How long had he been there? Kisa stroked her startled chest.

The first thing that caught her eye was red. As a man with hair the color of sunset approached with a leisurely gait, Kisa asked in confusion:

“Who are you?”

At that question, the man as tall as Daniel blinked a couple of times.

“Seyerd.”

“Pardon?”

“My name. Seyerd. And you?”

“Kisa… Kisa.”

She habitually started to reveal her family name but quickly ended her sentence. It doesn’t matter since he only gave his first name too. She’d rather not spread news of the Vanspelt Count’s daughter crying in a place like this.

Kisa quickly scanned Seyerd’s attire.

Though he wore a simple outfit of a white sports shirt and black cotton pants, the materials were visibly high-quality at a glance. And his aristocratic speech and intonation. Most likely a person from the upper class.

Thinking that, she felt like she might have seen him somewhere before, but with her mind foggy, no clear figure came to mind.

In any case, though he wasn’t an acquaintance, it was better to be cautious given the possibility of running into him somewhere.

While Kisa was wary of him, Seyerd approached closely and offered a handkerchief. It was a gesture of kindness to wipe her tears.

Kisa reflexively turned her head and picked up the handbag she had placed beside her.

“It’s alright. I have my own.”

Seyerd put the handkerchief in his pocket and sat down on the nearby desk, silently watching as Kisa wiped the remaining moisture from her face with her own. A suffocating silence flowed.

Kisa, constantly conscious of the man’s presence, hurriedly tried to get up. But his words stopped her.

“May I ask which part of this book made you sad?”

As he looked down at the book Kisa had been reading until just now with interested eyes, shame welled up in her.

“It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry about it. I just…”

She was about to make a lame excuse that she thought of a sad story while reading. But she soon confessed the truth in a small voice.

“Actually, I cried because I couldn’t understand the content of the book at all. Even after reading the same passage over and over again, I still didn’t get it.”

Why was she saying such embarrassing things to a man she just met? Or perhaps it was because she just met him that she could say it.

Because he didn’t know Kisa Vanspelt. As much as he didn’t know her, any judgment received would be less shocking than hearing it from someone she knew.

“I must be really stupid.”

Despite throwing out words difficult for the other person to respond to, Kisa was gripped by tension as she waited for Seyerd’s lips to part.

“Kisa.”

He called the name of the woman he met today for the first time in a low, gentle voice. As if they were close friends.

“Have you ever studied philosophy?”

“…No.”

“Have you read any of Bart’s other works besides ‘Bart’s Principle’?”

“No.”

“Then isn’t it natural that you don’t understand?”

Surprised by the unexpected statement, Kisa asked “What?” a beat late.

Seyerd, with one hand in his pocket, picked up the book in front of Kisa with the other.

“‘Bart’s Principle’ deals with abstruse and complex content. Moreover, it’s his magnum opus that compiles themes from his other works.”

His reddish-brown eyes curved gently.

“Unless you’re a genius, there’s no way you could understand this book without proper background knowledge.”

“Is, is that so?”

“Yes, ‘Bart’s Principle’ is a book that even students who enter to study philosophy curse at when they first see it. It’s common to start by studying the general content with an easy-to-understand commentary book.”

“…I didn’t know.”

Kisa, who had impulsively come to the library, had simply pulled out that book while scanning the shelves without much thought. Just because the words ‘Bart’s Principle’ had come from Daniel’s mouth.

Though they had only exchanged a few words, he seemed quite intelligent.

Probably a student at a nearby prestigious university? Judging by his staying in the library until this late hour, he must have a diligent personality.

So it didn’t seem likely that he made up words just to make Kisa feel better. What she just heard seemed believable.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Kisa met Seyerd’s gaze as she uttered a sincere thank you, something rare for her. It was the first time she looked at his features in detail.

“You’re welcome.”

It was then that she realized he was quite handsome. His almond-shaped eyes, slightly upturned, were elegant, and his smooth facial lines boasted a neat yet strong charm.

He gave off an impression similar to a statue of a young foreign king she had seen at the Royal Art Museum long ago. She had heard that a master sculptor, having received a large sum from the king, had sculpted it in golden proportions.

