“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.

“Good morning Syrus or should I say, Rufus.”

“Is it already the morning?”

“Not yet,” said Syrus while drawing the curtains of the room, revealing a dawn 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 inspecting my right arm, as if to make sure it was still there. Immediately after, a strange feeling of relief filled my heart.

“Thanks, Syrus, I have no memories of what that dream was about but I have the feeling that it must’ve been very frightening.”

“You’re more than welcome. By the way, earlier I met with Lord Emilien, he was on his way out of the castle and he told me that he would visit your father today.”

“I see...”I muttered.

“You don’t seem to be very thrilled by the news.”

“Yes to in a way, I feel it’s going to be a very awkward reunion,” I said while waking out of my bed.

“Awkward?”

“You know what, forget what I said earlier,” I said with a wave of the hand.

“Understood,” said Syrus solemnly.

I walked to the windows and from there I could see the five other castles of the city.

This room offered a perfect view of the city.

A flock of birds could be seen flying through the streets of the city.

The rising sun gradually bathed the city with its sunlight.

Revealing small white clouds hovering above the faraway and densely packed houses of the lower city.

I was overcome with a sudden desire to visit the city.

And God I knew it was a stupid idea.

“Syrus, Is there anything else Lord Emilien said?” I muttered to Syrus as I drew the window curtains closed.

“He also tasked me to tell the Young Lord to get along with Sir Mael.”

“I will do my best but I don’t think, Mael himself is holding me, dear, to his heart”

Yesterday during the dinner, I tried to - you know break the ice with him but he seems to be an expert at leading conversations down a dead end.

“Young Lord, may I give you my sincere opinion on the matter.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Maybe you're not doing it correctly. I doubt any child his age would have any interest in what was it? wild boar ?”

“It’s warthogs.”

Yesterday when we were in the dining room, Lord Emilien was a little bit late so we had to wait for him before eating.

I have no words to describe how uncomfortable it was for me and Mael.

We were basically just two strangers, sitting at the same table.

So, being the gentleman that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to share a little story with him ~ you know~ to break the ice.

“It’s the same for me. Don't get me wrong: your story about the three young warthogs being hunted down by a ponytailed chimp was quite fascinating, but I doubt a child his age would be able to respond in kind to a story like yours.“

“So what do you suggest then?”

“According to a credible source. Like the Young Lord, Sir Mael is a thorough bookwo- cough* cough* lover, So perhaps the Young Lord might make use of this common ground. That's all I was trying to say.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

“I only heard of that, after I witnessed the Young Lord attempt to befriend Sir Mael. If Mathilda were present, she would be extremely proud of you, Young Lord. Finally, our Lonely Lord is actually trying to make a friend.” Syrus said while taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping away non-existent tears from his mask.

“Leave Mathilda out of this,” I said while throwing the nearby pillow at him and dash to the bathroom.

***

It’s been around two or three hours since I woke up.

Mael and I were on one of the several terrasse of the castle, taking our breakfast.

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 the feeling that once he did, he would immediately leave the table.

“What are your plans for the day, Mael?” I asked not knowing what else I could ask.

“ I intend to remain in the library. Do you need me for something ?” He said flatly.

“No, it's nothing; I was simply curious.”

“I see.” By the time he said that he had already finished his meal and was about to get up.

“Say, Mael, would you mind if I go with you to the library?”

“I don’t mind.” He said after a short pause.

We both stood up and headed for the famous library followed by Syrus and Mael, five attendants.

Once we reached the famous library’s door Mael said,

“The masked butler stays outside like everyone else.” He said while pointing at Syrus.

“You heard that Rufus, you are dismissed, you haven’t eaten yet aren’t you, go take your breakfast,” I ordered him.

“Yes my Lord.”

The three attendants accompanying Mael, all stared at Syrus’s back with envy since they also haven’t eaten yet.

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

“But my Lord we-”

“I said you can go!”

“Yes my Lord.”

Once they were all gone.

Mael took out a key from his pocket and began to unlock the door with it.

When I said unlock I meant putting the key in a keyhole.

A part of me was expecting this castle library to be opened-you now a little bit magically.

If a simple manor's library is protected by magic, it stands to reason that 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, Undo the bind,

What now holds

My soul to me

With this incantation,

Open to me,

Is the library.

“Cough cough.”

Mael who had already entered the room was waiting to close the library.

“Oups. Sorry.” I muttered as I dashed into the room.

When I entered the room,

What I saw wasn’t what I expected from a library.

The most noticeable thing in the rooms wasn’t the book or bookshelves but the shiny ray coming from the ceiling and illuminating the entire room.

When I came closer to see where the ray came from I saw the white interior of a gigantic dome in the ceiling.

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

From where I was, I could see three other floors upstairs.

The walls were no longer visible because they were hidden behind the built-in shelves full of books.

There were two desks on each corner of the room and four sofas disposed of diagonally across the room.

“This is impressive.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, this library is way bigger than ours. May I?” I said while pointing at the nearby bookshelf.

Mael replied to my question instantly with a node.

I immediately began browsing through the books on the nearby bookshelf.

He went sitting on the desk across the room and started reading a book he had taken from the desk drawer.

I could feel his gaze on me from time to time while I was looking away, 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 upon.

“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 in 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 adventure of each member of the paladin Order who took part in the crusade.

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

Except for the one from the two previous centuries, every volume of these two books could be found in the secret room.

“ You’re reading these?” he said, finally showing an open interest in what I’ve 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 Ron, 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 go 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 wouldn't mind; in fact, I'd be delighted to,” I said with an impassionate voice.

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