{Third Person}
Amara looked up, her brows furrowing as a trace of confusion appeared.
Elowen pulled a chair and sat beside her, leaning slightly over the table.
"My mother isn’t interested in whether you actually learn anything from this. She just wants to make things difficult for you," she said plainly. Then she continued, tapping lightly on the first page,
"She might flip through it, but she will only look at the first few pages. Your handwriting. The neatness. That’s all."
Amara’s brows slowly furrowed as a deeper understanding began to form. The Queen wasn’t just trying to make things hard for her by taking Ginger away. Even this punishnt of copying texts was a part of it.
Elowen leaned back slightly, watching her reaction. "So, you don’t need to copy everything yourself," she added, a small, knowing smile forming.
Amara stared at her, then glanced at the book, then looked back at her.
Elowen tilted her head slightly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Divide the Chapters," she said. "Assign them to your servants. Let them help you copy the rest."
Amara’s lips parted slightly.
"That way, you finish faster, and you get your cat back sooner." Elowen finished.
That last part landed directly. Amara’s fingers tightened slightly over the edge of the table.
She looked back at the book, then at the blank pages waiting beside it. Then, slowly, she nodded, a quiet, determined nod.
The faster she finished this, the earlier she could rescue Ginger.
---
By the ti Alexander returned to the residence, Mrs. Woods was already waiting for him.
The mont he stepped inside, she greeted him. "Your Highness. There is sothing I must report," she said carefully, her tone respectful yet urgent.
He paused just enough to look at her, then allowed her to speak.
She carefully narrated everything Amara had told her—how the Queen accused her and gave her the punishnt of copying the textbook.
Her voice remained steady, but when she reached the part about the cat, there was a slight hesitation before she continued, choosing her words with care. Still, she did not omit anything.
When she finished, Alexander did not respond imdiately. His silence alone made her lower her gaze.
"Send for your lady," he said. "I will be in my study."
"Yes, Your Highness."
—
Amara arrived shortly after and greeted him.
"What happened?" he asked directly, while gesturing for her to sit.
Anara didn’t hide anything. She explained everything from the beginning—the Queen’s summons, accusations, the punishnt, and finally, how Ginger was taken from her.
Her voice wavered slightly when she ntioned the mont the cat was struck.
Alexander’s expression hardened. Out of everything she said, that was what unsettled him the most.
The cat was practically his. He was the one who gave permission for it to be brought back and given to her. And servants had dared to handle it like that?
After she finished, he said calmly, "Go back. Tomorrow morning, I will bring your cat back."
The firmness in his tone left no room for doubt.
Amara nodded imdiately. "Thank you, Your Highness," she said with a soft tone, then turned to leave. But he stopped her.
"What about the textbook?"
She turned back. "I’ve started copying it." After a mont of hesitation, she added, "The Princess ca earlier and showed a faster way to complete it. She advised to..."
Alexander frowned slightly as he listened to her. When she was done, he countered it.
"That won’t work. Lysandra is not careless when she intends to punish soone. She won’t just check the first few pages. She will open random ones and compare the handwriting."
Amara’s expression fell as her fingers tightened slightly at her sides. The small relief she had felt earlier disappeared just as quickly, replaced by uncertainty.
’Then how am I supposed to finish it quickly?’
Before she could ask, Alexander spoke again. "Go and bring the textbook. And what you’ve written so far."
Though confused, she obeyed and left.
When she returned, she handed him everything without hesitation.
Alexander took the book and the pages, his gaze moving over her handwriting with quiet focus for a while. Then, he closed the book.
"You can go back," he said, eting her gaze.
Amara hesitated. "Your Highness... should I—"
"Yes. Go back. I will send them to you when they are ready."
She frowned slightly but didn’t press further.
"You will still need to study the contents of the textbook and learn the rules properly," he added.
She nodded. "I understand."
Though truthfully, she didn’t understand everything else.
She thanked him once more before leaving the study.
—
Back in her quarters, Amara sat at the dining table while Mrs. Woods served her dinner, but she looked distracted.
"My lady, is sothing wrong?" Mrs. Woods asked.
Amara sighed. "His Highness took the textbook and the notes I wrote. He said he would return them when they are ready... but I don’t understand what that ans."
Mrs. Woods thought for a mont, then smiled slightly. "My lady, His Highness wants to help you."
Amara blinked, her confusion deepening. "How?"
Mrs. Woods continued, her tone more certain now. "He will not write it himself, of course, but he will have capable servants study your handwriting and replicate it."
Her smile deepened as she finished, "They will copy the textbook for you. In a day or two, it will be completed."
Amara blinked in surprise. Then slowly, the aning sank in all at once. "Ah... So that is what he ant.’
And once again, Alexander had acted without explaining, without drawing attention to it, yet still managing to solve the problem entirely.
This ti, she understood.
Her shoulders relaxed, and the tension in her expression eased. And for the first ti since leaving the Queen’s palace, she finally felt a bit relieved.
She didn’t know why, but she trusted that whatever thod Alexander would use to help her already had a hundred per cent certainty.
With that confidence, she picked up her cutlery and began to eat.
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