亚洲欧美中文日韩Aⅴ

“All buildings other than the Great Library are closed at night. It would be good for you to know that there was a certain prince from a certain kingdom who was expelled after getting caught wandering around late at night.”

Abel tapped me on my head with the documents he was holding before speaking casually. Though it might seem like he was being playful, his tone was stern.

“Especially since thieves are so rampant here. So, visits to the school are strictly controlled. Other than that, you are all free to do whatever you want.”

That marked the end of the class. Usually, there were also classes that ran from the morning till the afternoon but I was told there weren’t any today. Afterward, I was led by Prince Cjezarn to look around before we returned to our respective rooms.

***

That night. I had just washed up and left for the drawing room to find Dane leaning against a desk while reading something. I could tell from the envelope was holding that he was reading a letter but Dane seemed to be lost in thought.

“Dane?”

He lifted his head candidly at my call. So, I thought I had been mistaken. When I noticed a strangely serious expression on his face a while ago.

“What’s that?”

“Ah. A letter from the Empire. It’s from brother.”

Fleon? Something must have happened. Fleon did not enjoy writing letters.

“But why are you reading it so intently?”

“Hm. Was I?”

On top of that, from the envelope, I could tell the letter was meant for only Dane. I asked Dane if he had sent anything to me. I then read Fleon’s letter for me and couldn’t help but smile.

“This is just him nagging.”

To sum it up, he was reminding me to eat well but he was quite long-winded about it. I stared at his neat handwriting for a moment before placing the letter down.

“How was school?”

“So-so. I didn’t have class…Right. I think I’ve been singled out by the scholar in charge of my class.”

“What?”

I looked at Dane and told him what happened today. Dane had been grinning at first before a troubled expression took over his face.

“Abel? Are you sure it was Abel Cloud?”

“Hm?”

“He had dark blue hair and green eyes? And he has a large stature?”

When I nodded my head slowly, Dane hardened his expression. He bit his lower lip before smiling at me curiously.

“He’s the 3rd Prince of Kaltanias.”

“What?”

“He’s our brother.”

What did that mean? Why would he suddenly appear here? I stared at him as I encapsulated all my questions in my expression. Dane nodded as if he understood. He looked surprised too. He rarely showed his bewilderment on his face but this time, he looked serious.

“Was he not exiled?”

“Yes. Officially, it was said that he was exiled but he had fled the Empire to escape his crimes.”

“Crimes?”

“Yeah. He had committed treason. Before disappearing.”

Dane reached out towards me before bringing his hand to my cheek. He fiddled with my hair before mulling over it again.

“He was the last Templar of the Winds.”

With a serious expression still on his face, Dane laid bare his suspicions.

“Why was someone who disappeared so long ago appearing here?”

The 3rd Prince, huh. Hearing the words was strange but they didn’t leave that much of an impression on me. I never thought I would ever get to meet him. Was it because he was never much involved in the original novel? But he was here.

Was this a coincidence?

Thinking back, there had always been a reason for what had been happening around me. Everything had a reason.

The next day, Lord Ray had left for a while to deliver Dane’s reply to the embassy. Before he left, I noticed him having a serious conversation with Dane. I wondered what it was about? I had averted my eyes thinking that they would tell me sooner or later if it was important.

A little while after Lord Ray left, Dane had approached me before holding my fingertips gently. I nodded slightly at the permission he was silently asking from me which prompted him to hold my fingers in his hand.

“It was autumn as well when I first met you in that garden. The falling of leaves.”

It had been autumn. I heard that the best time to visit this kingdom was also autumn. On our way back, I glanced at Dane. Strangely enough, when I looked, we made eye contact. As if he had been staring at me this whole time.

“You know, Dane.”

“Hm?”

After hesitating for a long time, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Why was he talking about the time we first met? On the day we first met, it was spring. What ‘me’ was he recalling? Everything I couldn’t bring myself to ask drifted away with my breath. I covered his face. He still felt out of reach.

“Stop looking. You’ll wear my face out.”

Dane grabbed my hand before lowering it slowly.

“Even when I see you, I miss you.”

“… I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a while now but have you been flirting with me?”

I wanted to ask him this at least once. Seriously. Dane lowered his head before smiling. His brown hair fluttered softly in the breeze. He turned his head languidly before looking into my eyes.

“Now you know?”

He widened his eyes. Without realising what he was feeling at the moment, I stared blankly at the well-sculpted man before me and noticed the ecstatic smile in the corner of his lips. I seriously thought Dane could be ranked first in the Empire in terms of looks.

“You told me this before.”

“What?”

“The moment I coldly take my revenge. You’d let me win.”

“Uhm, Ashley? I’m not pretending to be one, I am a prince.”

Memories of the past flashed across my mind. It felt like so long ago but it had only been four years.

“Then coldly take your revenge. I’d let you win.”

