Ella didn’t expect Xylos to mention Clara. Maybe the Master of the Magical Tower of the Long Moonlight knew everything? In fact, Ella had a feeling he knew about Clara. Perhaps he knew that she wasn’t originally from this world.

In the book, Xylos was an irritable person who despised his privacy being breached and hated clingy people. Because of this, Ella reminded herself multiple times that he shouldn’t be aware that her goal was to have him on her side. Otherwise, he would ensure that he was as far away as possible from her. As such, she tried her best not to call him by his nickname, which was Xyle. She acted like she only came here because of Evan and tried to keep calm. It worried her that she was overdoing it, and Xylos would be suspicious of her. 

She, however, was relieved to know her efforts weren’t in vain. He did know about Clara, so she stood tall and told him, “Well, she and I are different people.”

“Then you do know who she is,” said Xyle.

“Of course, I do. I would be a fool if I didn’t know. Do you consider me a fool?”

Xyle stopped to ponder about Ella’s question but soon shook his head. Ella and Clara were very different people. In his mind, he was able to set them apart, which in turn made the way he looked at Ella differently. She wanted to make a decisive smile but held back. Ella just stood there, looking up at him like a good servant waiting for her master’s order.

“I suppose you’re better than that girl, at least. It is foolish to sacrifice your life for greed,” said Xyle softly. “But you are not smart either. The world isn’t so easy that you can just run away from your fate.”

“Can’t you help me?” asked Ella.

“Why would I?”

Ella managed to differentiate herself from Clara, but she still found it hard to persuade Xyle. He was sure to be annoyed to even hear about it. Was she wrong from the start? Did she need to bring the crown prince with her? Was that the only way to make things easier, just like from the book?

Maybe it would have been best if she acted like she didn’t know anything. Then, she could use Xyle’s friendship with Evan to convince him to help.

But she couldn’t do any of that. There was a chance it could backfire on her. Besides, she couldn’t lie to him any further when she was here to ask for help, so Ella decided to be more direct.

“Don’t you think I’m pretty?” asked Ella. “Don’t most men go out of their way to help a beautiful girl like me? Surely you must feel the same way.”

He was stunned by her unexpected words. Sure, she was pretty and someone worthy to be spoken about among gossipers within the capital. Those words, however, shouldn’t have been spoken by herself. Xyle frowned at Ella, who was smiling without a hint of shame. She chuckled at the expression on his face.

Slightly irritated, Xyle said, “Sorry, but I don’t feel it that way in the slightest.”

“I thought as much. If so… How about I share some stories that you might find interesting? I also know stories that you won’t be interested in.”

With a bit of sarcasm in his voice, he replied, “Yeah? Then you must know the future too?”

But what Ella said next was very unexpected. “The future?”

“Yes, the future.”

Stories that he would be interested in and the future were words someone had told him before. The repetitiveness of being told the same thing was irritating him. Ella, however, looked surprised by his question.

“How am I supposed to know the future when I don’t even know my own future? I thought I was going to become the crown princess until Lady Mellin appeared, and now I don’t want that role. But does that stop me from becoming the crown princess? You know it isn’t an easy task. See? I don’t even know what the future holds for me, and I surely don’t know someone else’s future.”

This girl was different from the one he had met eight months ago. He felt sorry for assuming Ella wouldn’t be any different from the Mellin girl. He was rather astonished by her words, and his opinion of her was changing. He liked how direct she was with her words, but that wasn’t enough to convince the Master of the Tower.

“I suppose you’re right. But if that’s the case, you’re saying that I became your friend just by listening to some stories and not about the future? Is that what you learned from your book?” asked Xyle.

“Well, I actually don’t know what made you like her. The only thing I know is that you enjoyed talking to her a lot. I’m not too sure about the details of what happened between the two of you,” said Ella, acknowledging she was different from Luciella.

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