The day did not go as planned.

  Due to Loy's position as duke, he was forbidden from attending the sentencing of Mornet ducal family. Therefore, only Julius accompanied King Leonhardt to the proceedings, while Cale delivered his documents on the number of children and was promptly summoned as a witness.

  Together with his old teammate Cedrik Tanneur.

  Both Cedrik and Cale were asked to report on their last few months with Jarle of Mornet - which was a strange feeling, as Jarle was standing just a few feet away from them in the room. Cedrik seemed visibly uncomfortable with the whole situation, while Cale skillfully ignored it. After all, he hadn't been particularly interested in befriending Jarle or Cedrik from the outset - at least outside their training.

  So Cale answered all the questions honestly and spent the next hour as a silent spectator in the hall while the ministers brought all kinds of accusations and evidence to light. To his surprise, however, King Leonhardt focused much more on what Duke of Mornet had to say than on the evidence.

  However, the decision that King Leonhardt made at the end of the hearing was anything but lenient.

  "Benjamin", Loys admonished his son, prompting Cale to return to the present with his thoughts. "Haven't I told you before that it's rude to take other people's things without asking?"

  Cale noticed Ben standing in front of the bookcase, reaching for a bluish vase in which some lavender flowers had been placed. Fengari had picked the flowers from the garden and placed them there with some grasses to make the apartment a little greener.

  Ben froze in his tracks and seemed to dismiss the danger posed by his father before turning around and apologizing for his behavior.

  "It's okay, Loys. It doesn't bother me", Cale added, causing Fengari and Ben to look up at him at the same time.

  Since Gloria had to attend a meeting today, Ben was originally supposed to drive home alone, which is why Cale quickly offered to let him stay for dinner as well. After all, Cale felt it was the least he could do, considering how the Freigoud family had taken care of Fengari over the past week.

  "You're far too lenient with him."

  "Oh, come on, you're exaggerating", Cale replied amusedly, turning his attention to Ben, who had shaken off his initial nervousness in the first 15 minutes and was now exploring the house with Fengari. "Ben. Feel free to look around and take anything that interests you. Make yourself at home. Just be careful not to break anything. After all, your parents scold you when you break things at home, don't they?"

  "I'll be careful", Ben said meekly and bowed before Fengari tapped him on the shoulder.

  Surprised, he turned to her, only to stare directly at the bouquet of lavender. Fengari handed it to him and asked him to smell it. The surprised expression on his face afterward made Cale realize that Ben was unaware of the scent the plants could give off.

  "That goes for you too, by the way. You don't have to sit at the table so uptight and wait for me", Cale added as the children went about their own business.

  "Well, I must say, I'm curious to know what books you read. You have quite a collection", Julius replied to the statement, turning his head back.

  "Oh? Do you think that's a lot? You should have seen my old apartment."

  "Your old apartment?"

  "I had shelves that reached up to the ceiling in almost every room, crammed full of all kinds of books. The selection was so vast that my colleagues regularly preferred my apartment to the library because I had many exotic copies that weren't necessarily common in Altona", Cale said, turning back to his meal as he reminisced. "I still remember one evening when I came home and found a friend asleep in my study chair, surrounded by dozens of historical books."

  "Sympathetic guy", Julius replied amusedly, standing up in the same breath and approaching the bookshelf that Cale had filled from time to time. By his standards, the shelf was quite small, and he suspected that Julius felt the same way. Even if Julius didn't say so.

  "This question may be a little inappropriate, but do you have a picture of your wife?", Loys asked a few moments later, while Cale chopped the remaining vegetables and filled the fire crystal with magic.

  "A picture of my wife?"

  Cale continued working inconspicuously, but he could clearly feel Fengari had stopped and was staring at the back of his head. As he put the vegetables in a bowl, he grinned, knowing exactly why Fengari was doing this.

