“Why are you here……”

“Is there anywhere in my castle I can’t go?”

That was true. There was nowhere Raphael, the owner of the castle, couldn’t go. However, if she seemed to be avoiding him, he hadn’t appeared, until now. So, she thought he wouldn’t seek her out if she secluded herself in the library.

“…… I didn’t know there was another user.”

After making a bombshell statement and suddenly disappearing, Raphael approached nonchalantly and started a conversation. His elegant demeanor, without a hint of disarray, made it clear that he was different from her by nature. She was the only one swayed by a meaningless word.

“I’ll be going then.”

“……”

She realized that there was nothing she was looking for in this library. There was no need to be with Raphael.

“Don’t go.”

Amelia doubted her ears at his desperate and plaintive tone. But as expected, Raphael was holding onto her with the same expression as Leonel. A face begging her to look at him.

Could it be she was mistaken because the two looked so much alike?

“I’ll find what you want.”

“What?”

She didn’t understand how he knew what she wanted and could find it for her. No matter how capable he was, he couldn’t create something that didn’t exist.

“You’re looking for something that isn’t in this library.”

That was true.

“You know what I want……”

“Something about the imperial family. Isn’t it?”

“It’s, it’s an earthquake…!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bookshelves started moving. She was so startled by the loud movements as if an earthquake had occurred that she ran to Raphael in front of her and grabbed his arm.

“We need to get out quickly!”

“Amelia, calm down.”

“How can I calm down now?”

She got angry at Raphael’s reaction, acting nonchalantly while the room was shaking. This man was too carefree regardless of the situation.

“It’s true. Look ahead.”

“What…… What is this?”

She was about to retort, but the scene unfolding before her eyes left her speechless. Like an earthquake, the ground shook, and rhe bookshelves moved, revealing a completely new space.

“This is where the banned books are kept.”

“Banned books……”

Aren’t those forbidden books? She was surprised at Raphael’s boldness in mentioning them. He really wasn’t an ordinary person.

“It’s not that grandiose. These are books banned from sale in the country.”

Isn’t that the same thing? She was speechless at his boldness in having books banned for sale.

“And there are also books that have been out of print for a long time.”

“There must be a lot of things I shouldn’t see.”

“That’s right. There are also unpublished ones.”

But why he was showing her this secret space, she couldn’t understand.

“Only the head of the family can open this place.”

Even more so because only the head could enter. It was literally a secret space.

“Then……”

“Yes, Leonel could open it when he grows up.”

However, there was no mention of such a secret space in the original story. That meant Raphael died before he could reveal it. Hence, even as the head, he might not have known about it.

“The blood of the recognized head is needed to open it.”

“Blood…?”

Hearing about blood, she looked at him and saw blood oozing from Raphael’s fingers.

“There’s no need to make such a face. It doesn’t hurt.”

For someone who said it didn’t hurt, there was a significant amount of blood seeping from his finger. When did he start bleeding?

“This place should have the materials you want.”

It’s atmosphere was distinctly different from the bright feeling of the library. The overall dark interior and books didn’t seem like they should be touched at all. She hadn’t even known such a space existed.

“No one can enter from the outside.”

“Ah…!”

She shuddered all over when he suddenly whispered in her ear from behind. She didn’t know when they had gotten into such an intimate position. Moreover, his words about no one being able to enter took on a different meaning.

“What do you mean……”

“It means you can look at them with ease.”

Lies. He spoke as if that was his intention all along, smoothly escaping any implication. It was always like that. This man shook her and acted incomprehensibly.

“Is it really okay for you to show me such an important place so carelessly?”

He said it was okay for her to see, but she couldn’t find any books. If she happened to see something she shouldn’t…

Secrets were scary for that reason. If she learned their secrets, she might never be able to leave the grand ducal family again. Because she knew their secrets. She would have to die as a person of the ducal family even in death.

“There’s nothing you shouldn’t see.”

“No, I’m okay.”

Looking at something she shouldn’t here could interfere with her plans. And what she wanted to find out were just minor founding myths and stories about the imperial family that even commoners could talk about.

“Really. What I want isn’t these grand banned books.”

Surely there would be invaluable information not available anywhere else. But she wasn’t a scholar blinded by academia… She couldn’t risk her life for just a few books.

“… Not everything here is dangerous.”

“What?”

Raphael was indeed Raphael. He quickly realized why she was refusing.

“Were you thinking you have to go outside since it’s not in the library?”

“…Yes.”

If it’s not in the library, she could go to a place where she can buy books.

“There’s no need to go. There are things here you can read.”

“No……”

“I’ll choose for you. Safe ones.”

Honestly, there was no reason for him to do this much. Amelia stood still, turning to look at Raphael.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Amelia’s brow furrowed slightly at his attitude, trying to subtly escape.

“Why are you being so kind to me? Even bothering to find safe books?”

It wasn’t something he, who was busy and short on time, would do.

“I don’t know. Why I just want to be nice to you, Amelia.”

***

Want to be nice? It sounded like something one would say to a beloved woman.

“This is about the imperial family.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. It’s a book you can read it without any problem, Wife.”

Amelia didn’t say a word at his action of kindly taking out a book and handing it to her. Should she really trust Raphael?

“Why… are there no books about the imperial family?”

“As you might have noticed, the imperial family and Siegfried are not on good terms. That’s why everything related to the imperial family is here.”

Was it really just for that reason that there were no related books in the library? The book he handed her didn’t look like a banned book at all.

“Who is the deity that the Khalid Empire believes in?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I just became curious. Even after meeting priests every time, it seems I haven’t heard which temple they believe in.”

Clearly, the Master said the imperial family was blessed by the deity. That means the founding myth includes something related to the deity. It was strange why all these things didn’t appear in the original work. No matter how much it was written centered around Leonel, there were many questionable parts.

“I didn’t know my wife had such a passion for learning.”

“Your Grace said you would find it for me.”

In this situation, it was better to only look at the books he found. At least there would be an excuse.

“We don’t have enough time to see everything today.”

“Today?”

“Yes. I can’t come in here by myself.”

It was a place only the head could enter, and one could only enter by seeing blood. Raphael wouldn’t bleed for her every time. Essentially, today was the first and last time.

“Why do you think so?”

“What? Then… will you bring me here tomorrow too?”

It seemed like not just a drop of blood… A significant amount of blood was needed.

“Not only tomorrow, but every day if my wife wishes.”

Does this man not know what he’s saying? Without blinking an eye, he talked about bleeding every day.

“But there’s a condition.”

“…A condition?”

Even knowing it shouldn’t be done, it was hard for her to refuse his sweet offer. Maybe because of his overly sweet voice wrapping around her ears.

“Grant me one thing I want later.”