#.11
“Why are you here?”
“Oh.”
The person sitting crouched in a corner of the library, reading a thesis, was none other than François Cassel.
His striking silver hair made him stand out, even in the corner.
“The Trovancha National Library for Magic and Supernatural Studies is every magician’s dream. But what brings you here on a weekend?”
“Does studying have a weekday or weekend? What thesis is that?”
When Emilia asked, François lifted the thesis book to show her the cover.
After quickly confirming the topic, Emilia let out a brief exclamation, “Oh.”
“You seem quite interested in the field of healing. There are better theses than this one. Shall I recommend some?”
“I’d love that if you would.”
“Then let’s head to the C section. You’ll find more useful theses there.”
Emilia led François to the designated section.
As if accustomed to it, she began pulling out theses and stacking them neatly in his arms.
While glancing at the titles of the theses now piled up in his arms, François asked,
“Are you interested in this field too?”
“Healing and purification are not exactly my areas of interest.”
François raised an eyebrow. Without her explicitly stating it, her understanding of his area of interest seemed clear. Emilia flashed her characteristic confident smile.
“The thesis you were reading earlier—its main topic was healing the mind and body through soothing and purification effects. I wondered if you were really interested, and it turns out you are.”
Emilia’s sharp eyes sparkled, and her voice brimmed with confidence.
François observed her with interest.
“It’s just for reference within a similar context.”
“Is that so? If it’s just for reference, I won’t bother recommending anything too in-depth.”
“No, I’d still like your recommendations. But maybe another time. Outsiders can only borrow up to eight theses at once, and I can’t borrow all of them today even if I wanted to.”
“All right then.”
When Emilia finished recommending the theses, she gestured slightly, saying she had other matters to attend to.
François, watching her walk away without hesitation, suddenly found himself calling out to her.
“What is it?”
“Aren’t you hungry? You helped me with the recommendations, and as a gesture of thanks—also, to get along better—I’d like to treat you to a meal.”
“I don’t need a thank-you gesture, though.”
“Well, how about just a meal as fellow professionals for camaraderie’s sake?”
“If it’s for that reason, I’m okay with it.”
In truth, François wasn’t hungry.
His real objective wasn’t the meal but building a connection with Emilia Berchio.
Though it might seem a petty method, Emilia struck him as a valuable talent.
She was knowledgeable enough to have meaningful conversations with him and was well-versed in Trovancha’s local affairs as a native.
Above all, she was the younger sister of Andrea Berchio—a man François couldn’t afford to ignore due to a certain deal between them.
There was no harm in keeping her close, so François flashed the bright smile he used when charming women.
“I’ll buy the meal.”
Whenever François smiled like this, women usually couldn’t take their eyes off him, completely captivated.
François was well aware of his own appeal—his beauty, a blend of charm and elegance, with dazzling silver hair and striking golden eyes.
His alluring demeanor and deep, smoldering gaze earned him favor from both men and women alike.
Thus, when Emilia’s gaze locked onto him, François was confident that she, too, would fall for his charm.
But soon, Emilia’s expression twisted slightly, and she turned her head with a hint of irritation.
Seeing her reaction, François realized something was different this time.
“That smile is a bit unpleasant.”
“…Unpleasant?”
“I’ve been meaning to correct you—you should stop calling me ‘you’ and address me as Emilia. If that’s too long, Mila is fine too.”
“What?”
François was genuinely taken aback.
She sighed deeply, brushing her hair back with frustration.
“If you want to have a meal together, at least call me by my name. And one more thing.”
Emilia suddenly stepped closer, staring directly at François.
A crooked smile, almost a smirk, appeared on her lips.
“You’re not my type, so no matter how obvious your behavior is, it’s pointless. So choose—either we use each other for what we need, or you waste your time trying to seduce someone who won’t fall for it.”
Her gaze wasn’t filled with excitement but pure disdain, making François realize he had encountered a formidable opponent after a long time.
***
After returning from the restroom, the atmosphere at the table seemed strange.
My second unnie had a stiff expression, and Leopold was silently chewing his food.
Only Marius smiled brightly at me.
“Kiddo, is there anything you want to do after eating?”
“After eating? Eat snacks, of course!”
“And after you finish your snacks?”
“Hmm…”
I glanced at my eldest sister before answering.
“Liliana want to go to the circus.”
My eldest sister was reluctant to let me go to crowded places.
