Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Volume 1
Chapter 32 : Disliking Books Might Be Hereditary
In the Duke’s residence, inside the library—
Muen stood at the doorway, staring at the tall rows of bookshelves in front of him, all packed to the brim with books.
He could not help but wipe his face hard with one hand.
“To hell with this world.”
“Even a clay figurine has its limits. If it insists on tormenting me like this, then at worst I’ll fight it to the bitter end!”
Muen lifted his head.
The confusion, fear, and anger in his eyes—born from his father’s departure and the collapse of his plans—had all vanished.
In their place, there was only resolve.
So what if he was a blond villain?
Did that mean a blond villain did not deserve happiness?
Well, he would have it anyway!
“Calm down. The first thing I need to do is still to become stronger.”
Muen looked at the Duke’s residence’s abundant collection of books before him.
Although it still fell far short of the Saint Maria Library, for the current Muen, the books here were already more than enough.
“Now that Father is gone, I’ll study on my own and verify what I learn by fighting that assassin.”
“In other words, the resources in the Duke’s residence should at least be enough to help me grow strong enough to defeat the assassin recorded in the black book!”
“And once I reach that level, I’ll have enough strength to protect myself!”
“I still need to lie low and develop quietly. For the time being, I should stop going to school.”
“It is just as well that Father and Mother are gone. At least no one will interfere with me on that front.”
After revising his plans, Muen’s gaze became even firmer.
He wasted no more time and directly pulled out a book from the nearest shelf, then began flipping through it.
He was not in a hurry to read it carefully, however.
He merely flipped through a few pages at random before closing his eyes.
A few minutes later, he opened them again, his eyes brimming with irrepressible delight.
“As expected, books can be recorded too.”
“It seems that only the words I have personally seen with my own eyes can be recorded.”
“But that is enough. For now, I do not need to waste time memorizing them one by one. I can roughly skim through all these books and have the black book record every last one of them.”
“That way, whenever I need them, I can read them at any time!”
With that in mind, Muen stopped hesitating.
Starting with the book in his hand, he began rapidly turning the pages.
He did not care whether the contents truly sank in.
All he wanted was to imprint every word into his eyes.
“Hm? Wait, what book am I even reading?”
He was almost at the end of the entire volume before Muen finally remembered that important detail and turned back to look at the cover.
“Using Fish Bones to Pick Locks—One Hundred Ways to Break into a House? …What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?!”
Realizing what he had just read, Muen hurled the book to the floor in annoyance.
“Why would a dignified Duke’s residence even have books like this? And why are they sitting in such an obvious place?”
Still unconvinced, Muen casually pulled another book from the shelf.
“Even Monkeys Can Learn How to Woo Women—Teaching You How to Elegantly Reel In a Goddess… What I want to know is how not to get pinned to the ground and ravaged by a goddess.”
“Even an Idiot Can Learn It in Three Days!—How to Judge Whether a Woman Is Fertile by Measuring Her Hips… This takes three days? Village aunties could explain it all to you in three minutes.”
“The Breeding and Mating Methods of **… Is this really something I should be reading?”
“Bedroom Arts… Ahem, I am only checking whether this book is legitimate, definitely not trying to memorize it.”
…
“What a complete scam. Half of these books are useless, and some of them are downright strange.”
After spending the better part of an entire day sorting through the whole library of the Duke’s residence, Muen felt deep despair toward the Campbell family’s ancestors.
That bunch of old fossils—including that bargain-bin father of h0is—definitely did not have a single person among them who actually liked reading!
This library had probably only been set up for appearances’ sake.
Otherwise, they would not have stuffed every kind of random nonsense into it!
A full third of the books were even the indescribable sort!
“Still, thank goodness at least half of them are useful.”
Muen looked at the book now in his hands, his face lighting up with joy.
No matter how little they liked reading, as an ancient family that had endured for several centuries, the Campbell family’s collection was undoubtedly immense.
Among it were large numbers of books covering martial arts, magic, and even faith and divine blessings.
And for Muen at this moment, all of those books were extremely useful!
Take the one in his hand, for example—【Introduction to Basic Martial Skills】.
For Muen, who urgently needed to rebuild his foundations, it was nothing less than rain after a long drought.
“Whether I learn it or not can wait. First, I need to record it.”
Filled with excitement, Muen eagerly moved to open the book.
But at that moment, Ann’s voice came from behind him.
“Young Master, are you still reading?”
Ann walked into the library, her gaze passing over the meal at the side that had already gone cold.
She frowned.
“You did not even eat your food properly.”
“Do not rush me, do not rush me. Let me finish this book first.”
“But that is what you said just now too.”
Ann suddenly stepped forward and firmly shut the 【Introduction to Basic Martial Skills】 in Muen’s hands.
“Ann, what are you doing?”
Muen smiled bitterly.
“I know my own limits.”
“Young Master, dinner is ready.”
“Hm, is it already this late? I did not even notice. Just bring it over like lunch—”
“But if I do that, you will forget to eat again.”
Ann stared into Muen’s eyes. “I promised the master and madam that I would take care of you, so I will not allow you to go on like this. At the very least, you must eat dinner properly.”
“I…”
Muen looked at Ann crouching in front of him.
A pleasant floral fragrance clung to her body, drifting into his nose, and his mind began to grow a little heavy, as though it had stirred up all the exhaustion from a full day of sorting books.
Then he looked at Ann’s face, which rarely held such an unquestionable expression, and then at the book in his hand that he had not yet had time to record. At last, he sighed helplessly.
“All right, then. I will eat first.”
Although he had spent the whole day sorting things out and still had not had much time to record the books, things were not so urgent that he could not even manage one proper dinner.
He would treat it as a balance between work and rest.
Muen stood up, slid the book back onto the shelf, and walked toward the dining room.
“…”
Ann, however, did not hurry after him. Instead, she suddenly turned around and pulled out the very same book Muen had just returned.
“Introduction to Basic Martial Skills…”
Ann’s eyes swept across the words on the cover.
Then she raised her head and looked toward the bookshelves.
The books on those shelves had clearly been completely reorganized.
They were no longer as chaotic and disorderly as before.
The useless miscellaneous books had all been shoved into the innermost corners, while the precious volumes that recorded martial skills, magic, and all kinds of knowledge had all been deliberately placed by Muen within easy reach.
“Young Master, you really have changed.”
Clang.
A flash of cold light streaked past.
The 【Introduction to Basic Martial Skills】 in Ann’s hand was instantly cut into two by a blade that had appeared from nowhere. It then fell apart into torn pages, which Ann tossed into the wind beyond the window.
“You changed so quickly, so suddenly. It is as though overnight, you cease to be yourself.”
“If that is the case, then there are some things I can no longer afford to delay.”
“Do not blame me, Young Master Muen.”