(Y/n) was beginning to feel the influence of the castle on her. Echal was warm year round, and the capital, where they lived, was perfectly on the equator. However, despite Vethela having a similar position on the eastern side of the world, it was somehow cold. The castle especially seemed frigid, prompting her to act out a bit. Even in the embassy, alone in her room, she would find herself strangling her pillow for seemingly no reason. It always happened at night, forcing her awake.

At first, she thought she was becoming paranoid, whether from Presley's disapproval or from the constant supervision she was under. That was usually why she began feeling so murderous. After all, threats should be dealt with as soon as possible. However, her pillow was not a threat, nor did it move or speak or anything, really, so she couldn't help but ponder her reasons behind trying to kill it. She also found she had begun stabbing bags of flour or salt in the pantry. Sona informed her of it every morning, but he, too, seemed stumped.

"I think it would be smart to visit a doctor," he advised, pulling up the resumes of the imperial doctors, "They might be able to figure out the cause of this. I'm not exactly programmed for psychological assistance."

"I'm not sharing my thoughts with someone I don't know."

"Then, do you think it would be possible to share your thoughts with someone you do?"

"Haru's not exactly the most empathetic person in the world. He won't know what I'm going through, and, even if he did, his advice would not be helpful. Or, are you talking about Kazuya?"

"It's not a bad choice. He's great at listening, and I'm sure he wants to help, if he can."

"I'm fine."

"But, you are clearly not. This may have come on suddenly, but there's no telling if it will leave the same way. And, if it goes on, you might end up stabbing more than a bag of sugar."

The younger girl refused to listen. She had been dealing with her own violent impulses since she was very young. It wasn't particularly new to her. It was just that, doing it while sleeping came as a bit of a shock. Still, since she made the decision to lock herself in every night from that point on, the most she could do was keep abusing her pillows. Those, however, could be replaced easily.

Still, since one of Sona's primary functions were to ensure her mental and physical health, under the terms of Haru's contract with her, he felt uneasy. Usually, he could detect her swings of anger, and, most of the time, they were brought on by anger or by feeling threatened. However, as he had been tailing her, he had yet to see anything that would bring on such intense emotions. It was an unknown factor and an unknown psychological disorder that he wasn't well equipped to deal with.

The teal-haired male was not used to not knowing something. In fact, he had the whole of the internet in the palm of his hand. So, something like this happening to his ward was very frustrating to him. He could only take a different angle to the problem. As he continued watching her, he noticed that she did abhor Presley, enough to visit the prince solely on that basis. She even made snide comments to him and wore her heart on her sleeve near him. However, that still wasn't enough to make her act out in such a manner. The knight didn't want her dead, and he definitely made no attempts to touch her.

He also studied her newly founded relationship with Verona. The two of them had begun painting together, and though they would mainly sit and talk, he felt odd about the princess. She was still and calm, yes, but, there was clearly something she was gaining out of being with (Y/n). Even so, the same was true of her as it was of Presley, albeit the younger girl saw her in a far more positive light. Verona wished her no harm, and even took it upon herself to care for her in a doting way. She would feed her sweets and compliment her, taking her opinion above her own. So, that didn't seem to be the cause either.

The android then considered the possibility of Celith. By all means, the white-haired boy was very odd. He had unusually colored eyes, an untranslatable language, and weird mannerisms, including a seemingly baseless obsession with the (h/c) haired girl. And while she didn't seem to care for him, a bit more annoyed at his presence than threatened, there was definitely something Sona didn't trust. After all, whereas the android's view of the world was through science and mathematics, Celith seemed more magical in nature.

People said the boy possessed "divine power", but he and Haru merely saw his little spectacles as a rehearsed way to make people believe in Viasti. After all, no human could emit light from their hands or grow plants at a ridiculous rate. It had to have been staged, and, yet, Sona was still unsure about it. The boy seemed to mean something that he couldn't put his finger on, and, in particular, he began to suspect the silver flower he had given to her when they had first met.

Since then, he had been suspicious of it, particularly because, like Celith, he didn't understand what it was. There was no information on it whatsoever. In fact, even when the regent had clarified that the flower was called "Ezdan" and it only belonged to the Vethelan royal family, it was still a mystery. The most Sona got out of the internet and various research journals was that it was thought to be a panacea. It had more religious connotations than it did scientific, or, perhaps, it was just forbidden to study the flower on the grounds that it did have something to do with Viasti's beliefs.

