Ariel headed towards the library in her memory.

As she opened the door, the first thing that greeted her was the smell of old books. Next was the dust floating in the sunlight that shone through the small windows. It was just like in the past. Taking a deep breath, Ariel slowly looked around and then took a step forward without hesitation.

To the right in the library.

Ariel stopped after passing about a dozen bookshelves from the entrance and looked up.

“Anna, bring me a ladder please.”

The bookshelves were quite sturdy and tall. Even a tall man would need a ladder to reach the top. Ariel began to search one by one in the expected locations.

“Be careful, Lady Ariel.”

“Alright.”

At some point, a rustling sound could be heard, but she ignored it and focused on finding the book.

“Lady Ariel, I’ll bring a ladder too. Let’s search together.”

After going up and down several times without finding the book, Anna also went to get a ladder to help search. Ariel moved to the next section with a sense of unease. As she climbed to the top of the ladder again, she saw the book she had been longing for, illuminated by the sunlight passing through the window.

Finally found it.

Ariel’s hand trembled slightly as she took out the book, and she involuntarily swallowed. The book that had been taken by Ludvian in the past and turned to ashes. Holding the book tightly to her chest, Ariel unknowingly held her breath and looked around. She was afraid Ludvian might suddenly appear. After confirming that no one was there, Ariel sighed in relief and slowly turned the pages.

Thud. Crash.

A loud noise came from a short distance away. Peering through the gap between the bookshelves, she saw that the bookshelf directly across from her was falling towards the one she was on.

Startled, Ariel quickly climbed down the ladder and ran with all her might towards an area without bookshelves. The bookshelves, connected horizontally for several meters, tilted towards Ariel as heavy and thick books began to pour down haphazardly.

“Anna!”

It was then that a particularly thick book fell towards Ariel’s head. With a terrible pain as if she had been hit on the edge of her head, her body staggered. For a moment, her vision blurred, and soon she felt a damp sensation on her forehead. Her knees buckled, but she bit her lip hard and stood up.

No other thoughts came to mind. Only the will to survive.

Her body wouldn’t follow her will, causing her to stumble several times, and once again her knees gave way, touching the ground, but she didn’t give up and walked out one step at a time.

***

Kaius did not suspect the people who were unusually holding him back. Moreover, since he hadn’t yet found Ariel’s location, he thought it wouldn’t be too bad to satisfy their curiosity with appropriate answers during that time.

“Your Excellency. We’ve found her.”

Kaius turned at Lemon’s report. Questions were heard again, but he brushed past them with a short answer of “Later.”

“Where is she?”

“In the basement, sir. The knights are guarding the door.”

Kaius nodded briefly and stepped onto the stairs leading to the basement with a calm face. As he was descending the stairs leisurely with the corners of his lips slightly raised, a scream reached his ears. Simultaneously, a voice calling out “Anna!”

It’s Ariel.

Kaius’s expression hardened in an instant as he grabbed the railing and leaped down to the basement in one breath. His gaze fell upon the guard knights trying to open the door.

“Your Excellency, the door won’t open.”

The guard knights who had been desperately trying to open the door reported upon seeing him. Kaius launched his body forward, ramming his shoulder against the door. The solid door only gave way inward after he had thrown his full weight against it three times.

The left side of the library was intact, but the right side resembled a battlefield. Collapsed bookshelves, scattered books, and hazy dust floating in between.

To find the unseen Ariel, Kaius concentrated his senses. Amidst the sounds of falling bookshelves and books, he detected a faint breathing and presence.

Without hesitation, Kaius sprang forward towards that location.

***

“Ariel!”

Just as anxiety began to overtake her mind, thinking she might end her life like this, Kaius’s voice miraculously reached her ears.

How did he…

“I’m… here.”

Ariel’s faintly uttered voice penetrated deep into Kaius’s mind. Hope filled Ariel’s golden eyes as she took another step. Just a few more steps and she would make it, but the last bookshelf began to tilt as well.

Her eyes kept closing drowsily as her consciousness blurred. As Ariel’s body staggered and fell towards the floor once again, with books falling on top of her and the heavy bookshelf, Kaius swiftly entered through that narrow gap. In a brief moment, he enveloped Ariel with his entire body as the last bookshelf crashed onto his back.

Kaius made a quick judgment. If the impact of the bookshelf added to his solid body, Ariel’s bones might be damaged. The time it took to judge and act was just about one breath.

