I barely suppressed the laughter threatening to escape as I watched Giles, his eyes trembling with disbelief, repeating the same words.
'He's really falling for this.'
Of course, what I had shown Giles was the magic crest etched on my hand when I visited the Duke's office.
This crest, proving it was Lord Bell's magic, was also a sign that I had met with the Duke.
Of course.
'The real direct descendants wouldn't even need to have such a crest etched on their bodies.'
Giles, already driven into a corner by an unforeseen situation, didn't seem to have the wherewithal to think that far.
And of course, I wasn't going to give him the chance.
"Father despises insubordination the most."
"……!!"
"I just came from seeing Father, so this is perfect. He'll be so pleased to hear this story."
Leaving behind a threat disguised as a statement, I turned to leave gracefully, but then.
"W-wait, please wait a moment!"
Only then, perhaps realizing the situation, Giles came rushing over, blocking my path.
"Is there something you want to say?"
I asked, widening my eyes like an innocent child who knew nothing, and Giles' face turned pale.
"That is, well, um……."
He rolled his eyes around, as if searching for an escape route.
'Well.'
He still seems to have some pride left.
'But completely breaking him isn't the goal.'
Of course, thinking about how he drove me out, I'd like to push him further, but what's important right now isn't that.
"Mr. Giles."
I called his name, and he flinched, looking at me.
I decided to open the path he was searching for.
"If you wish, Mr. Giles, I won't say anything to Father."
"……What do you want?"
He asked with difficulty.
The arrogant tone was completely gone.
Smiling brightly at him, who had finally taken the bait, I said.
"Allow me to use the library. That's all I want."
At the clear request, Giles wavered, but eventually.
"……I understand."
He was broken.
He moved aside, making way for me.
"As you know, taking books out is not allowed. Also……."
Giles recited the library's rules in detail.
After reciting the rules for a while, he led me inside.
"Books on the higher shelves can be retrieved using the ladder. Be careful not to bump into the bookshelves, and I'll be going now as I have some business to attend to."
He quickly finished the explanation and immediately turned away.
And then.
Thud!
The sound of the door closing echoed heavily.
I knew where he went without even looking.
Well, that's not my concern.
Turning my gaze to the bookshelves, I let out a deep sigh.
'When am I going to search through all this?'
I was already overwhelmed by the sheer amount of books.
In times like these, first-
"Let's start searching one by one from the inside."
Something will come up, right?
Dragging the ladder, I went to the innermost part.
Clang-!
Swoosh- Thud!
The sword that collided in the air, unable to withstand the force, bounced off and fell to the floor in a sorry state.
"Huff, huff……."
As Bansis, staring at the fallen sword, gasped for breath, his fencing instructor, who approached him, sighed deeply and said.
"You don't seem to be focusing on the lesson at all today."
"……Again."
Picking up the fallen sword, Bansis took his stance again, but the instructor shook his head.
"It seems pointless to continue today. It would be better to stop here."
"But……!"
Bansis tried to continue the lesson at all costs, but the instructor's attitude was firm.
He looked down coldly and gave a pointed remark.
"I hope you will focus on the lesson tomorrow. You know better than anyone that the qualification exam is not far away."
"Ugh……."
"Rest well today, and I will see you tomorrow."
After the fencing instructor left, Bansis, left alone, trembled, his face red.
"Damn it, damn it……!"
It wasn't just the fencing lesson.
From yesterday to today, Bansis was scolded by the instructors for not being able to concentrate in all his lessons.
It was something that had never happened in Bansis' life, who was a good student.
And the root of all this was definitely Lucia.
'It's all because of that girl!'
Everything Lucia had said and done to him yesterday kept replaying in his head.
'Please, stop deluding yourself into thinking that everyone will do their best for you. It's disgusting.'
Disgusting?
Don't make me laugh.
'You're the one who's disgusting!'
It wasn't him who was deluded, but Lucia.
It was not a delusion but a matter of course that everyone should do their best for him.
'Because I'm a Rodbel.'
The eldest son of the Rodbel duchy, a great aristocrat above nobles.
There was nothing he couldn't enjoy.
Even if he demanded something impossible, everyone did their best to achieve what he wanted.
Each and every one of them had a role.
They exist for Bansis' convenience.
Lucia was the same.
Lucia was…… yes.
'Like a bug that's fun to play with.'
A bug that is disgusting to look at, but keeps wriggling when poked, so you keep playing with it.
But that bug crawled up, bit him, and ran away.
'That's why I'm angry!'
On top of that, because of that bug, he was having trouble concentrating in class, and if that wasn't enough.
'I never thought Father would get angry at me.'
Just before the fencing lesson, the Duke suddenly summoned Bansis and sternly warned him not to play dangerous pranks again.
Bansis, who didn't think he would be scolded by his father just for playing with someone like Lucia, became even more dejected.
'Everything's messed up because of that girl!'
Thinking about it, Bansis was filled with anger again, so he put away his sword and quickly turned around.
"I have to see that girl again."
I will make her retract what she said yesterday and prostrate herself and apologize!
As he was storming off towards Lucia's room.
"Huff, huff!"
He saw someone running hastily in front of him.
'What's that again?'
After thinking for a moment, Bansis remembered that he was the librarian of the Rodbel Library.
'I didn't like how he kept grinning and approaching me whenever I went there with my brother.'
Besides, he's a strange guy who insists on being the librarian even though we now manage the library with magic and don't really need a librarian.
But why is a guy who treats the library like his grave coming all the way here?
And in such a hurry.
"Hmm."
The librarian's unusual appearance piqued his interest.
Bansis hesitated for a moment and then turned around.
It was the moment he turned the corner after following Giles.
"Head Butler!"
Giles shouted as he found the person he was looking for.
At that sound, Bansis hid behind the corner and only peeked out.
The person Giles was looking for in such a hurry was Ligrin.
'What, it was Ligrin?'
Bansis quickly lost interest.
That's because when servants look for Ligrin, it's usually for something uninteresting.
'I should go find that girl.'
She must be cooped up in her room, right?
As he was thinking that, he was about to turn around.
"The bastard…… no, I mean, yes! The black-haired lady has entered the library. She showed me the crest on her hand and half-threatened me……."
"Miss Lucia is in the library?"
The face of Giles, who was pouring out his troubles, turned blue at the title 'Miss Lucia' that came out of Ligrin's mouth.
Whether he liked it or not, Bansis, who was secretly eavesdropping, was just as surprised.
'She's there right now?'
I noticed that she had become strange, but I didn't think she would go all the way to the library.
Besides, judging from what Giles said, she must have threatened him when he wouldn't let her in.
'Is she really eating something wrong?'
He's the one who can't concentrate on class because of someone, but someone else is leisurely going to look at books!
Thinking about it, he gradually became resentful.
'I should definitely meet her.'
He immediately turned around.
'Wait for me, you vermin!'
Thinking about what he would say when he met her, Bansis ran towards the library.
"Haa……!"
As soon as I got off the tall ladder, I collapsed and sat down, gasping for breath.
I had expected that it wouldn't be easy to find the book I wanted in this vast place, but…….
"It's harder than I thought."
I tilted my head back and looked up.
I could see the bookshelf that I had barely scanned and come down from a little while ago.
Comments
Post a Comment