Two luxury carriages stopped in front of the royal library.
I tried to contain my anxiety and stress, and looked closely at the scene outside the car.
Freesia smiled kindly and asked me:
"Erica, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
“No, the weather… no, I mean the people outside… beautiful.”
“Isn't it? It's a great day for a walk.”
Freesia and I exchanged a look and smiled softly.
Although the corner of my mouth twitched from the severity of the affectation.
I still find it difficult to cope with social niceties.
I continued to monitor the situation outside the car.
I wanted to enter the library quietly, without attracting attention as much as possible.
Because…
In the end, what I feared happened.
Passersby in front of the library suddenly stopped walking and stared at the two royal family carriages.
Some of the noble ladies began whispering and giving expectant looks.
As if the misfortune was not enough, a group of noble girls came out of the library, flapping their fans.
When Crown Prince Ludwig, Duke Carlex, and Miss Frisia alighted from the carriage side by side, exclamations of astonishment, admiration, and sighs rose from all directions.
Of course, I finally quickly got off the cart and backed away as if I wasn't with them.
I categorically refuse to be a party to the appearance of the main characters of the novel with such gaudiness.
From my position one step apart, all three looked like the perfect balance point in a painting:
The red-haired Crown Prince Ludwig, smiling with captivating strangeness, the handsome Duke Carlix, with jet-black hair and the cold sparkle of his eyes, and Freesia, who smiled innocently and elegantly like a white lily between the two men.
The Crown Prince spoke to Freesia kindly, and she covered her mouth with her hand and laughed lightly.
As for Carlex, he was guarding them with an indifferent but soft look.
I suddenly realized how much I was a secondary character with no significant presence.
Freesia approached me to bid me farewell:
“Am I not causing a disturbance to your work by keeping you here for so long?”
“It's all right. I've enjoyed myself today, Miss Rubell.”
“Please call me Freesia. Didn’t we agree to be friends?”
Freesia said smiling.
I was attracted by her gentle smile and nodded my head.
After Friesia left first, the Crown Prince stood in front of the carriage and waved his hand to the other noble girls, as if performing fan service.
He winked at me with one eye too, feigning familiarity:
“Librarian Erica, you were tired today too. See you tomorrow.”
“I plan to apply for leave tomorrow.”
Please, stop coming to the library.
Let's take a break.
I didn't become a librarian to suffer like this
Carlex stepped forward to prevent the Crown Prince, and said in a dry voice:
“Tomorrow, you must attend the State Council meeting in the morning and continue military training. It seems that state affairs will exhaust you for a while.”
“Just a moment, knight. This is too harsh...”
“Let's go.”
Carlex ushered the Crown Prince into the carriage with a polite but almost forced movement.
Isn't this a prisoner transport atmosphere and not a guardhouse?
After pushing the Crown Prince into the cart, Carlex turned back to me.
He didn't say anything, but his delicate, soft gaze froze my body.
“I was feeling anxious a little while ago...”
That's an unusual tone from him.
Why does he hesitate?
“Your forehead wrinkles are getting deeper.”
"What?"
“I hope you don't overwork yourself. I'll send skin-friendly herbs to the library, use them. So, see you later, Erica.”
What did you just hear?
While I stood in amazement at the absurdity and provocation, Carlex got into the carriage and left after saying what he wanted.
After a moment, I was overcome with anger.
Isn't it rude to explicitly point out the appearance of wrinkles?
People don't seem to really change.
That tasteless hero!
While I was looking at the carriage that had disappeared into the distance, Rose came up, waving her fan with exaggerated enthusiasm:
“Miss Erica, was that rumor true? It is said that the woman His Highness the Crown Prince loves is Miss Rubel?”
"Maybe. I never knew."
I answered indifferently.
Anyway, Freesia is also in trouble.
“His Highness the Crown Prince and Miss Rubell... Oh my God. They are such a perfect couple that I can't help but sigh in admiration.”
“Yes, they seem appropriate.”
“Duke Carlex also seems to be a good match for Miss Rubel? Perhaps he saved the country in his past life and to be surrounded by the most handsome of the kingdom… how.”
Rose sighed sadly as she walked away.
The other noble ladies who had not yet left were wiping their tears with their handkerchiefs.
As if they had lost even the energy to be envious or jealous of the perfect trio.
The woman-obsessed Crown Prince, the cruel Duke from the North, and the beautiful Miss Angel.
The combination of the three will become a buzzing topic in social circles for some time.
But why do I feel nauseous? Did you eat the steak quickly?
***
“Finally, the library is back to normal.”
I smiled as I tasted fresh, fragrant black tea.
A peaceful silence created by books hundreds of years old, and a wood-like comfort emanating from the smell of books.
For a moment I was overcome with emotion that the ancient royal library was finally restored to its shape.
Afternoon tea with Rose, during the quietest time in the library.
I was immersed in the happiness of crunchy cookies and sweet chocolate, while Rose didn't touch the tea and just sighed.
She stared at the library door dreamily, like a tragic heroine.
“Is His Highness the Crown Prince not coming anymore? And the Duke too...”
“They are busy managing state affairs.”
Unlike the frustrated Rose, I enjoyed the relaxing tea party and was internally cheering with joy.
They said Ludving would be busy for a while, and after the luncheon his visits really became less frequent.
