Yo we reached 200 power stones so here's a bonus chapter. Enjoy!
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"This is Sir Mordain Ashwell, the newly appointed librarian of the castle, Lady Ravel," the head butler of House Phenex introduced him politely. "He is an elderly devil scholar who specializes in old noble records, dead languages, and archive preservation."
"Hmmm…"
Ravel Phenex looked at the old man with clear suspicion.
He certainly looked the part. His hair was completely white, and a neat white mustache rested above his lips. A monocle sat over one of his eyes, while both of his eyes seemed almost permanently closed.
Sir Mordain Ashwell gave her a small bow. "It is an honor to serve House Phenex, Lady Ravel," he said in a slow, gentle voice.
"Hmmmmmmm..." Ravel looked him up and down, "is he really that good?"
"He was recommended to me by an old friend of mine." The butler said. "Sir Mordain will be handling the restoration of the older records in the castle library. Some of the books in the deeper archive are beginning to decay, so Lord Phenex approved his appointment."
"I see…" Ravel said, still looking at him with narrowed eyes. "I'll show you to the library. I was going there anyway."
The head butler gave a polite bow. "Thank you, Lady Ravel."
Sir Mordain Ashwell smiled gently. "Then I shall trouble you, Lady Ravel."
"Hmph. Just keep up."
Ravel turned and began walking, her golden twin-tails swaying behind her. Mordain followed a few steps back, moving with the slow pace of an oldman.
The inside of Phenex Castle was exactly what one would expect from their clan. Red dominated almost everything, but it was blended with white, gold, and warm orange tones.
The entryway floor was made of polished white square tiles, with large red tiles running along the sides. The phoenix emblem was embedded everywhere, into the floor, the walls, and even some of the pillars.
On both sides of the path, wide gaps opened in the floor, and huge flames rose from them without burning anything around them. More pillars of fire stood further ahead, lighting the halls with a bright crimson glow.
Ravel glanced back at Mordain. "You're not scared of the fire, are you?"
"My lady, I am old, not fragile."
They continued through the luxurious halls, passing servants who bowed politely as Ravel walked by. Mordain kept his eyes nearly closed as they walked.
Ravel stopped in front of a pair of tall red doors engraved with golden phoenix wings.
"This is the main library," she said. "The older records are further inside, but you need permission before touching anything important."
"Of course, Lady Ravel. I would never dream of causing trouble."
Ravel opened the doors and walked inside, with the old man following quietly behind her.
The library was massive. Rows of tall bookshelves stretched across the room, most of them made from dark polished wood with golden phoenix patterns carved into the sides. Some shelves reached so high that ladders were fixed to them, while others formed narrow paths that disappeared deeper into the archive.
"My, my," he said softly. "House Phenex certainly knows how to care for its history."
Ravel crossed her arms. " Of course we do. This is House Phenex, after all."
Ravel and Mordain soon split off in different directions.
Ravel walked toward one of the cleaner sections of the library. Mordain, on the other hand, moved slowly between the shelves, taking his time as he looked over the names of each section and the titles of the books.
Ravel pulled out a book on magic circle barriers and sat down at a nearby table. She opened it quietly and began reading.
Mordain continued wandering, his fingers brushed lightly across the spines of the books as he passed them.
Noble Lineage Records.
Phenex Territory Management.
Flame-Based Healing Arts.
History of Phoenix Tears.
His steps slowed slightly at that last title, but he did not take the book immediately. It was in the restricted area after all, he needed to be alone first.
'Intersting...' he thought. 'It should be in this book right?'
He eventually left the narrow path between the shelves and returned to the center of the library, where Ravel was still sitting at the table.
She had the book on magic circle barriers open in front of her, but her expression had grown slightly troubled.
After a few moments, she noticed the old man standing nearby.
"You said you're a scholar right? Do you know anything about magic circle barriers?" she asked.
"A bit, my Lady."
"Hmph. Fine. Then explain this part to me."
She turned the book slightly toward him and pointed at one of the barrier formulas.
"I understand how a normal barrier works," she said. "You create a magic circle, pour energy into it, and it forms a wall. Simple enough. But this one is strange. The outer circle is weaker than the inner one. Shouldn't the outer layer be the strongest? If the first layer breaks, wouldn't the whole barrier become useless?"
"That is a better question than you think."
Ravel looked away with a small huff. "I-I was not asking because I wanted praise."
"In this type of layered-circle barrier," Mordain explained, "the outer layer works as a sensor and a disposable shell. The moment it breaks, the inner circle reads the direction, strength, and nature of the attack. In other words, the outer circle sacrifices itself to tell the inner circle how to defend."
He pointed at the smaller circles drawn around the main formula.
"If the attack is physical, the inner layer hardens. If it is magical, the inner layer disrupts the energy pattern. If it is heat-based, the barrier releases the pressure through these side vents."
Ravel's eyes followed his finger carefully.
"It is a very advanced layered circle," Mordain continued. "Most devils would rarely need to use something this complicated. But if you truly want to learn it, I would recommend studying these first."
He gently flipped the pages back toward the beginning of the book. "These are simpler multi-layered circles, each designed to handle a specific type of attack. This one is for physical attacks. This one is for magical attacks. And this one is for heat-based attacks."
"You should master the individual barriers first before moving on to something this difficult. Trying to learn the advanced version without understanding the smaller parts would only make the whole formula collapse on you."
Ravel lowered her head slightly, her eyes still on the pages.
"Which one do you think Prince Adrien would use?"
Mordain froze for half a second.
"What?"
"Huh?"
Adrien almost broke character here, he hadn't expected the question at all.
Ravel seemed to notice the old man's surprise. Her face quickly turned red, and she snapped her head away. "F-forget I asked anything!"
Mordain coughed lightly into his fist, then laughed, "Ho-ho-ho. From what I know, Prince Adrien would most likely not use any of these barriers."
Ravel blinked and looked back at him.
"He wouldn't?"
"No," Mordain said calmly. "He would probably just teleport away from the attack."
"Teleport?" Ravel frowned. "But teleportation requires casting time, doesn't it? Even skilled devils need a magic circle and a few seconds to activate it."
He pushed his monocle up slightly and smiled.
"But from what I heard from an acquaintance of mine, Prince Adrien can vanish from his spot and appear somewhere else almost instantaneously."
Ravel's eyes widened a little. "Instantly…?"
"So the rumors say." Adrien was enjoying glazing himself now.
Then he leaned forward slightly. "But Lady Ravel, why are you asking about prince Adrien? Are you interested in him, by any chance?"
"W-W-What?! No! It's not like that!"
She slammed the book shut a little harder than she meant to, then quickly looked away.
"I only asked because… because he was kind of cool when he defeated my brother, that's all!"
"Ho-ho. I see. So Prince Adrien left quite the impression."
"I said it's not like that!" Ravel snapped, her cheeks still red.
Ravel was very loyal to her older brother and truly believed he was so strong that no one could ever defeat him. But after she saw Adrien Agares crush him in battle, her view changed. She was shocked by Adrien's strength, and without realizing it, she started to feel attracted to him.
The old man smiled softly. "Speaking of your brother, how is Lord Riser doing?"
Ravel's expression shifted slightly. "I guess you've heard about it, huh?"
"It is rather difficult not to hear about such things inside noble circles."
"He's still holing himself up in his room most of the time," she said. "But… it's a little better now. He comes out to have dinner with us sometimes."