Chapter 34: Library (4)

 

Morning breakfast.

 

It wasn’t a particularly special way to start the day, but it was one of the rare moments I got to spend with Adele. For that reason, I deliberately slowed down my eating during breakfast.

 

I glanced at Adele, seated across the table for conversation. Unlike usual, her slow and listless eating caught my attention.

 

The Adele I knew would normally devour at least two plates by now, but this morning, she had been chewing on a single piece of bacon for ages. Anyone could tell she looked exhausted.

 

The slight tremble of her fork only reinforced my thoughts.

 

“Adele, did something happen?”

 

“Ah... I stayed up all night,” she replied, scratching her cheek awkwardly.

 

However, I could quickly tell it was a lie. The faint trembling of the muscles near her eyes and her slightly reddened, tense pupils gave her away.

 

It wasn’t hard to deduce why she was in such a state.

 

‘Did she regress?’

 

Questions swirled in my mind about where and why she might have regressed. From what I knew, none of the places she had visited recently were particularly dangerous.

 

While I was lost in thought, Adele gently placed her fork on the table, seemingly losing her appetite. Even Allen, who rarely showed surprise, widened his eyes at her unusual behavior.

 

Perhaps noticing his expression, Adele let out a sheepish laugh.

 

“Sorry. I don’t have much of an appetite today.”

 

“...I see. Rest well.”

 

“Okay.”

 

She nodded slightly at my words and left the room. Watching her retreating figure, a deep concern settled on Allen’s face.

 

Even I, who didn’t spend much time with Adele, was worried about her condition. How much more so for Allen, who saw her every day?

 

She might very well become the duchy’s future lady, so it was only natural for him to be concerned. I had even gifted her a diffuser to help her relax, but it seemed that alone wasn’t enough to improve her state.

 

What could have happened to leave her in such a condition?

 

“I hope it’s nothing serious...” Allen muttered in a worried tone. I felt the same but chose not to voice it.

 

Instead, it was more reassuring to find out for myself.

 

“Ilho.”

 

Black mist rose into the air. Tiny particles gathered together, forming a small raven-shaped statue. This was Ilho, the leader of the ravens and an unmatched master of intelligence.

 

The statue was a communication artifact created to relay information, no matter where he was.

 

“Where did the young lady go last night?”

 

— To the Imperial Library.

 

The library. The Imperial Library, no less.

 

That alone didn’t explain why Adele had regressed.

 

Given Adele’s nature, she would only use her regression ability in the face of death or something equally dire. She hated using it frivolously, and I knew this from testing her ability multiple times.

 

That could only mean one thing: Adele had died in the library.

 

Killing the young lady of a count’s family quietly while she read in the heart of the palace? Only a reckless fool would attempt such a thing.

 

— The Emperor’s Hand targeted her.

 

I froze at the response.

 

“A misstep.”

 

I had thought the library was safe when she asked to go alone. I regretted not insisting on assigning Evan to her, even at the risk of her protest.

 

At least now I knew why Adele had regressed.

 

The real question was why the Emperor’s Hand had targeted her.

 

Why would they go out of their way to kill Adele, using such a weak pawn from their arsenal?

 

— And the princess saved her.

 

“The princess?”

 

That name was unexpected. Had the princess ever met Adele before? To my recollection, they had never crossed paths.

 

Then I remembered an incident when Adele had slipped out quietly late at night.

 

That memory, coupled with the news that the princess had saved her from the Emperor’s Hand, led me to a conclusion:

 

‘She must have met the princess that night.’

 

It felt almost like a wild guess.

 

But my instincts, honed over years, told me it was the truth.

 

Of course, I didn’t need to agonize over this in my head. I could confirm it directly.

 

“Stay here for now.”

 

“Yes, take care.”

 

Leaving Allen behind, I awakened the mana within me. A soft hum filled the air as a brilliant white magic circle materialized.

 

Teleportation.

 

If the coordinates were calculated correctly, it could take me anywhere—even to the heart of the Imperial Palace.

