The Seherta Empire was sexually promiscuous, but equally developed in culture. Since it was a nation with over 1,000 years of history by the Imperial Calendar, both scientific technology and magical studies had developed tremendously and in-depth.

“…”

Chohee briefly looked away to survey the library, which wasn’t much different from libraries in reality. The sheer number of books was truly staggering, reminding her of the National Assembly Library she had visited before.

‘It’s surprising that a country like this is a class-based society, though…’

Usually, when commerce develops, the proportion of wealthy commoners increases and class-based societies automatically crumble, but reading the history books, she found that commoners and nobles were strictly separated. That didn’t mean the Empire’s citizens lived difficult lives, though.

The welfare system and legal framework for living were very well established, so excluding the peculiar aspects regarding Elysia, it could be considered a good country to live in.

‘Moreover, even though the Emperor is bedridden, Claes handles all the government affairs…’

Even including the Empire’s strictness about class, it was a good country for commoners to live in. Chohee continued reading the history book with a sense of wonder. While the previous history book had listed only facts related to ‘history,’ the current history book was organized around incidents and accidents concerning ‘culture in general.’

“Hm?”

Then Chohee blinked as an unusual incident caught her eye. The author must have thought the same, because that incident was emphasized in large letters.

‘It’s about the occurrence of brutal murder cases that didn’t discriminate between men and women.’

It was an incident where victims occurred regardless of whether they were elderly, weak, children, or young adults. Murder cases weren’t usually well-documented in history books, but this one seemed recorded because the victims easily exceeded 300 people.

It was truly an unprecedented incident.

Intrigued, Chohee flipped back to the front of the book to see if there were more records about that incident. Peculiarly, such incidents repeated every 300 years. And when she did the calculations, she could tell they had reached the year 1536, when such an incident was likely to occur.

“Hmm…”

Chohee flipped to the very last page of the book. Just in case anything about that incident was left there. But nothing more about it was recorded.

‘Could… such incidents be happening outside right now?’

Because Chohee was ‘Elysia,’ she mainly lived only within the Imperial Palace. Right after possessing the skeleton composed of the finest bones, she was mostly n*ked, so she couldn’t go out to plazas or villages.

So she had to wait for Claes or Lars to come find her. Therefore, she didn’t know what happened in the marketplace. She had only repeated attending balls and smiling brightly like a beautiful flower.

‘This is strange…’

Her heart beat uneasily. Moreover, Chohee knew that Dark Mages had been causing incidents recently. She had also heard from Claes himself that the reason he went on a subjugation was because insurgent forces within the Empire had cooperated with Dark Mages.

‘…This murder case. Could it be related to Dark Magic?’

Murders repeating at regular intervals. And the cruel offerings of Dark Mages that occasionally occurred inside and outside the Empire.

Chohee thought she should tell Claes about this. Though relying on intuition based on one book recording these incidents might seem rather weak, Claes knew far more than she did, so he would be able to find more connections.

When she stood up, the sunset was already laying itself down on her body. The orange sunlight warmly heated where she had been sitting. Unlike the weather outside, Chohee newly perceived the somewhat cold air and handed the book to the librarian.

“Here you are, Lady Elysia.”

The librarian was someone Chohee had never seen before. But within this palace, the only person with black hair and black eyes was Elysia alone. So the librarian could easily recognize her.

‘How unexpected…’

And at the same time, she harbored questions about her. An oracle had declared that Elysia was merely a breeding vessel, but watching how she acted, she didn’t seem like a breeding vessel. Even watching her come to the library to study, she had the bearing of someone accustomed to reading.

‘…The oracle that came later… could it possibly be false?’

Most of the Empire’s nobles knew the truth that oracles weren’t handed down contradictorily. So when the oracle declaring her a breeding vessel came down, quite many nobles recognized it as false.

If the Emperor hadn’t announced he would accept the new oracle, most would have believed the earlier oracle and recognized the later one as false.

However, whether knowing or not knowing the librarian’s thoughts, Chohee left the library with light steps. The book was heavy, but she didn’t want to entrust her burden to the Empress’s minion.

‘The best thing would be for Claes to come to my room, but… since the Empress came a few days ago, he probably won’t come… Let’s go find Lars.’

She would convey what she read in this book to Lars and entrust the book to him. Then this content would reach Claes’s ears too.

‘Well done, Chohee. Thank you. Really.’

Imagining Claes’s bright face saying that, Chohee giggled. Just as she was walking like that, she could see a familiar silhouette approaching this way.

‘Lars!’

He too must have business at the library, as he was approaching with quick steps. When Chohee ran toward him with small steps, he had a serious face but soon looked surprised and gazed at Chohee.

