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Chapter 6 – Shadows in the Library
The Valcrest family library was silent except for the steady patter of rain against the tall arched windows.
Most of the estate's mages studied here during the day, but at night… it was Luke's domain.
He moved quietly between the towering shelves, a candle in one hand, his satchel in the other. His footsteps made no sound on the thick red carpet.
Tonight's goal wasn't casual reading — it was forbidden research.
The Valcrest library held more than polished histories and spell primers. Buried deep in the restricted section were scrolls and tomes banned from public teaching: unstable mana theories, illegal enchantments, and combat runes too dangerous for academy training.
Luke ran his fingers over the spines, scanning the titles until he found what he needed:
The Binding of False Currents — a text on creating artificial mana flow.
Perfect.
He settled at a corner desk, spreading the old book open beside his own notes. The pages described methods to draw energy from the environment instead of from a mage's core. Most techniques were unstable — deadly, even — but Luke wasn't planning to use them raw.
No, he would filter them through Agust, turning chaos into something precise.
As he copied the diagrams into his notebook, a faint shuffle caught his ear.
Luke paused.
"Eliot?" he whispered.
No answer.
He blew out his candle and waited, listening.
A shadow moved between the far shelves — too tall to be Eliot, too quiet for a servant.
Luke silently slipped the Agust ring onto his hand, the runes faintly glowing in the dark.
The shadow stopped… watching him.
Luke broke the silence. "If you're here for a bedtime story, you're in the wrong section."
The figure didn't reply. Instead, it turned and vanished between the shelves, leaving only the faintest trace of movement.
Luke relit his candle, his mind already racing.
Someone was following him.
And given last night's "offer," he had a very good idea who sent them.
He closed the forbidden tome, sliding it into his satchel.
If they wanted to spy, fine.
He'd just make sure they saw exactly what he wanted them to see.
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