Henry quietly slipped back into the library. But he froze the moment he heard a dry voice behind him.
"No food is allowed in here, Henry. How many times do I have to tell you?"
His shoulders instantly stiffened. It suddenly felt as though he wasn't just carrying candy but something far more incriminating.
Henry slowly turned around, forcing an innocent smile onto his face.
"Sir! I haven't seen you in so long… I'm so happy to see you're still alive and well and you even look younger!"
The words came out completely at random.
Old Walter looked up at him, his expression unreadable, then simply pointed a finger.
"Come."
Henry followed him, trying desperately to keep his smile intact, until they reached the staff lounge. Walter sat down on the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and remarked with a hint of amusement,
"Your words are contradictory, boy… Are you wishing for my death or something?"
Henry sat across from him and let out a light laugh. "Not at all, sir."
Walter gave a slow nod, though he didn't seem entirely convinced. "You're the best employee here," Henry said sincerely despite his hesitant smile.
Deep down, however, he couldn't shake the feeling that the compliment wasn't going to save him from the trial awaiting him.
It wasn't long before Walter smiled faintly, making it clear that he had understood the situation from the very beginning.
"You troublesome brat… I know perfectly well that you love eating inside the library. Before I took this job back in January this year, I asked around. They told me you don't just eat here you also talk loudly."
Henry's face turned pale, and he looked away as though reading his own guilty verdict. "That explains a lot…"
Then, as if forcibly steering the conversation elsewhere, he reached into his coat and pulled out his graduation certificate, waving it proudly in front of Walter.
"Congratulations on graduating," Walter said after taking the certificate. His eyebrows lifted in surprise while Henry smiled with a mixture of pride and mischief.
"You're far too young… How did you graduate? Are you pulling some kind of trick, Henry? What did you do?"
Walter flipped through the certificate before suddenly looking at the age printed on it.
"Twenty-two?! There's something wrong here!"
Henry had been waiting for that question as though it were a prize. He smiled confidently.
"Well, sir… I actually skipped several grades. I'm smart."
Walter slowly raised an eyebrow, trying to process what he had just heard.
"Skipped grades… That certainly explains a few things."
"My twin brother and I both skipped two years. All it took was paying some extra tuition, so we entered university when we were sixteen and a half. Everything went by pretty quickly after that."
Walter fell silent for a moment before leaning forward with a sly smile.
"That sounds… somewhat reasonable. But you're clearly intelligent, and you certainly don't lack the ability to deal with corpses. So when I get sick… I'll come to you."
He paused deliberately.
"For free. I won't pay a single coin."
"Of course, sir!" Henry replied with a broad grin, though he suddenly had the distinct feeling Walter had already begun planning exactly how to take advantage of him in the future.
"Though I honestly don't think you'll get sick that easily."
Henry opened the box of sweets and offered it to Walter, who accepted a piece without hesitation.
After chewing thoughtfully for a moment, Walter asked with genuine curiosity,
"What's been on your mind?"
Henry remained silent for a while, staring at the floor as though gathering his scattered thoughts. Then he let out a heavy sigh before speaking.
"Do you know what mental decay is?"
Walter's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise, but he didn't answer immediately. He stayed silent for several long moments, searching his memory for any trace of the term before finally replying,
"No… I don't. I've studied many things and traveled to countless places, yet I've never heard of it before. Why don't you tell me?"
Henry wasn't surprised by the answer. He had expected it all along.
Still, deep inside, he had hoped for something different… something that would prove the thoughts occupying his mind weren't entirely strange.
Nevertheless, he began explaining the concept of mental decay.
Walter listened with quiet understanding before saying calmly, "I truly don't know… Is this your own research?"
Henry smiled faintly and nodded. "Maybe."
Silence settled between them for a moment before Walter broke it with a question that sounded as though it had been weighing on him for a long time.
"You're helping Ayrton now. He told me as much… But is there still no news about Adam?"
Henry lowered his head, his voice heavy.
"Hugo has tried over and over, but he failed. Adam isn't a fool… But I think he's caught up in some kind of trouble."
Walter raised a hand and rubbed his cheekbone as though easing a sudden headache before murmuring with quiet certainty,
"He's definitely not a fool… So he'll come back."
Henry gave a bitter smile.
"My twin brother told me the exact same thing… He said Adam will return."
Walter suddenly burst into laughter as something came back to him.
"You scared your brother once… I think he hates me now!"
Henry didn't stay much longer after their conversation.
A strange heaviness began spreading through both his chest and his head—a mixture of hidden exhaustion and a sharp, lingering ache.
He slowly walked outside, his steps hesitant, as though wandering through an inner fog, until he neared the place where Kayden was sitting.
Kayden was surrounded by a lively circle of people. Laughter echoed through the air, voices overlapped, and familiar faces gathered around him.
Henry hesitated for a moment.
He had no desire to interrupt the cheerful atmosphere, so he chose to remain at a distance, silently observing the scene.
Only a few minutes passed before Kayden turned and noticed Henry standing there, his eyes fixed on the sheet of paper in his hands.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kayden stood up, quickly shook everyone's hands, bid them farewell with a brief smile, and walked straight toward him.
Henry didn't realize Kayden had approached until he heard his voice.
"What's that?" Kayden asked curiously, his eyes fixed on the paper.
"Take a look."
Kayden scanned it with the practiced speed of someone used to reading documents. A broad smile immediately spread across his face, and his eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise.
"So you're finally graduating! Congratulations, you lazy bum."