For a moment, she felt like she had seen him somewhere before, but the thought soon evaporated. No matter how red his hair was, if she had seen such outstanding beauty before, there’s no way she wouldn’t remember.

In fact, she had tended to avoid people with red hair since childhood.

Her nanny said it was because the doctor who had treated the late Countess Vanspelt had red hair. Saying that the memory of losing her mother in her young days remained as trauma.

Whether it was exactly for that reason or not, Kisa would feel a slight chill in her chest whenever she saw red hair and would avert her gaze. As time passed and she got used to it, it gradually became okay, so it wasn’t a severe symptom.

But this was the first time she had become accustomed to a red-haired person in such a short time. Kisa no longer turned her head away.

Seyerd’s words echoed in her mind. According to him, Kisa wasn’t particularly stupid for not being able to read ‘Bart’s Principle’.

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could you recommend a commentary book that I could read?”

She mustered up the courage to ask the question. For her, this man was about the only one she could ask such a question to.

Her choice seemed to be correct, as he pondered, touching his sharp chin with his finger.

“It’s not bad to study ‘Bart’s Principle’ with a commentary book. But personally, I suggest starting with Bart’s other works. ‘Bart’s Principle’ was written assuming readers had read all his other works.”

“I see.”

“Ah, how about starting with ‘Theory of Possession’? It deals with a relatively easy-to-understand topic for his works. It focuses on examining the ontological existence of humans based on possession.”

“Aha.”

She didn’t really understand, but as Kisa was nodding as if she did, that’s when it happened.

“Young lady?”

A familiar voice was heard from outside the door.

“Young lady? Are you here?”

It was the call of a maid looking for Kisa. It seemed she had come in search when Kisa didn’t come out long after entering the library.

However, she couldn’t dare to enter the nobles-only reading room and was probably pacing outside. The image was clear in Kisa’s mind.

She wanted to tell her to wait, but that was difficult. Darkness had already fallen outside.

Though there might be a plausible reason, if Count Vanspelt were to find out that his daughter had been alone in a public place until this hour… It was dizzying to think about.

“I think I should go now.”

Kisa bade farewell to Seyerd with a hint of regret in her voice.

“Take care on your way back.”

Kisa, heading towards the door, looked back at him.

“Thank you for today. ‘Theory of Possession’, I’ll definitely read it if I get the chance.”

“If you need any other recommendations, please feel free to ask. I’ll do my best to recommend within my knowledge.”

Seyerd spoke as if it were natural, but in Kisa’s opinion, that seemed unlikely. If they hadn’t run into each other until now while living in the same capital, the chances of meeting again in the future were probably low.

Moreover, Kisa didn’t have many opportunities to mingle with men her age. This was likely the first and last time she would see Seyerd.

“Sure.”

But Kisa didn’t voice this fact as she grasped the doorknob.

He maintained a faint smile until Kisa opened the door and left the reading room.

As she came out of the door, she saw the face of the maid, who had turned pale with anxiety.

“Goodness, young lady. Do you know what time it is? What if the Count finds out?”

“I know. I’m coming now.”

It was time to end this brief escape.

Left alone in the reading room after Kisa’s departure, Seyerd spent a moment reading ‘Bart’s Principle’ for fun, though he had already perfectly memorized its contents.

Then, with a thud, he closed the book and took it out to request a loan from the librarian.

When he left the library building, there was only one carriage nearby. An elderly man waiting in front of a completely black carriage without any family crest spotted him.

“Lord Seyerd.”

The man greeted Seyerd while opening the carriage door.

“Have you finished your business?”

“No, Gilliam.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t the last succession procedure end this morning?”

Gilliam, seeming to have realized something, changed how he addressed his master.

“Have you finished your business? Your Grace.”

Seyerd loosened his lips as he approached the carriage.

“Yes, it’s nice to visit the library occasionally. It brings back old memories.”

“It must feel nostalgic since it’s been a while since you’ve been out in the capital.”

“Well, yes. I plan to look around here and there slowly, starting with the library.”

Before boarding the carriage, he muttered as he looked around the scenery of the Royal Library one last time.

“From now on, I’ll be staying in the capital for good.”

Finally, the door closed, and the carriage pulled by a massive horse set off.

The destination was the town house of the Hilan Duchy, second to none among the empire’s prestigious families.