Moments before Valeriana was preparing to leave the residences, there was a knock on the door of her bedroom. As she was busy tidying up her room after leaving it uncleaned for a whole month, she almost missed it. It wasn't until the second set of knocks did she realize she had to answer.

"I'm sorry! Come in!" She exclaimed, all the while reaching for a hanging cobweb at the topmost corner of her room by the right. The feather duster she was using proved to be short.

She did not look towards her visitor, so instead, she was greeted by a voice, "What are you doing?"

"I . . ." She grunted. "Am . . . cleaning."

She caught a sigh being released until the stubborn cobweb she was aiming for flared up and disappeared into nothing but ashes oh-so-suddenly that it took her aback. Losing her balance, she fell backward and landed awkwardly on the sofa she used as a boost to her height.

"If you don't remember," said Corvan. "Let me remind you that you are supposed to meet with the headmaster before you head off to your first class."

"Oh right!" She exclaimed, realizing her mistake. "I almost forgot!"

"You did not 'almost' forget it, you did." He corrected. "There will also be a Gathering an hour after classes end for the festival. Be there on time. We'll present our ideas then."

"Yup, okay."

Corvan gave her a weary look, as though looking at her made him feel tired. Was she that . . . too much to handle? Grinning up at the first-ranker, she rose from her couch and straightened out her wrinkled uniform. After she was done, she looked up to her guest and caught him eyeing the picture frame on her bedside table.

"Is that your family?" He asked. "On earth?"

"Oh, yeah." The family photo brought her nostalgia as well that she navigated towards it like a moth drawn to a flame. "It's kind of hard not to miss them after everything."

Valeriana's wacky pose was as goofy as it could get. Jareth was yelling at the background, trying to get away. Janus had the neck of his shirt in his iron grip while Lily had an awkward peace sign. All in all, the scene presented their happy family days while they were still as complete as they could be.

Corvan was quiet. "You don't quite look like them."

He hit a nerve. "Yeah . . . I kinda look adopted, don't I?"

"No. You resemble your father more." He told her. "You may not have the same hair color, but your eyes look similar." He walked nearer. "I can't help but think I've seen that face somewhere, though. Is this Janus Kerrigan?"

"Yup. Janus Andrès Kerrigan."

"Andrès?" Corvan seemed to find this strange.

"He claims he's Spanish, I don't really believe him." She rolled her eyes.

"I will apologize in advance." He took the framed photo, making Valeriana feel confused. "No one has taken into account the possibility of having a realistic sketch in existence. I'll have this given to Lord Aeron for examination."

"Ohhh . . . why do you think it's my father?"

"Because," he paused, scrutinizing the girl. "Everything about him seems suspicious. You might have not noticed anything, but every little bit of possibility in every mystery is crucial. Your identity is still under question, so it's best to take every piece of evidence. Is there anything else you think can help speed up the search for an answer?"

"Um . . ." She paused to think. "Not . . . really . . ."

"How about this?" He pointed to the box that stood forgotten beside the frame.

The silver box with engraved roses seemed a lot more signficant just then. With Valeriana's attention drawn to it, she snapped her fingers as she remembered her mother's words. With a fisted hand hammered on her palm, she thought back on the letter.

"I remember mom saying I should open it on my eighteenth birthday." She told him, making a grab for the box and pulling on random protrusions. "I tried opening it, but anything I did wouldn't work."

Corvan gave it a once over before taking it into his hands. "Let me take a look."

The first-ranker examined it on all sides before shaking it. He reacted exactly like how Valeriana did when she first saw the thing.

"You know, every object has an aura. I see weird flames everywhere and it's somewhat irritating at first, but I found out it lets me learn about them." She found herself musing. "This one has a presence. The box itself seems to have a unique quality. Whatever's inside it makes me think is special as well."

"There may be some sort of special trigger that serves as the key." He concluded. "When is your birthday?"

"Uh . . . oh! I can't believe it." She whispered. "The twentieth. Lemme check . . . um . . . I don't know what day it is today."

"I assume you don't know the equivalent names for the twelve months of the year in Valemnia."

"No. But I have my birthday on July, which is the seventh month of the year back in my home."

Corvan was struck by irritation. "You idiot. The festival will occur on the second month of summer when it is the hottest. The seventh month is about three weeks away. That's just about as much as the time we have to throw everything together."

"So it's that near?"

"Not to mention . . ." He trailed off. "On second thought, I will withhold from telling anyone my assumptions. I do not wish to raise unnecessary hopes and have them crushed later on."

"Um . . . you don't need to bring the entire frame, just take the photo inside."

He glared at the object. "I see."

He then handed her Janus's 'last gift' before flipping the frame over. "Take good care of this box and make sure it is safe before we find a definite way to open it."

Valeriana immediately shoved the object into her innermost drawer, watching from the corner of her eyes as Corvan removed the locks on the frame holding the photo in place. He did not show any sign of struggle but it took him a while.

The girl gave a short laugh at him, an action which he did not notice as he was deeply focused. After he finally figured out the puzzle, he took out the thin card and examined the picture once again.

"I was about to ask how you locked your family in place in such a small dimension and somehow freeze them."

She coughed out another set of giggles at this.

"But I remembered the 'movie' and realized it must be a similar technology." He glowered at her for a moment, seemingly irked at her reaction. "Stop it. Earth may be advanced in terms of electronically operated gadgets but Valemnia specializes in matters concerning magical properties. I am quite sure you are unaware of the development wing in the academy."

"The development wing?"

"There is a part of the academy that specializes in 'advancement' instead of combat. We call it the DevDept. With your studies focusing on physical activities and knightly subjects, it is no wonder you never encounter them." He said, tucking the photo inside his uniform. "At least half of the Twelve have strong affiliations with development department, the one most influential being Charles."

He navigated his way through the room and straight out of the door, Valeriana right behind him.

"How about you?"

"Of course." The look on his face was smug. "My studies is not purely of combat after all. I am not aiming to be a Celeste. My aim is to become someone fit of being called a leader. That means being adequate in everything. The same goes for Rowe, Keelan, and Charles."

"Is anyone in our group from the development wing? Like, totally?"

"The development wing cannot directly become part of the Twelve." He answered. "This program is purely for competition and additional benefits of aspiring knights. In addition to that, their competition is purely based on their academic performance."

"I see." She nodded. "I hope I can get to see what they do sometime."

"With the summer festival going? I think you'll get to see them a lot. After all, to make it successful, a special collaboration will take place."

A smile lit up her face. "Awesome. I can't wait."

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