That wasn't all. He continued examining the certificate as though it were a personal achievement of his own, casually waving it in the air as if he deserved the credit. Then, without warning, he wrapped his arms around Henry in a hug, repeatedly patting his back until it felt more like he was hitting him than congratulating him. Once he grew tired of that, he grabbed Henry by the arm and began dragging him toward the exit as though the decision had already been made for him.
"Come on. We're going home."
Inside the carriage, Kayden found himself staring at the certificate again, studying it with a strange mixture of curiosity and pride.
' The education system here is a little different… but it resembles the one from my world. Ron Feng definitely had a hand in shaping it.'
He lowered his gaze for a moment. ' Still… Henry is smart enough. Graduating at this age is proof enough on its own. And that's without mentioning the grades he skipped…'
A faint smile lingered on his lips as he drifted through those thoughts while Henry sat quietly beside him.
After gazing out the window for a while, as though collecting his scattered thoughts, Henry finally spoke in a low voice. "Eden?"
Kayden slowly turned toward him, surprise flickering across his face. "Why are you calling me that now?"
That name belonged only within the walls of their home. It was a warm family name, one never spoken outside. Hearing it here felt strangely intimate, almost as though Henry were deliberately crossing an invisible boundary between them.
Henry hesitated briefly before meeting his gaze. "How did you learn about mental decay?"
The question struck like an arrow, blunt and direct.
Henry gestured dismissively, as though eliminating every obvious possibility.
"The teachers don't know about it. Mr. Walter has never even heard the term. Even the scholars I know have no idea what it is. So… where did you learn it?"
A stiff smile settled on Kayden's face.
' He's far too smart… This is so troublesome. Why wasn't I more careful?'
Taking a slow breath, he answered calmly. "I came up with it during my isolation. At first, it was like running through complete darkness until my mind became sluggish and clouded. But over time, the idea gradually took shape. It simply evolved little by little… Nothing more. I'm much better now."
Henry studied him with obvious suspicion, his eyes gleaming with quiet doubt.
"That makes sense… but there's still something strange about it."
Kayden looked away. "What I told you was only a rough framework—unfinished definitions. Henry… you're the one who can complete the research. I only planted the seed."
Henry fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"I was only wondering… but you always manage to surprise me. You're much smarter than you pretend to be. I suppose I should've expected that… I probably shouldn't have asked at all."
He turned his eyes forward, almost speaking to himself.
"But… is isolation really that beneficial? Maybe… maybe I should try it too. Perhaps my soul would become calmer. Maybe I'd become a better version of myself… don't you think?"
Kayden shook his head and waved a hand dismissively, as though brushing away the very idea.
"Distance is a lot like running away. Sometimes it saves you… and sometimes it kills you slowly. Don't do it… Otherwise my mother will think I really did ruin the way you think."
Henry remained silent.
His eyes drifted downward while his hands tightened around each other until it looked as though he were struggling to keep something inside. After several moments, he finally exhaled.
"Maybe… I wouldn't be able to endure long periods of isolation. Anyway… as you know, I like being around people. The chaos they create exhausts me sometimes… but in the end, it's what reminds me that I'm alive."
The carriage came to a stop in front of the Bryce family's estate.
The servants exchanged glances as they opened the door.
Henry stepped out first, followed by Sarah, while Kayden descended more slowly, watching his brother from the corner of his eye.
He could tell Henry was still suspicious.
The silent, restrained scrutiny hadn't disappeared.
Kayden made no attempt to explain himself or reopen the conversation. Instead, he chose to hide what was on his mind, fully aware that his own brother was the most dangerous person of all.
Henry's intelligence wasn't like any other threat.
Even the possibility of Arthur discovering Colton's secret didn't frighten him nearly as much as Henry's caution did.
After lunch, Isabel carefully placed Henry's graduation certificate beside those of his siblings. A satisfied smile crossed her face, as though everything in her life had finally fallen into place.
For the twins, however, there wasn't a moment to waste.
They headed straight for Ayrton's office.
The office was suffocatingly quiet.
Dim light filtered through the tall windows while Ayrton sat alone in one corner of the reception room, head lowered and eyes closed, looking almost unconscious.
He didn't move. Even his breathing was barely noticeable.
Henry leaned slightly toward Kayden and whispered with quiet amusement,
"Is he pretending to be a statue?"
Kayden had no answer.
He simply sat beside his brother, silently observing the heavy stillness filling the room.
After what felt like an eternity, Ayrton suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly at them. "Can you two go on a mission?" There was no greeting or small talk. "It's for your sake… a learning opportunity."
Kayden glanced at Henry, who gave a quiet nod before answering, "We don't mind."
Tilting his head slightly, Kayden asked, "Were you meditating?"
Ayrton cleared his throat. "Not really…"
He lifted a hand as though brushing the subject aside.
"Go with Isildar. He's already waiting at the station."
Just then, the door opened softly, and Charlotte stepped inside with graceful movements.
She looked first at the twins, then at Ayrton, before letting her gaze settle back on them. "You're leaving?"
she asked as she slowly sat down in the nearby chair.
"Yes," Henry answered calmly.
Charlotte sighed, resting her chin against one hand while studying them carefully.
"Isildar… he's a pureblood, a noble just like the two of you. But watch him carefully. He looks down on everyone else. He genuinely believes he's superior to everyone."
A faint smile tugged at her lips. "Sometimes… I just want to punch him."
Before the twins left, Kayden turned back. "What about Colton?"
Ayrton paused for several seconds, as though even the question weighed heavily on him. He no longer seemed to have the energy to answer.
Finally, he spoke quietly.
"He went on a mission… but he'll be back soon anyway."
Kayden frowned and muttered under his breath, though loud enough for everyone to hear, "That's blatant exploitation."