I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 13
The next day, when I visited the mansion’s library with Sen, I couldn’t close my gaping mouth.
‘Is this all books?’
Even the university library I saw before being born in this world wasn’t on this scale. The massive spiral building had bookshelves stacked on each floor.
Seeing the endless rows of bookshelves, I felt beyond amazement, almost to the point of reverence.
“Shall we go then, Grand Princess?”
Sen, holding my hand, somehow walked towards a place with fewer books.
The place we arrived at was a spacious room with a yellow signboard.
“…Huh?”
As if the scenery I saw earlier was a lie, I noticed cute bookshelves. Low shelves suited for a child’s height and a pink carpet on the floor.
I slowly read the words written on the signboard.
“Children’s section.”
“My goodness. You can write letters and now you can read too! You’re truly a genius!”
“Can’t we go to another section?”
“The books in other sections would be too difficult for the Grand Princess to read.”
I should have known.
I should have guessed when Sen suggested going to the library first. I thought things were going too smoothly.
I frowned at the children’s picture books that filled the shelves.
‘There’s no way a chronology would be here.’
Unlike me, whose enthusiasm had rapidly cooled, Sen was very excited and pulled out a fairy tale book from the shelf.
“Grand Princess, how about this book? It has a magnificent dragon in it.”
“Mmm.”
“How about this one? It’s about a shy strawberry cookie!”
To be honest, I wasn’t very interested.
It was fascinating that there were so many expensive picture books worth a commoner’s monthly salary.
‘But still, they’re just children’s picture books.’
I roughly went along with Sen and sat down on the carpet, planning to find a way to leave soon. Sen sat down with me and naturally opened a fairy tale book.
Holding back a snort, I listened to Sen’s voice.
No matter how interesting fairy tales are, they shouldn’t mean much to someone who has lived 32 lives…
“Dark chocolate chip cookie decided to walk the path of evil that no one could understand.”
“…Gulp.”
“What will be the fate of the chocolate chip!”
It’s incredibly interesting!
I was instantly drawn into the story by Sen’s voice which changed with the narrative. As soon as Sen finished reading the fairy tale, I immediately handed her the next book.
Sen looked suspiciously at the pile of fairy tale books that didn’t seem to decrease.
“It seems like there are more fairy tale books than what I took out from the shelf earlier.”
“It must be your imagination.”
I can’t tell her that I secretly pulled out books from around us while she was reading.
The fairy tales had an unexpected effect.
After reading more than ten books, Sen’s voice started to drag. I perked up as I watched Sen blinking her eyes, seemingly sleepy.
“So… the cookie ate… yawn.”
“You can rest and read later if you want.”
“Yes. Then I’ll… rest a bit.”
Sen, who closed her eyes while leaning her head against the bookshelf, soon started breathing evenly. After confirming that she was completely asleep, I got up.
‘Finally, the opportunity has come.’
I left the children’s section, muffling my footsteps. I looked around for a place where a chronology might be, but the library was too vast.
A library of this size would usually have a crystal for finding books.
“There it is.”
On a high platform in the center of the library, there was a dark blue crystal. The problem was that each crystal had a different method of operation.
As a test, I spoke my request to the crystal.
“Please find chronology.”
Perhaps because my pronunciation was inaccurate, there was no change in the crystal. Even when I infused it with magic power, nothing happened.
In desperation, I picked up the crystal and shook it vigorously, when a strange voice came from above my head.
“You won’t find a book even if you shake it for half a day.”
I looked up at the voice and rubbed my eyes.
‘What an incredible beauty.’
If the Grand Duke was a cold-looking handsome man, the man before my eyes possessed a dazzling brilliance that drew attention.
Soft golden hair with a hint of lemon color covered the man’s nape and flowed down. A graceful nose bridge and sharp eyes were visible on his snow-white skin.
As I stared blankly, one of the man’s eyebrows shot up.
“Can you hear me?”
I nodded unconsciously at the gentle baritone voice that penetrated my ears.
“I’m glad your hearing isn’t impaired. So, what book are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for a chronology.”
“Is that so? Shall I find it for you?”
Even while being mesmerized by the man’s appearance, the offer to find it for me registered clearly in my ears. When I nodded, the corners of the man’s mouth curved up crookedly.
The man looked at me as if observing a strange creature.
“You really have no sense of caution, do you?”
As the man placed his hand on the crystal, two books appeared in mid-air.
“Take both. One is a bonus.”
“A book on imperial history?”
“It’s in consideration of your young age. It’s better to know before you die, to avoid regrets.”
The words that followed after “consideration” were too quiet to hear clearly. I hugged the chronology and history book to my chest and bowed my head to the man.
The man’s eyes creased into half-moons, and his pale eyelashes fluttered.
“The next time we meet, it would be better if you were more suspicious of people. Little Imperial Princess.”
As soon as the man’s words ended, a bright light spread before my eyes. When I opened them again, the man who had been standing beside me had already disappeared.
