Madam

After finishing her classes at the academy, Princess Eva returned to the Royal Palace to indulge in some solo practice to sharpen her novice swordsmanship.

She stood before two wooden dummies with her training sword in front of her, striking them in critical areas with ease, but she could tell she had much to improve on.

“It’s a lot more fun when Leonard is here…” She spoke to no one but herself, wiping some sweat off her forehead.

She knew she couldn’t relish in combat by only sparring. She had to sharpen her skills on her own. Otherwise, she’d never grow into the person she wanted to be.

Pausing her training after hearing soft clomping, she turned to see the Lord of the State approaching her, clapping slowly. To her, it seemed like he was mocking her.

“Well done, Princess Eva.” Lord Pericles complimented.

She silently scoffed, seeing the last person she wanted to talk to, but put on a fake smile to be prim and proper.

“I appreciate your blessed words, Lord Pericles.”

“By the Goddess, you may just catch up to your esteemed older brother and sister!” He embroidered his accolade.

“I’m grateful for your flattery. May I ask why you’re here?” Eva continued to maintain her facade.

She couldn’t stand to look at him, not since the day he first appeared in her life. Lord Pericles was always one to intrude and overstep his bounds when involving family matters, purely because he was the King’s advisor.

“I decided to take a stroll around the palace. It truly is a nice day.” He took in the breathtaking weather as the clouds floated by.

“I take it you’ve concluded your research on The Silver Grove?” She referred to Silvain’s venerated legendary grimoire and how the Lord had been holding it close to him for the past few days.

“Ahem, yes, I have.” He cleared his throat, not realizing it was so obvious.

“And may I ask what research you were conducting?” She continued to press him for answers, a fake smile encroaching on her lips.

“Just think about it as a favor to your father. He needed to reference the grimoire.”

Eva’s fake amiability continued to conceal her increasing suspicions of the Lord of the State. She could sense that he was involved in something shady.

“Why didn’t he ask my sister, Liv? She’s as much of a bibliophile as my partner.” She asked assertively, convinced the Lord was lying.

“Well, that’s…he asked for me specifically.”

“I wonder if I should ask him? Someone permitted him to use the family heirloom...or he used it of his own volition.” She pondered out loud.

Suddenly, a dark, shallow aura encompassed the area and almost swallowed Eva whole. Eva stood in sudden fear. Her magic circuits began vibrating violently as they responded to the unsettling magical aura.

What is this? This doesn’t seem human…

It felt like the shadows were strangling her by the neck. It was hard for her to breathe or move, as her body tensed up.

“Princess Eva, out of respect, please leave this alone.” He instructed, but his tone silently threatened her if she didn’t comply.

In an instant, the dark aura disappeared, and he walked away, leaving the Princess to fall to the ground as her legs continued to shake with fear.

----

“Whoa, I didn’t think it was actually possible,” Lawrence commented, amazed by the Scarlet Oracle’s feat.

“Transformation is but a small endeavor for one of the Seven Grimoire Progenitors.” She boasted, flipping her hair back. "However, it does take a lot of mana to maintain, so I usually end up falling asleep soon after.

Hearing her speak, Lawrence could tell she was even more arrogant and egotistical than what could be inferred from her words on the pages.

“To be honest, I was expecting you to be…” His words trailed off as he took note of her height again.

“Taller? Well, this is as much material as I can work with to shape myself into a human. Had my creator made me as a larger book, I'd be a larger person as well, hmph.” She folded her arms and turned her head away.

The corner of his mouth quivered in response to her strange revelation.

Is this what they call a tsundere?

“Lest not beeth the size of your enemy, but the wit. Hohoho!” She seemingly recited a quote, returning her gaze to mine with an exaggerated smile.

Or maybe she’s just autistic…

“No matter, now to return to what I wanted to ask.” I ignored her queer antics.

She sat down at the edge of his desk and looked back, swinging her feet, seemingly disappointed he didn’t indulge her.

“What is the Didact exactly?” Lawrence asked, formulating the subject topic.

“I’m surprised Aris didn’t inform you, but I enjoy storytelling.” Her words were like deja vu with a figure I hadn’t seen in a long time. She hopped off the desk and adjusted her dress a bit before slowly circling the room.

“I’m not too sure of what they are myself due to how surreptitious they are, but to my knowledge, they are an ancient secret society that has existed long before me.” She rested her index finger on her chin as she recalled what she knew.

Another secret society?

Lawrence recounted the several shadowy organizations he read about in the mansion’s library on his first night in this world. Most of the largest nations in Ostus have been around for many hundreds of years.

Exalta is the longest-standing one, but even its existence does not predate the current era. Could the Didact be from the Age of Darkness, or even one predating that one?

“Why were they after you?” He asked, although the answer seemed a bit obvious when he asked out loud.

“I’d imagine it’s because I’m an all-powerful grimoire!” She cackled maniacally like some strange noblewoman.

