Unlike noble families in general, who inherit wealth and influence for generations. The Hale family was a family of knights from ordinary people, who were later appointed nobles with the title of Marquiss thanks to the services that this family had done.
However, there was something that distinguished the Hale family from the ordinary noble knight family. According to the document, Hale's descendants could master a kind of aura that could resonate with a sword.
Because of that, it's no wonder that this family's descendants have an intelligence in sword arts. Because this was also the empire giving the name Hale to this member of the family.
"I just found out this, it's completely out of the game," Lucian muttered. His fingers flipped over the sheet of document he was reading. "If this family is so influential, why wasn't it mentioned in the previous game?"
He was silent for a moment. His eyes looked at the rest of the faded pages below. "Then ? Can I do that too?" he muttered softly, his voice almost drowned out in the silence of the library.
"Haha... I don't think so," he said, followed by a small laugh that sounded soft. He leaned his back against the bookshelf behind him, staring at the ceiling. "Judging from anywhere, this body has never held a sword in its lifetime."
Lucian then lowered his gaze, he was staring at his current palm. Judging from anywhere, his palms were so smooth and even smoother than the palms he had in his previous life.
There are no scars, nor calluses scars produced from holding horses. He then sighed, closed his eyes and then combed his hair with his fingers.
"Sometimes I think, is Lucian really part of this family?" he muttered softly, almost like a whisper he was addressing only to himself.
The thought echoed in his mind as Julian's shadow passed. He took a few strands of his hair and rubbed them gently. His brother's jet-black hair was so different from his silver strands of hair that now fell around his shoulders. A glimpse of past memories flashed through his mind.
"No... No, I can't deduce that quickly," he said quickly, shaking his head slowly.
"Well, it could be my blue eyes, right? True... I can't draw conclusions so quickly."
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind that was drifting away. There is no point in creating assumptions without evidence. Lucian then carefully folded the old document back. He re-tied the worn silk ribbon, then tried to put the document back in its original place.
However, as he slipped the document back in, something fell from between the shelves, a thin, pale beige envelope with a partially cracked wax seal.
Lucian stared at the envelope for a few seconds, then finally he lowered his head and picked it up. The envelope felt light, the paper was quite worn, this was visible with its faded color.
"This envelope... Why is it here?" he whispered quietly. Her hand moved slowly, bringing the envelope forward to the light for a clearer view.
Carefully, Lucian opened the envelope. The wax seal that looked fragile became broken at this moment, it took a slow breath, then pulled the contents out and read the contents carefully.
Lucian's gaze was sharp as his eyes swept row after row from the paper.
"... The storage location is still the same, and has not been moved at all. The coordinate points still remain the same on the verfall ruins. That region is directly from the first lineage."
His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, "Relics?" He muttered.
He lowered the paper a little, then lifted the next sheet and read it again.
"... I should have kept the map of the location but it was accidentally taken by a child from the wild area near the ruins. I hope they don't realize the full value of that map."
Lucian narrowed, letting the words sink into his mind. Then his attention turned back to the last writing of the paper.
"Don't let the imperial side find it. If it falls into the wrong hands, history can repeat itself."
His eyes flashed slowly when he finished reading the writing on the paper. I don't know what the function of the relic actually is, but it seems like it's quite a useful item.
"So... the Hale family is hiding something like this...?" He stared at the paper again, then continued, "A relic that even the royal family can't know... It's much bigger than just a family archive."
"If I could find him first..." his mutter, his voice filled with calculation and possibility. His lips gave a small smile. "Maybe... This will be my card."
Lucian folded the paper back, carefully slipping it into his pants pocket. He stood for a moment, his eyes looking at the tall bookshelf in front of him.
He turned his head around, intending to leave the library to plan his next steps. However—
Dragh—!
A fairly loud crash sound rang out from another corner of the library, breaking the silence that had previously been felt there. Lucian stopped his steps. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Who's there?" he asked.
He stepped slowly in the direction of the sound, passing several bookshelves, until finally his gaze fell on someone sitting on the floor, a green-haired female maid who was rubbing her head with an expression of pain.
"Aw, my head..." The maid muttered, grimacing as she closed her eyes.
