51
Evie remembered the magic stone she received from Professor Cian.
Until last night, she was able to sleep soundly without fear, deriving comfort from the light of that stone.
The stone, emitting a faint glow and gentle heat, remained beside Evie's bed until the morning.
It was not only a way to sleep comfortably, but also a practical companion; When she woke up at night to go to the bathroom, the soft light emanating from it was enough to easily illuminate the path.
The more Evie looked at it, the more she admired this strange stone.
As soon as you touch it, it radiates light, and when you touch it again, the light fades.
So, she would turn it off before going to classes. Irene told her that the stone wouldn't lose its magic power even if it stayed lit all day, but Evie remained worried that it would run out of magic one day.
“By the way, I have to finish the letter I started for Professor Sian,” Evie thought.
He could not be satisfied with such a precious gift without gratitude.
I remembered the advice of the institute director: “If you receive a gift, always express your gratitude.”
Evie decided to look for Professor Sian, but no matter how much she flipped through the institute's directory, she found no trace of Professor Sian's office, not even his name.
As if he was someone who didn't exist.
“It can't be like that!” .
The man she met in front of the cemetery in the forest introduced himself as Sian Rushen, even had his name written down as her agent, and sent her a gift along with a handkerchief that Evie had forgotten.
All this cannot be a dream. But when she inquired at the Academic Affairs Department, they told her that they did not know much.
“Hmm… Professor Sian is already registered as a professor here, but his office and address are not confirmed. Perhaps because he arrived in the capital recently, his address has not been registered yet. We will inform you as soon as we verify the matter,”
Evie thought about what she should do, then decided to write a letter. She will send it as soon as she gets the address.
She went back to my room and they took out a piece of paper from the drawer. It was the wrapping paper in which I had wrapped Irene's present.
"You want this? It's okay for me to give it to you, but...why do you need it?" Erin asked her with a surprised look, as if she was wondering what the purpose of taking wrapping paper was.
The paper was decorated with a beautiful background printed with different types of flowers and trees.
Evie flattened the paper with the help of a heavy book to remove wrinkles, then cut it the next day into notebook sizes.
“It's perfect as letter paper!”
It is true that the institute provides letter paper, but she wanted to write her letter on more beautiful paper.
Evie sat down at her desk and pulled out the paper.
“Hmm...”
You noticed a message you started yesterday but didn't finish. She looked at it for a moment, then put it aside and took out a new sheet of paper.
But her hand holding the pen did not move. It was strange. When I wrote letters to the director of the institute, the words flowed as if she were speaking.
Yesterday, I wrote three pages at once!
I tried again to write a letter to Professor Sian, but the words did not come easily.
She tried to complete the letter to the director of the institute that she had begun yesterday, and found herself writing smoothly about the day's events: about Professor Mallis's classes that she had taken with Irene, Arcel, and Ruska, about them eating together and trying new dishes, and about her astonishment at the enormous amount of food that Arcel and Ruska were eating despite their appearance.
The white paper quickly filled with words. But why was the institute director’s letter written easily, while Professor Sian’s letter remained stuck? Evie remained holding the paper, suffering in silence, as time passed.
Finally, she put the pen down, approached her bed, and sat down next to the magic stone, staring at it.
She extended her hand to touch it, and the stone lit up as if it had been waiting. Evie picked up the stone, held it to her chest, and lay down on the bed.
It had only been a few days since she had gotten him, but she felt like he was an integral part of her life. Can she sleep without him now? This question worried her.
While she was feeling the stone, she felt a sudden heat on the back of her hand, so she stood up in panic
. “…!”
A strange spot had appeared on the back of her hand again. I heard her cover the sleeve of her shirt and looked around in confusion, even though she knew she was in her room alone.
After making sure of this several times, she carefully examined her hand. She wasn't wrong; The stain was clear, as if something had stuck to her hand.
“Why is this happening? The last time I saw her she was so light, like she was going to disappear soon!”
Evie tried rubbing the stain with her shirt, but it wouldn't go away.
"What do I do…?"
I had forgotten about this spot for a while, so why did it suddenly come back? She remembered someone in the hostel where she lived who had fallen ill and had spots on his body.
Then, the hostel owner spat on him and called him disgusting and dirty. Would the people of the institute do the same thing if they saw this spot?
Will they insult her or spit on her?
“I don't want that!”
I thought about Irene, Arcel, and Ruska, with whom I had lunch. They were so kind and friendly. What if they knew about the existence of this strange spot?
Evie looked at the stain reproachfully, thinking about how to get rid of it.
“She would show up when I was sick or in a scary place.”
But now, there is no such thing, so why did she come back? Tucker continued to frown, until she hugged the magic stone to her chest and curled up on the bed.
“Please...” she mumbled, wishing that this spot would not be visible in front of others.
When she closed her eyes, the spot on her hand shimmered for a moment, and then began to transform from a mere spot into a specific shape.
She continued to search for her true form, but it gradually began to fade, as if she had run out of energy for the day.
* * *
“Hmm...” Evie rose from her prone position.
She seemed to have fallen asleep without realizing it. She raised her head to look out the window and found that the sky had begun to turn red.
She remembered why she was sleeping in the room, and then she remembered the stain on her hand.
“Wait?”
I quickly examined his hand, but it was completely clean, as if nothing had happened. “Fortunately...”
She breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing why, but grateful that she was gone. Maybe it was just a dream. I got out of bed and looked at the clock, seeing that it was about an hour until Irene would return.
She was thinking about reviewing her lessons or reading a book, when a breeze blew through the open window.
At that moment, she remembered the day she met Professor Sian.
“It was around this time...”
As soon as the idea crossed her mind, she jumped up. She left the dormitory and ran towards the place where she met Sian.
A cool breeze passed through her dry hair, caressing her cheeks.
She felt as if the wind was pushing her forward, as if urging her to speed up. She entered a quiet lane, and looked for the little road she had seen before.
“He was almost here...”
I soon found a passage that looked like a small tunnel between the bushes. Evie rushed into it, and moments later, the bushes moved in the wind, and the path disappeared, as if it had never existed, preventing anyone else from crossing.
* * *
Cloyce was moving his hand quickly. The sound of pen scribbling on paper filled the room, as the Minister of State prepared the next document beside him.
The minister gave a slight cough, and Cloyce raised his head and looked at him.
“Won't you get some rest?”
“It's okay, just a temporary itch.”
The minister answered.
"Don't, just sit down for a while. A man your age stands next to me every day and rushes me. Even I, the Emperor, feel uncomfortable."
Cloyce insisted on it, so the minister bent down, placed the papers on a nearby table, and sat down. Then he said to Cloyce: “It is strange.”
“What's strange?”
“Normally I am the one who advises Your Majesty to rest, but today it is the opposite.”
"truly?"
“Yes, but you rarely rested.”
“Whew! Your words make me look like a tyrant who ignores your faithful advice.”
The minister laughed at Cloyce's response. Lately, Clowes has seemed more at ease.
“Just a few weeks ago, he seemed really in a critical condition...” the minister thought.
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