Before setting out for Midian, Theo regretted going with Michel that day — at least at first.

  That was because the village leader stopped by a bakery in the center of the Capital, where he supplied wheat dough — used to make bread and the like.

  And so, Theo became the victim of an unexpected adventure…

  "Come on! Put some strength into it, lad!" Michel exclaimed, watching Theo drag a sack across the floor.

  Delivery carriages were parked in the storage yard beside the bakery, where a few men carried bundles containing more than twenty packages of dough. However, so Theo could help, Michel separated one sack into five smaller packages for him to carry to the warehouse.

  "Don't you think that's too heavy for him?" Mrs. Jennifer, the bakery's owner, asked, pity written across her face as she looked at the Young Master.

  "Not at all!" Michel declared, walking alongside him. "Come on, you can drag it."

  The ground was covered in spilled flour from torn packages, which partially made it easier for Theo to drag the load — and also easier to slip and fall.

  Only after unloading all the packages did they finally depart for Midian.

  The wind blew fiercely, sending Theo's curly blond hair into his eyes. He clung to the horse, gripping the fur on its head.

  "Don't worry, Tê!" Ethan shouted, his voice nearly swallowed by the roaring wind. "Hamlet is reliable!"

  Hamlet, Duke Lawrence's magical horse, leapt over a massive hole in the road; micro-explosions of energy burst from his hooves, spreading like a pale-blue sheet. With white fur and a spiraled horn between his ears, Hamlet continued galloping toward Midian.

  Lying flat and clutching the horse's neck, Theo tried to calm himself, convinced he was about to fall. Seeing his son's struggle, Ethan wrapped an arm around his torso.

  Lifting himself slightly, Theo shielded his eyes to try to see ahead; the speed was far too much for a child. That was Hamlet's peculiarity.

  The bursts of energy propelled him forward as if he were levitating rather than running.

  Within minutes, the magical horse slowed as they approached the village, until he finally stopped. Taking short steps, Hamlet let out a sarcastic neigh — mocking Theo.

  Ignoring the horse's behavior, Theo looked around. The scenery enchanted his eyes: a true blazing sea, where sunlight touched the wheat fields swaying with the wind.

  They moved in perfect synchrony toward the north, like a dance in which every motion was followed precisely. Like waves of fire in a harmonious wilderness.

  As Hamlet walked slowly, Theo followed the breeze of Midian. Beyond the wheat fields, a swarm of people moved within that sea of fire.

  Theo lost himself in the landscape as they followed a dirt road between the plantations. Colors Liam Mason's eyes had never seen, vivid like a soul. The former Egorian general had never seen such colors…

  His world had been gray. Dark… Lifeless, even with so much life around him. Even the sky had been clear and close; in contrast, Liam's memories revealed a sky constantly dominated by clouds of smoke — not from machines or industries, but from wars.

  They followed the trail of life and labor until they reached its end, at the village of Midian. Houses once built of small clay bricks had now been renovated.

  They followed the same pattern as the capital. Supported by ornamental pillars and roofs reminiscent of divine temples. And there in the center, where once there had only been a place for villagers to watch the stars, the Duchess had raised her greatest personal dream.

  The Midian Library. The place where the Duchess herself provided knowledge to civilians; she wished for every inhabitant of the duchy to be literate and well-informed — able to distinguish lies from truth.

  She began with the children.

  "I caught up!" Michel shouted, riding alongside on an ordinary horse. "You and that magical horse… It's unfair!"

  "Unfair? Then tame one yourself!" Ethan shot back.

  "I don't want to."

  Riding together, they assessed Midian's situation.

  Less than ten years ago, when Ethan took possession of the Duchy of Lawrence, the village had been nothing more than a place where half a dozen families lived and tended a vast wheat supply.

  They had been poor, without hope… Until an administrative mind began to bloom in the current Duke.

  In ten years, he strengthened a small community. Wheat production skyrocketed, which made livestock farming possible — enriching the duchy even further.

  The restructuring began in the capital, which industrialized to the point of competing with major cities of the State of Nethuns. Currently, the Duchy of Lawrence is considered a rival to great kingdoms of the continent's northern states — the richest region of the Empire.

