Unlike the welllit design of the library, this place was as dark and gloomy as a storeroom.

I sensed the unique musty smell of old paper and ink as I passed between bookshelves filled with tightly packed books, and headed towards where I felt Raven’s energy.

“Oh, there he is.”

Raven, whose hair was unkempt as if he hadn’t even brushed it, was sitting on the floor, hugging a thick book.

He looked so serious, gazing intently at it without any thought of turning the pages.

“Shall I give him a little scare?”

In a playful mood, I tiptoed towards Raven on my heels.

He was so focused that he didn’t even notice me approaching until I was just a step behind him.

But the content of the book the boy was looking at was quite unexpected.

“Uhoh? You’re reading a letter review book?”

As I tilted my head and spoke, the boy, startled, quickly hid the book behind his back as if guilty.

However, since all the books stacked around him were about reading and writing continental languages, it was a meaningless action.

“…How long have you been watching?”

Raven’s cheeks were slightly flushed as he spoke.

Since all the books around him were written in large letters for children of my age to easily learn, he seemed a little embarrassed.

‘I thought he was holed up in the storeroom, collecting information to escape the kingdom, but…….’

Kid, you still don’t know how to read, do you?

‘Actually, it’s not strange.’

The common continental language used frequently in the surrounding kingdoms, including the Empire, was a bit hard to learn on one’s own.

Moreover, books were quite expensive for commoners to buy, so the illiteracy rate among the Empire’s citizens was quite high.

It was common for someone who wasn’t a merchant to not learn to read and write, but Raven seemed to feel awkward about this.

“Come out here. It’s too dark here. The book, let’s go read it outside.”

“Don’t worry. I’m more comfortable here.”

Seeing Raven avoiding my gaze and responding as if he had committed a crime, I felt somewhat restless.

During the time I didn’t know how to read, the vivid overlap of Raven’s image and my past self’s image in my previous life disturbed me.

“Why are you hiding and reading books here? This is your tower.”

“…If it becomes known that I’m trying to learn to read, my brother won’t leave it alone.”

“Then I’ll teach you.”

When Ranian first made such an offer after coming to the tower, I thought he was joking.

I thought that Karl, who had even forbidden me from reading books, let alone having a private tutor, would never allow me to learn to read.

But the very next day, Ranian came with Karl’s permission and even brought a large number of books as a gift.
“I’ll drop by often to let you know about the writing. There’s much else you’ll need to study as well. If you have books to read, leave them in a letter.”

“You, why are you bestowing such favor on me? I have nothing to give. I’m a discarded princess.”

“I wonder why I’m doing this.”

At the time, I didn’t know, but thinking about it now, Ranian seemed to be questioning his own actions.

I once mistook it for love for me, but I’ve already realized through an unjust death that it’s not such a pinkcolored emotion.

It was when I tightly clutched the hem of my clothes, recalling vividly the past events as if they happened just yesterday.

Raven’s voice pulled me back into the real world, deeply lost in thought.

“You, are you okay? You look strange.”

“Uh…? Oh. I’m fine!”

Startled, I quickly fixed my expression and smiled awkwardly.

I must have had a very serious face.

‘It would be great if he could learn to write too.’

Ranian did terrible things to me, but still, in my childhood, he clearly opened the way for me to learn about the world.

Because just having the environment to write and read books as I pleased was a salvation to me.

“Um, do you want to learn to write? Should I help?”

I asked Raven, watching his reaction, as careful as possible.

When I first learned to write in my previous life, I was around the same age as Raven, and I knew well that he could be shy or, at worst, angry.

But fortunately, Raven did not show such a negative reaction.

“……You’ll help?”

“Yeah. Learn from Tione. It’s hard to do it alone.”

Raven seemed to be wary of Tione, so he was a bit doubtful, but soon nodded.

He must have realized that it’s hard to learn the continental language alone.

I cheerfully patted the boy’s shoulder and shouted with a lively voice.

“Great! Then let’s ask Tione right away!”

“Right now?”

“Yes! Things like this should be done quickly!”

Most of our conversations were pushing me away or refusing, but I felt happy that I connected with Raven for the first time.

I was thrilled to be able to make someone else feel the joy I had experienced.

“Stay here, I’ll be back quickly, okay?”

“Uh, yes.”

Leaving Raven alone in the room, staring blankly, I excitedly bounced down the corridor, then realized I had forgotten something.

‘Oh, right, I had another purpose in going.’

I meant to honestly talk about my situation and ask for help from now on.

Strangely, I’ve been missing the timing to talk about it lately.

‘It won’t be too late to tell him after teaching him to write and earning some points.’

It might be difficult to expect a good reaction from Raven, who is still full of caution, even if I spill the truth.

Maybe it would be better to talk a little more after taking lessons together with Tione and getting rid of the awkwardness.

With those thoughts organized, I hummed a tune and cheerfully made my way to where Tione was.