[Anabelle's POV]
"Haa…What am I doing now? It's been a whole week since that guy went into the library. What the hell is he searching for in those piles of books? I even went disguised as a food delivery person, and he was surrounded only by books. He didn't even glance at me and just politely thanked me. After discreetly sending his detailed pictures, Young Miss increased my stalking- mission priority. Mission priority! Anyways, why are you so obsessed with him, young miss?" her voice laced with irritation as she thought about her master.
"You have gotten quite rebellious, Anabelle. To disrespect your master like this, and you were already aware of my presence, yet you uttered those words, huh?" a harsh voice reprimanded her self-loathing.
Anabelle shuddered at the harsh voice as she trembled.
"Stop acting, Anabelle. I know you aren't surprised, and tell me the situation." The alluring voice shifted from harshness to urgency, which made Anabelle stop her teasing.
"I apologize, young miss. I have made the report, including pictures and videos for the entire week." She quickly provided everything she learned and watched as her master's face slowly showed emotions, a rarity.
Charlotte carefully took the file with her inconspicuous trembling hands.
She flipped the report with delicate care as her eyes clouded over as she read every page.
"He's awake...sob…awake." Her voice trembled with joy as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Miss! Why are you crying!" Anabelle exclaimed and hurriedly rushed to her side.
Tears of joy.
An emotion that she had only seen twice in her Lady's eyes and now was the third.
She had been with her all her life and could count the times she had wept on one hand, of which two were because of this boy, and now it's the third.
Her surprise was evident because she couldn't understand her master's emotion. It was this unknown boy whom she had accidentally encountered at the Aster Mansion party seven years ago.
"Master, it's okay. Everything's fine." Anabelle consoled Charlotte as she led her into a warm hug.
Although they had a master-servant relationship, Anabelle considered Charlotte her younger sister and her family.
She remembers being rescued from that dark place when she was four years old by Charlotte's mother, Joana Klent, the Flame empress.
She would have been sacrificed with the other children if not for her.
She rescued me and gave me a purpose, and when she entrusted me with Miss Charlotte's safety, I felt fulfilled with my life, and young Miss became my family.
Her young miss's cold demeanor was all she encountered in her life, but the warmth hidden was always present.
'I don't know why that guy is so important to miss, but her happiness is my everything. But kid, if you make my young miss sad, there will be consequences…hehehe.' She smiled creepily while consoling Charlotte.
***
[Kaizer's POV]
[Why do I feel a sudden chill?]
'Why do I feel a sudden chill?'
[You too?]
'You too?'
[Don't copy me.]
'Don't copy me.'
Our little banter continued as I flipped through the last pages of Mesopotamian history records in pursuit of my agonizing doubts. At the same time, my mind was adrift in the sea of antiquity, caught between the allure of discovery and the desire to decipher the intricate web of secrets that had eluded me from pursuing the truth of this world.
[Host, are you trying to find a reason for suddenly awakening your past life memories? If so, I think it will be fruitless-]
'No, I don't think ancient histories will give any hint about my transmigration or memory awakening, whichever it is. Also, I haven't mentioned it in a while, but your existence is a mystery to me. I won't find anything related to you in a public library.'
'Egyptian…Horus, Osiris, Anubis…Sumerian… Enlil, Erishkigal, Nergal…British…King Arthur Pendragon, Modred, Lancelot…Indian…Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka The Great, Indus Valley Civilization…Romanian…Solomonar, Jidovi…and the Greek Mythology with Zeus, Poseidon, Ares… Mesopotamian.'
I delved into the names I had sorted through various histories, and when I connected the dots, I couldn't hold back.
"Haha…hahaha...hahahahaha…Damn…This is too damn funny. I thought I had finally gone crazy with my thoughts, but this looks more than I can handle." My laughter echoed in the room as I realized the reality of the situation.
[Host, have you finally gone mad after reading so many books?]
"Haha…I might have gone mad…I won't deny that assumption because if my conclusion is correct, we will be in riches or rags." I retorted as my eyes shone with a hint of greed, which has always been quite a rare emotion for me.
[So, what did you suddenly find for your happy mood?]