She tolerated kindergarten because it was necessary for socializing with peers, but places like circuses were a different story.
She worried that I might catch something after bumping into various people.
When my eldest sister stared at me without saying a word, my conscience pricked, and I avoided her gaze.
Marius, sitting next to me, patted my head and said,
“The circus sounds great. Let’s go. Uncle will take you to see it.”
“Really? Promise?”
Once the plan to visit the circus was set, I wanted to finish eating as soon as possible.
I even ate broccoli, which I usually wouldn’t touch, in my hurry to finish.
But to my dismay, even after I emptied my plate, my sisters and Marius hadn’t finished their meals.
‘I even ate broccoli because I wanted to go quickly!’
I swung my legs anxiously, waiting for the meal to end.
My mind was already at the circus, so the conversation between my sisters and the others barely registered.
When my patience wore thin, I poked Alice’s side, then eventually leaned against Marius’s arm.
“Are you really bored?”
“I want to see the fire show… Vicky said the circus fire show was amazing.”
“Is that so? Then we must go to the circus today. Our little one is getting bored. Let’s wrap this up.”
“Wow! Uncle, I’m so touched!”
I covered my mouth and looked up at Marius. The sunlight streaming through the window behind him shone like a halo.
In this moment, Marius was my hero. Seeing my admiring gaze, he lifted his chin proudly.
I suddenly stood up and ran out of the dining hall.
“Hurry! Let’s go quickly!”
I grabbed my younger Unnie’s hand as she caught up to me, but she didn’t seem in any rush to walk faster.
Frustrated, I left my sisters behind and darted ahead on my own.
“Liliana, it’s dangerous to go alone like that! Hold your sister’s hand!”
My older sister called out to me from behind, but I pretended not to hear.
I paused occasionally to glance at accessory stalls along the way, but my priority was the circus.
When my younger unnie tried to grab my hand again, I quickly pulled away and dashed across the street.
“Liliana!”
“Lily!”
Their panicked screams echoed behind me.
Only then did I notice the fast-approaching carriage.
The horses, with legs as tall as me, galloped toward me at full speed, and my body froze stiff.
It was too close for me to dodge.
‘I guess this is it for this life.’
I just hoped dying wouldn’t hurt too much. I also hoped my sisters wouldn’t cry too much over me.
With that, I tightly shut my eyes and braced myself for the pain that was surely coming.
***
To Emilia, “a person like this” meant a lot of things.
Someone amusing to watch, someone who made you wonder, Why do they live like that?
“A bit pathetic, too?”
François frowned at Emilia’s choice of words.
She, unfazed by his reaction, casually picked up a freshly fried potato chip and ate it.
“Your word choice is bold.”
“You were bold trying to seduce me, so I just responded in kind.”
Pointing at herself with the potato chip, Emilia added, prompting François to chuckle dryly.
Unlike other women, she not only seemed uninterested in him but actively kept her distance.
“How did you know I had something to figure out about you?”
“How wouldn’t I? I’m the smartest person in Trovancha, so of course, I’d assume that.”
When Emilia abruptly switched to informal speech, François’s eyebrow twitched.
Her reply was laced with sarcasm.
“What? You use informal speech, but I can’t?”
“…Fine. Speak however you like.”
It seemed that his usual charm had no effect on Emilia—not at the library earlier and not now.
‘She’s a strange one. This doesn’t happen often.’
This situation was troublesome in many ways since he had hoped to gather information through her.
Just then, François made eye contact with a woman sitting at a table behind Emilia.
As if by habit, he flashed her a faint smile, and the woman blushed, quickly averting her gaze.
It wasn’t that his charm had dulled—Emilia Berchio was just a tough opponent.
As he returned his gaze to her, he found her glaring at him with a twisted expression that could only be described as disgusted.
She delivered a remark that sounded like both a warning and a scornful observation.
“Could you not do that in front of me? It’s nauseating.”
“Nauseating? That’s no good.”
Thud. Emilia slammed her glass of water onto the table with irritation.
François shrugged as if to ask what the problem was and winked.
In the short time they’d interacted, François had figured Emilia out.
Not only was she immune to his charm, but she was also the type who would confront threats head-on.
There was no point in keeping up the facade of friendliness any longer.
“You should carry some antacids with you from now on or build a stronger stomach. But wow, you’re kind of… like a sunfish, huh?”
A sunfish.
He would regret calling her that deeply in the years to come, but at this moment, he had no idea.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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