Silver had not forgotten.
Although it might seem like he had forgotten or that he was ignorant and did not know about was said during his grandfather's meeting with the nine family heads, he knew.
Before the meeting started, Silver chose to eavesdrop on the meeting between his grandfather and the nine family heads.
It was the first time he made such a decision, and the reason he chose to do something like that was because of his rite of passage.
He knew that they were going to discuss about him in the meeting, and he wanted to know what the nine family heads thought about him and his decision to undergo his rite of passage at such a young age and with average talents.
He mainly did this out of curiosity, to know which family head at least had some belief in him, and also to know the relationships between each family head.
He was a future prince, and even though his chances of ascending the throne was small, almost impossible in fact, he at least wanted to know the relationships between the nine family heads, and also which family head he could approach to at least give him some sort of support in the future.
However, what he did not expect to find out during the meeting was that Sparta, his home, was going to fall in the future.
He heard the words of the family head of the Demeter family, and he was absolutely shocked when he heard the words she spoke.
He knew of Eris Demeter.
One of the earliest teachings that was taught to children of the royal family and also the noble family was the importance of the Demeter family, and also the utmost importance of their family head, Eris Demeter.
There were many sayings about the Demeter family, and one of them was how the Demeter were what caused Sparta to rise great heights. People also said that the Demeter family was what prevented Sparta from facing complete destruction and also unsuspecting attacks from other nations.
Some even called the Demeter family the backbone of Sparta, and some even spoke of how Sparta would not have lasted till this day without the Demeter.
Some of these sayings were true, but Silver did not know much. He was still a kid.
However, what he did know and also find slightly suspicious was that the Demeter family which was considered to be a very important pillar of Sparta was actually ranked last in the Noble Family Rankings.
He did not know why nor did he truly care.
What he did care about were the words spoken by Eris Demeter.
He knew he was weak. He knew he could not change a single thing even if he knew. He had no connections, weapons, ingenious ideas, that could help Sparta avert such a fate.
He had absolutely nothing.
And if the vision Eris Demeter was in the near future, then he could not do anything about it. He could only hope that his grandfather, father, mother, and even brothers, fought and protected Sparta till their last breath just like he planned on doing on the fateful day.
Sigh
"Now that I think about it. I think grandfather noticed me when I was eavesdropping."
Silver was not sure if his grandfather knew he was eavesdropping nor did he know if the family heads knew he was eavesdropping.
"However, if the family heads knew I was eavesdropping, then they didn't show any sign of it when they saw me with Nathaniel."
Silver stroked his chin while walking to the flower bed of fragrant lilies.
"Now that I think about it. I'm happy that Nathaniel caused such a commotion or the family heads might have noticed me and found me suspicious. I would have been in a really tight spot if the family heads decided to question me."
Silver released a soft sigh, and then he crouched and touched one of the fragrant lilies.
"Whether my grandfather or the family heads knew, at least they're not bothering me at the moment."
He mumbled, although, what he did not know was that the family heads did not know that he was eavesdropping on their meeting. However, his grandfather knew.
There was actually a formation in the meeting room that prevented people from hearing what was being said in the meeting room, and it also prevented anybody from releasing their spiritual senses outside the room.
However, his grandfather was the king, and he had full control over the formations in the entire royal palace. His grandfather could extend his spiritual senses outside the room, and he noticed Silver eavesdropping.
His grandfather was amused since he had an inkling as to why Silver was eavesdropping, and after thinking about it, he decided not to stop him.
Only he knew why he did not say anything about it to Silver.
"Now, how many bottles of fragrant lily essence can I get from this?"
Silver stood up and began to gather the lilies carefully, making sure not to damage the delicate petals. He knew the process his mother had taught him would be painstaking, but it was the only way. With his arms full of the fragrant flowers, he found a flat stone near the edge of the glade and sat down.
The first step was to create a simple press. He found two large, flat rocks and set them on the ground. Then, he placed a layer of lilies between them. With steady pressure, he pushed the rocks together, crushing the petals and releasing their precious oils.
Drip by drip, the essence began to collect at the edges of the rocks. Silver used a broad leaf to carefully gather the liquid. It wasn't much, but he knew every drop was valuable.
Next, he needed to purify the essence. He dug a small pit in the ground and lined it with smooth, clean stones. Using a larger leaf as a funnel, he poured the collected essence into the pit. Over the pit, he built a small frame from twigs and vines, covering it with another large leaf to act as a lid.
Silver gathered dry wood and kindling, building a small fire beside the pit. The heat would cause the essence to evaporate, and as it cooled, it would condense on the underside of the leaf lid, dripping back into the pit in a purer form. He sat back and waited, occasionally adding more wood to keep the fire steady.
"The sun's about to set." Silver mumbled while glancing at his makeshift distillation setup, and then he released a soft sigh.
"I should forget about the elk. A lot of time has gone and I'm also too tired to go back and get it."
He released another sigh.
"I didn't know obtaining the essence would take this long without the help of Mom's workshop."
After grumbling a little bit, Silver checked his makeshift distillation setup. The essence had condensed beautifully, forming small pools of fragrant liquid in the stone-lined pit. He used another leaf to collect the purified essence, transferring it into one of the cleaned gourds he had prepared earlier.
The process was slow and required patience, but Silver found an odd sense of satisfaction in the work.
"Maybe all the torture and suffering I went through when I was with Mother has made me like this."
Silver looked at his work with a tired but proud smile. "Well. I know Mom would be proud," he said to himself, securing the gourds to his belt. The essence would be a valuable asset in the days to come, especially with the dangers lurking in the forest.
"I need to get some rest."
He looked around, and then he walked to the spot where the croc died. Its blood was still on the ground, and it could attract other beasts.
He grabbed the gourd that was filled with fragrant lily essence and poured a little on the blood that was on the floor.
An extremely pleasant smell spread around the glade, and when Silver perceived it, he was relieved. The scent the essence gave out was stronger than the plant itself.
Silver looked around once again, and without further ado, he jumped to the top of the highest tree and chose to sleep there.
He could only hope that no beast would choose to come to the glade due to the scent of the glade the essence of the fragrant lily gave off.