Natalie turned around to look at them. Seeing Connie and Charles brought her back to the times when she was still by Grace''s side. They hadughed happily like that too.


    Those days hadn''t seemed so distant to Natalie, yet it felt like a different lifetime in this moment.


    "This way, Ms. Walker," Sheldon called out after seeing Natalie stand there in a daze. He said, "This path leads straight to The Book Sanctum."


    "Alright, thank you."


    Natalie followed Sheldon, passing through thewn and a few small vis dedicated to the helpers. After walking by a vibrant orchard, they finally arrived at a Dithorian-style manor.


    The que above the entrance, carved with "The Book Sanctum", elevated the building''s stately and powerful appearance.


    Sheldon stepped forward and pushed open the heavy door. "Wee to The Book Sanctum, Ms. Walker."


    As Natalie walked through the door, she was greeted by a courtyard. In the center of the courtyard stood a water fountain surrounded by pine trees, which housed some small ornamental fish.


    A swing set was positioned to the side, with a stone table and stone bench just a short distance away. There were some nibbles and tea on the stone table, and Marcus was sitting there, enjoying a cup of tea.


    "Mr. Marcus, Ms. Walker has arrived."


    Sheldon guided Natalie to the stone table and left.


    "Have a seat."


    Marcus elegantly poured a cup of tea. "Give it a try? It''s jasmine tea."


    "Is jasmine flower your new addiction, Marcus?"


    Natalie sat down, only to see the snacks before her were decorated by jasmine petals.


    "Maybe." Marcus let out a chuckle. "Go ahead, try it."


    Natalie picked up the tea and took a small, careful sip. Marcus had added honey to the tea, which, with its subtle sweetness, tasted better than in jasmine tea. "Are you repaying me again, nting all those jasmine flowers in your garden?"


    Natalie didn''t want to overthink it, but jasmine flowers were her profile picture on every ount. Besides, Marcus had never paid attention to jasmine flowers. The sudden change urred right after Sophia confessed the truth about Marcus'' actual lifesaver.


    Hence, it was basically impossible for Natalie to not overthink it.


    "Can''t I grow them just because I like the flower?" Marcus pushed the snacks to Natalie. "You can have some of these first. After drinking the tea, I''ll bring you to see the sketchbook."


    "Let me see it now." Natalie reached out her hand. "I can drink the tea, nibble on the snacks, and flip through the sketchbook, all at once."


    "Multitasking?" Marcus smirked a little, obviously in a good mood. "Better not. It''s bad for your stomach and eyes."


    "Marcus Holden," said Natalie, raising her voice. "Is this how you treat your lifesaver?"


    She red at him. Since Marcus was trying to repay her, she could use that "lifesaver" identity of hers to put some pressure on him.


    Upon hearing what Natalie had said, Marcus broke into a grin. Then, he stood up. "Let''s go, Ms. Lifesaver."


    Natalie walked behind him. The manor''s structure was simple. It had an elegant courtyard, rooms on three sides, and corridors lined with basalt tiles. The tiles and columns were also adorned with detailed carvings of Griffins.


    Marcus pushed open the door to the middle room, and the nostalgic scent of books immediately filled the air.


    The windows had been opened beforehand. Warm sunlight streamed through, making even the tiniest dust particle visible.


    The room was sorge that it seemed endless at first nce. It was lined with mahogany bookshelves, and the books were arranged meticulously. There were alsodders between each bookshelf, making it easier to ess the books.


    Each bookshelf wasbeled with its specific book categories. Because the space was vast and the books plentiful, and with no one assigned to manage The Book Sanctum, they would have to search for the book themselves.


    However, Natalie wasn''t going to waste her time looking for the sketchbook. She turned to Marcus straight away. "Where''s the sketchbook? Go get it for me."


    "Follow me."


    Marcus walked into the room. After pondering for a moment, Natalie followed him inside.


    He kept walking until he reached the end of the room. Natalie only then realized that another door was hidden inside.


    Marcus took out a key to unlock the door. He pushed it open and reached for the switch.


    The room was a lot smallerpared to the one outside. It was filled with books as well. The only difference was that there were nobels on the bookshelves.


    "The sketchbook is in the box up there."


    Marcus pointed at the bookshelf on the left. There was a ck wooden box on top of it, secured with a tiny gold lock.


    Marcus grabbed Natalie''s wrist all of a sudden. Before she could p him, he quickly ced a small gold key on her hand.


    "This is the key."


    Natalie was going to p him, but she withdrew her hand abruptly in the end. "Go get adder here."


    Natalie scanned around the room. There wasn''t anydder in the small room, and she couldn''t reach the top of the bookshelf because of her height.


    "No need for that." Marcus'' deep voice rang out. In the next instant, he hoisted Natalie onto his shoulder.


    "Take the box, quick."


    "Marcus, you..." Natalie was surprised at his sudden action.


    He held her firmly, ensuring there was no risk of her falling.


    "Be quick," Marcus said again. "You''re so heavy, Natalie!"


    "Okay."


    Natalie didn''t have the time to be angry at him. She quickly grabbed the box and cradled it in her arms. "You can put me down now."


    "Alright," Marcus responded.


    Then, he carefully lowered her from his shoulder. His hand instinctively caught her waist as shended.


    "Careful there."


    Without any hesitation, Nataliended a p on Marcus'' face. "You''re getting too close!"


    Marcus was at a loss for words.


    "Don''t make me p you again, Marcus!"


    Marcus let out a soft snicker. "Is that it? Did you skip lunch?"


    Just exactly as he wished, Natalie gave him another p, much harder than the previous one.


    "What do you say? Did I skip lunch?"


    Marcus remained silent for a while. Secondster, he nodded slowly. "Yeah, you definitely had your lunch."


    "You''re totally nuts."


    "Well, you''re a doctor, so you can treat me," Marcus retorted.


    Natalie rolled her eyes. "Move."


    "Okay."


    Marcus stepped aside. Then, with


    the wooden box in her arms, Natalie walked out of the room. There was a


    table and chair by the window and afortable couch next to it.


    Natalie sat on the couch. She opened the tiny gold lock with the gold key and


    lifted the lid. There was a small sketchbook lying quietly in the wooden box.


    The sketchbook''s cover had turned yellow. It was obvious that it had been around


    for a while.


    She took out the sketchbook and


    turned to the first page. It was a


    nt with 18 blue flowers, each shaped like a small bell. A note beside it provided the name characteristics, and applications.


    On the second page was the Lethal


    Vermillion Marcus had shown before. The nts on these two pages were exactly the same as the sketchbook her mentor had given Ker.  s?novel


    Natalie''s heart was thumping loudly. Marcus also mentioned that there was a total of five volumes of the sketchbook. She wondered if Federrick knew about this.