Sunshine streamed through the window, casting a radiant glow upon a woman with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, a face strikingly similar to the Storm King's.

And why wouldn't it be? After all, she was Elia Turner, the mother of the Storm King.

From the moment news of the Battle of Ravenfell had reached the Federation, Elia had immediately set out for the Tower of Daybreak. Her urgency was not only born from the concern that her son had participated in that brutal battle, but also from fear of what he might be enduring in its aftermath.

After months of arduous travel, she had finally arrived at Caleport. But when she learned that her son had shut himself away in his chambers for months on end, her concern gave way to utter fury.

She sat on a chair by the window, letting the breeze from outside wash away the foul stench permeating within the chamber. Gazing at the state of her son's room, her face hardened into a scowl.

Then, she shifted her gaze towards her son, who was kneeling before her with his head lowered, too afraid to meet her gaze.

The genius the world hailed as the Storm King was nothing but a timid little boy in front of his mother… just as all great men were before theirs.

"Is this how a man of the Turner Family chooses to live?" She muttered with great dissatisfaction.

"Look at the state of your room! When was the last time you took a shower? And this stench… have you been getting drunk every night? What's the matter with you?"

With every word his mother spoke, Edward lowered his head even further. By the end, he was practically shrinking in fear. Yet, he didn't retort. He just silently listened. Perhaps in this entire world, only his mother had the right to speak to him like that.

"Answer me, will you?!" Elia screamed.

But still, she did not receive a response. Seeing the tear-streaks marking Edward's face, she felt as though her heart was stabbed by countless blades.

"Is it… about Adam?" she asked, her voice gentle.

Edward's lips quivered, and his eyes reddened. Yet, he did not speak. But his mother now finally knew what was on his mind.

"Come here," she said gently as she reached out for Edward. Then, she gently guided his head onto her lap and stroked his hair with a soft, doting smile.

"Do you truly believe Adam is everything they claim him to be?"

As tears trickled down Edward's face, he muttered in a hoarse voice:

"… I don't know."

"Well then, let me ask you something else," said Elia.

After a brief pause, she continued, "Do you truly think a boy raised by an evil cult, trained to be nothing more than a spy and a killer, would go out of his way to heal a frail and sick woman like me, who was deemed incurable by every capable Herbalist?"

Edwar's lips quivered. He sat up straight and looked straight into her mother's eyes that greatly resembled his own. "You… do you think that Adam is innocent then?"

Elia wiped the tears from her son's face, her fingers gently combing through his hair. "Do not judge a man by his words, nor by what others say of him. Judge him by his actions."

She looked into Edward's eyes, then said solemnly, "The Adam I knew cured me not out of some ulterior motive, but simply because he could. The Adam I knew came to our home to share a meal with us, not out of hunger, but because he liked our company.

"That child… he grew up with nothing. I know his parents passed away when he was young, and he came from a life of poverty. That's why he…"

Elia let out a soft chuckle, a fleeting warmth breaking through her solemn tone.

"That's why he always pestered your father for a discount whenever he came to buy something. And every time he visited, he spoke with us not out of politeness, but because in our company, he felt like what it was like to be loved.

"I remember the way he used to sneak bread from our house just to give it to the beggar children loitering beneath the Lunar Bridge. Do you think a boy raised to be a cold-blooded spy would ever do such a thing?" She shook her head gently.

"And do you remember, Eddie," she added, her lips forming a gentle smile, "how he would sit with your father in the workshop, pretending to help with the inventory and supply chain, even though he barely knew anything about commerce? He didn't care about the work itself, he only wanted to belong… to be part of our family for a little while."

The more Edward heard his mother speak, the more tears trickled down his face. He sobbed silently as memories of his childhood with Adam resurfaced in his mind. These memories… they were the real ones.

Elia's voice grew steadier and firmer as she added, "That is the Adam I knew, Eddie. Not the vile monster the world talks about, not the traitor they accuse him of being. I will not believe it. I cannot.

"Because the boy who laughed at our table, who carried your books when you were too lazy to do it yourself, who argued with Lisa over the last piece of the pie… that boy could never be the Deceitful One! He would always be Adam… our Adam!"

Elia's tone hardened a little. "Tell me, Eddie… when you think of him, when you recall the boy who laughed with you, fought by your side, and called you his brother, does he look anything like the monster they paint him to be?"

She exhaled a long, heavy sigh. She then turned to the window, gazing at the clouds drifting in the blue sky above. "Search your own heart, my son. You've known him longer and better than anyone else out there spreading these rumors."

Elia turned to her son again, then spoke in a solemn voice, "I don't know if there's some dark magic involved in all of this that made even you, his closest friend and sworn brother, doubt yourself… but I do know one thing…"

Edward slowly raised his head and matched his mother's gaze. Elia's voice trembled, laced with a mixture of pain and conviction as she said:

"I refuse to judge Adam by the Empire's words. I judge him by his actions and the kindness he showed us. And you, Eddie… you must try to do the same. Trust what you remember. And if you can't trust your memories, then trust your heart."

She took a deep breath, then smiled as she cradled Edward's face. Then, she said in a gentle voice:

"Because even if the mind forgets… the heart will always remember."

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