Lindo mentioned there were no more alchemy specialists, and I guess this was the reason. It seems the former emperor feared the prophecy leaking out.
“It’s fine because I’m the empress. The priest blessed me, didn’t he?”
I need to figure out what kind of spell the duke cast on me. Otherwise, who knows when I might suddenly fall ill again for no apparent reason.
Feigning innocence, I started to coax the priest.
“In any case, I need the blessing. If rumors spread that there’s something wrong with my soul, it won’t look good, right? I’ll take care of it before His Majesty gets angry.”
When I hinted that the emperor might explode if there were any problems, the priest, firmly believing in the rumors about his tyranny, began trembling.
“W-Well, I heard that all alchemy specialists were executed and all related books were burned. R-Recently, though, I heard a rumor that a single alchemy compendium was found by chance in the imperial library.”
“Oh my. Then if I read that, I’ll know why the blessing isn’t reaching my soul?”
If such a rare item existed, he should’ve told me sooner!
I smiled brightly, but the priest, who I thought would cooperate easily, snapped out of it and tried to stop me.
“That’s impossible, Your Majesty! The late emperor decreed that anyone showing interest in alchemy would be executed, regardless of their rank or status. No one can escape that punishment. Even if the book exists, it would endanger Your Majesty!”
“It’s fine as long as it stays between you and me. Isn’t that better than His Majesty getting angry because I didn’t receive the blessing?”
“No! It must be my mistake. I’ll work harder and try again!”
The model-student priest desperately tried to dissuade me.
Seriously, if playing fair doesn’t work, sometimes you have to bend the rules!
I continued coaxing him gently, but he firmly closed his eyes and began to chant another blessing.
‘Should I storm in with Lindo later?’
Left with no other choice, I sat back and watched the shimmering halo of white light swirl around me, feeling bored.
Then, I suddenly remembered the lullaby sheet music Eloise had given me earlier and picked it up absentmindedly.
‘I wish the priest, instead of some non-existent baby, would fall asleep to this.’
That way, I could sneak into the imperial library and take a peek at the alchemy compendium.
On a whim, I started recalling the tune Eloise had sung earlier.
Hmm, since no one’s paying attention to me, I might as well practice a little.
‘Not that the priest, who isn’t an infant, would actually fall asleep just from hearing a song.’
I smirked and began softly humming the melody while looking at the sheet music.
-♬♩♬♪
Wow, am I not tone-deaf after all? I think I’m doing a pretty good job!
Feeling proud of the unexpectedly decent sound of my singing, so different from my past life, I was busy praising myself when—
Thud—
“Huh?”
Hearing something fall over, I looked around. To my surprise, the priest, who had been sitting on the chair, was now lying on the floor, sound asleep.
He was snoring softly.
“P-Priest?”
What the—?! Startled, I approached him to check.
At first, I thought he might have fainted from exhaustion after exerting himself with the blessings. But there was no sweat, and his expression was serene. It was clear he had simply fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.
“…Did he seriously fall asleep listening to my lullaby?”
What on earth just happened?
Dumbfounded, I stared at him for a moment before tucking a cushion under his sprawled-out head.
With the makeshift pillow, he seemed even more satisfied, his peaceful snoring continuing.
“At this rate, should I consider switching careers to a sleep consultant?”
Folding my arms with a conflicted expression, my eyes suddenly lit up.
‘Ah, I can use this chance to sneak into the imperial library!’
There was no one to stop me, and no one would know what I was doing there. This was the perfect opportunity.
‘Quick and efficient!’
I grabbed my shoes and peeked outside.
When the servants, keeping their distance due to the ongoing blessing, momentarily looked away, I dashed out in a hurry.
*****
“The priest is currently in the palace, blessing the empress.”
Hearing the report, Xian immediately stood up from his desk where he had been working on state affairs.
“I’m going to the empress’s palace.”
He had been personally reviewing reports from physicians and pharmacology experts, hoping to cure the empress’s unexplained terminal illness.
‘If the blessing proves effective, moving the temple into the imperial palace might be a good idea.’
Hoping the priest had discovered something useful, he headed to the empress’s palace.
However, upon arriving, the only one there was the priest.
“Your Majesty, she was here just moments ago!”
The panicked servants hurriedly tried to wake the sleeping priest.
But when the priest came to, his condition was strange. He seemed completely dazed, as if under the influence of some drug.
At that moment, a single thought flashed through everyone’s mind:
‘Abduction! Someone has kidnapped Her Majesty the Empress!’
In the frozen silence, the emperor’s cold voice rang out.
“Find her. Immediately.”
The golden eyes of the emperor, which had recently seemed more human, now gleamed like those of a beast that had lost all reason.
