Inside the Duke’s estate library.

Muen stood at the entrance, staring at the towering rows of overstuffed shelves, then rubbed his face hard with both hands.

“Fuck this world.”

“Even a clay doll has some temper—if you’re going to torture me like this, then I’ll fucking fight back!”

He lifted his head.

All the confusion, fear, and frustration that had clouded his eyes since Father left—since his whole plan went up in flames—had now vanished.

In their place was only one thing: resolve.

So what if I’m the yellow-haired villain?

Is a yellow-haired villain not allowed to seek happiness?

Screw that.

I want it anyway.

“Calm down. First thing’s first: I need to get stronger.”

Muen looked at the books lining the library shelves.

It couldn’t compare to the Saint ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Maria Academy’s library, sure—but for him, for now, this was more than enough.

“Since Father’s gone, I’ll self-study. I’ll use the assassins from the Black Book to test my results.”

“In other words, the resources here at the Duke’s estate should be enough to help me get strong enough to defeat the assassin recorded in the Black Book!”

“At that point, I’ll finally have a solid means of defending myself.”

“Stealthy growth is still the way. For now, school’s off the table.”

“With both Father and Mother gone, at least no one’s around to object anymore.”

With his revised plan in mind, Muen’s eyes grew sharper.

No more wasting time—he reached for the nearest shelf and pulled out a book, opening it without hesitation.

But he didn’t start reading.

Instead, he flipped through a few pages quickly and then closed his eyes.

Several minutes later, he opened them again, unable to suppress the joy in his gaze.

“As I thought—books can be recorded too.”

“Seems like it only works for the words my eyes actually see.”

“But that’s enough. I don’t need to memorize everything manually—I can just scan through them and have the Black Book record the contents.”

“That way, I can call them up whenever I need them!”

Excited, Muen wasted no more time and began rapidly flipping through the book in his hand.

He didn’t try to understand—just focused on getting the pages in front of his eyes.

“Wait, hang on—what even is this book?”

Nearly done with the whole thing, Muen suddenly remembered this minor detail and turned back to check the cover.

“Unlocking with Fishbones – 100 Home Invasion Techniques”

“...Are you fucking kidding me?!”

Furious, Muen slammed the book to the floor.

“How the hell does a Duke’s estate even have this kind of thing? And on the front shelf, no less?!”

Unconvinced, he grabbed another at random.

“Flirting Techniques Even a Monkey Can Master – How to Gracefully Reel in a Goddess”

“I don’t need to seduce a goddess—I just want to not get pinned and ground into the floor by one!”

“Idiots Can Learn in Three Days! – Reading Fertility from a Woman’s Hipline”

“Three days? Village aunties could teach that in three minutes!”

“■’s Reproduction and Breeding Techniques”

“...Is this really something I’m supposed to be reading?”

“The Bedroom Arts”

“Ahem, I’m just checking if this is a proper manual, okay? Not like I’m actually recording it—”

...

“Absolute trash,” Muen muttered, exhausted. “Half of these books are useless garbage, and some are just downright weird.”

After spending the better part of the day sorting the entire library, Muen had nothing left in his heart but despair toward the ancestors of House Campbell—and that cheap old man of his.

There probably wasn’t a single serious reader among them.

This library must’ve been set up just for show. Otherwise, why would they have crammed it full of this chaotic nonsense?

A third of the books were basically unspeakable smut!

“...Still, at least half of it was worthwhile.”

He looked down at the book in his hands, eyes lighting up.

Even if no one in House Campbell was a reader, as a noble house with a lineage spanning centuries, their collection was still substantial. Plenty of it covered martial arts, magic, and even theology and divine blessings.

For someone like Muen, in desperate need of building a foundation from scratch, these were priceless.

Take the current book, for example—Basic Martial Arts Fundamentals.

To him, it was like rain after a year-long drought.

“Whether I study it seriously or not comes later—first I need to record it.”

Eager and thrilled, Muen was just about to open the book again when—

“Young Master, you’re still reading?”

Anne’s voice came from behind.

She stepped into the library, eyeing the cold, untouched food tray off to the side with a frown.

“You haven’t even eaten properly.”

“Don’t rush me—I’ll eat after I finish this book.”

“But you said the same thing earlier.”

Without warning, Anne stepped forward and forcefully shut the Basic Martial Arts Fundamentals in Muen’s hands.

“Anne, what are you doing?”

Muen gave a helpless smile.

“I know my limits.”

“Young Master, dinner is ready.”

“Oh, it’s that late already? I didn’t even notice. Like lunch, just bring it—”

“But if I do that, you’ll forget again.”

Anne stared straight into his eyes. “I promised the Master and Madam I’d look after you. So I won’t allow you to be like this. At the very least, you will eat a proper dinner.”

“I...”

Muen looked at her crouched in front of him.

There was a faint floral scent coming from her—pleasant and subtle. It filled his nostrils and fogged his brain, stirring up the fatigue from an entire day of reading and sorting.

He glanced at the rarely assertive look on Anne’s face... then at the book in his hands he hadn’t even recorded yet.

With a sigh, he gave in.

“...Fine. I’ll eat first.”

He hadn’t managed to get through much of the material today, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t spare the time for one decent meal.

Call it rest for recovery.

Muen stood up, slid the book back onto the shelf, and walked toward the dining room.

“...”

Anne didn’t follow immediately.

Instead, she turned around, pulled the book he’d just shelved back out.

Basic Martial Arts Fundamentals...

She skimmed the cover.

Then looked up at the neatly arranged shelves.

Everything had been reorganized—no more chaos.

The junk and erotica were buried deep in the back corners, while the valuable martial arts, magic, and academic texts had all been placed within easy reach.

“...Young Master, you really have changed.”

Clang.

A flash of cold light.

The book in her hands was suddenly sliced clean in half by a blade that had appeared from seemingly nowhere.

Shredded paper drifted into the wind as she tossed the fragments out the window.

“So fast. So sudden. It’s like you became someone else overnight.”

“If that’s the case... then there are some things I can’t afford to wait on anymore.”

“...Don’t blame me for this, Young Master Muen.”