Aeris’s pov
I returned from the lecture with the old witch, still wrapping my mind around what she had told me. Although she agreed to help me learn the old tongue, her hesitation lingered. The ancient language had slipped through her memory, and she struggled to decode much of it. It felt like the blind leading the blind. How ancient must this language be if even she, an old witch, could barely recall it?
Shaking off my thoughts, I entered the throne room and saw Arabella already seated, her posture calm and collected. The ministers hadn’t arrived yet, leaving us alone. She looked up briefly as I walked past her to take my seat. I offered a small smile, but it went unanswered. My eyes fell on the documents spread across my desk, piled neatly in front of me.
"Who brought these here?" I