Someone who was similar to me in both size and height was staring at a young boy who was much taller than her sweetly.

“Promise me. When that moment comes, I might implore you. Because you’re too handsome.”

His hair was still soft and the same colour as soil illuminated by sunlight but the young boy was no longer the same.

“I kept my promise. Ashley.”

Until he shook my hand and let me go. Our memories as siblings remained just that, memories, and now we stand before each other as man and woman.

“Ha…”

After sending Dane off, I stared at my empty palms before looking at my wrist. The bracelet that looked like it had been woven with leaves shuddered. Was I too far away to contact him? Or was he deep in sleep? I closed my eyes. There was something more important.

“… Are you not going to class?”

As I stood in front of the lecture room stunned, Prince Cjezarn looked at me. I nodded my head.

“Yes. The Great Library of the Kingdom of Leaf. I wanted to take a look there.”

Forced myself to face the ever-changing bewilderment on Prince Cjezarn’s face. His reaction was understandable. Only after three days of being in the kingdom, I declared that I wasn’t going to attend class which would have been even more incomprehensible given that he thought I came here on a field trip.

“I have a whole week here anyway. It’s already been three days so I only have four days left here.”

But things were getting dire. There were too many things to do. I didn’t even have the time to pack everything I needed for the quests and receive my stipulated rewards.

“I want to see whatever I want. Do I go this way to get to the Great Library?”

“Yes, it is but…”

“And the library is so huge that it’d be hard to finish looking through it even in a week.”

“That might be true but…”

Evidently at a loss, Prince Cjezarn blinked his eyes. He looked like a small puppy again. He looked at me like a whimpering puppy wanting to go potty.

“I really want to take a look around the library.”

“Could you tell me why?”

“I have something to find.”

Of course, that was a lie. I wasn’t going to look for some book, I was looking for Rusbella. This place was so huge that it would be impossible to find her even if I had to comb through the place.

“Well then, princess.”

Seeing that he could not win my stubbornness, the prince chose to give up pretty quickly. Instead, he suddenly talked about how spacious the library was. He went on a lengthy rant about the size of the library and the number of books that were stored in there. When I looked at him like I couldn’t understand him, the stuttering prince stared at me with tears in his eyes.

“So, can I show you around later?”

“What?”

For some reason, his eyes seemed filled with shame.

“That’s if you have time, princess. Hm?”

I was the one who was bewildered.

What was this?

Prince Cjezarn was looking at me like a puppy who had been abandoned out in the rain. As young as he was, his good intentions and goodwill in his eyes were burdensome.

“What’s wrong, my prince?”

“That’s… An-Anyway, please! Hm?”

He had just been a supporting character in the original novel. I had momentarily forgotten since he had not been a supporting role in my life and instead, quite an influential one. I nodded reluctantly in agreement because I thought he would continue to pester me until I said yes. Because I was already familiar with how stubborn he could get from our previous meetings. Eventually, I even promised him to go on a walk some time before he returned alone.

“How strange..”

Come to think of it, I wondered why. The prince had taken a strange liking to me. Was this because I had entertained all his favours in Kaltanias? I wondered if things were going to move according to the original story now. Or were they deviating?

I couldn’t tell whether this was a new worry I should care about. I really didn’t know. I also didn’t know why the prince was being so kind to me. Would this bring me trouble? He was definitely supposed to be a supporting character that fell in love with Rusbella. I smirked. How could I have won against the magical female lead? I couldn’t have influenced him that much.

After parting from Prince Cjezarn, I walked all the way to the Great Library. Well, at least I wasn’t completely wrong in saying I was going to the library. I was just going to have a look there first.

According to the <Light of Rusbella>, Rusbella was an intelligent and clever woman. She was often described to be in the library not because she was being pretentious but because of her zeal to learn. Of course, she didn’t just study in the library. She would visit the forest to collect mulberries. Pick up the male lead from the ditch while catching the crayfish that was the sub-male lead. Anyway, the library was one of the places she often visited.

“… If I could even meet her.”

The problem was the size of this place. To call it just wide would be an understatement. In fact, it was almost the size of a city.

And it was built all for learning. I groaned. How could I find her here? This was incomparably larger than the university I attended in my previous life. I stare at the diary in my hand.

“… You should be helping me at times like this.”

I opened my mouth at the sight I had been so used to seeing hundreds even thousands of times before.

“This will be the last time.”

Hm, the last time? I didn’t know why I said that. The last? Was it because this had to do with Amor’s life? I grimaced at how ridiculous my words were. For just a moment, my left cheek stung.

“Light?”

Just when a great pain struck me as I brushed against the scar on my cheek. The diary glowed dimly.

“Impossible.”

As I hurriedly opened the diary to any page, the empty pages of the diary would suddenly be inked in as if it had been waiting for me. The dots of ink pulsated like waves before gradually forming words.

[… Run.]