She was also a little girl who appeared to be about the same age as Nanaly, wearing an Olcott Academy uniform, sitting quietly in a corner of the library reading a book.
Unlike Nanaly, this little girl had pure white hair—no, even her eyebrows were pure white.
Such hair color was extremely rare throughout the Hedley Empire, though not unheard of. In comparison, Laine's black hair and black eyes were even more uncommon.
Seeming to sense Laine's gaze, the white-haired little girl emerged from her sea of books and looked up at him.
Now Laine could clearly see her features—delicate yet extremely refined, with eyes that seemed far too profound for her age.
If one were to ignore her appearance and only look at those amber eyes, Laine would hardly believe she was a girl around Nanaly's age.
"Are you here to read?"
The white-haired little girl spoke up, her voice soft and gentle, but without much emotional inflection.
Unlike Nanaly who seemed to be masking her emotions, this white-haired little girl appeared to naturally lack emotional coloring, relying solely on her eyes to convey any information that needed facial expression.
Laine nodded: "I'm looking for books about the past ten years."
During his decade as a knight, Laine had clearly become disconnected from society.
What Laine needed now was to understand what had happened in these ten years, trying his best to reconnect with society.
After all, he couldn't just remain a butler at the Wenze household and look after a little girl forever, could he?
"The empire has developed very steadily these ten years, without any major events, so there wasn't much need for printed books. If you want to learn about these ten years, I have quite a few newspapers here that you can look through."
Though her tone was cool, the white-haired little girl was quite talkative, making conversation relatively easy.
"Thank you."
Laine expressed his gratitude and walked forward as the white-haired little girl simultaneously jumped down from her chair.
It was then that Laine noticed this white-haired little girl was even shorter than Nanaly.
Laine had thought Nanaly was already quite short for her age...
After jumping down from her chair, the white-haired little girl went to the bookshelf behind her, crouched down, and laboriously pulled out a box full of newspapers.
Laine hurried to help, lifting the box which was indeed quite heavy, packed full of yellowed newspapers.
At the same time, Laine noticed a label on the side of the box—1394.
It was now the year 1404 in the human calendar, so these must be an entire year's worth of newspapers from ten years ago.
And Laine would need to go through nine more boxes like this...
Thinking about this, Laine's mouth twitched slightly.
Carrying the box, Laine sat down opposite the white-haired little girl and picked up a newspaper to read.
At this point, the white-haired little girl asked: "Are you from Minggao? In all the books I've read, only people from Minggao have black hair and black eyes."
Though her tone was calm, curiosity shone in her eyes.
Laine shook his head: "I'm not sure where I'm from, but as far as I can remember, I've always grown up in Hedley."
Hearing Laine's response, the white-haired little girl didn't press further, but instead introduced herself:
"I'm Amiya, Amiya Wenze, a student at Olcott Academy and also the librarian here."
Wenze? Laine remembered that the magic instructor Nanaly had mentioned was also named Wenze.
"I'm Laine, no surname."
Amiya nodded and didn't say anything more, returning to her book, as if the introduction had been merely a formality.
Laine also focused on reading the newspapers, and they both sat in peaceful silence, without further conversation.
As Amiya had said, the Hedley Empire had developed very steadily that year, without any major events.
Before he knew it, Laine had finished reading a month's worth of newspapers.
After reading a few more papers, Laine's attention finally caught on one particular article.
[Human Calendar Year 1394, February 13th: Empire establishes the Dark Eclipse Knights, directly under imperial jurisdiction.]
The newspaper included a black and white photograph showing a group of knights standing at attention in heavy armor. Even just looking at the newspaper, one could sense the elite nature of these knights.
Looking at this photograph, Laine unconsciously smiled, gazing at it for a long while.
Although he hadn't been among the first batch of knights to join the Dark Eclipse Knights, Laine's sense of belonging to this order was second to none.
"The Dark Eclipse Knights is currently the most mysterious knight order in the Hedley Empire."
Amiya's voice suddenly came through: "In ten years, apart from this newspaper announcing the establishment of the Dark Eclipse Knights, there hasn't been any information about this order. Many people wonder if it has been disbanded.
The name of this order is also strange, since imperial knight orders are usually named things like 'Dawn' or 'Holy Flame,' and typically wear red, blue, or white armor. A name like Dark Eclipse and black armor really doesn't match the empire's style."
"This order did indeed disband, though it was only recently."
Laine replied with a faint smile while continuing to look at the newspaper:
"Just like its name suggests, this order never appeared in the public eye, simply carrying out its missions quietly. From its establishment to its dissolution, over ten years, this order achieved countless merits, yet remained largely unknown."
At this point, Laine suddenly noticed Amiya had gone quiet and looked up.
He saw that Amiya had even stopped reading her book, her amber eyes blinking as she watched Laine, seemingly waiting for him to continue.
Meeting Laine's gaze, Amiya said in her soft voice:
"You seem to know a lot about this order. Could you tell me more? I'm very curious."
Seeing Amiya's inquisitive look, Laine didn't refuse and smiled: "Sure."
Then, after organizing his thoughts, Laine began:
"Six hundred years ago, the Human Race, Beast Tribe, and Elf Clan joined forces to defeat the Demon Race, forcing them to sign a peace treaty, bringing six hundred years of peace to the continent."
Amiya nodded; currently, humans and the Demon Race maintained at least a superficial harmony, and there was even a young lady from the Demon Race attending Olcott Academy.
"But that's just on the surface."
Laine shrugged: "About a dozen years ago, the Demon Race began showing signs of resurgence, repeatedly sending small-scale forces to harass our Hedley Empire's borders.
Because peace had been so hard-won, and the peaceful development with the Demon Race had indeed brought considerable benefits to our nation, the empire was unwilling to start a large-scale war over these minor conflicts.
And so, the Dark Eclipse Knights was formed."
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
