Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Alaric carefully inspected the books on the shelves. Unlike the ones on the first level, the books here had less wear and tear mostly likely because only the imperial family was allowed to browse through them.

These books… Aside from the forgotten history of the empire, there are also books about the insights of powerful ancient warriors.

Alaric’s face turned serious. To a martial arts fanatic, this place was like heaven.

“What do you think about the books here?” The princess beamed when she saw the look of surprise on his face.

“The palace library is indeed a haven for knowledge. We do not even have these kinds of books in our library.” Alaric shook his head.

Hearing this, the princess looked around and approached him with a sneaky smile. “I can give you a copy of some of the books here.”

Alaric was interested, but he rejected her offer. “That is very tempting, but we have more important matters to take care of.”

The princess clicked her tongue unhappily. “Boring.”

Other than his curiosity for the knowledge in the upper levels of the palace library, his main reason for following the princess here was to memorize the layout.

He believed that this information would come in handy once they began with the rescue operation.

In the next two hours, the princess brought Alaric to the upper levels which had three floors in total. He casually browsed through the books, but he didn’t find something that grabbed his attention.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was a staircase leading to another floor. “Didn’t you say that this is the last level? Then where does that lead to?”

The princess followed his gaze and her face turned serious all of a sudden.

“I cannot take you there.” She shook her head firmly.

“That is one of the forbidden places in the palace. Only His Majesty can go there.” She explained in a stern voice.

Alaric suddenly frowned.

He could feel an oppressive aura at the end of the staircase and it was so powerful that he had to release his mana to shake off the sense of oppression.

This feeling … It is even more intense than Galanar’s aura!

“We need to leave, Your Highness. I think there is someone up there who doesn’t want to see me here.” Beads of sweat trickled down his face.

The princess raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Looking at her baffled face, Alaric realized that he was the only one affected by the aura.

This must be a warning for me…

Alaric took a deep breath and persuaded the princess to leave with him.

However, just as they were about to leave, a series of footsteps suddenly drifted into their ears.

Alaric subconsciously paused his steps, while the princess turned around.

“L-Lord Dominic?” The princess muttered in a trembling voice.

“You must be the son of that man. You do resemble him…” A cold, almost robotic voice, echoed in the silent hall.

Alaric turned around and looked at the person who had spoken.

It was a man with graying hair who looked to be in his mid-forties. His gaze was unfathomable like that of the abyss, but the one thing that stood out about him was his prosthetic right arm which was made from some kind of metal.

[Do you want to use Appraisal on the selected target?]

[Yes] [No]

Yes!

[Error! The target’s power is immeasurable!]

Alaric was stunned.

His Appraisal had only failed once since he got it and it was when he used it on his father who had just become a Mythical Knight at that time!

Is this person also a Mythical Knight?!

Alaric felt a chill running down his spine. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He then politely bowed to the man. “Greetings, my lord. I am Alaric Silversword, son of Lucas Silversword.”

He could only hope that the man wouldn’t do anything to him. Otherwise, the whole plan that his mother had orchestrated might fall apart.

His mind raced as he thought about how he could safely leave this tricky situation.

“I know. You almost look like him when he was young.” The man named Dominic remarked indifferently.

He then turned his head to the princess and said. “Your Highness, no one is allowed to bring outsiders here, but since this is the first time you made such a mistake, I will let you off this time.”

The princess who was usually confident in herself meekly lowered her head. “This will not happen again, Lord Dominic!”

Dominic waved his hand and muttered in a cold voice. “You must leave.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Hearing this, the princess immediately grabbed Alaric’s arm and left with haste.

Dominic watched them leave without blinking and when he could no longer see them, he muttered. “Are you sure about this decision, Your Majesty? Once they take Princess Jade from the palace, the empire of Harune would definitely complain. It might even spark a conflict between our two nations.”

A soft sigh echoed.

Meanwhile, Alaric and the princess were unaware of what was happening on the top level of the library.

They rushed down the stairs, afraid that Dominic would punish them.

The old man, Randolph, who was dozing off was taken aback when he saw the princess and Alaric running down the stairs with great haste.

“Eh? Your Highness, why are you in such a hurry? You shouldn’t be running while going down the stairs!”

“Grandpa, I will visit you again soon!” The princess waved her hand without looking back.

Randolph was baffled. “Why are they in such a hurry?”

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

They couldn’t have discovered the secret on the top floor, right?

Sweat trickled down his face when he thought of this.

Just then, a dignified voice suddenly drifted into his ears.

“Randolph, come up here.”

Hearing this, Randolph immediately rose to his feet. “Your Majesty?!”

Without hesitation, he went up the stairs while nervously wiping off the sweat on his face.