Eight Intertwined

7 - Scholar

When Cyrus arrived back at the Royal Library, his anguish towards Yvon was still burning strong. Cyrus was hardly the type to be completely consumed by his emotions in such a way, but the blatant misbehavior of his superior was beyond unsettling. Yvon was only doing this to rub Cyrus the wrong way after he dared to step out of line. Yvon had yearned for further control for as long as Cyrus could remember, and today was no exception. He wondered if he would ever truly be able to cooperate with his superior without being caught up in thoughts about all of Yvon's odd actions. 

Cyrus shut the door carefully behind him as he entered the library, and when he did, he saw Mercedes behind the desk. She looked up when she heard that someone had entered the library, and she rose to her feet before approaching him. "Ah, Professor Albright," she greeted. 

Cyrus walked to her side before speaking in return, making sure to keep his voice down so that the others in the library were undisturbed. "Did you have any luck finding the tome?" he questioned. 

Mercedes winced as she looked at the ground. "I'm afraid not..." she replied softly. 

Cyrus closed his eyes in contemplation. "Well, this is most unfortunate. One might conclude that it has been stolen," he murmured, talking more to himself than Mercedes. 

Mercedes responded regardless of his intentions, and her eyes went wide with aghast shock. "Professor, taking books out from these archives is strictly forbidden," she reminded him. "And as you know, the keys to the vault are entrusted to only a select few! Quite honestly, it would be easier to steal the crown off the king's head."

Cyrus fell silent as he was lost in his own thoughts. "An impregnable vault... A disappearing tome..." he whispered to himself. Once again, Mercedes overhearing him was little more than an afterthought. "It would seem we have quite the mystery on our hands. And the mysteries of the world are meant to be solved! ...Or so the scholar in me says. Wouldn't you agree?"

Mercedes didn't seem as confident, and she shifted anxiously back and forth between her feet. "If it had been stolen, I would say it's a job for the city guard..." she cautioned Cyrus. "But I can see you won't let it go until you've 'cracked the case,' as it were."

He nodded with a laugh. "You could say that, indeed. A habit I just can't seem to break," he agreed. "Once a puzzle is placed before me, I simply cannot rest until I've worked out a solution."

"Well, far be it from me to stand in your way," Mercedes told him, and no small amount of humor made its way into her voice as she shook her head, well used to Cyrus' antics by now. "It must be tough being a genius."

"I'll not deny it!" Cyrus confessed with a shrug. "Worry not--the tome will be back on the shelf before you can bat an eyelash." The smile that spread across his face was filled to the brim with pride, and the sun itself seemed to be gleaming through his eyes. 

"Right. Thanks," Mercedes told him with a gentle grin of her own. "Best of luck in your search." She returned to her place at her desk as Cyrus made his way towards the door of the library, and she watched him dutifully until the hinges creaked gently to signify his departure.

This was not going to be an easy case for him to figure out. There wasn't much information to go off, and for all Cyrus knew the tome was already far from Atlasdam's walls by that point. Still, that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try. The tome had arrived at the archives rather recently, so he couldn't have had too much of a disadvantage. If he put his mind to it, perhaps he would be able to find the answer sooner rather than later. 

"Now, where to begin my search...?" Cyrus whispered to himself, slipping once again into his old habit of muttering under his breath. He had never even bothered trying to break such a routine, believing that it helped him to get his thoughts out into the open more clearly. He would certainly need that at a moment like this. "I suppose I should inquire with Mercedes as to where the keys to the library are stored. The guard at the front door would know who has been frequenting the library lately. As might my fellow scholars..." Cyrus fell quiet for a moment before finishing his suggestions to himself. "Then, mayhap, I should pay the headmaster a visit as well..."