  When Fengari stayed with the Freigoud family, she also had the opportunity to look around the huge estate, and one thing caught her eye. Dozens of portraits of the family's ancestors hung in one room, which is why she insisted that Cale also have some made. Although he had only been able to produce a few drawings so far, in retrospect he was grateful that Fengari had insisted so much on this picture.

  "Ahri, would you do me a favor and bring Sir Freigoud the portrait of your mother? It's upstairs in my sketchbook."

  "Is that okay?", she asked hesitantly.

  It wasn't quite finished yet, and the drawing bore a strong resemblance to Philippa, which wasn't necessarily intentional on Cale's part. He always needed a face to draw from, and of all the women he knew, he had ultimately settled on Philippa. Since she was currently a child and lived in Winstest, Cale was sure that none of his current or future visitors would recognize the face.

  "Yes, it's fine. You know where to find it. Just be careful with it, you know how valuable it is to me."

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  "Okay", Fengari said calmly and turned toward the stairs, followed by Ben.

  Cale, on the other hand, turned his attention to the meat and began to prepare it before Fengari reappeared a minute later. Without comment, she handed Loys the drawing, which was in a small notebook containing dozens of drawings. The advisor looked at the picture of the young woman with interest, glancing back at Fengari from time to time.

  "I don't see it", he muttered, holding the picture up as if comparing it to Fengari. Fengari, on the other hand, had spread herself out on the floor in front of the fireplace, while Ben stood hesitantly in front of her. He seemed to be weighing up whether it was really okay to sit down on the floor.

  "Excuse me?"

  "Nothing, nothing. A pretty young lady. How old is she in the picture?"

  "Seventeen."

  "So young", Loys exclaimed in surprise. "So she was your age?"

  "Yes."

  "How did you meet?"

  "Through a mutual friend. Then one thing led to another."

  "I see. I would have liked to have met her. I'd be interested to know what kind of person she is."

  "She was the epitome of calm", Cale explained, thinking of Philippa. "She was always worried about others and quietly observed what was going on around her. I wouldn't necessarily call her shy, but she was rather reserved. Unless it was about her family. Then she could get pretty loud."

  "Seems familiar somehow", Loys replied, putting the drawing back in the book before curiosity got the better of him and he looked through the other drawings. There were dozens of people and places, but also many pictures of plants that Cale had made for Fengari since she moved in. "May I ask how she died?"

  "She had always been physically weak and fell ill easily. When Fengari was born, she lost too much blood, and since there were no doctors or healers present, she passed away a few days later."

  "By the gods", Julius whispered, as if he hadn't expected it to happen that way.

  In Sylve, the healthcare system is generally quite advanced, which made complications during pregnancy or childbirth a rarity. He couldn't help but wonder how Cale must have lived back then.

  "Forgive me for asking."

  "It's okay. It's always sad to lose someone who is important to you. But eventually, you can live with the pain. It's something very natural", Cale explained truthfully, even though he wasn't talking about his fictional wife.

  "I understand what you mean. When I was younger, a good friend of mine was stabbed during an argument and bled to death in the street. I always wondered what would have happened if I had gone with him that evening", Julius said calmly, prompting Cale to turn around. He saw the man crouching in front of the bookshelf, examining a cover that had caught his interest. "I think everyone has lost someone significant to them at some point in their lives. You only really realize how much that person meant to you when you can never see them again."

  "That's true", Cale agreed cheerfully. When he was traveling with the group of four in his first life and became close friends with them, it was clear to him that he had grown fond of them. But it was only after his rebirth that he realized how indispensable they really were to him. "Since that day, I've been extremely sensitive when it comes to the well-being of the people who are my reason for living."

  "I can tell. Sometimes you radiate such a murderous aura when something doesn't go your way", Julius replied.

  "I do what?", Cale repeated in surprise. He always paid attention to how he presented himself to others, which is why the statement frightened him.

