Chapter 14 - Mental Limit

The morning light was still faint as the sun hadn't fully risen yet, and Seraphina had woken up much earlier than normal. Even though she was awake so early, she felt refreshed and had no hint of tiredness at all.

Deciding to take a few minutes to herself before she called Cella over to aid her, she moved to the side of the bed and slid off the edge— raising her feet with some difficulty.

Her body was still weak, but it wasn't as weak as it was when she had first arrived. In fact, compared to before her eyes had awakened, her body now was much stronger. 

She could move independently— even if it was for a while— and her body no longer ached for simply existing. Soon enough, she was sure that doing some simple exercises would be possible.

Walking over to the mirror, she looked at her appearance; even though she knew this was her look, she still couldn't help but draw a contrast to the appearance she had before in her memories.

The girl before her eyes— even in her weakened state— could be classified as a model back on Earth. Her appearance did stand out quite a bit, though; her violet hair and eyes weren't common colors in this world, even with its fantastic nature.

'Violet. I like it."

She smiled as she brushed her hand against the mirror and then turned to move towards the window.

Pushing aside the curtains slightly, she gazed out at the rising sun as the courtyard before her eyes was painted in an orange hue— looking like a scene straight out of a painting.

She longed to go outside and experience this world, but she knew that it was still too early. She was far too weak still; she lacked proper education, and she needed to get into a better standing with her family.

Seraphina— the original version of her— had never even been outside. From a young age, she had been confined to these walls because of her curse, so she had no memories of the world beyond these windows.

A frown covered her face as such thoughts flooded her mind— clinching her palm against the window in frustration.

"Soon."

Her eyes lingered for a second before she turned around and walked to the side of the bed— grabbing the rope, she rang the bell and summoned Cella.

Just like the previous mornings, Cella came to her room and helped her get ready to visit the library. This morning, she was somewhat surprised at how early the girl had woken up, but she was slowly getting used to the strangeness.

Walking down the hallway, she noticed that it was much more empty than the previous days. Not a single servant was working in the hallway, which she could only attribute to how early it was.

As she stepped into the familiar scent of parchment and ink, she allowed such useless thoughts to fade away and focused on her task for the day. Today was the day she planned to go through the entire library and touch every single book.

This would not only test the limits of her library but also allow her to gather a large source of knowledge in one go.

"Cella, can you please prepare some Chamomile tea for me. Today, I plan to do a lot of reading, and it will help me focus."

While what she said wasn't wrong, her main purpose was just to send the girl away long enough so that her strange actions of touching every book wouldn't draw attention.

"Of course, Young Miss."

With a bow, Cella left to prepare the tea, and Seraphina smiled at her obedience.

"Let's begin."

She whispered to herself as she made her way to the nearest shelf.

For the next few minutes, Seraphina methodically moved through the shelf and touched every single book on it; she didn't even open them or look at the names; she just touched everything.

Once she was done with one shelf, she moved on to another; eventually, Cella returned after she had finished with three shelves in total. Taking a short break, she drank some tea and quickly returned to her mission.

With Cella in the room, she had to make it look less strange, so instead of simply touching them and moving around strangely, she pretended to be skimming the books.

It took a little longer than normal, but it would give her an excuse for her actions.

Cella watched her with a mixture of curiosity and concern, but she didn't question her actions. The maid was used to Seraphina's newfound determination and unusual methods by this point.

As the day progressed, Seraphina had completed around six shelves of books before she was suddenly met with a shocking pain, shooting through her entire body and originating from her head.

The pain was so disorienting that she slightly stumbled, grabbing onto one of the shelves to keep herself from falling.

Concerned, Cella quickly rushed over and helped the girl from falling down— then moved her over to a seat.

"Miss, are you ok? Maybe you should rest; you've been pushing yourself too hard."

Cella voiced her concerns, but Seraphina was in too much pain to focus on her words— instead, her voice sounded like sandpaper grating against her ears.

"Shh."

She whispered as she clenched her head with her hand and simply sat there in silence, trying to get the pain to pass.

Her brain was aching, so much so that she couldn't properly formulate a thought— but within a few minutes, it quickly passed. Still somewhat disoriented but no longer in pain, Seraphina could think once more.

'What was that?'

She thought to herself as she shifted her eyes around the room. Noticing Cella standing to the side like a worried lamb, she quickly spoke.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy from how early I woke up."

She made an excuse as she saw no need to tell the truth and worry the girl, then she spoke again.

"Can you please get me something to eat? That may help."

Seraphina just wanted some time to herself to try and sort her thoughts out, and she didn't feel right just having the girl standing there with concerned eyes.

"Of course, Miss. Please stay seated until I get back."

Cella quickly hustled out of the room once she confirmed Seraphina wouldn't get up; going to prepare food.

Seraphina, on the other hand, tried to figure out what had caused the sudden pain.

'It felt like my entire brain was aching. Could it be because of the books?'

The pain she had felt was unlike any pain she ever felt before— actually, no. It did remind her of one thing, the pain she had first felt when her memories were mixing together.

That was the only time she had felt such similar pain, except this time, it was only the pain, not the beneficial part.

'There must be some sort of limit to how many books I can absorb at a time. Is it my mind?'

In some of the books she had read pertaining to Mages, she knew that Mages had a method to train their minds to be able to hold more information and form spells.

Otherwise, a normal mortal mind would never be able to remember or even learn the complex things they had to. Her situation could be similar; her mind couldn't handle storing too much information at once.

'Then what's the limit? Can I do it again now that the aching has stopped, or will it get worse?'

She was curious, but she didn't want to test it. Unlike the body, hurting her mind would not be something she could understand or prepare for— she would be foolish to risk it.

Regardless, she had already collected enough books and would read them when she returned to her room— for now, she decided to just rest and wait for Cella to return.

Just as she was about to lay back and relax, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps echoing through the hallway as it approached the library door.

The steps were far too heavy to belong to Cella, and no one else would approach the library with her in it without her permission. Seraphina instantly got on guard. She didn't know who it was, but she knew they weren't expected.

As she was about to stand up, the library doors swung open; from the outside, a tall man with a large frame stepped in.

He had shoulder-length white hair with a rough beard that matched the color. He wore a white and black suit decorated with golden pieces and a sword that hung from his pants.

A green coat rested on his shoulders and danced behind him, hiding the scars that littered his body. His rough skin was a tanned hue, with scars decorating his face and neck.

As he looked over to the girl with his dull silver eyes, she could see the scar that ran up his cheek and across his eye— just barely missing his eyeball.

Seraphina's heart skipped a beat as she saw who the person was; instantly, one thought came to man.

Duke Davian Angevin Omri Willows— her father.

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