The Knights of Favonius Library.
Severin walked slowly down the aisle between towering bookshelves, his footsteps unhurried, his gaze calm.
Back in Snezhnaya, the very first grand public library had been built at his insistence.
"A nation that scorns knowledge, a people who know only war—
they will never see the light of dawn."
When the Tsaritsa heard those words, she approved the project without hesitation.
Only Pantalone had nearly wept on the spot.
"Your Highness, a library worthy of the Seven Nations? Is that really necessary?
The construction alone is ruinous, not to mention acquiring the books—this is a bottomless pit of mora!
Wouldn't it be more practical to build warships and manufacture firearms?"
Severin had merely smiled.
"Pantalone, this is an investment with guaranteed returns.
We invest in children. We invest in Snezhnaya's future.
Trust me—as an investor, your name will be written into history.
This project benefits the present and endures for generations."
"You always see farther than we do, Your Highness… I'll gather the funds at once."
Mondstadt's library, however, surpassed even Snezhnaya's—vast, eclectic, astonishing in scope.
For a moment, Severin considered taking a few volumes back with him.
He could compensate Mondstadt afterward—mora was never the issue.
The real problem was Lisa Minci.
That woman was a witch in every sense of the word.
Beautiful, lazy, deadly sharp-tongued—and utterly obsessed with her books.
Everyone in Mondstadt knew the legend:
Anyone who failed to return a book on time would be hunted down to the ends of Teyvat.
If Severin took books without permission, Lisa would almost certainly haunt him forever.
Better to negotiate properly.
"Your Highness," Schubert reported softly,
"the Knights' librarian, Lisa, has arrived."
"I know. You may leave."
Lisa sauntered over, her steps languid, her voice teasing.
"So~ who could possibly have the leisure to visit the library at a time like this…
Ah. It's you."
She didn't even bother calling him Prince.
Lisa still held a grudge over the Knights' capture—less out of anger, more because she hated losing.
She was the Knights' strategist, Jean's advisor in all but name.
Yet against Severin, she had been completely outplayed.
If she had been just a little more cautious… Jean would never have been taken.
"Miss Lisa seems to be in good spirits," Severin said lightly.
"In that case, why don't you take me to the basement? I hear the forbidden books are quite interesting."
Lisa's pupils shrank.
"How do you know about that?" she demanded.
"That's a Knights' secret!"
The underground archive was sealed by Barbatos' divine power.
Only someone at the level of a god—or someone with inside help—could even sense its existence.
Either the Fatui had infiltrated the Knights…
or this Prince stood on the same level as the Anemo Archon.
Given everything she'd seen, Lisa grimly favored the latter.
"The Prince of Snezhnaya," Severin replied mildly,
"knows many things."
"Tch. That line might work on Amber and Barbara," Lisa scoffed.
"I don't know what spell you cast on them. When we were locked up together, they wouldn't stop defending you—
'He's not a bad guy,' 'Even if he is, he must have reasons.'"
"And little Klee—she accused you of stealing her Vision, then turned around and begged us not to punish you.
Honestly, I don't get it."
She complained the entire way—yet still led him to the underground entrance.
After all, if the Prince truly wanted a book, he didn't need her permission.
The fact that he still respected her role as librarian was courtesy enough.
"Wait a moment," Lisa muttered.
"I forgot the key."
"No need."
Severin placed his palm against the door.
Wind gathered instantly, threads of Anemo flowing across the ancient surface.
With Barbatos' guidance, his understanding of wind had reached an entirely new realm.
If wind failed, he could always force it open with ice or lightning—
but that would likely demolish half the library.
A few seconds later, the door opened.
Severin stepped inside, surveying rows of ancient tomes steeped in silence.
"Miss Lisa," he said calmly,
"please help me locate a book titled Before Sun and Moon."
No answer.
He turned back.
"Why aren't you coming in?"
"O–oh… right…"
Lisa's voice trembled.
The shock in her eyes was impossible to hide.
He had opened the underground archive with ease.
That alone proved it—this Prince stood shoulder to shoulder with a god.
The Knights of Favonius had been facing a monster in human form.
"Y–Your Highness… you're looking for a book, right… wait—
Before Sun and Moon?!"
Her face drained of color.
"That book is forbidden among forbidden texts. Even Barbatos himself never opened it.
It reveals heavenly secrets—anyone who reads it is sentenced by Celestia.
The Inazuman god Orobashi was forced to orchestrate his own death after reading it."
"I know," Severin replied calmly.
"Any consequences are mine alone. You bear no responsibility."
Lisa's legs felt like lead as she walked deeper underground.
At the very back, on a dust-choked shelf, lay Before Sun and Moon.
The moment Severin took it in hand, his soul shuddered.
At his level, his sensitivity far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Where Lisa felt vague unease, he sensed unmistakable mortal danger.
This book was cursed.
A single thought echoed in his mind:
If it is opened, disaster will strike Mondstadt.
"Y-Your Highness… it's suddenly very cold," Lisa whispered, tugging at her collar.
"Let's… let's leave."
Her ample cleavage was on full display—but Severin paid it no attention.
His fingers traced the ancient cover as memories from another life surfaced.
This forbidden book was, in truth, an Enkanomiya chronicle.
It recorded the war between the First Throne and the Second Throne:
The Primordial One, Phanes, descended upon Teyvat and created four shining shades.
He defeated the Seven Sovereign Dragons, unified the world, and created humanity.
Then came the Second Throne.
A war that shattered heaven and earth followed.
And in that cataclysm—
Enkanomiya fell from the sky.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/SwritesTL