However, in Sona's own observation of the flower, it didn't act much like a plant at all. For starters, it didn't need any sunlight. The (h/c) haired girl kept it inside at all times, next to her bed. She had curtains closed all times of the day, so it couldn't have possibly gotten any direct sunlight. And though the android was aware that some plants, such as variations of ferns and ivy, could live without it, it was still bizarre.

Sona had also noticed that it didn't need any water. And, yes, many desert plants didn't require much of it, but there was no plant he knew of that didn't need any. Even if (Y/n) had put it inside of a cup with lots of water, he measured it every single day. It hadn't even taken a hundredth of a gram of the stuff. Even when he poured the water out of the cup, it was doing just fine.

The plant also glowed. It had a natural kind of bioluminescence, allowing it to echo an eerie silvery-blue color in the dark. However, it never stopped glowing. Even in the daytime, it was bright. Sona didn't understand the benefit of the plant glowing when it wasn't a carnivorous plant. It didn't eat bugs and it didn't seem to consume microscopic beings either. It was as if it subsided on air alone and still had an abundance of energy to glow for no reason.

Then there was something else. The plant moved. It didn't move in the same way as some plants did by moving water through its leaves or petals and curling in on itself. It also didn't move via external stimuli, such as a bug landing on it or being touched by him or (Y/n). Rather, the plant moved only if three conditions were met. The first was that it had to be at night. The second, (Y/n) had to be there. And last, it sensed no other living beings around.

Sona had become absolutely certain about this that particular night after studying its behavior rigorously. He had a hypothesis that the plant could somehow see. However, he wasn't so certain it saw the way people did nor with heat sensitivity. Rather, it recognized the younger girl as a person, but not him. It also did not recognize Haru nor Bastien or even a random female servant the android had pulled in to test it out. That being said, by whatever means it used to assess the (h/c) haired girl, the same standards did not apply to others.

Since this was true, whenever she was sound asleep, it would use some kind of stem to extend its reach. Though the majority of it stayed within the cup, that one stem would creep very slowly towards her. Some days, depending on some weird criteria, it wouldn't touch her at all. The stem would merely hover near her, bobbing slightly, but otherwise stationary. But, on others, it would wrap itself around her wrist. Sona always intervened at this point, grabbing the stem. When it recognized the external stimuli, it quickly retreated to the confines of the cup.

That was when Sona had a hunch. He figured, with all of the weird things going on with the flower, it wasn't a plant at all. It seemed more like an animal. However, he was still at a loss for what it actually ate or why it only gravitated towards (Y/n). He relayed this information to her, but she didn't take it as seriously as he would have expected. Normally, she would have removed anything that posed a threat or that had unknown intentions directed towards her.

Thus, as a last resort, Sona attempted to find answers within the palace. He felt secure leaving the younger girl to play games with Haru in the embassy while he moved to the library. Though he wasn't sure he would actually be let into it, to his shock, there were no restrictions. The entire library - located to the southeast of the main palace with five floors and countless books - was available to anyone inside the palace grounds. It didn't matter if one was noble or not, neither did one have to be a Vethelan resident. All Sona had to do was show his embassy card, allowing him access to the massive treasure trove of history.

There were a fair amount of people inside, most on the first floor, either chatting or reading peacefully. As the android moved up the stairs towards the section on Vethelan royalty, there were less and less people. Eventually, as he arrived at the top floor, there was no one there; a completely empty space. He moved to assess where a book on flora would be, concerning the religion, trailing his finger along the shelves until he landed at something that looked promising. It was a book, perhaps about 200 pages or so just detailing the flower itself. The volume was named "Ezdan" alone, making him cock a brow.

As he moved to take it, he found it was suddenly taken out of his reach. A small girl, perhaps around six or so, struggled to keep it out of his grasp. She had white hair, the tips of each strand possessing a striking orange coloration. With a strained look on her face, she gave a "hup", taking a few steps away from the android. She then noticed he was staring at her with a bit of a frown, the girl swaying from the left and then to the right. The thing then gave a squeak, turning around and delivering the book to a familiar face. She was rewarded with a pat on the head, the thing delighted to receive it.

