I’m originally afraid of ghosts.

‘You can physically get rid of people, but you can’t with ghosts, right?’

Thinking that, I shuddered at the eerie feeling that ran down my spine.

“Well, it’s just that I have an urgent request…”

Calix, with that fierce face, showed a worried expression as he withdrew his hand that had been scanning my face.

“What kind of request makes you come trembling like that?”

I stared at Calix, pressed against the wall near the door, panting lightly.

“Well… I was wondering if I could ask for access to the imperial library…”

As expected, Calix’s expression twisted at my words.

It was a look that seemed to say, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

“You rushed here with that expression just to ask for library access?”

I deliberately avoided Calix’s gaze. Because he was right.

I did rush here without thinking, caught up in panic.

But why did I run to Calix of all people?

If it was about library access, I could have asked tomorrow.

‘Oh, you stupid idiot!’

If Calix wasn’t in front of me, I would have wanted to tear my hair out.

As the sudden fear subsided a bit, what came next was nothing but the cold reality.

Calix looked at me with his characteristically sharp, slitted eyes, then sighed. He turned his back on me after wiping his damp hair.

“Sit down.”

“Ah, it’s fine, Your Highness.”

“Even if you’re leaving, calm down before you go. You don’t look okay.”

In the end, I had no choice but to follow Calix and sit on the couch where he usually sits.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

Calix sat across from me, crossing his legs, in an authoritative posture.

The atmosphere suggested that if I didn’t explain what had happened, it would be a big problem.

But I couldn’t tell the truth either.

‘My diary turned out to be a product of the world’s strongest evil god?!’

How could I say that?

I racked my brain and made up an excuse.

“Your Highness, you see… I…”

“You what?”

Ah, what should I say? I couldn’t think of any particular excuse.

So I closed my eyes tightly and blurted out whatever came to mind.

“I heard a scary story from a maid I work with, and just now when I was taking a nap alone, suddenly someone was choking me! When I woke up, it felt so real that I got scared… At this late hour, I had no choice but to…”

As I mumbled my words, all crumpled up, Calix frowned and asked.

“Are you saying you knocked on my door so urgently because you had a ghost dream?”

“Well… I guess I was in a panic because I’m a bit of a coward. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

At my words, Calix laughed as if in disbelief. “Ha!”

“Why are you always so apologetic and sorry?”

I tilted my head slightly at Calix’s words.

When did I? I’ve never been sorry to you?

“Why are you looking at me with that expression?”

Calix lowered the corners of his mouth that had been subtly smiling and awkwardly scratched his cheek.

“I mean, when it’s just the two of us, no one’s watching, so you can act comfortably.”

I blinked and stared at Calix.

He was such a strange person. I couldn’t figure him out at all.

He was so sharp during the day.

But now, despite my inappropriate behavior, he’s being all soft and saying things like this.

“By the way, what does the ghost in your dream have to do with library access?”

“Ah, about that…”

I flinched at Calix’s words and laughed awkwardly.

I had to quickly think of an excuse.

“The ghost appearing in my dream was so unsettling and scary that I thought if I went to the library and searched for something, I might find a solution…”

“So you ran to my room in the middle of the night?”

I wanted to die. What on earth was I thinking when I ran to Calix’s room?

Morisias is the strongest being in this world’s lore, called an evil god in this country.

So did I think running to the nearest overpowered character I knew would theoretically be the safest option?

‘But wait.’

Come to think of it, the diary was often related to Calix or activated when he was in danger.

Why? If it was related to Morisias, there would be no reason to help the bloodline of the imperial family that overthrew him and established a new empire.

“I guess I should be glad you came to me and not someone else.”

Calix smirked with satisfaction, but when our eyes met, he quickly became serious and tensed his eyes.

“What are you looking at?”

“Huh? No, I was just thinking about something else for a moment…”

“Enough, I’ll write you a library access pass tomorrow.”

