Edward was more ill-tempered and unsociable than the Edward sitting before her. He was a broody dark-themed man who spoke sharply, not the calm guy who engaged in silly banter.

Maybe he turned dark in the novel because his wife was killed? Angelica wondered about the possibility. Then shot down the thought deeming it absurd.

'Hah! No way'

Angelica tried to think of another reason.

'Is he that mad that I drew on his face? He doesn't come off as that petty though'

And when that didn't prove fruitful, decided to get to the bottom of things so she could return.

"I'm a very busy person. Just tell me why you called me here"

"You have been summoned to the Imperial Palace"

Edward presented Angelica with a golden envelope. On it was the seal of the Golden Lion, the official insignia of the Orion Empire.







While Angelica was receiving the unexpected news of being summoned by the Emperor, there was another person in a dark alley on the other side of the empire who had also received unexpected news.

"My my my... Now this is what I call an interesting twist"

Mikhael rolled the small piece of paper, tied it back to the messenger bird's leg, and let it fly.

Once the bird was out of sight, he looked down at the person squirming underneath his feet. The Serpent spy he had caught lay dead with blood gushing from his neck.

"Looks like I'm going home"