"Tae..."
Damn Theodore Halias.
'You are going to give me such a trial!'
He stuck out his tongue and stiffened, and then he spoke again.
"Theo, brother."
I felt like crying, so I just followed.
"Theo, oh... Daver."
Theodore laughed.
"Oh, my sweet sister Liana..."
He messed up my hair.
'Damn!'
Then he corrected me.
"I think it's too difficult for you. Let's just call me an older brother. Try again, Liana. Theo."
Theo's brother is really the worst.
I couldn't do that, so I screamed.
"Theo... Daver."
"Whoops."
He laughed again.
Theodore laughed and made a mess of my hair several times before concluding.
"Well, let's just call me brother. I think that's cuter."
If the ghost of Halias has found a new way to torture me, it is probably a great success.
He smiled and demanded again.
"Try again, Liana. Theo brother."
I forced myself to mutter.
Theo... Daver."
Maybe it was better to cry from the beginning because I didn't want to do it.
***
"Are you going to go to the book?"
When he asked after leaving the crow's room, Theodore gently curled his eyes.
"Between books? You mean the library? Reading a book?"
"Hmph."
I nodded, and he laughed.
"Oh my God, since you were three years old, I thought reading books was something Shion did."
Comparing me to the genius Shion makes me feel overwhelmed.
In my previous life, I would have only learned to read at the age of seven.
Theodore laughed for a long time before answering.
"Every time. The library is one of the prides of Halias. It's as big as the academy library, and it has a lot of rare books. My father likes to collect old books."
Alas, what would the northern richest Alseid Halias not collect?
I nodded as if I understood it, and Theodore asked with a smug smile.
"Do you want to take a look? Do you want me to take you there?"
"Hmph."
I sat on Theodore's arm and climbed the stairs.
As I sit on it, I feel that the human arm is quite comfortable.
I don't know if the library at Halias is too big or if I've become too small.
The scene in front of me was just as enormous.
Books were crammed into the ceiling, so high that you had to tilt your head to see them.
There were three ladders in places that even adults could not reach.
It was surprising to me, who had spent all my life on the palm-sized island of Lausanne, but I wondered if there was a library in Meridy Castle, and if so, what it would look like.
Theodore went to the window with me in his arms and set me down on a round fleece rug.
"This is a new bookshelf dedicated to Shion that my father has decorated, and I think there will be one more user."
... that Alseid?
Theodore laughed as if he recognized my puzzled expression.
"My father likes children more than he looks. There are times when he or Calife scoId me to send chills down my spine, but he can't do that to you. So you don't have to be too vigilant until you get this big."
Are you serious?
I looked at Theodore, who was raising his palm to shoulder level as if measuring my height.
'I think it will take 10 years to grow like that...'
Speaking of which, I saw small books on a low bookshelf by the window.
"Halifa's Treasure, Sword Halifa."
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Closet."
"Sorcerer's Stone."
Shion Halias, is this what you like...
I glanced sideways at the books stained by Shion's hands.
As I walked around to the tall bookshelves, Theodore followed me and explained.
"These are books about religion and magic. There's something like alchemy and summoning that are gone now, or a book about Meridy's pyrotechnics."
Of course, that is important, but there was something else I wanted to know.
"Divided... It's a slap in the face."
"What?"
Theodore seemed to be skeptical about whether he had heard me correctly, but then he smiled a little and asked.
"Did you say it was a history book, Liana?"
"Woo!"
When I couldn't help but affirm, he shook his head.
"Shion must work hard."
Oh no.
It's really ridiculous to compare me to a great genius like Shion, but there's no way to correct it at the moment.
The history books I was looking for occupied the opposite wall.
Theodore stood in front of the ladder and asked:
"Do you want to see something here? Would you like to take a pick? There are a lot of books in the high places, and if you need anything, I'll take it out. But most of them are thick and difficult books."
