Doubts and Identity (1)

"HOW MUCH more do I need to do so that you will tell me the answer already?!"

It has been 5 hours since we started and I am stuck on this 'page'!

Avril just placed another book on the table, one that is connected to history again, as she smiles slightly at me while her eyes are blank.

"Patience is a virtue, My Lady. It will naturally come to you."

I pouted and avoided my gaze at her.

"I would prefer if it were to smack me in the face instead."

Avril stared at me emotionlessly and was not amused by my words.

Heh.

I brushed that off immediately and stared at all the papers that I have worked on are scattered on the table, my fingertips are stained with black because of the ink while my hair is in disarray.

Very, VERY, different from hours ago.

I have been working on this 'page' that she gave me, which is only a sentence, but there are hundreds of books here!

How am I supposed to find this sentence?!

"Avril, you do know there are many books here." I started, my eyes shaking from exhaustion.

"Yes, and finding that sentence will be easy."

EASY?!

What does she mean by 'easy'?!

"If you still can't understand it, My Lady. I'm afraid we have to stop the lessons."

My head snapped at her as my eyes widened. She looked at me, still stoic, but it feels that she is sincere with her words.

"B-But we just started!" I whined.

She nodded, "Yes but with a simple puzzle, it seems My Lady won't handle my lessons."

I glared at her while pouting my lips in annoyance.

I can solve this but it just doesn't make any sense to me.

Well, probably.

However, I, a competitive person even in my past life, will not be satisfied until I solve this!

"Give me 5 minutes!"

I grabbed all the papers within my reach and stack them up, excluding the page that Avril gave me.

I also grabbed the first edition book and another that is close, one that I have been comparing the first edition to for a couple of hours now.

I opened it and scanned the pages, every time I flip the page my eyes instantly travel to the information that contains Alynthi in them.

Whether it is important or not, it doesn't matter.

My knowledge about the novel can't help me with the Kingdom's history as it sets on the heroine's love and the politics surrounding their statuses.

Honestly, it is useless now that I am in the setting before the novel started so I don't know anything about this world, but my knowledge about the novel may come in handy soon.

As I focused on searching, the more I started feeling helpless because none of the information I have so far is worth even noticing.

It is just Alynthi's achievements and goals that have been fulfilled before, even those that are the royal family's ideas.

I grabbed the page that Avril gave me and frowned deeply, staring at the words I tried to find in these books the past couple of hours.

'One that is seen cannot be deemed real.'

What does this mean?

I looked back at the first edition book once again, for the nth time.

I sighed deeply and was about to close the book when my eyes caught a glimpse of a word, and it was the exact words on the page.

"One that is seen cannot be deemed real, for all its creation are illusions of the mind and soul." I read it out loud.

It was the author's quote…

SON OF A…!

"Ah, you found it."

My hands lost all of their strength as I gaze at the bibliography of the author.

"Yes, I did…And it was the author's quote."

I feel like my soul just left my body, I didn't even have the energy to argue with her as I stare at the page blankly.

For hours, ever since she gave me this piece of paper, I wasted my energy finding where this sentence is only to find it on the author's information…

I want to burn this book.

"Yes, it was Rosaria Rostein's quote."

I withdraw my gaze from the book and looked at Avril with a confused expression.

…Uh, Rostein?

"Who now?"

She looked at me for a couple of seconds before speaking.

"Rosaria Rostein, the first female writer to write the achievements of the royal family and the history of the Kingdom."

"…And?"

"She was also the first woman to create another book that contradicts the first edition."

Wow, this is new.

"Does that mean, she opposed what she wrote in the first edition?"

Avril nodded, her eyes glues on the book on the table.

"You could put it that way, but Rosaria was not loyal to the royal family nor was she going to allow the people to be blinded by false legacies."

I furrow my eyebrows at this and tilted my head.

"Then, why her? I mean, why do you want me to know about her?"

Avril sighs deeply for a moment before picking up the page that she gave me and keeping it in her pocket.

"Because of this."

She then moved to the tower of books and grabbed one book, then placed it on the table.

I moved to see what the book was and saw that it was a book about the kingdom but from the cover, you could tell that it was a book that the kingdom condemns.

Since when did we have that kind of book here?

"This book solely tells the dark history of the Alynthi Kingdom, one that is not included in the first edition. It focuses on what the royal family has done and what sins they committed, all the while revealing the hundreds of deaths."

Keeping her words in mind, my hand reached out for the book and felt the cover under my fingers.

It was rough like it has seen many centuries and experienced its hardships. The cover was almost gone, the writing has faded and some of them are torn.

It was a really old book, one that would not gain attention or stand out.

"What is the point of teaching me this?" I suddenly ask, my heart at ease.

I told her to teach me about the Temple of Light and their connection with the history of Alynthi and as far as we are.

In my defense, I couldn't see any correlation between this author to the history of Alynthi, let alone the Temple of Light.

"My Lady."

I looked at her as she called for me, my hand still on the book. She is looking at me with a blank, stoic expression as usual.

However, the purple light behind her eyes is conveying another emotion, one that I can't name.

"If I told you that this author witnessed the Temple of Light's creation and the first fall of the royal family, would you trust me?"

I didn't answer, because I know that I can't trust her just yet.

She nodded to herself, seeing that I wouldn't answer that question. I am not on guard with her nor am I creating a wall between the two of us.

Nevertheless, I keep a small distance between trusting and being open to her.

She continued though, not minding my silence.

"The books that you are seeing are nothing less than fairy tales for the people to hide that fact. They created such elaborate stories that every year, the same history book is revised to give the kingdom a more detailed and fresh new perspective to make the people believe in them more."

She then looked at me straight in my eyes as she houses no emotions.

It was just plain blank but the purple shine behind her eyes stood out like a flame in a dark room.

"History books can always be altered by people who do not know the whole story. They can twist and turn the words but the message is still the same, the Alynthi Kingdom will still hold the most mysteries amongst the kingdoms in the land."

I stayed silent for a while and thought about what she is saying as I engrave all those words into my mind.

In my conclusion, what Avril is saying is that Alynthi is not like the sun it portrays to be.

I couldn't help but have a small smile appear on my lips as I looked at the books.

Interesting indeed.

I turned to Avril and let her know my emotion before asking her.

"How do you know about this?"

That kept her silent.

One of the things I am most curious about is Avril's identity.

I am even more curious is her actions. Sure, Mother appointed her as my maid but no maid can ever hold this much knowledge unless they have a background of working for the high-ranking nobles.

So, the question is…

"Who are you, Avril?"