  "From time to time, yes. At least, it seems to me that you hide behind your inconspicuous, friendly fa?ade - until your true character breaks through", Loys chimed in. "I must admit, it sometimes gives me goose bumps."

  "A good example was the encounter with Sir Paseru. Throughout the entire journey, you tried very hard to remain calm - until he showed up and you suddenly didn't care how you appeared to others. Even now, when I think about how provocatively you talked to him...", Julius added, a shiver running down his spine. "No offense, but that just shows how little we actually know about you."

  "Well, then I understand what you mean. I don't joke about things like that."

  "Obviously", the two men replied mockingly, exchanging surprised glances.

  "But you can't take yourselves out of the debate either. It's pretty obvious when something bothers you. I mean, Loys, remember the interrogation of Jarle of Mornet."

  "Ah, by the gods. Don't remind me."

  "That was the first time I saw you so angry and unreasonable."

  "You'll see that more often", Julius chimed in, earning a disapproving hiss from his colleague.

  "You don't need to talk. You're the most reasonable one of us, but even you lose your temper sometimes. Just remember our little trip."

  "Let's not talk about it", Julius replied, turning abruptly away, which made it clear to those present that he was uncomfortable.

  "Let's talk about something other than death or work", Loys chimed in supportively. "Those topics drive me crazy."

  "You're welcome to start", Cale urged the duke with a wave of his hand. He turned back to his fire and began mixing and sautéing all his ingredients.

  For a few minutes, all that could be heard were the sounds coming from the kitchen. Julius was still crouching in front of the shelf, and right behind him, Fengari and Ben were playing together. Cale hadn't seen exactly what the two were doing, but Ben's amused giggling told him that he had fun. Loys, on the other hand, had closed Cale's sketchbook and was watching the children from the dining table.

  Peace returned and Cale felt like he could breathe deeply for the first time in a long time. But the calm was short-lived, because Julius spoke up in a loud voice.

  "You've written books?"

  "Books?", Cale repeated, realizing a moment later what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean the Chronicles of Creature Lore."

  "What kind of books are they?", Loy asked curiously, watching as his colleague took out the last volume and leafed through it with interest.

  "A collection of all the creatures I've encountered in my life so far."

  "That's quite an understatement. Take a look at this, Loys", Julius interjected and returned to the dining table. He placed the well-kept book on the table and opened it to a double-page spread featuring a detailed drawing and a lengthy text. "I've never seen this creature before."

  "That's normal. There are many creatures that normal people don't know about. Which volume is it?"

  "The fifth."

  "Ah, then you've picked up the book with the most rare and dangerous creatures. What do you think, are the descriptions detailed enough?", Cale asked cautiously, picking up the pan and tossing the vegetables up and down with practiced ease.

  "Amazingly easy to understand, yes. But these creatures... have you encountered them?"

  "Me? Yes, all of them. I gathered, compiled, and categorized all the information myself. A life project, if you will."

  "Great gods", Loys muttered, flipping through the next few pages. He seemed to recognize hardly any of the creatures, pausing only every fourth page to stare at the drawings.

  "No wonder the Magistrat called you in as an advisor. I didn't think you had written an official publication for the Magistrat", Julius said admiringly. He must have spotted the seal on the bottom of the book.

  "It wasn't that long ago, actually. The books were published a few weeks ago, and the Magistrat sent me a few copies."

  "Look at this, Julius", Loys interrupted him unintentionally, pointing to the book, which made Cale grin. He had actually planned to approach the subject of the creatures slowly, once the problem with the children had been resolved. But the opportunity came at just the right time.

  "They look amazingly human, crazy."

  "Have you ever heard about them before?"

  "About Thormods? No, never", Julius announced, causing Cale to tense up abruptly. He forced himself not to show his nervousness, but in doing so, another issue arose.

  Moments later, a powerful wave of Fengaris' mana could be felt spreading out abruptly.

  She was angry, and Cale recognized this immediately.