Chapter 85: The Source of It All

Chapter 85: The Source of It All

“April 9th. I just returned from Countess Valignan’s masquerade ball, and for some reason, I suddenly feel rather empty.

“A woman, a woman, and yet another woman. Monotonous and mechanical movements, perfume scents impossible to distinguish from one another, the warmth of tangled limbs—these things can only bring a few seconds of pleasure, followed by endless boredom, revulsion, emptiness, and numbness.

“What joy is there in living like this? Is the meaning of each day’s existence only for this?

“I cannot continue this way. I must break free from this decadent state.

“Also, a reminder to myself: do not habitually write Arabic numerals in the usual position.”

…

Emperor, even you have moments of reflection and youthful melancholy? That does not match the image I have of you at all! Klein nearly raised a brow as he read.

His gaze moved downward and landed on the second diary entry:

“April 11th. Countess Valignan invited me to a private salon. She told me that Madame Julia would also attend.

“Ha! That conservative blond beauty who married over from Loen will also be there?

“I truly look forward to it!

“I have imagined what she looks like in bed for a very long time. May her husband, Viscount Derion, not mine.”

Emperor, did you forget the diary you wrote the day before yesterday? Tsk, so this is what “really fragrant” means, right? Also, you wrote the wrong character. It should be “mind,” not “mine”! Klein could not help roasting him a couple of times.

“April 14th. Recently, I have attended activities far too frequently. I am somewhat unable to keep up…

“This is no small matter!

“Although I am still young, I must guard against the risk of decline in that area. Restraint. Restraint!

“Archaeologist has improved my physique and effectively enhanced certain abilities, but this is not its specialty. It is merely incidental.

“If I continue advancing in Sequence, the changes brought by my previous potions should deepen as well. That is one direction to work toward.

“I hear Apothecaries can concoct medicines with few side effects. Perhaps I should find a few and consult them.

“Also, I really must exercise restraint. Indulgence only causes the threshold to keep rising, while the degree of satisfaction becomes inferior to normal.

“Calming down and thinking about it, there are still many things I can do. Humans are always like this—bound by desire, unable to see what is truly valuable. Why did I transmigrate here? What secrets are hidden in the depths of the starry sky above? Where does the original consciousness come from? If self-awareness simply originates from consciousness, then before I became Huang Tao, who was I? To whom does the most essential part of me belong…”

Emperor, are you explaining to me what “lustful as a wolf beforehand, philosopher afterward” means? Heh. So even you worry about that kind of issue. I thought you had certain attributes fixed in place… Thank goodness you did not teach Chinese to your children. Mm, probably not. Otherwise, after they saw this kind of content, what would they think? Zaratul prophesied that your eldest daughter, Bernadette, would fall out with you and betray you. That was not without reason… Of course, not teaching them was more a form of protection… Klein was successfully amused by Roselle’s diary, but on the surface, there was not the slightest change in him.

To him, Emperor Roselle’s diary was both a book of knowledge and a collection of jokes.

With a thought, Klein flipped to the next page:

“October 2nd. Zaratul came to visit me again.

“He hopes that I, who have already entered the domain of half-god, half-human, can fulfill my promise and help him steal that dangerous Sealed Artifact from the Church.

“It is a notebook from the Fourth Epoch’s Antigonus family. A Grade 1 Sealed Artifact!”

At this point, Klein’s pupils contracted beyond his control.

This should be the notebook later lost by the Secret Order.

This should be the…