To Lara Pedelian, it was an indecipherable mess. The only reason Lara Pedelian held onto it was due to the fact that her father gave it to her as a memento. Ellendise was aware that the girl would somehow lose this item in the next few years and it would land on the hands of a certain crown prince who would then gift the book to a certain female head.
Said female lead would then give it to a certain alchemist to cozy up. Ellendise did not see the issue of speeding things up by revealing the recipe's whereabouts ahead of time and was in favor of using to make herself appear good towards the great alchemist.
At the very least, Braham would have a favorable impression of her.
'In the end, I'm not a good person. I do things for a reason and only if it benefits me.' She thought.
Braham wanted to refuse. The young girl did not elaborate any further which dampened his spirits. He could not imagine what kind of treasure a mortal would possess that would benefit him, the great alchemist Braham.
Still, he considered her words and thought about the Imperial Library and its librarian who was a non-mage.
It wouldn't hurt to take a look. If it was a scam or trick, he would not mind getting even.
After all, humans were hateful creatures. He was in need of a test subject for his latest potion. The girl seemed like a good candidate.
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When Braham left, Ellendise was in a gloomy state. She paid a huge price for severing her connection with one of the novel's greatest villain. It was worth it. After all, she has no intentions on being attached with someone like the Archduke or any members of the royal family.
That was simply asking for trouble.
Ellendise still has five years before the official start of the novel, Robin the Songbird, but she was no longer expecting things to be the same as what was written in the book. She, alone was an existence that could cause ripples in the story. With so many things that had been altered, would Letia still fall for the crown prince when Valrug was here?
Would Valrug still associate with the Mage Tower when Ellendise was firm on holding onto him?
She was sure that her brother Nitense would still succeed her uncle's title of being the Captain of the Knight Deployment Unit. She was not exactly sure of her brother's capability but from all the praises that Letia and her Uncle kept singing about him, Ellendise was pretty sure that he was as skilled as what was written in the book.
Early that morning, Rachel and Jill cried upon seeing that Ellendise was awake.
"My lady!"
"Lady Ellen! You're awake!"
The two wailed loudly while Ellendise smiled comfortingly at them.
"My lady, we were so worried for you!"
"That's right! That's right! Rachel has been having trouble sleeping because she keeps thinking about the lady's condition."
"Oh Jill, please don't say embarrassing things! The important thing is that Lady Ellen is awake!"
"Ellen, these mortals are so noisy! Make them shut up!" Cestine flew around her with an annoyed expression.
Because the fairy helped her out of her coma, Ellendise told Rachel and Jill to calm down and if they could prepare some light porridge for her.
"My lady, I'll inform the count and countess that you're awake!"
"My lady, I'll go to the kitchen and ask the chef to cook a light meal for you!"
Ellendise slowly waved goodbye as they disappeared to the door. She was left in her room again. Today was exceptionally quiet after the two were gone but Ellendise knows that the peace would not last.
Suddenly, her winged companion spoke up.
"Ellen, you aren't weak. Why do you bother yourself with other mortals? Cestine does not understand." The little fairy sat down on her shoulder and leaned on her cheek. Ellendise barely felt the latter's weight.
Ellendise decided to answer with a question. "Isn't it lonely to be alone? What is the point of being powerful if you're lonely?"
"Hm... Ellen, humans are odd. Among Cestine's kind, no one is weak and everyone is strong. Upon birth, Cestine's Mom threw Cestine at the wilderness. When Cestine came back, only did Cestine's Mom accepted Cestine. But humans aren't the same. Even if their offspring are weak, they would still try to raise it despite knowing that it would remain weak even in the far future. What is the benefit of raising weak people? Cestine does not understand humans and Cestine does not want to understand these humans."
Ellendise had read about fairies in the novel but it was the first time she's heard about fairies leaving their child in the wild to fend for themselves. This was a bit similar to the traditions of Spartans.
In her youth, Ellendise thought that fairies were magical creatures that could grant wishes. Indeed, this was true. In her youth, she also thought they were kind and beautiful. She thought wrongly. Fairies were both beautiful and ugly. Their small appearance looked akin to a docile animal but their true forms were of giants that could wreak havoc in cities and kill lives.
Moreover, fairies were not kind. They were selfish.
And Ellendise knew that the reason she was saved by Cestine was because she was simply a form of entertainment towards the fairy and because Cestine was pretty simple for a fairy.
Ellendise gave her food and Cestine liked her because of it.
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