"Elian, how about you spend these three months learning medicine?" The voice paused before continuing, "With your intellect and my tutelage, you are guaranteed to be the most skilled healer in this Kingdom within three months."

Elian then looked towards the origin of the voice, three meters left of Julia. There was no one there, but Elian could somehow see a feminine silhouette. That's pretty much all he could see.

"So you can really see me, huh," Sylv said. When he woke up, she clearly felt him looking in her direction despite her being in her 'natural' state. However, she couldn't ascertain it as he looked in her direction for barely a few seconds so it could be attributed to coincidence, but now he was clearly staring at her.

And once again, he changed her worldview. A human kid seeing spirits with an ocular gift is already incredible, but a human kid seeing them with naked eyes is straight out of fiction.

Elian frowned, clearly lost in thought. He hadn't even heard Sylv's last words. No matter how he looked at it, her offer was too good to refuse.

He wasn't particularly passionate about medicine, but he had nothing against learning it, especially since the prospect of boredom in the coming months loomed large. So, why not acquire a new skill set?

Moreover, Sylv was in a league of her own when it came to healers. She had revived his brain and mended Lys' soul, feats that human healers could only dream of.

While he barely knew her, she was a friend of Julia's, and the offer had been made right in front of Julia, who had nodded in approval. Seeing no reason to refuse, Elian readily accepted.

"It would be an honor to learn from you," he said, then added, "When do we start?"

Sylv turned towards Julia, silently asking the same question..

Julia shook her head, wondering how much of a bookworm her son could be to forget such an important event. "Ely," she reminded him, "do you even know the date today?"

Elian frowned, unsure of her point. He glanced at his phone and saw the date: January 1st, 2021 (A/N: This date is post-cataclysm, so basically the cataclysm happened 2021 years ago).

The realization struck him like a blow. No matter how he tried to ignore it, things wouldn't change. Julia probably wasn't trying to remind him of the New Year, but of his father's funeral ceremony, which would begin the next day.

In Elian's mind, it felt as if he had received the news just the day before. As he had recently learned, he had been in a coma for two days. Was he truly ready to attend the ceremony? He wasn't sure, but as the heir of the deceased, his presence was mandatory.

"I can do it in your stead, you know," Julia offered, well aware of the whirlwind Elian had been through in the past few days. She knew he might not have the emotional space to mourn his father.

"No, I can't let you do that," Elian insisted, his voice firm. He wanted to prove to both himself and Julia that he could handle this.

He knew his parents, especially Marcus, had tried their utmost to shield him from the responsibilities that came with being a Thorne heir. While it was true that a young heir like him didn't have many duties, there were certain unavoidable responsibilities that Elian had been shielded from. All he had to do was train, and the rest of his time was his to spend in his beloved lab.

Once again, Julia tried to spare Elian a burden, but this time, he was determined to face it head-on. In fact, he vowed to himself never again allow responsibility to be taken away from him.

"So, are you also going to negotiate with the nobles about that dungeon?" Julia asked casually, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Elian immediately fell silent, unable to retort. He knew that as the Thorne heir, it was his responsibility to handle such matters.

Normally, without officially being a General, he wouldn't be able to command the Thorne army. However, this affair was not about the army. It was solely a dispute over the dungeon that had spawned near Ebolowa City. Half of the city belonged to the Thorne family, not the army, so it was the head of the family who had to negotiate with the co-owner, the nobility.

"Can you help with that, Mom?" Elian tried to push the problem onto Julia without a second thought. Yes, he wanted to take on his responsibilities, but the mere thought of arguing with those greedy nobles over a high-ranked dungeon filled him with dread. He knew they wouldn't hesitate to stoop to any low in order to get what they wanted.

"Nope, sorry Ely," Julia said with a bright smile, clearly pleased to be rid of those pests. "This one's on you."

"But Mom, you're more suited for this," Elian protested. "I'm barely twelve years old. Do you think those self-important nobles will listen to me?" He then added with a slight smile, "Besides, if it's you, you can convince them with that thunder of yours, right?"

Before arriving, Isabella had informed him about the incident involving Alan. It took Elian only a moment to connect the dots and deduce that his mother was responsible. Three main factors led him to this conclusion:

First, El's lightning affinity had to come from somewhere;This rare element was not common, and only one family in the Kingdom possessed it. As it was unlikely to be a random coincidence, it made sense for El to inherit it from a parent. Marcus, however, lacked any affinity for lightning, making Julia the most likely source.

Second, the level of control. Elian had witnessed the incident through tapes. The display of power was undeniably real, yet it was executed with remarkable control, reminiscent of Julia's swift movement towards Lys's bed.

Third and last, the timing of the attack. Alan was clearly attacked for his words about Marcus. It made perfect sense that Julia, his widow, would be offended and retaliate.

Therefore, Elian had no doubt that his mother was responsible for the attack. He hoped she could use her strength to negotiate with the nobles, but knowing her,

"I don't know what you're talking about," Julia denied, as expected. It would be out of character for her to admit such a thing.

"Okay, Mom, I understand," Elian said, nodding. "But don't worry, I'll find someone else." He knew there were many others who could assist him with this task, whether from the army or those working for the family, such as financial experts or lawyers. He was adamantly opposed to negotiating with the nobles himself.

"Are you sure about that?" Julia asked, before pulling out a folder filled with documents from her spatial ring and tossing it towards Elian.

Elian frowned, unsure of her reasoning. He opened the folder and began to read the documents, but his expression quickly shifted to one of pure anger and hatred after barely finishing the first page. He turned to Julia, his voice cold and devoid of warmth, "Is this 100% accurate?"

"Yes," Julia confirmed.

"It seems I have a very important conversation to have with those snobs," Elian declared, his tone devoid of warmth and his expression grim.

Edited by MoonsterDark.

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