Ning left the tower once his class was over and returned directly to the palace. He was a little happy that he got to leave at 18 o'clock in the noon.
He went directly towards Lisa's room to find Reever.
Reever was in the princess' chamber, reading a normal book. The doors opened and Ning entered.
Reever looked to the side with a surprised face. "Hey, brother Ning. You're back already?"
"Yeah, it was a short day of class," Ning said. "Where's Lisa?"
"In the bathroom. She's getting ready because we are going to visit the city today for some shopping. Anyway, How was it? Your first day of school," Reever asked excitedly. He had always wanted to join the tower, and now seeing Ning return from there, he was curious he hear about it..
"It was good. I learned… quite a lot actually," Ning said.
"Aw, that just makes me sad I couldn't go there, brother Ning," Reever said. "Can you tell me what I would've learned if I had gone there?"
"Maybe it was for the better that you didn't go there," Ning said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Reever asked with a confused face.
"Say, you don't know about absorption techniques right?" Ning asked.
"Absorption techniques? What's that? " Reever asked. He looked at Ning with a confused look. "I feel like you've asked this question before but never told me anything."
"It's—"
"Absorption technique? How do you know about that?" Lisa walked out of the bathroom, with her makeup done and a wig over her head.
She was wearing a yellow skirt and pink blouse and looked nothing like a princess at all, or even someone from a noble family.
"You know about it?" Ning asked with a serious face.
"Yes, I do," Lisa said. "Almost everyone in the noble families of those that are Earl and above, do."
"So, I was right," Ning thought to himself softly.
"Are you a noble too, Ning?" Lisa asked with a surprised look on her face.
"No, I'm not, but I do have an absorption technique. I was confused as to why Reever or any of the other people don't know about it but to think that it was a conspiracy of the richer folks to hide such things from the residents," Ning felt a little angry.
"No, it's not," Lisa said.
"What isn't?" Ning asked.
"The conspiracy you are talking about. It's not the noble's," Lisa said. "I mean they are part of it, I guess you can say it's their conspiracy, but they aren't the one who came up with the idea," Lisa said.
"They didn't?" Ning looked at her with a confused look. "Then who did?"
"The Tower," Lisa answered.
"Wait, wait, wait! What the hell have you guys been talking about for the last minute? Technique? Conspiracy? What is it all about? Can you explain me?" Reever asked.
Lisa turned to Reever and explained to him was an Aether Absorption technique was.
"What?" Reever looked at her with the most shocked look he had ever seen. "To think such an incredible thing existed, and us common folks never knew about it? Why? Do we not deserve to learn this thing?" he asked. "Are the nobility this scummy?"
"No," Lisa said. "As I mentioned earlier, it was the Tower's idea to slowly erase all knowledge of the technique. Since the techniques weren't that easy to acquire, to begin with, it didn't take very long for them to get rid of all evidence of it."
"When did they erase it? How could it be so simple as to erase the history of something's existence?" Reever asked.
"For over a 1000 years ago. Before even the current calendar began," Lisa said. "The tower was a behemoth back then as it is now, however, they were also scared of another such order coming out of nowhere and undervaluing their existence."
"So, to forever monopolize the Aether market, they got rid of the techniques from other places and made it a secret. The nobles who learned that they would be stronger than the common folks and would likely continue to get richer as a reason had no problem accepting this suggestion."
"Since then, only the nobles have been able to use the arts and forever keep it a secret from the rest of the world," Lisa said.
Ning knew none of this so he nodded his head in understanding when Lisa explained everything.
"Do you have an absorption technique?" Reever asked suddenly.
"Yes," Lisa said.
Reever felt his heartbreak. "You knew I struggled with having a low Aether rank, and yet you never taught it to me?" he asked, his face turning a shade of red. There was part fury in that face, but mostly betrayal was what he was feeling at the moment.
"No," Lisa immediately said. "I didn't teach it to you because of some stupid rule the tower and the nobility, or because I wanted to see you suffer. I didn't teach you because I myself have forgotten about it."
"Huh?" Reever looked up with a surprised look. "You have forgotten the technique? So you no longer use it?"
"I do use it," Lisa said. "But… it's sort of muscle memory at this point. When I use it, I don't even know what I'm doing since it's just a habit for me now."
Reever's expression got better. "Then… can you get one for me now?" he asked expectantly.
Lisa shook her head, however. "Not yet, it will take a while," she said.
"A while? Why?" Reever asked.
"In the royal family, only the emperor has the power to grant the absorption techniques to the other family members. He was who gave it to me as a child, and was made to learn it under a very strict condition to not reveal its existence."
"I had the thought of asking one for you last time we talked to father, but since I had just returned, I didn't want to make such requests," she said.
"Oh," Ning spoke from the side. "You guys already met up with the Emperor?"
