Deon spent most of his day alternating between training and resting. He couldn’t push himself the entire day, as his mana reserves would run out eventually.

During these rest periods, he examined the books on the shelves around the room. The subjects of the books were not focused on specific themes but varied greatly in content.

There were books on the history of the Macezar Empire and other empires, from their rise to the current era. Books on the history of the Four Great Houses within the empire, including the history of the Eirenios household as one of these great houses and the significant figures who contributed to its prominence in the present age.

Other books described the empire's internal and external policies, as well as the politics of House Eirenios in particular—its relationship with the imperial family and the other three great houses, its governance of its territories, and much more.

Deon tried searching for the name Viktoria de Avila in the books discussing both House Eirenios and House de Avila but found nothing about her. The books themselves hadn’t been updated in a while, and Viktoria had only recently passed away.

Deon, however, was not one to give up easily. He shifted the direction of his search to his next step—the Academy.

The place where he would be and learn for who knew how long. He needed to know as much as any other person in the world about the things he currently did not understand. He had to fill the gaps in his knowledge and would use his current time in the family estate to train and build his strength, as well as learn and expand his knowledge.

At some point, Yven entered his room to deliver his lunch. She didn’t interrupt his training and quietly placed the tray on the study desk.

Deon appreciated her discretion; he really didn’t need distractions right now. The young maid seemed to understand that well enough.

Replenishing his energy with the awaited meal, Deon returned to his training. His progress with the threads forming the complex patterns was already swift, aided by his mana sense, and his pace only increased as he grew more familiar with the training process itself.

Not to the point where the training became routine—he still struggled initially to create synergy between his mana sense and his five physical senses—but the process had definitely become faster now.

Surprisingly, despite the repetitive nature of the training, Deon didn’t feel bored. But neither did he find it enjoyable. This was something he needed to do and succeed at. If he allowed boredom, enjoyment, or any other emotions to take control, it would affect both his training and himself.

Time passed quietly and steadily.

Deon opened his eyes from his cross-legged position on the bed, holding the blue cube in his hands. The black patterns on its surfaces still dominated, but the blue patterns were steadily forming.

He nodded to himself, allowing a calm smile to grace his expression.

“Yes, Yven?” Deon raised his head to meet Yven’s gaze. She stood at the far side of the room, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

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“The sun has set, and I… You had your eyes closed, so I didn’t call for you!” she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“That’s a good thing. Thank you for reminding me.”

‘I need to head to the backyard. If Vierenna is waiting for me, I’ll never hear the end of it… I can’t let that happen!’

Rising from the bed, Deon returned the cube to the gray box and placed the box back on one of the empty shelves where he stored it. From there, he went straight to the dressing room, entering without sparing another glance at Yven, who seemed like she wanted to say something.

He quickly changed into something more formal and adjusted his overall appearance with the help of his reflection in the mirror.

Satisfied, he stepped back into his room to find Yven tidying the sheets on the bed where he had been sitting moments before.

“Thank you!” he said in passing and left the room in a hurry. His destination—the small lake in the backyard.

…

Following the now-familiar path, Deon soon stood before the small lake, where the familiar sound echoed as soon as his eyes landed on the colorful stones beneath the water’s surface.

Hello, you’ve finally found your way here—

The surface of the lake began to change as the familiar words started forming. Deon ignored this, having memorized them by now, and focused instead on the single new addition to the surroundings.

On the wooden bench sat a single, thick book at one end.

Deon approached the bench to inspect the book.

On the outside, the book was beautifully crafted, with a light blue cover adorned with intricate decorative patterns. In the center of the front cover, elegant words read—Memories Record.

“Where’s Vierenna? Why did she leave the book here alone?”

He glanced around, expecting her to jump out at him from behind one of the surrounding bushes, but the bushes remained still, disturbed only by the occasional breeze.

“....”

In the contagious stillness of the area, Deon picked up the book and sat on the bench.

He ran his fingers over the hard cover of the book, then, with a deep sigh, opened it to the first page.

What met his gaze was a small folded note resting on the first page.

Deon felt an inexplicable tension as he unfolded the note. But as soon as he read it, he couldn’t help but smile helplessly.

The note was from none other than Vierenna, and it read:

To my little brother, who harbors impure thoughts (Note: I’m the only one who knows! And I won’t tell anyone), I managed to get our memories record. But to gain something, you must lose something (in your case, the thing you want most—which is me). But only for today, and maybe just until tomorrow morning (take the time without me by your side to train; it might help purify your thoughts, though I doubt it), I have things to prepare for. When I return, I’ll give you the attention you crave. I might even entertain some of your fantasies. Don’t get your hopes up—I’m just a little girl.

‘V,’ my baby brother’s sis. ♥♥♥

‘What did I do to deserve this? I don’t know whether I’ve done something disturbingly wrong or distressingly right!’

When writing Vierenna’s character, Deon had envisioned her as the playful one, the kind of person who lightens the mood with questionable remarks.

He hadn’t even gotten the chance to properly introduce her in the second volume, and here she was now, causing him damage.

Even though he knew she meant no harm and simply enjoyed teasing him, Deon still felt uneasy.

If he asked her to stop, she’d do the opposite. If he gave her the cold shoulder, it would only hurt her.

Despite her outward appearance, Vierenna was a very delicate person, especially with those she loved. And now, Deon felt he had no right to hurt her—not even in the smallest way.

‘What a dilemma!’

Deon cleared his mind of his personal troubles and focused on the book in his lap.

He was familiar with how the book functioned, recording images and sounds, as he had mentioned it in the first volume of his novel.

But when he tried to open it, he hesitated for a moment.

He felt like an intruder, prying into the memories of others just to satisfy his curiosity.

Deon wasn’t the type of person to do that, but if he was determined to return to his world, he would have to do this and worse.

The guilt will stay.

Deon reminded himself as he attempted to maintain the illusion of morals and values while he began flipping through the pages.

‘Perhaps I deserve a little worse than what Vierenna puts me through?’