However, he did not visit Carlex either.
There were fewer love letters piling up on the front desk every day, and I no longer saw the noble girls waiting among the shelves.
The procession of luxury carriages that used to fill the library every morning on the way to work has disappeared.
I was making a list of new books while humming a song.
Finally I can do my real work after it has accumulated due to serving the Crown Prince.
Rose said sadly, like a singer missing the success and glory of the past:
“The library is boring again. The old days were as fun as going to a ball.”
I nodded, remembering her collection of dresses that changed daily during the Crown Prince's visit.
Rose looked really happy as she laughed and chatted with girls from noble families.
“I was wondering, why did you apply for the librarian position, Rose? You seem to prefer lively social settings more than a quiet library.”
“My original family is in a rural fiefdom. It's a boring place with nothing but endless farm fields and sheep pastures. The only way for me to leave home is to attend capital balls or visit relatives.”
“What a stifling life.”
She trembled, as if the mere memory of life in the fiefdom disturbed her.
“The only way to leave the fiefdom is to marry but after marriage, I would suffer from the duties of a lady of the house. So I applied for a job as a librarian at the Royal Library as an alternative solution and ended up taking on a huge responsibility such as lending magic books.”
I tried to understand the matter, so I lowered my head a little.
“But the librarian only works inside the library. Isn’t that more monotonous and cramped?”
Rose smiled confidently:
“You don't know. The bookstore is in the capital. The capital is the one that drives fashion trends and social circles. I enjoy shopping on my off days.”
“I see. I don't go out of the library very often...”
Rose leaned over with sparkling eyes:
“Do you want to go out with me on your day off? I know a tailoring shop run by a tailor from the palace.”
Well, if I go shopping with Rose, I'll have to visit tailor shops all day.
In my previous life, I would even avoid shopping at the mall because it was tiring.
“Maybe at another opportunity I will go to the restoration room to deliver some dogs to straighten the cover.”
I drank the rest of the black tea in one go and headed to the restoration room on the third floor.
I laughed to myself when I realized that I had become accustomed to the routine life of a squirrel in a wheel, moving only between the library and my residence.
This is identical to my life before the takeover.
Then too, I was only commuting between the library and my apartment.
I tried dating, but the emotional drain was too difficult so I gave it all up.
She quietly opened the door to the restoration room and entered.
The employees were immersed in their work.
I passed between the desks and stopped in front of the binder desk.
Under the lamplight, the curly-haired boy Waynes was carefully engraving letters on a leather binding.
Mr. McBurn, the former binder, was fired for frequently being absent without leave.
Waynes, who had been Mr. McBurn's apprentice, became his natural successor.
At first, everyone was wary of handing over the work to an 18-year-old boy, but now the trend is to acknowledge Waynes' honesty and amazing repair skill.
“Ah, Miss Erica, you have come.”
Waynes hurriedly got up and bowed in greeting.
Did he grow up during this period? Waynes is now nearly as tall as an adult.
His childish facial features changed a lot and he resembled a young man.
Children grow up disappointingly quickly.
I suddenly remembered Michael.
Sweet, lovable Michael will be an adult one day too.
Ah, even thinking about being a sister brings tears to my eyes.
“Here is the book that needs to be repaired this time. I hope you take good care of it.”
Waynes examined the book to be repaired carefully.
“This is a book made with a lot of hard work in binding and binding. The gold plated on the back, front, and back of the book is peeling, and the leather is also worn out. I will disassemble this book into separate sheets, glue them together, then cover them with sheepskin, and I will plate them with new gold as well.”
The boy who was slowly explaining the business plan had an animated expression on his face.
His hands were full of cuts and calluses from needle pricks, but they were the hands of a true craftsman.
“Book restoration is wonderful. It is important work that extends the life of books.”
“In the ancient monasteries, there was a monk in charge of binding called Lugator, who played a dangerous role in turning the ruler’s word into a book. I dream of reaching the level of skill of the lugator and working hard.”
Wayne's eyes sparkled as he explained, and then he bowed his head in shame.
“Oh, I'm sorry miss, I snapped and babbled again. I did that to that person too...”
“That character?”
“Yes. She is a beautiful noble miss who comes to the library often. She saw my work and wondered, so I explained to her once. She also listened seriously.”
Waynes said, blushing as if dreaming.
It seems that the “pretty miss” captured the boy’s heart. Hey.
He grows up to have passion in his heart as a young man, and in a way I want to encourage him.
I left the restoration room suppressing a mother's smile.
I went to the second floor shelves to check out new books.
There were no visitors, just quiet silence.
The dim sunlight filtering between the shelves caressed my back.
I was humming a song and checking the book titles on the shelves.
“Librarian Erica.”
At that moment, someone called me from behind me.
I suddenly froze.
“Will you find a book for me?”
A soft, sweet but lazy voice.
A voice I never thought I'd hear again.
I remembered a sentence I read the other day.
“Will you die for me? “Erica.”
The sound emanating from lips smiling in a captivating smile was sweet.
At the same time, the gaze was as if she was looking at an insignificant stone.
Obsessive love and “never-ending nightmare” for Erica,
The traitor who dreams of the demise of the Kingdom of Ruberia.
It was the Prince of the Duchy of Sbern, Franz.
“To be continued in the next chapter”
Loving translation