The next morning…
After the events of yesterday, I remained in bed for the entire day.
Adel entered the room carrying a breakfast tray. She set it down on the bedside table and stood beside me, her hands clasped.
"My Lady, I have a message from His Grace," she announced softly.
She delivered the news, and it was hard for me to believe. Gena and Delia had left. They had gone "wandering" again. Consequently, Lady Octavi was assigned as my tutor once more.
I found it baffling and strange. They had left without notice, without even saying goodbye to me. Now, there would be no one to warn me when the Dianoia was about to react again.
After delivering the message, Adel picked up the spoon.
"Open wide, My Lady."
"I can eat by myself," I insisted, trying to reach for the spoon.
"I apologize, but it is Madam's strict order to feed you," she said firmly, pulling the spoon back slightly.
Like it or not, I had to let her feed me. I lay there, propped up against a pile of pillows so my body was slightly elevated, swallowing the porridge she offered.
When the meal was finished, Adel took the dishes outside and left them on a table in the hall.
A moment later, Lady Octavi entered the room to resume her tutoring duties. She brought a small, foldable table with her. She placed it over my legs so it rested across the bed without touching me.
She began the lesson. Adel waited silently by the door while Lady Octavi lectured.
When the lesson was done, Lady Octavi didn't leave. She sat beside me, keeping me company. She talked about the Academy, news from the Capital, and events happening around the city to keep me entertained.
An hour later, Father came into the room. He was holding a book bound in reddish leather.
"Here, Aurelia. The book you wanted," he said, handing it to me.
I took it, running my fingers over the cover. "Thanks, Father."
I opened it. The first page contained my name, written in elegant calligraphy. The rest of the pages were blank, waiting to be filled.
"Father, may I ask you something?"
"Go on, Aurelia."
"Why did Gena and Delia leave without telling me?"
"That's!!..." He paused, looking confused for a moment, rubbing his temple. "They were quite hard to understand… but for some reason, suddenly I felt it was best for them to go wandering."
Did they just hypnotize Father? Or maybe they hypnotized him at their very first meeting…
"Father, may I sit there?" I asked, pointing toward the balcony.
Father looked at where I pointed. "Sure… I think Mother just told me not to let you out of the room, and the balcony is technically still inside the room, so you may sit there."
"Thanks, Father."
"Is there anything else?"
"I believe, for now, there is nothing more."
Father excused himself and left the room.
After he was gone, I asked Lady Octavi if we could sit together on the balcony. She agreed. I placed the reddish book on the bedside table, and immediately, Adel came to help me up and lead me to the fresh air.
From the balcony, I looked down into the garden.
Alecia, Felix, and Aurelio were there. They seemed to be playing, or perhaps training with swords. From what I watched, Aurelio was clearly the weakest among them, while Alecia was the strongest, her movements sharp and aggressive.
In the pavilion, Ophelia sat at a table with Alicia and Aelia, seemingly having a tea party or studying. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their own lives.
A few minutes later, Father came out to the garden. He began to train the boys and Alecia, correcting their stances, while Ophelia watched from the pavilion.
Some moments later, Ophelia glanced up and noticed me. She waved frantically.
I smiled and waved back.
Next, Aurelio noticed me. He stopped his swing and waved his sword in the air. I waved back at him, too.
I kept watching them for hours, observing their small joys from above, until the sun began to set.
"My Lady," Adel said gently, "it is time to go back to bed. Sofia will come to visit soon."
She led me back inside. I lay down, and Lady Octavi excused herself, leaving the small table over my legs.
Moments later, Sofia entered the room. She did her usual examination, checking my pulse and asking how I felt. I answered all her questions dutifully.
When she finished, she excused herself. As she opened the door to leave, I caught a glimpse of the twins standing right outside.
Immediately after Sofia left, they rushed into the room.
Behind them were the four children—Felix, Alecia, Alicia, and Aelia—and their maids, Livia and Martia.
The twins ran to my bedside. They looked like they wanted to jump onto the mattress, but Adel stepped forward quickly, holding up a hand to stop them.
Their faces turned grumpy, but they complied, slowing to a walk. They leaned against the side of my bed and started chattering excitedly about their day, the books they read, and the things they had learned.
At some point, Adel interrupted. "Young Master, Young Lady, it is time for dinner. You should excuse yourselves."
For some reason, they refused.
"No!" Aurelio declared.
They pulled the blanket off my bed and demanded to have dinner right there with me. The four children tried to persuade them to leave, but they failed. Even Livia and Martia couldn't move them.
BANG!
Suddenly, the door flew open loudly.
It was Mother. Her face was furious.
"SO, HERE YOU ARE!!"
The twins flinched, their faces turning pale with fear. "Gehh!"
Mother marched over to them, towering over their small forms.
"Do you know how long your father and I have been waiting for you to come to dinner?" she demanded.
"B..ut… we want to have dinner with Sister Aurelia…" Ophelia whispered, her voice trembling.
"Your sister needs to recover first!" Mother scolded. "Do you want to disturb your sister's recovery phase? Just let your sister get well first!"
"But—" Aurelio tried to argue.
Mother's expression darkened even further. It terrified them into silence.
Defeated, the twins followed her out. They left the room along with the other children and maids.
Seconds later, a knock sounded.
Knock-knock.
Adel opened the door. It was my dinner. She brought the tray to me and fed me, just as she had at breakfast. When I was finished, she removed the dishes.
I looked out the window. The Mother of Luna appeared in her full form in the sky, bathing the room in bright white light.
I reached out and took the reddish book Father had given me from the side table.
"Adel," I said, "put the small table from Lady Octavi over my legs, and bring me the writing tools."
She complied.
I opened the book on the table, dipped the quill in ink, and began to write.
I wrote about the book I had read within the Dianoia. I wrote down everything I could remember from that story—the plot, the characters, the tragedy.
When my hand cramped and I could write no more, I closed the book, put it back on the table, and lay down to rest.
... ….. …. … ..
This cycle repeated for seven years.
For seven years, I kept struggling with the Dianoia, which kept me locked inside my own room.
For seven years, I kept reading the book of my story in that stranger's room during my hallucinations.
For seven years, I tried to recollect every single detail I remembered from reading the book of my fate.
For seven years, I kept writing it all down into my red book.
For seven years….. For seven years…. and For seven years…
I watched my little siblings grow from the balcony. Every day, they visited my room, told me every story, every lesson they had learned, everything about their daily lives.
And then, after seven years…
A letter arrived.
It was a letter that made my mother angry and my father puzzled—just like it had happened in the book.
It was a paper ordering me to come to the Royal Court to serve as a Royal Courtier.
Now, I was twenty-one years old.
I already knew what would happen to me.
Finally, I took a step into the story I had written. I took a step into my own fate.