“Ugh…”

“Don’t you ‘ugh’ me…! Revel in my glory as the Scarlet Oracle!” She desperately tried to gain Lawrence’s approbation.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…” He waved her off as he stood up and pushed his chair in.

It seems I won’t be able to get any helpful information out of this grimoire. I wonder where I could find information on this ‘Didact.’

Leaving behind the boastful grimoire, He picked up the veiny black mask, fastened it over his eyes, and left the room.

“Were you just planning on leaving me?” He heard the Scarlet Oracle’s voice scream in his head, causing the young man to jump a bit.

Jeez, are you in my thoughts as well?

“Like it or not, we’re bound by a contract, although I signed it for you.”

He assumed she was referring to spiritual contracts, which were established by any spiritual being on behalf of a human or any entity seeking to form an agreement.

When both parties sign a contract, it’s bound to their souls and cannot be broken, or else the violator will be afflicted with the supposed Curse of Death, enforced by the Principle of the Dead, Keter. Its name is self-explanatory.

Since we are contractually bound together, albeit not of my own volition, can we communicate with each other telepathically?

“Isn’t it nice? But I'll leave you alone. I'm feeling a bit sleepy...”

Lawrence could imagine the nefarious grin she had on her face if she manifested herself before slowly disappearing as she began snoring in his head.

He approached a guide poster detailing the archives on each floor. Eight floors descended, each one divided into specific categories.

Cartography, astrology, geology, oceanography, et cetera et cetera…

“Even the wise Grand Archivist needs a guide?” A woman’s voice spoke softly from behind.

Caught off guard, Lawrence quickly turned around to greet the person speaking, seeing an older woman with gray hair wearing beige robes approach gracefully.

“Ah, Madame Curator. A pleasure to see you again.”

“May I help you find what you're looking for?” She replied in a warm tone, folding her arms and hiding them in her long sleeves.

“Yes, actually. Could you help me see if we have anything archived about the Didact?”

It’s doubtful that a secret organization that prides itself on keeping records of all types of knowledge, free from government or Church censorship, would not have at least some information on this recently discovered mysterious group.

“The Didact?” She repeated the name, rubbing her chin as she tried to recall it.

A second later, she pulled out a thick book with a dark maroon leather cover and opened it. The texts inside began to glow a bright aquamarine.

The Tome of Understanding…a grimoire specially created by Madame Curator to automatically log every record, document, and book we hold in the Archive.

The air around the two began to shift, like a strong wind moving in a fast circle. The cold air gave me goosebumps.

“Find me, the Didact.” Her voice echoed as she spoke to the grimoire.

The glowing letters from the page began to float in the air and slowly disappeared as the pages rapidly flipped. Madame Curator continued to stare at the contents of the grimoire.

Not long after, the sequence began to end as the air returned to normal and the grimoire’s glow began to fade. With a contented look, the Head Curator shut the grimoire and hid it under her robes.

“Grand Archivist, please follow me.” She instructed him as they approached the elevator to Lawrence’s left.

The Curator entered a code into a hidden keypad before pressing the floor for sublevel eight, and the metal box roared to life as the sounds of gears grinding echoed within. The ride down was a lot smoother than when Lawrence was in the elevator at the Blackwood Group headquarters.

From what I’ve read in the journal, I learned that Lawrence secretly allocated a large portion of his wealth to construct the Archive among many unnamed investors whose identities were kept confidential. He sure put a lot of time into the Book Club…

The elevator dinged as they arrived at the lowest floor. When the doors slid open, Lawrence observed several hooded figures wearing long black robes and holding iron spears. They wore white masks with no design.

He learned they were the Curator’s Guard, tasked with guarding the most valuable archives. They consisted of many veteran knights from various kingdoms.

Man, Lawrence really wasn’t messing around with this group.

Madame Curator and he walked past the guards, who didn’t acknowledge his presence. They stood on either side, entirely still, like statues. Almost too still…

They walked on the red carpet to the other end of the room toward a closed door. Lawrence glanced from side to side, examining the other books on the shelves.

Ostus Political Assassinations UCY 650…651…652…

He realized there was far more political instability on this side of the continent than he had previously thought, especially in the West, where the countries were more volatile.

Since its foundation, government corruption and civil war have plagued Scyleria, yet it remains one of the strongest countries in terms of military power. Our neighbor, Jakta, very recently ended a civil war and is now stabilizing, albeit still very weak. A whole lot of civil war…it seems to be the meta.

As they approached the door, Madame Curator placed her hand over a pad protruding from next to it. A second later, a light blue magic circle appeared on the door, glowing brightly. A loud click echoed throughout the room, and the circle disappeared.

“Shall we?” She offered, opening the door and allowing Lawrence to enter first.

Inside was the furniture of an office, but it seemed more like a meditation room. There were a few rows of shelves holding books and papers on one side.