The quiet murmur of the Manor's library wrapped around me like a warm blanket as I flipped another page in the thick tome before me. Books towered in teetering stacks on either side of the desk, threatening to collapse under their own weight. I'd been at this for hours, chasing answers to questions most people wouldn't even think to ask. My gaze shifted back to the page: a dry recounting of political alliances and territorial disputes, penned in painstaking detail.
I sighed, leaning back in the creaking chair. The title on the book's cracked leather cover read General History. Its contents were informative but borderline insufferable. How anyone wrote this much about squabbles over grain tariffs and border skirmishes without falling asleep was a mystery. Still, the truth glared back at me between the lines.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