BEEP…BEEP…BEEP
As I was about to answer Grade's questions, my Skyionic buzzed with an unknown number, sending me some files.
I promptly opened them to be surprised.
"Alastor? That's rare. He only contacted me through Helena previously. He sent some files as well. Charlotte…Charlotte…Wait, this might get troublesome."
Charlotte Klent, even in the novel, had a great interest in Kaizer Aster. It was close to obsession.
Kaizer couldn't differentiate between friendship and dependence in any case.
His mentality of being eight years old, as well as with him being bullied in half of those memories, even further intensified her general understanding of what friendship was.
Her obsession with Kaizer wasn't explained in the novel.
There was no justification for any of her actions.
Moreover, Sierra's friend, Kevin Whitecliff, who forced Kaizer to do his bidding by blackmailing him into signing a mana contract, used this obsession to distract her by making Kaizer falsify his health condition, cornering her into making elixirs to save Kaizer's life.
This led to her secluding her research and giving Kevin his opening to reveal that he works for Adam Aster, Kaizer's half-brother.
This revelation struck Kaizer heavily as he thought that his following Kevin's order would keep the Skylar family safe from being in a hostile atmosphere to the Aster family, only to be stabbed by the truth of him being an idiot.
This was the final blow to Kaizer's life, as all the horrible things he did to protect them were meaningless, and this broke him completely.
In despair, he wrote the whole truth and killed himself.
Charlotte was unaware of Kaizer being forced to serve Kevin Whitecliff, or more specifically, Adam Aster, and when she found out the whole truth after Kaizer's suicide, she went crazy.
She was known for her cheerful personality in the presence of Kaizer and her cold personality in the company of others. Still, after his death, she destroyed the Whitecliff family in grief and suffering and struck a heavy blow to the Aster family.
Eventually, she just went on a rampage without caring about the consequences, leading to her recognition as a high-priority criminal.
She is considered one of the most popular villains in the novel.
However, her obsession with Kaizer wasn't explained. It was one of the mysteries or plot holes that many couldn't understand since the book was focused on only that incompetent main character, while Kaizer and Charlotte's influence on the story being minimal made them more sidelined.
[Host, if you hated the main character, why did you continue reading the novel despite its many negatives? You might have liked some characters?]
"I admit I liked specific character settings, but my hatred for a particular character fueled me to continue reading the novel despite my urge to tear it apart. The more I read about him, the more I wanted to see him dead. I couldn't handle it. He reminded me of 'him'...Haa…let's not think about the past and trigger my PTSD. Besides, we have more pressing issues at hand currently— the reason for Charlotte Klent's obsession with Kaizer Aster and how I can benefit from this peculiar situation."
"Although this situation also brought me some positives, considering Lucas informed me regarding the whole situation, as in the novel it was never mentioned, because there would have been some wariness in Kaizer's attitude towards Charlotte if she was investigating him so thoroughly, even an eight-year-olds mentality should be able to conclude that much."
[Do you think she will approach you? She might even monitor your movements considering this reasonless yandere behavior.]
"Well, I love Yanderes, but regardless of my personal preferences, I don't think she will approach me until I join the Academy, or she could approach me at a noble gathering if I attend any. Regarding your second point, I think she is monitoring me. Do you remember the food delivery girl? She has delivered my meals for a week straight, irrespective of the order time frame."
[Wait, weren't those people different? There were even guys among them, right?]
"Of course, you would think that because she was extremely cautious with her disguise. I am uncertain whether she intentionally made me realize she was monitoring me or just slipped up, but on the third day, I recognized her gait. She is probably an assassin, as she was subconsciously avoiding making heavy noise. It could be an intentional slip-up, but the fact is that she was monitoring me, and considering the timing of this report, Charlotte is the person behind her."
[So, what's your plan?]
"Plan? What plan?" my voice laced with confusion.
[Aren't you going to stop them?]
"Why would I stop them from protecting me? This works better for me. I don't know why she is obsessed, but I don't mind my actions being restricted for a few months as long she watches over me. I will mostly spend my time in the library and then start training to rank up because being in G- rank is suicidal."