As Daniel lay buried under a mountain of books and dust, he could barely process what had just happened.
Through the muffled ringing in his ears, he heard a familiar voice.
"Dan! Are you okay in there?" Evelyn called out, her tone half-worried, half-panicked.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, from beneath the heap of books, a single hand emerged—shaky, covered in dust—giving a weak thumbs-up.
"I'm fine," Daniel's voice came out, slightly muffled. "But I think… I might need a check-up."
A moment later, he crawled out from between the shelves, brushing off dust and parchment scraps.
His movements were stiff, awkward — mostly because a few heavy books had smacked onto his joints on the way down.
He winced and straightened up, muttering, "Good thing I fell face-first. If I'd landed the other way, my future generations might've been in danger…"
Evelyn blinked at him, frowning with concern.
"Dan, why are you swaying like that?"
"Nothing," he said quickly, forcing a smile. "Just… a little pain. You should worry about yourself, though. If the Curator sees this—"
He gestured at the chaos around them — half the shelves in the library knocked over, books scattered like battlefield debris —
"—he'll be furious."
Evelyn looked around, her face paling.
"'Furious' will be a small word," she groaned. "He might throw me out this time!"
As if summoned by her words,
Dr. Bey — the Curator of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities — marched in like an angry general, his eyes blazing as they swept across the disaster zone.
Rows of fallen shelves, clouds of dust, and what once was a perfectly organized library now looked like a battlefield.
He froze, took in the sight, and then slowly exhaled through his nose — the kind of calm that was far more terrifying than yelling.
"Tell me," he said, his voice trembling with barely restrained rage, "who did this… monstrous thing? Who destroyed my precious library?"
Evelyn flinched like a startled rabbit, her hands twitching at her sides.
Her lips parted, but no words came out. She looked exactly like a student caught red-handed with a broken artifact.
Daniel sighed quietly, brushing off the last of the dust from his shirt. He glanced at Evelyn, then at the furious Curator.
"…It was me, Mr. Bey," he said finally, raising a hand. "I'm the one who caused the accident."
For a heartbeat, the air froze.
Bey's gaze locked onto him — sharp, disbelieving. "You?"
A muscle twitched along the old man's jaw. His hands clasped tightly behind his back as he paced through the wreckage like a man walking among the ruins of his own soul.
"Do you have any idea," he began, his voice shaking, "how important these books are?"
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… priceless?"
"Irreplaceable!" Bey roared, spinning on him. "Some of these texts are hundreds of years old — ancient manuscripts, delicate scrolls — and you, you turned them into a sandstorm of chaos!"
Evelyn winced, shrinking even further into herself.
"I assure you, sir," Daniel said, forcing sincerity into his tone. "It was just an accident—"
"An accident?" Bey thundered. "You call this an accident? The next time you wish to rearrange the library, perhaps you should consult the gods first!"
Daniel blinked. "…So that's a no-no to the raise?"
"You're not getting paid this week—no, this month! In fact, you should be paying me!"
He jabbed a trembling finger at the wreckage. "You will restore every single shelf, every scroll, exactly as it was. You will not leave this room until it looks untouched. Do I make myself clear?"
Daniel straightened, adopting a mock-serious salute. "Crystal, sir."
Bey took one last look at the devastation, muttered something in Arabic that was definitely a curse, and stormed out, slamming the doors behind him.
The echo of his footsteps faded, leaving only silence… and Evelyn's defeated sigh.
"So, Dan," Evelyn asked softly as they started picking up fallen books, "why did you take the fall for me?"
Daniel glanced at her and shrugged. "You've already been scolded enough times. If the Curator found out you caused this, the scolding session would've been way longer."
Evelyn winced. "You're not wrong…"
"And besides," Daniel added with a small grin, "I can't just stand by and let a beautiful woman get chewed out by an old man."
Evelyn froze for half a second, color rising faintly to her cheeks. "B–beautiful? Well… that's very kind of you, Dan."
Daniel smirked inwardly. Bingo.
He wasn't the type to waste an opportunity to build a little favorability. And judging by her flustered reaction, it was working.
He will just keep brushing that favor meter until it hits 'Lover.'
As for O'Connell… sorry, pal. This time, the heroine's taken.
Plot can go screw itself.
His amusement faded as he looked up at the rows of fallen shelves and scattered books stretching across the floor. His shoulders slumped.
"Ah, hell… this is going to take forever."
"Don't worry," Evelyn said brightly, "I'll give you a hand."
*****
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