Aleydis relaxed further into the sofa in the rest room right off the main entryway. Her family had wanted her to go up to her room immediately and spend the rest of the day confined to her bed.

However, once the nausea had worn off, she had felt perfectly fine. The last thing she wanted was to be confined to her bed like she usually was every time she had to portal travel. So they had reached a compromise. She would rest quietly for an hour to make sure that there weren't any further side effects under Alrik's careful gaze while their parents returned to work.

She had not wanted to be parted from her parents so soon after their reunion but knew that she'd see them at dinner, so she'd accepted the compromise. Of course, right before they left, they had insisted that the royal physician had to examine her as well and declare her fit enough to be out of bed. Before she could even protest that she was fine, they were gone and Alrik was looking at her expectantly.

Sighing, she'd caved and gone along with it. She could've done without Matteo asking the doctor a million and one questions about her health as well. While she knew that it was for the study about the efficacy of the tea, he did not need to know if her hair had always been that particular shade or had she always had the same number of freckles or why her pinky was bent ever so slightly.

She could tell that Alrik was getting irritated as well and was thankful that Matteo had a return trip scheduled in less than an hour. He would return on the day she was due to come back to accompany her back to the academy and she had signed a waiver that she would not hold the study responsible for anything that happened during her time spent unmonitored. She had also promised to document any changes she'd felt while she was home with an oath to be extremely truthful and thorough.

She understood the importance of it, she really did. This study could change people's lives. But on the other hand, treating her like she was untruthful or incompetent was starting to wear on her. The potential outcomes of this study were just as important to her as it was to them. The implications it could have on her future career were enormous. After all, what sort of envoy was unable to use the portals? If there was a diplomatic emergency that necessitated fast action and multiple use of portals, she would be helpless and useless.

All because of some twist in her essence that was impossible to see or detect. In fact, other than being unable to use portals, this little snag in peoples' essence did not affect their lives in any way. Without the discovery of portal technology and quick travel, it probably never would've been discovered, that's how insignificant it was.

Right then, a servant came in to fetch Matteo right as Alrik returned from where he'd shown the doctor out. Instead of looking put out like Aleydis had half expected, the herbalist was fairly vibrating with excitement. "I shall take my leave now, Junior Aleydis. If there are any changes, send a message to the academy via orb and I shall return at once. Now I have to get this information back to the others!"

With the sloppiest approximation of a bow that she'd ever seen, he was gone.

Aleydis huffed a quiet laugh, relieved to have everyone gone. She just needed a few minutes of quiet. A cup of tea appeared in front of her and she looked up to find Alrik holding it out, a wry expression on his face. "Tired, Sis? I know that he's technically helping you, but I was ready to throw him out myself."

She accepted the teacup gratefully, "He's just enthusiastic about his research, is all. Although, I do feel sorry for the poor portal engineers that he's going to find once he returns to the academy."

Alrik sat across from her, pouring himself a cup of tea. He asked lightly, "Engineers? Why would he bother the engineers? That has nothing to do with sickness or the body."

She shrugged, savoring her first sip of hot tea. The chill of the courtyard had seeped into her bones in the few minutes that she'd been out there and even with the roaring fire, it would take a little while for her to warm back up. "Well, he might have been annoying me a bit while we were waiting for the portal home. So I may or may not have suggested that he speak with the portal manager and engineer about how the portals are constructed. It was apparently a groundbreaking idea, since they don't seem to have considered portal construction and how it may affect how those with PAS travel."

Alrik tilted his head thoughtfully. "I wouldn't have considered it either. After all, most people have no idea how portals even work. When you got sick after your first portal trip, I did a bit of research into them. However, the equations that make portals function are quite complicated and esoteric. I couldn't make much headway on it and had to turn my attention elsewhere. Even great-uncle wasn't able to break them down enough for me to fully grasp the concept. I just had to accept the fact that they are three-quarters magic and the rest is very hard work."

Aleydis frowned, turning this information over. Their great-uncle on their father's side was one of the greatest mages on the entire continent and he'd always been very good at breaking down complex concepts to where she and Alrik could easily understand them. She and her brother had only a basic level of magic, enough to do a few simple spells but nowhere near enough for either of them to be mages, same as the majority of the population.

Great-Uncle Edric was their grandfather's brother and he'd been rather an anomaly, having enough magic to become an archmage at only ten years old. He'd spent most of his youth and prime roaming the continent in search of knowledge before finally returning to Colbini and settling down the same year Alrik was born. Although he was probably in his seventies or eighties, he only looked like he was in his mid-forties to mid-fifties, a little bit older than their father was.

One of the side effects of massive amounts of magic was that it slowed a mage's lifespan down to about three times as long as a normal person's lifespan. He would probably live to see her grandchildren or even great-grandchildren before he passed away. It was nice, knowing that there would be a family member watching over their line for a long time to come.

She held out her cup for a refill to Alrik, "You said that Uncle Edric couldn't simplify it. What was difficult about it? I should've studied more after I was so sick that time but I just didn't think about it."

Alrik slid a small plate over loaded with her favorite snacks. "Eat, you must be starving. And the concept is simple, moving an object between two fixed points. However, the math involved can vary between the size and weight of an object. It wouldn't be so difficult if you were transporting a fixed size and weight object, like a crate containing the same amount of flour, for example. But then you have humans, who come in all shapes and sizes. Some have more magic than others and then there's the varieties of the essence twist. And some people panic and bolt out the side or move erratically. So the calculations to deal with all of that can be extremely complex to deal with."

Picking up a macaron, she nibbled on it. "That sounds like a headache and a half. They must've figured out a stable equation for it, otherwise, they would have to rework it for every single item or person that wished to use the portal. But how would you even begin figuring out such a thing?"

Alrik shrugged, "That's where he lost me. Apparently, it's both very complex yet exceedingly simple at the same time. I took his word for it."

She studied him, noting that he looked more tired than usual. "Would it be helpful for you if I studied more magic? Right now, I'm just taking the basic classes but I could shift focus a little bit."

He started shaking his head before she even finished speaking. "No, no need, unless that's what you want. You know as well as I do that Colbini has very little magic or magical apparatus. Aside from Uncle, there hasn't been a mage of any note in centuries. The ley lines don't lie right to make our land mana dense and other than our natural ambient magic, there are no magical or mana resources. To try and get more, it would become a massive financial drain and none of our nearby neighbors are magical powerhouses either. So, unless you want to study magic out of curiosity, I don't think it will be a vital skill as a diplomat for Colbini."

That made a lot of sense. Still, it didn't make any sense to ignore it entirely just because it was a minor aspect of life here. Maybe it made it even more important to study magic so that they weren't blindsided in any trade deals. She made a mental note to speak with her mother about it. As a former princess of a different country, she might have a different viewpoint on the understanding of magic.

Pushing the thought aside, she could deal with school stuff later, she pulled her attention back to the present. She hadn't been home for months and she would only be home for a week this time. She didn't want to miss a minute of it.

Straightening, she smiled brightly at Alrik. "So, what have you been up to while I was at the academy?"