"I''m busy now, gotta go," James said and abruptly ended the call.


    Mirabe, left hanging on the other end, raised an eyebrow. Was this James''s quirky way of demanding attention? Running her fingers through her hair, she mused that confronting him wasn''t a viable option—she likely wouldn''t win that


    battle anyway.


    With a sigh, Mirabe opened her social media feed to kill some time. After browsing through a few posts, she stumbled upon Cassie''stest update. She frowned at the post. At this hour, shouldn''t he be in ss?


    Pausing for a moment, she left a briefment: "Skipping ss?"


    Minutes ticked by with no response, and when she refreshed her feed, Cassie''s update had vanished. In fact, all his posts were gone, suggesting he''d switched his settings to hide them from certain people.


    Mirabe''s face clouded over. Was Cassie trying to test his limits?


    Pondering her next move, she decided to call As to get the lowdown on Cassie. Before heading to Merrywoods, she''d asked As to keep a discreet eye on him, worried he might get into trouble.


    "He''s in the entertainment industry?" Mirabe was floored by what As told her.


    "Yeah, he joined a talent show. I haven''t dug too deep, but since you left for Merrywoods, he hasn''t shown up at school," As exined inly.


    "I see, thanks so much, Uncle As, for keeping tabs on him," Mirabe said, rubbing her temples. She had suspected school wouldn''t be able to rein in Cassie''s wild spirit.


    "Happy to help, Miss Mira. It''s no trouble at all," As replied.


    After thanking him again, Mirabe hung up. She twirled her phone


    absentmindedly but decided against calling Cassie. After a while on the balcony, she stood to head inside but paused as her eyes caught a scene in the garden below.


    Chester, now in casual attire, was


    watering the garden nts with watering can. His practiced movements made the


    look effortless and persole scene


    natural.


    Crossing her arms, Mirabe finally noticed the variety of nts in the garden. She thought for a second, then made her way back to her room.


    Not long after, she was downstairs, heading toward the garden.


    Even though her steps were quiet, Jim, who was bent over tending the nts, sensed her presence before she got close.


    When he looked up and saw Mirabe, the brief chill in his expression melted away. "Not taking a break in your room?"


    Jim stopped what he was doing and stood up straight.


    "Yeah," Mirabe nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the patch of greenery. "These don''t look like your everyday garden nts."


    Jim was caught off guard by his niece''s keen observation. He smiled, his thoughts wandering as he replied, "They''re medicinal herbs."


    He continued watering the herbs, his actions deliberate and gentle.


    Mirabe watched him, her expression unreadable. "I can tell these nts are getting some top-notch care."


    She toyed with the idea of snapping


    a picture of the herbal garden to


    ve


    post online, thinking it might ruffle Nellie''s feathers, given her stubbornness rivaled that of someone from the olden days.


    "By the way," Jim said, ncing at his niece, "Grady mentioned you know a thing


    or two about medicine and potion-making?"