The rustle of the paper parcel restored Marcus’s ability to move. He carefully handed the still-warm pastries to Elena, without so much as glancing at his wife. His gaze was locked fast to the table, where the stones shimmered in the bleak rays of the winter sun.

Marcus took a step forward, as if terrified that any sudden movement might cause the vision to dissolve. He had never held an official Imperial certificate from the appraisers' guild, at the beginning of their journey, they couldn't afford to waste funds on such papers, yet his personal experience required no verification by a seal. He could tell cheap quartz from noble topaz and a counterfeit from a family heirloom at a single glance. Over the years spent buying up jewels, Marcus had seen many stones. And these were among the finest, if not the very best.

The man sank onto a chair, reached out, and carefully, barely brushing it with the pads of his fingers, rolled one of the large, uncut monoliths toward himself. The stone was cold, heavy, and frighteningly pure. Marcus brought it close to his eyes, turning it this way and that, catching the light. No bubbles. No cracks. Absolute, ringing transparency.

The silence in the office was so profound that one could hear Azalea breathing.

Without a word, Marcus pulled out the bottom drawer of his old oak desk. He thrust his hand into the very depths, past a stack of old receipts, and retrieved a thick bundle of worn black suede. These tools had not seen the light of day for a very long time. He had used them back when he was first growing interested in the appraisal of precious stones.

Marcus slowly unrolled the suede. Laid out upon the table were miniature scales and boxes with tiny weights, a set of specialized needles for testing hardness, and an antique magnifying glass with manifold magnification in a silver frame, which he had once bartered from an old appraiser.

Marcus worked in silence, with deep concentration. He delicately picked up one of the already faceted diamonds with a pair of tweezers. The magnifying glass came first. He peered into the facets for so long that his left eye began to water, yet the man didn't even wipe the tear away. Next came the needle tipped with the finest corundum. Marcus pressed it with a light touch across the back of the stone. With a quiet hiss, the corundum slipped off, leaving not the slightest scratch on the surface. The needle used for testing diamonds left a barely perceptible mark on the metal of the tweezers themselves, but the crystal remained flawless.

He repeated the procedure with the second stone, then with the third, the raw, crystal monolith. The scales registered a weight that felt perfect, yet unnatural for such dimensions.

When the examination of a few stones was finished, Marcus slowly set the magnifying glass aside. His hands relaxed. He leaned back against the back of the chair and let out a heavy, whistling sigh, covering his face with his palms.

Elena and Azalea exchanged an anxious look.

“Is everything alright, dear?” Elena’s voice was steady.

Finally, Marcus removed his palms from his face. He looked first at his wife, then shifted his gaze to Azalea, who stood frozen by the wall, and spoke. His voice, hoarse and quiet at first, quickly swelled with its former strength.

“These are the purest, most flawless, first-class diamonds. I have seen a couple of such stones on the jewelry of a noble house in the Eastern Empire. Where did they come from?”

Azalea shifted from one foot to the other. She wanted to tell them everything, but would these people believe that during her two weeks in the snow, Azalea had visited another world and gathered a great deal of knowledge from there?

“It is... a gift from Lumisphena.” She raised her eyes and looked at Marcus and Elena in turn. “There in the snow, the one who saved me was Lumisphena - the Creator Goddess.”

Elena let out a quiet gasp. Marcus froze in place. He let out a breathless chuckle.

“The G-Goddess? You saw her? Her... Oh, my head… The Creator Goddess last bestowed a blessing more than a century ago... Since then, she hasn't answered the prayers of even the High Priest!”

He slumped back into his chair. Elena turned her gaze toward the girl, looking at her as if seeing her for the very first time.

“She didn't just save me,” Azalea continued quietly but firmly, taking a step toward the table. “Lumisphena gifted me with power and... knowledge.”

“You know what, Azalea...” Marcus interrupted her, his voice regaining its former steel. “Perhaps it is better if you don't tell us everything. Not because we don't believe you. No. The fewer details we know, the safer it is for all of us. From now on, we must keep your power a strict secret. Those blessed by Lumisphena have always appeared at pivotal moments in history. The Goddess sent the Hero when a fierce war was raging across the continent, and he stopped it. The Aden Envoy, who founded the country and gave rise to the royal lineage, came during the Great Calamity.”

Marcus turned to the women, his face intensely focused. He began to pace the room restlessly.

“Azalea’s appearance now, after a century of silence, will cause a turmoil that could wipe any kingdom off the face of the earth. Your appearance serves a purpose, but what that purpose is only you might know. Or perhaps no one at all. If the temple servants find out what you are capable of, they will declare you a saint but lock you in a cage or turn you into an idol. And the Crown of any country, be it Aden, the Eastern Empire, or Dannai, will claim you as their property for the sake of endless wealth. And then you will suffer, and not you alone. If greed takes hold of people, it could lead to war.”

The man walked over to the table and looked down at the scattering of stones before him.

“Right now, we all need to digest this thought. Simply calm down and accept what has happened. And after that... after that, we will begin to plan the future. Together. Step by step. We need to ensure that you, Azalea, gain such influence and such power in society that neither the Crown nor the churchmen will dare to even look askance at you. We must build a fortress for you, where you will be completely safe. If we cannot...”

Elena stepped closer and firmly squeezed her husband’s shoulder. Marcus fell silent. Elena turned to the girl, who was still standing by the wall, staring at the floor.

“The pastries are getting cold. Let’s eat.” Elena smiled and patted her husband on the shoulder. “After all, as my mother always said: On a full stomach, even trouble is no trouble.”