Lucian frowned. He seemed to recognize the maid, "You...?" He asked, his voice low, but his eyes observed every detail of the maid sharply.
The maid looked surprised to hear Lucian's voice.
"Young Master Lucian?!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling.
She realized that Lucian was standing in front of her without a mask—something that was rare, since all the inhabitants of the mansion knew Lucian's habits, he always covered half of his face.
"No, I saw his eyes," she muttered, her voice almost inaudible. "I'm definitely going to be killed..." She curled deeper, fear radiating from all over her body.
Lucian frowned. There was something strange about the maid's reaction. "Calm down, you're all right, right?" he asked, his voice soft, but his eyes still keen on the maid.
The maid shook her head in a panic. "Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!"
She kept repeating those words, her voice getting higher and higher, filled with great fear.
"This lowly me shouldn't be staring you in the face!" She lowered her head deeply, her body trembling violently. "Forgive me..."
"Calm down," Lucian said, his voice soft, trying to calm the frightened maid.
"Hikkk!! Forgive me!!" The maid was still sobbing, her body trembling violently. She curled up on the floor, covering her face with both hands.
Lucian's patience began to run low. "I told you to calm down!" his voice raised.
The maid was surprised for a moment, then she became calmer than before. She slowly lowered her hand from her face, though she still lowered her head deeply, not daring to look into Lucian's eyes.
Lucian took a deep breath, trying to stabilize his emotions. He realized that anger would only make things worse. Then he squatted down before the maid, keeping his distance so as not to frighten him even more.
"I won't hurt you," he said, his voice calm and then continued, "But I need you to be honest with me."
He tilted his head slightly, noticing the maid's reaction.
"Did you eavesdrop on my previous murmur?" he asked, his eyes staring straight even though his voice remained flat.
The maid looked hesitant, her shoulders trembled, but finally she nodded softly. "... I didn't mean to... I'm just... cleaning the back of the shelf..." The sound was so small, it was barely audible.
Lucian stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled smirking at the maid which made the maid's body tremble in fear.
"Then you should have known that I could have made you 'disappear' because of this, didn't you?"
The maid's body tightened even more. Her fingers gripped her uniform skirt tightly, and her body shook slightly as if resisting the urge to faint.
"I guess I'm putting too much pressure on her..." Lucian muttered as he looked at the maid flatly. He snorted for a moment, then stood up again and turned his back to the maid.
The maid fell silent, still trembling, before finally replying in a low voice, "Okay, I'll do it, Young Master."
"Alright," Lucian said, his voice sounding calm. "The first condition, I want you, when talking to me, to look me in the eye directly."
The maid immediately rounded her eyes, then hurriedly lowered her head again. "No, how can I be so presumptuous to you?"
Lucian narrowed his eyes, "You rejected me? Alright, it looks like you're tired of living now..."
"Hicks!! forgive me! I'll do it!" exclaimed the maid in a panic, immediately lifting her face slowly even though her body was still shaking.
Lucian was silent for a moment, then he left the maid and intended to continue his steps, letting the sound of his footsteps echo softly among the quiet library shelves. But he hasn't really had time to go too far...
"Umm... Young Master!" the girl's voice called out, still sounding hesitant but more daring than ever.
Lucian stopped his steps.
"What about the second condition?" she asked, her voice sounding soft even though she still harbored fear.
Lucian turned around for a moment, his gaze fixed on the green-haired maid who was still sitting on the floor. A smirk adorned his lips.
"For that," he said, with a sharp look in his eyes, "I'll tell you later."
Lucian took a step back before finally stopping and turning his half head towards the maid.
"Oh yes," he said casually, as if he had just remembered something. "By the way, what's your name?"
The maid was surprised when Lucian asked her name. Then hesitantly he replied, "My name is Natty, Young Master." she said quietly, her voice still trembling but audible clearly.
Lucian stared at him for a few seconds without saying a word, as if judging the name. Then, he nodded slowly.
"Natty, yes... Alright, I'll remember it."
Natty bit her lip nervously, then hurriedly lowered her head again. "T-thank you, Young Master..."
Lucian just sighed softly, then stepped back out of the area where Natty had fallen. The sound of his footsteps echoed again among the silent library shelves.