Now that he had set the stage for his transformation, he needed to get informed. Everything he knew about this world came from the novel—though detailed, it could never compare to learning firsthand.
So, he needed to head to the library. Every noble had one; it was a symbol of power and prestige. But he had no idea where it was. He'd found the dining table, as most manors in the story followed the same basic layout, but libraries varied from house to house.
Some were on the first floor, others on the second, a few hidden underground, and some had a separate building dedicated to the library.
Riven glanced around, looking for someone to ask. Then, he spotted a maid. He walked toward her, his footsteps echoing in the quiet hall. She turned, her gaze locking with his, her expression shifted to a blend of fear and anger.
The expression didn't last long, and she quickly forced a smile, but Riven had already seen her true feelings. He couldn't blame her—he probably deserved it. He approached her, stopping just a few steps away from her, close enough to have a casual discussion, but far enough to give her room.
Before she could bow, he spoke first. "Good day." His voice was calm, almost too casual, and she froze for a moment, confusion flashing across her face. The greeting felt... unreal to her.
With the look of confusion plastered on her face, she bowed, "Greetings Young Master Riven." She greeted, the formality in her voice reinforced how much distance she wanted to keep distance from him.
Riven frowned a bit, but quickly changed his expression to a calm one, with a soft smile on his face.
"I'm sorry to disturb you while you are working, but it's been a while I've been to the library, and I think I might have forgotten the direction to it," Riven said. He chuckled nervously, while scratching his head.
The maid looked at Riven. She didn't know why, but the way he was acting felt wrong to her. She had become far too accustomed to the jerk of a human he was, so seeing him made her feel weird.
"Uhmm... go down the hallway, there's a large door, that's the library," she said, her eyes watching Riven closely even as she spoke.
"Thank you," Riven said, and walked off without saying anything else. The maid didn't dare look as he walked off. She listened to his footsteps get distant, and when she could barely hear them, she turned around, seeing him headed for the library.
The maid felt something was very off. She decided to tell this to someone, maybe the Baron—something might be wrong with the young master.
Riven, oblivious to what she was thinking, made his way toward the library. The closer he got to it, the more empty the hallway felt.
And then he saw the large wooden double door like she had said. He walked to the door and placed his hand on it. He pushed, putting a bit of strength. -CREAK- The door began opening, grinding on its hinges, making a mix of very unpleasant sounds.
The smell of old books wafted out of the library, thick and earthy, mixed with a faint scent of dust and wood. It was the musty fragrance of old books, each carrying words that had irreplaceable value in this time and age.
The library was the one place the maids could not clean. Some of the books within the library were considered fragile, or too important for a commoner to touch. Only a member of the family could enter when they wished. Only on special occasions would the Baron entrust a maid with the task of cleaning the library.
Riven walked into the library, leaving the door slightly open. The arch windows allowed the soft warm light of the sun into the library, cascading beautifully on the shelves and the marble floors.
Riven walked into the library, walking between the tables and the shelves. He stopped after a while and pulled out a random book. He ran his finger across the thick black leather back of the book. He flipped it open to see the contents.
The language written was new, unlike anything he had seen before, but he understood it almost immediately.
[The Life of Darwin Von Grave.]
It was an autobiography of someone from the Grave family. He was about to flip over to read the first page, but something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
He turned to see what it was. His gaze locked on a book that seemed out of place, with a jagged black and red gradient back.
For some reason, he felt drawn to the book. He walked to the shelf, dropping the autobiography on the table beside him. He stretched out his hands and pulled out this book.
The book had a lock on it, which immediately made him more curious. He wanted to know what information could be inside that required it to be locked.
He tried to pry the book open by force, but it didn't budge. He kept trying, and suddenly a small blade came out of the lock, cutting into his finger.
His hand jerked back, his blood splattered on the book. "Ouch!" Riven pulled his hands back, the book fell to the ground, it unlocked, and opened.
He looked at his bleeding finger. The cut was deep. "What sort of book is this?" he complained. Suddenly, the pages of the book started flipping back and forth.
Wind picked up inside the library, tossing books off the shelves. The book rose off the ground, the pages tossing back and forth.
"Shit, this is not good," Riven said, he backed up from the book. The wind became stronger, causing shelves to fall. Riven took that as his cue to run, but as he turned to face the door, a strong suction force pulled him.
He tried to fight it, but it was too much for him. He scraped at the ground, grabbed the chairs, and clutched at air, but nothing worked. The force pulled him toward the book, and then the book sucked him into its pages.
Immediately he was pulled inside, the book closed, and fell to the ground.