I'm really crazy.
Just because the Crown Prince considers me a candidate to propose to the Crown Princess, this Grand Duke is so agitated?
To the point of abandoning centuries of loyalty all at once?
Carlex's feelings for me were unbearably clear.
Please, stop this!
As hard as I could, I suppressed my anger and hit the table hard with my palm.
Tach!
The intense tension broke, and the three's eyes immediately turned to me.
I shouted in a strong and passionate voice:
“I'll invite you!”
There was a heavy silence for a moment.
William asked carefully, as if to make sure:
“Librarian Erica, what did you just say?”
Even Carlex and Ludwig, who were staring at each other, dropped their serious expressions and showed their astonished faces.
“What are you inviting us to do, Erica?”
I deliberately smiled innocently.
When the atmosphere is spoiled, it is necessary to reunite for something that cheers the soul.
“I've been promoted, so I have to invite you. We will meet at seven o'clock at the Angel Wing bar. Now, I have to work, so please all come out.”
Before they could respond, I forcibly pushed the three men's backs out of the room.
“Are you running away like this? I am the crown prince of this kingdom!”
“I know that very well. You are all high and dear. But this is my sacred workplace, and I must finish the rest of my work. Working overtime to death is something I hate. So, please, get out.”
I chased them out the door like I was swatting away flies.
Carlex tried to hold on to the door with an urgent look as if he had something to say.
“One moment, Erica.”
“We meet in the Angel Suite, Grand Duke. Goodbye.”
I quickly and mercilessly closed the door and locked it.
***
It's finally time to end work, the time that employees cheer for.
Before I opened the main door of the Royal Library, I turned around and asked in a low voice:
“So… are you ready?”
Three people nodded their heads with tense faces, their faces deeply hidden under their black hooded robes.
They were William, Lady Marian, and Rose.
We cautiously exited the main door of the library.
The soldiers guarding the door greeted us silently.
We turned away from the main street in front of the library and disappeared into a dark, narrow alley.
Then, a mouse passed quickly under our feet.
Rose cried softly, terrified:
“Ayeeh!”
“Shh! Calm down.”
I put my finger to my mouth.
Rose bit her lower lip hard and nodded with difficulty.
I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the sky, and saw a bright full moon.
The moon was still low, so there was a clear difference between the moonlit main street and the dark alley.
“Is this the right place?”
William asked with a serious face after making sure the place was empty of people.
“Yes. This is the place.”
We were hidden in the darkness, watching intently the bright place across the main street.
We exchanged serious looks.
The final destination was the “Angel Suite” bar on the main street.
Through its large wooden window, we could clearly see the people in the hustle and bustle, and cheerful songs were filtering out.
Lady Marian clasped her hands hesitantly as she silently peeked into the bar.
“This is my first time going to a bar... will it be okay?”
As for Rose, she was really excited, her eyes shining and she clenched her fists excitedly.
"I really wanted to go to one! I'm so excited!"
William adjusted his monocle and looked at me with the look of a teacher scolding his student.
“Librarian Erica, when did you even go to a bar?”
“I came here once with Grand Duke Reinhardt and the Shadow Knights, the beer here is amazing.”
The three were surprised and shouted as if they were repeating together:
“You went to a bar with the Grand Duke?”
Why this surprise? What's wrong with the bar? We did not go to a forbidden place.
“Ho ho, are you all ready?”
I laughed softly and gave them an evil smile.
“Today we will drink ourselves to death. Escaping is absolutely not allowed.”
Even in the darkness, their faces seemed to suddenly turn pale.
I didn't care and confidently walked towards the bar.
When the four of us entered the bar with our suspicious black robes hiding our faces, people's eyes turned to us for a moment.
But soon each of them returned to their drinking and loud conversations.
I went to a table in a far corner.
William, Lady Marian, and Rose were busy exploring the bar with looks full of astonishment.
The bartender rushed over to us to take the order.
"You're welcome. What would you like to order?"
“First, three glasses of beer, with a plate of smoked duck meat as an appetizer.”
Ms. Marian was surprised by my clever way of ordering.
“Wow, I thought the librarian Erica was a quiet girl who never left the library, but you are amazing. I see a new face to you today.”
Rose looked at me, her eyes shining full of admiration.
“I expected it when you said you fought with a bow, but Erica, you are truly amazing!”
“Well...it's nothing great.”
Ordering drinks at a bar is no big deal.
I feel embarrassed.
William had been absent-mindedly engrossed in exploring the bar ever since he entered.
He looked pathetic, like an old student who had spent his life on books and had never been to a bar.
“Haven't you been to a bar before too, manager?”
When I addressed him, he seemed to realize his behavior, and he coughed awkwardly in embarrassment.
“No. In the monastery we abstained from alcohol. After coming to the capital, I only moved between the palace and the royal library because of work... I did not have the opportunity to visit a bar.”
Hearing this, I felt intense anger suffocating me.
It's the feeling of co-workers sympathizing with each other.
Unconsciously, I slapped the table with my palm excitedly.
“Really? The Crown Prince was so cruel! Boss, he overworked you and never took you to a bar once! He is an undisputed exploitative boss, really!”
