“Sure, let’s be friends,” Cyril flatly said, accepting the handshake.
Leo flinched the moment he moved but recovered after a second.
“That- that’s good…” he absentmindedly said.
Leo stiffly shook Cyril’s hand, his face colored with disbelief.
“So, that means you will not interfere in anything I do, right?”
Is that what friends are?
“Do whatever you want with Cedric,” Cyril flatly replied.
It’s your family matter.
“Oh…” Leo blankly uttered.
He awkwardly stood still, like a student who prepared for a difficult test only to find out it was cancelled at the last second.
However, in a moment he composed himself.
Leo cleared his throat as his eyes gained more confidence.
“I admit, I was worried when I saw you interact more and more with that female commoner, but I am glad to have been wrong.”
Leo smiled as he combed his hair back.
“Of course, we are nobles at the end of the day.
Commoners are merely toys in our world.”
“…”
“Wow!” Rhamn pointed at Leo’s face.
“Haha!
He really said that!
How is he real?!”
Are you one to talk?
Cyril’s face remained expressionless in response.
“See you tomorrow,” he said, taking a step forward.
Leo didn’t block his path this time.
He happily stood aside, on his face a relaxed smile.
“See you tomorrow, Thorne.”
Cyril walked towards the castle, distancing himself from the haughty noble.
Still, with his enhanced hearing, he managed to pick up on Leo muttering to himself with lingering disbelief.
“Mother was right.
Harming the butterfly was the actual issue, huh?”
“So he is a momma’s boy?
As expected.”
Cyril sighed, gently petting the butterfly on his shoulder.
“Good job for holding back.”
Morpho twitched her antennae with joy.
Cyril himself got a strong urge to hit Leo.
The Arken family seemed to have a talent for annoying people.
Still, it was undeniable proof of his humanity that Cyril easily restrained the impulse.
He was no monster.
“You just have a monster heart!
Hehe.”
“Ugh.”
…
With his path now clear, Cyril reached the library.
Once inside, he went straight for the General Zoology section of the library.
He’d been visiting this place semi-frequently for the past month and already knew his way around.
The librarian near the entrance only recognized that it was him and went back to reading.
This way, she completely missed the red butterfly hiding on his shoulder.
For the first time, Morpho successfully sneaked into the castle.
In a hurry, Cyril forgot that she wasn’t allowed in here.
“It’s fine~”
Morpho stayed low on his shoulder, as if trying to hide.
Her compound eyes observed the full bookshelves around them with curiosity and a sense of risky excitement.
He couldn’t bring himself to ruin her little adventure.
So, with her help, Cyril started browsing the collection here.
The search proved long.
For lack of a better alternative, Cyril just pulled out books at random, skimming through them as fast as he could.
There were even more books on monsters than he first thought: about those on four legs, on two, or without.
Though most of them ended up being less impressive than his imagination made them out to be.
Some weren’t even that much different from a regular animal, only bigger.
“There is nothing wrong with the classics.
A giant wolf is still cool.
No need for fancy tricks here, as long as it’s effective.”
Whatever you say.
There were monsters more complex than that, like vampires.
These monsters closely resembled humans but possessed inherent supernatural abilities as well as a thirst for blood.
We need mana, while they need blood, huh?
“Don’t compare us to some overgrown leech.
Our need is much more sophisticated.”
Right.
There were also monsters that leaned more towards the uncanny side.
‘Thyme’s Parasites.
These tiny worms crawl inside a living being, making a nest in their flesh.
They have hallucinogenic abilities.
Some victims have described the worms speaking to them while taking the form of wise old men or beautiful women.’
That’s nasty…
Cyril slowly turned his head to look at Rhamn.
She was peeking at the same book by his side.
She met his gaze and blinked a few times with a confused expression.
“That’s so rude!
Don’t call me a worm.” Rhamn puffed up her cheeks and turned away from him, feigning grievance.
Sorry about that.
Of course, he didn’t actually believe she was a parasite.
His state was too different from how the books described the worms’ effects.
Besides, he saw his own insides.
There were no parasites there.
Still, I can’t find any monsters that would explicitly require mana to survive.
Vampires come the closest…
Rhamn listened to his thoughts with a slight frown but didn’t say anything.
As for shapeshifting, a lot of monsters can do it, it turns out.
I already found a fox, a bird, and an ethereal spirit.
Some books even claim the legendary dragons could change their forms.
“Dragons are cool.”
…Right.
He sighed, massaging his temples.
