"You bastard! How dare you lay your filthy hands on my sister?" Jamie roared at the top of his lungs.
Suddenly, he recovered himself the moment he saw Eva silently sobbing, and a surge of indescribable anger clouded his heart, such that he could barely form any plausible thoughts.
'A little cliché…' I commented internally the moment Jamie roared and sent out an attack in my direction.
Instinctively, I felt a wave of fear crash over my body as his attack coalesced into something tangible.
I was merely a beginner when it came to cursed energy. Meanwhile, Jamie had been training in it for years.
Being a rank 3, his attacks weren't something I could withstand. But having no other option, I could only try to use my sword to block the attack.
Suddenly, the air seemed to freeze, and the attack which was swiftly approaching me paused mid-strike before disappearing into bits of light.
My eyes widened in surprise at the sight and I turned around in search of who had saved me.
My gaze landed on Rosaline who was approaching with graceful, light steps, and there seemed to be some anger hidden in the depths of her eyes.
"That's enough. Jamie, using your full strength against someone far weaker than you is against the rules of the clan," Rosaline advised sternly as she came to stand between me and Jamie.
Jamie stared for a moment, then snorted.
"In the clan, the weak is ruled by the strong. He should have no complaints if I decide to teach him a lesson or two."
"Is that so?" Rosaline raised a brow curiously in Jamie's direction.
Jamie snorted once more, clicked his tongue, and muttered under his breath, "whore."
Rosaline's eyes narrowed slightly and before Jamie could fully understand the creeping chill he felt, a palm landed at the back of his head.
His head rolled back and he lost consciousness instantly.
"Fuck." Rosaline tried to suppress the urge to kill Jamie outright, as that would be detrimental to her. However, the impulse was truly hard to control.
Turning to the group of guards that were pretending not to notice the unfolding scene, she said solemnly, "Take him to the prison cell. I will deal with him shortly."
When had someone ever addressed her as a 'whore?'
Do that on the battlefield and even a rank 6 expert won't live to tell the tale!
However, a little kid like Jamie dared address her as such?
Knowing this was due to the kiss from before, she gave Aristarkh a sharp glare that caused goosebumps to rise atop his skin.
…
I returned Rosaline's stare, and a smirk appeared at the corner of my lips.
It seemed teasing, and as my eyes blinked toward her lips before returning to her eyes, Rosaline put up an irritated expression before cursing under her breath and leaving the place.
Jamie was dragged away, and after sparing my cousin sisters a last glance, I continued on my way to the library.
The walk to the library from the courtyard wasn't too far off, and in roughly ten minutes I had arrived.
The building wasn't too massive and seemed like a shabby, worn-out bungalow. However, one shouldn't underestimate such a building that had stood the test of time.
I entered the building with light steps and the moment I stepped inside, I felt my perception distort before, the next moment, I appeared inside a spacious room.
There was a table ahead, behind which was a reclining chair where an old man sat.
The old man looked up the moment I stepped inside.
"It's rare for youths to come to the library," he commented as he noticed my youthful facial features.
I smiled faintly and replied, "I'm here to casually brush through a few books of interest."
"Not interested in increasing your strength?" the old man asked, noticing that my aura was very feeble and weak.
"I'll continue when I'm done," I replied with a smile.
"Okay." The old man nodded and his expression turned slightly serious. "What kind of books do you plan to read?"
"How about ones with grand demons and cursed monsters?"
"Are you sure you want to read something like that?" the man asked to be certain.
I nodded.
He hesitated briefly, his eyes flickering intensely for a moment before nodding.
"Alright," he stated, and then waved his hand.
Instantly, a thick stack of books appeared atop his table.
"If these are not to your satisfaction, you can return them and ask for something else. In the meantime, just sit on the ground and read through them as you like. No one's allowed to take books out of the library."
"Oh." I muttered and walked toward the stack of books on the table.
I tried to carry them as a whole, only for my expression to suddenly change drastically when I realized it was simply impossible.
My expression turned strange as I struggled for a few seconds more before forcing a smile and picking up the first book from the stack.
The old man watched me with an amused expression but didn't say anything.
By the corner of the room, I sat down with the book in hand, feeling a little awkward that the old man was watching me.
Letting out a breath, I opened the book and began browsing through its contents.
I read about monsters that had wreaked havoc on the city in times past, and ones that were still alive till date. However, I saw no records of WYATT and the others.
I frowned slightly before placing the book by the side and returning to another one amongst the stack.
I scanned through its contents rapidly, then shook my head and placed it by the side.
Then I read the third one and the same results played out.
Noticing my slightly exhausted expression, the old man couldn't help asking, "Are you searching for something specifically?"
I froze, then thought for a moment before answering him.
"Senior, have you heard about either WYATT or ZOROS?"
I decided not to list the complete names since that might seem suspicious.
The old man's eyes flickered with something imperceptible before he shook his head.
"No. I haven't."
Just then, a look of stupefaction appeared in his eyes as he stared at me.
Coincidentally, at that moment, my aura deepened once more as I increased by a single rank.
The system's notification flickered in my eyes, informing me that it was the 4x benefit from Lydia.
I smiled at the old man as I stood up. "It happens, at times."