*****
The imperial library was vast and deep.
“Maybe I should have asked the librarian to help me search.”
How was I supposed to find a single alchemy book among tens of thousands of volumes? I let out a deep sigh.
Although I had sneaked out without the servants noticing, everyone in the palace recognized my face, so getting into the library had been easy.
But fearing that someone might catch me looking for the forbidden alchemy book, I had insisted that reading alone was the only way to truly enjoy a good book.
“I only have one hour.”
Thanks to the widespread rumor that my health was frail and the emperor was overprotective, I had managed to secure an hour before they would come looking for me.
If I didn’t return on time, the librarian and the guards would assume something was wrong and come rushing in.
“Ugh. What would an alchemy book even look like?”
Think logically. If there really was a forbidden book here, it wouldn’t be openly displayed on the shelves.
Following that reasoning, I ventured further into the depths of the library, avoiding the more prominent shelves and instead focusing on the older, dustier ones in the corners.
“Origins of Ancient Tribes? Nope. The History of Tax Reforms… also nope.”
The shelves were meticulously organized, filled with scholarly texts and significant documents from the Bermuth Empire.
“So many books, yet no sign of an alchemy one.”
As expected, finding it was proving incredibly difficult. Even checking the labels on the shelves yielded nothing useful.
Before I knew it, thirty minutes had already passed.
“Sigh. Maybe it really is just a rumor?”
Walking through the dusty shelves, I coughed and debated my next steps.
‘Maybe I should investigate further to confirm if the rumor is true and find out what the book’s title is before coming back.’
Though Xian had confined me to the empress’s palace, it had been two weeks now, and I’d been perfectly fine. Surely, he wouldn’t mind me visiting the imperial library.
‘Yes, that’s a better plan. Or I could just ask Lindo to look for it.’
As I finalized my new plan, I decided to pick out a book or two to take back for some light reading.
‘Might as well grab a novel for fun!’
Luckily, the imperial library had a collection of novels.
Most were classic literature, but some were compilations of ancient folktales with historical value.
‘Whoa…’
I pulled out a book with an unusually vivid red cover and opened it, only to gulp nervously.
There was a reason these folktales had been preserved. The content was shockingly explicit.
The book even contained illustrations and commentary from researchers.
…The development of writing tools suggests that later owners of the book added the illustrations. The earlier ones are in black and white, but later ones are in color, vividly portraying the characters’ emotions and anatomy…
What a scandalous book! This needed to be examined thoroughly, if only to prevent it from corrupting others.
As the empress, I had a duty to investigate such indecent material, so I began flipping through the pages. But as I turned one, I accidentally nicked my finger on the edge of the paper.
“Ouch!”
A small droplet of blood fell onto the book’s aged yellow page.
‘Oh no, I hope they don’t notice I damaged it.’
Panicking, I tried to wipe it off, but before I could, the droplet soaked into the page.
“What the…?”
Suddenly, the book emitted a radiant light, wrapping itself in a luminous glow before fading as quickly as it had appeared.
The yellowed pages where the blood had landed were now pristine white.
Rubbing my eyes, I closed the book.
General Treatise on All Things Irrational
“…Whoa.”
A new title had appeared, replacing the one from before. This wasn’t a novel at all!
Opening it again in a hurry, I found the first page inscribed with an ominous message:
To the one who pledges not to misuse the knowledge within this book, permission is granted to read it. May you learn and apply alchemy’s wisdom to benefit the world.
‘I… I found it. The alchemy book!’
Clutching the book to my chest, I bolted out of the library.
The librarian, worried about how long I’d been gone, tried to approach me, but I waved them off, rejecting even their offer of an escort.
“Don’t follow me! If you do, I’ll add you to my new harem!”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The worried palace guards and librarian called after me, but I only smirked and hurried to my private garden.
There were too many servants around during the day for me to examine the book in peace. Luckily, I had recently created a secret corner in the garden, complete with a hidden herb patch disguised as a flower bed.
There, I settled into a small glass greenhouse and opened the book.
“Let’s see here.”
The first page greeted me with a single line:
To those who seek the knowledge of alchemy, make your pledge.
“What? Why is there nothing else?”
Flipping through the pages, I found nothing but blank sheets.
“Typical alchemy nonsense. Even the book has enchantments on it!”
I should have suspected something when it was disguised as a red novel! Annoyed, I examined the book more closely.
“Pledge, huh? Does that mean I need to spill more blood?”
Guessing this was the case, I plucked a thorny herb from the secret patch, pricked my finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto the page.
With another flash of light, text began to appear.
What do you wish to know, my master?