‘He called me the Imperial Princess?’
I heard that the Grand Duke was keeping the fact that I was the Imperial Princess strictly secret. How does he know I’m the Imperial Princess when he’s not even my assigned maid?
The man’s gentle voice contrasting with his cold gaze also bothered me.
“Grand Princess! Where are you?”
As I was enveloped in an uneasy feeling, I turned at the sound of Sen’s voice. It wasn’t too late to find out who the man who helped me was later.
***
At that time, on the outskirts of the territory.
Originally, it was rare for Yurian to go to the capital.
The imperial family was wary of the Grand Duke and didn’t allow trips to the capital unless for special reasons. On the surface, since the Grand Duke obeyed the imperial family, there were no major conflicts.
However, the long-standing vassals of the Grand Duke’s house knew.
The Grand Duke was not one to submit to the imperial family; he merely concealed his emotions with his characteristic coolness.
The catastrophic military power of a Sword Master.
His knightly order, trained while guarding the northern border, and his overwhelming financial power. Someday, he would rise from his crouched position and engulf the imperial family.
The vassals hoped that all the preparations the Grand Duke was making would be resolved smoothly.
“We’ll rest here.”
At the entrance of the forest leading outside the territory, the Grand Duke jumped off his horse.
It had suddenly rained, and the ground was wet. The knight leading the group asked the Grand Duke,
“Shall we light a fire?”
“We’ll stay here until the rain stops.”
“I’ll tell them to unpack.”
The Grand Duke frowned as he watched his vassals dismount and take a break, as if they had been waiting for this.
‘The rain is slowing us down.’
It was a trip to the capital to announce the adoption of an Imperial Princess who was known to the imperial family as being of commoner origin.
Incidentally, he also needed to observe the movements of the imperial family.
‘There’s so much to do.’
He worried that the Imperial Princess would cause trouble while he was away. Suddenly, he remembered the Imperial Princess shaking her bottom while drawing hearts above her head.
“Don’t imprison Liat! I love you!”
She had blushed as if embarrassed, yet her face remained expressionless. She seemed to be trying to hide her confusion, but it was completely obvious.
There probably isn’t a child in the world who looks so awkward while trying to act cute.
“It was quite a sight.”
The corners of the Grand Duke’s mouth curved into a faint smile, though he himself didn’t notice.
“Your Grace, the camp preparations are complete!”
At the knights’ announcement, the vassals glanced around and slowly gathered near the bonfire.
The vassals who settled in front of the bonfire began to converse one by one. He overheard their conversation while loosening the reins of his horse.
“Is it true that this journey is because of the child His Grace suddenly brought?”
“That’s what I heard. I was told His Grace personally brought a child abandoned at the temple.”
“Suddenly taking in a child of unclear origin as a daughter. Won’t there be opposition?”
“Who would dare oppose His Grace? Even if there is opposition, they’d target the child directly.”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
The vassals turned their heads at the calm voice coming from behind them.
With his exquisite appearance like a masterpiece painting and silver hair that was like a symbol of the Grand Duke’s house. The Grand Duke mentioned in their conversation was looking at them indifferently.
The Grand Duke’s gaze was askew as he looked at the vassals whose faces had turned pale.
“Why don’t you continue your conversation?”
“W-well, we meant that we would protect the new Grand Princess!”
“Of course! Isn’t it our role to ensure there’s no dissent? Haha.”
The Grand Duke’s head tilted slightly at the desperate words of the vassals.
His next words were filled with genuine curiosity.
“Why would you do that?”
“Pardon?”
“When I’m here.”
“We overstepped our bounds!”
The vassals who shouted in unison exchanged meaningful glances. As high-ranking nobles, they were adept at reading the changing tides and grasping situations.
Judging by the Grand Duke’s attitude, the adoption of the Grand Princess might not be a mere whim. In the north where all power was concentrated in the Grand Duke, he was like a god.
One vassal spoke with a forced smile on his face.
“It seems Your Grace cherishes the Grand Princess.”
“Not particularly.”
Before the vassal could express his doubt at those words, the sound of hooves was heard. The flag of the messenger entering the camp bore the emblem of the Grand Duke’s house.
The messenger handed a sealed parchment to the Grand Duke.
“Has something happened at the mansion?”
“No, Your Grace. This is a letter from the Grand Princess to Your Grace.”
“From that child?”
Yurian, who was about to carelessly tuck the letter into his outer garment, changed his mind and tore open the parchment.
‘I should have brought a code decipherer.’
As he carefully examined the worm-like letters, he doubted his eyes. The neatly written letter was somewhat readable.
If what he was seeing now wasn’t a hallucination, the word written on this letter was probably…
“…A will?”
No matter how many times he flipped it over, the letters didn’t change. Could it be that the child who didn’t value her own life had finally…
‘No, I don’t know yet.’
As he read down the letter, losing his composure, veins popped out on his forehead.
He regretted belatedly that he shouldn’t have left the Imperial Princess alone.
