“Where are you going?”

Orange-head, I mean Aaron, asked.

I grabbed my throbbing head. Even if things were already tangled, they were getting even more tangled……..”

I gritted my teeth.

I was in a hurry, and he was interrupting me.

Ignoring him, I headed forward first.

“Where are you going〜.”

Aaron continued to whine at my side, nonstop, and I tried to endure the growing annoyance for about five minutes with superhuman strength.

“Rooooose, can’t you hear me?”

I have enough on my plate as it is, so where on earth did this guy come from to bother me.

I was genuinely curious about the mental thought process of this human to the point of going crazy.

I couldn’t go on like this. So, I took out the map that Mila had drawn for me from my pocket and unfolded it.

And it didn’t take long for me to sigh.

Was I too impatient? The map Mila drew was beyond recognition.

Even my four-year-old cousin would have drawn it better.

……So, this is what modern art is all about!

I seriously thought about the direction of my life.

Should I just take the money the protagonist gave me and run? Should I escape like this?

Yeah, why should I hold on so desperately to something I don’t think is important? At that moment, when I was seriously considering my escape plan.

Thud!

Aaron snatched the piece of art created by Mila’s artistic sense that was in my hand. With his still innocent expression, he said.

“Is that the Crimson Bookshop?”

“……You know it?”

I asked him with a frown.

Aaron nodded his head and poked my shoulder. Was it just my imagination that his gaze looked ominous?

“I should’ve told you earlier. I also have business in a place like this! Follow me!”

Even while following that guy, I couldn’t suppress my astonishment.

After passing through a total of seven alleys that I wasn’t sure were actually the right way, we reached a small building in a quiet corner of a dilapidated residential area.

It was the “Crimson Bookshop” that Mila had mentioned.

The sign looked old, with the last letter already falling off.

I became curious about how Mila had found such a bookstore.

Furthermore, the problem was that what I wanted wasn’t this shabby secondhand bookstore, but a ‘library’ where I could find history books or genealogical records of noble families.

I felt a deeper sense of despair, and my head grew hazy.

And I seriously contemplated whether I should write a will.

While I was having such a serious thought, Aaron, who had no way of knowing, naturally led me into the bookstore.

The inside of the building was not much different from the outside, a typical old bookstore with a lot of dust.

I sighed involuntarily.

“Hmm, but this place only deals with banned books. What are you looking for? “

Aaron said.

Yeah, what I need right now isn’t a forbidden book, but information about noble families….

Wait a minute.

What?

I turned my head abruptly and looked at Aaron.

His expression, which had been blank, was suddenly serious.

“What?”

“What. Did you come here without knowing?”

As I made an astonished expression, Aaron gestured for me to wait and sat me down on a small chair. Then he started pulling books off the shelves.

“Did you look for something like this?”

I quietly read the titles of the books he brought.

<Under the Prince’s Shirt>

<The Hunter Next Door is Too Cruel>

<No, Sir Knight!>

<34 Preparations for Summoning Demons>

I had a feeling there was a trap, but they were all red-covered books.

By the way, summoning demons?

What is that?

As I was about to ask him something with curiosity, Aaron quickly threw the book with a strange cover far away while wearing a smiling face.

“Oh, I brought the wrong one because the cover looked weird.”

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head.

I swallowed my saliva and grabbed Aaron’s arm.

“You said you knew this place.”

I thought long and hard.

Can I trust this crazy person I’ve never seen before with information?

I approached him closely, matching his tall height, and whispered into his ear.

“Here.”

“…….”

“Do they sell information too?”

I quickly moved away from him.

Aaron, with a slightly absent-minded face, looked at the air for a moment and then slowly nodded his head.

“But why?”

His reddish-brown eyes, resembling my hair color, moved restlessly.

It seemed as if he was trying to read something in my reaction.

Did I say something unnecessary?

I tried to put on a nonchalant expression and looked for the owner.

It would be better to ask the owner directly instead of following this guy.

“It’s nothing, thank you, you can go now.”

“You want to buy?”

I stared at him, and Aaron shrugged, grabbing my wrist and leading me deeper into the bookstore.

Ah, it’s not a good idea to follow a stranger so easily.

