With Julian’s emergence as an Arch Mage, Liam had been losing ground steadily. The breakfast revelation had dismantled the succession argument he had been building around Marcus. The duel had dismantled whatever remained of the argument that Kraven was unsuitable.

If the King had arrived on schedule, the visit would have confirmed Julian’s position.

So Liam had moved the King.

Julian did not know how but he was sure this was exactly what had happened.

He stood in the corridor and felt something he rarely permitted himself toward opponents.

Genuine admiration.

Moving a king required patience and specific courage that even the strongest in the kingdom lacked.

However, Liam had done it in less than a week. He had assessed the new situation, identified the single point of leverage available to him and applied it before anyone else had finished processing the change.

And the most impressive part was not the delay itself.

It was that Liam had predicted the Duke’s response to it.

He knew that the Duke would send Aldric to the capital as a signal of confidence. He knew because he understood his brother completely, understood how his mind worked and what moves his pride.

The delegation was exactly what Liam needed - the Duke’s most capable military presence walking out of the castle and leaving behind a measurably weaker defensive posture for four to six days.

One move had produced two outcomes simultaneously.

Julian resumed walking, his hands clasped behind his back.

Whatever Liam had done, it did not change what needed to be done. No matter how capable Liam proved himself to be, he would not retort to rebellion while the King’s visit remained on the horizon, delayed or not.

Which meant Julian had room to operate, and room was exactly what he needed.

He decided to search the family library first. A noble house of this standing was bound to have records, old scrolls, or hidden texts that might contain even the smallest clue about the Servant of Death or the black flame corruption.

Knowledge was power, and right now he needed every fragment he could gather.

To reach the library, he had to leave the residential section of the castle entirely and cross into the more restricted eastern wing.

From what Sera had told him during one of their earlier conversations, the library was one of the most militarily protected sites in the entire castle.

Because it held not only sensitive family histories and magic manuals, but it also contained ancient maps, forbidden texts, and records of past conflicts that could be weaponized by rival factions.

As he walked, the corridors gradually changed in character. The residential wing gave way to wider, more formal halls lined with heavy tapestries and marble pillars.

The number of guards increased noticeably as well.

Pairs of soldiers stood at regular intervals, their postures alert and their eyes sharp. They bowed when they recognized him, but their hands never strayed far from their weapons.

As he turned the final corner, Julian saw why this was one of the most protected site.

Four advanced soldiers stood at the library entrance, two from the Duke’s faction and two from Liam’s. The aura emitting from them was of real expert - peak Sovereign realm.

They stood at separate points along the wall, but all four straightened when Julian approached and all four bowed.

"Young lord," the nearest of the Duke’s soldiers said.

"I would like to use the library," Julian said.

A brief pause. The soldier then glanced at other soldiers as if communicating something.

"Of course, young lord," he said. "We will need to note your entry in the access record."

"Naturally," Julian said.

One of them brought a small ledger from the alcove beside the door and noted the time and Julian’s name.

The door opened.

The library was way larger than Julian had expected.

It completely filled the enormous chamber, stretching out in every direction. Rows upon rows of towering bookshelves rose toward the vaulted ceiling, packed so densely that in some places they seemed to form walls of their own.

Everywhere he looked there were books - leather-bound tomes, ancient scrolls sealed in glass cases, handwritten manuscripts stacked in careful piles, and even a few glowing crystal orbs that seemed to be containing something.

As soon as he stepped fully inside, the door closed behind him with a solid thud, leaving him completely alone in the massive space. The sound echoed through the vast hall before fading into silence.

Julian stood still for a moment, taking it all in.

The library was split into levels. A grand spiral staircase of dark wood and iron railings led upward to two additional floors.

The ground floor was the largest and most accessible, filled with general histories, cultivation manuals, and noble tradition. The second floor appeared more restricted, with locked gates and warning runes glowing faintly on the shelves. The third floor, visible only as a shadowy balcony high above, looked the most secretive.

Secrecy clearly increased with each level.

Julian began walking slowly down the central aisle, his footsteps echoing softly against the polished stone floor. Mana lamps hung at regular intervals, casting a warm, golden light that made the dust particles dance in the air.

The sheer volume of knowledge here was staggering. A noble family like the Astrans would have collected texts for centuries.

But he was here for one reason: the Servant of Death.

He started on the first floor and moved methodically through the shelves, pulling down promising volumes and going through them.

Most were useless - standard cultivation theory, family records and old war chronicles. But he kept searching.

He pulled another thick tome from a high shelf and flipped through it.

Nothing.

He placed it back and moved to the next aisle.

After about half an hour of skimming through the books on the first floor, Julian finally sighed and gave up.

There was nothing interesting here.

The only few interesting manuals were the magic manuals of Astran foot techniques, but they were useless to Julian. They focused on basic movement arts and ground-based combat forms that held no value for someone of his level and knowledge.

With that, he climbed the spiral staircase to the second floor.