Giselle Amepalos was a genius.
Not long after she started speaking, she read fluently without hesitation and was always immersed in books.
By the time she was nine, she had already read and understood every book in her home.
So much so that whenever something happened in the village, even the adults would come to Giselle for answers.
Giselle’s parents were afraid of her talent and ultimately handed her over to the professors at Delphi Academy.
When she turned ten, Giselle was abandoned by her parents.
She didn’t mind the situation much.
She could live a new life in a space overflowing with knowledge.
Professors, seniors, and peers treated her as an excellent scholar and colleague.
It was a much happier life than the lonely countryside mansion where there were no books to read.
Giselle threw herself into studying, skipping grades repeatedly, and finished the entire curriculum in just two years.
As graduation approached, Giselle couldn’t quite picture her future.
Did she have to return to that place with no books, surrounded by people who barely understood her?
She hated that thought.
Giselle immediately sought out Duke Squaret, the academy’s chancellor.
“There are still books in the library I haven’t read yet, so I want to postpone my graduation.”
After making that declaration, Giselle locked herself in the library for two years.
Her decision to write books wasn’t for any grand reason.
While traveling between books, she found the Missing Link — something no book had ever mentioned.
She wanted to know its exact form, but no one spoke of it.
So she wrote it herself.
If she could combine the fragments of scientific knowledge that had emerged so far, combine and combine endlessly?
Then perhaps something far more powerful than what existed now, yet small enough for an individual to carry like a cannon, could emerge.
A colossal steel giant as massive as a magic-made golem might strike across the continent.
Even things like flying in the air or large-scale logistics transport, known to be in the realm of battle Archmages over five Circles, could become possible.
One of Giselle’s books compiled the theoretical foundations of such ideas, while another was a novel depicting a future world where science and technology had advanced.
That book forcibly sprouted the seed of the discipline called science and revealed to the world its limitless potential.
At the same time,
the world also came to know just how powerful the imagination of a person named Giselle Amepalos could be.
The current world order was built on sword and magic.
The Empire had become the world’s hegemon because it possessed the greatest number of powerful Swordmasters and Archmages over seven Circles.
When Duke Squaret belatedly learned of the existence of those books, he hurriedly came to Giselle Amepalos.
“You must run.”
Though young, Giselle was no fool.
In fact, countless books had given her a profound understanding of human malice, politics, and power struggles.
She demanded one thing from Duke Squaret.
“I want a place with many books.”
The Delphi Kingdom dispatched the Royal Knights and Archmages, and Giselle’s early graduation ceremony was carried out.
At the cost of many lives, Giselle safely arrived at the Squaret Duchy.
To erase her existence perfectly from the world, the Duke even sought out an Archmage to place protective magic around her.
No one entered or left the fortress filled only with books where the girl was trapped.
Fifteen years passed, forgotten by the world.
During that time, she read every book in the Squaret Duchy.
Every month, many new books were added to the library, but she finished reading them in a day or two.
Her early passionate writing produced over thirty volumes but after that, she lost count.
She was exhausted.
What meaning did a life have if she couldn’t tell anyone she existed?
Was mere survival meaningful?
If she died like this, would only her books remain in the library as proof that she ever existed?
If life was like this…
Just as she was having such thoughts, a new visitor arrived.
Laward Gordem.
He was a strange man.
Talking with him, it was clear he loved books as much as she did and had read deeply.
Though a graduate of Delphi Academy, sometimes he mentioned books she didn’t know, and other times he didn’t know books she considered obvious.
He even found books she had never seen in her fifteen years here and sometimes suddenly collapsed.
What was most astonishing was that he had entered the fourth floor.
In fact, his presence there was a warning sign.
For some unknown reason, the protective magic guarding the library had been broken.
Normally, she should have hidden deeper within the library and waited for the protection to reactivate.
But she couldn’t.
Talking with him felt comfortable, and moments with him were pleasant.
It was then she realized she didn’t dislike human warmth so much after all.
“By the way, didn’t you say you were thirteen when you were in school? How do you know so much about drinking culture and parties?”
Giselle recalled Laward’s incredulous voice asking.
She had followed him everywhere.
Though too young to drink, she liked watching people laugh and make a ruckus.
It reminded her that she was alive.
That was why Giselle didn’t want to choose a life that was dead inside once again.
“Come on, come on, come on.”
A low, thick voice, as if a dog was growling, echoed through the library.
Between the sounds of tapping on book covers and shelves.
“Thanks to you girls, I got stuck playing the role of the watchdog for quite a while. Standing still in front of the house was driving me nuts.”
Hearing that leisurely voice, as if he were singing,
Giselle slowly moved forward.
And finally, she met Lumpen Hound, baring yellowed fangs with a smile, and the pale-skinned Giselle.
Giselle looked at Chechil, who was held captive by Lumpen Hound, his sword pointed at him.
