Maxi closed his book, setting it down on the nearby table. The cover displayed a world map of Pelody, the three great continents separated by vast oceans. His fingers traced the edges of the illustration absentmindedly before he finally turned to Angelina.
"Hey, let's go outside. I want to explore a little," he said, adjusting his glasses.
Angelina hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay, but as you know, we can't leave the castle walls or enter the main castle."
Maxi nodded. "Of course I know, and wouldn't dare to do so."
Angelina nodded as she began to lead the way. Maxi followed her as she went through the door and walked down the long halls until they were finally met with big, heavy wooden doors. Angelina opened them casually, as if they were nothing, as she stepped outside into the open courtyard.
There they saw the usual sight — the grass flowing gently as it grew on the steep mountain plain that was the residence of the Bloodheart estate.
The building they were just in was Maxi's small castle, a separate estate designated for him alone. It felt more like a gilded cage than a home.
He walked a few steps forward, then turned left as he tilted his head back. He stared up at the towering silhouette of the main castle sitting atop the peak of the mountain-like hill.
It loomed above him like a symbol of shame for what he should have been and will never be. It was grand and imposing; it nearly seemed impossible with how large it was. This grand estate was home to his father, his many siblings, and stepmothers. A place where he would never set foot freely, without conditions and restrictions.
Maxi exhaled sharply, recalling a memory that sent shivers down his spine — a coldness only comparable to Russian winters.
He had been younger — four years old, maybe older. He had been sitting in the training grounds waiting for Techxin to start their training, so he decided to pass the time by reading a fable about dragons.
A man had walked past him, the wind tossing his snow-white hair. He was draped in a white and dark blue blazer that hung from his shoulders like a cape, with a matching dark blue suit, black pants, and a crisp white shirt beneath.
The man had carried himself with the elegance of a noble. A dark blue jabot adorned his neck, and polished shoes completed his perfect image. His dark blue eyes, bordering on deep red, had glanced at Maxi with cold observation that quickly turned into pity. In his own hands, he held a book on the history of giants.
The contrast between them was like night and day — their clothes, their postures, and even down to their books.
It was the difference between a noble and a commoner.
The man had chuckled, his voice both emotionally and physically bone-chillingly cold. "Sad how a connoisseur similar to myself can only read such trash. How pitiful."
Maxi had looked down at his book and saw how pathetic it was for the first time — its cover plain, with a simple painted portrait of a dragon with different colored scales.
When he looked at the man's book more closely, it looked more like a tome recorded by ancient scholars and covered by the greatest illustrator ever known to man, whose work had been fully realized and brought to light by the graphic designer and the book jacket designer, with royal designers finishing it off with details of gold embroidering.
It looked like something that belonged in every type of museum. It looked like something that would be kept as an ancient script long after they died.
It was truly magnificent, and it was being held in the hands of someone who seemed like the only one worthy of holding it.
The man continued past Maxi and disappeared soon after — not past the estate walls, but into thin air.
Later that day, Maxi asked his mom and learned that the man's name was Colen, and he wasn't just another random noble. He was one of his siblings; in fact, he was one of the greatest magic users in his family.
Maxi breathed out a cold, shivering breath at the memory. His siblings were terrifying in their own way. That was why, despite his curiosity, he was glad to be separate from them.
Which made Maxi envious of his siblings — but he managed to keep his envy in check. Maxi had dealt with the feeling before in his past life, so he knew his way around it.
The last thing he wanted to be was an ungrateful brat who was blind to his mother's hardships and struggles and asked for luxuries whenever he saw them. Heavens, no.
Maxi sighed as he collapsed onto the soft grass. The sky stretched wide above him, endless and open. Angelina stood nearby, watching him for a moment before sitting cross-legged beside him.
"Have you ever wondered what's beyond these walls?" Maxi asked, gazing up at the drifting clouds. "Sometimes I hear the bustling of the townspeople voices being carried by the wind. It makes me wonder what life is like outside this… royal cage."
Angelina gave a small sigh. "I don't know what to tell you, Young Master. But I can say what lies beyond those walls isn't as great as you would think. But I do have to ask — don't you have a loving mother, yet you wish to be free from her?"
She glanced at Maxi as she gave him a vicariously empathetic look.
"Sometimes, being restricted by the people who care about you is better than any freedom you could ever have out there."
Her voice gave more emotion than she would have liked.
"Maybe," Maxi murmured. "But I would still like a little bit more freedom, because a comfortable cage is still a cage at the end of the day. But then again, some people may prefer this comforting cage compared to the painful freedom they have out there, so I guess it comes down to preference."
Angelina chuckled. "What's with all this philosophical talk?"
Maxi smirked, raising his glasses slightly. "I have one word for you, Angelina. Books. Lots of books."
She rolled her eyes as they stared at the sky absentmindedly.
They both let the silence stretch satisfyingly.
The wind's bow played the grass's violin as they both sang their midnight song of harmonic jingles and whispers.
"How long do you plan on staying out here?" she asked.
"Until I see all four moons," Maxi said, his voice filled with quiet longing. "The last time I saw them was when I was two. Then I got my first book, and I never looked up again."
Angelina said, "Funny you say that — I could never see the fourth moon from where I was from."
Maxi asked, "Where are you from?"
Angelina shook her head. "That is a story for another day. For now, all I will say is that I am from the first continent, and I am a former citizen of its only kingdom — the Mixviya Kingdom."
Maxi nodded as he let the midnight song sweep away his thoughts.
But even so, some thoughts lingered and stuck — one in particular stood out to him.
Something small yet significant. He liked reading. He hadn't cared much for books in his past life, as far as he could remember, yet now he was drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Perhaps it was an escape, or maybe his body or mind was more drawn to books than he had been in his past life. Perhaps it was something even more. Something completely different.
Maybe even one day he would write a book of his own — or even just short stories.
The hours passed, and night fell. The sky darkened, revealing the celestial wonders above. One by one, the four moons appeared. The first, a pale light blue; the second, a deep navy; the third, the largest and brightest, glowing pure white; and the last, the smallest, shrouded in deep black.
Maxi watched them in silence, a rare moment of peace washing over him. The wind blew gently, ruffling his hair, but he didn't mind. For once, he wasn't thinking about gods, demons, or destiny.
For once, he simply existed beneath the lights of the four moons.
And he was content.