In Fang Hong's memory, he had entered that study quite a few times, because his uncle seemed to enjoy seeing him read—although he entered with a different purpose. He only remembers that the study was filled with many tall bookshelves, stacked with all kinds of large tomes he didn't recognize.
Aside from these bookshelves, there was also a small storage room on one side of the study.
The storage room was also filled with box after box of old books. It was said that some of those books were collected by his uncle Tang Sheng in his early years, along with some sets of his own books sent by publishers, as well as some ancient texts and many interesting collectibles.
In fact, this storage room was the true reason he frequently visited that study—because it was one of the greatest treasure troves for him and Tang Xin when they were young. He still remembers how his uncle had a set of African wood carvings, and he was quite fond of those wooden crafts.
What he's recalling at this moment is indeed related to those wood carvings. Fang Hong remembered once playing hide-and-seek with Tang Xin and hiding behind those wood carvings, and there he discovered a dusty package he had never noticed before.
Inside that package was a small booklet—remembering this, his memory became even clearer—he distinctly remembered that the booklet was exactly the same as the one in Princess's hand, and he had flipped through its contents at the time.
Inside were all sorts of symbols he couldn't understand, like a heavenly book. He was curious about which country's language it was, but like all children of that age, he soon forgot about it. Until now, when he saw the writing on this booklet in the Princess's hands again.
Fang Hong stood there almost like a wooden sculpture, filled with astonishment.
He didn't know if he had remembered incorrectly or if the notebook in the Queen's hand originally came from Earth.
It's well-known that nothing from Eteliria can be taken out of the Stargate. Once outside, everything the Invoker experienced in Eteliria is stored as high-dimensional information, then handed over to various nations outside the Stargate.
However, some people did transcribe or translate certain Earth texts into Eteliria.
In fact, this sort of thing is quite common in both academia and popular fiction. Colin Ishurian people are particularly fond of knight novels from a certain era on Earth. He remembered that Hilveld had a few such books, including the famous anti-knight novel "Don Quixote."
His first reaction was, could this notebook also be one of those books?
But why wouldn't the person who transcribed it into Eteliria have bothered to translate it and just transcribed it as is? Who could understand that?
And how could the Queen of Barbaltan have such a booklet in her hands?
Fang Hong immediately had the thought that he should find a way to ask his uncle if he remembers having such a book among his collection. But until he confirmed whether his memory was flawed, he didn't mention it, just kept the thought in his mind.
However, the Grand Princess was no fool.
Her bright eyes fell on him, and she asked, "Mr. Ade, did you think of something?"
Fang Hong nodded and casually said, "I know a little about shorthand, so seeing these symbols inevitably made me think of something."
"Did Mr. Ade gain any insight?"
Fang Hong shook his head.
The Grand Princess glanced at him again but did not press further. She then flipped the booklet to one page—it seemed she had read through the contents numerous times and was thoroughly familiar with it, effortlessly turning to the page she was looking for.
A folded page was tucked there. The Princess carefully unfolded it, and Fang Hong could see the drawing inside.
The drawing was almost rendered in a sketching technique, quite realistic, depicting a butterfly preparing to fly. However, it wasn't a live subject, for the artist's skills were quite remarkable, even using shadow to vividly portray the butterfly's reflection—it must have been of some metallic material.
And in the very center of the butterfly was set a gemstone.
Upon seeing this butterfly,
not only Fang Hong but even Luo Hao showed a look of surprise: "This butterfly...?"
He instinctively looked over at Fang Hong beside him.
The Princess looked at the two of them, and the elderly woman clearly noticed their odd behavior. She turned back and gestured to Princess Rupert. The Princess nodded before addressing Fang Hong and the other, "Mr. Ade, Mr. Luo Hao, did you recognize something?"
Fang Hong said nothing in response. It just so happened that he still had the short sword they had taken from the royal spy they dealt with that day.
After thinking for a moment, he took out the short sword from his coat and handed it over.
At the moment her gaze fell upon the sheath of the short sword, Princess Rupert's eyes became sharp. She glanced at the exquisite silver butterfly, then raised her head to ask Fang Hong, "Mr. Ade, where did this short sword come from?"
Fang Hong replied calmly:
"Does Your Highness remember the situation on the day we met?"
A subtle light flashed in Princess Rupert's eyes. She almost instantly displayed remarkable intelligence, replying, "I heard you had a conflict with someone that day. Could it be that this short sword...?" She, of course, knew who Fang Hong had a dispute with, but due to political sensitivity, she didn't directly point it out.
Fang Hong merely nodded slightly.
The Princess fell silent all of a sudden.
She couldn't help but gently stroke the silver butterfly on the sheath with her hand.
...