Reborn as a Hated Noble Family, We Start an Industrial Revolution

The room behind the massive, wolf-carved teakwood double doors was truly no ordinary library. It was a holy cathedral of knowledge.

​All around them, towering bookshelves reached dizzying heights, practically kissing the vaulted ceiling. Elegant spiral staircases curled upwards, connecting the ground floor to a second-story balcony that wrapped around the entire perimeter of the room.

​Crystal chandeliers suspended from above cast a melancholic, golden-yellow glow. The light caught the fine dust particles drifting lazily through the air, making them shimmer like suspended fairy dust.

​Elodie inhaled deeply. The magical, intoxicating aroma of aged parchment, ancient ink, and polished teakwood blended into a singular, comforting scent.

​She walked silently down the aisle between the towering shelves. Her mouth hung slightly open, unable to contain her overflowing awe.

​Her slender, trembling fingers reached out, gently tracing the spines of the thick, leather-bound books. Her touch was incredibly delicate—as if she were terrified this hoarded treasure of civilization might crumble to ash if she handled it too roughly.

​”Basic Magic Guide for Beginners... The Bloody History of the Aethelgard Kingdom... Thermodynamics and Mana Circuit Applications... wait. This is an original manuscript by Lord Rianor Sudrath?” Elodie stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Raphael with wide, disbelieving eyes. ”Your brother wrote this book?!”

​”Just a tiny fraction of it,” Raphael answered casually.

​He leaned his shoulder against one of the wooden shelving posts, crossing his arms over his chest as he thoroughly enjoyed Elodie’s awestruck expression. She looked absolutely intoxicated, surrounded by this sea of literature.

​”This... this is completely absurd,” Elodie muttered, slowly spinning around to take in the sheer majesty of the literature in one sweeping glance. ”This isn’t just a library, Raphael. This is paradise.”

​Her footsteps halted in front of a specific shelf packed with thick, deer-skin bound fiction novels. One of the titles was embossed in fading gold ink: The Tale of the Civilization Builders. It was a legendary literary classic she had never seen at any street vendor’s stall.

​The girl’s fingers brushed against the textured leather cover, a burning thirst to read igniting within her. Then she moved to caress another book, and another.

​It was as if she couldn’t command her own legs to stop. Every inch she stepped in this room brought her face-to-face with a new puzzle of wonders.

​”I... I feel like I’m going to die from trying to figure out which shelf to start reading from.” Elodie’s voice trembled heavily—not out of intimidation from the palace’s luxury, but from the sheer, explosive admiration swelling in her chest.

​She turned to look at Raphael, her brown eyes shining brilliantly. ”Raphael... truly, thank you so much for being willing to bring me in here. I... I don’t even have the words to describe how I feel right now.”

​Raphael didn’t answer with words. He merely gazed at her bright, beaming face with an expression that was profoundly difficult to translate.

​Outside the library’s massive glass windows, a blanket of stars began to reveal itself in the freezing Northern night sky. But inside this room, besieged by thousands of parchment pages, the hands of time felt as though they had been forcibly stopped.

​Raphael let out a quiet exhale and took a step toward her. ”You are permitted to borrow one book to take home.”

​Elodie reflexively snapped her head toward him, stunned. ”R-Really?! But, Raphael... this is royal palace literature, I—”

​”I am the one giving you permission,” Raphael cut her off definitively, his eyes locking dead onto hers. ”Pick one.”

​Elodie spun back around to face the rows of bookshelves. Her eyes were glassy, reflecting the warm glow of the crystal chandeliers. The girl took a deep breath, savoring the distinct scent of old paper, before slowly exhaling.

​”I... my gods, I really can’t choose just one.”

​Her eyes darted wildly across the wooden shelves. Her fingers hesitated to touch the worn covers. Magic Guides? Too technical for tonight. Military History? Definitely not her taste. Herbal Medicinal Encyclopedia? Useful, but not what she was craving right now.

​Then, her feet brought her to a slightly more secluded corner—a shelf with a faded wooden label that read: Fiction & Literature.

​There, her eyes suddenly locked onto a target. A dark blue novel with silver-lined edges. The title was beautifully embossed in nearly-faded gold ink: When the Snowfall Brings Our Destiny.

​Gulp. Elodie swallowed softly.

​She threw a wary, paranoid glance to her left and right—making absolutely sure Raphael wasn’t watching her movements. With the smoothest motion she could muster, she slipped the cheesy romance novel off the shelf.

​Her fingers randomly flipped open the first page. Her eyes scanned the opening lines, and unconsciously, the corners of her lips twitched upward into an amused, giddy smile.

​This... this was absolutely not the kind of book she would ever admit to choosing in front of anyone. Especially not in front of Raphael!

​With lightning speed, Elodie shoved the dark blue book into the folds of her school cloak, hugging her arms tightly over it as if concealing illegal contraband.

​”I-I’ve picked one,” Elodie announced rapidly. Her voice suddenly pitched up an octave, sounding undeniably guilty.

​Raphael raised an eyebrow in amusement. ”You’re not even going to show me the title?”

