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He looked at the spellbound face of Caspian and then said, “Then I am happy that you sorted things out with her because I agree that she is capable of forgetting everything and everyone around her if she has enough good books with her.”

Caspian nodded and then agreed, “I learned it the hard way. And from then on I am very cautious that I don’t anger her. Her anger is more dangerous than that of anyone I know. The others challenge me head-on when they are angry with me. But she gives me a silent treatment and keeps me on my toes.”

Alexander chuckled upon hearing that because he had also gotten Anastasia’s silent treatment a few times. “That’s her,” he mumbled as they closed in towards the door of the library.

When Anastasia heard the two of them laughing and talking about her, she furrowed her brows and fisted on her hips. And she asked two of her favorite persons, “You two were backbiting about me, weren’t you?”

Alexander laughed even more and replied, “How is it backbiting when you were seeing and hearing us? We were openly talking about you.”

“That’s not fair!” Anastasia pouted her lips and gave a soft glare to her brother. And she asked in a little suspicious voice, “What were you saying about me? Did you say bad things about me to my husband?”

Alexander was, however, already occupied with something else to give a reply to Anastasia. He looked around the empty room in surprise and asked his sister, “I thought this was the library. What is this place?”

A proud smile appeared on Anastasia’s face when her brother got confused like her. She was proud because she already knew about the secret, and she could already tell that her brother’s mind was going to be blown away when he would see the grand library hidden under that simple-looking room.

.....

She turned to her side to reveal the stairs behind her. And she spoke as if she was doing some grand reveal in a magic show, “Let me show you what lies beneath these stairs. Why don’t you follow me, brother?”

Alexander slightly raised his brows and then gave a nod to Anastasia. “Sure. Let’s go.”

Anastasia slightly lifted her gown and then turned around. And before Caspian or Alexander could stop her, she rushed down the flight of stairs as if she was going to miss a carriage if she didn’t run.

“Anna, be careful!” Caspian shouted from behind, fearing that she would tumble down the stairs. But by the time he said that, she had already reached downstairs.

She looked at the gentlemen from below and replied, “I am fine.” And when she saw her brother slowly climbing down the stairs while looking around at the vast library with wide eyes and an open jaw, she asked, “Are you surprised? I was so amazed when I first came down here.”

Alexander looked as though someone had put a spell on him. The countless books and scrolls in those tall book selves looked like a dream to him. Just like Anastasia, he was also fond of reading new books and collecting them. And this library here looked like a candy land to him.

“I am flabbergasted!” Alexander exclaimed and scoffed at that unbelievably huge library.

Anastasia happily giggled after seeing that look of disbelief on her brother’s face.

Caspian was standing at the last stair with his arms crossed over his chest and was looking at the sibling duo with a constant smile on his face. He was surprised how the two of them not just shared similar looks, but also shared similar interests.

And at times like this, he would greatly miss his brother. Although he and his brother were nothing like each other in terms of interests and skills, they greatly treasured each other.

Caspian quickly brushed off the sadness that was about to take over his mind, and then refocused on Anastasia and Alexander. He watched them running around the library, looking at the books and happily talking with each other.

‘It’s a shame that he is returning to Orsenia today,’ Caspian thought to himself. ‘If he had stayed here for a bit longer, then I am sure Anastasia would have been livelier than usual.’

Alexander suddenly turned to look at Caspian and asked in a little loud voice that echoed throughout the library, “Your Majesty, I must say that you have really great collections of books here. How many years did it take for you to collect all these?”

Caspian smiled and answered, “I would say, somewhere around three hundred years.”

Alexander kept on looking at Caspian with a straight face for a few seconds. He then suddenly burst into laughter thinking that Caspian was making a joke.

“You do have the collection that looks like it would indeed take that many years to gather them.” He kept on chuckling and then asked again, “You must have mobilized a lot of people to get these books for you, right? I even found some books which are written in foreign languages. They must have traveled around the world to get these books for you.”

Caspian blinked twice and then replied in a serious tone, “No, I was telling you the truth. It did take me three hundred years to gather all these books here. And no, I didn’t ask the others to get them for me. Well… some, but not all. I collected most of the books that are here on my own.”

Alexander was, however, still thinking that Caspian was making a joke. He looked at Anastasia while laughing and then said, “He is really good at making jokes.”

However, to his surprise, he didn’t find Anastasia laughing. She looked nervous for some reason, and she was avoiding making eye contact with him. Alexander suddenly furrowed his brows and his laughter also gradually came to a stop.

“He is telling a joke, right?” he asked a little skeptically.

Caspian was surprised that Alexander wasn’t believing him at all. He looked at Anastasia and asked, “You haven’t told my age to your brother yet?”

“Umm…” Anastasia nervously scratched her cheek and then finally raised her head to look at her brother.

He was looking at her with eyes as big and round as a saucer.

She nervously smiled and then said to him, “He is not lying. He is much older than you think.”

Alexander went silent for a while. He then pointed his thumb over his shoulder and asked, “How old is he exactly?”

“Four seventeen,” Anastasia blurted.

Alexander thought that his ears were ringing. He rubbed his ears and then asked again, “Four what?”

Anastasia looked at Caspian, and then back at her brother. And she repeated, “Four hundred and seventeen years old.”

Alexander suddenly smiled and denied it, thinking that both Anastasia and Caspian were pulling his leg. “No. You are just messing with me, aren’t you?”

Anastasia slowly shook her head and mumbled, “Vampires don’t age as rapidly as us. And they live for a long time.”

Alexander suddenly felt as though something very hard hit his head. “Huh!” he whispered and turned to look at Caspian with a look of disbelief in his eyes. “He is more than four hundred years old? But he doesn’t look a day over 25!”