I was feeling hot... No, it was much more. It was unbearably hot.

I felt like I had been thrown into a raging fire, but strangely, I didn't feel any pain.

I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was hot but without the pain or the disturbing sensation that this type of heat should normally have on me or any human body.

My body... or what I believe to be my body... is slowly being blown away by the wind.

I couldn't even open my eyes; all I knew was that I was drifting… somehow.

"Young Lord, Young Lord."

From afar, or maybe not so much, I could hear a familiar voice.

"Young Lord."

I slowly opened my eyes to see a masked man leaning down at me.

"Good morning, Young Lord." said the masked man.

I let out a loud sigh.

"Hello, Syrus, or should I say, Rufus."

"Is it already the morning?"

"Not yet," said Syrus, while drawing the curtains in the room, revealing a bright, dawny sky. But the young Lord appeared to be having a very unpleasant dream, so I thought it best to rouse you up. "

At the moment Syrus mentioned the dream I had, I unconsciously sent my left hand to inspect my right arm, as if to make sure it was still there. Immediately after, a strange feeling of relief filled my heart.

"Thank you, Syrus. I have no clear memory of what that dream was about, but I have a feeling it must've been very frightening or perhaps serene; I can't say with any certainty, but it's good to be back in the land of the living. "

"You are most welcome. By the way, I met Lord Emilien earlier today as he was leaving the castle, and he told me that he would pay a visit to your father today."

"I see,"I muttered.

"You don’t seem very thrilled by the news."

"No, It's not that, in a way, I have the feeling that it is going to be a very awkward father-son reunion," I said this as I stepped out of my bed.

"Awkward?"

"You know what, forget what I said earlier," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Understood," said Syrus solemnly.

I walked to the windows, from which I could see the city's other five castles.

This room offered a superb view of the city.

A flock of birds was seen flying through the city's streets.

The rising sun gradually flooded the city with light.

Small white clouds appear to be hovering above the distant and densely packed houses of the lower city.

An overwhelming desire to explore the city overtook me.

And I was very well aware that it was everything but a good idea.

As I drew the window curtains shut, I asked Syrus. "Sy-Rufus, has Lord Emilien said anything else?"

"He also charged me with informing the Young Lord to get along with Sir Mael."

"I'll do my best, but I don't believe Mael holds me very dear to his heart," I said helplessly. "I tried to - you know, break the ice with him last night during dinner, but he seems to be an expert at leading conversations down a dead end."

"Young Lord, please allow me to express my sincere thoughts on the subject."

"Go ahead."

"Please don’t take this wrongly, but…" He said, taking a weird and long pause.

"What are you coming at?"

"Perhaps you aren't doing it correctly. I doubt any child his age would be interested in... What was it? wild boar? "

Did I just hear him snickering?

"It’s warthogs."

When we were in the dining room yesterday, Lord Emilien was a little late for the meal, so we had to wait for him before we ate.

There are no words to describe how uncomfortable it was for both Mael and me.

We were essentially two strangers seated at the same table.

So, being the gentleman that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to tell him a little story to break the ice between us.

"For me, it's the same. Young Lord, don't get me wrong: your story about three young warthogs being hunted down by a ponytailed chimp was fascinating, but I doubt a child his age would be able to respond in kind to such a great story. "

There's no doubt about it, this guy is actually laughing at me behind his expressionless mask.

"So what do you suggest then?"

"According to a trustworthy source. Sir Mael, like the Young Lord, is a thorough book-. " He interrupted his words with a very forced cough, and instantly went on with. "Booklover So the Young Lord could make use of this common ground. That was all I was attempting to say."

"Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?"

"I only found out about it after witnessing the Young Lord's attempt to befriend Sir Mael. After all these years of seeing the young act abnormally and overly mature for his age, I was caught off guard by that sight. " He declared, with no attempt to hide the smile behind these words.

"If Mathilda were here, she'd be so proud of you, Young Lord." Finally, our lonesome and silent young Lord attempts to make a friend. " He said as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away non-existent tears from his mask. "It's frightening how quickly children are growing."

I retrieved a pillow from my bed and exclaimed, "Leave Mathilda out of this!" before flinging it at him, which he casually caught.

I then proceeded to the restroom.

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

I've been awake for about two or three hours.

Mael and I were eating breakfast on one of the castle's many terraces, closely watched over by his five attendants and my dear and loyal masked butler Rufus.

Mael was about to finish his meal, and I had a feeling he'd leave the table as soon as he did.

"What do you have planned for the day, Mael?" I asked because I didn't know what else to ask.

" I plan to stay in the library. "Why would you ask?" He simply inquired.

"Nothing, it's nothing; I was just curious."

"Hum...I see." He had already finished his meal and was about to get up when he said that.

