Estoria attempts to gaslight herself by believing that the stash of these history books are merely historical webnovels which she greatly enjoyed reading in her previous life. Just as she used to sift through for a good webnovel to read, she was merely perusing their synopses or taking a more thorough look to see if they pique her interests.
Had she known that the section they were selecting was the history section, she would probably have incited a riot to change it immediately. However, it was too late now as everyone had already settled into their respective positions. If she were to go back and ask someone to swap with her, it would take too much time, which was currently very precious to them. She didn't want to irritate everyone with her whims.
Estoria tries to forcefully open her eyes, which were not obeying her and closing as if they had their own mind, as she flips through the pages of the book explaining the royal family of the dragons' history.
Although the book was about dragons, it just seemed like a tedious history book explaining the events that had occurred all those years back when she didn't exist. Exactly if she wasn't the one experiencing these events, what's the use of learning about them? Like it would help her now to know that the youngest son of the first-ever dragon betrayed his father and siblings, killing him for the throne. What can she do now with this information? It's as if she could go back in time to warn them about it.
Actually, no. Maybe they do need to record this event in the books to remember the previously killed emperor and princes of the dragon realm. They deserved this at least...
"Aluxio, change this book with me. I don't want to read this one; it's harming my brain cells," Estoria slides her book to him.
Aluxio was sitting opposite Estoria, glaring at her for a bit before giving his book to her.
"Do you not enjoy reading books?" He asks carefully.
"Nope, I only relish fantasy books with a hint of comedy. Something this serious is beyond me," Estoria replied nonchalantly.
Aluxio didn't dare inquire further. Instead, he broached a topic he had been meaning to discuss for a while.
"Why do you only address me as 'your highness' when you're being sarcastic?"
Estoria raises one of her eyebrows at him. "Don't tell me; did I hurt your feelings by calling you by your name casually?"
Aluxio's brows become slightly twisted. "No, but I also don't think you should address everyone so casually. It's fine with me, but if someone overheard you calling Tyrion by his name too, it would raise suspicions."
"Although I think everyone already has heard me calling him by his name. I'll try to speak more politely in front of others, your highness," Estoria replies sophisticatedly.
"I told you to call me by my name. Those conditions do not apply to me but only me," Aluxio says sulkily.
"I don't dare, your highness Aluxio Enrique," Estoria teases him, her previous fatigue disappearing with it.
"It's just Aluxio for you. This is not a request but a command."
"As you wish, your highness," Estoria replies with a slight bow of her head.
Aluxio sighs, retreating back to reading his book.
As Estoria lifts her head, a book in the shelf behind Aluxio catches her eye. She gets up to get it.
The book seemed to have a golden lining to it, shining differently from the other books. It was named simply as the kingdom of blessings.
Estoria opened the book from the end as she skipped through those pages she noticed some familiar names.
It was about the royal family of the kingdom of blessings. She had literal zero interest in royal families but this one had her interest piqued.
The book showed the family tree of the fifth king of the kingdom. The first queen was Duchess Helley Théodred, who had black hair and black eyes which was quite rare. She moved the title of Théodred family's head to her younger stepbrother Neo Théodred before marrying the king, which was a love marriage celebrated by all the people of the kingdom. The first queen was dearly loved by all; soon she gave birth to the crown prince Darius Enrique, but unfortunately passed away shortly after giving birth from losing too much blood.
The second queen was Jasmine I'nes. She was known for her peerless beauty, her crimson red hair, and sharp but soft grey eyes. Her features ever so delicate. She became the queen after the crown prince had just turned three years old. The crown prince was more fond of the new queen than the king himself. He would spend all of his free time sticking closely to her. After a year, she also gave birth to a prince but her fragile body couldn't endure the birth and she died in the middle of giving birth to the prince.
A year later, the king was married again but this time for a political marriage between the two kingdoms. She was the firstborn princess of the other kingdom. The third and last queen Floral Silicia had grey hair and purple eyes that captivated the eyes of everyone. The crown prince at the time was always with the prince Aluxio and rarely visited the new queen.
Although everyone pitied her as she was always alone in a foreign kingdom and thought was quite resentful towards the royal family of this kingdom, after a while no one could disagree that she truly loved the king and the princes. Even after becoming pregnant she would still try to take care of the young prince Aluxio by herself. After a year, she had given birth to a princess and a prince who were both healthy and identical twins. The kingdom celebrated for days for the birth of a princess while the queen was also alive this time but that also didn't last long before the queen had died in her sleep just a month after giving birth, the reason unknown.
Estoria was going to say that the king was probably cursed or something but then she remembered that the king was also Aluxio's blood father and shut her mouth immediately.
"Aluxio, I found this book but... is everything in here true?" Estoria cautiously placed the book in front of Aluxio.
Aluxio confirmed the content and nodded with a little "hmm."
"Don't you find it a little strange how all of the queens passed away.." Estoria was regretting saying it now. Firstly she had shown Aluxio the book which brutally said that his mother passed away in the middle of birth and after forcefully making Aluxio read it she had pointed it out too... She should really reflect on her words before speaking.
Aluxio stayed quiet for a while making Estoria overly anxious. She had already closed and placed back the book but now what?
"I'm sorry Aluxio forget it. I shouldn't have said anything..." Estoria sat beside Aluxio, hugging his arm to comfort him knowing how bad she was at comforting others but at least she had good intentions, right?
"Just don't address me as your highness or anything just Aluxio like you just said."
Estoria gave him the side eye, is that what's going through your mind right now?
She immediately let go of his arm starting to get up to go back to her seat when she was stopped by Aluxio who was holding on to her pinky finger.
"What is this?" Estoria asked.
"Do you want to know the real reason why all of the queens passed away?" Aluxio said, his tone almost as if confessing his undying love for her again.
"No, thank you. I think I'll pass. Maybe another time when we have the time to talk about it more comfortably," Estoria wasn't going to delve into that hole again, especially considering she had just barely come out of it. Moreover, she felt she had wasted a significant amount of time, which could have been better spent swapping with the other team.
"Sit with me then," Aluxio suggested, placing a pile of books on the desk beside him for Estoria.
She stared at the books "....."
Estoria hesitated for a moment, then resigned herself to her fate and sat back down on the bench.
Aluxio sneakily put his hand on top of Estoria's hand on the table, but Estoria allowed it, thinking that maybe he was feeling a bit lonely after hearing about his mother.
***
Meanwhile, Asher strolled through the hallways, lacking any better activity to occupy his time, when an idea struck him.
Hurrying to Estoria's room, he entered and settled on the couch with his legs up in a meditative pose, placing a single kernel in front of him.
He gazed at the kernel for a while, contemplating how to proceed. Eventually, he decided to press a finger on top of the kernel, which soon blossomed into a beautiful popcorn.
"But this would take ages for me to do," Asher remarked before placing a few more kernels in front of him.
He encircled them with the smallest barricade, trapping the kernels within the translucent white enclosure. Then, he tapped the head of the barricade, igniting a small fire inside the top of it. This raised the temperature within the barricade, causing the kernels to pop out of their shells.
Surveying his handiwork, Asher seemed satisfied, and he popped the popcorns into his mouth for a taste.
Furrowing his eyebrows, he commented, "They're bland..."
"How did Estoria make them again? I'll have to ask her when she gets back. I think it was salt or maybe butter?" Asher mused, lost in thought.
His reverie was interrupted as the white bracelet on his left wrist started glowing, prompting him to snap out of his thoughts instantly.
His heart began to beat loudly and rapidly.
"Estoria, how are you in danger already?" Asher wondered aloud, concern evident in his voice.
[13 hours left until their return]