None of it fit my situation.
“At least we found out about so many monsters.
They are so cute!”
…
A few hours went by like this, with Cyril reading book after book.
By the end, he had nothing to show for it.
Only Rhamn’s smile became wider, and her head rose a little higher.
This really makes you happy?
“Of course!
It’s proof that we are special!”
That doesn’t necessarily mean anything good…
Cyril stood between the tall bookshelves, exhausted after hours of fruitless searching.
He weakly looked around him one more time.
It was an almost desperate action, like he expected the right book to just fall out of the sky.
Suddenly, a single book attracted his attention.
There was no title on the spine of the book, and its cover was entirely purple.
Something about this book appeared unusual.
“…?”
Led by something he couldn’t quite pinpoint, Cyril slowly reached for the unknown book.
And just as he was about to touch it…
“Cyril?
You are also in the library today?” a familiar voice called out from behind, attracting his attention.
He quickly turned around, finding Rose, her hands full of books.
She raised the books a little with an awkward smile.
“It was time for me to return these…”
Cyril nodded with an expressionless face, then looked back at the bookshelf.
The purple book was still there.
Cyril gave a small sigh of relief.
For some reason, he expected it to suddenly disappear.
Rose took a step closer, curiously following his gaze.
Upon finding the book, her eyes lit up.
“They actually have ‘Adventures of Mary’ here?”
She dropped her pile on the nearest table and familiarly grabbed the purple book before he could reply.
“Of course they would have it here…” Rose gently caressed the cover with nostalgia in her eyes.
“You know it?” Cyril asked.
Rose eagerly nodded.
“It was my favorite story as a child.
It’s about a mischievous girl from a small village who heads out to experience life and gets into all sorts of situations.”
“How utterly boring.”
It’s just a novel?
Maybe I am too tired.
“The book could have a better presentation,” Cyril said, trying to hide his disappointment.
“I know what you mean, but it is a fun book.
Also, rumor has it, this story is based on the life of our headmistress, Margaret!
That was why I read it in the first place.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes!
I mean, how could I not be interested in her past?
She contributed so much to magic, more than any other human in history!
She is an idol of many young people, me included.”
The shine in Rose’s eyes intensified.
She spoke with the excitement he never saw from her, like a fan talking about her favorite celebrity.
It seemed he just opened a door that shouldn’t have been opened.
“Also, I know people say she is the second most powerful mage, but I think she might as well be considered number one.
You know, since she actually does something and appears in front of people as opposed to the Emperor, who never leaves his floor in the Tower.”
Thankfully, there were no guards around to hear this disrespect towards the royal family.
Rose’s opinions were more dangerous than Cyril first thought.
He stood there with a blank face, silently listening to her shoot out all the possible compliments she could think of.
People certainly like the headmistress…
“She is also a good teacher.
All her students achieved greatness in their own way.
The easiest example, if a little controversial, would be Nostro Thorne, the Knight everyone…” In her excitement, Rose blurted out something that made her hesitate.
“Oh…”
She widened her eyes and cautiously gazed at Cyril, gauging his reaction.
Cyril tilted his head in response.
“Nostro Thorne graduated from Ailanthus?”
“You didn’t know?!” Rose blurted out in surprise.
As the son of Nostro Thorne, Cyril Thorne should’ve known something like that, right?
“I didn’t,” he flatly said.
Must I know everything about him just because I am his son?
Rose silently stared at him for a moment before regaining her composure.
“I guess it isn’t exactly common knowledge, as it happened so long ago.
It’s also just not that important,” she said in an almost placating manner.
“Right,” Cyril replied, momentarily looking away.
He avoided investigating his father’s past too much.
Perhaps that was a mistake.
“That makes an obvious connection between Margaret and you!”
Rhamn tilted the detective’s hat that suddenly appeared on her head.
“I knew it from the start.”
Calm down.
It could be nothing.
…As my father’s mentor, she wouldn’t want to harm me, right?
“Naturally.”
As he was finished consulting the voice in his head, Cyril looked back at Rose.
“So what does the book say about her past?” he said, breaking the awkward silence.
Rose pursed her lips with an awkward expression.
“Personally, I think that rumor I mentioned is mostly false.”
She tapped on the purple book in her hands.
“I couldn’t find any village that would fit the description for Mary’s home, and the events in the story are… well, clearly made up.”
Rose went silent for a moment, her brows slowly furrowing.
“Actually, now that I think about it, is this book really that good?”