"Say, Mael, do you mind if I join you? ... "I mean to the library."

After a short but tense pause, he simply stated, "I don't."

We both stood up and made our way to the famous library, followed by Syrus and Mael and five attendants.

"The masked butler stays outside like everyone else," Mael clarified as we approached the famous library's door. He said this while pointing at Syrus.

"You heard that, Rufus. You're fired. You haven't eaten yet. Go get your breakfast," I said.

"Yes, my Lord." He humbly said before taking his leave.

Because they hadn't eaten yet, the three attendants accompanying Mael all glanced at Syrus' back with envy.

"You three can go too," Mael said to his attendant.

"But my Lord, we-"

"I said you can go!"

"Yes, my Lord."

When they were all gone, Mael took a key from his pocket and began to unlock the door with it.

When I said "unlock," I meant "put the key in the keyhole."

A part of me expected this castle library to be opened—you know, magically.

It stands to reason that if a simple manor's library is protected by magic, a castle library should be as well.

I was expecting at least an incantation of this kind:

Spirit to body

Body to Mind,

As I chant for thee,

Undo the bind,

What now holds

My soul to me

With this incantation,

Open to me,

Is the library.

I was lost in thought when I heard Mael cough. He had already entered the room and was simply waiting for me to close the library.

"Oops. Sorry. " I apologized as I dashed into the room.

When I walked into the room, what I saw was not what I expected to see in a library.

The shining ray coming from the ceiling and illuminating the entire room was the most noticeable thing in the room, not the books or bookshelves.

When I got closer to see where the ray was coming from, I noticed the white interior of a massive dome in the ceiling.

The room was shaped like a dome and was easily two-thirds the size of the manor.

I could see three other floors upstairs from where I was.

The walls were no longer visible because they were hidden behind built-in bookshelves.

There were two desks in each corner of the room, as well as four sofas arranged diagonally across the space.

"This is quite impressive."

"Is that correct?"

"Yes, this library is significantly larger than ours." "May I?" I inquire while pointing to a nearby bookshelf.

Mael responded to my question with a node right away.

I started looking through the books on the nearby bookshelf right away.

He sat across the room on the desk and began reading a book he had taken from the desk drawer.

While I was looking away, I could feel his gaze on me from time to time, but I paid it no mind.

After a while, I finished browsing through the bookshelves on the ground floor. There wasn’t any book that particularly caught my attention, at least not on this floor.

"Say, Mael," I said while approaching the desk he was sitting on.

"What?"

"I was wondering if this library had the two last volumes of the annals of crusaders and the encyclopedia?"

Every 100 years, the Paladin Order would organize an expedition to the Monster Continent to extend the human continent's border.

These expeditions are called "crusades".

And all of the information collected during each crusade is recorded inside two books known as the encyclopedia and the annals of crusaders.

The fundamental distinction between the encyclopedia and the Annals of Crusader is that the former is a book prepared solely with the goal of recording and sharing information about monsters, whereas the latter is primarily focused on compiling the tales of the adventures of each member of the paladin order who took part in the crusade.

These two books are released once every hundred years to the public.

Every volume of these two books, with the exception of the ones from the two previous centuries, could be found in the secret room.

" You’re reading these?" he said, finally showing an open interest in what I’d said.

"Yes, with the exception of the two previous volumes, I've read every existing volume."

"I see, you can find them upstairs, on the third floor. You can’t miss them." He said with a voice carrying a little hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

It’s coming, guys.

Keep it up, Ronandt, a little bit and this guy is going to be your best fella.

Just a little bi-

"Okay." The word came out of my mouth without thinking, along with a thumbs up.

Having ended the discussion, I had no other choice than to head to the third floor to find the book I was looking for immediately.

Since there was a chair and a table here, I didn't need to get down to read the book.

I don't know how long it has been, but I stayed a long time here.

From downstairs, I could hear Mael’s approaching footsteps.

I got up from my chair, put the books back on its shelf, and went down the stairs. And I immediately stumbled upon Mael, who was about to go where I was.

"Lunch should be ready."

"‘kay"

He oddly waited for me to go down the stairs, and once I reached him, he went down side-by-side.

"How was the book you were looking for?’

"It was interesting, I’ve learned a lot about FangWolf."

"FangWolf?"

"Yes, in the past volumes, there wasn’t much information about them, but thanks to the book I read, I’ve learned more about them."

"You've already read everything you wanted to know?"

"Not yet."

"Then, wouldn’t you mind going back after lunch?" When he said that, we were already at the library’s door. He was holding the doors open for me.

I said with an impassioned voice, "I wouldn't mind; in fact, I'd be delighted to,"

"Later then." He muttered as he closed the door behind us.