  Finally, after so much work, Midian underwent the same reform as the capital; from half a dozen families, there were now dozens receiving fair wages and producing even more.

  Michel had lived in that village his entire life. Seeing the houses resemble those of the capital filled his heart with pride.

  That pride inspired and overwhelmed the leader. And it was with that pride that he looked at Theo.

  The Young Master was fascinated by the villagers' work, especially by the temple of education his mother was building.

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  "Is Camille here?" Ethan asked a few villagers on a sidewalk.

  "Yes, sir," a villager replied, carrying a pair of clothes in her hands. "She was at the library when we last saw her."

  "Great. Thank you!"

  Upon arriving at the library, they left the horses in a villager's fenced yard and entered the small temple.

  Michel's eyes shone at the entrance, where white walls served as bookshelves; high-quality wooden tables stood around, while a second floor left an open space in the center.

  At the heart of the library, the ceiling formed a glass dome that allowed sunlight in during the day and refined the constellations at night. The county's main constellation was Canis Majoris, with the star Sirius shining perfectly beside the moon.

  Theo grabbed Ethan's trousers as they entered — he hated places crowded with people. But he felt intimidated by a girl at the center; she had red hair, green eyes, and round glasses on her face. Sitting at the central table, she held a book and paid strict attention to it.

  "She probably doesn't understand a single word of that book…" he analyzed blankly.

  "Agnes!" Michel called, making the girl look toward them. "This is my granddaughter, Agnes Hansen."

  Ethan examined her with a sincere smile; she didn't look like a villager.

  "What are you doing?" Michel asked, sitting beside her. "Reading?"

  "She knows how to read?" Ethan asked, holding Theo's hand.

  "Yes," Agnes replied in her childish, innocent voice. "The Duchess teaches me to read every week… She also gives me books every week and teaches me to write every week…"

  Agnes's words stirred jealousy in Theo.

  "She teaches me all that every day," he muttered, looking away.

  Ethan glanced at Michel, holding back laughter and pretending not to notice.

  Pushing her glasses up her nose, Agnes retorted, "All that so I can be more proper than you, you stuck-up blond."

  Michel turned his face away, covering his mouth and glancing sideways at his granddaughter.

  Staring at her with disdain, Theo narrowed his eyes. But he calmed himself and shamelessly analyzed the girl; then he looked at the book, read the cover, and perfectly remembered the story. It was one Camille had told some time ago.

  He let out a sadistic smile.

  "The Incursion of Snegriya, right?" he commented, letting go of Ethan's arm.

  Climbing onto the bench and immediately sitting beside Agnes at the table, he flipped through the book against her will.

  "It's about Sergei Van Klanov… A sailor from Nethuns who wanted to colonize the South Pole, the ice continent detached from ours. That was about five hundred years ago…"

  That was the book's premise, so Agnes kept listening.

  "Too bad it didn't work out. Sergei's crew vanished at sea, attacked by beasts tamed by the native shamans of the ice continent. Some information was found in glass bottles drifting near where the ship sank, but beyond that… nothing."

  Agnes's eyes widened, burning with anger.

  "Did you know the Gelhart clan is a mixture of northerners and natives from Snegriya? They're also one of the few civilized communities there…"

  "You bastard!" Agnes snapped, slamming the book shut. "You told the whole story!"

  "Oh? Father… She knows how to curse!" he teased, mocking her.

  "You…"

  "Easy, easy…" Ethan intervened, holding Agnes's arm. "Sorry, Agnes…"

  "No, no," Michel said, placing his elbows on the table. "This is excellent… Agnes, do you know Mr. Anton?"

  She thought for half a second before answering.

  "Yes."

  "Good. He was at the plantation when I saw him, in barn one… Could you go there and ask him to come here? I'll send someone with you."

  "Okay, Grandpa."

  "I have someone," Ethan said. Then the Duke turned and cleared his throat in a gentle shout: "Edie! Come here!"

  Edward, who had been arranging a shelf at that moment, turned around with a book in hand and a confused expression. He hadn't even known his older brother was there.

  Then he grumbled when he saw Theo and Agnes together. "Ah, great… I'm the babysitter now…"

  Walking along the dirt road toward the path that led to Anton's barn, Theo and Agnes remained silent and distant.