"Your highness," the android staggered, bowing at the waist to show respect.

Verona glanced at him in a very methodical way, holding the book lazily in her hand as she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't seem that thrilled to see him, not that he expected the same treatment as the (h/c) haired girl. The copper-haired woman then glanced around her, presumably looking for said girl. When she could not, in fact, find her or see any trace of her, a very fake smile made its way on her lips.

"Can you record me?" she inquired, the small girl hiding behind her before rocking back and forth on her heels again playfully.

"I have the capacity to do so, yes. It's merely a safety feature."

"Is there any way you could turn it off so we can talk freely? You wanted to know about this. I know far more than this book does. I could tell you what you want to know."

"That's kind of you, but I cannot shut the feature off. I would need permission from my creator. Though, if I may speculate, I don't think you want me to ask."

"Certainly not."

"Then, instead of your expertise, I would be satisfied with just the book in your hands. May I have it?"

Verona chuckled a bit. It was not out of spite, but out of pity. Obviously, the answer was negative. Otherwise, the small girl next to her wouldn't have snatched it out of his hands and given it to her instead. Sona didn't understand the significance of the book to the princess when she could have read it however many times she wanted. Similarly, as she said, she knew far more about the plant than the book had written within it. He tilted his head in confusion, things not adding up for him. Knowing this, she smiled gently, no malice in the grin whatsoever.

"You are the one that watches over Miss Silva. I'd like to thank you for that, first of all."

"I watch over Miss...Shiratori."

"Oh. I've made a slip of the tongue. I'm afraid I've known her by that name for the longest time, so I completely forget about that name all the time, you see."

"You knew her before she came here?"

"Well, I knew of her. It's very rare to find a family like hers, you know. Though I suppose she wouldn't have disclosed that kind of information to you. It's not a pleasant topic. In that regard, I know her better than you."

Sona paused. That seemed odd. It wasn't just that someone from Vethela would have known of the girl's family, though that was part of it. After all, just looking at her, she could easily pass for Athainian. More so, he struggled with the concept of what she meant by "a family like hers". He had already looked through all official records in both countries, but she didn't legally exist in either. She had falsified documents in Athain and none at all in Vethela, a fact both Haru and he knew. But, it looked like it ran deeper than just being a ghost-like presence in the eyes of the law.

"I've probably confused you. Truth be told, Miss Silva was born here in Vethela. Though, you won't find that on paper. Point being: she belongs to this country."

"Is this your way of claiming jurisdiction over her? I don't see the purpose in that."

"If not us, then the Otsu family would love to get their hands on her. Of course, Arien is sorely mistaken about who she is, and I would rather think he would shame her for her half-blood, no matter how much icing he puts on those words. He's very sensitive about matters like that, and, frankly, I think they would mix like water and oil with their thought processes. So, the way I see it, she should be joined with us instead. We recognize her true value."

"I don't understand. Is she related to the royal family in some way?"

"Well, no. In fact, while we have descended from our eternal flower, Ezdia, who had sway over the earth, Miss Silva comes from a line that holds sway over the air."

"Are you attempting to claim she is part of your religion? I understand the sun god - or fire god as some of you call him - has a family line of his own. Is this why you're trying to convey her importance to your culture, so as to claim ownership of her?"

"Goodness. You're thinking completely wrong. She should not be subservient to us. It is the other way around. In our hierarchical society, element doesn't matter, nor does power, really. It's all about the purity of the blood. In this day and age, Miss Silva is something like a unicorn; very rare, indeed."

Sona shrugged. He didn't understand anything the woman was saying, almost tuning it out. After all, he believed in no religion, only knowing what he could see, touch, and perceive overall. He had never once seen evidence of any such godly beings that the first princess was talking about. It was all make believe. That was why he switched the topic back around to the book, showing a particular interest in the Ezdan flower. Though that, too, had religious connotations, it was a real thing he could touch. Thus, he believed he could grasp what it was and how it worked, including all of the harms it could cause the younger girl.

"Ezdan actually only grows two flowers per stalk. A long time ago, when there were plenty of us, a male would easily find a female. Of course, females were still extremely rare even back then, so there were a lot of courtship rituals. In one ritual, a father would divide and split his gems between his sons. The sons would then present these to a female. That's usually step one. They make themselves up as gorgeously as they can and emphasize more feminine features, sort of like a peacock."