 

The magic circle vibrated faintly before wrapping around my entire body. The sound of rushing wind filled my ears, and my vision flipped in an instant.

 

Thunk.

 

I felt a sharp pain in my head as I hit the ground.

 

Despite my calculations, errors were inevitable when teleporting to the palace.

 

In the first place, the Imperial Palace was enchanted to seal off magic.

 

While it couldn’t completely neutralize my spells as an Archmage, it still interfered with coordinate calculations, which was unavoidable.

 

As I rubbed my forehead with a soft tsk, I heard a muffled chuckle behind me.

 

“Pfft... heh...”

 

I turned to see the princess, covering her mouth as she struggled to hold back her laughter. I gave her a pointed look, but it did little to suppress her amusement.

 

“Pfft... hehehe...”

 

“...Please stop laughing.”

 

“But isn’t it too much to ask me not to laugh at that?”

 

The once-dreaded Iron-Blooded Duke, reduced to smacking his head on the floor and grimacing in pain. She claimed it was simply too absurd a sight not to laugh at.

 

Of course, from my perspective, there was nothing remotely funny about it.

 

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” she said, finally clearing her throat when my glare persisted.

 

“More importantly, what happened to your eye?”

 

I had noticed it earlier but hadn’t been able to ask because of her laughter. At my question, the princess touched the eyepatch covering her left eye.

 

It had been months since I last saw her at the banquet. What could have happened during that time?

 

“Oh, this?” she said, sounding indifferent.

 

“It’s the emperor’s doing.”

 

With that, she removed the eyepatch.

 

Beneath it, there wasn’t a scar or even a trace of injury. But when she opened her eye, I saw a dull, clouded golden iris.

 

The sight made me frown involuntarily.

 

“Twisted taste, isn’t it?”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I crossed the line and ended up like this.”

 

The princess spoke with a nonchalance as if it no longer bothered her.

 

This wasn’t the first time. When she lost her ring finger previously, she had treated it with the same apathy. It seemed as though she found maintaining her physical body to be more of a nuisance than anything else.

 

The reason for that, no doubt, was the curse placed upon her.

 

She said no more on the matter and silently replaced the eyepatch. As the silence stretched between us, she finally broke it, seemingly restless.

 

“So, why are you here?”

 

She looked at me with a questioning gaze.

 

“Adele von Este.”

 

At the mention of the name, her lips pressed into a thin line. She, too, likely had some inkling as to why I brought it up.

 

This was the moment to press further.

 

“You know, don’t you?”

 

“Haha. I didn’t think I’d get caught within a single night.”

 

She chuckled awkwardly, a faint hint of resignation in her tone.

 

“Next time, I suppose I’ll refrain from trying to deceive the duke.”

 

The moment she admitted it, the chain of events in my mind began to align.

 

The reason Adele had snuck out late at night, why she had stayed up in the duchy’s library, and ultimately, why she had gone to the Imperial Library.

 

And why she had been attacked there by the Emperor’s Hand.

 

It was clear now. Adele must have learned of my rebellion plans from the princess.

 

“You told her. About our plans.”

 

At my words, the princess dropped her playful demeanor and looked at me intently. The carefree air around her evaporated.

 

“Your intuition is too sharp for your own good,” she said with a sigh.

 

Her lack of denial only confirmed my suspicions.

 

“Why did you tell her?”

 

“Adele is the key to our plan, isn’t she?”

 

When I nodded, she continued.

 

“Wouldn’t it be stranger if she remained unaware of it?”

 

She wasn’t wrong. As the central figure in the plan, Adele would eventually need to understand her role. However…

 

“There was no need to tell her this early.”

 

My retort made her pause. She tilted her head slightly, as though my words puzzled her. After some thought, she spoke again.

 

“Are you worried Adele might betray you?”

 

“There’s no guarantee she won’t.”

 

“How suspicious of you,” she said with an exasperated sigh.

 

After a moment of thought, she added,

 

“During the hunting festival, didn’t you save Adele from that catastrophic monster?”

 

“I did.”

 

“Isn’t that enough?

 

What exactly are you so afraid of?”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

 

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