Chechil was a mess.
His face was soaked with tears, his clothes tattered, and a blue bruise marred his eye.
“Mi-Mistress…”
Chechil called Giselle’s name in a trembling voice, but she quickly averted her gaze.
“Isn’t it frustrating to be dragged out by some rookie after hiding in this filthy place for fifteen years? Fifteen years wasted. Haha.”
“Let the boy go.”
“Oh? Why would I?”
Moere’s blade slowly slid up and down near Chechil’s neck.
The blade moved delicately, like shaving, scratching the skin on his neck, which flushed red each time.
Chechil felt terrible, as if his skin would peel off at any moment, and goosebumps covered his whole body.
“I still don’t get why you protect this kid. That brat spread rumors all over town that you’re here. When I went to give him a good scolding, he kindly showed me the way. And he even called out the one who was holed up in the library to come here.”
Each time Moere spoke, Chechil lowered his head deeper.
It was true.
He had betrayed his mistress and surrendered after one merciless punch that shattered the magic he had arrogantly unleashed.
What did it matter?
A scholar should not compromise before power, even with a blade at their throat?
He had spoken those words confidently in front of that man, but…
That punch, the first he had ever received in his life, left him unable to speak, forcing him to reveal the library’s location.
That was why Chechil could not raise his head.
All that escaped his mouth was a choked-back groan.
Giselle didn’t glance at him once.
“I do like getting my business done comfortably… but there seems to be one big obstacle left. Isn’t that right, miss?”
“You cannot enter here.”
“Do you really believe that?”
Moere’s gleaming eyes looked at Giselle, or more precisely, at the Mana Barrier surrounding the space between them.
As a Swordmaster, he could clearly see the massive magic scar sealing the space between them.
The spell looked torn, as if destroyed by a tremendous power, but its function was not completely broken.
The greenish gleaming mana constantly warned Moere and circled him.
“How fortunate. It seems fate favors this Moere. High-Level Concealment, Perception Reduction, and the Spell of Rejection. Judging by the craftsmanship, it must be the work of an Archmage. If that spell were still fully active, it could have been troublesome.”
Moere took slow, deliberate steps forward.
Each time his body inched closer to Giselle, green sparks flashed between his legs and feet.
Suddenly.
Thud!
“Aaah!”
With a shout, a massive circular wave struck Moere’s body strongly, forcing him to take a few steps back.
The High-Level Spell of Rejection had activated.
“Ugh, interesting. So you’re going to struggle, huh?”
Moere, writhing from the spell’s shock and foaming at the mouth, threw Chechil into a corner of the library.
With a thud, Chechil’s body slammed against a bookshelf, causing books to tumble down.
At the same time, a dull gray aura began to rise and swirl from Moere’s sword.
“All your struggles amount to nothing!”
In an instant, the gray aura shot up to the ceiling and began tearing the library to shreds.
With cracking sounds, the library shattered into pieces.
Countless books scattered, shelves collapsed, and the floor, pillars, and walls crumbled.
At the center, Giselle stood upright with the aid of mana, staring at Moere.
“Hey, girl! I read the books you wrote. Can science really show such power? Can science save you? That’s just a delusion!”
“And the Empire, scared of that delusion, sent you to kill me.”
“Hahaha, that’s right. It’s always been that way. Madmen don’t know when to stop. The world is peaceful only when we quit at the right point. But they always bring bloodshed.”
“That peace is only the Empire’s peace.”
“Come on, isn’t it better that at least the Empire is peaceful than the whole world in chaos?”
“No. Everyone must find the path to peace.”
“Do you think the world will be peaceful if we’re gone? No! Another force will rise. Maybe the Delphi fools will use strange tech like science and claim to be the Empire like us. Can you take responsibility for such a future?”
“That’s not my responsibility. It’s up to those who can bear it to choose. I only paved the way so that choice can be made directly.”
“Haha, sure, sure.”
Moere’s mouth split wide.
“That rookie said something convincing just now. Let’s see if you still dare speak after this Mana Barrier disappears!”
The sword energy pulsing wildly from his blade was suddenly drawn back into the sword.
The blade, stained black, trembled violently, bending like the body of a serpent.
Its sinuous movement was so eerie that Giselle couldn’t tell if it was the sword or the world itself twisting.
“Sword of Imperial Ascension Secret Art! Ink-Blood Serpent Consecutive Strike!”
Giselle tracked the sword tip coming at her.
Though her body was frail, the movement of the blade was strangely clear to her eyes.
Was this the life-flashing-before-the-eyes moment before death?
As she thought this frivolous thought,
Clang!
Moere’s sword was deflected.
At the same moment, a figure flying in from behind blocked her view.
Even amid scattering debris and dust, that figure’s back was strikingly clear.
“Laward!”
The very person who had given her the courage to stand here.
Laward Gordem stood there in a way she had never seen before.
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