William smiled awkwardly.
“It's okay, I'm not a fan of alcohol anyway. But... what does 'exploitative employer' mean?”
“Oh, nothing. There are those who are called that. The important thing is that I am angry and disappointed for you.”
Oh, the emotion got me out of my mind and I said something I shouldn't.
While I was trying to quickly change the subject, the bartender brought the beer at that moment.
"Wow! Here she comes."
“Shall we raise a toast?”
We were reaching out to touch our cups and shouting a toast, when a strange shadow fell across the table.
“Are you starting without us? This really hurts!”
I turned around and it was Gilbert and Lloyd.
Lloyd winked at me with one eye.
“We thank you for inviting us as well, War Lady.”
“Oh, please stop. If you repeat the lady’s talk I will fire you.”
"Oh, I have committed a great sin. Just don't shoot me with your fiery arrow."
When she threatened him, Lloyd jokingly raised his hands in surrender.
This made everyone laugh.
Meanwhile, Rose craned her neck and looked around.
“But, where is the Grand Duke? Didn’t he come with you?”
With that, Gilbert pointed towards the door.
“Yes, he will come soon... He said...”
He did not finish speaking until the bar was completely silent.
For some reason, I remembered the first time I came here.
Would you again? He is the male hero who has the ability to spoil the atmosphere.
Carlex was entering through the entrance of the bar.
His black hair was so black that he looked powerful, and his tall stature exuded a majestic aura.
His black sable fur coat was fluttering in the wind on his broad shoulders, and his long sword was visible from its folds.
He looked like he had just finished a battle and was now searching for the enemy's remnants.
Anyway, he doesn't fit in here at all.
He was just wandering around the bar with his indifferent gaze, and yet people would lower their heads or pretend to look at their glasses in front of them, fearing that their eyes would meet his.
Thanks to this, Carlex arrived directly at our table.
The bar owner approached us, cold sweat dripping from him.
He repeatedly bowed before Carlex, groveling.
“It is an honor for our family to have you visit us again, Grand Duke Reinhardt.”
Carlex never revealed his identity, but the merchant's acumen was as sharp as ever.
“Do you want me to make them calm down if the noise is bothering you?”
“It's okay. Just be careful who troubles you.”
After Carlex's short response, the innkeeper sighed in relief and left.
Perhaps wanting to break the gloomy atmosphere, the mandolin player began actively plucking his strings.
As if that was a signal, people started laughing and making noise while clinking beer glasses.
When everyone stood up to salute, he responded with an indifferent nod.
Then he sat next to me naturally.
Perhaps due to the limited space after the number increased, his body was awkwardly close.
His large, muscular arm muscles even touched my shoulder, which made me feel ashamed.
The plan was originally to celebrate my promotion intimately with just my colleagues in the library, but after I invited the Crown Prince and Carlex, I couldn't help but invite the Shadow Knights as well.
Perhaps it wasn't without some good luck, as the Shadow Knights had previously guarded the Royal Library, so they knew Lady Marian and Rose.
Thanks to Lloyd's funny and engaging conversation with Ms. Marian and Rose, our table was filled with laughter.
“Duke Reinhardt, when will His Highness the Crown Prince arrive?”
William asked in a low voice, as if he was considerate of those around him.
Only then did I remember that last intruder, or even the crown prince, whom I had forgotten about.
The mere thought of Ludwig, no less a presence than Carlex, appearing at the bar makes my head hurt and give me a headache.
When I chose the place, I was distracted and didn't think deeply. Wouldn't this cause inconvenience to other customers or the bar owner?
Do you think he will honor us this time also with royal inauguration clothes?
Carlex was holding his cup with a sad look.
“He said he would come first because it takes time to change his appearance. The Royal Guard squad will accompany him, so there is no problem with security.”
"Change appearance? Just to drink in a bar, why would he do that...?"
William frowned and continued seriously:
“His Highness changing his appearance makes me feel a bad premonition...”
William did not finish speaking, but looked with a pale face at the center of the bar.
I turned around to see what was going on, and there was a person confidently ascending to the stage in the middle where the music band was.
That person was a wandering poet, and he lowered his green hat deeply over his face.
He was strange, his stature was large for an itinerant poet, and his clothes were too frilly, but in any case he carried a mandolin.
Even the mandolin looked very precious with its golden decorations on the handle and body.
The bar's customers greeted the wandering poet with applause and cheers.
The bar owner tilted his head questioningly and asked carefully:
“I don't remember hiring a traveling poet. How did I get here?”
The wandering poet raised the brim of his hat slightly, smiling cheerfully. Under the lamplight, his red hair and azure eyes shone lively.
“That… that… who is he?”
Rose held out her finger tremblingly, and she recognized it at first sight.
Why does the Crown Prince appear there?
While everyone he knew was in shock, Ludwig smiled softly and plucked a mandolin string.
“I am Galileo, the wandering poet who roams the continent. I have come to offer you a love song.”
At the moment when the Crown Prince, badly disguised as a wandering poet, tried to play the mandolin, Carlex and William shot from their places like lightning.
Loving translation