In the courtyard of Princess Alice, they were currently in the living room. Alice had just proposed that Ray teach them how to play a game together.
Aries, on the other hand, said, "Shouldn't you be learning formation techniques after mending your little lov—I mean little friend? We can play games after you finish your formation lesson."
"Master, please?" Alice asked, making a cute face.
But Aries wouldn't budge. So Alice could only agree to learn formation. She made Ray sit with her to learn together—or else she wouldn't learn at all.
Aries wanted to say no, but if she did, then Alice would refuse to learn anything. So she could only give in, saying, "This once only."
Ray wanted to say no as well, but Alice was Alice after all. She was stubborn and made that cute face just enough to force him into learning with her.
Aries began her lecture. Ray had already managed to learn some basics, and he started to think that he had gone far beyond the basics after learning from his mother. Yet, he realized he always needed to return to the fundamentals to grasp more. It seemed Aries was a competent teacher.
Aries began by showing the basics of time and how to form a rune and how to practice it. The more Ray listened, the more he understood. He had mostly been self-taught since Ray was often reading books and only got answers to the questions from Diana that were necessary.
Now, the more he listened, the more he understood. All of a sudden, the basic runes in his mind improved. He had started with the complicated ones, which was why it had been hard for him to understand everything. But as he listened and learned from the beginning—the very beginning level—he found it easier to understand.
He asked so many questions that Aries had to answer them, and it took twice the usual time she would spend on a class. And with every question answered, she noticed that Alice also understood them well. So although it took her double the time, it was tenfold more rewarding for her, as her students had managed to fully understand the lesson.
Sometimes, Ray asked silly questions, but those silly questions turned out to be helpful for the kids in front of her. She finally understood that Alice had been too embarrassed to ask those questions herself, but when Ray asked, Alice automatically received the answers she needed.
After the long class, both of them had absorbed all the concepts in their heads. Then they both began to make formations. Alice easily made eight runes and was on her way to making a ninth, while Ray was still trying to make one rune—but he was making it a perfect one, a strong and flawless rune.
Aries nodded after observing Alice's progress and was pleased to see her advance from six runes to eight in one go after just one class. Ray, on the other hand, shocked her. She realized that Ray had been studying the soul for a while and had finally managed to make one rune—but that rune was so beautiful, she was mesmerized by it for a moment. Even though it was only at the Qi stage.
After finishing it, Ray nodded and admired his work. Then he stopped using his soul, and as a result, the rune eventually faded and was destroyed on its own. When Ray turned back, he saw that Aries was standing very close, looking at the rune he had made. Ray almost fell back in surprise and said, "You scared me to death."
Aries, still looking at him, asked, "You made a perfect rune. That was beautiful."
Ray simply replied, "Thanks. Your lesson was very helpful."
Aries then said, "You will have to pay me for that lesson."
Ray nodded and replied, "I'll ask my mother to pay you later."
Aries almost exploded upon hearing that and exclaimed, "Not that kind of payment! I want you to come with me on a trip. We're going to a research lab. There will be many inventors there. My uncle said I can bring my friends too—so you and Alice are coming with me."
Ray's eyes lit up, and he nodded. "Sure, when?"
Aries replied, "Tomorrow."
"Give me the location. I'll be there," said Ray.
Aries asked, "Will you not stay here?"
"Our fathers are here on a business plan, so I'll most likely leave with my father," said Ray.
"Our fathers are here? How do you know that?" asked Aries.
"The whole palace is going to be filled with noble people soon. They're going to have a meeting. I saw Butler Norris calling for some people," said Ray.
Alice, who had just finished her formation, said, "Ray, why don't you stay with us? I'll let you stay at my house."
Ray shook his head in refusal. "Do you want to kill me? Your father will never allow that. I'm already on his blacklist."
"Then how did you come here if you're blacklisted?" asked Aries.
"The situation happened, and I had to come because Alice pulled me here. Butler Norris gave instructions for me to come and stay at Alice's courtyard for a while," Ray said, giving Alice a look, while she whistled and looked to the side.
"Master, look at my formation inside this formation disk! This is the best one I've made so far," Alice said, bringing out her formation.
Everyone looked and saw that while Ray and Alice had been talking, they hadn't noticed that Alice had created a 12-layer rune formation. They were surprised to see that. Ray and Aries praised her highly for her hard work. Alice beamed with happiness upon hearing all the praise.
Ray then looked at Alice and said, "You can't change the topic by bringing up your formation. I'm still leaving today, you know."
Alice gave him a thin, sharp look and said, "You're staying. This is an order from the princess."
Ray blinked and all of a sudden realized that even his father was below a princess—since she was royalty. His father couldn't help him here. Alice, meanwhile, enjoyed the sight of Ray's defeated expression. Aries also enjoyed watching their tantrums and back-and-forth like a couple.
But Ray got the upper hand again. He said, "Your order won't work. You need permission from your father and your mother. If you can't get that, I'm leaving."
Alice's face paled all of a sudden. Rena, who had also been enjoying the banter between Ray and Alice, didn't know how to respond to Ray's words. Then she said, "I'll go and ask for the third concubine's permission."
Alice said, "You're the best, Aunt Rena!"
Then Alice added, "Till then, let's play the game you made me play last time."