The Cruel Queen [On Hold]

5| The Boy in the Library

Rewritten

***

Cyra entered the library, trying to find an inkling of information on the VeLila twins.

Until yesterday, she had been consumed with rage. Duke Ambrosia and Sherwood had the audacity to go behind her back to get two prisoners into the competition. They even went as far as to promise them freedom. All behind her back.

However, that rage boiled down to curiosity.

She needed to know something--anything about who those twins were. And what crime they committed to end up gaining the title of the "Most Dangerous Criminals in Carrallizian History." When she met them, Drayce seemed to be all bark and no bite. And the sister seemed sensible. Refreshing almost.

How did those two end up committing a crime that even she, the queen of Carralliz, could not know about?

A small hand tapped her shoulder. "Miss, could you help me find a book? I cannot seem to find the one I am looking for."

Had the hand belonged to an able adult, she would have snapped, "Do I look like a librarian?" But the hand belonged to a small eight-year-old child. So she said, "Of course. Which book are you looking for?"

No child deserved rough treatment. Adults...she could not say the same for them.

The few people in the library gaped at her.

The Cruel Queen offering help. Most of the time, she only offered taunts and beheadings.

"I'm looking for a book that can tell me about the Manus Daemonium."

Cyra giggled. "Whatever do you need to know about the Demon Realm? They haven't been strongly active for almost seven centuries. A little boy like you should know nothing about the horrors of the Manus Daemonium."

"But I've seen them already, and the horrors have burned my eyes," he whispered.

"What did you say?"

"I said, I needed to know because I have a school project. And even though they are not as active as before, they do still cause disturbances in the Northern Continents."

Cyra hummed, agreeing with him. "Schools don't introduce Daemons and Manus Daemonium until the tenth standard." She scrunched her eyebrows. "Are you in the gifted program?"

"I am. I am a student in the school of the Daemonium Sureiyas. It is my dream to raid their realm one day."

The Daemonium Sureiyas, the Demon Killers. Why would an eight-year-old child want to be one? How did he even pass the entrance exam?

Cyra wanted to ask why, but she supposed she shouldn't. If such a small child had such big dreams, there was a load of trauma in his past.

She hated anyone asking questions about her past, and she was sure the boy did too.

She led the boy to a corner of the library where the books on Daemons lived. One by one, she read the names of the books until the boy said yes to one.

The book had letters of the Northern Continent. Did the boy know how to read the divine script of the Boqsrei People from the North?

Apparently, he did because after expressing his gratitude, he ran off to a table and started reading. Silently mouthing words he found interesting and reading at such a quick pace.

This kid was something else.

Wanting to know more about the child, Cyra sat parallel to him. "What is your name?"