Elda didn’t come to their next expedition although from the reports they did find a place where some of the forestry survived.

  It seemed that Noir brought a sample of each one to a newly built greenhouse that Jibran had requested. That was where Elda was heading to.

  The greenhouse was guarded by Noir’s and Jibran’s men. Elda just gave a nod and went in. There she saw Jibran looking more messy than usual. His low ponytail had strands out of place. His coat disheveled. All in all he looked like a storm came over to him. Which it could be quite in a literal sense if he was just outside and right in the forest they had visited. He sat and sighed while looking through some books. Elda noticed the scholars being here too.

  “I see you’ve thrown yourself to quite a reading,” greeted Elda. Jibran froze before regaining his composure and stood up. He bowed slightly at her.

  “Excuse me for such a display my Lady. It’s just that there is an opportunity of discovering something that could be cultivated, so I haven’t been privy to my appearances, may it be inappropriate,” he said in a hurry. Elda raised her eyebrow. She really didn’t mind those kinds of things. Being neat and always looking good was a luxury in this land that even Noir, the King, didn’t always have time to maintain.

  “With all the scholars here I suggest you take a rest and continue tomorrow,” she suggested, seeing his condition.

  Elda didn’t know why she cared to say that in the first place. Perhaps she had taken a bit of a liking towards this man. She didn’t want to overthink such a trivial thing though.

  “Mayhaps. But then, could I get a match with you, my Lady? It would be helpful,” he asked her with a tone that seemed hopeful.

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  How it would help with anything, Elda didn’t really get. But that didn’t mean she denied the request. She was bored after all.

  “Then, let’s head off to the hall,” answered Elda smoothly.

  When they were playing, Elda got curious about Jibran, or at least how he conducted himself.

  “If I’m being honest, I’m surprised at how hard you work on this despite helping a previous adversary. Is it a strong sense of duty?” Mused Elda as she moved her rook. She peered over to see him furrowing his brow, concentrating.

  “I hope I’m not offending you and Lord Noir, but I’m working hard not for you who are in power. While there is a tint of sense of duty, I’m doing it for the people who are not directly related to this politics but also the ones who got affected by the climate and the King’s decision,” he replied as he eliminated her rook. Elda raised an eyebrow.

  “My people?” She asked with a genuine tone of shock. Because why would he care for random people who lived far away from him before? Not a friend nor foe, just strangers that was usually treated in indifference.

  “When I came here, I saw them struggling hard. They may have no significance in a larger scale of things, but they’re human beings just like me. If I can help I would try my hardest. If I were to hold a grudge towards Tenebris, it’s not as a whole. But to some individuals that had offended me or brought harm to my people. May it be directly or indirectly.”

  His gaze was still at the board the whole time while Elda stared at him pensively. When he felt that Elda was not making a move for a while and realized that she was in fact observing him, he looked up.

  “My Lady?” Asked Jibran, unsure. Elda sighed and shook her head.

  “It’s nothing. Just an inane thought of being in the tower. From up here I could see the bigger picture of things, but individuality became a blur. Such a contradiction,” she said to him, starting to move her other rook.

  “May it be someone from underneath the tower, they would see my Lady as someone so prominent but also blurred. It’s distance my Lady. Sometimes, being someone up there would be a lonely venture,” he answered her.

  “No matter what, you couldn’t reach all of them. Even the people below are also the same to each other. If it’s the perfect result, then I fear that no one could ever reach that,” continued Jibran as he moved his pieces, leaving Elda to widen her eyes.

  “But what matters to me is doing what I can despite the result. Only then I could free myself from the torment of inadequacies.”

  As Jibran uttered, he checked her. Not just that, a checkmate. It seemed that it was not just her who was in shock.

  “I won? It seemed my Lady was even more distracted than I initially thought today. May I play with you again?” He asked with a grin.

  Elda couldn’t help but chuckle as a small smile appeared at the tips of her lips.

  “You may.”