Chapter 2

Time passed slowly.

Sir Costance remained in the same spot.

Whenever she felt his gaze, she got up under the pretense of going to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet for as long as possible and washed her hands thoroughly.

“Sigh…”

By now, the director and seniors might be looking at her empty seat and saying, “Vivi has severe constipation, contrary to appearances.”

But she had a bigger problem.

…Does Sir Costance know my true identity?

‘No way.’

If that were the case, he would have caught her and handed her over to the government right away. Sir Costance doesn’t know her identity. He probably doesn’t even know her real name.

She examined her face in the mirror.

She changed her hair color. Her face looks different now that she’s grown. Her personality has also changed. Besides that, she made a lot of effort to hide her past self.

‘Let’s act calmly.’

Before stepping out of the bathroom, she took a deep breath.

Calmly, steadily…

“Look, there he is!”

Her shoulders flinched at the loud voice. As expected, a group of women was gathered in front of the reading room door.

“Is that really Sir Costance?”

“I told you! Should I sneak into the seat next to him?”

“Someone else is already there, though? Look! The owner of Salon No. 3 is there too!”

It seems Sir Costance’ whereabouts have spread.

Causing a commotion in the sacred library was unacceptable, but it was fortunate for her.

If more young ladies take an interest in him and approach, Sir Costance might move to a corner. Then, there won’t be any chance of their eyes meeting…

As rumors spread wider, he might become aware of people’s gazes and stop coming to the library.

She carefully entered the reading room.

Some ladies had already taken seats close to Sir Costance. But strangely, no one sat right next to him.

“You’re finally here, Vivi.”

As she sat down, Julia spoke to her as if she had been waiting.

“Sorry. I was away for a long time, wasn’t I?”

“That’s not the problem. The real problem is those women who came to the library just to flirt.”

“Julia, I don’t think you’re in a position to say that…”

She bit her teeth at her response.

“I’m driven by simple curiosity and intrigue, unlike them. They’re purely here for romance, aren’t they?”

Julia grumbled.

As she said, the other young ladies didn’t have their eyes on the books. Their gaze was fixed in one place. Sir Costance!

“But isn’t Sir Costance quite something too?”

Julia whispered.

“What do you mean by ‘quite something’?”

“Look. He could have given the ladies a glance, but he’s only looking at the book.”

“Th-That’s true.”

“The lady who can take the seat next to Sir Costance is probably the one who makes eye contact with him first. But no one’s made eye contact with him yet.”

…I see. So that’s the atmosphere.

She glanced at Sir Costance. He didn’t take his eyes off the book. His determination not to give anyone a glance was evident.

To the extent that the waiting ladies eventually got tired and left.

…What a tough guy.

* * *

〈Isn’t the head of the department quite harsh? He didn’t lift his butt for 17 hours. Even you, little miss, can see that, right? He hasn’t said a word all this time.〉

A memory from the lab.

The girl looked at the young researcher whispering quietly beside her. Then she shifted her gaze back to her father. His eyes were hollow, his face dark. His hair was unkempt, but his eyes were alive.

〈Tiago.〉

〈Ah, sorry. I was careless. Forget what I said. Shall we play cards now, little miss?〉

Even 14 years later, the image of her father vividly came to mind.

“…Vivi.”

“…”

“Vivi!”

“Ah… Yes! Yes.”

She snapped back to reality. Julia was holding her shoulder.

“It’s lunchtime. Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I-I should go.”

She stood up after tidying the desk. Up ahead, she saw Sir Costance closing his book.

Finally, he’s leaving!

At that moment, her eyes met his.

‘…!’

She instinctively avoided his gaze. Then immediately regretted it.

Would he think I’m strange?

Her worries were unfounded; when she looked up again, he was smiling slightly.

‘Is he smiling?’

What is this? Why is he smiling?

“Today was a feast for the eyes.”

Julia nudged her.

“A feast?”

“You saw him smile, didn’t you?”

What feast?

“My heart was pounding.”

“Pretending not to be interested. Yeah, how could you not be interested in the opposite s*x with such a pretty face?”

“Stop saying nonsense.”

“Alright, let’s have lunch together. Okay?”

She showed her packed lunch and smiled slightly.

“But Sir Costance won’t come again tomorrow, will he?”

“What, are you really interested?”

“No, I’m not.”

But somehow, she got to feast her eyes again the next day and the day after that. Sir Costance attended the library without missing a single day.

His seat was always in a place where he could see the librarian’s desk well.

Why?

* * *

〈Please! I’m innocent!〉

She recalled today’s dream. She dreamt of being caught by Sir Costance and dragged to an institution.

〈I don’t know anything. Please. Please…〉

No matter how much she begged, that ice-cold person silently pushed her into the institution.

What if she becomes unable to live her daily life like this?

There was another problem. Until a few days ago, many village girls came to see Sir Costance, but now their numbers have dwindled.

It was because of Sir Costance’s impenetrable demeanor. He was more rigid and precise than expected.

Sir Costance shattered the efforts of the young ladies who dressed up and waited in the library with a single sentence.

〈I’m sorry, ladies. Please remain quiet as this is a library.〉

He repeated those words exactly, without a single mistake.

Is he a machine?

That’s why the women gave up and left. Even the senior librarians gave up trying to approach him early on.

“As expected of a noble, he’s quite noble.”

But interest in Sir Costance didn’t wane. If anything, it increased.

“Even the second son of a baron from the provinces finds mere women trivial and doesn’t look at them. Men are like that. They find a match that suits them. No wonder the royal families of the past couldn’t find their match and married each other.”

Julia nodded several times, agreeing with the senior’s words.

“That guy I met last time was the same. He looked down on me, boasting about his noble maternal family. Even though he’s a commoner like me.”

“You should never meet such a man. Vivi, you’re listening too, right? You’re especially pretty, so men will flock to you.”

She even gave her advice.

“Shall I make sure you don’t get hit on by men?”

A voice filled with anger came from behind. The seniors’ bodies stiffened.

“D-Director.”

“If you work at the library all day, you won’t have time to meet men. If you really don’t want that, get to work! Stop the nonsense!”

Afraid of her terrifying expression, they immediately focused on work. Afraid of catching the blame, Vivi also picked up a pen.

“Vivi.”

The director called her.

“Y-Yes!”

“Take this box to the storage room.”

It was her responsibility as the youngest to put the heavy box in the storage room. After entrusting her with the difficult task, the director went into the room.

‘Hang in there, Vivi!’

‘You can do it!’

When she stood up, the seniors silently cheered her on. They could have helped instead of cheering. She picked up the box placed against the wall.

This library is the third largest national library in the country. The storage room is far away.

Carrying the box, she left the reading room. The loose box kept moving, making her afraid it might collapse.

As soon as her uneasy feelings arose, the books inside the box fell to the floor.

“Ah!”

She stood there blankly, staring at the books scattered on the floor.

Ugh!

Nothing seems to go right.

To be precise, since Costance Orsi came!

Costance Orsi…!