“Elysia!”

“…!”

Chohee threw herself into his arms. Lars hugged her with a delighted face, his cheeks flushing. Her fragrant body scent tickled his nostrils.

Chohee only looked up at Lars and placed her lips to his ear.

“I actually had something to tell you. Lars.”

At the soft voice that gently seeped into his ear, Lars’s eyes instantly heated up. Feeling a faint pleasure, he stole her lips. Smack. The bird kiss that touched gently was that of lovers.

Chohee also felt her mood improving and stood on tiptoe again to kiss Lars’s lips. Lars’s expression instantly changed to something affectionate, and with eyes deeply fallen, he captured only her in his blue eyes.

Watching them, the maid frowned, but the two had no interest in her.

“I was on my way to the library. But to meet you on this path… Did you also go to the library?”

Chohee nodded.

Since there was distance from the maid, whispering to Lars wouldn’t be heard, but she had to be careful not to let anyone notice she could speak.

So Chohee wrapped her arms around Lars’s neck and whispered, “Please lift me up.” At those words, Lars curved his golden eye corners radiantly and lifted her with his firm arms.

“Elysia. My lovely one.”

Lars watched her with eyes resembling water. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she brought her lips to his ear.

‘Does he like it that much? Hmm… Well, they say Elysias were loved by most of the imperial family.’

Even if they couldn’t become official empresses.

The number of imperial family members for whom Elysia was their first love was countless. The maid watched the two, but she couldn’t suppress the feeling of jealousy somehow.

“I read about murder cases in a book. The victims exceeded 300 people.”

“…!”

“But that incident repeats every 300 years. And this year is when those murder cases occur. Perhaps the Dark Mages are particularly rampant to recreate those murder cases.”

Lars’s eyes widened. If that was true, they might newly discover fatal evidence to catch spies communicating with Dark Mages. Lars recalled what Claes, who had finished this subjugation, had said.

‘Lars. I’ve dealt with all the Dark Mages. But the real enemy is inside.’

‘What do you mean by that, brother?’

Claes showed him documents with a serious face. Lars’s expression also worsened after reading through the subjugation report.

‘The highest-ranking Dark Mages disappeared from their positions every time our side attacked.’

‘Right. Because of that, this subjugation was nothing but an empty husk with the core removed. Just catching these small fry won’t reduce the Dark Mages gathering people to offer as sacrifices.’

‘…’

Claes spoke carefully.

‘Therefore, I… think there’s someone in this Imperial Palace communicating with them.’

‘Surely not…’

‘Perhaps it’s the Empress or Duke Serow. But it might unexpectedly be someone I thought was on my side. What’s certain is that even if Elysia is born from the pile of corpses the Dark Mages create to resurrect the Demon King, we must prevent them from offering more sacrifices.’

Lars pressed his lips tightly together and nodded.

‘Then brother, how can we reveal that spy?’

Claes clenched his fist with a furrowed brow.

‘I’m thinking about that now. I wish a good idea would come to mind…’

The recollection ended there. Lars thought Chohee was amazing and truly grateful. If they had even the smallest hint, they could reveal the spy from it.

“Thank you. Elysia. Then I’ll look at that book, bring it to my brother, and then my brother will return it to the library.”

“Okay. You should start from page 298.”

Chohee was happy thinking she had been helpful to Lars and Claes. She resolved again that she should frequently visit the library from now on to show that Elysia wasn’t merely a breeding vessel and was material fit to become the next generation’s empress.

“Then Elysia. I’ll take you to the annex palace.”

Chohee shook her head. But Lars curved his eye corners kindly and said affectionately,

“You must have overworked your legs walking to the library, so don’t push yourself any further. I know the distance from the annex palace to the library is considerable. So stay still in my arms. Lovely Elysia.”

Then Chohee felt warmth spreading inside her chest at Lars’s tenderness. When she bent her waist while wrapping her arms around his neck, he smiled brightly.

“Then, shall we go, Elysia?”

When Chohee nodded repeatedly, Lars began walking.

The rose garden viewed from a high perspective was truly magnificent. That aesthetic landscape seemed to dye the people scattered here and there with red waves. Though the abundantly blooming flowers had thorns, they captivated passersby with their subtle fragrance.

“…”

Such a wonderful scent. Taking deep breaths, she returned to the annex palace held in Lars’s arms. Though the maid who was the Empress’s minion hurriedly chased after the two, Lars paid no attention and sat Chohee on the bed.

“Then, I’ll go see my brother now, Elysia. See you later.”

Lars, who spoke kindly, only turned his head to the side after seeing Chohee grinning. The maid was watching him. He gave the maid a calm order.