Card Apprentice Daily Log

Date- 7 April 2321

Time- 09:48

Location- Southern Region, Southern Capital, Southern Royal Palace

"Mother, I don't think your speculations hold any truth to them," Anna's mother did not agree with Colleen's speculation that the boy was so adamant about joining Morningstar University because he wanted to be with Jill Norley.

Colleen's daughter felt that the boy's reason for wanting to attend Morningstar University was not as simple as Colleen put it. She believe someone who had the smarts to discover sliver milk powder and trick the southern royal family into doing his dirty work would not make his decisions solely based on irrational variables like infatuation, romance, and forbidden affairs. Otherwise, he would already be leashed by her daughters Anna and Ann.

As for the boy's association with Jill Norley, She felt that the boy was using Jill to show them that they were not the only people he could depend on, he that other choices too. The boy was just making sure his value would not decrease as he continues to depend on the Southern royal family.

The thought that the boy may be trying to separate himself from the Southern royal family did cross Anna's mother's mind but she did not continue to entertain that thought further because she knew the boy was smart enough to know that he could not trust other forces like he trusted the Southern royal family. Anna's mother was so confident about this because of the soul contract her daughter entered with the boy in the presence of the world's will.

The soul contract put the royal family at a little disadvantage but with that, they gained the trust of the boy. Yes, Anna's mother thought that her daughter could have negotiated better terms but that was a matter of the past and she hated to waste time reliving the past the most.

Currently, the Southern royal family's relationship with the boy seemed to strain but it was only because they had differences of opinion and it in no way meant that they did not trust each other. This only meant that the boy too had started to accept the Southern Royal family like how it had accepted him. If everything works out this little incident may even deepen their relationship.

So ultimately Colleen's daughter had concluded that the boy did not plan to join Jill Norley or the faction her father represented, he was only using them to make the Southern royal family jealous. To be more accurate he was only seeking the attention of the Southern royal family. In a way, Colleen did give the boy attention by bringing him to the southern royal palace. However, it was obvious that this was not the type of attention the boy sought. So Colleen's action might have only made the boy more rebellious towards the Southern royal family.

What kind of attention did the boy was searching for? He wanted his opinion to matter, he wanted to be treated equally. Since he trusted them to have his back, he wanted them to trust him. Anna's mother clearly remembers that the boy started acting out the first time when the Southern royal family started to meddle with his life and made plans for him without seeking his opinion. Since then the boy started to take action to separate himself from the Southern royal family.

The boy might think he was shrewd by owning the majority shares of Fine Gold and using it as the spearhead to rise his influence in the blossom district in his first step to establish his own force and secretly starting his little side project on pleasure cards, but Anna's mother was aware of his little every action. Yes, his relationship with Jill Norley caught her by surprise but other than that she would like to think that she had a firm grasp of what the boy was up to.

Despite knowing what the boy has been up to recently Anna's mother let him be because she felt that shoving their demands and decisions onto the boy will only not work and end up making matter worse. However, in the end, her mother did what she choose not to. Projecting her fears and worries onto the boy.

Anna's mother knew the only reason Colleen did what she did was that recent events had her feeling that what they were not doing was not enough, they could do better— she could do better. The boy would be safer in the royal palace than in the sky-blossom city. In a moment of weakness, Colleen let her fears and worries get the best of her. Therefore Anna's mother did not bother throwing around the blame instead began to think about how to make up for the damages.

'If only Anna was available,' Anna's mother thought of using Anna to console the boy and consolidate his faith in the Southern royal family knowing that her daughter would be the only person the trusted and cared for right now in the entire Southern royal family. Why would the boy not trust Anna? After all, he knew that she was hopelessly in love with him. And he took advantage of it every turn he got. However, with Field Marshal Heatsend disciplining Anna, she would not be available anytime soon. She had to think of something else.

The thought of using Ann never crossed her mind because Anna's mother knew that, unlike Anna who dared to choose the boy over the family, Ann would never be able to put the boy ahead of the family's needs so she could never gain his trust let alone help the family smooth things over with the boy.

"Then what other reason there could be for the boy to be so adamant about joining Morningstar University at risk of his life? I don't understand. I was rash and ignorant when I was young but I would never do something so stupid," Colleen tried to make sense of why the boy wanted to attend Morningstar University with his life handing on the balance so that she could persuade him otherwise or find a reason to support him on his decision.

"Mother, don't try to make sense of it, it is pointless and will only confuse you. You are not him to see the situation the way he sees it. Since you have already forcibly brought him to the palace, think of a way to keep him," Anna's mother like Colleen too could not understand the reason for the boy to be so adamant about enrolling into the morning star university. However, she did not try to understand it because she decided to reciprocate the faith the boy had in them. As for what just suggested to Colleen, she did so to keep Colleen busy so that she would forget about her fear and worries and once again start thinking straight.

"How do I go about that? I offered to support him with every resource and manpower at the royal family's disposal but he refused, what else can I offer to him? I am at my wit's end," Colleen was not exaggerating, she had offered her granddaughter to the boy yet he refused her plans for him.

"Mother, that boy is a man of intellect, why don't you try to keep him busy by giving him work that would test the boundaries of his intellect? Introduce some new for him to learn. Make it so that he doesn't have time to waste. I heard Anna say that he loves to create origin cards you can start there," Anna's mother suggested believing that maybe this way the boy would stop focusing on Colleen brought him to the palace against his will, and with time his opinion about Colleen and the Southern royal family would subside. Meanwhile, closely monitoring the boy and witnessing what he was capable of first hand Colleen would find the strength within her to have faith in the boy as he wanted her to.

Anna's mother hoped that this would help resolve the strained relationships and misunderstandings between the boy and her family before he leaves to enroll in Morningstar University. She agreed with her mother that the boy should be risking his life by attending university in a central academic city but she also knew that if she and her family could not put their faith in the boy and trust he knows what he was doing they could potentially lose him for good.

Anna's mother felt this way because she was pretty confident that the boy would other ways to attend Morningstar University without the help of the Southern royal family. His association with Jill Norley was the perfect example of that.

However, Anna's mother did not plan to share all this with Colleen because telling a person riddled with worries not to worry would not do any good. Therefore, she could only give it time hoping nature will take its course in their favor.

"Sounds good, I will do as such. Maybe I could reinitiate the MegaMorpher project. That should keep him busy for a while."

"No, that won't work."