I frowned and stood in front of the old door that the guy brought me to.

Why would there be such a suspicious space inside a bookstore?

Aaron pushed the door open without hesitation, and it creaked due to lack of oiling, slowly opening with an eerie noise.

An old man and a large room were what appeared inside.

The room was cluttered with all sorts of things, giving it an almost mystical feel.

I wondered why Mila had introduced me to this place.

Was it a coincidence?

In this damn book, nothing made sense.

 Only three days had passed since I fell into the world of this goddamn book.

I clenched my fists tightly.

A strange sensation wrapped around my body, but I ignored it and focused on reality.

No pain, no gain.

“Hello, Grandfather! I brought a guest!”

Aaron ran eagerly towards the white-haired old man, who was looking at some documents, and plopped down on the couch next to him as if it were his own home.

I composed my voice and asked the white-haired old man.

“Are you Mr. Crimson, by any chance?”

The old man, with a Scrooge-like appearance, sighed heavily as if annoyed, then looked me up and down before opening his mouth.

“I don’t deal with indecisive people.”

I swallowed hard.

Does that mean he actually sells information?

I quickly put on a confident expression.

I had done three internships, and one of them was at a casino.

“How do you know that I’m indecisive?”

In response to my question, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Then he made a slightly startled expression and answered.

“Well, I can show you my price list. Although, it seems like you can barely afford what’s outside.”

“I think that’s something we’ll have to talk about in private first……. Can I talk to you alone?”

I smiled, and the old man named Crimson chuckled as if he found it interesting.

“Aaron, go outside for a bit.”

It was unusual.

My heart raced.

What to do.

I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that I was being tricked.

* * *

Although I often heard people say that I seemed like I belonged in another dimension, I was certainly not a fool.

I was not a foolish person who would be swept away by the mysterious atmosphere and casually throw away the money given to me by the protagonist.

I quickly thought things through.

I needed evidence to verify that Mr. Crimson was not a scammer but a genuine information broker.

For example, something only I would know.

As expected, it seemed that the head would roll well if life was at stake. When I was taking a test, it didn’t go so well.

At least it did its job now.

I took out the pouch of gold coins given to me by the prince from my pocket.

“Would this be enough for a deal?”

As Mr. Crimson glanced at the coins inside the pouch, his eyes sparkled. He then changed his posture and spoke to me with a rather serious expression.

“What do you want, young lady?”

I smiled as casually as I could and pulled out a gold coin, fiddling with it.

I was a bit nervous since I had never been to such an illicit place before, except for when my friends and I pretended to buy luxury goods behind Namdaemun Market. (T/N: from wiki: is a large traditional market in Seoul, South Korea. The market is located next to Namdaemun, the “Great South Gate,” which was the main southern gate to the old city. It is the oldest and largest market in Korea.

“How much do you know about the royal family?”

In response to my question, Mr. Crimson furrowed his brow.

It was as if he was asking why I was interested in such a thing.

“Well, I don’t deal with them.”

I put the gold coin back into the pouch in my hand.

Then, Mr. Crimson hurriedly cleared his throat and said.

“Ahem, well, I do know more than others, of course.”

I decided to be arrogant.

I’m not sure if it will work here, but for now, I am the customer.

That means I have the upper hand.

I couldn’t afford to lose in a battle with a seller. Especially in a place like this, playing hard to get was crucial.

I casually crossed my legs and looked at Mr. Crimson with a rather presumptuous gaze.

Then I said.

“As you can see, this is a pretty big deal, so there has to be something I can trust you with.”

At my words, Mr. Crimson’s brow furrowed deeply.

He looked at me like I was crazy, so I went back to counting the gold coins.

‘Wait, but why did this person trust me and give me so much?’

I sighed.

Was this another test on a higher level?

Should I flex all this money or keep it?

I felt even dirtier than I already did all day.

Being tested incessantly by someone was not a pleasant experience at all.

“Well, you’re not entirely foolish. This isn’t exactly the kind of information shop that nobles often visit… However, that doesn’t mean there are no noble customers at all.”

Mr. Crimson opened a box on the desk and took out a golden fountain pen as he spoke.

“So, what is it that you’re curious about, Miss bedchamber maid of the Crown Prince?”