Chapter 9 Part 6

Before they could notice, Elia turned in the opposite direction to join Aksion. Aksion had already prepared two horses, a black one and a white one, and was waiting for her.

“I’ve brought them out in advance.”

“Thank you. Elsha, did you sleep well?”

The white horse nudged its head into Elia’s arms. Aksion, watching this, commented nonchalantly.

“I’m jealous of the horse.”

“How can you be so jealous?”

Elia laughed playfully and hugged him. They mounted Elsha and headed toward the eastern part of Mahart’s territory. The slightly wet soil and the view of the estate from the hill were beautiful, but Elia couldn’t fully appreciate the scenery.

“I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Although she acted like nothing was wrong, her mind kept replaying the earlier scene. The conversation between Duke Tartan and Sharon was peculiar. It felt as if there was a connection between the two that Elia didn’t know about.

‘Did the Duke know Sharon all along?’

That day, Duke Tartan rushed to the forest where the saintess was. No one had sent a signal that Sharon had arrived.

‘I need to investigate further.’

She thought that using higher-level magic might help her remain unnoticed. As Elia was deep in thought about how to uncover the truth, Aksion called her.

“Elia?”

“Yes?”

Startled, she gripped the reins tightly and opened her eyes wide. Seeing his calm gaze, she realized she had been lost in thought.

“Is something wrong?”

He seemed to notice she was deep in thought. Elia shook her head, trying to appear nonchalant.

“I was just thinking how nice the weather is. It’s rare to have such a pleasant day in the North.”

“I feel like I’m burdening you by making you do these tasks when we should be enjoying the warm weather together.”

Elia shook her head firmly at his words.

“I’m doing what I want. And we are together, aren’t we? This counts as a date.”

She didn’t care about the risks of dating while working.

“Is that so.”

Aksion smiled gently. Elia felt a small sense of relief as she looked at him.

‘I’ll keep this a secret for now.’

She felt increasingly guilty about hiding things from Aksion, but there was no solid evidence about Tartan and Sharon yet. Before long, they reached the eastern edge of Mahart’s territory. Elia stood on a hill overlooking the estate.

“This spot should be good.”

She extended her hand towards the estate. A purple light spread as she felt her magic rapidly depleting. An invisible array formed in the eastern land.

As her magic neared exhaustion, Elia completed the eastern array. Another purple pillar rose into the sky above Mahart’s estate. Only two pillars remained. Once these pillars guarded each direction, the mysterious misfortunes plaguing Mahart would disappear.

‘I hope no more misfortune spreads in the meantime.’

Misfortune tends to grow slowly at first, then exponentially once noticed. When it feels like more than just bad luck, it spreads like wildfire.

‘It’s likely on the brink now.’

It seemed best to move quickly. That evening, with three days left before the final hunt, they finished dinner. Duke Tartan rose from his seat and escorted Sharon out of the dining hall.

‘If only I could eavesdrop a bit…’

As soon as she thought that, the constraints came to mind. It seemed that using magic to spy on Duke Tartan would affect her lifespan.

“Elia, let’s head up.”

“Yes.”

Reluctantly, she gave up on eavesdropping. She nodded and turned her eyes away. The Crown Prince’s seat was also empty. Varlan hadn’t joined the dinner tonight. She suddenly remembered Sharon mentioning that he often stayed in the library.

“Aksion, I need to go somewhere. You go ahead!”

Elia hurried to the library. The library of the duke’s castle was located in the basement of the main building.

‘I haven’t been there yet.’

She had only heard that it was a massive repository of knowledge. When she arrived, a huge carved door blocked her way. Carefully opening the door, warm light spilled out from inside.

‘The smell of books.’

The scent of old paper and a hint of dust gave her a strange sense of calm. Stepping inside, Elia was awestruck.

“Wow, are all these books?”

Seeing the hundreds of bookshelves filled to the brim, it felt like the underground was a giant maze.

“Could the Crown Prince be here?”

Though the lights were on, the vast interior made her unsure if she could find him.

“…Why did I come here in the first place?”

Compelled by some force, she had come to find the Crown Prince, but even she didn’t know why. 

“Since I’m here, I might as well look around.”

Having come this far, it felt wrong to just turn back. Elia descended the staircase leading into the library. As she went down, the bookshelves grew larger, making it harder to navigate.

“It’s like a real maze.”

She feared getting lost and left a trail of light only she could see.

“Just like Hansel and Gretel.”

The story of the siblings who dropped breadcrumbs to find their way through the forest came to mind. Unfortunately, the breadcrumbs were eaten by animals, and they ended up lost, eventually finding a house made of sweets.

So, who exactly is the witch with the candy house?

Elia was lost in thought about the forgotten details of the fairy tale when she realized she had ventured quite deep into the library. Despite this, she couldn’t sense anyone’s presence around her.

“Looks like he’s not here.”

Just because he stayed here often didn’t mean he was here now. Feeling somewhat relieved that Varlan wasn’t around, Elia looked around, noting the vast number of books. She thought she might as well find a book that interested her since she was already here.

“Since I’m here, I might as well take a book.”

Elia checked the numbers and classifications on the spines of the books.

“They have everything here.”

From ancient texts to practical knowledge, the library had it all. Among the shelves, she found a section on spirits. Elia scanned the books with her eyes, and one particularly old book on the top shelf caught her attention.

“History of Spirits and… Summoning Methods?”

Such a book existed here. The text on the spine was in an ancient script. Elia stretched her arm high, proud of her early studies, but she couldn’t reach it.

“I think I saw a ladder earlier.”

There was a ladder by the stairs, but it felt too far to go back for it. Determined, Elia stood on her tiptoes.

“Just a bit more…!”

She stretched so much that her hand cramped, but she managed to touch the spine of the book with her fingertips. She tapped at the bottom of the book, and it slowly started to slide out.

“Got it… Ah!”

The book fell, but Elia didn’t feel any pain even though she braced herself for it.

“Uh…?”

Opening her eyes cautiously, she saw a shadow over her. The Crown Prince stood there, holding the book. She blinked in surprise, and he sighed.

“You should ask for help.”

“Um… The entrance was too far.”

At her response, Varlan rubbed his eyes. He turned, indicating she should follow him.

Varlan led her to a small room with a cozy sitting area. The room smelled pleasantly calm and felt very comfortable.

“So there was a place like this.”

It wasn’t visible from above. There were various books piled on the table, suggesting that Varlan had been spending time here.

“Here.”

Varlan handed her a steaming mug. A sweet scent rose from the brown liquid.

“Cocoa?”

It was a drink she hadn’t had since she was very young. As she stared at the cup, she found herself wanting to taste it. Elia sat down and took a sip. The sweetness relaxed her. While she drank, Varlan handed her the book she had tried to get.

“Thank you.”

She had almost knocked herself out with the book. Elia hugged the old book and tucked it beside the sofa.

‘I hope he didn’t see the title.’

The book was about spirits, which worried her a bit. Varlan likely knew enough ancient script to understand.

Varlan silently sipped his tea. His tea, unlike hers, was clear and leafy.

‘Did he make this separately because of me?’

When she first entered the palace as a child, she couldn’t drink such teas well. She eventually got used to it, but it took time.