“Ouch!”
Plop!
My body hit the cold floor.
I quickly turned around, but the bookshelf had already closed.
No matter how hard I pushed, the bookshelf wouldn’t budge.
“Am I trapped here?”
I cowered in the darkness.
Suddenly, the surroundings brightened.
The mana stone lanterns on the wall had automatically switched on.
“What the hell!”
I was startled, and my eyes widened at the view inside. Every bookshelf that lined with the walls were densely packed with books and documents. Especially in the centre, a massive pillar was filled with all sorts of ancient texts.
“This must be a secret room.”
Steadying myself, I cautiously examined the books.
Books with elegant covers, dusty tomes that seemed ancient, indecipherable texts with illegible script, and more.
“It seems like they’ve hidden important royal treasures here.”
Am I allowed to be here without permission?
“But what can I do? I’m trapped here.”
As I shifted through the books, I found a book with a pitch black cover.
“What is this writing? I can’t read it, it’s like a code.”
I could make out a few words here and there, but mostly it was hard to decipher.
A few words caught my eye.
‘Rebellion… subjugation…? Was this about my dad?’
“Since the Emperor concealed the story of my father being held hostage, he might have encoded the records as well.”
However, there were more characters I couldn’t read than ones I could.
‘For now, I’ll copy it down and interpret it slowly when I get back.’
Luckily, inside the secret room was a table, pencil, and a thick stack of paper. I quickly scribbled down the letters. Every time the pencil lead snapped, a cloud of dust rose from the faded paper.
As the content wasn’t extensive, I was soon on the last page.
Folding the stack of paper neatly and putting it in my bag, a smile naturally crept onto my face.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with a sense of accomplishment.
“Phew! Done. Now I can go back home…”
But how do I go back home?
I stared helplessly at the firmly closed wall.
“There’s nothing I can do. I guess I’ll have to make a little noise.”
I clenched my fist and thumped the wall with force, hoping to find an exit.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
“I’m sorry for making noise in the quiet library! Please help me! I’m trapped in here!”
Tak!
Suddenly, I heard something fall behind.
Startled, I turned around and saw an envelope on the floor. Maybe it fell from the bookshelves adjacent to the walls as I kept banging.
“What is this?”
A red seal was on the envelope. An intricate golden pattern was on the corners.
Undoubtedly this was no ordinary object. I cautiously picked up the envelope.
I avoided touching the seal because it was old, but it opened with a snap.
“?!”
Inside the envelope was a piece of shiny, fine paper that looked nothing like the one used.
Beneath the red stamp, the sentence ‘Do not read’ was visible.
[ Report on the Results of the Suppression of the Remnants ]
“!”
It was the record I was looking for.
‘Then what was that coded text I just copied?’
There was no time to ponder the question. I hurriedly started reading the report. It was an added detail to the facts I had learnt in the Academy.
“Where is it? All I want to know is.… Found it!”
Around day 115 of the rebellion, a plan to exterminate the rebels was developed.
– Immediate suppression of isolated insurgents in the Artaud region.
– If the rebellion persists, the people of the Artaud region would suffer.
– Abandoned rescue of hostages (seven in total, including Prince Hart von Reinhardt).
‘Hostage rescue abandoned…….’
The Emperor’s seal was stamped at the bottom. Attached to the back was a transcript of the meeting.
We can no longer leave the rebel forces unchecked. Abandon the previous plan and annihilate the rebel forces.
If the annihilation operation is executed, rescuing the hostages will become difficult.
The hostages will be abandoned. No mention of hostages is to be made in the future.
The Emperor on the record was unemotional. Without the slightest hesitation, he abandoned his son.
I turned the page with trembling hands and swallowed hard.
The back contained a summary of the results of suppressing the rebellion and the extent of the damages.
“The damages are …”
“What are you doing over there?”
The cold voice of the Emperor echoed from the opposite side of where I had entered. I dropped the report as I jumped up in surprise. The Emperor strode over gradually, saw the report, and laughed crookedly.
“Did you sneak here to spy on this?”
Red eyes glowing murderously.
The cold accusatory tone.
Fear and tension seemed to bind my tiny body.
The Emperor glared and asked, “Today was your first day at the Academy. How was it?”
“?”
He changed the subject abruptly.
‘Is he not angry that I secretly looked at confidential documents?’
He even looked at me with an expectant gaze.
‘This scared me more!’
I clasped my small hands together.
“Um, It was challenging, but also fun.”
“What else?”
“The magic lecture was fascinating, and thank you for letting me take it.”
I bowed, and the Emperor smirked.
“I heard a report that you caused an accident during the magic class. The Chatty tree almost pierced through the ceiling of the lecture hall, isn’t that right?”
I wanted to disappear in embarrassment.
Seeing my blushing face, the Emperor laughed lightly, as if teasing me.
