...
Without the flickering candlelight and the crackling fire, the room was warm and pleasant even if one was only wearing a thin layer of clothing. The luminous stone on the bedside table brightly lit up the room. The stable and warm yellow light reflected on the bed and carpet, adding a wonderful sense of the times to the scene in front of them.
Roland sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the occasional hissing sound coming from the heating pipe. He felt as if he were in a dream, as if he was not in the backward era of royalty, nor was he in the modern society where electronic products were everywhere. Instead, he felt as if he was in between … his childhood.
His impression of that era was the same as the scene now. Everywhere was covered in a dim yellow. Whether it was incandescent lights, movies, or developed photos, they were all filled with the same color.
But this part of his memory did not include Anna.
Thinking of this, he could not help but look at the girl sitting on the edge of the bed.
She was flipping through the storybook in her hands. The hair on her forehead glowed with a golden light, and her long eyelashes fluttered occasionally. The most striking thing about her was her sapphire eyes. Even under the reflection of the magic stone, they were still a clear lake blue. If there was anything different, it would be that the lake was not as calm as it used to be.
She alone made the whole scene come alive. Roland could not help but think that Anna was a different color in the scene, and also a mark that distinguished his memory from reality. When he saw her, he realized that everything was real.
"What are you looking at?" The prince did not know when, but he found that Anna had put down the Book of Magic and was looking at him with her head tilted. "Me?"
"Ahem..." He subconsciously looked away, but quickly looked back. "Yes... Yes."
After spending nearly a year together, the two of them were very familiar with each other. Naturally, Roland was no longer as passive as he was in the beginning. Plus, there were only the two of them in the room tonight, so he also relaxed his restrained emotions.
The two looked at each other for a while and laughed at the same time.
"Do you think that my request is a little willful?" Anna smiled and shook her head. "Everyone is obviously concerned about me, but I rejected them."
"You're being too serious," Roland said. "They just looked a little surprised at the time."
"If Miss Agatha hadn't mentioned those 'ancient methods', I wouldn't have made this request." She stuck out her tongue. It was rare to see such a playful expression on Anna's face. "But the other sisters will definitely follow suit in the future, and you'll be busy then."
Roland smiled helplessly. "I guess their request is probably to eat a few more ice cream buns."
Knowing that Anna was about to have her Day of Awakening, Agatha immediately shared her experience in the Holy City of Taquila. According to the research of the Union, when a witch awakened or became an adult, in addition to emptying the magic power in her body to reduce the impact of the backlash, personal emotions were also very important. Positive attitudes such as joy and satisfaction could greatly improve one's resistance, so the Union would even send someone to meet the needs of some outstanding witches when they reached adulthood.
When Anna learned about this, she asked Roland to accompany her on her Day of Awakening.
"Thanks to Miss Agatha, I feel very happy now," she said calmly. "I can finally make up for the regret of not being able to see you through your adulthood."
Faced with such a serious expression, even Roland felt a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat, took out a thin book tied with a colorful ribbon, and handed it to Anna. "This is a gift for you on the Day of Awakening."
He had written down the knowledge of calculus in advanced mathematics just in time for this day. For witches, the importance of the Day of Awakening was more important than their birthdays. It could be called a second rebirth. In the past, Roland had always felt that it was difficult to give a gift during the festival, and he had not made any progress until now. After thinking hard, he decided to give the new knowledge to Anna as a gift. Not only was Anna talented in learning, but she was also very interested in these things, so it was not a bad choice.
However, after receiving the orange-covered book, she did not open it as she usually did. Instead, she put it aside together with the Book of Magic. "Thank you."
"Have you finished reading the storybook?"
"Not yet." Anna shook her head gently. "But I want to hear something special."
"Special?" Roland was slightly surprised.
"Well," she smiled. "Your story — last time, I didn't listen for long before falling asleep. This time, I want to continue listening."
"Is she referring to the day when we lay on my bed together?" Roland pursed his lips. He suddenly had an impulse to tell her his true origin, instead of hiding it. "Do you remember that I said I used to live in a big city? In fact, that city … wasn't King's City of Graycastle. "
"I know."
"Huh?" Anna's answer surprised him.
"Because in hindsight, even in the palace of King's City, the things you said couldn't have happened." She grinned. "I'm someone who has read 'The Chronicles of Graycastle' several times."
"Uh … is that so?" Roland hesitated. "I actually —"
"Don't say it," Anna stopped him. "You're hesitating, which proves that it's not something that can be easily said, right? Then don't say it. And it's not difficult to guess. I believe I'm not the only one who feels this way. The closer I get to you, the easier it is to feel this — you're different from everyone else. "She paused." How about … we make a bet. "
"Bet … what?"
"Bet how many guesses I can guess," Anna said excitedly. "I'll record these guesses in my notebook. When you don't have to worry and can easily say it, then I'll see how many guesses I've guessed correctly. If it's more than half, I win."
Roland suddenly remembered a game he used to play when he was a child: Time Capsule. You put some words you want to say to the future into cans and take them out after a few years … Although most of these cans were missing, when the last two or three were found, you would always feel inexplicably touched when you read the words you left years ago.
He didn't ask what the bet was. Winning or losing was meaningless between the two of them. She probably mentioned it to comfort him, not to really guess the answer. He had to admit that among all the witches, the one who was closest to his heart and could understand his thoughts was Anna.
"Well, it's a deal," he nodded.
"So where did we stop last time?"
"Finishing my studies under the tutor's guidance …" Roland smiled. "Let's start from here."
When the light of dawn shone on the skyline, Anna peacefully passed her first Day of Awakening since adulthood.
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