The journey from Luminor Academy to the Kingdom of Defrin was a long one.

Even though it was a neighboring country, traveling to Defrin's royal palace required passing the imperial border, which alone would take at least a week. From there, another three-day journey awaited us to reach the royal estate, meaning we'd spend almost ten days living out of carriages and campsites—a demanding journey already written in stone.

Considering the return journey, we were looking at nearly three weeks on the road, which meant I couldn't bring Isabel along. Regretfully, she would have to make her way back with …