With a sad sigh, I sat at the windowpane and looked at the garden below. It was so unfamiliar. The garden was no longer overgrown with wild bushes and thorns which was my constant view from this window in the past. The flowers looked very beautiful. The budding black roses would be in full bloom when the weather starts getting warmer.

Angel had done his job brilliantly. The rose bushes which had withered were now carefully pruned, watered and fertilized. The plants and flowers had come to life again. I should praise him for doing a great job.

The peace and quiet werent really tranquil. I felt very stressed and complicated. I needed to figure out a way to overcome the epidemic. I had to step up and do my duty. I couldnt hide behind Kaichens back here. After all, I was the ruler of this city and I had to live up to my name.

This is tough. Will I be able to do it? This was not an easy matter. I couldnt relax and depend on Kaichen. Although I was recovering from the poison, my symptoms hadnt gone away completely. My trauma usually exacerbated my symptoms. I could not let my guard down. I could not afford to break down and panic. Not I Acrab. Here, my people needed me.

I had recovered considerably in Kaichens house, but it was also true that Kaichens house and surroundings were covered with magic to replenish mana. I still had nightmares. Damn it! I had to find a way out of this. Why on earth is this happening in Acrab?

I leaned against the windowpane and closed my eyes. In the original novel, the Empire launched a massacre under the guise of necessary evil to prevent the disease from spreading to other regions. As a result, more people turned to the rebellion and Momalhaut grew in size. The Momalhaut was the biggest obstacle to Julius succession to the throne. The true identity of the person who took advantage of the two divided forces to divide them further was not known. I felt that I had read it once in the novel, but I couldnt remember.

Up until now, the Momalhaut is just a small group of rebels that doesnt have much significance. But I remembered that after the Garten incident, the Momalhaut had grown to such a big number that it couldnt be ignored anymore. In the novel, a war had broken out. It was commonly called the War of Rebellion, or the War of Independence. It had caused a big stir and even more deaths.

But why Acrab? I wondered. I came back to the same question. It didnt even have a geographical advantage like Garten. The majority of residents in Acrab were all Kalhai Empires citizens. Acrab itself had been no threat to the Empire. It was a city formed by the merchants and craftsmen who settled here to practice their crafts. Acrab wasnt of any use to the Momalhaut nor to the Empire. So why Acrab?

I sighed and shook my head in annoyance. I got up from the window and jumped into my bed. As I lay down, I smelled a strong fragrance of soap from the sheets. The warm sunlight fell on me. I never imagined being back here. I never ever thought I would be back in my bed and that my room would feel this clean and pleasant.

It was touching to know that Mimi and Angel had cleaned it for her. The fact that I wasnt alone made my heart feel heavy. I had been so lonely for a hundred years that I wasnt prepared for this feeling of comfort and warmth.

In those hundred years, when I had been trapped here, nobody reached out to me ever. I felt so touched by Mimi and Angel being by my side now. Even Kaichen. My emotions almost overwhelmed me. I buried my face into the pillow and tried to gather my thoughts in order.

Its not a time to be emotional or to turn away. I needed to tread carefully. If I dont succeed, I might end up offering the whole of Acrab up for slaughter at the hands of the soldiers from the Imperial Palace. If that happened, I would never be able to live with myself. I have to protect the people of Acrab at any cost. I felt fortunate that I was at least aware of the situation and had an inkling of who was behind it. There was still hope.

* * *

The next day I woke up to the sun filtering through my window. Fortunately, I didnt get a nightmare. Even though this was my house, I couldnt shake off the awkward feeling that it all seemed unfamiliar. I had lived here for a hundred years, so why do I miss my room back at Kaichens place? Maybe because the last three months I spent there had been good.

I woke to a realization that I was an official disciple of Kaichen and nothing could change that! And he had said that I could visit his house any time. Well he didnt say it in so many words, but he had told me to do whatever I wanted. I had saved the scroll he had given me when I had gone to Sharatan village. It was supposed to make me return home.

Maybe I can teleport myself! I had tried so many times to learn teleportation magic, but I wasnt able to. I decided to try once again. Kaichen had taught me how. Before he had made the scrolls for me, he had taught me the spell for teleportation, but it had never worked. It didnt work now as I tried. I even drew a circle on my floor to trigger the magic manually. It didnt work.

Kaichen had told me before to give it some time to work. Time Magic and Teleportation Magic seem to clash with each other. I think you are unable to use teleportation magic because you were exposed to time magic for so long. Give it some time. Maybe it will work in the future, he had said. But I wasnt so sure.