​”No need! It’s... it’s just a boring book about how to grow herbal plants in the winter. Extremely dry and uninteresting.” Elodie hurriedly spun around and speed-walked toward the exit.

​Raphael trailed behind her, a thin, teasing smirk carving its way onto his lips. ”Elodie, you are very clearly hiding something under your cloak.”

​”I am not hiding anything!” Elodie argued defensively, quickening her pace.

​”You’re walking awfully fast for someone carrying a gardening book.”

​”I... I just want to get home quickly!”

​They finally stepped out of the warm library. The old librarian at the door narrowed his eyes suspiciously—especially upon seeing Elodie walking stiffly, the front of her cloak bulging unnaturally.

​But before the elderly man could open his mouth to interrogate her, Raphael shot him a brief wave of his hand. I’ve authorized it. Let her pass.

​The old librarian could only let out a resigned sigh, bowing respectfully once more as he let them walk away.

​Once they reached the quiet stone corridor, Elodie finally stopped in her tracks. She turned to Raphael, her expression much calmer now. ”Raphael... thank you so much. For everything today. The delicious food earlier, this library... everything.”

​Raphael shoved both hands into his pockets. ”That’s the third time you’ve said thank you, El.”

​”Because I am genuinely grateful to be friends with you.”

​”In that case, you should drop by more often. There are still nine giant shelves in there you haven’t had the chance to explore.”

​Elodie smiled sweetly. ”I... I really need to head home now.”

​”I’ll walk you.”

​”Eh? You don’t need to go through the trouble, Raphael. I can walk by myse—”

​”You are my guest tonight. I invited you here, so I take full responsibility for ensuring you get home safely,” Raphael cut in firmly, pivoting on his heels toward the dining hall corridor. ”Wait here a second. I need to let my family know I’m heading out.”

​Click.

​Raphael pushed open the heavy teakwood doors of the family dining room and stepped inside. The warmth of steaming food and the rich aroma of rendang instantly hit his face, a sharp contrast to the chilly stone corridors outside.

​The long wooden table was already surrounded by nearly the entire Sudrath dynasty.

​King Lucian sat at the head of the table, his unyielding military posture untouched by age. Queen Aurelia sat beside her husband, her woolen knitting needles now resting neatly on her lap. Riven and Elena sat shoulder-to-shoulder, occasionally whispering sweet nothings to one another.

​Meanwhile, Kaelven—the toddler with thick black hair—was entirely engrossed in banging his wooden spoon against his tin plate, creating a noisy rhythm that only made sense inside his own head. Clank! Clack! Clack!

​Raveena sat across from Elena. And at the furthest end of the table—strategically seated so her stacks of tax reports wouldn’t taint the dining tablecloth—Rumina was back to frowning over thick files. The woman truly couldn’t separate herself from her work, even during a family dinner.

​”Raphael!” Aurelia called out brightly, her beautiful face lighting up the moment she saw her youngest son walk in. ”Come, sit down quickly, the main course was just served.”

​”I’m... actually just here to excuse myself, Mother.” Raphael stopped beside his empty chair. ”I need to walk Elodie back to her house first.”

​The smile on Aurelia’s face instantly widened—very wide, and heavily laden with meaning. ”Oh, of course! Escort the girl with the utmost care, darling.”

​Raveena, who was in the middle of feeding Kaelven a spoonful of warm porridge, abruptly froze. Her lips curled into a mischievous grin that was a carbon copy of her mother’s—the trademark smile of an older sister who had just acquired fresh ammunition to torment her little brother.

​”Be careful out there, Raphael. The night air in Northreach is freezing right now. Don’t let Elodie catch a cold on the way. You should lend her your fur coat,” Raveena teased in a loud whisper.

​”I am not going to—” Raphael hastily clamped his mouth shut, opting for the safe route of ignoring his sister’s provocation to avoid digging himself a deeper grave.

​From the corner of the table, Rumina looked up roughly from her stack of reports. Her thick eyebrows knitted together in annoyance, and her mouth opened, ready to scold him. ”Raphael! I heard from the librarian that you—”

​”That is quite enough, Rumina,” Aurelia raised her right hand gracefully into the air, slicing off her daughter’s sentence before it could fully launch. ”We can discuss palace matters later. For now, let us focus on our dinner.”

​Rumina clicked her tongue loudly. Tch. Yet, she refused to openly defy her mother’s decree. The woman looked back down at her financial reports, her jaw clenched tight in irritation that her interrogation had been so flawlessly sabotaged.

​Raphael had no desire to waste another second in this room. He offered a brief, respectful bow to his father, Lucian—who returned it with a small, knowing nod—then quickly spun around and marched out of the dining room.

​Elodie was still faithfully waiting in the quiet corridor, her hands clutching the bulging fabric of her cloak to hide her stolen romance novel. The moment she saw Raphael’s silhouette emerge from the doors, she straightened her posture.

​”Are you ready?” Raphael asked.

​Elodie nodded quickly. ”Your family... they didn’t mind you leaving the dinner table?”

​”Actually, they practically kicked me out and told me to hurry up and walk you home,” Raphael replied innocently.