He let go of the body he had been tightly embracing and supported himself with both arms to prevent the weight from transferring to Ariel. A drop of blood flowed down from his forehead, along his chin, and fell onto Ariel’s cheek. The hazy dust between them scattered with Kaius’s roughly exhaled breath.

***

“How did it go?”

A voice, a tone higher, echoed in the narrow space. It was inside a café with a red roof, a little distance from the Brandt Library. In the room, Rosalyn and the man who had questioned Ostian in front of the library were sitting face to face.

“The decoys couldn’t keep the Duke occupied until the end, so I couldn’t confirm, but as requested, it’s certain that she was seriously injured. The bookshelves were quite thick and heavy material. That’s why we almost failed.”

“Really? And you made it look like an accident that happened by chance, right?”

“I fixed the library door to look like the lock was broken, and made it seem like mice had gnawed at the bottom of the bookshelf, so even if an investigation is conducted, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Rosalyn placed a heavy pouch of gold coins in front of the man. As he reached out to grasp Rosalyn’s chin with a sly grin, she forcefully slapped his hand away.

“Get lost.”

“As you wish. Call me anytime if you need me again.”

The man left with a snicker, shrugging his shoulders and taking the pouch of gold coins. After he left, Rosalyn smiled prettily.

It felt as if the position of Duchess had suddenly come within reach.

***

“Your Excellency! My Lady!”

Lemon, Ostian, and Viktor, who had followed closely behind, joined forces to lift the bookshelf. Since the shelves behind were pressing down in succession, they lifted it slightly rather than standing it up. As soon as Kaius, holding Ariel with one arm, slipped out, a heavy thud resounded as the bookshelf hit the floor.

“Your Excellency, are you alright?”

“Lemon, go and make sure no one enters, and send someone to the Duke’s residence to inform Lord Carsen.”

Kaius, who had given the order in a low voice, began to carefully examine Ariel with one hand. Fortunately, apart from the head injury, the other parts seemed to have only bruises.

Lemon quickly carried out Kaius’s instructions and returned. The terribly damaged library, His Excellency with apparently serious injuries, and My Lady unconscious and bleeding from the head – the situation was grave.

“Your Excellency, this won’t do. You have a potion, don’t you?”

Kaius silently tried to lift the unconscious Ariel onto his knee with his uninjured arm. But because Ariel had injured her head, he had to be careful, causing her to slip several times. Seeing this, Lemon tried to take Ariel.

“Leave it. I’ll do it myself.”

Kaius, who had finally managed to lay Ariel on his legs with his own strength, took out a potion from inside his jacket. He opened the lid with his teeth and poured the potion into his mouth. Just as Lemon was nodding in relief, Kaius immediately held the back of Ariel’s head and lowered his face.

“Your Excellency, why did you… Do you have any more potions?”

Lemon changed his question from why he made the lady drink the potion to asking if he had more. In terms of efficiency, it would have been right for His Excellency to drink the potion.

Kaius slowly shook his head and quietly looked down at Ariel.

Who on earth?

It wasn’t a coincidence. An intentional accident.

He had sensed someone leaving this place as he was running here. Duke Beloas’s movements were still vague, and Emperor Hart hadn’t shown any particular movement. Thinking there were only two risk factors, he had focused only on them, but…

“Your Excellency, I apologize, but I’m going to look for Miss Anna. Ostian said she was inside together, but I can’t see her.”

Kaius responded with a slow nod. After considering various hypotheses, Kaius erased his complicated thoughts with a shallow sigh.

The culprit would be revealed when found anyway. So, judgment would be suspended until then. Amidst all this, Kaius couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Ariel still clutching the book like a treasure.

What kind of book could it be? Curious about the book that she hadn’t let go of even in such a precarious situation, Kaius carefully pulled it from Ariel’s arms.

“Demon Realm Plant Guide?”

Kaius chuckled after confirming the title.

You really do love plants, don’t you?

Turning a page, he saw it was indeed a plant guide. On the left were surprisingly detailed drawings of plants, and on the right were the names and descriptions of the plants. As he was turning the pages one by one, chuckling once again, Ariel slowly opened her eyes. Instinctively closing the book and setting it aside, he shifted his gaze to Ariel’s face.

Ariel, having opened her eyes, silently looked at him. Kaius’s appearance, looking down at her amidst the floating dust, seemed somewhat surreal.

Ariel blinked once more, and Kaius smiled slightly in her eyes.