But without having to look up, I found the book I wanted the most on the shelves that fit my eye level.
"I'm not."
Theodore bent down to look at the book I pointed to.
"History and Families of the Kingdom of Jantar."
He laughed and pulled out an incredibly thick book.
"What about this? If I use it as a pillow, I will sleep better."
Theodore commented like that, but he put the book I chose down on the carpet.
"Thank you."
I sat on the floor with my legs stretched out, flipping through the cover of a thick book, and Theodore stayed around me, observing me curiously.
***
The reason I came to the library, even though it seemed so unusual, was because I felt that the historical facts I had learned in my previous life were wrong.
I guessed it in the flames, but after coming to Halias, I feel it more clearly.
At least some of the history I learned was clearly edited to suit de Haan's tastes.
The Marquis de Haan, who claimed to be the father of me in my previous life, said that I, who was a pyromancer, lost most of my powers in a duel with Halias.
But it was a ridiculous lie.
According to the book, the magic of the Meridy family is passed down only to the daughter, and only the daughter who receives the power becomes the head of the family from generation to generation.
So, the Duke of Meridy, whom the lord of Chatara respected, also meant my mother.
Dorian was right when she said that I would inherit the embers in the future.
Contrary to de Haan's words, there was no evidence that Halias was Meridy's iron supporter.
There was no record of any grudges or disputes.
Halias fought against de Haan for a long time along the sea, and at some point, even a gang of pirates intervened in the fight.
Maybe my past life really didn't have any meaning.
Theodore seems to have misunderstood my empty face strangely.
He sat down beside me and laughed.
"Isn't it too difficult? Shall I read to you?"
I was worried that I was reading about Halias, so I flipped through the pages of the book and found a map of the kingdom.
"Well, it's a map."
Theodore placed one finger on the map.
"Do you want to know that this is Halias?"
I nodded, and his fingers came downward.
This is where we got off the ship. Stone Age. And...
Theodore's fingers pointed somewhere further down.
"Where is this?"
I hesitated to pretend I didn't know, but then I opened my lips.
"Home."
Theodore's face lit up.
"Do you know how to read a map? You're amazing. That's right, this is Meridy."
Then he pointed to a large castle a little above.
"This is where the Jantar royal palace is. I'm studying at the Royal Academy here, near Tots Bay. It's summer vacation now."
"Summer?"
Didn't a snowstorm just a few days ago cover the outside of the castle?
When I frowned at the thought, Theodore burst into laughter.
"It's still early summer. In the middle of summer, it doesn't snow in Halias either. The lake you see outside will melt, and you can take a boat."
Ah, I know Lake Halias, which only melts briefly in summer.
'Instead of the river, which is easy to access but heavily guarded, I once crossed Dolsan Mountain to come here...'
I deliberately chose the middle of winter to cross the lake.
The expression on my face as I reminisced about the past was strange, so Theodore quickly broke the mood.
"Still, the castle is cold, is it? The building has a protective spell."
"magic...?"
I knew that Halias had a lot of money and used a lot of magic, but I didn't know that it was enough to protect against the cold.
It must have been something that was not known to the outside world, but I was worried about Theodore, who told me so much.
'Is he really going to be the 'ghost of Harlias'?'
What is going on in the meantime?
Theodore, who was still kind, closed and opened one eye.
"There's Garcia."
Garcia again?
Oh my God, how much does Alseid care for that little old woman!
When I dropped my chin in surprise, Theodore asked curiously.
"Why?"
"Uh, no..."
I hesitated a little before I spoke.
"Gaidiya will be hard."
"What?"
Theodore immediately burst into laughter.
"Oh my God, Liana..."
Then he hugged me tightly as if he couldn't stand it because he was so cute.
"Ah, my good sister Liana."
Then he grabbed my cheeks and shook them.
Ouch!
Tears welled up in my eyes.
Hey man! What do you do if the Sword Master rips your cheek like that?
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