The three entered one of the artisans' workshops while Alon waited outside. When a young Chatzi man noticed Ariadne, he emerged behind the counter and bowed to her.

  ‘Greetings, Your Highness.’ He spoke.

  ‘Don’t feel pressured; it is just a visit. I want to see how you're doing.’ With a smile on her face, she answered.

  ‘So, come in.’ He nodded.

  The store's back had a bigger space. On the back of it were the magic lamps, including the street magic lamps, which were shaped differently. On the side of the entrance, a group of additional pieces arranged in a pile was also present.

  ‘The less skilled do the individual pieces, and the more skilled put it all together. I don’t know what everything is. It's not like I know what these magic lamps are.’ Looking at collecting pieces, the young Chatzi scratched his head.

  Edmund stood next to the group of pieces, looking and probing with a curious expression. Ariadne observed that, given the time and the small town, everything appeared to be of excellent quality.

  ‘So you run this workshop, then? You seem young, and I don’t remember you back when the artisans were at my mansion.’ Ariadne inquired.

  ‘It is my father's; he is delivering pieces to the carpenter; it is right next to us.’ The young man answered.

  The door was opened, and a middle-aged A-Dam entered the room. He was startled to see Ariadne looking around and bowed to her immediately.

  ‘I am honored, your highness.’ The middle-aged man nodded.

  ‘We are just looking around to see if everything is in order or if you need help. We were on our way to the carpenter.’ Ariadne smiled at the middle-aged man.

  ‘Well, I will give him more of those pieces.’ He got more pieces in his bag.

  The blacksmith led them to the carpenter's workshop next door. As soon as they walked in, a young Chatzi girl with short blond hair and black eyes approached them and bowed.

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  ‘Welcome, Your Highness, and welcome back, Edmund.’ She looked at Edmund.

  ‘How do you know him?’ Ariadne inquired, opening her fan and looking at the girl.

  ‘He comes every day and inscribes the runes on the finishing devices; he even showed me how to do it, but I am still learning.’ She said it with a smile on her face.

  Ariadne looked at Edmund with rage on her face. Eliza noticed it, grabbed the duchess's hand, and whispered to her.

  ‘Think about your image, your highness.’ The maid squeezed Ariadne’s hand.

  ‘Fine.’ The duchess calmed down.

  Edmund approached the young Chatzi lady, put a hand on her shoulder, and looked at the duchess with proud eyes.

  ‘Leah is amazing; she is learning so fast. I’m proud of her.’ Edmund smiled.

  Eliza noticed that a young A-Dam was watching from the door on the back with an angry look; she tapped Ariadne’s shoulder and whispered to her.

  ‘I don’t think we are welcome here, your grace.’ She said.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Eliza. What are you talking about?’ Ariadne chuckled.

  A middle-aged Shafran, followed by a young A-Dam man, and the blacksmith came from the door in the back.

  ‘Your Highness.’ They bowed.

  ‘Your Highness, would you like to see the completed products? And by the way, this is my apprentice.’ The carpenter pointed to the young man by his side.

  The carpenter turned and headed back toward the door; they all followed him. Edmund could tell the young man was staring at him, but it was nothing new; he did it every time he came. The other room was more extensive, like the blacksmith they had entered before.

  ‘This is where I work; I even have the tools necessary to engrave runes, and Leah is very skilled with them.’ Edmund pointed to the table in the corner.

  The carpenter pointed to the magic lamps in the back of the room next to the door.

  ‘It is interesting at night, with all those lights shining.’ The carpenter smiled, looking at the devices.

  ‘Yes, I changed it so that it turned on at night. The temperature and amount of light the crystal receives make it somewhat complicated, but the ones in the duchess' house will have these switches.’ Edmund took the object off the table.

  The magic lamp on the table lit up when Edmund touched the middle of the object. Then, he got closer to the apprentice. Suddenly, he grabbed the young apprentice's hand and made him press the device with his finger, but nothing happened.

  ‘See? He doesn’t see you as his ruler. He grinned at Ariadne.

  Leah quickly got next to Ariadne on her knees, staring at Edmund in disbelief. The young apprentice was taken aback by Edmund's words, which were immediately on his mind. He bowed his head to the duchess, who was giving him a chilly look. Leah looked at the duchess with tears before turning to the ground.

  ‘Your grace, please give him another chance; he is a good man.’ She exclaimed.

  More than anything else, Leah's words caught the young apprentice off guard. He turned to look at the tears streaming from her eyes and felt terrible. Ariadne inhaled deeply, closing her fan as she pointed at the carpenter apprentice kneeling on the ground while everyone watched.

  ‘Stand up. I have no right to demand your loyalty; I hope to win you with time.’ She reopened her fan and began to cool herself with it.

  The duchess looked at Edmund furiously and started to walk in his direction while clenching her teeth. Eliza crossed her arms, and Leah was confused about what was happening. Edmund noticed the duchess's mood.

  ‘It was just a test.’ He smiled.

  ‘I don’t care; why do you keep doing things like this, peasant?' Ariadne continued to walk towards him.