Sona remembered the younger girl saying something similar about that choice bird before.

"See, we're not very strong, but our females are always attracted to power. They're far more attracted to other species with strength, meaning our males just can't compete in that department. That's why they have to be so persistent in courting. They're also very loyal. The first female they see, they usually develop an attachment to. If that female rejects him, they will never go off in search of another. Similarly, if the female dies, whether she accepts him or not, he will die, too."

Sona didn't see the point in the story when it all sounded like religious fanaticism. Then again, he didn't recall ever reading anything like that in all the research he had done on the Vethelan religion.

"That's another reason the rituals are so important. Ezdan is actually one of the rituals. It's called by a few different names, but it's always used the same. If a male's gems are accepted, it doesn't necessarily mean the female is interested. So, many males will go in search of this flower. Back then, there were a lot, always glowing to attract the male. When he would find one, he would first take the leftmost flower for his own. Then he would present the rightmost flower for her. It's actually quite a manipulative ritual though. Because, while the female thinks he's brought her a beautiful, rare flower, it is anything but. After all, Ezdan isn't a plant at all; it's a parasitic animal."

There it was.

"In truth, the males were well aware of how the creature worked. It feeds off of our power source. Though it doesn't hurt anyone unless it's not properly fed, it often imbues thoughts of desire into a female's mind for anyone that has the leftmost flower. Only the rightmost flower eats. All the energy it gets is transferred between them in a sort of telepathic way. The same goes for the way they communicate. The scent alone of that flower makes them go a little...wild. It's a symbiotic relationship. The parasite usually gets a harmless meal out of a female and the male gets his feelings returned. The thing is actually very smart that way, encouraging a male to take it right to a female. She usually holds onto it for a while, too, giving it ample time to create more of itself."

"What if it isn't properly fed?"

"Well, it's safe to say that male won't ever be with a female. Either the plant traps the female by building an encasement around them or, if dissatisfied, the flower will often die. Doing that releases a form of alcoholic vapor. Most of us are deathly allergic to the stuff. It does it so that another Ezdan flower doesn't find itself with a useless meal."

"How do you know if it's getting enough to eat?"

"Don't worry. I wouldn't have Celith give Miss Silva something that dangerous without knowing it would eat well. She has more than enough for the flower."

"Then, what was the point of giving her one?"

"I wonder. A better question may be why I am telling you this."

In truth, Verona was only playing, just wanting to share a bit of her burden with someone else. That was probably why a certain someone was especially pissed, having to clean up her mess. She gave a cheerful smile as a blue-haired male clenched his hand around the android's head. Ice began encasing Sona, freezing him completely. Fortunately, top of the line, or not, extreme temperatures prompted technology to shut down or lose memory. Androids were especially susceptible to such cold temperatures.

"I am not your errand boy!" the blue-haired individual yelled, portraying his usual killing aura, "If this is so important to you, at least try to keep your mouth shut! You may not care as much anymore, but I need this to work for Celith!"

The man twitched as the small white-haired girl scampered over to him. He glared at her, daring her to try and ask something of him. It was easy enough for him to eradicate her without even lifting a finger. All he had to do was have the intent to do so. Then the cocky little thing would be finally erased from the world, never to bother him again. And, yet, somehow, someway, within mere moments and with only with a smile from her, she found herself picked up by him, the girl playing with his hair.

"And...is Celith the only thing you have on your mind?" Verona teased coyly.

"Of course. The only person I will ever care for is that boy!"

The woman watched as he began scolding the girl in his arms, daring her to touch him so carelessly again. Though, as children do, she didn't listen much, even when he raised his voice considerably. He threatened her again and again that he would kill her "for real", but she only put her hands on his cheeks and forcibly made him smile, too. The sight, however fake she had made it to be, filled her with unadulterated joy, prompting her to grin even wider than him. The next moment, despite his stern features, he had draped a blanket around her. She repeatedly told him how much she liked him for that. He scoffed. Still, Verona could see his neck had gotten pink.

"Right," the princess chuckled, receiving a death glare from him, "I also give new dresses to people I don't care about, and learn how to cook just for them."

"Deal with that yourself!" the man snapped, pointing to the android before disappearing into thin air.

"Aw, how cruel, youngest."