“What did you find most interesting? As expected, was it magic?”
“I…”
My heart raced, and I tightly closed my eyes. Suddenly, I remembered what I had to ask. I slowly opened my eyes and looked straight at the Emperor.
“History lectures were my favorite, that’s why I came here to find more books.”
“Count Munich told me you were in the Imperial library. I thought it was ridiculous and funny that a tiny creature would have anything to look at, so I decided to sneak over to see what it was all about. I didn’t expect to see you in this room.”
“I was looking for a book, but the bookshelf suddenly tilted and I fell in here.”
“But the document you really wanted was here.”
The Emperor picked up the dropped report.
I bit my lower lip hard.
“What made you so curious that you read this difficult text?”
The Emperor asked naturally, even though he knew everything.
Did he not care? Does he not feel guilty about my father?
I choked up, and the answer came out of my mouth.
“Your Majesty abandoned my father.”
His bloodshot eyes bore into mine.
“And.. Were you very angry when you found out?”
“Yes. And I was curious.”
“Were you wondering why I did it?”
“No.”
“No?”
The Emperor tilted his head, mockingly.
“Then what is it?”
“How your Majesty felt about giving up on Dad. I wondered if you knew how much my father suffered.”
The Emperor’s face, which had been smiling with interest, grew cold.
“I did what I had to do as Emperor. I have no regrets.”
This did not answer my question.
“Not just as an Emperor, but as a father? How did you feel?”
The Emperor laughed coldly.
“The Emperor cannot be a father. He is the father of all his people, not just one.”
The answer was like a knife.
The more I listened to his answer, the more dizzy I felt.
“From your expression, it seems like your curiosity hasn’t been satisfied yet. Anyway, it’s time for you to go home.”
The rabbit-like eyes looked at the Emperor.
“In the first place, I came here to rescue the troublemaker trapped in here. It took some extra time because that troublemaker is overly talkative. Now, go. Hart isn’t the Emperor. As a father, he must be eagerly awaiting your return.”
The Emperor pressed somewhere on the wall. The bookcase that had sucked me in opened.
“Go.”
I had many questions, but the Emperor’s command was final.
He wouldn’t entertain any more of my questions.
I decided to retreat gracefully.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for letting me know.”
I bowed slightly to the Emperor and left the place.
***
“This little one is indeed bold.”
The Emperor muttered as he looked over the closed bookcase.
Then a figure appeared behind him.
“I apologize for not notifying you.”
It was Professor Munich. The Emperor was startled.
“Did you purposefully let that child come in here after giving her wrong directions?”
The Emperor waved the report in his hand.
“It was a mistake.”
Professor Munich said shamelessly as he pushed up his glasses. He took the report from the Emperor’s hand and slipped it back into its place.
The Emperor clicked his tongue.
“I should have realized it was a trap the moment this fox started talking nonsense. I’ve been fooled again.”
The Emperor grumbled. Without asking, it was Professor Munich who had spread the news that Hanelope was in the library.
“I only relayed the news to you, It was His Majesty who took the initiative to come and see the lady.”
“You never lose a word.”
The Emperor’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he suddenly broke into a hearty laugh.
Professor Munich frowned at this unusual behavior.
‘Why is he acting like this?’
“The child is so bold. In fact, I spoke to her so harshly that she was ready to cry. But instead of crying, she just stared at me and asked why I abandoned her father.”
A smile tugged at the corners of the Emperor’s mouth.
“I see you liked her,” said Professor Munich.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had blood relatives that I can use.”
“Is that all there is to it?”
“Well, what more could there be? Patrick’s a good boy, but not particularly impressive. Hart was promising, but now… I intended to keep any promising talents by my side and teach them, but they’re all a bunch of greedy wretches.”
The Emperor, talking about ‘useful relatives,’ suddenly shifted to talking about succession.
Professor Munich realized the contradiction, but pretended not to.
“I knew she was smart and clever, but I didn’t realize she also had a talent for magic.”
“…….”
“Still, I didn’t expect a seven-year-old to look in my eyes and say, ‘Why did you abandon him?’. It was almost comical to see her with her round cheeks while uttering those words. Count, what do you think… why are you looking at me with that expression?”
“Nothing.. Your Highness.”
I thought you said she was just a useful blood relative.
‘But His Highness is totally smitten with his cute grand-daughter.’
Professor Munich shook his head inwardly.
The Emperor was unable to be honest, both with others and himself..
“I could see through Hart as he tried to make up stories. It’s understandable why Hart wants to hide her from me. Haha, what a conniving guy. Well, in the end, even if I was to…”
Professor Munich passed the words of the Emperor through one ear and out the other as he thought to himself.
‘But thanks to Hanelope, I can finally achieve my long-held aspiration.’
He was willing to put up with the Emperor’s ear-bleeding chatter to fulfill that wish.
