Reflecting on the past, Zach casually mentioned to Mirabe that Summer hadn''t informed their family about the kidnapping right away, and then he let it go.


    Even though she was young, Mirabe had a knack for picking up on the smallest details, often piecing together the whole story from just a hint.


    Mirabe went quiet for a moment before saying, "Got it, Zach. You go ahead." Zach gave a slight nod, straightened up, and opened the car door.


    Just as he was about to get in, Mirabe suddenly called out, "Oh, Zach, did Nick hurt his left thumb during that kidnapping?"


    Zach paused and turned back to her, "His left thumb?" He thought for a second before replying, "No, he had a lot of bruises, but his hands were fine."


    Mirabe nodded, piecing together something in her mind but didn''t ask more. She turned to head back into the house.


    Zach, still holding the car door, squinted in suspicion. Was Nick''s hand injured?


    Aftering back from her hometown, Mirabe had been getting packages non- stop.


    Her medical books and the custom alchemy kit she ordered had arrived, along with some herbs she bought online.


    After a few days of tinkering, she finally perfected her scar-removal ointment.


    She took tworge jars of the ointment to find Nick, who was deep into writing a research paper at hisputer. Mirabe ced the jars on his desk.


    Nick took off his sses, his eyesnding on the ubelled jars, "What''s this?" "Scar-removal ointment," Mirabe replied simply.


    Nick was taken aback for a moment.


    "Apply it morning and night on the scars; they should start to fade in a month," Mirabe tapped lightly on the desk, adding, "But given how old these scars are, I can''t guarantee they''ll disappear entirely. It varies from person to person."


    At least, without the fierce look of the scars, Nick might heal faster, emotionally, she thought.


    Nick looked at the jars, feeling an indescribable warmth, like a ray of sunshine in winter. After a moment, he managed a hoarse, "...Thanks, Mirabe."


    Mirabe thought for a moment, then added, "Try to eat lightly while using the ointment."


    "Okay," Nick nodded.


    Mirabe''s phone rang with a unique tone, indicating a special email.


    Having learned about Nick''s past from Zach, she had someone dig into his records abroad.


    The tone meant she had received just such an email.


    She quickly scanned through it. The information was mostly about his academic records, his achievements as a doctor, and his entry into a research institute. Everything seemed clean and ordinary, nothing unusual.


    After going through the data, Mirabe fell into thought.


    She was no stranger to reading between the lines in such information. For others, ordinary records might seem normal, but for her Nick... this level of ordinariness felt overly sanitized.


    Probably a case of data encryption and disguise.


    Mirabe pocketed her phone, casting an intrigued nce at Nick.


    It seemed her Nick was quite the secret prince.