Calix abruptly stood up, opened his desk drawer, and said while rummaging through something.

“If you knock on my door again tomorrow saying you’re scared of ghosts, I feel like I won’t be able to sleep at all, not that I sleep much anyway.”

Soon, he took out something like a silver bellflower-shaped sculpture and approached me.

“It’s a Kamesis heilium flower sculpture. It might help with nightmares if you put it by your bedside.”

Calix handed over the sculpture with a mischievous expression, shrugging his shoulders.

And I…

“Your Highness…”

I bit my lip slightly. My feelings were strange.

My face felt hot, and suddenly I couldn’t look at Calix’s face, which I had been able to look at just fine before.

What is this? Why am I like this?

‘This is all because that person is doing things he doesn’t usually do!’

Regardless of my hesitation, Calix held out the bellflower sculpture called Heil-something with an indifferent face and said,

“What are you doing? Are you ignoring my goodwill?”

“Ah, no, Your Highness. Thank you for your consideration.”

I hugged the sculpture Calix handed me tightly.

Calix stared at me quietly for a moment, then went back to his desk and started rummaging through something again. Then he came back with armfuls of unidentifiable objects and thrust them into my arms.

“Holy water from the temple, a stole imbued with sacred power from the high priest, and heilium flowers personally grown and dried by the saint.”

Is this heilium plant some kind of symbol of Kamesis?

I looked up blankly at Calix, holding these bizarre temple items he had given me, and asked,

“Your Highness, is it okay to give me such precious things so casually…?”

At my question, Calix lifted the corners of his mouth and smiled softly.

That smile somehow looked affectionate, making me feel strange.

It was a feeling I had never experienced before, as if my chest was tingling.

“I’m not using them anyway, so you can have them. That way, ghosts won’t appear in your dreams. Right?”

I hugged the items Calix gave me tightly.

And I fell into extreme confusion.

‘Why is he smiling like that? Huh? You’re not usually like this!’

I stared blankly at Calix’s handsome face, lost in thought, and then suddenly met his red eyes.

I shouldn’t have averted my gaze here.

I turned my head away at the sudden strange atmosphere, and so did Calix.

“…Now that you have these sacred objects, if you put them nearby when you sleep, ghosts and such shouldn’t appear. You can go now.”

He turned his head and issued an urgent dismissal. I seized the opportunity to answer quickly.

“Yes! Your Highness! Ha-have a good day!”

“The day is already over, what do you mean ‘have a good day’?”

“Then, sweet dreams! Your Highness!”

And I fled from Calix’s room.

“I’m crazy, I’m crazy!”

I ran quickly to my room next door with a bright red face.

As soon as I laid out the sacred objects of Kamesis on the bed, the embarrassment I had been holding back rushed in, and I started to pull at my pink hair.

“What have I done…”

I was mortified.

I was embarrassed for telling Calix such a ridiculous excuse about having a ghost dream, and I was embarrassed for receiving sacred objects of Kamesis as a result.

I felt like the tears I hadn’t fully shed earlier were welling up again.

With glistening eyes, I gritted my teeth and glared at the resentful diary.

In my frustration, I gathered up the sacred objects Calix had given me and threw them on top of the diary.

I’m going through all sorts of things because of this. After heaving a deep sigh, I tried to calm my resentment and think again.

Once I get access to the imperial library, I’ll immediately look into Morisias.

If I find a connection between Morisias, the diary, and my possession of Rose’s body…

‘And then what? Is there anything I can do separately?’

I’m human.

Even if this is a world inside a book, how can I, a mere human, do anything about a god?

When even the temple fears the already sealed Morisias, what can I do without any power?

“Ah, this is frustrating.”

I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Then Calix’s face, who would be in the next room, floated hazily in my mind.

What was that strange feeling from earlier?

‘I don’t want to think about it.’

I decided to just close my eyes like this.

I was already annoyed and confused enough with the diary problem, I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about Calix too.

“I need a vacation… desperately.”