She placed the purple book on the table nearby, staring at it with an increasingly frustrated gaze.
“The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is nonsensical, and the worst of all is the main character.
Mary is just so unlikeable.
She would play cruel jokes on people who didn’t deserve it at all.
She would be more suited as a villainess in another story!”
Do you like the book or not?
Cyril blankly stared at her, confused over her rapidly changing opinion.
“Why did I like it in the first place…?” Rose muttered in thought.
“This book is actually terrible.”
Then, as she was contemplating, something happened.
A book fell from above, landing right on top of Rose’s head with a loud thud.
“Ouch!”
Rose flinched, holding her head with both hands.
With reddish eyes, she looked up to see where it came from.
There was but a normal bookshelf in front of her.
“…”
Cyril clearly noticed how the book simply fell on its own from the upper shelf.
A book randomly fell on Rose when she was criticizing a character based on Margaret?
He knew the headmistress was rumored to be childish.
The letters he received didn’t paint her in any better light either.
But would she really be that petty…?
“Oh!” Rose’s pleasant exclamation soon attracted his attention.
She was crouching on the floor, holding the book that just randomly attacked her.
“‘Advanced Spellmaking Notes?!'” she whispered to herself in excitement.
Rose shot up to her feet, sending Cyril an impatient glance.
“Sorry for rambling.
See you tomorrow!”
She held the newly acquired book close and rushed out of the library, even forgetting why she came here in the first place.
Morpho only waved her goodbye with her wings, but she wasn’t noticed, unfortunately.
Cyril was left alone, or as alone as he could be, in between the many bookshelves of the academy’s sizeable library.
He looked around once more, finding not a single other soul around him.
“Can we talk?” he said toward the empty air around him.
However, there was only silence in response.
“She is definitely here!”
“I already know you are here.
Why bother with these games?” Cyril said, his voice a level more tired.
He waited a bit more.
No answer still followed.
Cyril sighed, about to move, when something finally responded.
He instinctively put a hand over his shoulder as a book fell from above.
It landed right on his head with a quiet thump.
“…”
Morpho twitched her antennae with curiosity, staring at the book on the floor.
With a deeper frown, Cyril looked down and picked up the blunt object.
The book had a peculiar title, ‘Ten Lessons of Socializing: Read The Atmosphere With Ease.’
Are you kidding me…
The headache that was only hinted at before finally came on in full force.
And it was only partially because a book fell on his head.
“She thinks she is so funny, huh?
We’ll remember this…”
…
No matter how long he waited, no one made themselves known, so Cyril could only leave the library.
To avoid leaving empty-handed, he took the book with him.
Not the ‘Ten Lessons of Socializing’ one, but the purple book ‘Adventures of Mary.’
While Rose didn’t exactly leave a glowing review, he decided to see for himself.
He would read it when he had time.
Still, his footsteps were lighter than before.
Somehow, the thought that it was the headmistress behind it appeared easier to accept now.
As Cyril walked the academy grounds, he glanced at the sky, finding the sun still high above him.
What now?
“Now, let’s finally process our gains from the shopping trip!”
I suppose we can do that.
He changed his course, heading towards the place where he could receive their long-awaited terrarium.
Cyril, Rhamn, and Morpho smoothly went through the process of receiving a delivery at the mailroom.
Then, carrying his haul, he went back to his dorm.
The rest of the day he spent sorting through all the bags he brought back, while Morpho carefully thought about where she would put the terrarium with an open roof.
In the end, the red butterfly decided to place it on the desk near the bed.
That was also where she placed the few toys they’d bought on a whim.
Now the dorm room had a little bit more life to it than before.
Cyril looked around him, finding the sight highly unusual.
Still, he looked at the excited butterfly and nodded with satisfaction.
“Good job.”
Morpho eagerly fluttered inside of the terrarium.
She rested on the plant, basking in the novelty of it all.
Cyril enjoyed her enjoyment for a moment, then looked at the darkness outside the window.
It was already nighttime.
Come to think of it, I skipped sleep last night…
Even though he didn’t physically feel any of it, staying up for two days straight still proved itself exhausting mentally.
A soft bed seemed more inviting than ever.
“It’s just because your routine was interrupted.
You’ll get used to it.
I think it’s more fun this way.”
I don’t want to get used to it.
Cyril lay on the bed, eager to finally get some rest.
Morpho quickly flew out of the terrarium.
She landed on the pillow next to him, refusing to sleep in some box.
“Sweet dreams~”