  Edward noticed the tension at first and even tried to ease it, but was met with hostility from both sides. Although he joked often with Theo, the young man had no idea how to handle people… especially stubborn heads.

  So he kept a safe distance while following them.

  "You didn't have to," Agnes said irritably.

  Theo heard her but didn't reply.

  "You didn't have to tell me the story of the book!"

  "History," he corrected. "A tale is fictional… History recounts facts; and the incursion was real."

  "Fine, fine…" she muttered, though she memorized that information. "Still! You didn't have to tell me!"

  "What harm does it do? You would've found out on the last page… I just gave you the information ahead of time."

  "Reading is an experience!"

  "Obtaining information, no matter how, is more important!"

  "Then what's the point of reading a book?!" she shot back, raising her voice and drawing Edward's attention.

  Turning to her with an expressionless gaze, Theo seemed thoughtful — but he was devising a plan. For a second, he looked at the book Agnes carried and was already convinced.

  "To read and know, so you can reveal it to others…" Theo said, stepping forward. "And I knew the story because that book was mine!"

  Snatching the book from Agnes's hands, the Young Master dashed down the dirt road without a second thought.

  "Hey! Give it back!" Agnes shouted, flustered as she ran after him. "It's a gift from the Duchess!"

  Crossing his arms behind his back and standing still, Edward thought, "A deviant, even as a child, sure has incredible speed…"

  Theo ran past a cart being pulled by a villager, nearly tipping it over. The man, outraged and searching for the children, spotted Edward standing there, trying not to laugh.

  "Aren't you going after them?!" he complained.

  Edward was known as the inspector of that region; he usually handled trouble.

  "Nope. Too much work," Edward replied, watching them from afar.

  Bracing himself against the shafts of a cart in the middle of the dirt road, Theo climbed it and jumped over; a young boy with reddish-brown hair lay inside, almost dozing.

  He startled at the blur passing overhead.

  "Magnum!" Agnes shouted.

  The boy in the cart stood up.

  "He stole my book!"

  Fully awake now, Magnum scrambled backward; Theo's clumsy steps kicked up dust all the way to the barn.

  "Damn it!" the illiterate boy complained.

  Dropping from the cart onto a bundle of hay beside it, Magnum ran after the Young Master.

  "Uh-oh… Now this is tense," Edward muttered. "Tê! To the plantation!"

  Looking back, Theo saw his younger uncle pointing left, where the plantation was short after the recent harvest.

  "Mag! What's going on?" Anton asked, appearing at the barn door.

  Quickly, Theo darted into the plantation; Magnum ran diagonally, trying to cut him off.

  "He's too fast!" Magnum thought, panting heavily.

  His legs trembled.

  Air ran short.

  The same applied to Theo. Even though the Young Master had more physical capacity than ordinary children, he had pushed himself too far.

  "She woke me up just for this?!" Magnum thought, barely managing to keep up.

  Stopping for a moment and trying to hide among the crops, Theo caught his breath and looked for a way to enter the barn and hide the book. However…

  When he regained enough energy to run back, he was surprised by Magnum; the boy leapt onto Theo's shoulder, forcing both to roll across the ground. Wrestling briefly in the dirt, Theo managed to win.

  He threw the book away, surprising Magnum and making him release his grip. Taking advantage of the distraction, Theo ran to retrieve the book again. They ran several more meters through the plantation until they tripped over a stone and fell.

  The Young Master fell first; Magnum fell shortly after, panting and furious.

  "That girl is crazy!" Magnum shouted, spotting the book in the distance.

  "She sure is!" Theo agreed, laughing loudly.

  Descending into the plantation, Agnes held up her dress, afraid of staining it with mud.

  "Who are you calling crazy?!" she demanded, searching for the book.

  As they laughed and mocked Michel's granddaughter, the two boys helped each other back to their feet. The cold wind blew again, making the wheat dance northward.

  "You!" Theo shot back.

  Together with Magnum, he laughed at Agnes until their stomachs hurt.

  As fate willed it, happiness reached the one who had nearly touched the bottom of the abyss.

  But as fate willed it… happiness was not enough to save him.