Chương 112: Chapter 111: When a Garbage Novel Sends the Demon Race Into a Frenzy

The forbidden library of Castle Lilith sat deep within a colossal black quartz formation, completely isolated from the outside world. Lucian carried a magical candle, walking down rows of bronze shelving carved with skull motifs. His original goal in coming down here had been to search for ancient records on the Ancient Demon Lord, in preparation for exploring the deeper floors of the World Tower. But when he reached shelf row 7, Lucian's footsteps suddenly stopped.

In front of him stood a twenty-meter ebony bookshelf, rising all the way to the quartz-vaulted ceiling. Neatly arranged across its length were thousands of dragonhide-covered books, embossed in brilliant dark purple gold thread. Along each book's spine, elegant Ancient Demonic script, curling like moth wings, glowed with a shimmering light.

'The Elegy of the Nameless Knight — Royal Tartarus Translation — Volumes 1 through 3.' Lucian reached out and pulled a book off the shelf, opening the inside cover. Staring back at him was handwriting, neat and unnervingly familiar — his mother Valeria's.

'Exclusive translation sponsored by Valeria Lilith von Vance. Dedicated to readers of the shadow realm, to study the great ideals my son composed at the age of seven.' Lucian stood frozen. His eyes went wide, staring at his mother's dedication line. The book in his hand suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Carmilla, in her fur cloak, walked over, her slender fingers stroking the book's spine, her eyes full of reverence.

"A few years ago, after Lord Regulus had made the first manuscripts available, Lady Valeria sent authorized copies back to the Demon Realm through a secret channel. She instructed us that this was military doctrine and life philosophy, personally written by her own son, meant to enlighten all races." Carmilla tilted her head, looking at Lucian, her full red lips curling into a radiant smile.

"This book set off a cultural earthquake across all twelve Territories of Tartarus. We had romances before, of course, but mostly the sort that ended with poison, inheritance disputes, or a duel at dawn. Your novel made chivalric sacrifice, black cloaks, and setting down a sword for peace into a fashion among younger nobles, academy readers, and several military reading clubs." She hugged the book to her chest.

"Right now, half the young noblewomen in the capital are pretending the Nameless Knight is their standard for choosing a husband. Several of them have sworn to only date a man who knows how to wear a black cloak and set down his sword for peace!" She pointed at the shelves.

"These Royal Tartarus editions cover Volumes 1 through 3. Volume 4 is newer — an unauthorized border-scholar translation that escaped into the black market before anyone in this castle could decide whether to ban it or charge royalties." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Thud. Lucian dropped to the stone floor, burying his face in both hands, tilting his head back toward the quartz ceiling, letting out a choked scream.

"Mom... Mom, what the hell did you do to this entire empire?!" Clack... clack... clack... Outside the library's stained-glass window, the steady rhythm of marching footsteps rang out across the castle plaza. Lucian looked up through the window: a battalion of fifty Demon-race female knights, in black cloaks embroidered with the [⭕] emblem, spears in hand, marched in formation, chanting a slogan quoted verbatim from chapter three of Volume 1.

"WALK THROUGH DARKNESS TO PROTECT THE DAWN!" Lucian squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body shaking with a wave of extreme psychological anguish. The promissory note had still mattered. General Malphas and the Council had submitted because the contract leverage was real, and because Valeria's old military reputation made ignoring it a spectacularly bad idea.

But this explained why Tartarus had found it so easy to turn his arrival into a legend: his mother had spent the last few years quietly seeding the realm with a fandom. Ting! Ting! A Unified System V2. 0 notification appeared before him. [CULTURAL INFLUENCE REACH DETECTED: TARTARUS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK!] [OBSERVABLE RECORDS CROSS-REFERENCED:] Royal Tartarus editions in circulation: Volumes 1–3. Registered black-cloak reading societies: 214. Recorded club membership in the capital: over two hundred thousand.

Sampled noble-house libraries containing at least one volume: alarmingly high. [SYSTEM NOTE:] Host has buried his face in both hands. Embarrassment inference: extremely reliable. Sylvia stood beside him, flipping through an appendix of the book, covering her mouth to hide a giggle.

"Lucian... they've even founded a 'Society of Maidens Awaiting the Black-Cloaked Knight,' with over two hundred thousand members. Would you like to hold an exclusive book-signing at the castle?" Lucian shot her a sharp glare.

"If I ever dare sign a single autograph, Eleanor will show up here tomorrow and split my head in two with her Holy Sword on the spot." Sylvia smiled and pointed to a note in the margin of the last page.

"But here's something interesting. In Lady Valeria's authorized edition... she deliberately embedded a phonetic cipher pointing to the location of the Ancient Demon Lord's Tomb, on Floor 20 of the World Tower." She tapped a final notation beside the cipher. Castle Lilith's sealed underground vault contained an old bloodline-gated access shaft linked to that Floor 20 tomb complex; Valeria's cipher was the route key, not a claim that the tomb lay directly under the café.

Lucian looked at his mother's flowing handwriting. He was silent for a long moment. The mother who'd once made an entire continent tremble in fear, the woman who casually snapped his father's sword to start a fire in the hearth... even from a thousand miles away, she'd always found her own strange, unconventional way to clear a safe, honored, rose-strewn path for her only son to walk. WHOOO... WHOOO... WHOOO!

The dark bronze horns at the southern border gate suddenly blared, echoing across the entire Tartarus valley. A Demon-race messenger knight sprinted into the library, dropping to one knee, gasping for breath.

"Report, Young Master! Report, Countess! The Solaris Royal Diplomatic Delegation — First Princess Eleanor, trade officials, inspectors, and the mutually approved sixty-person ceremonial guard — has just officially crossed the Spatial Gate into Demon Realm territory!"