Chương 115: Chapter 108: A Productive Visit

Lira returned to the blue-carpeted section where Lyth was reading, carrying the five books the librarian's assistant had retrieved for her. She placed them on the table between herself and the prince before picking up the first one and beginning to skim through its contents. Lira expected him to ask about them as he always did, but he seemed perfectly content to continue reading his own book. She guessed that learning about magical spells had an appeal of its own.

Sir Henry remained standing nearby, watching the prince and occasionally glancing around the library. Lira had just reached the section discussing common herbal treatments for burns when one of the library assistants approached.

"Your Highness? The Head Librarian has asked for you." It was the privilege of age that the prince was the one being summoned rather than the librarian having to come to the prince.

"Of course," said Lyth with a smile, consideration of stations never even crossing his mind. Lira gathered the five books together and followed Lyth as they made their way back toward the entrance. Sir Henry followed behind them as dutifully as ever.

"Ah, there you are." Alexander was waiting for them in the same seat they had left him.

"We've managed to gather the twenty-five volumes I recommended for you." He gestured toward the left. Both Lira and Lyth's eyes immediately lit up when they saw a library aide carefully dragging a cart stacked high with books.

"Thank you, Lord Alexander." Lira bowed low.

"Before you leave..." The old man scratched his beard.

"Is there anything else either of you would like?" Lira hesitated. She glanced down at the five books she was carrying before placing them on the table. Alexander's gaze moved across the titles until he reached the final book. The Truth Untold: Life Within Life. His eyes lingered on it before he looked away without making a comment.

"Three of these we have additional copies in our collection." He pointed out the two books on humor theory and the herbalist recipe book.

"Thomas?" One of the assistants stepped forward.

"Yes, Master Alexander?"

"Fetch the duplicates, please."

"Of course, Master Alexander." The young man immediately turned and disappeared between the shelves.

"I will have some copies made for the other two." Lira bowed and thanked him. She didn't mind as much, since she had already absorbed those two specifically. Lyth spoke up.

"Lord Alexander, I have seen that the author who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Abadi Kingdom has also written a few more books. Can I have some copies?"

"Yes," Alexander smiled.

"That I can do." Lyth's face immediately brightened.

"Really?"

"Of course. His works are quite popular among students studying history." He turned toward another assistant.

"Meriel, fetch a copy of every book we have by the author Elam Croft."

"Yes, Master Alexander." The second assistant hurried away. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Lyth looked delighted, and even Lira couldn't help smiling at him. That book was fascinating, and she wouldn't mind reading more of that author. More importantly, it seemed that Lyth had learned the most important lesson when it came to visiting libraries: Always ask if they have more books.

A few minutes later, Vice-Dean Mura returned carrying a neatly organized bundle of papers.

"Your Highness, Miss Lira, I have a list of courses that will be available next year." He handed the papers to Lira. The list contained the academy's mandatory subjects, followed by a much longer selection of elective courses available to students. Lira quickly scanned through them. There were far more options than she had expected.

History, mathematics, literature, rhetoric, geography, magical theory, languages, etiquette, economics, and several specialized subjects she had never encountered before, like climatology and hydro-diplomacy.

"This should give you a good idea of what Prince Lyth will be expected to study next year," Mura explained. She bowed low before carefully placing them in her satchel.

"Thank you, my lord," Lira replied. Lyth was more distracted by the pile of books getting higher as the aides returned with the requested books. And with that, their academy visit was coming to an end as Vice-Dean Mura led them back through the academy toward the front entrance. Lira found herself glancing back more than once as they walked, already regretting leaving the library behind. Though for all intents and purposes, her trip today was a big success.

While she might not have cased the defenses well enough to be able to sneak through a window, she had been able to secure an open invitation. Which, let's face it, was a better deal overall. Case in point, as they waited for the books to be packed tightly inside, the vice-dean also extended another invitation to her.

"You are both welcome to return whenever you wish."

"Even me, my lord?" Lira asked.

"Of course," the vice-dean said, "though don't expect a generous donation of books each time."

"Our resources are not limitless." He laughed. That was a not-so-veiled request to Lyth for more funding. Lira watched the prince's face, and it seemed that the hint went over his head.

"We'll come back next week!" Lyth said, jumping at the invitation instead. The vice-dean laughed at his enthusiasm, not showing a hint of disappointment.

"I'll look forward to it." Lira bowed deeply again.

"Thank you, Vice-Dean Mura." Lyth climbed into the carriage, with Lira and Sir Henry following behind him. She sat on the side filled with books while the boy and his bodyguard took the opposite side. As the carriage began moving, Lira watched the academy slowly disappear behind them. She couldn't wait to be back. By the time they returned to the palace, they immediately headed to the library as a few footmen helped her unload the books.

Then she turned toward Lyth, who was about to pick up one of Elam Croft's books.

"Before you do anything else, I need you to pick up the journal I gave you and write down what you experienced today." Lyth blinked.

"Everything?"

"Everything you deem important." She paused.

"Especially when it comes to the people you met today, as it seems that reading people is one of your weaknesses."

"It is?"

"Do you remember what was the last thing Vice-Dean Mura said?" she asked.

"He invited us back," said Lyth.

"After that."

"He said not to expect more gifts of books, which was a little disappointing."

"Sir Henry, could you tell Prince Lyth what the vice-dean meant by that comment?" She decided to include his bodyguard as he seemed to be concerned that she had inserted herself into the prince's education. Well, if he didn't like that, maybe she would insert him as well. Henry gave her a look for a moment before nodding.

"He was asking you for a donation," said Henry.

"He wanted you to talk to your father and ask him to increase the academy's funding, or maybe make a small gift." Lyth's eyes widened.

"You both understood that from a single offhand comment?" Lira nodded.

"Why wouldn't he ask directly?" Lyth frowned. Lira shrugged.

"That's just how nobles act."

"The rules of etiquette forbade it," said Henry at the same time. Lira rolled her eyes at him. And Lyth burst out laughing. As Lyth sat at his usual table and began writing in his journal, with Henry standing behind him, Lira hoped that building some camaraderie with the knight over educating the prince would curb his suspicions. She started organizing the new books, sorting them into categories and working out where they belonged on the shelves.

Halfway through the work, she remembered that Lyth's bookmark was still active. She could not afford for it to enter the highly warded Main Hall or come into contact with Emberborn. She closed her eyes, visualizing its emplacement into the journal.

"Asatan. Tir. Kisar." The runes hidden inside the bookmark collapsed into a single black blot, and the Mana Obfuscation and Mana Stabilization enchantments were gone. The bookmark was once again nothing more than an old piece of paper. The prince kept writing his thoughts like a dutiful scholar, unaware of what had happened, and Lira returned to organizing the books. She had new knowledge to parse through, and even when that ran out, she had secured a way to return to the academy whenever she wanted.

Today was an undeniable success and tomorrow, she had a healing theory to confirm.